Free Save Me by Lisa Scottoline Page A

“I’m sorry about what happened, and I’m sorry it took me this long to come see you. How is Melly? I hear she’s on the mend.”
    “Yes, thanks. We’re hoping she goes home tomorrow.”
    “Wonderful.” Mr. Rodriguez’s brow relaxed, his relief genuine. “Where’s Leo?”
    “Home with John, the baby.”
    “Of course. Great guy. I’m so happy you were there for Melly. Your acts were positively heroic.”
    Rose flushed. “I only wish I could have saved Amanda, too. I did take her and Emily to the hall leading to the playground.”
    “I’m sure.” Mr. Rodriguez frowned deeply, his dark eyebrows joining like gathering nimbus clouds. “I was just upstairs. You should know that Amanda’s been given last rites.”
    “Kristen told me. I’m so sorry.”
    “It’s just tragic.” Mr. Rodriguez sighed. “Fortunately, Eileen’s got a lot of support, and her family will get her through whatever she has to face, whenever the time comes.”
    “I can’t imagine losing a child.”
    “Nor can I. My daughters are my life. I’ve had challenges in my career, but never like this. Eileen will have to go on, for her boys.” Mr. Rodriguez nodded, as if trying to cheer himself up. “You’ll find that there are real advantages to being a member of such a small community. We support each other in Reesburgh. Most of the people here have watched the Gigots grow up, and you’ll see how tight we are, when we reopen on Monday.”
    “Back to school, so soon?” Rose asked, surprised.
    “Routine is really the best thing for the students, and school becomes a constant in times of stress. We’ll eat in the classrooms during the clean-up and put up plywood fencing so they don’t see the cafeteria. We’ll start with half a day on Monday and dismiss at noon.” Mr. Rodriguez stuck his hands in his pockets, jingling his change. “We’re asking the parents to drive the kids in, and we’ll have a special assembly in the morning for Marylou, Serena, and Ellen.”
    “When are the funerals?” Rose felt a step behind, playing catch-up.
    “They’ll hold the wake on Sunday night, at Fiore’s, with private burials on Monday. We’ll have grief counselors in the auditorium for the next two weeks. The healing can begin, right away.”
    “It seems soon, doesn’t it?”
    “Feel free to keep Melly home if you wish, we’ll count it as excused, but if she’s well enough, I’d send her. We need her to assimilate into the school community, and I’ll look out for her, and so will the staff.” Mr. Rodriguez turned to Kristen. “You have a special relationship with Melly, don’t you?”
    “Yes, I’ll take care of her.”
    Mr. Rodriguez turned back to Rose. “Please, don’t think I’m callous. Under state law, we have to hold class a certain number of days, come hell or high water. We can’t afford to lose the days now, in case we get as much snow as we did last winter.”
    “But it was such a big fire.” Rose flashed on the horrific scene in the cafeteria.
    “Perhaps it seems that way to you, but in fact, it was fairly confined. The only damage was to the cafeteria, teachers’ lounge, and hallway, and those will all be closed.”
    “What about water damage? The sprinklers went off.”
    “The sprinkler system is zoned. The sprinklers went off only where there was fire.” Mr. Rodriguez straightened, his manner turning official. “I spent all afternoon yesterday with the county Fire Marshals, the Fire Chief, the state police, and the district supervisors. We even hosted the FBI. Quite the command center, for a tragedy of this scope.”
    “My condolences, too.”
    “Thank you.” Mr. Rodriguez pursed his thin lips. “The Fire Marshals have already certified the rest of the building as structurally sound, and we hope to rebuild the cafeteria by the end of February.”
    “This time they better get the wiring right.”
    “Excuse me?” Mr. Rodriguez frowned. “What makes you say that, Rose?”
    Rose blinked. “I heard