Poisoned Read online

  “Ms. Carter,” she moaned, “I think I’m going to die.”

  2

  poisoning

  Jeri gasped. Nikki did sound like she might die. Her weak voice was a far cry from her usual strong, bossy tone. The bathroom door opened, and Jeri and the others stepped back. Ms. Carter supported Nikki with one arm around her waist.

  “I hate throwing up,” Nikki muttered.

  “Most people do,” the house mother agreed.

  “Once I get started, I can’t seem to stop,” Nikki said, an edge of panic in her voice. “I’ve always been that way.”

  “Really?” Ms. Carter frowned. “What usually happens?”

  “I get dehydrated, and then I get shots to stop it.” Nikki turned suddenly and stumbled back to the bathroom. She was sick again, but soon it sounded like her stomach was empty. Dry heaves, Jeri remembered her mom calling them.

  Jeri’s stomach rolled then, and she felt sweat beads on her upper lip. Oh no, not me too.

  Ms. Carter ran to help Nikki. “Jeri, grab the small wastebasket from my office,” the house mother called. “We may need it on the way.”

  “On the way to where?” Jeri asked.

  “To the infirmary. I’m taking her now. If she has a history of this, there’s no point in waiting until she’s dehydrated.” Jeri ran for the little trash can and handed it to the house mother.

  Abby’s face was so pale that her eyes looked like enormous coals. “This is my fault,” she whispered. “It must be the food I fixed, especially if Brooke and Emily are sick too.”

  “They aren’t real bad,” Rosa said. “Not as bad as Nikki anyway. I’ll go see if they need anything.”

  Jeri patted Abby’s arm, willing her own stomach to stop rolling. Abby felt bad enough without her getting sick too. A moment later Ms. Carter emerged from the bathroom again, holding a weak Nikki upright. “Come on, hon. Lean on me.” She helped her to a chair underneath the phone and placed the wastebasket beside her. “Use this if you have to.”

  Abby’s voice was faint. “Can I help?”

  “Yes, you both can. Abby, you keep an eye on Nikki while I check on Brooke and Emily and get my car keys.” She nodded at the list of numbers posted over the phone. “Jeri, you call the Patterson School for Boys. I need to know if Dallas and Jonathan are sick too.” She hurried off upstairs.

  Fighting her rolling stomach, Jeri dialed the boys’ school. She explained what she needed to know, then waited on hold. When the headmaster came on the line, he assured her that the boys were fine—at least, so far. “Thank you for alerting us,” he said. “Tell Ms. Carter I’ll be in touch if they get sick.”

  Jeri hung up, relieved.

  Nikki sat hunched over the wastebasket, her hair hanging over her face. Jeri fished an elastic band from her pocket and loosely braided Nikki’s hair to get it away from her mouth—just in case. Thirty seconds later, she was sick again.

  Abby handed her some tissues when she finished. Jeri’s own stomach lurched as she went to rinse out the wastebasket. If only she could keep from throwing up! Bitter-tasting bile rose in the back of her throat, and she swallowed convulsively. Please, God, not me too!

  Ms. Carter returned then, a purse over her shoulder. “Let’s go, Nikki. And don’t worry, girls. The infirmary has good people on staff.”

  “Oh, the headmaster said Dallas and Jonathan are fine,” Jeri said.

  “Good. I’ll call Miss Barbara from the infirmary. I’m so glad we have a doctor and nurses on the campus.” Ms. Carter pressed her lips together. “I think Brooke and Emily are done being sick, and Rosa will sit with them till we get back.”

  Tears rolled silently down Abby’s cheeks. “It’s all my fault!” she said. “It has to be.”

  “Oh, honey, don’t,” Ms. Carter said, wrapping her arms around Abby. “It’s not your fault. If the food was tainted, it was an accident. For all we know, there’s a fast-acting virus going around. The doctor may be able to tell us.” She peeked in the refrigerator. “Just in case, put the leftovers in a plastic bag and throw them in the garbage can outside.”

  “Okay.”

  Ms. Carter helped Nikki to her feet. Nikki’s eyes glazed over as she leaned on the short house mother. “I’ll call you girls when there’s news,” Ms. Carter said.

  Jeri turned to Abby. The tiny British girl who had so happily carried in the blazing birthday cake two hours ago stared with frightened eyes. “It’ll be okay,” Jeri said. “Try not to worry.” Please, God, let Nikki be all right, she prayed. A wave of heat rose up her face. And don’t let me get sick. Please!

  Abby wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I think Ms. Carter’s just being nice,” she said. “My cooking must have made everyone sick. But how?”

  Rosa came in then. “Maybe you didn’t cook the meat enough,” she answered.

  Abby frowned. “I was upstairs changing when you ate the little meatballs. Did they taste funny?”

  “No,” Jeri said firmly, glaring at Rosa behind Abby’s back. “They tasted great. Rosa ate a ton of them, and she’s not sick.”

  “I didn’t eat a ton!” Rosa protested. “But, yes, I ate four or five, and I’m fine. Maybe it’s something else. Once my mom’s potato salad made everyone sick at a picnic because the mayonnaise got too warm. Maybe the cream cheese in the tortilla swirls was rotten.”

  “Or maybe it’s a virus, like Ms. Carter said,” Jeri repeated, aggravated at Rosa. Couldn’t she see how bad Abby already felt?

  “If it’s a virus, it came and went fast,” Rosa said. “Brooke and Emily felt better as soon as they threw up a couple times.”

  “Okay, okay.” Jeri swallowed convulsively. “Could you talk about something besides throwing up?”

  “Sorry. How about a game while we wait?” Rosa suggested. “Cranium? Cards? Maybe Outburst?”

  After Abby tossed out the leftovers, she and Jeri followed Rosa into the study room, and they pulled two games from the shelf. Suddenly Jeri’s throat felt constricted, and she couldn’t swallow. Heat rose in waves from her chest to her neck and face. “I’ll be right back,” she said. “I … want to change into pj’s.”

  Abby raised an eyebrow, but Jeri forced herself to smile as she left the room. Once out of view, she took the stairs two at a time and bolted down the hall to the restroom. She barely made it to a stall before losing every bit of food she’d eaten at the party. Jeri thought the retching would never end. Finally the spasms in her throat lessened, and her stomach settled down.

  She sat back on her heels, wiped her sweaty face with a wad of toilet paper, and hauled herself to her feet. At a sink, she dampened a paper towel and washed her blotchy skin. By the time she changed her clothes and rejoined Abby and Rosa, her flushed face had returned to its normal color. Good, she thought. Abby will never know.

  Thirty minutes later, Miss Barbara returned with the rest of the sixth graders who lived in Hampton House. Abby jumped up immediately and asked if any of the girls had been sick that evening.

  “No. Not a soul.” Miss Barbara flowed into the room, her billowing caftan making her look elegant in spite of her size. “Ms. Carter called the bowling alley and told me what happened.”

  Three girls pulled up chairs to watch the Cranium game in progress, and the noise level rose. “Let’s wait for news in my room,” Jeri said, giving up her spot in the game.

  “Good idea.” Abby led the way upstairs. “What if Nikki has to stay in the infirmary?” she asked. “What if she’s too weak to compete next Saturday?”

  “The show’s still a long ways off. Don’t worry yet.”

  The year’s biggest equestrian competition was next Saturday afternoon, a week away. Nikki had brought her thoroughbred, Show Stopper, to school with her, and they competed in all kinds of horse shows. If Ms. Carter would let her, Nikki would gladly live in the barn.

  At 9:30, the phone rang, and Jeri grabbed it on the first ring. Ms. Carter said Nikki was finally better—aftergetting three different shots to stop the vomitin
g. Because she was slightly dehydrated, the doctor was keeping her overnight and giving her fluids by IV. “There wasn’t enough left in Nikki’s stomach contents to test, but the nurse suggested food poisoning,” she said.

  Jeri pressed her lips together. Food poisoning sounded horrible. She wished she could skip that part of the message to Abby.

  When she hung up, Jeri relayed the message, saying “spoiled food” instead. When they finally went to bed, Jeri curled into a ball, pressing her hand against her sore stomach. Thank you, God. She was grateful to feel better, but the word resounded in her brain: poisoning.

  On Sunday morning Jeri was still sleeping hard when her alarm buzzed. Shuffling down the hall to the shower, she passed Emily and Brooke’s room. The door was ajar, and she knocked. No one answered, but her light tap pushed the door open.

  Their room was bright from the double windows facing east. Jeri stared in surprise at a lumpy sculpture beneath the window. The surface of the gray clay was covered with meandering red and blue lines. Those were veins, Jeri finally realized, on a brain! It must be part of Emily’s science fair display. Beside the sculpture, a big red poster with giant blue letters read “BRAIN FUNCTION: Facts and Fun!” Smaller blue letters read “Puzzles and Brain Teasers Develop Reasoning Skills in Your Prefrontal Cortex!” Whatever that means, thought Jeri.

  Another poster—yellow this time—had bold green lettering: “Can Science Improve on Mother Nature?” Nearby, jars labeled Carnations, Irises, Daffodils, and Lilies lined the windowsill. Some of the blooms looked fresh, others rather wilted. According to the poster, Brooke was testing what to add to the water—like sugar or salt — to make bouquets last longer.

  Jeri hated science and was thankful not to be in the science fair. She excelled in English, though, and hoped to win the media fair award. She really needed that scholarship so she could return in the fall. Early in the school year, all Jeri had wanted to do was go back to Iowa. Now, after a year at Landmark School for Girls in Virginia, she couldn’t imagine life without Abby and Rosa.

  Jeri zipped through her shower in record time, glad she’d picked out her outfit the night before. She planned to wear black pants and a soft orange top that was fuzzy as a blanket. It looked good with her dark brown hair.

  But when she stepped into their room and saw the pink blouse and miniskirt Rosa was wearing, it made her own outfit look babyish. She sighed inwardly. She was kidding herself. Boys weren’t blind. Even someone as nice as Dallas would never notice her with Rosa around.

  3

  storm warning

  When Jeri, Rosa, and Abby left for the church twenty minutes later, they passed Emily and Brooke coming up the stairs.

  “Cool shirt, Rosa!” Brooke cried.

  Jeri waited at the bottom of the stairs while Rosa told Brooke where she could buy a shirt like it. “Want me to show you?” Rosa asked. “I’m good at shopping online.”

  “Not today,” Brooke said. “I’m saving my money for something else.”

  “Rosa, come on,” Jeri said. “We’ll miss the van.”

  They dodged light raindrops on the way to the pickup area, where the sprinkles turned to showers. They crawled into the air-conditioned van. Jeri shivered, her damp shirt clammy in the blasting air conditioning. I hope it’s warmer in church, she thought. It wasn’t. And Dallas and Jonathan weren’t there, which was even more troubling.

  “Where’re the guys?” Rosa asked. “Their school van’s here.”

  “I don’t know.” Jeri chewed her lower lip. Was Dallas back in his dorm sick? She caught her breath. Or in the hospital? Maybe the spoiled food hadn’t hit him till later.

  When they returned from church, Ms. Carter informed them that Nikki had come home that morning. They raced upstairs to find her propped up in bed, watching a movie on her laptop. Bet it’s a horse movie, Jeri guessed. She smiled when she spotted The Dreamer DVD case.

  “How are you?” Abby called, rushing across the room.

  “Not bad considering my roommate tried to poison me.”

  At Abby’s horrified expression, Jeri added, “Nikki’s just kidding!”

  “Says who?” Nikki paused her movie and rearranged the heating pad on her abdomen. “My stomach feels like it got ripped in half. My rear end is bruised from three shots powerful enough to stop a rhino. Riding will hurt all week.”

  Abby’s voice was small and faint. “I’m so sorry.”

  “It was an accident, so give Abby a break,” Jeri said. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “Like what?” Nikki—usually the picture of indifference—had a wild look in her eyes now. “Ms. Carter won’t let me go outside—doctor’s orders. Do you know what this does to Show Stopper’s exercise schedule? He needs to be worked every day! Ridden, jumped!”

  “I can ride him for you,” Jeri said, “but I can’t jump.”

  “The competition’s only six days away! I can’t take two or three days off. It would set us back too much.”

  Abby stepped forward then. “This is my fault.” She paused. “I’ll do it for you.”

  “You?” Nikki laughed scornfully. “You’re scared to death of horses.”

  “I can do it afraid.” Abby’s forced smile couldn’t hide her trembling lip.

  “How about this instead?” Jeri asked. “Dallas comes from a cattle ranch in Texas, and he knows horses as well as you do. I’ll email him. Maybe he could exercise Show Stopper for you after school a couple days.”

  “Show Stopper’s not a broken-down pony for some cowboy to dig his spurs into! He’s a thoroughbred!”

  “Look, what other choice do you have?” Jeri tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. “I really think Dallas would take good care of your horse.”

  “If he’s not sick too,” Rosa said. “He wasn’t in Sunday school today.”

  “Want me to go email him?” Jeri said.

  Nikki scowled, staring at her motionless movie screen, and then nodded. “That might work.” She cleared her throat and glanced at Abby. “Sorry I yelled at ya.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Jeri left them watching the movie. She decided to instant message Dallas, in case he was already online.

  Jerichogirl: HEY RU SIC?

  About ten seconds later, a message appeared.

  TexMex: HEY NOT NOW

  Jerichogirl: NIKKI 2 INFIRMARY. HOME NOW & CRABBY

  TexMex: Y

  Jerichogirl: NO -1 2 EXERCISE SHOW STOPPER ON JUMPS

  TexMex: FYI I KNOW HORSES. I CAN DO IT

  Jerichogirl: TOMORROW?

  TexMex: 2DAY IF I CAN GET RIDE W/ JAMES. HIS GF GOES 2UR SCHOOL

  Jerichogirl: K

  Nearly a minute passed while Jeri watched her blinking cursor. Then words popped up again.

  TexMex: SORRY NOT GOING 2DAY. WHAT NOW?

  Jerichogirl: IDK I CAN RIDE NOT JUMP

  TexMex: IBRB

  Jeri waited, but he wasn’t right back. It was blank so long she wondered if her Internet connection was broken. Too bad his friend James wasn’t coming to see his girlfriend today. Jeri was ready to close down when another message popped up.

  TexMex: U THERE

  Jerichogirl: AAK

  TexMex: JAMES CHANGED MIND. I CAN B THERE @ 4 2 RIDE

  Jerichogirl: THX NIKKI WILL B GLAD!!!!! ME2 BFN

  TexMex: CU@ 4.

  Jerichogirl: TTFN HAGD

  HAGD. Have a great day. Jeri smiled. She planned to have a great day now too.

  After a roast-and-potatoes Sunday dinner in the dining hall, Jeri changed into old clothes to wear to the barn later. They were last year’s jeans, which she’d outgrown, making them fashionably tight hip huggers now. Except they didn’t stay up as well as they used to, she thought, giving them an extra tug. She wasn’t wearing tight jeans because Dallas was coming, she assured herself. They were just old, and it wouldn’t matter if they got dirty. Her T-shirt covered everything as long as she kept her arms down.

  Abby joined Jeri and Rosa in the
ir room later. “Nikki’s having a little kip. I’m awfully glad Dallas can help,” she said. “This is all my fault.”

  “I’d feel rotten if I were you too,” Rosa agreed.

  Jeri frowned. Couldn’t Rosa sound more sympathetic? Jeri tipped her desk chair back against the wall. “I bet the food from the store was bad. It was delivered, right?”

  Abby nodded. “That redhead—Scottie?—brought the food.”

  “He’s a cutie,” Rosa said, smacking her lips loudly.

  Jeri ignored her. “What time did he come?”

  “Around three. Maybe later.”

  “Did you save the receipt? Something you signed?”

  Abby nodded. “I had to keep records of the costs for my project.”

  “Can I see it?” An idea was forming in Jeri’s mind. “What if—” She cut herself off. No use getting Abby’s hopes up yet.

  Abby retrieved the receipt, and Jeri studied it in silence. The time stamped on the signed ticket was 3:09 p.m. the day before. The store’s phone number was printed at the bottom. She wondered when Scottie actually left the store with Abby’s delivery. She reached for her phone. Five minutes later, she hung up and turned to Abby with a smile.

  “I think I know what happened, and it wasn’t your fault.” She waved the receipt. “It says here that Scottie delivered your food at 3:09. According to Mr. Howard, he left the store before 2:00 with only one delivery—yours. The grocery store’s only a ten-minute drive away, so he was probably at Landmark School by 2:10. Apparently Scottie got in trouble for taking a detour to visit his girlfriend. He must have done it before coming here.” She paused and leaned forward. “Get it?”

  Abby’s eyes widened. “Scottie left my groceries in a hot car for an hour!”

  Jeri nodded. “That’s how the cold stuff spoiled.”

  Rosa snapped her fingers. “And why those biscuits exploded so easily. They were already hot.”

  “Smashing!” Abby cried, sinking back in her chair. “Brilliant.”

  “Let’s go tell Ms. Carter,” Jeri said.

  “I agree with your deductions, girls,” Ms. Carter said a few minutes later in her office. She hugged Abby. “Now