Page 44 of Forever Dead

Near the bottom of the second box, Vincent reached for a thin folder and stopped.

Connor noticed immediately. “What?”

“It may be nothing.”

“Pass it over.”

Vincent did not move at first.

“Vincent.”

The principal slid the folder across the table.

A formal incident report lay inside. Eleanor had written it herself.

Connor read the first page.

Repeated unwanted waiting outside her classroom.

Following her to the staff parking lot.

Hostile written messages after disciplinary action.

One incident in which the student had blocked her path in a corridor and refused to move until another teacher intervened.

The administration had contacted the student’s parents. Meetings followed. A behavioral plan. Temporary removal from Eleanor’s class.

Connor turned the page.

There was a name at the top.

CURTIS HALLE.

He read the report again before closing the folder.

“What happened to him?” Connor asked.

Vincent shifted in his chair. “I don’t remember him personally. This predates my employment here.”

“Was he expelled?”

“Not according to this. Transferred out later that year.”

“Where?”

“I’d have to check.”

“Check.”

Vincent reached for the keyboard.

Connor reopened the file.

Eleanor’s handwriting appeared beneath the typed report on an attached statement. Neat. Controlled. Nothing dramatic in the wording, but the conduct described had frightened her enough to make a formal complaint and force the school to intervene.

For the first time since entering Elmsview High, Connor felt the case narrow by a fraction. They had a person whose history with Eleanor deserved attention.

Connor left with an authorized copy of the report and put it on the passenger seat.