“That sometimes being bad is fun.” Everly waggled her eyebrows and filled Ronan in on everything Tommy and Katie had told her so far. “What about you, Paul?”
“I saw the others eating their cookie, and I ate mine too. My mom forgot to pack my lunch that day, and I didn’t have any money to buy lunch at school.”
Everly nibbled her bottom lip in a perfect imitation of Ronan when he was thinking something over. “When did you start to feel sick?”
“After we ate lunch,” Katie said.
“Wait, I thought you said that you and Paul didn’t have a lunch that day?” Everly explained Katie’s answer to Ronan.
“They didn’t have lunch. Idid,” Tommy said. “I shared my PBJ with them.” The spirit reached for each of the other kids. “Katie and Paul are my best friends, and I didn’t want them to go hungry. We always have lots of food at my house, when Michael doesn’t eat it all.” A guilty look spread over the little boy’s face.
There had been several impoverished families back in Union Chapel when Ten was growing up. His parents donated food baskets to people in need once a month. He remembered being so embarrassed showing up at those homes with charity for them, but thinking back on it now, the shame must have been worse for his classmates.
“My throat started to burn like it did when I was really thirsty from gym class. It got hard to breathe, and then I started throwing up. My stomach hurt too, and then I couldn’t stand. I remember falling to the floor and could see everyone’s shoes running away from me. I didn’t know what was going on. I had never been in such terrible pain in all my life.” Tommy shivered.
“Then I started to feel sick,” Katie said. “I felt the same way Tommy described, but I felt like I had to go to the bathroomrealbad.” The little ghost’s face burned with embarrassment.
“There are certain kinds of sicknesses and poisons that can cause those things to happen,” Ronan said gently after Ten translated for him.
“What about you, Paul?” Everly asked.
“I felt the same way Tommy described. I just wanted my mommy. I was in so much pain, and I knew she could make me feel better. She always made me feel better.” Paul started to cry. The other spirits crowded around him and hugged him.
While the kids comforted each other, Everly explained everything going on to Ronan, who, for his part, sat calmly taking notes, as if he could see and hear the conversation happening in front of him.
“You told Everly that you didn’t think Miss Fairbanks was the one who hurt you. Why?” Ronan asked.
“Teachers are good people. They’re our friends,” Tommy said. “That’s what my mom always told me.”
Ronan frowned. He got up from his seat and paced around the room. Ten could tell there was something he wanted to ask the kids but was trying to figure out the best way to say it.
“Were you three in the classroom when Miss Fairbanks got hurt?” Ronan asked.
Tennyson watched the kids break away from each other. Tommy shook his head no, and the others soon followed. He couldn’t help but wonder if the little boy knew more than he was telling.
“We have to go now,” Tommy said. All three kids vanished.
“Bye. Thank you!” Everly called after them. She turned her attention to Ronan. “Did they say anything that can help you figure out what happened to them?”
“Maybe. What they said about sharing Tommy’s lunch is interesting.”
“You think the kids could have gotten sick fromthatfood instead of Miss Fairbanks’s cookies?” Ten asked.
“It’s possible.” Ronan stopped pacing and sat back down. “I’m just thinking out loud, but if those kids are anything like me, Tommy, Katie, and Paul weren’t the only ones who ate their cookies before lunch.”
“I would have eaten mine,” Everly said. “Same with Woofie. Maybe not Aurora, but if she saw us eating them, she would probably join in too.”
Ronan nodded. “I think so too.”
“What you’re saying is that if the cookies were the culprit, then a lot more than three kids would have gotten sick that day.” It made sense to Ten that other kids wouldn’t have been able to resist the cookies. When he was in school, Ten always ate his dessert first.
Ronan nodded before jotting more notes. “Yeah, but we don’t know what else happened after the ambulance left with the kids. Did any of the remaining kids have milder symptoms? Maybe the teachers thought the other kids threw up as a result of seeing their classmates vomit? The cops might not have looked too closely at the other barfers if none of them ended up in the hospital or visited their doctor the next day.”
“Good point,” Ten agreed. “Where do we go from here?”
“Everly and I have to go do some shopping for Easter dinner, but after that, I’m gonna get together with Jude and Fitz, and we’ll do as much research as we can on what happened to the kids and the circumstances surrounding Miss Fairbanks’s murder. I’m also going to try to find Miss Fairbanks’s husband and see if any of the kids’ parents are still alive.”
“What are you gonna do while we’re gone, Daddy?” Everly asked Ten.
