Free The Ghost of Gruesome High by Larry Parr Page A

person, rather than the smile of a plastic politician. “What exactly did you children want to know?” he asked in what seemed a slightly guarded tone.
    I shifted in my seat. I wasn’t sure how to begin, or—now that I was actually sitting here in front of him—even sure what I really wanted to ask. I took a deep breath and said, “I understand you started out in this town from fairly humble beginnings.” He licked his lips quickly. I could see a look in his eyes that told me I’d better get to the point fairly quickly if I didn’t want us all to be kicked out of here. “You used to own a jewelry store, didn’t you?”  
    He stood and began pacing slowly around the room. “Yes, that’s right. I owned Thompson’s Coin and Jewelry. But that was a long time ago. I really don’ t think your—”
    “I read that your store was robbed.”
    Mayor Thompson suddenly stopped pacing and sat down again on the corner of his desk. He looked me directly in the eyes. The smile was gone from his face. Completely. “I see you’ve done your homework, young lady. Unfortunately, as I’m sure you also know, crime is nothing new.”
    “Yes, sir,” I said. “Were any of the stolen coins or jewelry ever found?”
    “No.” He kept looking me straight in the eyes. The smile hadn’t returned to his face.  
    “And it was right after that that you started Thompson Construction Company?” I asked as innocently as I could, looking down at the paper in my hand as if I were consulting my notes. The truth was, his stare was beginning to make me nervous.
    “Do you really think all this will be of interest to your teacher or fellow students?” There was an icy tone to his voice.  
    “Your construction company’s first contract was to build our school, Gus Grissom High. I understand you under bid every other company by quite a lot to get the job,” I continued.  
    I was just making up that last part; I had no idea how the bidding was done for the job. But I really hit a nerve! Mayor Thompson stood up and turned his back to us. He picked up his phone, waited a second, then said, “Is my four-thirty here yet?” He waited a few moments, then hung up the phone. He crossed back behind his desk, sat down and folded his hands in front of him before he finally raised his eyes to meet mine again. “That’s quite right, young lady. That’s how business is done. You know,” he continued without pausing, “it suddenly dawns on me that I don’t know your name.”
    My heart suddenly started beating twice its normal speed. My palms began to sweat and my body became ice cold all over. I felt myself trying to smile and to look slightly embarrassed at the same time. It’s a combination that’s worked well for me in the past; I used to be able to get my Dad to do practically anything for me if I gave him the right cute, embarrassed little smile. Of course, that trick hadn’t been working nearly so well for the past three or four years and I have no idea if I pulled it off now or not. As I said before, I’m not all that good of an actress, and his question scared me, but I saw no way around answering it. “Patricia Hoyle,” I said in as calm a voice as I could. “And these are my . . .”
    But he wasn’t interested in my friends. He kept his eyes on me as he leaned back, made a tent of his fingers, and said: “Ah, yes, I’ve . . . heard of you. My son goes to your school. Perhaps you’ve met him. A big boy. Name’s Ben. A real good boy. Very protective of his old man.”
    “Uh, yeah, I think I know him,” I said. I had the feeling the Mayor was trying to tell me something without actually saying anything. It felt as if there was an implied threat when he mentioned Ben. But I couldn’t stop myself now. I knew I’d hit a nerve and I liked seeing him squirm a little. “Do you know a Mr. William Bell?” I asked suddenly.
    A light had just gone nova inside my brain and I suddenly remembered what it was Mr. Bell had said that