back during my break,” I lie, but I think it sounded convincing. “Well, what’s up? I’ve got to get back to stocking the shelves, and I’m getting the eye from Joan.”
“So you haven’t listened to any of my messages, either?” he asks, sounding even more somber than before.
“Like I said, I’m at work. I haven’t really had the time to check. Why, what’s wrong?”
I hear his deep sigh come through the phone and suddenly fear the worst. A number of things run through my mind and I hope not one of them comes out of his mouth.
“I have some bad news.” He leaves me hanging on his words when he pauses. His hesitation is killing me, and I’m not sure I even want to hear what he has to say next.
“What is it, Dad?”
“It’s your teacher—Mr. Whitman. I’m so sorry, Dani, but he’s dead.”
“Wait, what? He’s dead?” I hope I didn’t hear him right.
“Yes.”
Pain surges through my chest as I stand there trying to comprehend that simple answer. The only other time I remember a “yes” hurting this much, was after I asked my parents if they were getting a divorce.
“How?” I whisper into the phone, still stunned.
“His wife found his body when she came home from work. He suffocated in the garage with the car running. He must’ve fallen asleep at the wheel and never opened the door. According to Mrs. Whitman, he had been having trouble sleeping. It appears to have been an accident.”
For a split second I actually think that maybe it was an accident. Mr. Whitman was really tired yesterday. Then Unknown enters my mind and squashes that thought. “Do you really believe it was an accident?” I ask, snapping out of my paralyzed state.
“Dani, don’t start. We’ve already been over this. Gunnar’s death was an accident, and so is Mr. Whitman’s. These things happen, that’s life. It sucks, but it’s true. There doesn’t seem to be any foul play involved whatsoever with either case.”
“I’ve got to go,” I reply in a calm tone, even though I want to scream at the top of my lungs that these weren’t accidents.
“Are you going to be all right?” he asks in a concerned tone.
“Yeah, as all right as I can be, I guess.”
“We’ll talk more tonight when I get home, okay?”
“Uh-huh,” I reply, and hang up the phone.
I feel a hand touch my shoulder and turn to see Joan standing next to me. She flashes me a sad smile, clearly noticing how distraught I look.
“You okay? What’s wrong?”
“My teacher passed away,” I say, feeling every syllable roll off my tongue. I still can’t believe I’m saying it.
“Oh, no. What happened?” she asks, pulling me in for a hug.
“It was an accident apparently. Don’t really know the details,” I answer, not really wanting to talk or think about it.
“I’m so sorry. Do you need to go home early?”
“No, I should keep working. Keep my mind busy, you know?”
“All right, but the moment you need to leave, just let me know,” she says, pulling me in for another hug. “Maybe you should go take a break in the back office. Clear your head a bit.”
“Yeah, I think I might do that if you don’t mind,” I reply with an empty smile.
“Take all the time you need. We aren’t really busy today anyway,” she says with a soft laugh while gesturing to the store floor, which is pretty empty.
Sitting in the back office, I regret not taking my boss up on the whole leaving early thing. Back here, I’m all alone with my thoughts, and they’re not being too kind at the moment. I have my phone out on the desk, anticipating a text any minute now from Unknown, taking responsibility for Mr. Whitman’s death. No matter how many times I think it or say it, I never get used to the idea of him being gone.
My thoughts are interrupted by Joan calling into the back office through the P.A. system. “I know you’re probably not up to this right now, but I thought I’d ask. There’s a customer inquiring about Edgar Allan Poe, and I figured with you being an expert, you might be able to help him out.”
“Be right up,” I reply after pressing the button on the intercom.
When I reach the front desk, there isn’t any sign of a customer or my boss. There are only a few people milling about in the café area, and a guy sifting through the bargain bin of mystery paperbacks near the