“Including preparing termination proceedings on Reed Williams.”
“Yes.” She pressed her lips together. “It seems cold now, but there was no choice. He’d been charged with possessing illegal substances, and is—or it appears he was—under heavy suspicion for Craig’s murder. He was obviously an unacceptable risk for our students. As I told him clearly yesterday when he returned to the school.”
“Yesterday? He came back here after his bail hearing?”
“Correct. I suggested, initially, he take some leave, but he was adamant about going on as if nothing had happened. Though most of the students had left by that time, I was worried about him causing a scene, so I asked him to speak with me in here. Privately.”
Mosebly brushed a hand over her hair, then tugged down the jacket of her suit. “It was unpleasant, I’ll be frank about that as well. I explained the need to avoid any more scandal. We’ve had three parents remove their children from the school and demand their tuition be returned. Once it became public that a teacher was arrested…”
She trailed off, shook her head.
“How’d he take it?” Eve asked.
“Poorly. It’s within my rights to suspend a teacher for suspicion of illegal or immoral behavior, but termination is trickier. He knew it. He stalked out claiming that between his lawyer and his union rep, he’d squash any attempt I—or the BOD—might make to have him fired.”
“Wouldn’t have gone down well with you.”
“No, it did not. It did not,” Mosebly repeated with some fire in her eyes. “While I believe we could and would have succeeded in the termination, it would have been an ugly mess. And would have resulted, no doubt, in the loss of more students.”
“And more revenue.”
“Yes. Without revenue, we can’t provide the education the students expect and deserve.”
“But he came in today regardless. Did you have words with him in the pool? You’ve been swimming this morning, Principal Mosebly.” She waited while Mosebly blinked. “Your towel, still damp, was in the locker room hamper. Women’s side. One towel.”
“As I’ve stated before, I often swim in the morning. I did see Reed, yes, as I was getting out of the pool. And yes, we had words. I told him I wanted him off the premises, and he informed me he was going to take a swim, then have
some coffee and a muffin before he began his classes.”
“Defying your authority,” Eve prompted.
“He was very smug and arrogant about it. I don’t deny we argued, or that I was very angry. And he was diving into the pool, very much alive, when I left. I showered, dressed, then came directly here to contact the chairman and relay the situation.”
“What time was that?”
“It would have been around eight when I got to my office and made the call. When I’d finished, I found Eric—Mr. Dawson, and asked him to monitor Reed’s fourth-period class today. I also spoke with Mirri and Dave, assigning each of them to one of Reed’s classes.”
She stopped, sighed. “A small scheduling nightmare. I had intended to wait for Reed to come out of the locker room, give him another chance to leave on his own. Then, as ordered by the board, I would call security and have him escorted out of the building. I didn’t know Nurse Brennan had made the nine-one-one call until the medical technicians were rushing in. I didn’t know…I had no idea what had happened.”
“You know the routine by now. I need the names of everyone who was in the building between seven and eight-thirty A.M. My partner and I will begin interviews.”
“But…but this was an accident.”
Eve smiled thinly. “That’s what you said about Foster.”
There was little variation as far as staff on premises, Eve noted. But it was very interesting to learn that Allika Straffo had signed in, with her daughter, at seven-thirty-two, and hadn’t signed out again until eight-twelve.
Her gauge had put Williams’s TOD at seven-fifty.
She mulled it over as she set up to interview Mirri Hallywell.
“I don’t know how much more we can take,” Mirri began. “This place, it’s like a tomb. Like it’s cursed. That sounds dramatic, but that’s how it feels to me.”
“Why were you here so early? I show you signing in at seven-fifteen.”
“Oh. Drama Club. We’re meeting before classes. In the theater. Discussion, a vid of some scenes from Our Town.”
“I’ll need a list of the students and staff present. Parents and guardians.”