Circle of Silence by Carol M. Tanzman Page A

something.”
    The rest of the group is there when Raul and I enter. Jagger’s
jumpy, more excited than I’ve seen him all year.
    “That was a cool show!” he says. “Wish we’d done something like
it.”
    Marci gives him the death stare. “You can always play for the
other team, Voorham. No one’s stopping you.”
    Omar pats the chair next to him, grins wickedly. “Other team’s
just waiting.”
    Jagger winks. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
    Henry clears his throat. “Guys? I’ve been thinking about that
bird all night. Who’s got your locker combo, Val?”
    “No one. I mean, besides me.”
    “Not even Marci?” Jagger asks.
    She shakes her head. “Got enough trouble remembering mine. I
keep doing last year’s. Anyone else have that problem?”
    No one answers.
    I lean forward. “I thought about that, too, Henry. Somebody
could have watched me work it.”
    He pushes hair out of his eyes. “You think you’re being
followed around school?”
    “Not exactly. It wouldn’t be hard for Lawrence Gold or Tracy
Gardner to get the combo. They have the lockers next to mine.”
    Henry nods. “Do you want me and Omar to check it out? Lawrence
is in AP Gov with us and Tracy and I have Spanish together.”
    Raul drums his knuckles on the table. “You should definitely
talk to them. But there is another way to get the
combo. Who’s your homeroom teacher, Val?”
    “Dr. Linet. Except homeroom teachers don’t know combinations.
All they do is give out the slips on the first day.”
    “Let’s make sure. Because if teachers keep a copy in their
desks, anyone who has class in that room could find it.”
    “Even if they don’t, the office must have a list,” Marci
offers.
    “You don’t actually need that,” Omar says. “Janitors can get
into any locker anytime they want.”
    The hair on my arm rises. “How do you know?”
    “My uncle. He’s head custodian at LaGuardia. They have master
keys. That’s the reason he told me never to put anything dangerous in my
locker.”
    “Like a gun?” Marci’s eyes are huge.
    “More like weed. The administration can open any locker without
asking because it’s the city’s property, not ours.”
    “Good to know,” Jagger says.
    Omar grins. “Better clean out your locker quick, bro.”
    Jagger nods vigorously and the group laughs.
    “A janitor makes sense,” I say. “Access to school at night—and
early in the morning. One of them could easily carry the toilet up to the third
floor himself. Paper the hallways with flyers before anyone got here.”
    “Except Mr. Orel looked really pissed about the flagpole stunt.
Unless it’s one of the other janitors and he doesn’t know,” Marci concedes.
    Omar shrugs. “He could be acting. Any of them could. Like
firebugs. Lots of times, they observe people watching the fires they set.
Sometimes they call it in themselves so they can be the heroes. Or an abandoned
building is lit up by a fireman who needs the overtime.”
    “How do you know?” Henry asks.
    “My uncle.”
    “Wait. I thought he worked at LaGuardia High,” Marci says.
    “That’s my uncle the janitor. This is my uncle the fireman. I
have more than one, don’t you?”
    I wave the question away. “This is solid information. Let’s
split up. Interview Tracy, Lawrence and the janitors. Who wants what?”
    Still upset about the bird, Marci forgets her vow not to work
on any MP story.
    “I’ll go with you, Val. We can talk to the lady janitor,
Shirley.” She glances at the clock on the wall. “I bet she’s in the cafeteria.
She cleans up after the free breakfast kids finish eating.”
    The team grabs cameras and splits up. WiHi’s cafeteria is in
the bottom level. A row of small windows lines up directly underneath the
ceiling. Most of the light, however, comes from ugly fluorescents that turn
everyone’s skin a little green. During lunch, the old floor tiles and Formica
tables make the room sound like Grand Central Station. Aeons of