by Kathi Daley
“What kind of things?” Roy asked.
Tj smiled as she remembered some of Mia’s theatrics. “Sometimes she would stand up on one of the tables in the lunch room and start reciting Shakespeare. Or other times, she’d sing at the top of her lungs while she walked through the hallways on her way to class. She certainly wasn’t afraid to call attention to herself, which I guess partially explains why she’s been so incredibly successful as an actress. What did Colton say that made Mia so mad?”
“Ms. Colton indicated that, given her profile, Mia made an excellent suspect in Holly’s murder case.”
“What?” Tj glanced at Gina who was hanging on every word of the one sided conversation she was witnessing. “Why would Mia kill Holly?”
“Ms. Colton seems to think Mia was jealous of Holly’s popularity and killed her in some sort of psychotic rage. Or at least that’s what Mia said. I suspect she might’ve embellished Ms. Colton’s words just a bit.”
“That’s crazy. Mia never seemed like the type to be jealous of anyone. In fact, based on what I remember, I don’t think she cared what people thought of her at all. And Jada, she was one of the most straight-laced girls in our class. I can’t imagine what she dug up on her.”
“Ms. Colton has reason to believe that Jada cheated on her mid-term exams.”
“There’s no way. Jada was one of the smartest kids in my class. She didn’t need to cheat.”
“Ms. Colton shared with me that she believes Holly somehow found out Jada cheated and threatened to tell the administration unless she used her tech know-how to break into the email accounts of some of her fellow students.”
“Why would Holly want the email accounts of her fellow students?”
“Ms. Colton didn’t say.”
“This Samantha Colton sounds like a real piece of work. Are you sure I need to meet with her?”
“I can’t force you to, but it will make it look like you have something to hide if you don’t. The woman’s on a witch hunt, and I don’t think she’s leaving without her killer.”
“Why exactly was the killer never caught?” Tj asked.
“I’m not sure. After Ms. Colton called I took a look at the original file. It looks like there was an adequate if not inspired investigation into the girl’s death, due mostly I suspect, to the fact that the Serenity branch of the Paradise County Sheriff’s department was in disarray.”
“Disarray?”
“There had been a turnover in personnel due to retirement and injury and the Serenity office was being staffed by temporary deputies from Indulgence.” Indulgence, with its casinos and five-star dining and lodging, was much larger than Serenity and served as the Paradise County seat.
“I guess the Serenity office was the stepchild of Paradise County even back then.” A year ago there had been three deputies permanently assigned to the Serenity office, but Roy had been handling things on his own with the assistance of temps from the Indulgence office since Deputy Dylan Caine resigned and Deputy Tim Matthews was arrested.
“It does seem like the Serenity office is understaffed much of the time,” Roy sighed. “Although Sheriff Boggs has promised to assign a full-time deputy to the Serenity office before ski season kicks in. Anyway, as for the investigation, twenty people were interviewed but the deputies who were in charge of the initial investigation only managed to narrow the list down to eight.”
“Will you be around if I come by after school lets out?”
“I can be, unless I’m called out.”
“If I can get someone to watch the girls for a bit, I’d like to come by and go over the old report with you before my meeting with Ms. Colton.”
“Okay. Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
“Sorry,” Tj said to Gina after hanging up. “I had no idea that would take so long.”
“What was that all about?”
“Ten years ago, on the night of the homecoming dance, a girl named Holly Riverton was murdered after attending a party at the star quarterback’s home. Her body was found the next morning in the woods near the guy’s house. She’d been hit over the head and left to die. The killer was never caught so now someone from Second Look is here to take a second look.”
“I’ve seen that show. They do a good job and more often than not find their killer but why are they looking into it now?”
“As I mentioned, it’s our ten-year reunion and a lot of the people who were at the party where Holly was killed will be here. I guess the Second Look folks thought this would be a good opportunity.”
Gina sat forward in her chair. She tucked a lock of her short brown hair behind her ear. Her eyes flashed with curiosity as she asked, “Do you have a theory as to what might have happened?”
“Honestly? No. It’s odd, but I really haven’t thought about it all that much since it first happened. You know how it is once you graduate. High school, and incidences associated with high school, become but a distant memory once you leave for college.”
“I heard you mention Mia to Roy. Were you talking about Mia Monroe the actress?”
“Yeah, although back then she was just Mia Monroe the drama geek with an attitude.”
“Wow. I don’t think we had anyone famous in my graduating class.”
“There were actually several very successful people in my class. Jada Jenkins was a computer geek in high school, but she went on to develop some software and is now a multimillionaire. Brett Conrad played professional football until he was injured and now he is a sportscaster. Jessie Baldwin skied in the Olympics, and another friend, our class valedictorian, Mackenzie Paulson works for NASA as some sort of high-tech scientist. And of course there is Nathan Fullerton.”
Gina’s eyes looked like they doubled in size. “The writer?”
“One and the same.” When Tj was in high school, Nathan had been the editor of the school newspaper. He’d been a talented student who went on to become a New York Times bestselling author.
“Do you think he’ll be at the reunion?”
“He is going to be there,” Tj confirmed. “My grandpa’s friend Bookman knows him, so he invited him to stay at his house. I’m pretty sure he’s already in town. My grandpa mentioned something about meeting him when he went to his regular poker game at Bookman’s last weekend. I remember Nathan being sort of stoic. It’ll be fun to see if fame has changed him.”
“Wow. I love him. His writing is so real; so emotionally seductive. Any chance you can introduce us?”
“Sure. If the opportunity presents itself.”
Tj had to admit that Gina looked about as excited as she’d ever seen her. Nathan was fairly famous in addition to being a babe. She guessed she understood Gina’s fascination.
“Is Nathan a suspect in the case?” Gina asked.
“Everyone at the party was considered to be a suspect at the time of the murder. I’m not sure who the Second Look reporter plans to interview at this point.”
“Do any of the original suspects still live in Serenity?”
“A few. If you define a suspect as anyone who was at the party.”
This really seemed to grab Gina’s interest. “Like who?”
“I was there with Hunter, Jenna and Dennis Elston were there, Doreen Sullwold, Dalton Fowler, and Teddy Bolton were all there as well.”
“Teddy Bolton the dentist?”
“Yeah, although it seems he was cleared during the first investigation along with Jenna and Dennis who left early, and Jim Hanover, who was only at the party for a few minutes.”
A look of doubt crossed Gina’s face. “As in the Jim Hanover who currently teaches at Serenity High School? I can’t imagine stodgy Jim attending a student party.”
“He was different back then. I know he’s uptight and rigid now, but he was a fun guy when he first started teaching. He could often be found hanging out with the students,
and he definitely was the teacher to go to if you had a problem.”
Gina giggled. “It’s so weird to try to picture him in the young-and-cool-teacher role.”
“He’s changed a lot in the past ten years,” Tj admitted
The first bell, notifying the physical education classes to head into the locker rooms, sounded in the distance. Tj knew that in a few minutes the hallway would be filled with students. She began setting files aside and turning things off.
“While this is all terribly fascinating, I guess I should get going,” Gina stood up. “Let me know if you come up with an idea to help Lexi. In the meantime, I’ll see if I can come up with something as well.”
Chapter 2
Every year Tj vowed to get an earlier start on holiday planning and preparation, but every year she found herself running around trying to get things done at the last minute. She’d hoped that fulfilling the mother role for her sisters would get easier as time went by, but so far it was as hard as it had ever been to fit so many pieces into her totally overloaded life.
“I thought we were going to study hall after school because you had a meeting,” redheaded, green-eyed Ashley greeted as Tj hurried toward her.
“Change of plan. Grab your stuff and let’s hurry to see if we can catch Gracie before she leaves her classroom.”
“She’s always the last one out,” Ashley reminded her. “I don’t think you have to worry. Can we go to a movie tonight?”
“The Great Pumpkin is on television tonight.”
“The Great Pumpkin is for babies.”
“No it’s not. I love The Great Pumpkin,” Tj countered, “and I’m a long way from being a baby.”
“Me and Kristi want to go to the Halloween movie marathon over at the fourplex,” Ashley announced.
“The Halloween marathon is playing horror movies,” Tj pointed out as she transferred the pile of tests she’d brought home to grade from one arm to the other. “I’m not sure the movies they’re featuring are appropriate for your age group.”
“I’m in the fifth grade. I’m not afraid of scary movies and I’m not a baby,” Ashley argued. “If we can’t go tonight, can I go this weekend? Everyone in my class is going to be there then.”
“I doubt everyone in your class is going.”
“You are so overprotective.” Ashley groaned. “Mom would have let me go.”
“We’ve talked about this before,” Tj reminded her sister as they hurried through the crowded hallway. “I’m not Mom and I’m not going to make every decision the way she would have. Still, the movie marathon does sound exactly like something I would have been dying to go to when I was your age, so how about if I check out the lineup and talk to Jenna and then let you know?”
“Okay, but do it soon. You always say you’re going to do things, but then you get busy and forget to do them.”
“No, I don’t. I’m very good about following through.”
“No, you’re not. You think you are, but you’re not.”
Tj sighed. She knew it would do her no good to argue with her sister. It was hard to walk the line between being a mother and a sister. If Ashley was actually her daughter, she’d never let her sass her the way she tended to do. On the other hand, Tj knew sisters argued and sassed one another all the time.
“I’ll talk to Jenna this afternoon,” Tj assured Ashley as they rounded the corner to the hallway where the second grade classes were held. “I promise.”
“Tj!” Gracie squealed as she ran into her arms. “Did you get off early?”
“I did.”
Gracie gave Tj a kiss on her cheek after wrapping her arms around her neck.
“Go grab your stuff,” Tj instructed.
Gracie ran back toward the cubbies where the students kept their personal belongings. After Tj confirmed she had everything she needed, the trio headed down the hall to the parking lot shared by both the elementary and the high school.
It was a beautiful autumn afternoon. The trees lining the front walk of the school were a brilliant gold and a gentle breeze created a melody that reminded Tj why the trees were called quaking aspens. Ashley kicked at the leaves as they walked while Gracie chatted about this and that as she clung to Tj’s hand.
When they arrived at the 4Runner, Tj set the paperwork she’d been holding on the passenger seat of the vehicle before walking around to the opposite side. She buckled her sisters in then slid into the driver’s seat.
She said a silent prayer that her ancient vehicle would start and then turned the key. When the engine roared right away, she sighed in relief. She really did need to get a new car, but she was attached to the one she’d had since she’d first learned to drive.
“How was school?” Tj asked.
“Boring,” Ashley answered.
“I thought you liked school.”
“I did. But now it’s boring. The teacher keeps going over stuff we already learned.”
Ashley was an exceptionally bright student who really should be in gifted classes, but so far Tj had been unsuccessful in getting her to agree to take the placement test. Ashley insisted she wanted to be in the normal class with her friends and not the special one with all the geeky kids. Tj understood that a stable social environment was important for Ashley so she didn’t force the issue, but she was concerned Ashley would become so bored she’d stop trying.
“Did you ask your teacher about doing extra credit work during those times she feels the need to review for the other students,” Tj asked.
“No. Extra credit is just extra work.”
Tj supposed Ashley had a point.
“Maybe you can bring a book and keep it in your desk,” Tj suggested. “That way if you get bored you can read quietly so you aren’t disturbing the other students.”
“Maybe. It still sounds like extra work, though.”
“I made the finals for the spelling bee,” Gracie announced. “That’s extra work, but it’s also fun.”
“Congratulations. That’s wonderful,” Tj praised. “When are the finals?”
“The school finals are on Thursday, and then the winner of that round in each group goes on to the regional finals, which are in Carson City. I’m going to study really hard ’cause I think it would be fun to go to Carson City.”
“That would be fun,” Tj agreed. “I’ll help you study. I’m sure Grandpa and Papa will as well.”
“I have a list of words to learn. I already know most of them because they’re from the list I’ve been studying, but they added some for the final round and there are a few I get mixed up on.”
“We’ll work on them tonight after dinner. Right now I have a bunch of errands to take care of before we head home.”
“Like shopping for costumes?” Ashley asked.
“Like shopping for costumes.” Tj agreed. “But I also need to go and talk to Deputy Fisher. I’m going to drop you at The Antiquery,” Tj referred to the café/antique shop her best friend Jenna owned along with her mother Helen. “Jenna will give you a snack and then after I get back from the sheriff’s office we will go to the costume store.”
After dropping the girls off and chatting with Jenna for a few minutes Tj headed to the sheriff’s office. It seemed to Tj that the main office didn’t take the Serenity office as seriously as it should, and it was a fact that the Serenity office was really just a tiny building with a single jail cell and a couple of offices. When Tj arrived Roy was sitting in the reception area working on one of the computers.
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” Tj greeted.
“I’m always happy to. It seems like lately you’ve done more to solve crime around here than the men and women who are paid to do the job.”
“So about the original report.” Tj had a ton of errands to do so it was best to get right to the point.
“Like I said. The Se
renity office was being manned by temps from the main office at the time of the murder. Two men were assigned to the case neither of which still work for the county. I can probably track them down if we feel at some point that doing so would be helpful, but at this point I’m planning to let the report stand on its own and see what develops. I’m hoping we can get a better feel for what the Second Look folks are focusing on once Samantha Colton blows into town.”
“You said twenty people were interviewed during the initial investigation.”
“According to this.” Roy handed Tj the report. Roy was correct. According to the report there had been twenty people interviewed, and all twenty people had been at the party on the night Holly died. While Tj agreed that the killer had most likely attended the party, the murder did happen in the woods behind the house and not inside the house. It was shortsighted not to have at least considered any other scenarios.
“Of the twenty it looks like everyone was cleared except for eight people,” Roy continued while Tj read. “Brett Conrad, Jessie Baldwin, Mackenzie Paulson, Nathan Fullerton, Mia Monroe, Jada Jenkins, Dalton Fowler, and you.”
“Yes, I confess. I did it.” Tj laughed.
“I know that most of the people on this list are not viable suspects but I guess I can understand why Second Look might be interested in the case. There are a lot of stones that were left unturned during the initial investigation.”
“I have to agree. I’m not sure how the other interviews went but I do remember mine. One of the loaner deputies came to my home and asked me a bunch of questions about who Holly had been hanging out with and who might have motive to want her dead. It’s interesting that I wasn’t cleared. I don’t remember saying anything incriminating, and I both came to and left from the party with Hunter and he is cleared. Weird.”
“I seem to remember that there was talk at the time that you were jealous that Holly made homecoming queen and you hadn’t. There was even some talk that you accused her of cheating.”