The Good Daughter (The Good Daughter #1) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,133

was probably as pristine as the day it was made, preserved under piles of rubbish. She tested the sturdiness of Rusty’s chair. The thing listed to the side because he was an inveterate leaner. When Sam thought of her father seated, he was always propped on his right elbow, cigarette in his hand.

Sam sat in Rusty’s unsteady chair. The squeal from the height actuator assembly was loud and completely unnecessary. A simple can of spray lubricant could eradicate the noise. The arms could be tightened down with some Loctite on the bolts. Replacing the friction rings on the casters would probably improve the stability.

Or the fool could go online and order a new chair from Amazon.

Sam moved around papers and stacks of transcripts as she searched for the photo of Gamma. She wanted to slide the flotsam off the desktop, but she was sure that Rusty had a system to his madness. Not that Sam would ever let her desk get like this, but if anyone moved around her things, she would kill them.

Sam checked the top of the cluttered credenza, which held, among many other things, a pack of unopened yellow legal pads. She broke open the pack. She found her notes in her purse. She changed out her glasses. She wrote Kelly Wilson’s name at the top of the yellow pad. She added the date. She made a list of items for Rusty to follow up on.

Pregnancy test

Paternity: Adam Humphrey? Frank Alexander?

Hospital video; security footage (audio?)

Why was Kelly at middle school? (victims were random)

List of tutors/teachers/class schedules

Judith Pinkman–?

Sam traced the letters of the woman’s name.

During Sam’s tenure at the middle school, the main floor outside the front office had been designated for the English department. Judith Pinkman was an English teacher, so that would explain why she was there when the shooting began.

Sam considered the security footage.

Mrs. Pinkman had appeared in the hallway after Lucy was shot in the neck. Sam believed less than three seconds passed from the time that the little girl was on her back, on the floor, and the time Judith Pinkman appeared at the end of the hallway.

Five gunshots. One in the wall. Three in Douglas Pinkman. One in Lucy.

If the revolver held six bullets, then why didn’t Kelly use the last shot on Judith Pinkman?

“I think she was pregnant.” Charlie was standing in the doorway, a plate with a sandwich in one hand, a bottle of Coke in the other.

Sam turned over her notes. She tried to keep her expression composed lest she give herself away. “What?”

“Back in middle school when all of that shit talk was going on. I think Kelly was pregnant.”

Sam had a momentary sense of relief, but then she realized what her sister was saying. “Why do you think that?”

“I got it off Facebook. I’ve friended one of the girls from the school.”

“Charlie.”

“It’s a fake account.” Charlie put the plate on the desk in front of Sam. “This girl, Mindy Zowada, she’s one of the bitches who was nasty in the yearbook. I prodded her a little, said that I’d heard some rumors that Kelly was loose in middle school. It took her about two seconds to spill that Kelly had an abortion when she was thirteen. Or, ‘a abortion’ as Mindy said.”

Sam leaned her head against her hand. This information shed new light on Kelly Wilson. If the girl had been pregnant before, then surely she recognized the symptoms now. So why hadn’t she told Sam? Was she playing dumb to gain Sam’s sympathy? Could anything she’d said be trusted?

“Hey,” Charlie said. “I tell you Kelly Wilson’s deep, dark secret and all I get is a blank stare?”

“Sorry.” Sam sat up in the chair. “Did you watch the video?”

Charlie didn’t answer, but she knew about the audio problem. “I’m not sure about the cell phone theory. The sound would have to come from somewhere else. There’s a lockdown procedure in case of an active shooter. The teachers do practice drills once a year. Everyone would’ve been in their rooms, doors shut. If someone made a call to 9-1-1, they wouldn’t pick up the conversation in the hallway.”

“Judith Pinkman didn’t follow procedure,” Sam said. “She ran into the hall after Lucy was shot.” Sam turned over her pad and kept it angled away from Charlie as she added this to her notes. “She didn’t run to her husband, either. She ran straight to Lucy.”

“It was clear that he was gone.” Charlie indicated the side of her face. Douglas