Searching for Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

Macklin will be furious."
    Kirk studied it. "If you think the custodian has some supplies anywhere, maybe we can find a piece of wood and I'll cover it."
    "I have a small bulletin board in my supply closet. You can use that."
    Kirk looked closer and Christa saw his eyes narrow. "What is it?" she asked.
    "Nothing. I'll fix this as soon as I dust the computer."
    "You're going to dust?" Amy asked.
    Christa smiled. She was obviously not used to seeing her uncle in a domestic role.
    "Hey, kid. Who do you think cleans my apartment?" he asked.
    Amy raised the hand of her doll and used it to give her uncle a gentle swat on the back of the hand. Kirk feigned fear of his stuffed attacker, and Amy smiled.
    It was such a natural exchange that Christa felt a lump rising in her throat. Would she ever have a partner who was self-assured enough to be that playful with a child? She cleared her throat, unlocked the door to her classroom, and motioned that Kirk should enter. "There's a small screw driver in the pencil jar on my desk. The computer they took apart was the one on the far right."
    She reached for Amy's hand, and the little girl willingly exchanged her uncle's hand for Christa's. "Come on. I don't know if Jennie's door is open, but if it's locked we can look in through the glass in the door."
    "I'll see you back here," he said.
    "Which do you like better, drawing or working with clay?" Christa asked, hoping to put Amy at ease.
    "I like clay. Except that it's kind of hard to get out of your fingernails. Especially the dark colors."
    She was such a precise little thing. Christa watched her eyes travel along the corridor, looking at the Halloween decorations and casting almost furtive glances in doorways as they passed them.
    "Do any big kids go to school here?" she asked.
    "Our oldest students are fifth graders, which is usually age 10 or 11."
    "My Timmy was 15," Amy said.
    "Your...Timmy?" Christa looked at her, but Amy now looked straight ahead as she walked.
    "You know, my brother Timmy. My big brother."
    "I didn't realize you had a brother, Amy. Will he live with you and your mom?" Christa didn't imagine there would be room.
    "Of course not. He's dead, silly."
    Christa tried not to let her face show her surprise. Was this true, or did Amy have a powerful imagination? She decided to assume the little girl was telling the truth. "I'm very sorry. It's very sad when someone you love dies."
    Amy said nothing. They had reached the kindergarten room, and Christa tried the door. She didn't want to ignore what Amy said, but she felt that it would be inappropriate to ask a lot of questions. Perhaps she should ask Kirk later. "It's locked, but we can look right in the glass in the door. I'll pick you up." She leaned over and put a hand under each of Amy's armpits, lifted her, and turned the lightweight child so she could peer in the room. Amy kept her grip tight on her rag doll. Christa supposed it was a source of comfort for her in an unfamiliar place.
    "You see those apples made of construction paper, pasted along the far wall?" Amy nodded and Christa continued. "Each one has the name of a child in the class. That way you can start to recognize how the other kids’ names are spelled."
    "Oh, look. Fish." Amy pressed her nose to the glass. "We had fish in my old classroom."
    Christa heard a footstep behind her. That was funny; she thought Kirk was going to meet up with them in her classroom. She started to turn around when the pain attacked the back of her head. It seemed that someone was screaming. Then everything was black.
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
    THE END OF THE TUNNEL was so far away, and every time Christa lifted her head and looked again it seemed to be even more distant. But wait, someone was helping her get there. Someone very strong. She could fly. But the flight made her dizzy. She moved her head so it was more firmly placed against the solid pillow.
    "Come on, Christa, talk to me."
    The man's voice implored her to speak, but Christa