“And you couldn’t talk to me about it?”
“I knew how you’d feel, and. . .” He paused and took a breath.
“And what?” I asked.
“I knew how you’d react.” He glanced at me and shrugged. “I didn’t want to fight about it until I knew there was a reason to fight. I’m sorry. I just wasn’t up to that.”
“You didn’t want to fight. . . . Am I that hard to get along with?”
“Honestly? Sometimes. Especially lately.” He shifted on the bale. “We’re both a little touchy right now.”
“What about Charlie and the boarding school? Were you afraid to tell me that, too?”
Max shrugged. “As far as I was concerned, that was a nonissue. The idea was Mother’s, and there was no way I was ever going to agree to it. I didn’t even think it was worth mentioning.”
“You should have told me anyway.”
He inhaled. “Yes, probably. But. . .”
“But you were worried about my reaction to that, too?”
“In a word, yes.”
I could add this to my recent list of failures. Not only was my husband holding back the truth from me because he was afraid I’d overreact, but my best friend wasn’t talking to me because I’d hurt her feelings with my big mouth. My mother thought I was a bad influence on the children. My mother-in-law agreed with that, too, which led, of course, to her implication that Tommy was a criminal. Not only that, but I wasn’t working on a Bible study I so obviously needed. I felt like the biggest loser in the whole world—and that made me even madder.
“And. . .there’s something else,” Max said.
I looked up at him, so angry I felt sick. “What else could there possibly be?”
He took a deep breath. “Well, Dad wants to partially retire. He wants to turn more of the business over to me.” Max glanced at his watch. “In fact, that’s what this board meeting is about. I have to leave pretty soon.”
That figured. Even now, in a crisis, business would come first. I knew I was being unfair, but I couldn’t help my thoughts, which only served to prove that Max’s comment about my irritability was right. “Well, can you spare sixty seconds to tell me why your dad wants to semiretire?”
Max ignored the sarcasm in my tone. “He had a scare not too long ago. He thought he had cancer.” Max paused and swallowed. “When the doctors said the tumor was benign, Dad decided it was time to start enjoying life.”
“The tumor?” I felt like the bottom of my world had fallen out, but anger surfaced again. “And you couldn’t tell me that, either? Something that bothered you so badly?”
Max spread his hands. “Dad didn’t want me to tell anyone. Not even Mother. She just found out, which is probably why she had that outburst in my office.”
For once in my life, as impossible as it seemed, I felt sorry for my mother-in-law. “So that’s where you get your secrecy from? Your father? What is this? Some sort of secret, manly Cunningham society, even though we agreed—no more secrets?”
Max blinked, and his eyes glinted bright green. “I don’t think it’s secrecy. I just don’t see the reason to address issues until it’s necessary.”
“As far as I’m concerned, they become issues as soon as you become aware of them.”
“Sorry, I don’t agree.” His lips snapped shut. He was as angry as I was.
“I’m your wife, Max.”
His cell phone rang. He sighed, pulled it from his belt, and looked at the screen. “That’s Dad.” He gave me a quick glance. “I need to get it.”
“You do that.” I stood to my feet.
He reached for my hand. “Trish.”
I backed away before he could touch me. The phone kept ringing.
He pushed the button. “Hey, Dad. Hang on. . . . No, I’m not on my way yet. . . . Yes, I know I’m supposed to be there shortly.” Max put his hand over the mouthpiece.
“You go on and talk,” I said.
Max looked like he was deliberating then held the phone to his ear again.
“It’s fine, Max.” My voice cracked. “I have some things to do at work. Besides, I can’t talk about this anymore.”
I whirled around and headed for the big open doors at the front of the barn. I heard the thud of Max’s heels behind me, along with his voice on the phone. I knew I shouldn’t walk away, but I was hurt and—once again—acting out my anger. I needed to get away from him before I said anything I’d regret.
“I’ll tell you what,” Shirl said as I stepped into the office. “You should have been here for that showdown between Mr. C. and Lady Angelica. It was better than a movie.”
“I’m glad I missed it.” I pulled some bills from the mail on the counter.
“You’ve been crying, haven’t you?” She looked me up and down. “I’d like to give that woman a piece of my mind, what with you being pregnant and all. What was she thinking? Are you sure you should be here?”
“Yes. I’m better off working, believe me. Besides, after lunch I need to drop some forms off at the school for Carla.”
Shirl turned and glared at her computer monitor. “I’m not so sure I’m better off being here. I’ve got one fine kettle of fish to deal with.” Her fingers tap-tap-tapped on the desk.
I didn’t want to know what was wrong. I couldn’t care less right now, as upset as I was with Max, but I debated whether I should ask Shirl what she meant. If I did, it could end up in a very long conversation in which I didn’t want to be involved. Like about her herb business. Still, if I didn’t ask, she’d corner me at some point anyway. Besides, she’d stuck up for me this morning.
“So what’s wrong?”
“Connie’s check is bouncing all over the place.”
Of all the things Shirl might have said, I wasn’t expecting that. “I’m surprised.”
“Ha. You shouldn’t be. It’s a habit, I’m afraid.” Shirl slapped her palm on the counter and glared up at me over her glasses. “She said it would never happen again, and I believed her. She’s been good for a while now.”
“You mean she’s bounced other checks?”
“Yes. And I’m not going to cut her any slack anymore. From now on, it’s all credit card payments or she’s out of here. I don’t care if she does rent all those units.” Shirl’s chin trembled with indignation.
Shirl’s loyalty to me, Max, and our business was the reason I loved having her work for us. She might be annoying, spinning off in so many directions I could hardly keep track, but she was like a guard dog when it came to our finances and the business. When I took time off after the baby was born, I knew Shirl would run things just fine.
“I know you’ll do the right thing.” I took some bills from the counter and began to walk to my office when Shirl’s voice stopped me.
“And to make things worse, that Coach Kent Smith got out on bail.”
My stomach flip-flopped. Did that mean we had a murderer loose in Four Oaks?
When I heaved my body through the front door of the high school, I headed directly for the office, carrying my folder of forms.
There I saw Sue, one of the school secretaries, eating a candy bar. I didn’t recognize the other secretary.
She looked up at me with a frown. “Yes?”
“I’m here to deliver these to Carla. Can I leave them with you?”
“No, that’s not a good idea.” Her nameplate said Twila. Carla’s unhappy secretary.
“How come?” I asked.
“It would be better if you delivered them to her in person. If you leave them with me, she’s going to be mad because I saw them first. Or something stupid like that.”
Things were bad. “Okay, where is she then?”
“She’s gone to see if the rumors are true that Coach Smith was here talking to some kids. She also chasing down Connie Gilbert, who got here a little while ago, and she also mumbled something about seeing Marvin in the band room. Carla has nothing good to say about Connie. They recently had a telephone yelling match. And Connie was
here to chase down Marvin Slade to get the play’s costume list from him.” She paused for a deep breath. “He gave his notice today and was cleaning out his desk. Lucky him.”
Sue nodded and swallowed a bit of candy bar as she nervously glanced toward the hallway through the glass wall. “She’s upset because her fiancé died.”
“Connie’s fiancé?” I asked.
“No,” Sue said. “Carla’s.”
“What?” Way too many people were dying.
Twila jabbed a pen into the blotter on her desk. “To tell the truth, I was surprised she even had a fiancé. I mean, who would want her?”
“Don’t say that.” Sue took a nervous gulp from a can of soda.
“Whatever.” Twila sniffed. “This school is like some sort of Peyton Place. Georgia admiring the coach’s muscles in the gym, dating him a couple of times, then having nothing else to do with him. Marvin sniffing after that costume woman, although that’s better than last year when he dated most of the females working here. And Queen Carla mourning over Ronnie. I wonder if he even existed. No one ever met him.”
“You better be careful what you say.” Sue glanced around as though checking for secret cameras.
Twila exhaled with exasperation. “I don’t care anymore. It’s always all about her. Her life. Her fiancé. Her, her, her. She’s so possessive. I don’t even dare touch any of her stuff. My first day on the job, I took her coffee cup from her office and washed it out, and you’d have thought I’d committed the unpardonable. Really, Sue. You and I should just walk out.”
“I can’t afford to do that,” Sue whined. “I got kids and haven’t gotten an alimony check in months.”
Twila rolled her eyes.
“Well, she’s going on vacation, remember?” Sue said. “Like tomorrow or the next day. Sort of spur of the moment.”
“So, what do you guys think happened to Georgia?”
They turned and looked at me as if they’d forgotten I was there.
Sue’s eyes grew round. “I think she was poisoned. By Coach Smith. For dissing him.”
Twila shook her head firmly. “I don’t think so. This is one thing I agree with Carla about. Georgia’s death was an accident. No matter what the cops say. She was always drinking those herbals teas she mixed up at home. A special blend that gave her energy and suppressed her appetite. You gotta be careful with things like that. Too many stimulants can kill you.”
“I still think it was Coach Smith.” Sue surprised me by defending her opinion. “The guy was freaking out when Georgia refused to date him anymore. Or it was Marvin. He asked me out once.” She shivered. “You know, I could be dead right now.”
“Well, with the coach, it was just his ego,” Twila said. “He had other girls, believe me. A lot of good they’ll do him in jail.”
As the two debated, I decided to go chase down Carla and get this over with. I left the office just in time. The secretaries’ conversation had moved into a discussion about how Coach Smith was probably going to come back, shoot them all dead with a shotgun, splattering the walls with blood.
My mouth still felt dry, and I needed a drink of water badly. I was about to go in search of a vending machine when I saw Tommy heading my way.
“Hey, Mom.” He had half a doughnut in his hand.
“Hi, honey.” I stood on my tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek, figuring it was fine since no one else was around. “Where’d you get that, and what are you still doing here?”
“Trying to keep my part in the play.” He grinned sheepishly. “We just finished practicing with the new teachers in charge. I’m sucking up to everyone. I brought doughnuts.” He took another bite.
“Did you see Mr. Slade?”
Tommy’s smile died. “Yeah. Just a couple minutes ago. It’s really sad. He was in the band room packing his stuff. I left him some doughnuts, too.”
“Where’s Sherry?”
He shrugged. “Probably in the auditorium. I left right after practice.”
“Well, aren’t you two—?”
“Mom, the way things are right now, I can’t go there, okay?”
I blinked at the vehemence in his voice. “Has Detective Scott questioned you again?”
“No. And I’m going to do my best to make sure he doesn’t have to.” Tommy edged away from me. “Listen, I gotta go now. Gotta get to work.” He turned and jogged on up the hall, and I resumed my walk toward the band room.
When I passed the doors to the auditorium, I saw teenagers were milling around the room. Sherry was there, too, and she looked up and waved at me. I waved back, even as I picked up my step and hurried on, trying to avoid her, but it did no good. She made a beeline for me, rushing out into the hallway.
“Hi, Mrs. C. I have a message from Aunt Elissa for you.”
I slowed down, and she fell into step next to me. “What’s that?”
“That receipt you guys saw at Connie’s was from a pawn shop in Baltimore. They have a number of things there that fit the description of things that are missing from Nettie Winters’ house.”
I stopped in my tracks. “You’re kidding.”
She shook her head. “Aunt Elissa thinks either Connie or Georgia was pawning things. I wonder if it wasn’t Connie and she murdered Georgia because she found out. And that’s not all.”
“What else?”
“Well, that boyfriend of Connie’s? The fiancé? He died in a suspicious death. It looks like someone broke into his house to rob him and shot him to death.”
I began walking again, trying to piece things together in my mind, and Sherry followed close on my heels.
“I think Aunt Elissa is helping Dad or something, because before she talked about the whole thing with me, but now she won’t. And she’s been in to talk to Ms. Bickford. Everyone’s a traitor, I guess.” She paused. “Have you seen Tommy?”
I glanced at Sherry. “Yes, he’s on his way to work.”
“He’s ignoring me.” Her mouth quivered like she was going to cry.
I touched her arm. “You understand why, don’t you?”
Her eyes flashed, and her lips firmed. I knew exactly how she was feeling and felt very, very sorry for Detective Scott. He’d better handle the situation differently, or he would drive her away.
“I’m going to clear Tommy’s name once and for all.” She crossed her arms. “I don’t care what anybody says. Then, when we practice our kiss, I won’t feel like I’m pressing my lips on a cardboard cutout. When we first started practicing, there was some real feeling.”
Oh, great. That’s all I needed to hear about. Passionate kisses between my son and his girl. I wanted to clap my hands over my ears and say, “La la la la la la, I can’t hear you,” but that would have been too obvious. Instead, I glanced up at the ceiling so I could recover my equilibrium.
“Mrs. C.?”
“Mmm?” I twisted my head, trying to decide if the brown water stain right above my head looked more like a dog or a cow.
“Are you mad at me, too?”
The tone of her voice was so forlorn, I felt terrible. I met her gaze again. “No, I’m not.” I knew what it was like to be in love with a Cunningham man. Once it happens, you just can’t help yourself.
“Where are you going?” Sherry asked.
“I’m looking for Carla—Ms. Bickford. Her secretary said she was meeting Marvin in the band room. She was also looking for Connie.”
“I’ll come with you.”
I began to argue with her but decided I wanted company. With the school practically empty, I didn’t want to be alone with my imagination.
“We have a substitute band teacher,” Sherry said as we walked toward the band room. “And someone else is taking Ms. Winters’ class for the rest of the year.”
“Your aunt will still be doing the costumes, right?”
“Yeah. Aunt Elissa wants to talk to you about that. She wants your help.”
When I reached the band room door, I had a weird sense of déjà vu. I didn’t lik
e the chill that crept over my head, making my hair feel like it was standing on end. Sherry’s presence offered small comfort, especially since I was responsible for her safety.
I pushed the door open. The lights were on. So was a DVD, playing the movie Arsenic and Old Lace.
“Carla?” I called. No answer. “Marvin?” No answer.
“This is sort of creepy,” Sherry said.
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
A box of doughnuts lay on Marvin’s old desk. Beside that was a packing box partially filled with music books. Then I noticed splotches of liquid dotting the floor next to a shattered ceramic mug and a half-eaten doughnut.
Sherry’s breath hissed through her teeth.
From the television, Mortimer Brewster said, “You. . . Get out of here! D’ya wanna be poisoned? D’ya wanna be murdered? D’ya wanna be killed?”
The words were ironic given that Marvin Slade was in a heap on the floor.
Chapter Seventeen
I slouched on a chair in the hallway of the school with my eyes closed. I felt heavy, like someone had opened the top of my head and poured in concrete. With emergency personnel and cops in and out, I paid no attention to the sounds of the footsteps around me until someone stopped next to me.
I opened my eyes and looked into the eyes of Detective Scott.
“I might have known.” His tone was resigned.
I wasn’t surprised to see him. Sherry had called him as soon as we discovered Marvin on the floor. I tried to sit up straight, but I didn’t have the energy. “He’s okay, right? He had a pulse. I watched the paramedics take him away.”
“He’s alive.” Detective Scott’s gaze searched my face. “How about you? How are you feeling?”
“Numb.”
“You’re pale.”
“Probably just shock.”
His searching gaze made me feel defensive. “I had a good reason to be here, you know.” “I’m not surprised. You usually do.”
The heaviness in my legs increased. “Tommy did, too.”
He drew a sharp breath. “Tommy was here?”
Me and my big mouth. Still, Detective Scott would find out sooner or later. “Yes. He was bribing teachers with doughnuts.”
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