Coach Hallvard dashed into the room. "Cut it out!" She surveyed the mess. "All right. Out of here. Everyone out of here."
"Someone filled my locker with dead mice and catsup!" Jody shrieked. "And it's your fault. You won't let us keep locks on our lockers anymore!"
"We'll solve this after the game." Coach put her hands on her hips. "It could have been someone from Chatham Hall. It certainly would benefit them to rattle one of our best players and set this team fighting among ourselves, wouldn't it?"
The girls drank in this motivating theory, none of which Hallvard believed. However, it provided a temporary solution. She'd talk to Deputy Cooper after the game. Coach was intelligent enough to know that anything out of the ordinary at St. Elizabeth's must be treated with the utmost suspicion, and Cynthia had briefed her to be alert. She didn't identify Jody as a possible suspect.
"You're right, Coach." Jensen, the natural leader of the team, finally spoke. "Let's wipe them off the face of the earth!"
The girls cheered. As they grabbed their sticks and filed out of the room, Brooks noticed Mrs. Murphy.
"Murphy, hi, kitty."
"Keep your cool, Brooks, this will be a hell of a game."
When the home team ran across the field to the benches, the home crowd roared.
Fair sat next to Irene, as he promised Cynthia he would. The plainclothes officer from Waynesboro sat behind her, pretending to be a Chatham Hall supporter.
Miranda, also alerted, huddled with Mim in the center of the bleachers.
Cynthia stayed behind the Chatham Hall bench, which gave her a shorter sprint to the gym if need be. She knew Irene was well covered, so she watched Jody.
Herb Jones joined Sandy Brashiers and some of the faculty on the lower bench seats.
Harry met her co-official, Lily Norton, a former All-American, who drove over from Richmond.
"I'm a last minute fill-in, Miss Norton. Bear with me." Harry shook her hand.
"I was a freshman at Lee High the year you-all won state." She warmly returned the handshake. "You'll do fine, and please, call me Lily."
"Okay." Harry smiled.
They both synchronized their watches, then Lily put the whistle to her lips, blew, and the two captains trotted out to the center of the field.
Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker, on the gym side of the field, watched closely, too.
"Tucker, stay on the center line on this side. You know what to do?"
"Yes," Tucker answered forcefully.
"Pewter, you hang out by the north goal. There's a maple tree about twenty yards back from the goal. If you get up in there, you can see what's going on. If anything worries you, holler."
"You-all won't be able to hear me because of the crowd noise."
"Well"—Mrs. Murphy thought a minute—"about all you can do is run down the tree. We'll keep glancing in your direction."
"Why can't we stay on the edges of the field?" Tucker said.
"The referees will chase us off. Mom will put us in the truck. We've got to work with what we have."
"That field is a lot of territory to cover," Pewter, not the fastest cat in the world, noted.
"We'll do what we can. I'll stay under the St. Elizabeth's bench. If I get shooed away from there, I'll head down to the south goal. We clear?"
"Yes," they both said.
"Why can't Coop shoot if Jody or Irene goes nuts?"
"She can, but let's hope she doesn't need to do that." Murphy exhaled from her delicate nostrils. "Good luck."
The three animals fanned out to their places. Mrs. Murphy ducked feet and the squeals of the players who saw her. She scrunched up under the players' bench, listening intently.
The first quarter provided no fireworks but showed off each team's defensive skills. Jody blocked an onrushing Chatham Hall player but got knocked sideways in the process. She leapt up, ready to sock the girl, but Karen yelled at her, "Stay in your zone, Miller."
"Up yours," Jody shot back, but she obeyed.
The first half passed, back and forth but no real excitement.
Pewter wished she were under the bench because the wind was picking up. Her perch was getting colder and colder.
The second half opened with Brooks stealing a Chatham Hall pass and running like mad toward the goal where, at the last minute, now covered, she fired off a pinpoint pass to Karen Jensen, who blazed her shot past the goalie. A roar went up from the St. Elizabeth's bleachers.
Susan jumped up and down. Irene, too, was screaming. Even Sandy Brashiers, not especially interested in athletics, was caught up in the moment.
The big girl whom Jody had blocked took advantage of the run back to the center to tell Jody just what she thought of her. "Asshole."
"It's not my fault you're fat and slow," Jody needled her.
"Very funny. There's a lot of game left. You'd better watch out."
"Yeah, sure." Jody ignored her.
Chatham Hall grabbed the ball out of the knock-in. The big player, a midfielder, took the pass and barreled straight at Jody, who stepped out of the way, pretended to be hit, rolled, and flicked her stick out to catch the girl on the back of the leg.
Harry blew the whistle and called the foul.
Jody glared at Harry, and as Chatham Hall moved downfield, she brushed by Harry, close enough to make Harry step back and close enough for Harry to say, "Jody, you're the killer."
A hard shot on goal was saved by the St. Elizabeth's goalie. Another roar erupted on the sidelines. But the game became tougher, faster, and rougher. By the end of the third quarter both sides, drenched in sweat, settled in for a last quarter of attrition.
Whether by design or under the leadership of the big Chatham Hall midfielder, their team kept taking the ball down Jody's side. Jody, in excellent condition and built for running, couldn't be worn down, but they picked at her. Each time she'd lose her temper, they'd get the ball by her.
Finally Coach Hallvard took her off the field, substituting a talented but green sophomore, Biff Carstairs.
Jody paced in front of the bench, imploring Renee Hallvard, "Put me back in. Come on. Biff can't handle it."
True enough. As they flew down the right side of the field, Biff stayed with them, but she hadn't been in a game this good, this fast, or this physically punishing.
Chatham Hall scored on that series of plays, which made Jody scream at the top of her lungs. Finally, Hallvard, fearing another quick score, put Jody back in. The St. Elizabeth's side cheered anew.
Fair murmured in a low voice as the crowd cheered, "Irene, give yourself up. We all know it wasn't Kendrick."
She whirled around. "How dare you!"
A pair of hands behind her dropped to her shoulders so she couldn't move. The plainclothesman ordered, "Stay very still." He removed one hand and slipped it inside his coat to retrieve a badge.
"I didn't kill those people." Irene's anger ebbed.
"Okay, just sit tight," the plainclothesman said quietly.
Perhaps Jody felt an extra surge of adrenaline. Whatever, she could do no wrong. She checked her woman, she stole the ball, she cracked the ball right up to her forwards. She felt invincible. She really could do no wrong. With Jody playing all out at midfield and Karen and Brooks lethal up front, St. Elizabeth's crushed Chatham Hall in the last quarter. The final score was four to two. The crowd ran off the bleachers and spilled onto the field. Mrs. Murphy streaked down the sidelines to escape the feet. Pewter climbed down from the tree, relieved that nothing dangerous had happened. The animals rendezvoused at the far sideline at center with Tucker.
"I thought she'd whack at Mom with her stick. I thought we rattled her enough." Pewter was dejected that Jody had proved so self-possessed.
"Oh, well." Tucker sat down.
Mrs. Murphy scanned the wild celebration. Harry and Lily slowly walked off the field. Jody watched out of the corner of her eye even as she jumped all over her teammates.
"Nice to work with you." Lily shook Harry's hand. "You did a good job."