Scat by Carl Hiaasen Read Free Book Online Page A

from his arm.
    "The authorities were out there at daybreak to continue searching for Mrs. Starch," Dr. Dressier continued from the stage. "Fortunately, the fire went out and the weather last night was mild, so there's no reason to believe she's in any danger. The search teams are experienced and very thorough, and I'm confident of a positive outcome."
    Nick whispered, "I don't see Smoke anywhere."
    Marta looked up and down the rows of heads in the auditorium. "He's probably just late," she said. "He's always late for assembly."
    "Yeah."
    "This is so freaky, Nick." Marta puffed her cheeks and let the air hiss out. "I mean, I can't stand the woman, but still, to think of her lost in that swamp . . ."
    At the podium, Dr. Dressier turned the paper over and continued reading: "You probably noticed some law enforcement officers on campus this morning. Please don't be alarmed or make any rash assumptions. It's routine procedure in such cases. Students in Mrs. Starch's classes, and the others who went on the field trip, may be called aside to chat with the deputies today. I would encourage you to be as helpful as you can be."
    Marta said, "I better call my mom."
    "What for?" Nick asked.
    "In case there's gonna be something on TV about this. She'll wig out."
    Dr. Dressier concluded his prepared statement and moved on to less exciting announcements about an upcoming soccer tournament, a change in the lunch menu (no chili for a week, due to a spoiled shipment of ground beef), and a new rule in the dress code that banned "all styles of open-toed sandals" on campus.
    The students weren't listening; they were buzzing about Mrs. Starch. The mood in the auditorium was one of restless curiosity, not worry. Thanks to the headmaster's reassuring speech, most of the kids believed that the searchers would soon locate the missing teacher. Once Mrs. Starch was found, the Black Vine Swamp episode would only add to her colorful legend.
    After assembly, Nick and Marta stood by the Harry Truman statue and waited for the bell. Libby Marshall rushed over, highly agitated.
    "Dr. Dressier was wrong-Mrs. Starch isn't lost! She got out of the Glades last night!" Libby blurted. "I've gotta tell him so he can put it on the intercom."
    "You saw her? Where?" Marta asked.
    Libby shook her head. "I didn't see her, but she stopped by my house and left this on the porch!" Libby displayed her asthma inhaler like a trophy.
    "Sam found it. He's our dog." Nick said, "Did anyone actually see her?"
    "No, but Sam heard her on the front steps and started barking like crazy. And who else could it be? She's the one who went back to find my inhaler."
    Although Nick didn't like Mrs. Starch any more than the other students did, he'd been hoping that she wasn't hurt, or worse. Libby's news was encouraging.
     
    "I wonder why she didn't knock," he said.
    "'Cause it was late," Libby said impatiently, "and the lights were off. She probably didn't want to wake up anybody."
    That made sense to Nick and Marta.
    "Now I've gotta go find Droopy Dressier," said Libby, "and straighten him out." She hurried off.
    The bell rang, and Marta picked up her backpack. "I gotta admit, I'm glad that mean old hag made it out of the swamp okay."
    "Me, too," Nick said.
    "I don't know why we should care what happens to her."
    "Because she was doing a brave thing, going back for Libby's medicine with a wildfire coming."
    Marta shrugged. "Yeah. Even witches have their good days."
     
    Dr. Dressier was hopeful but perplexed.
    After the assembly, he'd received a call from the fire lieutenant, who reported that Bunny Starch's blue Prius was gone at daybreak when the crews had returned to the Black Vine Swamp. The lieutenant surmised that, sometime during the night, Mrs. Starch had found her way back to her car.
    That theory was bolstered by the information from Libby Marshall, who'd burst into Dr. Dressler's office and blurted the story of her asthma inhaler so breathlessly that he feared she might need to use