Page 60 of For Your Own Good

He let this float around in his head for a few days, dismissing one idea after another. Either they were too risky or they were imprecise. None worked for what he needed.

One morning, while making his usual sandwich for lunch, it hit him. Lunch.

It was so obvious, he laughed.

Faculty members put their lunches in the refrigerator located in the teachers’ lounge. While there had been a few instances over the years of people eating each other’s food, it hadn’t happened in a while.

Once he’d heard Sonia was called as a witness for the prosecution, the plan came together like it was meant to be. She had been talking about losing weight and had started bringing salad for lunch.

So perfect. So easy.

At first, anyway. Then he remembered he had cleared his yard. Teddy had nothing to work with. No doll’s-eyes plant or berries. And it was winter.

He also had no time to grow anything, so he had to get creative. Walking around trying to find the plant was useless while everything was covered in snow. He started visiting nurseries, asking about flowers and herbs and vegetables. It might be winter, but he said he was planning for spring.

“Smart,” one of the nursery employees said. “Most people wait until spring, and they’ve got no plan at all.”

“Oh, I’ve always been a planner,” Teddy said.

He walked around the nurseries, pointing out plants he already knew about, testing the employees to see how much they knew. That was just for fun, though. Something to keep himself occupied as he searched for the plant he needed.

In the midst of all those meaningless conversations, he’d managed to locate what he needed and break off a few sprigs of doll’s-eyes. They disappeared into his pocket fast, like he was a magician.

He’d made sure to buy plenty of seeds to make up for that indiscretion. Including tulips, Allison’s favorite. Maybe he’ll even plant them. In the spring, the entire backyard could be a field of tulips. She would love that.

But first, the doll’s-eyes.

Back at home, Teddy had filled a syringe with the juice from the berries. Far more than what he’d used in the coffee. Ten times more, to beexact, and more than enough to kill an adult. But he had berries left over for another round or two, just in case it didn’t work the first time.

If anyone else had been arrested, he never would’ve gone to so much trouble. But this was Courtney. Not only did he kill her mother—anaccident, albeit a horrible one—but Ingrid Ross was, at least in part, responsible for his Teacher of the Year award. He owed her. And since she was dead, he owed her daughter.

During third period today, his free period, Teddy had gone up to the lounge. Someone was there, but it didn’t matter. He opened the refrigerator and pretended to rummage around for his own lunch, all while holding a conversation about the weather. It only took a second to plunge the syringe through Sonia’s plastic container, empty it into her salad, and shake it up.

A few hours later, she was dead.

Too bad there wasn’t an award for that.

39

THE MEMORIAL SERVICEat Belmont is huge. It’s held outdoors, on the football field, and it looks like the whole school has shown up. Maybe the whole town. Luckily it’s an unseasonably warm day so nobody will freeze to death.

Teddy stands in the bleachers with the rest of the faculty, wondering if this many people would show up for him. Then again, it’s not like Sonia is around to see this. Hard to enjoy the turnout when you’re dead.

“This is lovely,” Louella says. She’s dressed in head-to-toe black, including lots of black beads around her neck. “I’m so happy to see everyone here celebrating Sonia’s life.” The art teacher thinks everything should be a celebration.

“I thought this was to mourn her death,” Teddy says.

Louella’s burgundy-tinted lips morph into a scowl.

Frank shakes his head, saying nothing. He hasn’t looked well since finding Sonia, but that’s not Teddy’s fault. Just bad luck for Frank.

Down on the stage below, Sonia’s husband is talking. Teddy has met him several times at school functions over the years. He’s the type of man who fills the room—because he’s big, both tall and wide, and because he’s a prominent professor. Sonia may have been the one with the money, but she definitely married up.

When he’s done blubbering through his speech, the headmaster takes over. He is a calm force in a sea of emotion. The way a leader should be.

Not like the old headmaster, the one who killed himself.

Teddy can’t help but sigh out loud when he thinks of that sniveling little pip-squeak. He truly was a pip-squeak, too. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to hang himself in a room with such low ceilings.