TheFYeBErass
Friday,
March
A,
1988
5
Fiction
Feature
The
Killing
Room
Part
II:
The
Long
Winter
Day
by
Haes
Marshall
The
police
immediately
evacuated
the
library
when
they
arrived,
except
for
Handelman
and
his
friends.
Handelman
hadn't
bothered
with
an
ambulance.
He
just
called
the
police.
A
constable
questioned
him
about
that.
"Why
didn't
you
call
for
an
ambulance?
She
might
still
have
been
alive."
Handelman
just
stared
at
the
Constable.
"She
wasn't."
"But
how
did
you
know
for
sure?"
The
cop
asked.
"I
asked
if
she
was
still
alive.
She
didn't
say
anything
so
I
took
it
as
a
no."
The
cop
merely
told
him
to
watch
his
mouth.
Handelman
wanted
to
reply
that
it
would
be
very
hard
to
do
without
the
aid
of
a
mirror
but
he
didn't.
They
brought
the
corpse
out
at
2:00
pm.
At
three
they
had
a
preliminary
coroner's
report.
Death
by
cyanide
poisoning.
The
cyanide
had
been
put
in
the
water
Lilah
had
brought
her.
The
police
had
asked
everyone
else
general
questions,
but
for
the
five
they
really
started
in.
They
not
only
wanted
answers,
they
wanted
to
see
how
they
answered
their
questions.
"Was
she
a
slut?
Did
you
ever
sleep
with
her?
Did
you
ever
see
her
in
bed
with
anyone
else?
Can
you
prove
she
was
a
slut?
Was
she
a-
virgin?
Are
you
a
virgin?
Why
not?"
And
many
more.
They
quizzed
them
at
the
study
desks
in
the
back
of
the
library.
When
they
were
finished
with
them
they
sat
them
down
on
the
rectangular
carpeted
blocks
where
they
had
first
heard
the
screams.
Handelman
was
the
first
they
had
finished
questioning.
As
he
sat
down
he
looked
around
and
considered
things.
Geena
had
been
alone
when
she
died.
She
had
been
violently
ill
before
they
left
her
alone.
So
did
that
mean
that
she
had
taken
the
poison
earlier?
And
there
was
another
question,
why
had
she
died?
What
did
she
do
that
would
cause
her
to
take
her
own
life?
He
was
reviewing
these
questions
when
the
R.C.M.P.
began
to
leave.
Death
by
suicide,
they
told
him.
That's
what
it
looked
like
so
far.
There
seemed
to
be
no
other
answer,
though
they
were
following
up
several
leads
that
they
had
been
given.
Melinda.
Lilah.
and
Handelman
left
together.
Kurt
was
still
being
questioned.
As
they
left
the
library
they
saw
Kori
waiting
on
the
other
side.
Kori.
Lilah
s
onetime
friend.
They
quietly
approached
each
other.
Melinda
and
Handelman
staying
back
to
leave
them
alone.
Quietly,
very
slowly
they
put
their
arms
around
each
other
and
started
to
cry.
Until
Lilah
struck
Kori
in
the
face.
"You
bitch!"
she
screamed,
tears
streaming
down
her
face.
"I
asked
if
she
was
still
alive.
She
didn't
say
anything,
so
I
took
it
as
a
no."
"
You
killed
her!"
She
started
striking
Kori
again
and
again.
Kori
could
only
raise
her
hands
as
shields
against
the
onslaught
of
fists.
Handelman
finally
grabbed
Lilah
and
pulled
her
back,
but
Lilah
was
still
screaming.
"You
&e!
bitch!
You
hated
her!
You
were
jealous
because
you
didn't
have
me
to
kick
around
anymore!
You
made
her
feel
like
shit
every
time
you
were
with
her!
You
made
her
feel
like
she
wasn't
worth
having
as
a
friend,
and
you
started
those
rumors
about
her
and
-
Jesus
Christ,
you
Uv
bitch!"
Her
great
tirade
spent,
she
just
started
sobbing
and
clung
to
Handelman.
Melinda
whispered
some
words
to
Kori
who
just
stood
with
a
dazed
look
on
her
face.
They
all
seemed
frozen
until
Kurt
emerged
from
the
library.
He
walked
up
to
Kori.
"
Are
you
coming?"
"Yeah.
I'll
be
with
you
in
a
minute."
"Okay."
Kurt
said.
Melinda
and
Handelman
raised
their
eyebrows
and
looked
at
each
other.
Kurt
being
nice?
But
Kurt
just
ambled
off
to
the
cafeteria,
avoiding
all
the
stares
of
the
student
who
wanted
to
know
about
the
chick
who
killed
herself
in
the
library.
The
three
of
them
went
upstairs
to
a
deserted
hallway
and
sat
down.
Lilah
started
talking
about
how
much
she
hated
Kori.
about
how
she
knew
how
depressed
Geena
was
about
family,
school,
her
reputation,
and
other
things;
about
how
she
gave
up
her
place
on
the
trip
so
Geena
could
go
because
she
knew
it
would
cheer
her
up.
She
just
talked
and
talked.
Finally
nine
o'clock
rolled
around
and
they
went
home.
As
Handelman
dropped
Melinda
off
he
paused,
"You
know,
it
always
seems
like
it's
the
people
you
don't
expect
to
do
it
who
do."
Melinda
nodded.
She
knew
what
he
was
talking
about.
"But
if
you
look
at
them
differently,
you
realize
that
it
isn't
so
unexpected
after
all
sometimes.
Sometimes
their
lives,
or
what
they
do.
include
a
high
risk
factor.
Others
just
don't
notice
it.
because
they
only
look
at
the
surface."
She
smiled.
"I
know
this
is
an
ugly
time,
but
we
have
to
get
this
damn
trip
out
of
the
way.
It's
in
May
but
we
have
to
book
now.
It's
going
to
be
in
the
library
again,
but
at
the
far
end
this
time.
Do
you
want
to
be
there?
You
can
help
us
get
through
the
damn
thing.
Someone
will
probably
break
down
if
you're
not
there."
"What
do
I
do,
stop
people
from
crying?"
"In
a
way.
you
make
us
feel
good.
It
seems
that
when
there's
a
dark
cloud
around,
you're
always
there."
"Maybe
I
bring
them
with
me."
he
said
seriously.
"No."
Melinda
implored.
"You
just
go
where
you're
needed."
She
said
good-night
and
Handelman
drove
home
thinking
about
nothing,
about
YM-YWCA
&
AIMIHI
Janice
is
mildly
retarded
and
is
unable
to
tie
her
shoelaces
by
herself.
Tom
is
hard
of
hearing
and
has
a
difficult
time
understanding
what
he
is
asked
to
do.
John
has
only
one
arm
and
is
sensitive
about
appearing
alone
in
a
group
he
does
not
know.
Mary
is
elderly
and
spends
her
time
alone,
shut
in
her
house
and
has
no
communication
with
the
outside
world.
These
descriptions
could
apply
to
many
people
in
Prince
George
who
would
enjoy
the
social
and
physical
benefits
of
attending
a
recreation
or
leisure
activity,
but
who
hesitate
to
join
on
their
own.
They
might
require
some
physical
help,
but
often
only
need
the
moral
support
and
encouragement
of
a
friend.
The
YMYWCA
and
AIMHI
have
a
program
called
Leisure
Buddies.
We
will
match
a
person
who
needs
some
kind
of
everything,
and
he
couldn't
figure
out
why.
The
next
day
dawned
bright
and
early,
perfect
for
a
jog
Handelman
left
the
Valiant
at
the
hotel
and
jogged
to
the
college.
He
walked
around
the
halls
to
cool
down.
As
he
did
he
thought
about
his
conversation
with
Melinda.
People
only
look
at
the
surface,
she
had
said.
The
surface
said
Geena
committed
suicide
because
she
was
depressed.
But
the
logic
for
that
was
shaky
at
best.
But
then
again,
it
was
totally
illogical
to
think
she
had
been
murdered.
There
was
no
reason.
For
hating,
sure,
but
murder?
No
motives
appeared,
nothing
on
the
surface,
anyway.
Seeing
as
how
the
meeting
wasn't
for
another
hour,
he
amused
himself
with
this
line
of
thought.
"So
what
would
happen
if
we
dug
deeper?"
he
thought.
Pointless
to
go
into
her
past,
the
police
had
all
that
information
and
they're
trained
to
find
things.
Mental
games
such
as
these
challenged
Handelman's
mind.
He
honestly
meant
nothing
by
them
but
something
inside
him
refused
to
let
this
one
go.
(Continued
on
page
8)
support
with
a
participant
who
is
willing
to
help.
The
two
"buddies"
are
introduced
to
each
other
and
the
"helper"
is
oriented
as
to
what
type
of
assistance
he
or
she
should
provide.
The
buddies
then
attend
an
activity
together.
The
activity
need
not
be
vigorous,
as
one
may
just
want
to
share
talk
and
a
coffee.
If
you
are
interested
in
becoming
a
member
of
our
Leisure
Buddy
program,
fill
out
an
application,
which
is
available
at
the
front
desk.
Or
if
you
would
like
more
information
about
the
program,
please
leave
your
name
and
number
at
the
desk.
Volunteer
benefits
are
available.
One
hour
of
volunteer
time
equals
one
hour
of
"Y"
facility
use.
For
contact
more
Laurel
information.
Fairclough.
Program
Co-ordinator
at
362-9341
between
9a.m.
and
3
pm.