A Lesson Plan for Murder — Richard L. Baldwin

Soon after the Newberry, MI, school board lays off a special education teacher and two others, its chairman dies of a much-anticipated heart attack. A gossipy old woman's nosiness leads to a murder investigation by local police, a retired state director of special education who writes mysteries, and a wheelchair-bound insurance claims detective. The laid-off teacher and affected parents, meanwhile, enlist the aid of a lawyer (who happens to know the mystery writer).