The Witch of Agnesi by Robert Spiller Read Free Book Online Page A

what you can of Stephanie Templeton.”
    Stephanie’s face swam in a sea of images—flipping long blond hair over a bare shoulder, the smell of too much perfume, the valley-girl voice which belied her intelligent mind, the teary girl who blamed herself for not bringing home a Knowledge Bowl trophy.
    “East Plains will survive.” That’s what she told Stephanie. Damn it, girl, what were you doing on Ful-ton Hill in the middle of the night?
    And why Fulton Hill? The place was as steep and uninviting as the surface of the moon. More a small mountain, the hill was scarred by dozens of parallel cement-hard erosion gullies, some deep enough to swal-low a car—and now a young girl’s body.
    “Missus P?” Franklin’s voice sounded in Bonnie’s ear.
    “Sorry. I was wool gathering.” Bonnie breathed deep. “Stephanie Templeton? A good student, tem-peramental. Occasionally affected the manner of a ditz but had a practical head on her shoulders. A bit of a prima donna. She was captain of my Knowledge Bowl team. I’ll miss her more than I can say.”
    “What was her relationship with Jesse Poole?”
    Bonnie searched her mind for any time she’d seen the two together. “I don’t think they had any. They didn’t exactly travel in the same circles.”
    “How about her relationship with Peyton Newlin?”
    “Different story. Those two crossed one another’s paths constantly. He was in her Math Analysis class, although he did independent study in Calculus.”
    Franklin whistled. “A thirteen year old doing Cal-culus? I’ll bet a lot of math students resented him. Did Stephanie?”
    Bonnie considered the question. “I don’t think she did. If anything, Stephanie felt sorry for Peyton.”
    “Why so?”
    “He was like a fish with a moped. He had the equipment but wasn’t sure how to use it. She took him under her wing. As much as she could, she tried to shield him from being picked on, which wasn’t easy. Peyton Newlin could be a little shit. However—”
    “However?”
    “It’s probably nothing. Last night, Stephanie got upset when we didn’t leave with a trophy. She snapped at Peyton and stormed out of the auditorium. She re-gretted it immediately. The next time I saw her she was crying about it. Called herself a bitch.”
    “Anything else?”
    “This morning the counselor told me Peyton as well as Stephanie, Ali, and Edmund were all finalists for the same scholarship.” She told him of J.D. Sullivan.
    Papers rustled from Franklin’s end. “Edmund Sheridan? The same Asian boy from last night?”
    “The same.”
    “What can you tell me about him?”
    “The Sheridans, a well-to-do couple, adopted Ed-mund, and his older sister Molly, about ten years ago and brought them over here from Korea. Molly had an accident, developed spinal problems, and has been wheelchair-bound since she was nine. Edmund is very protective of her.” Bonnie tugged at her ear trying to think of anything of interest. “Edmund is in Calcu-lus with Peyton. The two are best friends. Edmund’s always over at the Newlin place reading comic books, playing electronic or role-playing games.”
    “And how about this Ali Griffith?”
    “She’s a witch.”
    “Come again.”
    “Ali Griffith and her mother Rhiannon head up a coven. I’ve known the mother for a good five years, but she’s a weird one. We haven’t always gotten along. Ali dresses in black, and wears odd jewelry. She’s never been anything but a sweetie with me, but I hear she doesn’t take crap from anyone who gives her trouble about her beliefs. Even the goat-ropers steer clear of her. Peyton, Edmund, Stephanie, and Ali make up the Knowledge Bowl Team and were all at the church last night.”
    “This is getting almost incestuous, all on the Knowledge Bowl team, all in the running for a choice scholarship—”
    “And all absent from school today.”
    “Now that is worthy of note. I owe it to myself to pay the Griffiths and Sheridans a visit.”
    “Do you think