“If we keep you around,” said Fritz, “we could be putting our students in harm’s way.”
“Although,” said Mark Kerchup, “the people responsible for that shootout at your apartment have been terminated themselves, by out crusty chief of police. So I don’t see the point of this firing myself.”
“There’s more,” said Fritz.
“Much more,” said Margaret, giving Mark the crude eye.
“You didn’t attend church on Sunday the way you are mandated to do so.”
Charly was dressed to attend. She had no idea Boone would get a lead on Dalbert Lee and have to leave her at his parents ranch for her own protection. But they knew all of that too she was certain. The reasons just didn’t matter to them.
“You also had a gun yesterday at school,” said Fritz. “A gun,” he added, “which the board had not approved to be on campus.”
Charly could have defended herself there, too, telling them that the chief of police had given her that gun. But she knew they didn’t care. The writing was on the wall. They wanted her as far away from their precious school, and by default, their town, as they could get her.
They could force her away from their school but, until she found out where things were going with her and Boone, she wasn’t leaving their town.
Boone, she thought. He was rich like they were, and had influence too. But he was nothing like them and they knew it. Nothing he could say to them would persuade them. Charly knew that.
“May I at least be allowed to stay until the end of the day,” she requested, “until after the grief counselors leave?”
Fritz looked at Margaret, the real chairman of the board, Charly thought, and she gave her tacit approval. “Yes,” he said. “But then you must leave and not return. We will provide you your final paycheck immediately, and a plane ticket back to L.A. if you so desire.”
“No thanks,” Boone said as he suddenly appeared at the conference room door.
Everybody looked in his direction, including Charly. She knew he couldn’t reverse their decision, but his support was like a shot in the arm for her.
But she and the board quickly realized that he was not alone. He came with his own support. Namely his cousin the mayor, and his mother Babs. Charly was shocked. What was she doing here?
But, to Charly’s shock, all of the board members rose to their feet when Babs Ryan, walking with a cane, walked in.
“Mrs. Ryan,” said Fritz, “what are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?” Babs asked Fritz as she, Freddy, and Boone walked further into the room. Boone looked over at Charly, and she could tell he was worried and pissed, but they both kept their distance.
“We’re conducting a board meeting,” said Margaret.
“A meeting,” Freddy asked, “or a firing?”
Fritz swallowed hard. “Both, as it happens,” he said.
“So you want to fire Charly,” Babs said.
“That’s correct,” said Fritz.
“Why? Because she won’t kiss your ass?”
“Why, we have never!” said Margaret.
“Shut up, Maggie,” said Babs.
And Margaret, to Charly’s shock, did shut up. She thought Margaret was a member of the power family in the county. Apparently she thought wrong. Looked like the Ryans were the power family in that county.
But Babs continued. “Answer my question, Fritz,” she said. “Is it because this young lady won’t cow-tow to your nonsense and kiss your ass? Is that why you have this sudden need to fire her when you just hired her a few months ago?”
“It’s for lots of reasons,” Fritz said. “None of which concerns my rear end, thank you!”
“I am a lifetime board member,” Babs said. “My father, along with your father and yours, too, Maggie, were the founding members. But Duke’s father was the Executive Chairman of the founding members, which makes him, and me after I married him, lifetime executive chairmen of this board. We and we alone have the power to overturn votes.”
Boone looked at Charly. He knew she’d be shocked, and she was.
“Why on earth would you want to overturn us?” asked Margaret. “You don’t even know this woman!”
Babs exhaled. She was leaning on her cane. “My arthritis was going haywire this morning. I wondered why. It usually don’t bother me like that on sunshiny days. But it was bothering me this time. Then I got the call from my son.”
Boone called her? How did he even know, Charly wondered?
“I don’t attend board meetings,” Babs said to the group, “as all of you know. Have no idea what’s going on. I don’t attend meetings because, frankly, I can’t stomach any of you. But when Boone told me what this particular meeting was about, I could not believe it. Somebody tried to kill Dean Johnson, and you were blaming her? Are you kidding me? Do you think I’ll sit idly by and let you idiots fire a woman because somebody was out to get her?”
“Is it because we’re firing a woman,” Margaret asked, “or your son’s woman? Is that why you’re so concerned? Is that what got you off of that ranch?”
“I overrule the firing,” Babs said. “That’s what got me off of that ranch!” And then she took her cane and headed back out of the door she had come through. Freddy, smiling, followed his nail-tough aunt.
Charly wanted to jump up and run to her she was so happy. But she curbed her enthusiasm. Because Boone was curbing his, as if he didn’t want to rub it in. And since he knew that board far better than she did, she took her cues from Boone.
But when the board excused her, they could only admonish her at best: “Clean up your act,” Fritz said, “because Babs Ryan won’t always be your savior.” But she didn’t feel vindicated. Like Fritz Hollingsworth said, it was more a reprieve than an exoneration. But she’d take it.
Boone was waiting for her in the hall, leaned against the wall. He smiled when she walked up to him. “Thought you were a goner, didn’t you?”
“You know it,” Charly said with a smile of relief. “Thanks. I didn’t think you knew this meeting was even taking place.”
“I was at Pataki’s office when they called him,” Boone said. And then Dr. Dorsett walked up.
“Congratulations, Charly,” he said to his dean.
“Thanks,” Charly said with a smile.
“No thanks to you,” Boone said to Dorsett.
Dorsett was accustomed to Boone’s brutal honesty, so he ignored him. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off,” Dorsett suggested to Charly. “I don’t want you to incur the ire of that board another second. I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”
“What about the students?”
“They’re fine. Get you some rest. They’ll need you more tomorrow, when they’re back at the scene of the crime, than they need you today.”
Charly thanked her principal, and Dorsett, giving Boone a hard look as if he was suspicious of the chief, walked away.
Then Charly and Boone began walking too. “I guess I’ll head over to my place,” she said to Boone.
“Nope,” he said to her.
“To at least get some fresh clothes, Boone,” she insisted.