The Principal Cause of Death by Mark Richard Zubro Page A

wanted to help me the day before, but now she expected me to stand loyally by her.
    â€œWhat did Jones say?” I asked.
    â€œHe wanted me to resign. I refused. He said he’d make the whole thing public, go to the school board.”
    â€œWhat you did may not have been specifically illegal, but it was certainly dangerous.”
    â€œIt wasn’t the first time,” she muttered.
    â€œAny kid could have walked in.”
    â€œAnd probably would have walked out without saying anything or causing a stink,” she retorted. “Anyway, Jones wanted me to quit. He claimed he was being as nice as he could, trying to avoid a scandal. I don’t think he’d told anyone else before he died.”

    â€œIf he hadn’t told anyone, that gave you a good reason to kill him.”
    â€œI didn’t kill him. I’m being honest with you, and it would make a stink if you told, but I’m also being fairly safe. You have no witnesses to this conversation. I can deny anything I’ve said, claim you’re making it up. I’m helping so I can get you off my back. Yes, I know it doesn’t look good, but I had no reason to want him dead. He was actually pretty nice about it. I’ve had offers in private industry. Many people with advanced degrees in math have. It’s not like I haven’t thought of quitting. I left him alive. Promise you won’t say anything.”
    â€œI wasn’t the last one to see him alive, according to what you’ve said, and that would help get me off the hook.”
    â€œYou still found the body and you had a fight with him. Please, you can’t tell. My name might be in all the papers. I couldn’t take it. My reputation would be ruined. I’ve been worried that he wrote something down or left some kind of record. I’ve been afraid every minute that the police would be coming to talk to me. I’ve got a resignation written out, but I haven’t submitted it because it might look suspicious to quit right now. When things die down, I’m leaving. I cooperated with you. The least you can do is cut me a little slack.”
    The bell rang for fifth hour. If she was the killer, then my knowledge could be just as dangerous to me as it had been to Jones. I said, “I will leave a record of what you’ve said, but I won’t turn it over to the police unless I have to. I appreciate what you’ve told me. You left him alive. Did you see anyone else around when you left?”
    â€œNo. The hall was empty.”
    â€œDid you see Dan Bluefield anywhere in the school?”
    She hadn’t.
    I went back to class. During my planning period I hurried to see Meg. I told her what Fiona had told me.
    â€œYou going to tell?” she asked.
    â€œLike she said, she could deny all of it. Welman did say he saw her. She’d have a tough time denying that. I believe
Welman, but a lawyer could give him a nasty going-over. The guy is old and the lighting at the time must have been uncertain, and he must have been a basket case after seeing Jones dead.”
    â€œYou’ve got people who are better suspects than you. Welman, Fiona, Longfellow the custodian, and probably Younger.”
    â€œI can’t prove any of them killed him. I’m still angry at the police for the way they treated me last night, so I’m not telling them anything until I’m through talking to people. If they decide to arrest me, I’ll have to tell what I’ve learned. I don’t want to spend any time in jail.”
    â€œCould they get you for concealing evidence?” Meg asked.
    â€œI don’t know. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. They’re idiots, and I don’t have to put up with it.”
    She eyed me carefully and sighed. “I think you’re making the right decision.”
    â€œI’m not sure why I’m protecting her.”
    â€œBecause you’re a good guy with a conscience, and she