The Girl in the Lane

By Marianna Ramondetta

It’s every teacher’s nightmare. After Gina brings her class to Central Park on a sunny autumn day, she leaves little Rachel behind. And Rachel disappears.

Losing her job and her marriage, Gina struggles to stay sane. With the help of her brother, Christopher, she plans to find out what happened to Rachel. Complicating things is the fact that Gina's fiancée, who's serving time in a state prison, was accused of killing a girl in the woods of Vermont.

The only way Gina can find peace is by learning what happened to Rachel. What really happened on that sunny day in the park, and is it already too late to find Rachel and bring her back home?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Next Chapter
• Release date: May 18, 2024

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

I just can’t believe she was out four days this month, Gina grumbled.

Well, we do have ten sick days, Megan said. If a teacher wants to use them all by the end of November, let her. She’ll be sorry when it’s dark and cold and the snow is blowing. Megan touched a little girl on the top of her head before the girl went racing towards the monkey bars. Honestly, that girl, Rachel, needs to be evaluated. Have you spoken to her mother yet?

Gina hadn’t. She didn’t want to open that door, the door to endless meetings and parents’ resistance, and, by the time any changes in behavior occurred, the girl would already be in third grade. No help to Gina.

Look at her, over there, playing by herself near the swings, Megan said. She’s such a strange duck. Is she bonding with any of the girls in your class? Have you spoken to Doctor Lewis about her?

Not yet, Gina mumbled.

The problem is that Rachel’s mother smothers her. That can’t be good. Rachel needs to socialize with the other girls, have play dates. What happened to her father anyway?

Before Gina had a chance to respond, a breathless red-headed girl came rushing up to Megan. Miss Connor, Victoria fell on the jungle gym – right on her head – and she’s really bleeding.

Megan raced over to the jungle gym and Gina followed behind. A bevy of girls surrounded poor Victoria, who was wailing uncontrollably.

I’ve got to get her to the school nurse, Megan said. Can you gather both of our classes and follow right behind me?

Do you want me to go with you, Miss Connor? I’m Victoria’s best friend.

I didn’t push her, the rotund girl with the huge brown eyes insisted. I don’t care what anyone says. I didn’t push her.

So can I go with you, Miss Connor? Victoria’s best friend begged.

No, stay with Mrs. Patino. She’ll bring you back to school.

But I want her to come with me! Victoria insisted. She’s my best friend!

And so, Megan consented, and then she whipped both girls out of sight, practically carrying Victoria out of the park. Victoria, who was always falling and crying and screaming and bellowing and pushing and shoving. This behavior usually resulted in her getting hurt, which was a huge inconvenience to everyone, especially to Gina, who now had the task of gathering thirty-two second graders from Central Park and then walking with them past Madison Avenue.

The rule of was, upon leaving the premises, there should always be one teacher for every ten girls. Technically Gina and Megan should not have taken their students to Central Park without two other chaperones. But, after all, it was a warm fall day, and the girls were antsy, and so were the teachers, and the park was mere streets away, so what could possibly happen?

Well, this could happen. One teacher now to over thirty girls.

Gina blew her whistle, creating a definite din. One teenager, wearing a hoodie and baggy jeans, was blasting a boom box, and a little boy was hollering at the top of his lungs over dripped ice cream, so only a few girls, exploding with laughter, came running. Gina had to send those girls to gather the others and they were slow in lining up. It was going on three and, if they were late for the buses, there would be a terrible fuss.

And it had started to drizzle. The sunny day had turned overcast, and Gina felt a sudden chill in the October air.

Ten minutes later the second-grade girls from Miss Mitter’s were lined up and partnered. Gina held up her hand in the peace sign and a hush fell over most of them.

As you can see, I am the only teacher here, so I need some cooperation.

The girls didn’t look too cooperative.

Does everyone have her partner?

There was no answer.

Everyone, make sure you have your partner. Is everyone standing by the person she walked into the park with?

There were a lot of feeble yeses.

Perhaps she should count them, but she wasn’t sure how many girls were in Megan’s class, and it was getting late, and she was tired, having slept little the night before, kept up, while worrying about her dwindling finances.

So instead, she forged on, leading the line. She put the studious girls in the back, the reliable ones. And Gina walked slowly and deliberately, waiting for fresh traffic lights on Fifth Avenue and then on Madison. She marched through the pink doorway of Miss Mitter’s and up four flights of stairs, and she left Megan’s students in Megan’s classroom (although Megan wasn’t there yet), and then Gina proceeded to her own classroom.

Girls, everyone please take a seat. We’ll pack up and get ready to go home when everyone is quiet.

Which wasn’t going to be anytime soon.

And Gina couldn’t even silence them (not really), because she was running back and forth between her class and Megan’s until Megan came in, flushed, and flustered, and said that Victoria had to go to the ER for stitches, and Megan only hoped that they didn’t get in trouble, because they disobeyed the rule having only two chaperones.

Gina started to feel dizzy and nauseous, as though she was losing control.

She asked her students – for the fourth time – to sit, and then she said Victoria was going to be fine. No, she wasn’t in an ambulance, and she wasn’t dead, and no one was going to be in trouble unless they didn’t quiet down, and Gina was so frustrated and her voice was so shrill that the girls finally rushed into their seats, mute at last.

All except Rachel, whose chair was empty.

Gina felt a flutter of panic, and then she asked in a little voice, Is Rachel in the bathroom?

The girls looked at each other, with wide and bulging eyes.

All right, Gina drew a deep breath, who was her partner?

Again, the girls eyed one another, dazed.

Girls, this is not a hard question. One of you walked from the park back to school with her. Who was it?

The silence terrified Gina, especially when she saw the puzzled expressions on the little girls’ faces.

I don’t understand. A chill flashed through her.

And then the girls all began to talk at once and the confusion only heightened

Gina’s panic. The room began to whirl around her, as she tried to catch her breath. She felt like she was floating in a bad dream. A sheen of sweat ran from her forehead to her chin and down to her neck.

Where is she? asked Ashley, the smallest girl in the class.

Devon, a tall girl with braids, said, Didn’t she come back with us?

She was playing by the sandbox. Summer, a blonde girl, kicked her foot in the aisle.

I saw her by the swings, Madison said softly.

But then she went to the sandbox, Bonnie added.

Girls, Gina screamed at the top of her lungs, "I asked you all, every one of you at the park, if you were walking with your partner, and you all answered yes. How could this have happened? Someone must have walked into the park with her!"

Or maybe Rachel hadn’t walked into the park at all. Maybe she was still in the building – except Gina had a vague recollection of Megan commenting on Rachel – Rachel alone.

She was our partner, Vanessa, a red-haired girl, was crying now, but not really, because it was a threesome.

What? What are you talking about?!

Someone was absent, so Rachel didn’t have a partner. Vanessa continued to sob. Miss Connor told us that we had to triple up, so Natasha and I took Rachel as our partner.

So, when you asked if everyone had a partner, nosy Natasha said, we answered yes because we did have our partners, only Rachel wasn’t really our partner.

I saw her. Isabelle wrinkled her freckled nose. I know where Rachel is.

Where is she? Oh God, Gina prayed, let her be in the building, somewhere on the first floor, wandering.

I saw her in the park, way over by the water fountain, talking to a man.

Rachel. Never came back from the park. Talking to a man. Did she know this man?

Isabelle shrugged. It wasn’t her father. She doesn’t have a father.

Gina didn’t even bother with her coat. She flew into the hall and ran into the computer teacher, an easy-going man, who always spoke softly. Watch my class!

I can’t. I have a meeting. Aren’t they supposed to be packing up and going home?

Gina didn’t answer him. Nor did she wait for the elevator. She raced down four flights of stairs. Her knees buckled and she tripped over a backpack, and fell, and got up, and kept going. The first graders were behind her, chattering, the teacher threatening them if they weren’t quiet on the stairs -

Gina left by the side door. She didn’t want Mr. Fleming, the security guard, to see her. Not now. Not yet.

It was turning dark and nasty, and Gina felt a steady rain on her shoulders. "God please let Rachel be there," she prayed. "God, please let her be there. God, please let her be there!"

Gina almost got hit by a car as she crossed the street and entered the park. Then she took her steps slowly, hesitantly, so frightened she could hardly breathe. With baby steps, she made her way to the playground, pausing at the iron gate.

Oh God, please let her be there.

No child was swinging or climbing up the slide. The sandbox was empty, and the monkey bars stood silent, a steel silhouette against the darkening sky.

The playground, which just minutes ago had been full of laughter and small children, was eerie and desolate.

And Rachel was nowhere in sight.

CHAPTER 2

It can’t be, Gina thought, it just can’t be.

That feeling again, as though she was trapped in some sort of nightmare - that none of this was real, that soon she would wake up in her own pink and green bedroom and her alarm would ring, and she would nudge her husband, and force herself out of her safe cocoon.

The cold rain on her face whipped her back into reality.

As she made her way out of the park, she clung to a tiny glimmer of hope. Even though Rachel was quiet and unassuming, she was smart. There was always a possibility that she had found her way back to the school, or some kind person had helped her, and right now she would be waiting in the lobby. Waiting with an angry and furious Miss Kennedy.

Of course, Gina would lose her job or, at least, they would not hire her back for the next school year. But that was all right, better than the alternative, which was unthinkable.

The parents of the elementary school girls were gathered outside the school, chatting. Dressed in designer clothes, carrying handbags that cost more than the average car, they didn’t seem to look at her in any peculiar way. In fact, they didn’t glance at her at all. If a child was missing, they would know already.

It was going to be all right.

She drew a deep breath, threw open the front door and stepped inside the lobby.

The lobby was flooded with children, and mothers, and babysitters, so at first Gina didn’t see Catherine, Rachel’s mother.

But then the crowd began to thin out and Gina heard Catherine’s voice.

Excuse me, she said, I am looking for my daughter, Rachel. Excuse me, she repeated, and then Gina saw that Catherine was interrupting Megan, who was talking to an anxious parent, a parent who was concerned because her daughter had failed a test on subtraction. I’m looking for my daughter, Rachel McNulty.

She’s in Mrs. Patino’s class. Megan waved Catherine away.

I know which class my daughter is in. But she didn’t come down with the rest of the girls.

And just as Gina was about to come over and say who knew what, nosy Natasha butted in.

I know where Rachel is. Mrs. Patino went to get her.

I don’t understand. Is Rachel in the nurse’s office? Those darn sneakers, the laces are always coming undone. Where is the nurse’s office?

Rachel isn’t with the nurse. She’s in Central Park.

Central Park?

Natasha, what are you talking about? Megan snapped.

`Natasha shrugged, and her auburn braids bobbed up and down. I think she got left behind.

Left behind? Catherine shrieked. Where is my daughter?

As Gina stepped forward, so did Miss Kennedy, the head of the lower school, a grim-faced former nun who was said to rule the teachers with an iron fist. But she spoke in a soft, comforting tone, when she asked Catherine’s mother what she could do for her.

I want to know where my daughter is!

And who is your daughter?

Rachel, Catherine bellowed. Rachel McNulty.

Don’t worry. We’ll find her. Miss Kennedy looked at Megan. Who is Rachel’s teacher?

I am. The room was whirling around Gina again, and she had trouble standing still. It was as if a large, dead weight had fallen from her chest into her lower stomach.

Let’s all go into my office where we can have some privacy. Miss Kennedy motioned for everyone to follow her, away from the last-minute curious stragglers. They all stood by, as she gently closed the door.

Miss Kennedy glanced sharply at Gina. Mrs. Patino, why don’t you tell Miss McNulty where Rachel is? Did you send her to extra help?

Rachel doesn’t need extra help and she has never stayed after school, Catherine insisted almost feverishly.

Miss Kennedy turned towards Gina, her eyes hardening. Mrs. Patino, when was the last time you saw Rachel?

It was difficult for Gina to speak. She felt as if an invisible pillow had been pressed over her mouth.

Mrs. Patino, when was the last time you saw Gina?Avoiding eye contact with Rachel’s mother, Gina mumbled, Central Park.

Now it was Miss Kennedy who shook her head and frowned. She turned towards Megan, whose face was flushed, as she looked around the room, as though she was suddenly in a strange place.

We were in the park, Megan explained, and Victoria got hurt. I had to take her to the nurse. I left Mrs. Patino with the girls. She brought back both classes.

Miss Kennedy held up a protesting hand. Let’s stop right there. Who were the other teachers at the park?

Megan bit her bottom lip and looked at Gina.

Miss Connor, who were the other teachers you brought to the park with you?

I – there wasn’t anyone available and we weren’t planning to stay more than twenty minutes.

So, you left one teacher in charge of thirty-two girls? Let’s talk outside. Miss Kennedy pointed towards the door, and she murmured an excuse us to Catherine and a caution not to worry, that she would settle the matter.

As though the matter could be easily settled.

Gina inched her way to the door; her legs were shaking. She unbuttoned the top of her cardigan because she felt as if her chest was on fire.

You know the rules, Miss Kennedy was saying as they stood in the corner of the hall. The rules are very clear.

I’m sorry. Megan bit her lip so hard that it started to bleed.

Mrs. Patino, where is Rachel?

Gina cleared her throat, wishing she could suddenly evaporate.

Mrs. Patino, do you know where Rachel is? Miss Kennedy asked in a firm tone of voice.

The most Gina could do was shake her head in silent denial.

The door flung open, and Catherine burst into the hall. Where is my daughter?! I need to find my daughter!Gina felt herself being pulled by Mr. Fleming.

Where are you taking her? Miss Kennedy demanded.

I need to ask her some questions away from everyone. Where it’s calm.

Don’t tell me about calm! Catherine screamed. How can anyone be calm when her daughter is missing?

Gina was led into the admissions room. She slumped down on the little chair and didn’t move, when Mr. Fleming told her that he would be right back.

Her head was spinning, and her skin was tingling. She felt as though none of this was real. It couldn’t be real. Somehow it was a horrible mistake, the way she felt when they told her that she needed a breast biopsy and then she didn’t after all, at least not yet.

The door opened and Megan walked in. Catherine could read a mingle of fear and fury on Megan’s face. Gina closed her eyes and told herself again that none of this was real.

Okay. Mr. Fleming was back and this time he brought Mr. Halenda. A former police detective, Kevin Halenda was now the head of security at Miss Mitter’s. Known for his calmness and his control, perspiration stained his white shirt, and he was rubbing the back of his red neck.

I want you to tell me very slowly what happened. Mr. Halenda’s eyes snapped back to Gina. From beginning to end.

Gina drew a deep breath. We were in the park, and one of Megan’s students fell, and she left, and I had to gather up all the other students, and I asked if everyone had her partner, and everyone said she did.

Did you count them? Megan asked. "We are always supposed to count