Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (15 page)

Mrs Palmer turns and leaves Mrs Gosk standing in the doorway. I follow Mrs Palmer down the hallway. I want to hear what she says to the police chief, and I do not want to hear what happens to that nasty Veruca Salt.

I don’t care how rotten she is. Disappearing kids don’t seem so funny anymore.

As Mrs Palmer crosses through the lobby and turns toward the office, one of the front doors to the school opens. The policeman standing beside it is holding it open.

Mrs Patterson walks in.

I stop.

I can’t believe it. Mrs Patterson is walking into the school. I wait for Max to follow behind her, but the policeman closes the door.

No Max.

CHAPTER 24

‘Karen, I can’t believe the news,’ Mrs Patterson says. ‘What could have happened?’

Mrs Palmer and Mrs Patterson hug in the middle of the lobby.

Mrs Palmer is hugging Mrs Patterson and Max is not here.

I thought about running out to Mrs Patterson’s car to see if Max was still in the back seat, but I decided not to. Mrs Patterson said that she couldn’t believe the news about Max disappearing, and since she was the one who disappeared him, I know she is lying. Max isn’t in her back seat anymore.

For a second, I thought he was dead, and my whole body filled with sadness. I thought that I might be dead for a minute, too. Then I remembered that I am still here, so Max must still be alive.

Here’s the thing: if Max was dead (which he is not) and I was still alive, that would mean that I won’t disappear when Max dies or when Max stops believing in me.

I don’t want Max to be dead, and I don’t think he is dead (because he isn’t), but if he was dead and I wasn’t dead, that would mean something. It would be the saddest thing ever in the history of all things, but it would mean something, too. Something important about me. I’m not saying I want Max to be dead, because I do not and he is not. But if he ever was dead and I still existed, that would be an important thing to know.

I only keep thinking that he might be dead because I watch too much television.

Mrs Patterson and Mrs Palmer finish hugging just as the police chief comes around the corner. It was a long hug. I think they like each other now, even though they didn’t like each other before Max disappeared. And I think Mrs Palmer has forgotten all about the
damunion
. They look like best friends, standing in the middle of the lobby. Sisters even.

‘Ruth Patterson?’ the police chief asks.

I don’t know if he is really a police chief but he is in charge today and he has a big belly, so he looks like a police chief. His real name is Bob Norton, which is not a television show police officer kind of name. It doesn’t make me feel good about his chances of finding Max.

Mrs Patterson turns. ‘Yes, that’s me.’

‘Can we speak in Mrs Palmer’s office?’

‘Of course.’

Mrs Patterson sounds worried. The police chief probably thinks she is worried about Max, but I think she is worried about getting caught. Maybe she is trying to make worried-about-getting-caught sound like worried-about-Max-disappearing.

Mrs Patterson and Mrs Palmer sit on one of the couches together, and the police chief sits on the couch on the other side of the coffee table. He has a pad of yellow paper on his lap and a pen in his hand.

I sit next to the police chief. Even though he doesn’t know it, I am on his team.

‘Mrs Patterson,’ the police chief says. ‘You are Max Delaney’s paraprofessional. Is that correct?’

‘Yes. I spend a lot of time with Max. But I have other students, too.’

‘You’re not with him all day long?’ the police chief asks.

‘No. Max is a smart boy. He doesn’t need assistance all day.’

Mrs Palmer nods as Mrs Patterson is speaking. I have never seen her be so agreeable around Mrs Patterson before.

‘Can I ask why you were absent from work today?’ the police chief asks.

‘I had a doctor’s appointment. Two appointments, actually.’

‘Where was your appointment?’

‘The first was just down the street,’ Mrs Patterson says, pointing in the direction of the front of the school. ‘At the walk-in clinic. They have a physical therapy center located in the building. I had physical therapy this morning for a shoulder problem. Then I had an appointment on Farmington Avenue. That’s where I was when Nancy called.’

‘Mrs Palmer says you miss a lot of work, especially on Fridays. Is it because of the physical therapy?’

Mrs Patterson looks at Mrs Palmer for a second, and then she turns back to the police chief and smiles.

She has stolen Max and is sitting in front of a police chief, and she is smiling.

‘Yes,’ she says. ‘I mean, sometimes I’m ill, and sometimes I have doctor’s appointments.’ She pauses, takes a deep breath, and then says, ‘No one knows this, but I have lupus, and it’s caused me to have some health problems over the past couple years. Sometimes a five-day work week is just too much for me.’

Mrs Palmer makes a little gasping sound. ‘Ruth, I had no idea.’

She reaches out and touches Mrs Patterson on the shoulder. It’s the kind of touch that Max’s mother would like to give to Max when he is upset, if Max would ever let her touch him like that. I can’t believe that she is touching Mrs Patterson like this. Max disappears and Mrs Patterson says she has something called lupus and suddenly Mrs Palmer wants to hug her and pat her on the shoulder.

‘It’s okay,’ Mrs Patterson says to Mrs Palmer. ‘I didn’t want people to worry.’

‘Is there anything that you can tell us that might help us find Max?’ the police chief asks. He sounds a little annoyed, and I am glad.

‘I can’t think of anything,’ Mrs Patterson says. ‘Max has never been a runner, but he’s always been a curious boy, and he asks lots of questions about the forest. But I can’t imagine that he would go there alone.’

‘A runner?’ the police chief asks.

Mrs Palmer speaks this time. ‘Some of our special needs children have a propensity for running away from us. If they make it to the doors, they will sometimes run for the street. But Max isn’t a runner.’

‘Max has never been a runner?’ the police chief asks.

‘No,’ Mrs Patterson says. ‘Never.’

I can’t believe how calm she is. Maybe lupus makes people good liars.

The police chief looks down at his yellow pad. He clears his throat. I don’t know how I know, but I can tell that he is about to ask important questions now. Tougher questions.

‘Max was supposed to go from Mrs Gosk’s class to the Learning Center today, but he never made it there. Is this a walk he usually does by himself?’

‘Sometimes,’ Mrs Patterson says, but that is not true. I am always with him when he walks to the Learning Center. ‘If I’m in school, I’ll pick him up, but he doesn’t need an escort.’

‘We are trying to get Max to be more independent,’ Mrs Palmer says. ‘So even when Ruth is here, we will sometimes have Max travel around the building on his own.’

‘But on Fridays,’ Mrs Patterson says, ‘I am scheduled to work with Max in the Learning Center, so I would normally escort him there because I need to be there, too.’

‘Do you think it’s possible that Max could have left Mrs Gosk’s class early?’

‘Maybe,’ Mrs Patterson says. ‘He can’t read an analog clock. Did Donna send him on time?’

‘She says she did,’ the police chief says. ‘I’m just wondering if she could have sent him early by mistake, or if he could’ve left the class without telling her or without her noticing.’

‘It’s possible.’

‘She’s lying!’ I shout, only because I can’t stop myself. Mrs Gosk never sends kids early. If anything, she forgets to send them at all. She gets too busy with her books and her teaching. And Max would never leave the room without permission. Never ever.

The more Mrs Patterson lies, the more frightened I become. She is so good at it.

‘What about Max’s parents?’ the police chief asks. ‘Is there anything I should know about them?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘How are they as parents? Do they get along? Do they get Max to school on time? Does he seem well cared for? Things like that.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Mrs Patterson says. ‘Do you think they did something to Max? I thought he was at school today.’

‘He was, and it’s likely he just went for a walk and he’ll turn up any minute, playing on someone’s backyard swing set or hiding in the forest. But if Max didn’t take a walk, then someone took him, and it’s almost always someone who the child knows. Most often a family member. Can you think of anyone who might want to take Max? Could his parents be involved?’

Mrs Patterson doesn’t answer this question as quickly as the others, and the police chief notices. He leans forward at the same time I do. He thinks he is about to hear something important, and I do, too. But the police chief thinks that he is about to get an important fact.

I think it’s going to be an important lie.

‘I’ve always worried about Max being here at school.’

She talks like she is lifting a heavy backpack. All her words sound heavy and light at the same time.

‘Max is a very sensitive boy and he doesn’t have any friends. Kids pick on him from time to time. Sometimes he loses track of what he is doing and is unsafe. Runs out in front of a school bus or forgets that he’s allergic to tree nuts. I don’t know if I would send Max to a public school if I were his parent. I think it’s too dangerous. I have a hard time thinking that good parents would send a boy like Max to school.’

Mrs Patterson pauses. She’s looking at her shoes. I don’t think she realizes what she has been saying, because when she looks back up, she seems surprised to be looking at the police chief.

‘But I don’t think they would do anything to hurt Max,’ she says.

Too quickly, I think.

Mrs Patterson doesn’t like Max’s mom and dad. I didn’t know that before, but I do now. And I don’t think she wanted anyone to know it.

‘But there is nothing specific about his parents that would cause you concern?’ the police chief asks. ‘Other than that they send Max to a public school?’

Mrs Patterson pauses, and then says, ‘No.’

The police chief asks Mrs Patterson questions about the Learning Center teachers, Max’s classmates, and everyone else who Max sees every day, which is not too many people. She says that she cannot imagine anyone at school taking Max.

The police chief just nods.

‘I’m going to ask you to walk the path that Max usually takes to the Learning Center with one of my officers, to see if anything jogs your memory. If it does, you’ll let me know. And he’s going to get some contact information from you, and ask you a few questions about anyone else who Max might come into contact with on a daily basis. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ Mrs Patterson says. ‘Would it be all right if I go home, after I answer his questions? At least for a little while. The physical therapy and the doctor’s appointment took a lot out of me, and I’d like to rest. Or maybe I could just lie down on a couch in the faculty room if you’d prefer I stay at school.’

‘No, that’s fine. We’ll contact you if we need anything. If Max doesn’t turn up by this evening, we’ll probably need to talk to you again. Sometimes people don’t realize what they might know that could help us.’

‘I’ll do whatever I can to help,’ Mrs Patterson says. She starts to rise from the couch and then stops. ‘You think you’re going to find him. Right?’

‘I hope so,’ the police chief says. ‘Like I said, I think he’ll probably turn up within the hour, playing in someone’s backyard. So yes, I think we’ll find him.’

I know I will.

I’m going home with Mrs Patterson.

CHAPTER 25

Max’s mom and dad are standing behind the counter in the office. I see them first because I walk out of Mrs Palmer’s office first. Then Mrs Patterson sees them, but I don’t think she recognizes their faces. I don’t think she even knows them. She stole their son and told the police chief that they are bad parents and she doesn’t even know who they are. I don’t think Max’s parents know who she is either. They know her name, but they have never seen her face to face until now. They have meetings with people like Mrs McGinn and Mrs Riner and Mrs Gosk.

Not Mrs Patterson. Never paraprofessionals.

Mrs Patterson doesn’t stop to talk to them. She walks to the left, out the office’s side door, where a policeman is waiting for her. He’s an old man with a brown spot on his neck, and he doesn’t look like he could stop a bad guy even if the bad guy was Mrs Patterson, which she is.

Then Mrs Palmer comes out of her office, and she sees Max’s parents.

‘Mr and Mrs Delaney,’ she says, sounding surprised. She walks over to the counter and opens the swinging door that separates the space where regular people stand from the space where the office people stand. ‘Come in. Please.’

Max’s mom is usually the boss, but she does not look like the boss right now. Her hands are shaking, and her face is pale. She looks limp, a little bit like a doll. I know it sounds silly, but even her curly hair looks less curly. She doesn’t look sharp like she usually does. She looks scared. Hungry, even. Hungry for news, I think.

It is Max’s dad who looks like the boss now. He has his arm around Max’s mom, and he is looking around the office like Mrs Gosk looks when she is taking attendance. Checking to see who is here and who is not.

They move past the counter and toward Mrs Palmer’s office, but I don’t think Max’s mom would be moving if Max’s dad was not pushing her along.

‘Do you have any news?’ Max’s dad asks before they even make it to Mrs Palmer’s office.

He sounds like the boss, too. His words are like arrows. They shoot straight at Mrs Palmer, and you can tell that they are full of extra stuff. He isn’t just asking a question. He is yelling at Mrs Palmer for losing Max even though he is not yelling and all he did was ask if there was any news.

‘Come into my office,’ Mrs Palmer says. ‘Chief Norton is waiting, and he can answer all your questions.’

‘Chief Norton wasn’t here when Max disappeared,’ Max’s dad says.