| “I think that’s Piper.” She said, pointing to a figure that came closer. “That is Piper.” Mulder responded. “What is she doing here?” Scully wondered. “She should still be in school.” “Something must have happened.” Mulder guessed. They stood by the car, waiting for Piper to come closer. She stopped in front of them, gasping for air after she had run from the school to their car. “Piper, what’s going on?” Scully questioned. “I know who did it.” Piper gasped. Mulder looked to Scully and then back to Piper. “Who?” Mulder wondered, eager to know what Piper had to say. “It was Principal Greene.” Piper answered. Scully sighed and shook her head. “Piper, we know you don’t like him but that’s no reason to incriminate him.” “I wouldn’t do that!” Piper protested. “I know he did this. He has the access, and he has the motivation.” “What are you talking about, Piper?” Mulder questioned, not sure if he believed her. “I don’t think you guys realized this but he is a doctor. He earned his doctorate before he decided to become a teacher. He has the access to the poison that was used. Ask yourself, why wouldn’t he forget to tell you something like he was a Dr. Greene instead of a Mr. Greene?” Piper explained. “So it slipped his mind.” Scully said. “It can happen.” “I think after he spent eight years of his life to become a doctor and then was forced to write a four-hundred page paper, he wouldn’t forget to mention something like that.” Piper said angrily. “What other evidence do you have?” Mulder interrogated, wanting to stop the argument that he knew would erupt between Piper and Scully. “Like I said, he can get to the drug. He’s been around every murder that’s taken place.” Piper exclaimed. “What’s his motive?” Scully asked. “Even though she suggested we chase squirrels..." Piper began. "What?" Scully said, cutting her in. "Never mind, not going to ask. Continue." Piper ignored her comment. "Max and I were searching on the Internet last night for all the doctors certified in Rhode Island. Well, there were plenty to go through but we stayed up all night reading them. We ended up hacking into a database that we definitely didn’t mean to hack into. But as luck would have it, it gave the backgrounds and personal lives of every doctor in Rhode Island. We stayed up all night reading through them, specifically those in Rhode Island.” Piper explained. “That must have been interesting.” Mulder commented. Piper ignored him. “We came across a Dr. Mathew Greene, not making the connection at first. We read that back in 1976, his sister had finally earned her teaching degree for Mathematics in High School. She went for the job at FDR but was beat by Ms. Winchell. A year later, his sister committed suicide because she couldn’t get a job. That’s when Max and I connected it to our Principal. He’s trying to frame Ms. Winchell because he feels she’s responsible for his sister’s death. If she was found guilty, she would spend the rest of her life in jail. And not even death can beat that.” “Piper, that’s a stretch.” Scully said. “But it’s a start. If you question him, I think you’ll find something surprising.” Piper said. “We can’t leave our steak out.” Mulder protested. “I’ll stay.” Piper volunteered. Scully shook her head. “Absolutely not.” “You don’t have a choice. If you don’t find and stop him, someone else could die. I’ll stay here!” Piper shouted. “Not by yourself.” Mulder said. “Then you walk to my school, you go into my Geometry class, you get Max or Erin or Hannah or you find Candy and Kyla and you tell them to meet me here. Then you go find Dr. Greene and you make him confess.” Piper demanded. “Fine. But you be careful out here.” Mulder said. He reached down into his sock and pulled out a small gun. “I don’t want this.” Piper stammered as Mulder offered the gun to her. “Don’t worry, it’s full of blanks. If anything happens, you use it to scare someone. Just point, but don’t shoot.” He warned. She nodded her head and took the gun from his hand. She still felt uneasy about handling the weapon but it made her feel safer. “There’s a tape recorder underneath the passenger seat in case you think you should be taping something.” Scully said. “We’ll get someone down here as soon as we can.” Mulder assured her as she and Mulder walked away. Piper sighed and got into the car, hoping its thick plastic exterior would protect her from whatever was out there. Chapter 9 1:18 PM Mulder and Scully walked through the halls of Piper’s high school. They had been stopped by one teacher on corridor duty but went quickly on their way as they showed him their badges. They made their way through the familiar school to find someone to meet up with Piper. They walked into Ms. Winchell’s room, startling her as well as her class. Max and Erin immediately became alert, knowing this probably had something to do with Piper. Scully eyes Hannah’s empty chair. “Ms. Winchell, can we please speak to Maxine and Erin?” Scully questioned, not expecting the teacher to say know. The simple nod of her head, dismissed the three girls. Mulder and Scully led them out into the hallway. “Donde esta Piper?” Erin blurted out. “English…Erin.” Mulder demanded. “Where’s Piper?” Maxine restated, sensing the amount of urgency in Erin’s voice. “She’s continuing our stakeout.” Scully answered. “By herself?” Erin screeched. Mulder nodded. “We need you guys to go to her. To sit with her until we can get there just to make sure she’s okay. Max, you know where to go.” Max nodded and walked away, her two friends following. No one in the hallways seemed to mind that they randomly walked out of the school without explanation. “Where do you think we can find Dr. Greene?” Scully wondered, turning to Mulder. “The main office?” He suggested, somewhat sarcastically. Scully gave a small smirk and made her way towards the main office, expecting Mulder to follow. * * * * Piper sat in the car, glancing from side to side, hoping to find one of her friends walking towards her. She sighed, not seeing anyone. She was afraid, sitting in the car all alone. She wanted to share her fear with someone, anyone would be nice. The passenger door opened causing Piper to jump. She expected to see Max, Candy, Kyla, or Erin but it wasn’t any of them. She screamed as she realized who it was. * * * * Mulder and Scully walked into the main office. A teacher was nearby, checking her mail from her mailbox. Two secretaries were sitting behind a long counter. One was typing on a computer while the other was on the telephone. Both noticed Mulder and Scully walk in. Three students sat on a small bench to the right of Mulder and Scully. They stared at the two strangers, oddly, wondering what they would be doing at school. “Can I help you?” One of the secretaries asked as she hung up the phone. “We’re looking for Principal Greene.” Mulder responded. “I’m sorry, he just stepped out. Can I take a message for you?” The woman asked as she took a pen in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. “Do you know where we can find him?” Scully wondered, ignoring the woman’s first question. “No, he said he had to run an errand. I can tell him you stopped by if you leave a number or…” The woman began. “That won’t be necessary.” Mulder interrupted. He placed his hand on the small of Scully’s back and led her out of the office. They walked into a small corner, hoping no one was around. “Mulder, what are you doing?” Scully whispered. “We should have left a message.” “Maybe Piper’s right.” Mulder replied. “What? Mulder, you’re going out on a limb here.” “Think about it, Scully. He remarkably disappears right when we’re right to question him. Piper gave us the evidence. He has the access. Maybe he’s gone to murder again.” Mulder paused. Scully gasped. “And Piper’s there.” She finished. “We have to get to her before he does.” Mulder said. He began to run through the school, with Scully following. * * * * Piper sat still and silent in the car. She felt the gun pressing against her leg in her pocket but she knew any sudden move could possibly end her life. She had heard Scully talk about the poison that could kill on impact. She couldn’t take the chance of her life ending at that moment. |