Save Me - Lisa Scottoline [48]
“I bet.” Rose came out of her reverie. “It’s sad to see where somebody died.”
“Nobody suffered, if that helps you. The explosion was in the gas line in the back wall of the kitchen, a three-quarter inch pipe that feeds the oven in the kitchen and the teachers’ lounge. It took out everything instantly.”
“How terrible,” Rose said, heavily. “A gas leak? Why didn’t they smell it?”
“It was in the wall, and maybe they did, for all we know. Tell you something about the smell of gas, you get desensitized. You smell it in the beginning, then you stop noticing it.” Kurt seemed to catch himself. “That’s not the official cause, they didn’t say that yet, and you didn’t hear it from me.”
“Hear what?”
Kurt laughed. “Let’s go.” He motioned, leading Rose back down the hall, out the exit door, and into the blinding klieglights. She put up her hands, shielding her eyes, and he held her elbow. “Watch out for that pile of junk.”
“Oops!” Rose looked down at a heap of blackened debris on a tarp, a heartbreaking sight. Twisted pieces of rebar and busted dry wall mixed with a Toy Story lunchbox, a crushed juicebox, and a broken Sony PS2. She flashed on Amanda, showing her new iPod to the girls at the table. Suddenly, it struck her why Amanda had run back into the school. The blond teacher could have missed her running back in, like Leo had said, because she’d been on the other side of the students being evacuated to the playground.
“An iPod,” Rose blurted out, and Kurt looked over.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing,” Rose answered, saddened. Amanda lay in a coma tonight, because of a shiny new toy. And because of her.
“Here, take my card.” Kurt dug in his pocket, extracted a wrinkled business card, and handed it to her. “Call me if you need a deck, or if you dump that husband of yours.”
“Thanks.” Rose smiled.
“Feel better, now that you’ve seen the school?”
“Yes,” Rose lied, and when she turned away, she dropped the smile.
Chapter Twenty-nine
“Hi, sweetie.” Rose entered Melly’s bedroom, where she was reading in bed, with Princess Google. The butterfly lamp on the night table cast a warm glow over her yellow comforter, whitewashed bureau, and matching desk, but the rest of the room was a Harry Potter shrine. A black Hogwarts banner hung above the headboard, and the bookshelf contained the thick books, figurines, a Sorting Hat, and new Hermione wand. The lower shelves held B-list books, which was everything not Harry.
“Hi, Mom.” Melly peered over the top of Beedle the Bard. Her hair had been brushed out and lay wavy on the pillow.
“How was your night?” Rose sat down on the edge of her bed and gave her a kiss. “What did you and Julie do?”
“We watched Up.”
“Sounds good.” Rose had told the babysitter, DVDs only. “Did you like it?”
“Yes.” Melly placed her laminated bookmark carefully in the page, making sure the blue tassel showed, and closed the book.
“Good. Hi, Googs.” Rose scratched Princess Google, and the spaniel raised her small, flat head and tucked into a ball of red-and-white patches.
“Googie’s so cute.”
“She is. Did she eat any underwear?”
Melly smiled. “No, she was good, Mom. I let her out in the backyard. Two times.”
“How was John?”
“He pooped, and his face got all red.”
“Great. Just so he didn’t eat any underwear.”
Melly giggled. “You’re silly.”
“Thanks.”
“Was the funeral sad?”
“Yes. It’s hard when people pass.”
“Like Daddy.” Melly frowned, showing a tiny buckle in her smooth forehead.
“Right.” Rose felt a surge of love and worry, eyeing Melly, who looked so happy and comfy in Leo’s Phillies T-shirt. “We have to make a decision about whether you should go to school tomorrow.”
“Is it open?”
“Yes. The cafeteria isn’t open, but the classrooms are. I was just there to see it.”
“I know, I can smell.” Melly scrunched up her nose. “You smell like fire.”
“Gross.” Rose hadn’t realized. “Anyway, it’s a half-day tomorrow. They’re going to have an assembly in the morning, about the people who died, then go back to class, then you’ll come home.”
“Okay, I can