by Diane Weiner
“Wake up, sleepy head. Get up and ready for school.” Antonio gently shook Tony.
Antonio went into the kitchen and saw Hayley at the stove cooking bacon. He didn’t know why he’d been such a cheating jerk. She looked beautiful, even with no makeup and wearing a terry bathrobe. He thought about the first time he met her. He saw her across the courtyard at the student union building. She was eating lunch on the steps of the pit while studying her notes. Her long daffodil-colored hair attracted him first. It hung over her shoulders as she bent forward to eat. He made his way over to her and said something lame like “Aren’t you in my poli-sci class?” Her jade-colored eyes had twinkled when she looked up at him and the rest was, as they say, history.
“Have some bacon while it’s hot,” said Hayley. Antonio was surprised that Hayley was encouraging him to eat bacon. Maybe she was trying to kill him.
“Thanks.” He took a plateful and scooped up some scrambled eggs.
“Do you have a busy day today?” asked Hayley. “Can you drop off Tony and come back home? I need to talk to you.”
Antonio grabbed his phone and checked his calendar. “No, nothing scheduled for this morning. I’m sure I can get away for an hour or two.” Tony hopped down the steps and into the kitchen.
“Have some eggs and a muffin, Tony. Daddy is going to drop you off today but he’ll be at school when it’s time to take you home,” said Hayley.
Tony finished his breakfast and brushed his teeth.
“Here’s your lunch box. Zip up your jacket.” Hayley kissed him goodbye. Then she turned to Antonio. “I’ll see you in a little while.” She kissed him on the cheek. Antonio couldn’t remember the last time she did that. He was getting a little nervous.
Chapter 51
After getting Mike off to work, Susan decided to ride down to the station and see what was going on with David’s arrest. Theresa had seen an Epi-pen in the glove compartment of David’s car and he was obviously a psycho. It was only a matter of time until they could charge him with Vicky’s murder. Susan was glad that Carolina and Javier would be able to rest knowing Vicky’s murderer had finally been caught. She saw Lynette as soon as she entered the station. Lynette’s eyes were underlined with dark circles.
“Hi, sweetheart, did you get any sleep last night?” asked Susan.
“Not a whole lot. Come on in,” said Lynette.
Jackson was sitting at a desk. Good thing Susan had eaten breakfast. It would have been hard to handle him on an empty stomach.
“Well, good work Nancy Drew. I heard you helped catch a bad guy last night,” said Jackson.
“And I never even went to the police academy,” replied Susan. “Where were you last night Jackson? Playing Guitar Hero or searching Craig’s List for a girlfriend?”
“All Lynette had to do was call me, but I guess she had it covered,” replied Jackson.
Susan followed Lynette into her office. “So we got him right? He’s the one who murdered Vicky,” said Susan.
“Not exactly,” replied Lynette. We charged him with kidnapping and he will definitely see some jail time but he didn’t kill Vicky.”
“But he was Macho Man. He threatened Vicky, and you found the Epi-pen in his car,” said Susan.
“We found an Epi-pen, not the Epi-pen. He was telling the truth about being allergic to bee stings. That was his, not Vicky’s. We still haven’t found the one from Vicky’s desk,” said Lynette.
“He still could have killed Vicky,” said Susan. She crossed her arms across her chest.
“No, he had an alibi which checked out,” replied Lynette. “It wasn’t him. Besides, can you picture him baking a peanut infused funfetti cupcake?”
“I guess not. I’m disappointed though. I was hoping we’d have closure for Carolina and Javier.”
“We will. We just don’t have it yet. We will get the real killer.”
“You still need to look into boy toy, and I’m suspicious of Blaze Conrad’s girlfriend. If she was being abused by Blaze, maybe this was her version of revenge.”
“We’ve got it covered, Mom. Go home and relax,” said Lynette.
Susan hugged Lynette goodbye and went back home. Maybe she’d try a little more scrap booking.
Chapter 52
Hayley heard Antonio pull into the driveway. Her heart was racing. This was going to be over––today. She had pulled on some yoga pants and a long sleeved tee. The baby had cooperated and was napping in his crib.
“Hayley, I’m here.” Hayley heard the door close. Antonio took off his coat and shoes.
“Let’s sit down.” Antonio followed her into the living room.
Hayley noticed that little twitch above his left eye. Ever since she’d known him, she noticed that he twitched whenever he was nervous about something.
“We need to talk about some things––get everything out in the open. You know I’ve known for a while that you cheated on me with Vicky. I understand that you may have been trying to ‘sleep your way to the top’ and in a strange way I understand that. I put a lot of pressure on you to become a principal and build our dream house.”
“I wanted it too,” said Antonio. “I love our home and I needed a little push.”
“Well, you’re going to pay for your sins. This is going to cost you,” said Hayley. She reached behind her back, slowly.
Antonio looked extremely uncomfortable. Hayley was enjoying watching him squirm.
“Here you go. This is how you are going to make this up to me,” said Hayley.
Antonio took the folder. He was expecting the worst.
“Hayley, what is this? Divorce papers?”
“Look inside,” said Hayley.
Antonio looked. “Wow, this sure isn’t what I was expecting,” said Antonio.
Inside the folder were two tickets.
“These are tickets for a European cruise,” said Hayley. “A three week cruise. Yes, you are taking me on the vacation of my life aboard the Queen Mary. It’s the largest and most luxurious ship on the sea. We will go this summer. My parents have already agreed to watch the boys. Are you surprised?”
“Surprised is an understatement,” said Antonio. “This is wonderful. I never would have expected this.” Antonio hugged Hayley.
“This is going to be a new start for us, but it will be an expensive new start. I really am sorry I put so much pressure on you. Not that I’m not angry about what you did. I’ve been seething over that for a long time now and I need to let it go. I want our boys to grow up in a loving two-parent household. I’m even going to try to do some freelance work from home to help out with the finances.”
Antonio began to sob. Hayley had never seen him cry before.
“I love you, Hayley, and I’m so sorry. I’ll never do anything like that again,” said Antonio. This was not the actor speaking. Hayley knew that these words were coming from his heart.
“I’m not even mad about the purse anymore,” said Antonio. “I know you planted it so the police would think I killed Vicky.”
“What?” Hayley’s tone tuned sharp.” I never saw that purse until the police showed it to us. I thought you’d put it there. I couldn’t believe you had really killed Vicky but I figured maybe you saw the purse in her office and thought there might be something in there tying you to Vicky. I assumed you smuggled it out to the car during all the commotion.”
“No, I didn’t. I don’t remember seeing it in her office at all. If you didn’t do it and I didn’t do it, who snuck it into our closet? It had to have happened during the party or we would have seen it.”
“I straightened up the closet in preparation for the party and didn’t see it then. I figured you snuck it in from the car at some point after that.”
“No. Do you know what this means?” said Antonio. “The real killer had to have been here during the party.”
Chapter 53
Jackson arrived at the station with a cup of coffee for himself and one for Lynette.
“Thanks, Jackson. That
was thoughtful. Starbucks coffee just overshadows our station coffee every time. You know, we need to bring Theresa Rizzo up to date,” said Lynette.
“I’ll go,” said Jackson. “I’ll go check on Theresa Rizzo and fill her in on the follow up to David’s arrest.”
“I thought you might volunteer,” said Lynette. “Good luck.”
Jackson’s palms were sweating as he gripped the steering wheel and drove to Theresa’s apartment. What was it about that girl? His heart fluttered every time he thought about her. He parked the cruiser and knocked on her door.
“Miss Rizzo, this is Detective Simpson. I just came by to check on you. Are you doing okay?”
“As well as I can I guess. I was never so scared in my life. I really thought I wasn’t going to see another day. Thank God your partner arrived just in the nick of time. Please come in. Can I get you some coffee?” said Theresa.
Jackson had already drunk a gallon of coffee but he wasn’t going to give up an opportunity to sit down over coffee with Theresa.
“Lynette is wonderful,” said Jackson. “And that friend of yours, Jody, she’s the one who knew something was wrong and brought it to our attention.”
“Yes, thank goodness my judgment is better for friends than it is for dates,” said Theresa.
“I can’t believe you couldn’t snag any guy you wanted,” said Jackson. He couldn’t believe those words just came out of his mouth.
“You flatter me,” said Theresa. “I’ve had a series of losers, one after the other. David, though––he truly takes the cake. Speaking of cake, did David confess to Vicky’s murder?”
“No, I’m afraid the bee allergy was legit and he had a solid alibi for the night of the murder. We’ve got him on kidnapping, though, and attempted murder,” said Jackson.
“Well, at least he’ll be locked up for a long time I imagine. I’m going to have a hard time living alone here. I slept with every light on, and my cell phone under my pillow,” said Theresa.
“I can stop by and check on you if you’d like,” offered Jackson.
“You’d do that? That’s very kind,” said Theresa.
“No problem. Maybe one night I could even stop by after work and bring some dinner.”
“I’d like that,” said Theresa. “Thank you, Jackson.”
Jackson said goodbye and got back into his car. He had a gut feeling that his life was about to take a wonderful turn.
Chapter 54
Carolina was in her room, trying to finish her term paper on Emily Dickinson. My eyes are getting tired from staring at this laptop, thought Carolina. This editing is driving me crazy. It was so hard to get the correct number of spaces and remember what needed to be capitalized in the citations and in the reference pages. Maybe Mrs. W. would like a little editing project, she thought. I could certainly pay her. She picked up her phone.
“Hi, Mrs. W., it’s me, Carolina.”
“Hi, dear. How are things going?”
“This term paper I’m working on is overwhelming. I just don’t have the patience I need to get the references and citations correct. I was wondering if I could hire you to edit it for me?” asked Carolina.
“You know I’d help if I could, but I’m terrible with that stuff too. You need someone who’s experienced at that,” said Susan.
“Yes, but I don’t know where to find someone. I don’t want to just go online and pick someone. You never know if they’re good or not.”
“I’ll ask around and get back to you. Have you spoken to your dad?”
“Yes, and he sounds great. He thinks another month or so and then he’ll be home. Meanwhile, I wish we could locate my aunt.”
“I know. I’m surprised it’s been this difficult. I’ll keep checking with Lynette. Now, you better get back to your paper. It’s getting late,” said Susan.
“Thanks, I will.” Carolina hung up and went back to her laptop. She thought she heard a sound outside her window. This is really creepy, she thought. They never did find out who was in the house the other night. She looked outside but nothing looked unusual. I guess I’m imagining things, she thought. Still she was glad that Araceli was in the house.
Chapter 55
Susan turned off the light and got under the covers. During her working years this had been her favorite time of the day. Now she didn’t get nearly so exhausted but it was still nice to curl up on the flannel sheets with Ludwig and Johann snuggled up on the comforter. She wished Mike were there too, but he was doing something on the computer and probably would not be up for hours. She thought about Carolina’s problem with the term paper. I could call Antonio in the morning, she thought. Maybe he’ll know if any of the teachers at Westbrook might be interested. She slept liked a baby. Again, sans Ambien. In the morning she woke up before Mike and surprised him by making scrambled egg whites and turkey bacon.
“Thanks. This is…well…delicious would be an understatement,” said Mike.
“I’m glad you like it. I wanted us to eat together before you left for work. I’ll get us some more coffee.” While she was in the kitchen, Mike slipped some egg white to Johann who was meowing under the table.
“How’s the murder case going?” asked Mike.
“I was sure David was guilty but it turns out he had an alibi. Blaze Conrad was eliminated a while ago because his girlfriend showed up and provided an alibi. I still have my suspicions about the girlfriend though. The police haven’t been able to tie Hayley or Antonio to the murder in spite of finding the purse in their closet. They haven’t been totally cleared though. Then there’s Vicky’s mysterious sister.”
“The one you found out about during your trip to Florida?” asked Mike.
“Yes. And she has motive. Vicky was suing her for the gem collection her mother, Mrs. Bowers, left.”
“Well, it’ll eventually be solved. Someone will mess up or new evidence will show up,” said Mike.
“I guess so. I have faith in Lynette, and, though I’d never admit it to his face, Jackson is quite a detective,” said Susan.
“It’s getting late. I’d better go. Making anything good for dinner tonight?”
“Maybe a tofu and broccoli stir fry,” answered Susan.
“I said anything good.” Mike gave Susan a kiss and left for work. Susan remembered that she was going to try to help Carolina find an editor. She called the school.
“Hello, this is Susan Wiles. I was wondering if I could speak with Mr. Petrocelli.”
“Hi, Susan. This is Jody. Antonio is at a meeting and won’t be back until this afternoon.” Jody often helped in the office when one of the administrators was away.
“Maybe you can help me. I was wondering if you know anyone who’s capable of doing a good editing job on a term paper. It’s for Carolina Rogers.”
“Well, as a matter of fact, my friend Becky sometimes does that kind of work. She’s a college professor. You met her at Vinny’s the night we ran into you.”
“Yes, I remember. If you could give me her number, I’ll pass it on to Carolina.”
“Sure.” Jody gave her the number and went back to work.
Chapter 56
Rebecca couldn’t believe the coincidence. She’d moved to Westbrook to find out about Vicky and her family, and now her niece was calling her to do an editing job. This was the perfect opportunity to see what kind of a person Vicky’s daughter was. She hoped she wasn’t vindictive and self-centered like her mom. Guess I’ll find out soon enough, she thought. She knocked on Carolina’s door.
“Hello, you must be Carolina.”
“Yes, come on in. Did you have any trouble finding the house?”
“Not at all. Your directions were right on.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” said Carolina. “This term paper is driving me crazy. We can work at the table.” Rebecca followed her into the dining room.
“Can I get you some coffee and a muffin? Araceli baked some this morning. She’s the housekeeper but surrogate mother would be a more appropriate tit
le, especially since my mom died.” Carolina brought out a platter of pumpkin spice muffins. Then she grabbed her paper from the printer.
“Here it is. I printed out a copy. I think the grammar and spelling are pretty good, but I know I messed up on the spacing,” said Carolina.
“I see a few spots where you have extra spaces.” Rebecca scanned the paper and focused on the reference list. “You need italics here,” she told Carolina. “And it needs to be single spaced here.” She pointed to a spot on the page. “The writing looks excellent though. I bet you’re a good student.”
“I try. I’m taking three Advanced Placement classes this year.”
“So you’re planning on going to college?” asked Rebecca.
“Of course I am. I’d love to get into one of the Ivy Leagues. That’s why I’m studying all the time,” said Carolina.
“What do you want to major in?” asked Rebecca.
“I’m good at science––maybe Chemistry or Biology. I want to go to medical school eventually and become a pediatrician. I love kids.”
“That’s wonderful. E-mail the paper to me also so I can suggest changes and it will be easy for you to edit. Do you know how to use the Track Changes feature?”
“Yes, I think so,” said Carolina.
“Here’s my email address. It’ll take me just a few days,” said Rebecca.
“I feel better already.” Carolina walked Rebecca out to her car and watched her disappear down the driveway.
She seems lovely, thought Rebecca. It seems like she has her head on straight. Rebecca had already checked Carolina’s social media sites. No pictures of her drinking or acting foolish at parties. No sleazy outfits. No profanity. She mostly posted about school. Even her taste in music was mainstream, like what you hear on the top forty stations. I’m feeling more and more sure about this, she thought.
Chapter 57
Susan had almost forgotten that she’d signed up to volunteer at Westbrook. Let’s see, she thought, it’s been nearly nine months since I retired. I guess I have had enough of a break from the school scene. Jody had called her and asked if she’d mind helping out at the Teacher Appreciation Day luncheon. Westbrook always put out a beautiful lunch for the teachers. Last year, they served lasagna, salad, sliced ham, and rolls. And the desserts were to die for––éclairs, puffy and bursting with cream, then topped with chocolate gananche. She salivated just thinking about it. Susan stood in front of her closet. Should I wear my black skirt and blazer? Maybe my gray dress pants with a silk sweater. Finally, she chose a casual jersey dress. She loved jersey dresses because they could be dressed up or down, they were comfortable, and most important of all, they didn’t need to be ironed. She’d given up ironing a decade ago. I’d better grab an apron, she thought. Serving food could get messy. She locked the front door. Her Prius hadn’t forgotten the commute it had made so many times before Susan retired. Shortly, she arrived at the school. It felt as though she’d never left.