As Linda finished, Kim Jeffries rose to her feet: “We all know when there’s trouble in town, your son Trip is usually at the center of it!” she yelled, and the room went quiet. “Why don’t you take responsibility for raising a hoodlum, if that’s so important to you?”

The board president was banging his gavel, and Mike Jeffries tugged at his wife’s arm, urging her to sit. Linda O’Connor stood still in front of the mic. The room had started to buzz again with voices. She took a deep breath. “If either of my sons were involved, then they will come forward,” she finally said, almost in a whisper. “But I hope they were not.”

Before she could sit, a man from the audience stood to speak without waiting for the mic. “Linda’s right,” he said. “These kids are out of control. I had a boy put his car right through my fence, and the parents asked me why I didn’t have reflectors up! These rich kids think they can do whatever they want, and their parents go right along with it. Well, it stops here.”

“You’re blaming rich people?” another woman called out, her voice incredulous. “You mean the people who actually pay taxes in this town? Success is not a crime.”

Dr. Johnson quickly made his way down the aisle and grabbed the mic, patting Linda on the shoulder sympathetically. The crowd was talking loudly as Linda returned to her seat, and Dr. Johnson cleared his throat a few times before they quieted down.

“Okay, folks, let’s get down to business. I’m really glad to see all of you here. Like I always say, when we are all engaged in our kids’ education, we all have a chance to learn. I know emotions are running high tonight, but I want us to focus on what’s important here: the safety and best interest of our students.”

The crowd nodded. No one could argue with that.

“I’m going to bring District Attorney Hal Buckley up onstage.” At these words, a murmur went through the room. “Hal is also the parent of a student who graduated from New Falls High School, and he has agreed to give an update on the police investigation into the house party. As to whether or not students will face consequences at the school level for their involvement, I’m not able to speak to that at this point. It is, however, always a possibility.”

Hal, who had been waiting off to the side, came up onto the stage and took the mic. “Thank you, Dr. Johnson. I do appreciate this opportunity. Don’t forget, I also attended this fine school. But that was so long ago that they probably didn’t keep written records back then.” This got a nervous laugh from the crowd. Everyone seemed to be sitting on the edge of their seat.