Free Traceless by Debra Webb

Heather had taken the field every single day all summer long. The familiar formation and chanting had Emily leaning forward in her seat, remembering the days before that night... when her life ended.

    "Emily Wallace? Is that you?"

    Her head snapped to the left so fast she was sure she'd whiplashed herself. Principal Call was just getting out of his car. Talk about zoning out. She hadn't even noticed the arrival of another vehicle.

    Emily stumbled in her haste to get out and properly greet him. "Yes, sir, it's me." She righted her posture and instinctively pulled at the hem of her blouse. Just hearing his booming voice made her feel sixteen again, klutzy and worried that she would get into trouble.

    He had scarcely changed at all. Big, tall, and bald and fully equipped with mind-reading capabilities.

    "Good gracious, Emily, it's good to see you." Beaming, he gave her a hug. "How're your folks?"

    "Fine, Mr. Call." Except for worrying about their daughter. Emily took a deep breath and prepared to ask him about that night, but he spoke first.

    "Come on inside and let me show you something I'll bet you haven't seen."

    Inside? The school? She couldn't do that. She only needed a moment of his time; they could talk out here.

    "I'm sure you're busy, Mr. Call, and I just—"

    "Nonsense. Come along."

    He ushered her toward the main building even as she grappled for a reason she couldn't go. She hadn't set foot inside this school since graduation, and she'd only attended that meaningless event to make her parents happy. No one understood why Emily refused to make a speech about her dead best friend. They didn't get that all the right words had been trapped in a place Emily couldn't touch.

    Five feet inside the main entrance and Emily wanted to run. Her knees tried to buckle, but the principal's hand at her back kept her moving forward. He'd been talking nonstop, but not a word had penetrated the barrier of dread swaddling her brain and rendering the organ inaccessible.

    Air rushed into her lungs when she wanted desperately to hold her breath. The smell... the scents found nowhere else except inside this building awakened a part of her mind that she'd shut down out of necessity long ago. Pencils and books, markers and reams of paper.

    He steered her forward and, as if she had suddenly been transported back in time, the empty corridor filled with faces and sounds from the past. The rush of students late for homeroom... the excited chatter about the coming dance... the teasing, flirting, and whispered gossip.

    The principal's voice dragged her back to the present "We dedicated the senior hall to Heather."

    Heather Baker Hall

    Emily managed a shaky smile even as the urge to cry knocked against her unsteady defenses. "It's great, Mr. Call. A beautiful tribute." Somehow her voice came out admirably composed.

    "We wanted to keep her memory alive." Mr. Call stared at the plaque that showed Heather in her cheerleading uniform and proclaimed this wing her namesake.

    "Everybody loved her," Emily murmured. "No way anyone would have wanted to hurt her... she didn't have any enemies."

    "Not the first one," he agreed. "Heather was one of our most loved students."

    Emily hadn't meant to say that out loud. Since she had, she might as well get an answer to the question she'd come here to ask. "Mr. Call?"

    The principal's expectant gaze shifted to her.

    "That... night." She moistened her lips and fought to keep her voice steady. "Did you see anyone on my street? Another car? Someone walking?" Principal Call's house had been the target that night. Hazing week. Emily's turn to lead. Another of the senior cheerleaders, her good friend Megan, had helped, along with the new freshman members of the squad. Emily had sneaked out of the house... left Heather in her room to cover for her in case her parents came home early.

    Principal Call stroked his chin. "The police asked me that," he said, his voice sounding distant, as if he had gone back