by Lauren Carr
“Way to go, Josh. Still only the best when it comes to women.” Randy then introduced his wife, who gave him a firm, businesslike handshake. “This is Mabel.” He went on to give a progress report on his life, which sounded not unlike a well-written press release.
After graduating in the top ten percent of his class from Ohio State University, Randy had managed to land on the ground floor of the computer technology business and had done well with it.
He was so successful that he was able to help out his best friend Hoss when he was down on his luck during a recession by hiring him as his assistant. Randy’s sidekick was still taking orders from him after all these years.
As a result of his ingenuity, Randy and his wife, who was the vice president at one of the largest public relations firms in the state of Ohio, lived in a mansion, belonged to an exclusive country club, and were ranked high on the list of Columbus’s movers and shakers.
Joshua envied Mabel Barkely-Fine, who was able to disappear into the crowd while her husband reported the success of his life. Even Margo slipped away to find someone to whom she could boast about her own achievements. He did not have that luxury if he was to steer the conversation toward Tricia and Gail. Therefore, he had to endure Randy’s bragging about his life on the fast track.
“Tell me the truth, Tad,” Jan asked in a tone begging for his confidence, “were you the least bit surprised to find out that Gail Reynolds was obsessed with Josh? I know I was.”
Sensing the reason behind the dismay that caused her to slam the door in his face, Tad had waited to allow Jan the opportunity to clean up for their evening out.
With a sense of abandon for what he had assured her would be an elegant evening, Jan dressed in the gown she had bought in hopes of wearing to the reunion with Joshua. It was a soft rose color and fell just the right way across her slender frame to reveal her boyish figure. Her hair shone and her cheeks were flushed. She had to admit even to herself that she looked lovely.
Tad had taken her to the Ponderosa Golf Club where he had reserved a table for two in the corner next to the picture windows with a view of the course and the black swans. He had even ordered a half a carafe of wine for her to accompany his iced water with lemon.
In the soft light and music, Jan found herself looking at a man she had considered a lifelong friend, and sometimes tormentor, in a different light.
Tad chuckled while he buttered his roll. “Isn’t every woman obsessed with Josh?”
She flushed with embarrassment.
“It isn’t the man, it’s the image,” he observed.
“Do you mean because he’s a lawyer?”
“I mean because he is Joshua Thornton, Oak Glen’s most likely to succeed. Star athlete.” He smiled broadly. “That was twenty years ago. I still can’t believe how people can pick a specific moment in time and never realize how much everything and everyone around them has evolved since then.”
She swallowed. “Who are you talking about?”
“Josh is not Oak Glen’s star quarterback anymore. He’s no longer prom king. He’s not the prized catch he used to be.”
She tried to keep the moment light by giggling. “Is that jealousy I hear?”
“No, it is the truth. Even Josh is having trouble understanding why you and Gail and Tori Brody keep chasing him. He’s a single father with five children who hasn’t got a clue.” Tad reached across the table for her hand. “This isn’t high school, Jan, and you aren’t the Plain Jane you used to be. Winning Josh is not going to prove anything to those who treated you like a geek twenty years ago.”
“I’m not trying to prove anything to anyone.”
“I don’t think you are in love with Josh. I think you are in love with the idea of playing Cinderella to his Prince Charming. The homely nerd suddenly blossoms into the beautiful princess to be escorted to the prom by the handsome prince.” He finished in a gentle tone, “It’s too late, Jan. Prince Charming has grown up and left the castle and you are too old to play Cinderella.”
She blinked. “I thought you promised me a good time tonight.”
“Look around. We are in the real world now, and this is a much better place to be in.”
Jan was too surprised to react when he pulled her hand across the table to kiss the inside of her palm. The warmth from his lips traveled up her arm and to her heart. She felt its beat quicken.
“Your hand tastes like . . . chicken?”
She blushed.
“Why don’t you ever kiss me that way?” a woman sitting at the next table hissed at her husband.
Unperturbed, the man continued eating his salad. “Because you don’t taste like chicken.”
Joshua had ducked into the bathroom for the solitude necessary to suck in a second wind. Randy had agreed to meet them downstairs in the lounge for a drink after the reunion, which was winding down. When he stepped out of the stall, he found Tom Jarvis waiting for him.
“Hey, Tom.” He patted him on the back before crossing to the sink to wash his hands and splash water on his face.
“You may have everyone else fooled, Josh, but not me.”
Joshua froze and waited for his wrath, over what, he was not sure.
“You want everyone to think that you are a shallow politician with no scruples. I know differently. I knew you for twelve years of school. You’re obsessed with truth and justice, and can’t bear anything less than that. You won’t be able to live with yourself until you personally throw Tricia and Gail’s killer in jail. You can’t help it. You’re just that type of guy.”
Joshua observed Tom’s reflection in the mirror while Tom continued, “That’s why you’re here.”
“What did Karl do to Gail?” Joshua turned to face him. “You saw something that night of the dance.”
“It was a joke. Most everyone knew about it except you. That made it even better.”
“Made what better?”
“Randy, Hoss, and Karl got Gail wasted. She was all upset about you getting engaged to Beth. Then, they put her in the back of your van and told her that they were going to go get you and that you would sneak out to do it with her without Beth knowing. She was drunk out of her mind. They took turns with her and she was so high that she thought it was you.”
Joshua felt sickened by the cruel joke. “They raped her.”
“They thought it was funny,” Tom said with distaste. “Randy bragged about it, of course.”
“He didn’t brag about it to me.”
“Because he knew that you would kick his ass if you found out.”
“He was right.”
“Calm down,” Hank warned him.
They went for a walk around the parking lot to allow Joshua time to cool off after finding out that his friends had taken turns raping a classmate in the back of his van. When they got to his Corvette, he stopped to lean against the fender. He admired how the moon reflected on Hank’s hair.
“I’m glad you stayed in town long enough to come with me tonight. I’ll probably need you to keep me from knocking Randy into next week.”
“I guess I’m destined to always be your Girl Friday.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close to him. He could smell her perfume. It was soft and delicate. Her eyes had a slant to them that made them more exotic looking than Valerie’s had been. In anticipation, she closed her eyes and brought her lips to his.
He kissed her.
While Valerie had been affectionate, she limited public displays to kisses and hugs. Hank had no such inhibition. In the parking lot with people coming and going around them, she took in his kiss and reached for more.
It was like trying a different flavor of ice cream after having the same type for years. When he stroked her cheeks with his hands, she reached for them and directed them to her bare back.<
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While he kissed her ear, he breathed, “Oh, Va—” he stopped when he realized that she was not Valerie.
Hank pulled away.
“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered.
“We better go back inside.”
Ashamed of his blunder, he caught his breath and led her back to the entrance of the resort.
All was silent in the elevator as Joshua pushed the scene out of his mind and transformed himself into the Oak Glen High School valedictorian who had fulfilled the promise in his senior year of being most likely to succeed.
With his hand on the small of her back, he stepped into the lounge on the second floor like a dealmaker with his trophy on his arm. Randy was sitting in an armchair next to the roaring fireplace. Hoss and Karl were playing a game of blackjack at a game table. The three men had started on a bottle of scotch.
“Josh! I was beginning to think you wimped out on us!” Randy rolled a cigar between his fingertips.
“I never walk out when I’m winning.” Joshua escorted Hank to the loveseat across from Randy. He observed the game of blackjack. They were playing for money, and Karl was losing.
“And you never lose.” Randy pointed out with a hint of envy while he poured a glass for his classmate and handed it to him.
“No one wins all the time.” Joshua pulled over a footstool to prop his foot on. He wanted to be close so he could observe Randy. “If you win all the time, then you don’t know what it is like to lose; and if you don’t know what it is like to lose, then there is no fun in winning.”
“When have you ever lost anything?”
“You had Tricia.”
“Tricia wasn’t that great.”
“I guess that’s why you cheated on her with Margo.”
“Who is now a fat cow.”
“I’m talking about back then.”
“That’s history.”
“Isn’t that why we’re here?” Joshua gestured towards the room above them, which was in the process of cleanup after the party. “To recall the days back when we were free of responsibility. Sex and drugs and rock and roll!”
“You didn’t do drugs,” Karl reminded him from the game table. He cursed when, once again, he lost a hand.
Joshua could see that Hoss was cheating with a selection of choice cards under his thigh. Karl was too drunk to see it. “Let’s go back to Tricia,” he said.
Randy chuckled, “I thought you were here to find out who killed Gail, and I read in the papers that that was you. You two have been tearing up the sheets for the last twenty years behind your wife’s back.”
“My lawyer cleared me of that.”
Randy made a low sound in his throat when Joshua indicated that Hank was his lawyer. “Some guys have all the luck.”
Uncomfortable with his gaze, Hank covered her legs with the skirt of her gown.
When Joshua asked him about Gail, Randy answered, “I was in Columbus.”
“But Karl was here.”
The sound of his name caused him to look up from his cards.
Randy suggested to the prosecutor, “Then talk to Karl.”
“I hadn’t seen her since we were kids,” Karl blurted out.
“Then why were you calling her?” Joshua asked him.
“I was giving her dirt on Margo. She thought Margo killed Trish.”
“But she didn’t. You were her alibi. So—” He turned to Randy. “Someone else had to kill Trish.”
“Trish killed herself. She wasn’t wrapped too tight. When she lost me, she lost it.”
“The evidence says otherwise. It says that she was murdered.” Joshua also added, “I was there. She dumped you and you went chasing after her.”
“And I got her back.”
“Come on. This is Josh you’re talking to. She dumped you!”
Randy said in a threatening voice, “No one ever dumped me.”
“Rand, I was in the little theater when she ended it. So were all our friends. Everyone heard her say that you weren’t worth the hassle.”
“Trish loved me, and I loved her. I would never have hurt her.”
“If you loved her so damn much, then why were you doing it with Margo? Don’t tell me because of her winning personality.”
“Because Margo would do it with anyone. Hell! She married Karl, of all people!” Randy added with a chuckle, “Josh, you were the only member of the football team she didn’t sleep with.”
“There’s another achievement I can put on my resume,” Joshua said. “Why did you fool around with Margo when you had Tricia?”
Randy rolled his eyes. “Because Trish refused to give it up.”
“So you wanted them to fight over you. You were dating a bitch like Margo to get Trish jealous so that she would sleep with you to keep you.” Joshua let his disapproval slip out. “That’s the oldest trick in the book.”
“It’s the oldest trick for a reason. It works.”
“Only it didn’t work that time.”
“What makes you think it didn’t?”
“Because Tricia dumped you, and don’t tell me she didn’t.”
“That scene in the little theater was what you saw. What you didn’t see was what happened afterwards.”
This was what Joshua was waiting for. What happened after they left the little theater? He concealed his anticipation behind a façade of disbelief. “Are you going to tell me that you two kissed and made up?”
“Yeah. Sure, she said I wasn’t worth the trouble and went outside, but she was still in love with me. I gave her a little sweet talk and promised my devotion and before you knew it—” His smile was cocky. “I have no doubt that if she had lived, homecoming would have been the night. I was getting a room at the Econo Lodge for the occasion.”
Even though Cindy had told him that Tricia had led Randy to believe that they had made up by agreeing to go to the homecoming, the prosecutor pretended he didn’t believe him. “Judging by the way she dropped you, I think that was all in your mind.”
“Screw you, Josh!”
“Hey,” he put up his hands in defeat. “I’m just telling you the way it looked to me.”
“Who gives a shit how it looked to you?”
“A jury.”
The two words told Randy the reason for his presence at the reunion. For their old friend, it was not a social gathering. It was an impromptu interrogation. Joshua warned him, “You should care how I perceive things.”
“Should I call my lawyer?”
“Are you talking about the one defending you against two rape indictments?”
The gloves were off.
The hatred that had grown out of envy during the years that Randy pretended to be friends with a boy who was always one step ahead of him in life boiled to the surface.
“Gail’s book could not have come at a worse time,” Joshua said. “If she told the world what happened that night of the Valentine’s Day dance, then it might reach the ears of the jury and you would be a dead man.”
“My lawyer was handling it. We were going to sue her.”
“You put her in my van.”
“She was drunk out of her gourd!”
“You convinced her that it was me!”
“If she was so convinced it was you, what was she doing writing that it was me?”
“Because she found the son she had put up for adoption and saw you!” Joshua said. “That’s right, Randy! You’re a Daddy, and your son is the spittin’ image of you! Gail saw him and started remembering what happened that night. It drove her into having a nervous breakdown. She was going to tell the world what you did to her, which would have revealed to everyone that you are nothing more than a common rapist, and that scared the hell out of you!”
“My lawyer
was not going to let that happen.”
“There is no way your lawyer could have stopped her from writing the truth about what happened to her. She told Tricia’s mother that she had a theory she was working on about Tricia’s murder. Gail’s research shows that she was investigating you and the host of sexual assault charges that have been filed against you throughout the years. You were her chief suspect, not Margo.”
“I did not kill either of them!”
“Where were you when Trish died?”
Randy shook his head. “I was with Hoss!”
A blank look crossed Hoss’s face before he nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we were together at his place, playing pool.”
“And we were both in Columbus when Gail was killed and you can’t prove otherwise.”
Joshua said with sarcasm, “And you had nothing to do with her murder.”
“That’s right.”
“Then why did you pay Karl five thousand dollars?”
Randy snorted. “It was a loan to an old friend.”
“Who happened to be at Gail’s house the night she was killed,” Joshua said. It was a bluff in order to study their reaction.
“I was not there.” Karl suddenly forgot about the card game he was playing.
“Suppose I said that evidence suggests otherwise?”
Karl was breathing hard. “You were the one who killed her! I saw you. I saw you take her in and I saw you leave and when I went in she was dead!”
Stunned by his admission that he’d been at Gail’s house, Joshua forgot about the suspect he had come to the reunion to question and turned to face Karl, who was pointing a finger of accusation in his direction.
Randy grinned. “Looks like you’re on the wrong side of this interrogation now, Thornton.”
Joshua asked Karl, “How did you get into her house? I locked the door on the way out.”
“The patio doors were open.” He went on, “I just wanted to talk to her about her book. She said that she remembered what we did to her in your van and she was going to write about it and say that we killed Trish because she was going to accuse Randy of raping her—which was a lie! I’d be kicked off the fire squad if she said that. Margo would use it to take my visitation away from Heather.”