by Dana Moss
“It’s not your fault, Jenny. But why didn’t you tell us any of this before? Like when we came to the school?”
Jenny shrugged. “If you don’t admit anything, you don’t get into trouble.”
“But your boyfriend died.”
Jenny looked squarely at Taffy. “Nothing I said to the police would have brought him back to life. Nothing then. Nothing now.”
“What about bringing a killer to justice?” Taffy was exasperated. Maria was right about teens having a skewed perception of actions, nonactions, and consequences.
“What killer? Tyler killed himself. I had no idea he was that depressed. Just like he had no idea how much I struggled with addiction. No one ever knows the truth of what’s really going on inside someone else, do they? The person who knew Tyler the best told us what had been going on in his head after the fact. Even he was too late.”
“You mean Todd?”
“Tyler had confided in him the week before, right?”
Taffy narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been gone all week. How do you know what he said or did?”
“He came over to my house on Tuesday. The day you saw me in the nurse’s office, my mom picked me up early. He came over because he was worried I might have been feeling guilty or thinking that I could have done something to prevent it. And he was right. He was just trying to make me feel better. The next day, my mom exiled me to Valley View again.”
“Did Todd mention anything about suspecting Rex of being involved in Tyler’s death?”
“He knew about the fight. He knew Tyler was depressed, and he’d even lashed out at him, and Todd didn’t like Rex any more than Tyler did, but he was careful with what he said around me, because he knew Rex and I were friends. But yeah, he’d tried to get me to turn on Rex, admit everything I knew about the drug deals. Said I should tell the police. I decided I would if I saw you again.” She gave a little smile. “And here you are.”
Taffy had a question that wasn’t really related but she was suddenly curious to know.
“Do you think Todd was crushing on you, too, Jenny?”
She laughed.
“What’s so funny? Seems lots of guys are keen on you.”
“I think he’s involved with someone else.”
“Anyone you know?”
She shook her head. “Just a feeling I get. He’s very caring with me but not flirty or suggestive. Not that I’d mind. He’d probably be good for me. Better than Tyler or Rex. He seems calmer. More grown up.”
Taffy nodded.
Maria stood up. “Thanks for coming clean with us, Jenny. I hope you beat your addiction this time.”
Taffy said, “You know, life gets a whole lot better after high school. It may not seem like it from where you’re sitting, but this part of your life is a small part. There’s so much more to look forward to.”
Jenny smiled weakly but politely. “You have no idea how many counselors have fed me lines like that.”
“They’re not just lines but hard-won wisdom learned from experience. Remember, we were all teenagers once. Some of us might know what we’re talking about.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.” She went back to chewing the ends of her hair.
Taffy and Maria signed themselves out of the guest registry. Taffy flipped back a few pages, checking other guests sign-ins during the time Jenny had been here on her “vacation.” Her mother was listed, nearly daily, along with her father twice. Then Taffy noticed Monica’s name once. There was a T. Rasmussen, too, one day later.
~
On the drive back, they tried to piece together the events of that night.
“So Rex knocks him down, his girl won’t go with him, he’s angry, upset, drunk, and threatening to take pills. He stumbles down the shoreline…”
“He finds the canoe beached by Rex and Monica earlier that day. He gets in the canoe impulsively…”
“Maybe not even that impulsively. He was depressed, upset, knew he couldn’t swim.”
“You think he went out on the lake intending to drown himself?”
“Hard to know. Suicide by drowning is pretty rare. But after talking to Jenny, and from what Todd said, he was upset and depressed.”
“And if he threatened to take pills—he told Jenny as much—he probably had them on him. He’d already been drinking. Jenny said he had a bottle in his pocket… It does start to seem a bit suicidal. But something still feels off to me.”
Maria nodded. “The bottle wasn’t in his coat when we found him. Neither were there any pills.”
“He could have thrown them overboard?”
“And no oars. I don’t think he could have gotten to the middle of the lake without an oar.”
“So he rowed out there and then threw the booze, the pills, and the oar in the water?”
“But not himself? If he was committing suicide, he wouldn’t have needed to do any of that.”
“It would have been unnecessary to pitch it though.”
“He wasn’t acting rationally, that seems clear.”
Maria drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. Her brow was furrowed in concentration.
“What if he got in the canoe because he wanted to go somewhere?”
“Not to drown himself?”
“Even if he had planned to do that, he might have rowed somewhere first.”
“Like where? To the family cabin that he hated so much?”
“If, in that moment, he hated something else more, he might have gone there. Or to Rex’s family cabin. The Giffords used theirs regularly.”
“Maybe he was going to vandalize it to get back at Rex. There was a vandalism call on their property that weekend, wasn’t there?”
“Yes, but Lucy’s been looking into that and some others since, which would rule out Tyler as the vandal.”
“Based on the time of death and the time that both Rex and Jenny said Tyler came by the campsite, even though their estimated times are out of sync by half an hour, Tyler was either floating out on the lake a long time, possibly passed out, or he had time to go somewhere.”
“Before getting back in the canoe and then losing the oar?”
Maria sighed heavily. “I wonder what Tyler was so upset about. No one seems to know for sure.”
For now, Taffy kept her thoughts to herself. But what if Tyler had found out Cara was pregnant? What if he’d been upset about that? Taffy knew she wouldn’t be able to keep this secret for much longer.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
That night, Taffy offered to pick up takeout since Ethan had to work late again. His butter chicken was tepid by the time he arrived. Taffy had made the rice herself, using up the bag she’d been transporting her old phone in, and she’d only managed to burn half of it. Ethan had to pick the burnt bits from his teeth, and while he was engrossed in this procedure, Taffy was given periodic respite from his recounting of his day’s events with Melanie.
“Apparently, she’s a pretty good singer. I think we should invite her next time we all go to karaoke at Ted’s.”
“So she’s Melodic Melanie, too, huh?” Would her list of attributes never end?
“Seriously,” Ethan said, smiling amiably. “I think you two would be great friends.”
Taffy muttered, “I already have too many friends.”
“None like Melanie. I’m surprised you’re not more open minded.”
It sounded like he was preparing to ask her for a threesome. Ick. She picked up Midnight and scratched him under his chin until he settled comfortably on her lap.
“No one can have too many friends,” Ethan said as he eyed Midnight sitting there all curled up so close to Taffy. She hoped he was jealous.
“Oh, yes they can.” You, for one, she thought but didn’t say out loud. She was doing her best to follow Maria’s advice and not cause a stir, but she was definitely not going to pretend she liked any of it.
~
The next morning, Ethan left for work early after a sleeping-only night with Midnight i
n the bed between them.
Taffy got dressed and ready to go and then drove downtown to Finn’s law office. Between Carlie’s admission, everything Jenny had just told them, even Mr. Ainsley’s off-the-record comments, Taffy figured it might still be possible to bust Rex for drug dealing. She wondered if Finn could warn her if Rex had any more ways of wriggling out of accountability.
Plus, a brief visit would give her a chance to check in with Finn about the recent engagement. She didn’t doubt his sincerity, but she was wondering what Maria was so worried about. It was true they’d only known each other half a year, but already they seemed like an old married couple. Why not make it official? But then again, maybe some of Maria’s misgivings were fair, if self-protective. People could turn out to be so different from what you expected, just like Shannon and Noel.
Nana called while she was driving. Taffy picked up using her Bluetooth system.
“How are things at the hospital?”
“Rosa’s just thrilled about the engagement news. I think that really rallied her spirits. A wedding to plan for! How exciting. Is Maria simply bursting?”
“Uh, sort of.” How could Taffy explain the absolute absence of excitement on Maria’s part? “She’s really preoccupied with the investigation right now.”
Nana tsked. “Haven’t you two wrapped that up yet?”
“It’s gotten more complicated, but a few puzzle pieces are falling into place.”
“I don’t see why you have to involve yourself in such things, Taffy. Isn’t there enough going on with the candy factory business?”
Taffy sighed. She also couldn’t explain to her Nana that, while marshmallows, caramels, and saltwater taffy could satisfy a sweet tooth, they couldn’t fulfill this need to sink her teeth into something more substantial. She felt a need to right apparent wrongs, answer dangling questions, and get to the bottom of the qualms that occasionally befell the small town of Abandon. Yes, she was involved, because the alternative—to not be—would leave her with a sick feeling in her stomach. How could she find a boy dead in a canoe and then carry on about her candy business as if it had just been another bird-watching day in the park?
“Maria will be happy to know Rosa is faring much better,” Taffy said to Nana.
“I’m still not sure when they’ll release us. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Please do. Gotta run now.”
She hung up and parked in front of Finn’s law office.
As she got out of her car, she looked down the tree-lined stretch of Main Street and noticed a new shop next to the pharmacy. Taffy walked closer for a better look. Wedding dresses the color of meringue and vanilla cream wrapped elegantly around headless manikins. Bridal Bliss. This was perfect! Taffy wouldn’t have to drag Maria to Salem or Portland. (Although she secretly wanted to jet her off to New York to find the perfect gown but didn’t think Maria would be willing to leave work, or Abandon, for that long. Finn would have his hands full just trying to convince her to take a honeymoon.)
There were one or two really beautiful dresses in the window and a few that looked like ruffled toilet-roll covers. They might have to venture to Portland after all, but they could start here first. As Taffy stood in front of the window, a shifting movement just over and behind her left shoulder caught her attention. She turned and saw Melanie standing under a leafy green tree. She, too, had been staring at the window full of wedding dresses. Taffy’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Why was she staring at wedding dresses?
“Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Melanie was in her park ranger’s uniform.
“Coffee run.” She pointed down the street toward the Magpie. Taffy noticed her Jeep parked out front.
“Of course, Ethan’s usual.” Taffy sneered. She couldn’t help it. These were not proud moments for her.
“What do you have against me?” Melanie seemed quite sincere.
Taffy was tongue-tied. She did have a litany of irrational complaints but nothing that could be spoken out loud, so she went with denial.
“What makes you think I do? What makes you think I give any thought to you at all?” She had meant for that to be light, but it rolled off that tied tongue with the barb of a scorpion’s tail.
Melanie, looking hurt but trying to hide it, took a few steps down the sidewalk. She glanced longingly at the window one more time. “You’d look beautiful in one of those,” she said.
Taffy was taken aback. Female friendship protocol might be to say, “You would, too.” But Taffy was too surprised by Melanie’s words and bothered by how much she sensed Melanie wanted her to say the same back. They weren’t friends. And Taffy wasn’t one to follow protocol. Watching Melanie’s retreating sand-brown-shirted back, Taffy felt highly uncomfortable about Melanie’s interest in wedding dresses. Truth was, she would look gorgeous in one, too. And Taffy hated picturing that.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Taffy walked back up the street to Finn’s office.
No one was in the outer office. The receptionist’s desk was piled high with messy papers and the office smelled like old banana peels, and when Taffy looked around, she saw an overflowing garbage pail next to an empty water cooler.
“Hey, where’s the gorgeous groom?”
No one replied. “Finn?”
She heard voices coming from his private office. The door was ajar, so she pushed through. Finn was behind his desk. His chair was turned to the side, and he was looking down at his lap. Two stiletto heels, with the feet still in them, protruded from the side of the desk. Curls bobbed above the ledge of the desk. Finn was breathing heavily and squirming. Taffy gasped, feeling hot with embarrassment and then anger. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her hand was already digging into her purse to pull out her phone when Finn turned toward her, his face twisted into a grimace of pain or pleasure, maybe both. His eyes widened with surprised, and he let out a yelp.
“Taffy! Oh my God! Just stop, Jayda, stop!” He pushed down near his lap.
The heels froze. A curly head peered over the desk. A pair of green eyes looked wet and wild. Jayda’s puffy lips trembled, and the tears started to fall.
“I’m so sorry,” she whimpered.
He dug around in his pants. Jayda got to her feet. He handed her a set of keys. “Please go get my spare pair of pants from my car.”
“Yes, sir.”
He rolled his eyes. “I keep telling you, you don’t have to call me sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Should I be calling Maria?” Taffy’s phone was in her hand, but she’d missed the photo op. The evidence.
“Yes! I’m going to call her myself!”
As Jayda passed by Taffy, saying, “Excuse me, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am,” Taffy inhaled a strong smell of coffee. Extremely creamy coffee.
“Oh, man. It’s all over the floor.” Finn stood up now. His fly was still zipped and his belt clasped, but there was a huge stain across his lap.
Taffy came around the desk and saw the empty mug on the floor. The chair was splashed with toffee-colored drops. A puddle of the same color covered a third of his desk, soaking papers and dripping off the edge onto Finn’s leather shoes.
Taffy held back a snort of laughter.
“Maria insists I don’t fire her, but this is the third spill this week,” he whined. “The first time, I didn’t even have spare pants, but now I pack them just in case. It’s just not right.”
“You know, when I walked in, I thought…”
He looked up from blotting his lap with tissues. “What? You thought what?” He looked genuinely curious.
“Never mind.”
He looked at the door. Looked at his lap. Looked at the spot on the carpet where Jayda had just been kneeling.
“Oh no. You thought that? Seriously? Oh, my God. Maria doesn’t think that, does she?” He now looked mortified and panicked and, for a split second, even heartbroken.
“She would never think that, would she? Tell me she wouldn’t!”
�
�Not in a million years. She wouldn’t think it, no.” But Taffy would, and had, and had even thought worse of Ethan and Melanie. Now, standing here with Finn, she felt terribly foolish. Not everyone was as opportunistic and philandering as she suspected. Where did her sick thoughts come from?
She waved her phone. “Good thing I didn’t take any pictures.”
“You can take a picture of this.” He waved his arms across the mess of his desk and carpet. “I need proof so Maria won’t be mad when I have to call the temp agency.”
“I guess Jayda’s just not cut out for this type of work.”
“It was clear to me from day one, but then it became some sort of matter of principle to Maria that I keep her on.”
Taffy knew that was partially her fault. She snapped a photo of Finn’s wet desk. She’d get a shot of Jayda’s leaning tower of paperwork on her desk too.
“I’ll tell Maria what’s going on.”
Jayda returned with a pair of neatly folded slacks. “Sorry again, sir.”
“It’s all right, Miss Clayborn.” Finn took the slacks. “Why don’t you get us take out coffees from the Magpie? When you get back, just leave mine on your desk and I’ll come out and get it.”