Free Sleeping Beauty by Phillip Margolin

proposition. That’s very different from serial murder.”
    â€œThen how did he know about the snack?”
    Casey remembered what Maxfield had said when she asked him if he really knew how to plant a bomb in a car.
    â€œHe’s a writer of fiction. He’s very creative. He earns his living by making up scenes that we could never conceive because we don’t have his imagination.”
    â€œNo, I don’t buy it. That would be too much of a coincidence.”
    Casey paused. She looked upset. “Why did you come to me, Terri? Let’s assume that you’re right, that Joshua is a killer. What do you expect me to do?”
    â€œYou have access to Maxfield’s personnel file. There have been other murders in New England, the Midwest, Montana, and Idaho. Maybe there’s something in his file.”
    Casey looked concerned. “You’re so emotionally involved that I don’tthink you’ve thought this through clearly. Have you told your suspicions to the police?”
    â€œNo.”
    Casey took a deep breath. “Thank goodness. Think of the harm you’d do to this school’s reputation if one of our teachers was wrongly accused of any kind of crime, let alone being a serial killer who preys on children the same age as our students.”
    â€œI don’t intend to talk to anyone about my suspicions until I’m certain I’m right. That’s why I’ve come to you. Let me take a look at Maxfield’s file….”
    â€œCertainly not.”
    â€œThen you review it. Now that you know what I’m looking for, something you thought was unimportant may look totally different.”
    Casey hesitated for a moment, then made a decision.
    â€œAll right. I can see how concerned you are about this. I’ll take another look at his file. If I find something I’ll tell you. But you have to promise me that you won’t go any further with this unless you have hard evidence. The damage to the Academy and Joshua would be irreparable.”
    â€œI don’t want to hurt Joshua if he’s innocent but I’ll do everything I can to put him in prison if he killed my husband.”
    Â 
    Waves of doubt assailed Terri during the drive home. Was she jumping to conclusions because of a work of fiction? Was she right to break her promise to Larry Birch? Would there be consequences to the police investigation because she had revealed the information about the snack to Casey Van Meter? Should she take Ashley out of school immediately? If Joshua Maxfield was a serial killer, her daughter was in grave peril.
    Terri heard the phone a moment after she opened the front door to her house. She rushed into the kitchen and picked up on the fifth ring.
    â€œTerri, thank God I caught you,” Casey Van Meter said. She sounded short of breath and very tense.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?”
    â€œI’ve got to talk to you. I went through Joshua’s file. There’s something in it.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI can’t talk now. Can you come to the school, tonight?”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œI don’t want to meet in my office. Do you know how to get to the boathouse by the service road?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œGo a quarter of a mile past the main entrance. There’s a gravel road that follows the river and ends at the boathouse. Meet me at eight.”
    Terri started to ask another question but the dean said she couldn’t talk and hung up. Terri sat down at the kitchen table. Energy coursed through her. If Casey Van Meter had discovered something solid, she could take it to Larry Birch. There was no way that Maxfield’s arrest could bring Norman back, but Ashley would be safe if his killer was behind bars. Terri looked at her watch. It was almost six. In two hours she would know if she was closer to putting her husband’s killer in prison.

Chapter Eight
    A shley had been serious about soccer since she was in