Chapter 23
Everything in Marta said for her to stay home with Grady…
something wasn’t right. But she walked to school with her box of supplies and Mattie.
He was so excited to be meeting so many other students today.
By living in town, he would be able to play with them when he never had been able to do so before.
He carried with him a small bottle of milk to feed the two cats George Garrison had brought over last night.
Marta hoped they had caught so many mice they were full.
She and Mattie were the first ones at the school.
She unlocked the door and went into her classroom and stopped in her tracks.
The two cats were hanging from the ceiling by two ropes.
She dropped the box and screamed at the top of her voice.
She put her hand over her mouth and Mattie took off running to get one of the deputies to come to the school.
Cooper wasn’t that far from the home of Grady that he didn’t hear her scream and took off running toward the school.
He met Mattie coming toward him and didn’t even stop to see what was wrong.
He passed him up and saw Marta standing at the door of her classroom.
She was still in shock. She saw Cooper and just pointed to the cats that were hanging from the eves of the ceiling. Cooper stopped and stared, too.
“Good Lord in heaven! Who would do such a thing? When did George bring the cats to the school?” Cooper asked her and went to get the ladder to cut them down.
“He…he came over late yesterday afternoon. I was hanging up clothes I had just washed. I mentioned that Mattie had brought a kitten to school and that it had caught two mice in just a few hours. George went and got two cats from Oscar Jennings. It was late and nobody was at the school at that time. Then, Grady came home injured and I didn’t worry about it anymore.
” Marta told him and held onto Mattie’s hand.
They were both shaking over seeing the two cats hanging from the ceiling.
“Marta, I think Grady being shot has something to do with you and him…not just him. The cats being hung in your classroom was a warning to you, too. I don’t like it, and I know that Sheriff Tanner won’t as soon as I tell him about it either.
” Cooper told her and frowned. “Let’s check all your desk drawers while I’m here.
I sure don’t want any more surprises today.
Mattie can you look into the other classrooms to make sure they were left untouched?
” Mattie nodded and went to look into the other three rooms. He came back to tell them they looked all right.
Cooper was checking out every drawer on Marta’s desk.
Each one had been messed with. The two top ones had been filled with syrup.
The two bottom ones had been filled with ants.
They all had to be taken out and scrubbed clean.
Cooper did it for Marta. She rolled up her sleeves and got out the lye soap and some soapy water and started scrubbing.
She was angry that anyone had singled her out to do this to her especially after she had been up most of the night taking care of Grady.
Cooper sent Mattie to get George Garrison…
he needed to know that the school had been vandalized last night and someone was singling out Marta or the Harper’s with Grady being shot and Marta’s classroom being targeted.
Mattie took off like a shot. He didn’t want to be gone long, so as not to miss anything. Lynn and Darcy arrived then, and so did Derek.
“Marta, why are you cleaning out your desk? Didn’t you already do that?” Darcy asked her puzzled why Cooper Thatcher was here at this time in the morning.
“Someone thought it was a good idea to fill my desk drawers with syrup and ants…I came in to find two dead cats hanging from the eaves of my classroom and a mess in my desk. I sent Mattie to get a deputy, and Cooper was good enough to come. I’m trying to get it cleaned up before we have students arrive. ” Marta told them not looking up.
Lynn and Darcy were sympathetic to her and offered to help, Derek merely gave her a sneer and continued on to his own classroom.
Cooper didn’t like him at all. He was going to look into him the first chance he got.
Lynn and Darcy each took a drawer and started scrubbing with Marta.
Between the three women, the drawers were scrubbed and clean… they just had to dry in the sun.
George came running back with Mattie. He was all out of breath. “What’s going on here, Cooper? Mattie said somebody killed the cats I just brought here and messed with Marta’s desk drawers…we’ve been vandalized on the first day of school.”
“That’s right, George. She came in to find the two cats hanging from the eaves in her classroom.
We checked out her desk and found someone put syrup in the top two desk drawers and ants in the bottom two drawers.
She started scrubbing them out, Lynn and Darcy started helping her.
They need to dry out and they’ll be fine.
I cut the cats down. Mr. Oelsen sneered and walked on by.
He didn’t offer to help or commiserate on her bad luck.
I’m going to check out that guy, something about him rubs me the wrong way.
After Grady being shot at, and Marta’s classroom being vandalized, I’m thinking that someone is out to get the two newest Harper’s in town.
I sure don’t want anything else to happen to either of them.
I have Marley over watching over Grady right now, he’s still unconscious and Doc wanted someone with him twenty-four hours a day until he wakes up.
He felt that Marta needed to be here at school being the first day and all.
Now, I’m wondering if we need to put someone watching her, too. ” Cooper told him and saw George frown.
“I sure don’t want anything to happen to any of my teachers or the school.
I’m going to hire a man to stay here and watch the school twenty-four hours a day.
He’ll sleep here at night, too. Stay here until he gets here…
Orville and Wilber Washington have been helpful with cleaning the streets and also with building whatever John Feldman needs building around here.
I’m giving them guns to keep them safe at the school.
Between the two of the them, they can each take a twelve-hour shift.
” George took off to talk to the two men.
Cooper smiled. He knew of both men. They were dependable and always did a good job.
They were also black. That didn't bother him, and he didn’t think it would make a difference to Marta, he didn’t know about the other three teachers.
It took him fifteen minutes to return with Orville and Wilber Washington.
Cooper smiled when he saw them. He also shook their hands.
“I sure appreciate the two of you showing up and helping us out. With Grady being shot last night and still unconscious, we’re a man short.
To come in this morning and finding the school vandalized, was a surprise.
I’m thinking that someone is out to get Marta and Grady Harper.
I need someone to be watching over them twenty-four hours a day.
My wife, Marley, is with Grady and she will stay there until Marta goes home today with Mattie.
Marta came in today and found two cats hanging from the eaves of her classroom, syrup put in two of her desk drawers, and ants put in two more. ” Cooper told Orville and Wilbur.
“That ain’t right Deputy Thatcher. Mr. Garrison told us to split up.
One of us will work during the day and one of us will work during the night to keep an eye on the school and Mrs. Harper.
We hear she lives real close to the school.
Me and Wilber work best together. One of us will rest, and the other will keep their eyes open, but we’ll keep an eye out for anyone that is out to do harm to her or her husband.
Mr. Garrison gave us a six gun and a rifle.
We each got lots of ammunition. We won’t hesitate to use it.
” Orville told him. Cooper believed it. Marta heard it all.
She came over and shook their hands and thanked them for coming to their aid.
So did Lynn and Darcy. Derek came storming over to put in his two cents worth.
“What in heavens name are these two men doing here and with guns in their hands? This is a school for heavens sake! We don’t need two armed…
black men standing here like guards when all the children arrive!
What will all the parents think? Deputy do your duty and have them arrested!
” Derek told him appalled that two black men even had guns in the first place.
“Back off, Derek. Mr. Garrison sent these two men to help keep the school safe. After finding the dead cats and Mrs. Harper’s desk vandalized this morning, he doesn’t want anything else to happen to anyone here in the school.
Orville and Wilber will stand guard twenty-four hours a day to make sure that everyone is safe.
Do you have any problem with that?” Cooper asked him and watched him try and keep his temper under control.
Derek didn’t answer, he just stomped off to his own classroom. Cooper turned to Orville and Wilber. “Watch that man. I don’t trust him and I don’t like him.”
“Yes, sir.” Both men told him and started walking around the school to make sure that everything else was all right.
Cooper helped Marta back into her classroom and left with the two dead cats.
He had some checking up to do and he had to tell the sheriff everything that had happened this morning at the school.
The students started arriving and the morning began without incident.
Derek was not in a good mood and all three of the other classrooms could hear him yelling at his students all morning.
Marta was so glad that Mattie was not in his classroom.
Students were let out for recess, it was Marta’s turn to watch them, it would be Lynn’s turn to watch them at noon.
Tomorrow it would be Darcy’s turn at recess and Derek’s turn at lunch.
As Marta walked around and kept order, she happened to see a young boy staying away from everyone else.
She walked over to him to see if he was all right.
She was very upset to see a handprint on his face.
“How did you get that handprint on your face?” Marta asked him softly.
The boy didn’t want to tell her, but another child came over and told her.
“Mr. Oelsen got mad at him when he didn’t know the answer and slapped him this morning.
I’ve never seen him so angry, it’s the first day of school…
he hadn’t even taught us anything yet…but he expected Alex to know it anyway.
I’m just glad he didn’t call on me.” David told her.
Marta was appalled at what she was told.
She saw Orville walking around the building and called him over.
“Orville, Derek Oelsen struck a boy this morning in the face because he didn’t know an answer.
This is the first day of school he is acting very erratic.
We all heard him yelling all morning at his students.
Please go and get Mr. Garrison. This child needs medical attention.
” Marta told him and Orville went and had Wilber continue watching the school and he took off to get Mr. Garrison and Doctor Flynn.
Derek saw Marta with his students, and he came flying out of the school. He grabbed Marta by the arm. “What are you doing talking to my students? You take care of your children, and I’ll take care of mine. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?”
“Let go of my arm, Derek.” Marta told him calmly, although he was holding on so tightly that she was sure that she would have bruises. “I’m on recess patrol; I am in charge of all students at this time…yours as well as mine.”
Derek let go of her arm when he saw Wilber starting to walk over to where he was standing. “You’ll get yours, Marta…I don’t care how many guards are standing around you and your precious husband.” He whispered to her so low that she was the only one who heard him.
“What did you just say to me?” Marta asked him in disbelief. “What do you have against us? What have we done to you?”
“Like you don’t know? Do you remember the Gambelli brothers that your U.S.
Marshal friends killed? Well, I was the one brother that wasn’t there that day…
I was at teacher college. I was hired here to teach.
I awaited the day that I was able to get even with Grady Harper and the woman who was taken hostage.
You’re the reason that they were all killed…
you’re the reason that I no longer have a family and one way or another, I’m going to make sure that Harper doesn’t have a family by the time I get done with him, too.
” Derek told her and turned around and left to go back into the school.
He wasn’t worried about Marta telling anyone what he had just told her.
Who would believe her? He was a respected teacher and had been for the last few years.
She had just been hired and had only been here for one day.
He even smiled. He was already planning how he was going to get rid of Grady, Marta, and Mattie as they slept tonight.