Free An Educated Death by Kate Flora

off into any sunsets. It was raining."
    "You solved the crime?" Rocky's tone dripped disbelief.
    "I wish the two of you would stop spitting at each other like a couple of angry cats so we could talk this over sensibly," Dorrie said. "Rocky, we've already discussed this at length and you agreed to cooperate, yet you've been at Thea's throat ever since you met her. What on earth has come over you?" It was another of Dorrie's virtues that while she could be exquisitely subtle dealing with the trustees, she could also be very direct. She hadn't been subtle dealing with her lawyer and she wasn't being subtle now.
    "I didn't expect this," he said, waving a hand that was supposed to indicate me.
    "I probably remind him of his ex-wife," I said, meaning to be sarcastic. I accidentally scored a direct hit.
    Rocky Miller's slightly protuberant blue eyes glared at me across the table. "How the hell did you know that?"
    "Maybe I'm a better detective than you give me credit for?"
    "All right, you two, that's enough!" Dorrie said, her voice so low it was almost inaudible. As the ad says, when you want to be heard, whisper. "Rein in your egos and listen to me. First, Thea, I apologize for the way this was sprung on you. I didn't mean it to happen this way but it seems that very little is happening around here the way I want it to. What I want from you is an assessment of whether it was an accident or if there is any reason why Laney Taggert might have wanted to kill herself. I don't even know why we're talking about murder investigations here. As far as I know, there is nothing to suggest foul play. Rocky thinks the way to handle this is to bring in a few of his men and send them around the campus to interview people. Frankly, I don't think that approach would work. Your best information will come from the students and most of them are so antiauthority they aren't going to cooperate—"
    "We talk to kids all the time, Dorrie," the chief interrupted.
    "It's the power relationship that's the problem," Dorrie said. "I know how good Thea is at talking to these kids. I want them in a situation where they feel safe. She's going to be talking to them anyway, about the security procedures, the sign-out process, faculty checks, all the things she needs to ask for her audit. It'll be easy for her to slip in some extra questions about Laney. Once the students start talking, they're going to want to continue. If they have concerns or suspicions, they'll want to share those... with the right person."
    "Which is a trained police officer," Rocky said.
    Dorrie sighed, a sigh of gentle exasperation. I admired her patience. I wanted to throw something at him. "I'll go over this one more time, Rocky, but I'm beginning to feel like a broken record. Bucksport is a well-known and well-respected private secondary boarding school. Our endowment is growing, but it's still small and it takes a lot of money to maintain a campus like this. We are dependent on tuition and annual giving to make ends meet. Both tuition and annual giving are dependent on how the school is perceived by parents, alumni, and potential applicants. Even the hint of a scandal can have a significant impact on our applicant pool, our donations, even our current population. Therefore, any inquiry which takes place must be done with the utmost discretion." She paused and looked at Rocky, who was playing with his fork. For a second, I thought she was going to tell him to stop fiddling and pay attention. Instead, she reached out and took the fork away, leaving her hand over his.
    "My choice of Thea to conduct this inquiry does not reflect a lack of faith in your department and you shouldn't take it that way. I intend for us to continue to work with you very closely. Everything we learn will be shared with you immediately and if anything suggests Laney Taggert's death was neither accidental nor suicide, Thea will immediately bow out and let you handle it. I assure you that Thea's experience with