Page 52 of Don't Say a Word

“I went to her office—she said I could pick up some college stuff she left for me.”

“You told Mrs. Villines, the secretary, that you were meeting with Mrs. Clark.”

Angie shrugged. “I don’t remember. She said I could borrow her SAT book. I ran into Mr. Borel outside her office.”

He nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

“What time was that?” Chavez asked.

“I don’t know,” Angie said. “It was right after the last volleyball game.”

Mr. Borel said, “I couldn’t say the exact time, to be honest. I’d been working in my office and left to make a copy, saw Angie in Mrs. Clark’s office. Around five, take or leave a few minutes, is my guess.”

King wrote it down.

“Anyone else?”

“I heard a couple people talking outside the doors, and I didn’t want to talk to anyone so went out the front.”

“Why?” King asked.

“Because I cut school and didn’t want to be lectured.”

Mrs. Webb frowned but didn’t say anything. Angie probably shouldn’t have mentioned cutting school. But they already knew, so what was the big deal?

“Who did you hear talking?” King asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

She thought back, trying to remember. There had been a jingle or something, maybe jewelry. Mrs. Clark always wore a lot of jewelry.

“You and Mrs. Clark had an argument and then you went to her office because she left material for you, but you told the receptionist that you were meeting with her.”

“So what?”

She was being defensive, but did they—they couldn’t think thatshehad killed Mrs. Clark.

“I think you’re an angry teenager,” King said. “You lash out when you don’t get your way, without considering the repercussions.”

Detective King thought that Angie was a killer; she could hear it in her tone. She almost couldn’t breathe.

Chavez immediately cut in, his voice soothing and calm, “Angie, we need to piece together an exact timeline, which includes knowingexactlywhere you went after you left. We’re not just talking to you. We spoke to several staff members and students. Your cooperation will help us pinpoint exactly what happened and when it happened.”

“I didn’t kill her,” Angie blurted.

“We’re not implying you did,” Chavez said.

Angie glared at King. “She did.”

“We want the truth,” King said. “You said that you left the campus just before five. Where did you go?”

“To the Cactus Stop.”

“Which one?”

“On Hatcher.”

“What did you buy?”