The Falls City Five

by Sarah Markel

  Max studied the looks of awe on her guest’s faces. She noted something in Eli’s expression, and was certain that Dani’s answer had angered him.

  “Oh, thank heaven,” she said, distracting the others from their intense study of her wife, “At least I won’t have to worry about what might happen during sleepovers.”

  Ezra and Lilah guffawed, but it took a moment for the teens to catch on to the joke. When they did, the kids joined Max and their parents in a hearty laugh.

  Dani cleared her throat and pinned Max with an intense stare. “Why are we discussing my sexuality at dinner?” she asked pointedly.

  Max shrugged and took a long sip of her tea. “Someone at the table asked me for permission to ask you on a date. The others said you wouldn’t agree, because you wouldn’t be interested.”

  “So, naturally, the dinner conversation with the Pastor of the church turned to my dating preferences?” Dani asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

  Ezra cleared his throat and offered Dani a soft smile. “Daniela, just because I am a Pastor, doesn’t mean I don’t have regular conversations with people. I am a very open-minded person, as are my wife and children.”

  “We have conversations about all sorts of things, not just God. Yesterday, the boys and I had a long discussion about a horror movie we watched together. We spent almost two hours talking about the things we would have done differently than the killer, to avoid being caught.”

  Dani scrunched her face and rolled her eyes. “Well that’s not a scary thought,” she said, eliciting a chorus of snorted laughter from the teens.

  Chapter 11

  “Ms. Willows, would you and Daniela join me in my office, please?”

  Max and Dani shared a look and followed Principal Glick. They’d spent the night before devising a story with Agent Frost, one they hoped would counteract whatever rumors were floating around.

  “Good Morning, Ray,” Max said as the women claimed the visitor’s chairs, “how was your weekend?”

  Principal Glick dropped into his chair with a grunt. He stared at Max and Dani, scrutinizing each as if trying to discover what secrets the women kept.

  “It’s come to my attention that there may be something unsavory going on in your home, Ms. Willows. As the Principal of this school, it is my duty to see that my students are safe and comfortable.”

  Max raised her eyebrow at the man’s superior tone. “And what unsavory things are supposedly going on in my home, Mr. Glick?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared the man down.

  Principal Glick shifted his gaze to Dani, who was pretending to be engrossed in her phone. “Let’s just say there are some here who are saying that you and Daniela are more than just mother and daughter,” he said, trying to sound less than accusatory.

  “I see,” Max said flatly, “and what exactly is being said?”

  Principal Glick shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It, uh,” he started, a blush beginning to creep over his thick cheeks, “it’s been suggested to me that you two are engaging in an incestuous sexual relationship.”

  “What?” Max bellowed, bolting out of the chair like her ass was on fire. “Who the hell is making such outrageous claims?”

  Principal Glick seemed to shrink away from Max. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice slightly wobbly, “I can’t tell you who the source is. I was told in confidence.”

  “Bullshit,” Max spat as she leaned across the man’s desk and met him eye to eye, “I have every right to face my accuser. Either tell me who it is, or I will sue the hell out of you for slander. This isn’t something small, like allowing Daniela to stay out past curfew. I’m being accused of a crime, and I want to know who is making the accusation!”

  Dani looked up to gauge the man’s reaction. His color had fled and there was a fine sheen of sweat across his balding forehead. His eyes refused to meet Max’s and his hands were suddenly incapable to remaining still.

  “Principal Glick, did you know that a person in your position could be terminated without notice for making a lewd comment about someone who is under the age of eighteen?” she asked, distracting the man.

  Max looked over her shoulder at Dani and narrowed her eyes in warning. What are you doing?

  Principal Glick looked confused. “What does that…”

  Dani waved off his question. “‘Fuck, she’s got a nice ass. If she was eighteen, I’d take her for a ride she’d never forget’,” she said, repeating his comment from the previous week.

  Principal Glick’s face turned ashen. “Where,” he gulped and licked his suddenly dry lips, “where did you hear that?”

  “From you,” Dani replied, “I was only a few feet in front of you when you mumbled it to yourself.”

  Principal Glick’s color returned, and his lips curled into a sneer. “If you are the only one who heard it, then there is no proof to your claim. You may have misunderstood what I said. I mean, you are hard of hearing after all.”

  A predatory smile spread across Dani’s face. “I may be hard of hearing, Sir, but my phone’s transcription app is not.”

  Max, realizing what her wife was doing, chuckled as she reclaimed her seat. She watched as Dani tapped on the screen of her phone, pretending to bring up the app history.

  From his place in the surveillance van, Young worked his magic and made the Principal’s words appear on the screen, along with the date and time Dani had noted during the man’s utterance. Dani stood and showed Principal Glick the screen.

  “As you can see, my phone heard you. It’s time stamped, in case you have any questions about the authenticity. Now, I suggest you tell my mother who is spreading such ugly rumors, or I will be sending this to the Superintendent. Along with a complaint of sexual harassment, I might add.”

  Principal Glick swallowed hard and loosened his tie as he debated with himself. His eyes ping-ponged between Max and Dani as he weighed his options. Max could see a thought cross the man’s mind, and his expression became stony. “You ladies do know that blackmail is a crime, don’t you?”

  Max reclaimed the conversation and placed a hand on Dani’s shoulder. “Ray, cut the crap. Daniela’s phone has transcribed this whole conversation.”

  “You can claim blackmail, that’s your choice, but the school board will be receiving the complaint today, as will my attorney. I gave you the chance to save yourself, but I’m no longer in the mood to bargain with you. Come on, Daniela. You’re going to be late for class.”

  With that, Max stood and walked briskly to the door. Dani followed and spared the Principal a scathing glance.

  “Wait,” Principal Glick said as Max reached for the doorknob, “just wait a minute. I’ll tell you.”

  “Worked like a charm,” Max whispered to the door, knowing only Dani would hear her.

  Max lowered her hand and turned, crossing her arms over her chest. Principal Glick reached into his desk and pulled out an envelope. He tossed it on the desk and wrung his hands nervously.

  “What is that?” Max asked, stepping cautiously toward the man’s desk.

  “It’s photos and an email. The person’s name is in there. I’m going to warn you, though,” he said, his eyes finally meeting Max’s, “those pictures support her accusations. On the surface, at least. I hope your explanation of the truth is as believable as the story she claims these tell.”

  Max snatched the envelope from the desk and opened it. She dumped the contents onto the desk and picked up the print-out of the email. Her eyes flew over the text and a sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. Someone had seen them at the night club. Frost was right; their cover may be blown after all.

  Dani picked up one of the pictures and sucked in a breath. The photo showed Dani, in her alluring and provocative dress, with Max’s arms draped possessively around her waist.

  Dani’s head was turned away from the camera, resting on Max’s chest as they danced. The room was silent as Max joined her wife in perusing the images.

&
nbsp; A second photo showed Max and Dani sipping drinks at their table. This photo seemed innocent enough, and could easily be explained as a benign dinner between parent and child.

  The third photo was also less than incriminating. This one showed Max and Dani, again on the dance floor, speaking with the pink-haired butch that had asked if she could cut in.

  “These photos support nothing,” Max bit, glaring daggers at Principal Glick. The man averted his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

  “You read the email,” he said, “that story, coupled with those pictures, looks awfully suspicious. Care to explain them to me?”

  Max scoffed and ground her teeth. Dani, sensing that her wife was nearing the end of her patience, answered for her.

  “Not that it’s any of your business,” she bit, “but we went out to dinner to celebrate my parent’s wedding anniversary. We’ve done it every year since my other mom died.”

  Sympathy swirled over the man’s face as it fell. “I’m sorry,” he said honestly, “I had no idea. I’m very sorry for your loss.”

  “Yeah,” Dani spat, shoving the photos into Max’s hand as tears welled in her eyes, “I can see that you’re torn up about it.”

  Max applauded her wife’s acting ability. She knew the tears were real, Dani always teared up at the mention of her mother’s death, but Max appreciated the way the redhead used the sadness to her benefit. Without another word, the two women exited the Principal’s office.

  ***

  The day moved along at a snail’s pace and Max was grateful when her free period finally arrived. She’d caught several students whispering to one another when they thought she wasn’t looking, and called each one out on it.

  “What is so important that you have to talk about it in class?” she snapped at a pair of tenth-graders during third period.

  The boy’s face flamed, but the girl he was whispering to seized the opportunity to confront her teacher.

  “What did that sign in your front yard mean?” she asked, her voice a mixture of defiance and inquisitiveness. “The whole school is talking about it.”

  A surge of relief washed through Max. She’d been concerned all morning that the accusations made to the Principal might be spread around the school.

  “I don’t know, Cadence,” she answered gently, “the only sin I’ve been accused of is homosexuality. Daniela and I, along with the police, assume that is what the vandal is referring to.”

  Cadence, a tall girl with a long purple ponytail, continued to eye the woman with suspicion as the others went back to their assignments. Max watched the girl study her and wondered what she was thinking.

  Just as Max was about to ask, the girl shrugged. “It’s stupid that you have to deal with that,” she said, tugging a pencil from behind her ear, “there are so many things in the world that are being ignored by self-righteous people; things that can be fixed with a little bit of effort, but people are so much more concerned with who everyone else is sleeping with. It’s ridiculous. I’m sorry you and Daniela have to deal with that crap.”

  Max smiled genuinely at Cadence and dismissed the class when the bell rang. Once the last of the students cleared the room, Max grabbed her purse and headed for the faculty lounge.

  When she stepped inside the empty room, Max made herself a cup of coffee and took a seat on the old corduroy sofa.

  She greeted the few staff that stopped by to refill their coffee cups before their next classes arrived, waiting patiently for the chance to confront the woman who was threatening the FBI’s operation.

  Max had called Agent Frost before her first class and explained about her meeting with Principal Glick. She managed to stall Frost, who wanted to pull the op, and hoped she’d be able to convince her accuser that what she had seen was not the truth. If she could make the woman believe her lies, she might be able to save their cover.

  “Hi, Rhonda,” Max said conversationally when the brunette entered the lounge and made a beeline for the coffee pot.

  Rhonda Carlton jumped. She hadn’t noticed Max when she entered; she’d been too intent on the much-needed jolt of caffeine she was after.

  “Oh!” she cried in surprise as she turned to face the woman, “you scared me, Max.”

  Max stood from the couch and moved to refill her mug. Rhonda set the carafe back on the hot plate and moved over to sit at the table in the center of the room.

  “How was your weekend?” the brunette asked casually.

  Max shrugged and moved to join her at the table. She set her purse on the floor beside her chair and pulled out the envelope, resting it on her lap.

  “It was nice,” Max replied, keeping the envelope out of Rhonda’s view, “How was yours? Did you do anything fun?” Max surreptitiously pulled the contents out of the envelope, her eyes never leaving Rhonda’s.

  “Oh, you know,” Rhonda said flippantly, “it was nothing special. My girlfriend had to work, and I spent my time planning this week’s conditioning schedule. The first conditioning of the year is a pain. The students complain constantly, and all of the girls magically get their period.”

  “You didn’t go out at all?” Max asked sympathetically, “that’s too bad. You should think about taking your girlfriend to Fagulous next weekend. It’s a lot of fun and is family-friendly until ten.”

  Rhonda’s eyes widened. She shifted her gaze and chuckled, trying to hide the deer-in-the-headlights look she was sure Max would see.

  “I’ve, uh,” she stammered, “I’ve heard good things about it. My girlfriend is a nurse and doesn’t usually have weekends off, though. I’ll have to wait until summer break to take her.”

  Max narrowed her eyes at the woman. “That’s funny,” she said flatly, “I guess you were too busy taking pictures of my daughter and I to notice how much fun everyone else was having.”

  Rhonda’s head whipped around, and she flinched when Max dropped the stack of photos on the table. “Was your girlfriend with you on Sunday, or were you there by yourself?” Max asked.

  Rhonda’s eyes landed everywhere but on the photos. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said weakly, her fingers tapping nervously on the side of her coffee cup.

  “Cut the bullshit,” Max said sharply, slapping her hand over the stack, “you signed your name to the email you sent Ray. What in the hell makes you think I’m sleeping with my daughter?”

  Caught, Rhonda went on the defensive. “Really?” she asked with disgust, “Daniela wasn’t dressed for a night out with her mother. She was dressed like a woman expecting to get laid.”

  Max’s hands clenched, and she made the conscious effort to remain calm. “Her dress is why you think something is going on? I’ll admit that it’s a bit on the risqué side, but at least she was covered. I’ve seen girls her age walking around this town in far more revealing clothing.”

  Rhonda scoffed. “No, it wasn’t just her dress. I saw the way you two were acting and it was disgusting. She’s your daughter, for God’s sake!”

  Max spread the stack of photos on the table and snatched one up. “How were we acting, Rhonda?” she asked, holding the photo of her and Dani having drinks in front of Rhonda’s face.

  Rhonda sneered. “You were getting that child drunk,” she stated, her eyes staring holes in Max.

  “Did you actually hear our drink order?” Max asked.

  “Of course not,” Rhonda spat, “we were seated too far apart. Anyone who drinks, even occasionally, knows a Long Island Iced Tea when they see one.”

  Max scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It was a Long Island Iced Tea,” she admitted, “but it was virgin. It’s tea, apple cider, and lemon juice.”

  A hint of a blush crept over Rhonda’s neck and she squirmed in her chair. Shit. I didn’t think about that.

  Max dropped the picture and picked up another. “This one I can understand looking suspicious,” she said honestly, “but it doesn’t prove I am fucking Daniela.”

  Rhonda grimaced at Max’s vulgarity. “It does
n’t look like a mother dancing with her daughter, either. It looks like two lovers holding each other to music.”

  Max gritted her teeth and spoke with disdain. “When I married my wife, this song was the one we danced to with our daughter. Daniela asked if we could dance when the DJ played it. I was holding her like that because she was crying.”

  Rhonda’s blush creeped higher. Maybe things weren’t what she thought after all.

  “And this one,” Max continued, holding up the shot with the pink-haired butch, “what about this picture supports your disgusting theory?”

  “The way you’re holding her,” Rhonda said, her tone unsure, “That’s the way I hold my girlfriend when I’m being jealous or protective.”

  “Jealous, no,” Max lied, “Protective, yes. That woman asked if she could cut in and dance with Daniela. I explained about my daughter’s age, and the woman apologized, complimented Daniela on her dress, and left. There was nothing lurid going on.”

  Rhonda finally gave the photo her attention. She inspected it thoroughly, her mind racing as she tried to correlate what she had witnessed with Max’s explanation. Was I really that far off?

  “Why are you so concerned with what happens between me and my daughter?” Max asked pointedly. She could see the conflict in Rhonda’s eyes, and wondered what was going through the brunette’s mind.

  “I’m sorry,” Rhonda whispered, tears stinging her eyes, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  Max was surprised when the woman dissolved into tears. Rhonda dropped her head into her hands and sobbed loudly.

  “I’m so sorry, Max. Ever since Bailey went missing, I’ve become suspicious of everyone. Not knowing where she is, or who she is with, is killing me.”

  Max’s brain went into investigative mode and she stood, pulling Rhonda from her chair and leading her to the couch. She put her arm around Rhonda’s shoulders and let the woman cry.

  “Bailey who?” she asked feigning ignorance.

  Rhonda sniffed and righted herself, offering Max a watery smile when the woman handed her a tissue from the box on the table.