“I’m barely fittin’ in here, and if anyone finds out that I ratted them out, then . . .”

“Do what’s right, child,” Zed said.

“Okay,” she sighed. “My purse was sitting beside my desk and it was open. Someone in the class saw some dogs comin’ into the school with policemen and pointed out the window.”

“And?” Dana asked.

“And there was a rustling behind me and the next thing I knew the dogs stopped at my purse. That bag had come from the back of the room and was passed up, probably from Ryson, but I can’t prove it. I promise that’s all I know,” Brook said. “I’m the new kid. They’ll hate me if they think I told on someone, but I truly did not see who had it first. I promise. Mama, I’ve never even seen marijuana. I didn’t know what it was when they took it out of my purse.”

“Is she expelled, Mrs. Johnson?” Dana asked.

“School policy says that she is, but I believe she is telling the truth because I’m pretty sure I know who’s responsible for this. So I’m going to send her home for the rest of the day,” she answered.

“And can she make up whatever work she misses?” Dana asked.

“No, but there’s only one more class today and then we’re having an assembly.”

“And what are you going to do about it if the kids start bullying her because they think she’s really a drug dealer?” Zed asked.

“Believe me, they all know who that bag belonged to. If they bully her, I’ll take care of it.”

“If you know who is responsible for this, why isn’t he or she in this room?” Dana asked.

“Because I can’t catch him red-handed with the drugs. When I do, I’m putting him into the in-school suspension program for a long, long time,” she answered.

“Why don’t you fingerprint that bag of marijuana?” Zed asked.

“The police have assured me that they will do that, but think about how many hands it had to pass through on the way to her purse. By tomorrow morning, we’ll have a definite answer, or at least no sign of her fingerprints, and there will be no problem with Brook coming back to school.”

Zed was proud of the girl. She’d stood up for herself like Annie had done so many times when she was that age.

Dana met the principal’s gaze. “And tomorrow when she comes back to school, I want the word in the halls to be that those drugs did not belong to her.”

“It will be,” Mrs. Johnson said. “And Brook, I know you don’t want to be a snitch, but it might help if you’d—”

Zed rose up and gave the principal a quick nod. “She’s told you what she knows and the rest is your job, not hers.” Then he turned to Brook and Dana. “You ladies ready to go home?”

“Yes, I am.” Brook stood and wrapped her arms around Dana. “Mama, they aren’t goin’ to find my prints on that bag. I promised you a long time ago that I’d never do drugs. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

Dana hugged her tightly. “I know that and I trust you.”

Zed marched out to his truck, laid his head on the steering wheel, and let out a long whoosh of breath. Yes, sir, Brook was going to be all right. He didn’t have to worry about her, but the three sisters—they still needed a lot of work.

“Annie, I was really worried. My heart was pumping so hard I thought I might be comin’ to see you sooner than we ever expected, but she’s okay. She ain’t hurt and I’m right proud of her.”

He started the engine and pulled around to the door where Dana and Brook would be coming out of the school. “Raisin’ kids ain’t for us old dogs, Annie, but I gave you my word that I’d make things right for them if you went first. I didn’t know that a bag of pot was going to be the first big hurdle.”

“Is something wrong with our truck, Mama?” Brook slung open the door and slid across the bench seat to the middle to sit between her mother and Zed.

“No, Uncle Zed took the call in the kitchen and . . .” Dana slammed the door shut and glanced over at him.

He pulled around the rows of vehicles and back out onto the road. “I knew you’d be nervous and worryin’ about what was goin’ on, so I didn’t want you to drive.”

“Thank you for that, Uncle Zed, but I’ve been takin’ care of myself and Brook for years with no help,” Dana said.

“Yep, you have, but you don’t have to anymore. I’m here, and you got two sisters who’ll come through in a pinch,” he told her.

“I might trust you to be there for me and Brook, but my two sisters—not so much,” she chuckled. “Now, Annie Brook Clancy, who put that bag of pot in your purse?”

Brook stiffened her spine and stared out the windshield without blinking. “I know it was Ryson Taylor. I’ve seen him during the noon hour giving kids something and they hand him money. He sits about six seats behind me. But Mama, I didn’t want to say anything because Cassidy is right in front of him and she thinks he’s cute. She’s the only friend I got so far.”

“That means her fingerprints will be on that bag, too. I imagine Flora is going to be really upset,” Dana said. “What if that kid blames it all on her?”

“You think they won’t go back and look at the seating chart and see who all was close enough to drop it in your purse?” Zed asked.