Save Me (15 page)

Rose turned to Tom, who was at the credenza, pouring water into another styrofoam cup. She’d been so focused, she hadn’t noticed that he’d left the conference table.

“Hold on.” Tom returned to the table and placed the cup of water in front of her. “Have some.”

“Thanks.”

“Ready?” Tom asked, his tone sympathetic as he sat down in his chair.

“Sure,” Rose lied. “I’m all ears.”

Chapter Thirty-four

Rose took a sip of water while Tom glanced down at his handwritten notes, flipped through the pages, then looked up.

“Rose, let me ask you a few questions, for starters.”

“Okay.”

“When you were lunch mom, were you given any instruction in any emergency or fire procedures at the school?”

“No.”

“Were you asked to take part in a fire drill at the school?”

“No.”

Tom made a note. “Have you ever seen a fire drill at the school?”

“No. It’s a brand-new school. We just moved here, in June.”

Tom made another note. “Ever been in a school fire drill elsewhere, as an adult?”

“No.”

“New topic. You said there are lunch-mom procedures.” Tom looked up, his expression businesslike and his elbows resting on the table. His fingers throttled his Bic pen. “How were these procedures communicated to you?”

“One of the other moms told me.”

“Who?”

“Uh, Robin Lynn Katz.”

“She’s another parent, isn’t she? She’s not employed by the school or the school district?”

“No. Yes. She’s a mom.” Rose was getting confused. She tried to adjust to the cadence of his speech, so different from Oliver’s.

“How did Robin Lynn Katz find out about the procedures, if you know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are the lunch-mom procedures written anywhere?”

“Not that I know of.”

“In any event, you were never given written instructions about them, correct?”

“Correct. No.”

“Were you given any instructions by anyone at the school with respect to emergencies or fire safety procedures?” Tom gestured at Oliver, who remained silent, listening. “Like Oliver was saying, with the baseball coaches.”

“No.”

“New topic.” Tom checked his notes. “Let’s talk about the blond teacher at the door to the playground. You sure she was a teacher and not a mom?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. She appeared to be getting them outside, in some official way. She acted like a teacher.”

“Good enough.” Tom made a note. “When you ran back into the cafeteria, was she still there?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Did you see her? In other words, you didn’t see her go out, did you?”

“No.”

Tom made another note. “Now. Reesburgh is a new building, finished in August, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you told us what Kristen Canton told you, about the gas leak and the faulty wiring. The carpenter, Kurt Rehgard, told you the same thing. Were they the only people who told you about that?”

Rose thought a minute. “Kristen told me that the teacher, Jane Nuru, said something about them rushing the job and not doing the punch list.”

“Right. You mentioned that. Sorry. My error.” Tom made a note. “Okay, shifting gears again, tell me how you get in and out of the school, particularly through the playground door.”

Rose didn’t understand. “You walk?”

“No.” Tom shook his head. “I’m being unclear. In my son’s middle school, only the main entrance to the school is unlocked, and it leads to the office and only to the office. All visitors check in.”

“Right. Reesburgh works the same way.”

“You need a keycard to get in the other doors?”

“Same as Reesburgh.” Rose thought a minute. “One time I went into the side entrance and it was locked. The teachers have the keycards. They wear them around their necks.”

“Good.” Tom made another note. “In my son’s school, the doors lock automatically when they close. Also the fact, in Reesburgh?”

“Yes.”

“So think back to that morning. Tell me about the kids in the hallway, running out to the playground. Are they moving in a continuous stream?”

“Mostly.”

“But not always?”

“No, I think. I don’t know.” Rose could imagine how scary it would be to get cross-examined by Tom, and felt glad he was on her side.

“Does each kid open the door himself, on the way out?”

“I’m not sure.”

“See it now.” Tom held up his hand, almost like a hypnotist. “Close your eyes. Focus on the kids. What do you see?”

Rose obeyed. She saw smoke. Fire. The kids, a moving stream of heads.

“Do you see the door closing in anybody’s face? Do you see them hitting the bar in the middle to open it?”

Suddenly Rose knew the answer, and she opened her eyes. “No. The door was open the whole time, propped open.”

Tom broke into a grin.

Oliver looked over with a sly smile. “Bingo.”

Rose didn’t understand. “Does that matter?”

“Patience, grasshopper.” Tom cocked his head. “Why was it propped open, if you know? Is that typical? Have you seen that before?”

“Yes, I have seen that, when I pick Melly up.” Rose shifted, and in her arms, John stirred but stayed asleep. “It’s been hot this month, and they keep it propped open, to make it cooler in the hallway.”

Tom frowned. “But what about the air conditioning?”

“The hallways aren’t air-conditioned. Only the classrooms.”

“Yes!” Tom turned to Oliver and raised his hand for a high five. “Hit me, bro!”

Oliver recoiled, smiling. “Quiet. You’ll wake up the puppy, and I don’t high-five. Also,
never
call me
bro.
”

Tom grinned at Rose. “Boy, am I feeling better!”

“Why?”

“Here’s why.” Tom set his notepad aside. “First, the basics. There’s no duty to rescue in civil law. In other words, you had no duty to rescue Amanda. But under common tort law, in Pennsylvania and mostly everywhere else, once you undertake to rescue someone, you have to do so with reasonable care. The only exception is for doctors under the Good Samaritan statutes, but they don’t apply to you.”

“Okay.”

“So the question for the jury would be, what is reasonable care in these circumstances? The jury will have to ask themselves, what would
I
do?” Tom put a finger to his head, mock-thinking. “Would I take Amanda and the others out to the playground all the way, and risk losing my own child in the fire? Or would I do what Rose did, strike an on-the-spot compromise that tries to save all of them? Or would I ignore Amanda and the others altogether and go save my kid?”

Rose’s mouth went dry. She picked up her water and sipped some.

“I’ve listened to your account, and we have an obvious proof problem between what you say you did and what everybody else says you did. We’ll have to overcome that, but the best way to get you off the hook is to put someone else on it.”

“Who?”

“The school, and the state. We can either wait for Amanda and her parents to sue you and the school, or we can take a more aggressive position and file suit against the school.”

“What? No.” Rose recoiled. “I like the school.”

Tom raised a hand. “Keep an open mind.”

“I would never want to sue the school.”

“Why not?”

Oliver clucked, shaking his head. “She’s cream and sugar. Black coffee would sue, no question.”

Tom ignored him, leaning over. “You’re injured. Your kid was injured. She almost died. You’ll have expenses you haven’t gotten the bills for yet.”

“Yes, but—”

“Hear me out, please. Leave aside the faulty wiring for a minute, because we don’t have all the facts on causation, and right now I want to focus on you. You need to change the way you see yourself.” Tom pointed at her. “Let me paint you a picture. You’re thrown into the school as lunch mom, with no instruction on fire safety, either written or oral, and you could have died. So could your daughter.”

“I don’t want to sue anybody, least of all the—”

“The teacher at the door doesn’t notice that a kid is running back inside, which is clear negligence, and the exit door is left propped open, which is a patently unsafe procedure, because a kid could run back inside undetected, and she did, and that’s why she was grievously injured.”

Rose listened, trying to keep up with him. “But how did anything the school did cause harm to me, or Melly?”

“You weren’t told the procedures in case of fire emergency, which put you in jeopardy. You could’ve been killed.”

“Okay, but what about Melly? How did the school do anything to her?”

“It has no fire procedures in place to convey to volunteers, to save kids in a fire emergency. Also, the school could have three or four lunch moms, not just two. That would have helped, right? Or maybe one of the lunch moms should stand in the hallway to the bathroom, to see what’s going on.” Tom shook his head. “Rose, you should sue the school for the same reason that the Gigots might sue the school. You stand on the same footing. Melly equals Amanda, legally speaking.”

“But Melly is fine, and Amanda might die.”

“That makes no difference, again, legally. That’s a damages question, and goes to extent of recovery.”

“What does that mean?”

“Money.” Tom spread his hands, palms up. “Look, we don’t have all the facts on causation yet, for sure. Our firm investigator is a former detective and fraud investigator, and he’s very experienced. He’ll get started fleshing out all the details, obtaining the fire and state police reports, and he’ll do his own investigation. When we find out who’s really at fault—the school, the general contractor, or the electrical contractor, the inspector, whoever—we’ll develop and refine our theory.”

“Still.” Rose shook her head. “I don’t want to sue the school. You don’t know what it’s like. They’ll crucify my daughter. I sat in an assembly like I was radioactive. We just moved, and we can’t move again.”

“Okay. Relax. Fine.” Tom pursed his lips. “You’re in charge. You make the decisions, we only make the recommendations.”

“Good.”

“But if you get sued, this is the best argument you have, and I think you might prevail with it, even if Amanda dies. You weren’t at fault, you were a victim, the same as Amanda and the others. All of you were victims of a school system that saves money by throwing unpaid and untrained moms and dads, normal people like you, into a situation they’re ill-equipped and ill-prepared to handle.” Tom leaned forward again, his gaze intense. “You cannot do more with less, not now and not ever. Bet on it. This economy is in trouble, and the more our state government tries to cut corners in school budgets, the more
children will die
.”

Rose blinked. Tom fell silent as the words sank in, and the only sound in the conference room was John sucking on his pacifier, in a baby dream.

Oliver clapped softly. “Best jury speech ever. I love the send-a-message closing.”

Tom looked over, then grinned. “I got myself all worked up, right? But I can feel it. It’s a winner.”

Oliver turned to Rose, with a smile. “Now you see why he’s my partner. He seeks and destroys.”

“But I still don’t want to sue,” Rose said, shaken. “I have to make a life for us in Reesburgh. They’re already against us. I had to disable my email and they posted about me on Facebook.”

“I see that all the time now, in my cases.” Oliver nodded, knowingly. “The mob doesn’t need burning torches and clubs anymore. It’s trial by Facebook. That’s why you have to be realistic. Your duck-and-cover posture isn’t the best. If we don’t file suit against the school, then at least you know you have a defense, and it could work. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“I do recommend, however, that we get the word out in the press. We can leak it or go with a press release, or both. We have to start to shift public opinion in your direction. You have a side of the story, and you need it out there.”

“Why?”

“If you’re charged, the first thing I’d do is ask for a change of venue, and I won’t win. There’s enough press to make you look bad, but not enough to make you look bad enough.”

Rose felt bewildered. “I wouldn’t know how to leak something or send a press release. I thought you told me not to say anything.”

“You don’t, we do. We have people, sources. We write the release and put it out there. You say nothing.” Oliver seemed to think aloud. “You need an official statement, especially in a place like Reesburgh. It’s a small town, and views become self-reinforcing. We have to reverse the tide.”

Tom’s lips made an unhappy line. “Rose, if you were my wife, I’d give you the same advice. You need to get ahead of this situation, public relations–wise, whether it’s civil, criminal, or both, and whether you file a lawsuit or defend one. You’re getting killed in the press, and that taints the jury pool against you, civil and criminal.”

Rose hadn’t even thought of that. There was a lot to process, it was overwhelming.

“Look, Rose.” Tom’s expression softened. “You need to act, but you have a day or two. Think it over. Talk to Leo. If you want to get a second opinion, feel free to do that, too. Get back to us as soon as you can.”

Oliver rose slowly, buttoning his jacket. “You’re in a terrible bind. You don’t want to sue the school, but if you did, it would help your criminal case, too. It would make a statement that you’re not at fault. It could even deter the D.A. from charging you. The best defense is a good offense, to cite a cliché.”

Tom got to his feet. “This comes down to one thing. Them or you.”

Rose cuddled John and stood up. “Well, thanks so much, gentlemen. I do appreciate the time, and the advice.”

“Last word. Think about what you hold dear.” Tom gestured at John. “That little guy. Your daughter. Leo. Your home. That’s what you need to protect. Not the school.”

Rose heard the truth in his words, though it tore at her heart. She was remembering how kind Mr. Rodriguez and the staff had been to Melly this morning.

“Never hesitate to shoot.” Tom eyed Rose, hard. “It’s self-defense.”

Chapter Thirty-five

Rose hit the gas, keeping her eyes on the road, relieved she could find an excuse to avoid Melly’s gaze. The notion of being sued was bad enough, but she couldn’t begin to think about going to jail. Meeting with the lawyers had left her shaken, but letting it show would defeat the purpose of their lunch outing, so she put on a happy face. “Mel, how was your morning?”

“Fine.”

Rose braked for a yellow light, turning red. She’d picked Melly up at school without incident, and the other parents ignored them as they went to their car. The press stayed behind the cordon, and even though they snapped photos of the car as they drove past, nobody followed them. “What did you do in school?”

“More
Flat Stanley.
”

“Was it fun?”

“Ms. Canton wasn’t there. She’s not coming back.”

“I’m sorry.”

“She had to take care of her mom. She’s sick.”

“I see. Did Mrs. Nuru say when they’re getting a new gifted teacher?” Rose glanced over, and Melly kept her head to the window, which was open.

“No.”

“Did you spend much time with Mrs. Nuru?”

“No. Sammy and Seth got in a fight. They always do.”

“What happened at assembly?”

“Nothing. It was sad.”

“Mine was, too.” Rose thought back to the parents’ assembly. Aside from feeling like she had leprosy, it was an hour of boilerplate assurances that the school would return to business as usual, which was the best thing for the children. “We had a moment of silence. Did you?”

“Yes.”

“What else did they say? Anything?”

“That we shouldn’t be scared and there’s no more fire, and we’ll get a new cafeteria and still have the Halloween parade.” Melly looked over. “I want to be Hermione again, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Now I have the Hermione wand, it makes it better.”

“Perfect,” Rose said, though she was beginning to feel otherwise. As great as Harry Potter was, she was worrying that it was just another thing to set Melly apart.

“They said we should make get-well cards for Amanda, so we did. Mine was really good.”

“That was nice. I’m proud of you.” Rose smiled, meaning it. It couldn’t have been easy to make a card for your bully. “So, where should we eat?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you feel like? I didn’t have time to make any sandwiches this morning.” Rose eyed the McDonald’s, Saladworks, and the other fast-food joints. This section of Allen Road was one strip mall after another, all with tan stucco façades and fake-English names like Reesburgh Mews, Reesburgh Commons, and Reesburgh Roundabout. Traffic was busy, with school dismissed early and the noontime rush. “Want a Happy Meal? Or chicken? Want a hamburger?”

“Ms. Canton doesn’t eat hamburgers. She eats veggie burgers. We ate together. It was really good.”

“When was that?” Rose hadn’t heard anything about Kristen and Melly eating together. The traffic light changed, and she hit the gas.

“She showed me how to make a veggie burger.”

“Really, when?”

“At lunch. She gets a veggie burger out of the freezer, puts it the microwave, then she puts a Stackers pickle on top, and ketchup.” Melly made a motion with her hand. “Stackers pickles are flat. She said we can buy them at the Giant, and the veggie burgers, too. She showed me the box, and it says Amy’s Burgers, but I said they were Kristenburgers, and she laughed.”

Rose still didn’t understand. “Why were you eating with her?”

“She saw me going to the handicapped bathroom and she said I could.” Melly turned, her eyes hopeful. “Can we get Stackers pickles at the store? And Kristenburgers?”

“Sure.” Rose wanted to know what had happened, though. If it was what had prompted Kristen’s email to her, about lunchtime, she didn’t know the details. “Why were you going to the bathroom? Was there a problem? I’m not going to do anything. I just want to know.”

“Ms. Canton said I needed a break. She calls it ‘me time.’ She says she eats alone on Friday, like me. She doesn’t mind, because that’s her ‘me time.’”

Rose knew the weekly schedule, but that wasn’t the point. On Friday, the teachers ate in the classrooms, because they made folders that got sent home with the kids, containing work from the week prior. Kristen, as a gifted teacher, wasn’t responsible for making any folders, but that still didn’t explain why she was eating with Melly. “So why were you eating with her? What happened?”

“She says I needed ‘me time’ from Amanda and Emily.”

“Were they teasing you?” Rose tried to put it together, like a puzzle.

“They were saying that Harry Potter is for boys, and I said, he’s not. They only saw the movies, so they don’t know. He saves Hermione from the bathroom. Remember, Mom? Like you saved me. I knew you’d come.”

Rose felt a twinge. “I love you, Mel.”

“I love you, too.” Melly twisted to the backseat and waved to John, who was asleep. “I love
you,
John!” she whispered, then turned back to Rose, cheered. “He’s cute, isn’t he?”

“He’s very cute.” Rose brightened. “I have an idea. How about we get some lunch, go over to the park, and have a picnic?”

“It’s not a sunny day.”

“You don’t need the sun for a picnic. It won’t rain.”

“Okay.” Melly nodded. “Then can we get the Kristenburgers?”

“Yes.”

“Yay!” Melly cheered, and Rose steered the car into the turn lane.

Two hours later they’d had a picnic at Allen’s Dam, found the reddest fallen leaf, and gone to the grocery store. Rose wanted to make one last stop before home, in one of the strip malls. She pulled into the lot, cut the ignition, and turned to Melly. “I thought we’d get some books.”

“Goodie!” Melly turned to John, who was babbling away in the backseat. “Johnnie, books!”

“Careful, it’s a parking lot. You have to hold my hand.” Rose grabbed her car keys and purse, and Melly was already in motion, climbing out of the car and closing the door. Rose went around to the backseat, unclipped John from his car seat, found his pacifier, and lifted him into her arms. “Hey, buddy, how’re you?”

“Bababsbsbsb,” he answered, and Rose kissed his cheek as Melly came around and took her other hand.

“Mom, can I lock the car?”

“Sure.” Rose handed her the car keys.

“
Colloportus!
” Melly pointed the key fob at the car.

“Good job.” Rose knew the basic Harry Potter incantations, since it was Melly’s second language. She dropped the keys into her purse and took Melly’s hand. “I want to get a book for me, and you can pick some out, too.”

“There’s a new one about Quidditch. My friend on Club Penguin told me. She’s Harryfan373 and I’m HarryP2009. She loves it!”

“Mel, do any of the kids in your class like Harry Potter? I would think there’d be a few.”

“William does.”

“Nice. Did you talk to him about it?”

“No. I only know because he has a Gryffindor beanie, too. It’s maroon like mine.”

“So maybe we can make a playdate with him.”

“Mom.” Melly rolled her eyes. “He likes the video games, not the books.”

Rose walked her toward the store. “A woman at assembly told me her daughter loves the American Girl books. She said they’re good.”

“They’re not.” Melly kicked a stone, sending it skidding across the rough surface of the asphalt.

“Have you ever read one?”

“No.”

“Do kids in your class read them?”

“All the girls do. They have the dolls, too.”

“Really?” They reached the bookstore, and Rose opened the heavy door. “So how’s it work? You read the book and you get the doll that’s in the book?”

Melly let go of her hand, skipping ahead. A woman standing at the octagon display of hardcovers looked up from behind her reading glasses, her gaze lingering a fraction too long on Melly’s face. Oblivious, Melly was already heading toward the Harry Potter books, in Fantasy. A cardboard Dumbledore presided over the section, his magic wand in hand. Behind him was a Hogwarts flag, its shield covered with fake spiderwebs.

“Mel, come check this out,” Rose called out, and Melly turned, her eyes bright and alert. She came alive in bookstores.

“Check what out?”

“This way.” Rose gestured at the children’s books section, a pastel-hued kingdom of pink mushrooms, cartoon parrots, and a papier-mâché cottage. “They probably have American Girl books, and we can pick some books for John.”

“I don’t want American Girl, Mom.”

“What about John? He needs books, too.” Rose smiled in an encouraging way, then walked toward the children’s department. “Follow me. Let’s do this, then go over to Harry Potter.”

“Okay.” Melly skipped ahead.

“Do you see the American Girl?”

“Over here.” Melly stood at a yellow shelf, her knees bent so they bowed backwards. It was her characteristic stance; she was double-jointed, one of the reasons she didn’t do well at sports.

“Find anything that looks good?”

“Nah.”

“Lemme see.” Rose came over and slid an American Girl paperback from the shelves. On the cover was a dark-haired girl in an old-fashioned straw hat. “
Rebecca and the Movies.
”

“She looks dumb.”

“Okay.” Rose shrugged, which was reverse psychology, the hallmark of professional parenting. “Maybe there’s a better one.”

“Here.” Melly slid one off the shelf and eyed the cover, which showed a girl with straight blond hair and a big smile, touching a butterfly.

“
Lanie’s Real Adventures.
” Rose thought it looked fine. “Wanna give it a try?”

“Amanda likes Lanie. She has a Lanie doll, too.”

Oops.
“Amanda looks like Lanie, doesn’t she?”

“Yes.” Melly put the book back on the shelf, wedging it between the others with care. “Get it, Mom? You like the books that look like you. You get the doll that looks like you. You go on the website and make the doll that looks like you. Like Build-A-Bear, only with dolls.”

“Oh.” Rose wanted to kick herself, realizing the problem. None of the American Girls had a birthmark. She spotted one hugging a cute tricolored dog and picked it from the shelf, trying to recover. “Look at this one, about Nicki. She likes dogs, and we like dogs.”

“Bbsbssbsb.” John pumped his arm, and Rose put on a smile.

“He likes it. Let’s get it.”

An hour later, Rose pulled into the driveway at home, with sleeping kids, groceries, and a shopping bag of books. The clouds had darkened, and it looked like rain, so they were just in time. She cut the ignition and was about to wake Melly when she noticed a strange car parked in front of the house. It was a navy blue Crown Victoria, and in the next minute, two men in suits were getting out of the front seat and walking toward her car. They didn’t look like reporters or door-to-door salesmen, if there was such a thing anymore. She stayed in the driver’s seat and slid the key back in the ignition.

“Excuse me, Ms. McKenna?” one of the men called out, reaching into his pocket as he approached. He was young-looking, his sandy hair stiff with product, and he had on a dark suit and an edgy patterned tie. He held up a slim black billfold that flopped open to reveal a heavy, gold-toned badge.

Rose felt her heart stop.

“I’m Rick Artiss, with the District Attorney’s Office, Reesburgh County. Can I speak with you a minute?”