The Tainted Course

by Diane Weiner

  “Then why don’t you tell us where you were that night?”

  “It’s embarrassing.”

  “I don’t think we have a brothel or a casino in town, so how bad could it be?”

  “I was…don’t hold this against me.”

  “Go on,” said Henry.

  “I’m an alcoholic. Have been most of my adult life. That’s why my marriage didn’t last. After Faith threw me out, I hit rock bottom. A friend from work helped me—brought me to my first AA meeting. I haven’t had a drink since, I swear.”

  “So you were at a bar the night Faith was killed?” asked Emily. Clearly she wasn’t getting it.

  “No! I was at an AA meeting in the basement of St. Mary’s church.”

  “Will anyone vouch for you?”

  “Yeah. My new sponsor was there and half a dozen others.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t be ashamed. You’re getting help for a disease. Takes a big man to admit he needs help.” Henry gave him a fist bump.

  “You won’t tell Ava will you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Thanks. It’s actually a relief to get that off my chest. I just want to be a good dad for my girls.”

  Emily said, “I’m so sorry. We thought…If you need anything, help with the girls, anything—you can count on us.”

  At home, Emily changed into sweat pants and furry socks, then snuggled on the sofa next to Henry.

  Henry said, “That was embarrassing. We sure got that wrong.”

  “I know, but I’m glad we found out Dave is innocent. Imagine if those poor girls had to have their father locked up in jail?” She suddenly remembered the father in jail scenario in relation to Maddy.

  Henry’s phone buzzed. “Hey, buddy. So when’s the wedding?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “What happened? She didn’t say no did she?”

  “I never got to ask. The winter picnic idea was a disaster. It started snowing, the food got wet, our clothes got soaked…”

  “You could have turned that around.”

  “Yeah, right. It’s back to the drawing board.”

  Chapter 21

  “Come on, Maddy. Jessica and Sam are waiting for us and you know how hard it is to get a table for Sunday brunch at the inn.”

  Maddy said, “You don’t have to yell. I’m ready. Where’s Dad?”

  “Warming up the car.”

  When they arrived at the inn, Emily was glad to see Sunday brunch was as busy as ever and hoped Coralee felt reassured that the murder wasn’t going to permanently harm her business. Jessica and Sam had already gotten a table and waved them over.

  Jessica said, “Maddy, I’m so proud of you for going on to the state science fair. When is it?”

  “Not until May.”

  Sam said, “Where do you have to go?”

  “Burlington. We get to stay overnight in a fancy hotel.”

  “Too bad the school doesn’t pick up the cost,” said Henry. “Not that we mind. It’s quite an honor.”

  “Public schools have their flaws, that’s for sure,” said Sam. “Where does all that tax money go? Certainly not to our salaries, and facilities? The roof in my classroom leaks every time it rains or snows. You’d think with the computers in there they’d want to get it fixed.”

  Summer Martin brought menus to the table. She acted like she didn’t at all remember the scene she’d made when they were here with Faith and the girls. Emily guessed she’d been so focused on Faith she really didn’t notice who else was at the table. Otherwise, she’d be embarrassed. If she was in Summer’s shoes, she’d feel embarrassed.

  “Coffee?”

  “Yes, please. What are the specials?” asked Emily.

  “Blueberry pancakes with sour cream compote, and a spicy sausage and cheddar omelet. I’ll be back in a minute to take your orders.”

  Henry said, “Have you had Coralee’s blueberry pancakes? They’re second only to her blueberry French toast.”

  Jessica said, “Isn’t it hard to find blueberries this time of year?”

  “We think she has a secret garden in the basement,” said Henry.

  “I’ll go with the pancakes,” said Jessica.

  “The spicy omelet sounds good to me,” said Sam.

  Emily closed her menu. “Sam, how are you liking Sugarbury Falls?”

  “It’s a nice change of pace.”

  “It’s a special place. We love it here. Have you always been in education?”

  “No, I switched to teaching recently. I was in investment banking. When the stock market took a dive, I changed fields—saw the handwriting on the wall.”

  “You know, everyone and his brother thinks they can be a teacher. When people lose their jobs, the first thing they think of is teaching, right? We learned that in college. There’s no mystique to teaching. Not everyone thinks they can be a plumber or a dentist, but everyone can teach.”

  “Excuse me,” said Sam.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean you. You have expertise in your field and you’ve made the adjustment well.”

  “I like to think so,” said Sam.

  Jessica said, “I got a new match on Ancestors Are Us. Maddy, we have a half-brother in New York. I wrote to him. His name is Jeff and he’s in his thirties.”

  “In his thirties? Dr. Lipton got away with this for some time.” Emily sipped her coffee.

  “More than two decades, believe it or not. Had it not been for all the commercial DNA kits, he’d probably still be getting away with it.”

  “Maybe he just wanted to help women have babies,” said Maddy. “You paint him as a devil but in his heart, he may have thought he was doing good.”

  Jessica said, “Deceiving his own patients? Spreading his seed like he did? That’s pure ego, I’m sorry. I’m glad I never met him.”

  “Aren’t you curious? Wouldn’t you like to see him and see if his mannerisms are like yours or if his tastes and hobbies are like yours?”

  “Frankly, no. We can connect with our half-siblings and have contact with them. That’d answer some questions about heredity. If you want, I’ll see if at some point Jeff would be willing to drive up from New York and meet us.”

  “That would be interesting, but I’d still like to meet our father.”

  “Maddy, it’s not a good idea. You don’t want to visit him in prison, it’s icky. I’d stay far away. He sounds like a major manipulator and you don’t want to get caught in his claws.”

  Emily spotted Rona Smyth entering the dining room with the young man they’d seen her with at Smyth Haven. “Look! That’s Rona Smyth. I’ll bet she’s here to spy on Coralee.”

  “Her date looks young enough to be her son,” said Jessica.

  “Girls, stop the gossiping. Here’s our food.” Henry took the plate from Summer. “Do you have sugar-free syrup?”

  “Of course. A lot of people, myself included, are watching out for sugar.”

  When she’d left, Emily said, “Watching out for sugar? Do you think…”

  “Not everyone who mentions avoiding sugar has diabetes, Em. A girl her age is likely more worried about not gaining weight, right Maddy?”

  “Why are you asking me? Do I look like I need to watch my weight?”

  “Sam, see what you’ve got to look forward to if you get married and have kids? Women!”

  “That does it. I’m only having sons.” He dug into his omelet. “Delicious omelet.”

  Emily glanced over at Rona. She and her jail bait were engaged in a lively chat from the looks of it. Sick how they kept leaning in toward each other.

  Sam said, “Excuse me a minute. Where’s the rest room?”

  Henry said, “Over by the lobby.”

  “How are things going with Sam?” said Emily.

  “I don’t know. I think he’s seeing other women. Not that we said we’re exclusive or anything, it just makes me uncomfortable.”

  “How do you know he’s seeing other women?” asked Maddy.

 
; “He rushes off to errands or meetings after school sometimes. We’ll have dinner plans and he says he got held up in a parent conference. I don’t see parents flocking to have conferences with the once a week technology teacher. What would you think?”

  Maddy said, “Sounds like he’s cheating on you.”

  “Yet when a guy even looks my way he puts his arm around me and acts all possessive.”

  Maddy said, “I know what you’re saying. Look over there. He’s flirting with the waitress.”

  Emily looked. Summer Martin was smiling. So was Sam. What was that paper he just handed her? His phone number?”

  Henry said, “There are plenty of fish in the sea. Perhaps you need a new pond. I mean, how many male teachers are at the school?”

  “Two.”

  “My point exactly. I’ll introduce you to some of the residents around the hospital if you’d like.”

  “Thanks, but we’ll see how this relationship plays out first.”

  Sam returned to the table. Emily said, “Now, if you’ll excuse me a minute.”

  Emily walked over to the table where Rona and her date were eating omelets.

  “Rona Smyth, the soup we bought from you the other day was delicious.”

  “Thanks. Not every day one of my favorite authors walks through the door. This is Kyle.”

  Kyle extended his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

  At least he had manners. “Rona, I’d like you to be the subject of my next true crime book. Wait, not sure that came out right. What I mean is, I hear the gossip about you causing the accident that killed your parents.”

  “I didn’t kill my parents!”

  “I’m not saying you did. Perhaps we can work together and clear your name—maybe even find the real cause of the accident.”

  “Well, that would be a great relief. We can talk. Drop by Smyth Haven tomorrow.”

  “Will do. Enjoy your breakfast. Nice meeting you, Kyle.”

  Emily returned to the table. “Trying to line up an interview with the subject of my next book.” She watched Rona and Kyle get up and leave the dining room. She hoped they weren’t planning on replicating Coralee’s omelets.

  Coralee stopped at their table. “Hope you’re all enjoying brunch.”

  “Absolutely,” said Sam. “Jessica and I will be back frequently.”

  Coralee tuned to Maddy. “We got a whole litter of kittens and the Mama cat last night. Stop by and see.”

  “I will.”

  Emily said, “Jessica and Sam should see the cat café.”

  “Our talented daughter not only won the Science ribbon, she came up with a successful community project last year. Quite impressive.” Henry speared the last bit of pancake off his plate.

  “I’m done eating and I’d love to see the kittens,” said Jessica.

  They settled the bill, then visited the cat café. The kittens played with crinkled foil balls, while Mama cat stretched out on the top of the sofa. The others played in the cat tree.

  Jessica picked up an orange kitten and rubbed her face against his fur. “Oh my goodness, I’m in love.” She looked at Sam. “In love with this kitty.”

  “That’s Tito.” Maddy pet Mama cat. Henry tossed the foil balls to the babies.

  “Maddy, how do you stop yourself from bringing them all home?”

  “Chester’s used to be an only child. He doesn’t do well with other pets.”

  “I can’t believe you started this place. What a great idea.”

  Another guest entered the café with her son. He picked up Tito, the kitten Jessica had just set down.

  “Sam, do you want to hold one?” Maddy held a gray tabby to his face.

  Sam took a step back. “No, I’m not much of a cat person.”

  Jessica took the kitten from Maddy. “Such a sweetie. Are they old enough to be away from their mother?”

  “Yes. They look to be around three months old. Why don’t you adopt one?”

  “Me? Well, truth is I’d love to have a little companion. I was thinking about getting a pet.”

  “Take two!”

  Jessica went over to the mama cat and snuggled against her fur. “I’m going to do it. In fact, I’m going to take Mama cat and the little gray tabby. The tabby’s been playing with the little black kitten. Must be his brother. It’s too hard to decide.”

  Sam said, “Are you sure? Cats scratch the furniture and the litter boxes stink.”

  “I’m sure. In fact, I’m taking three.”

  Maddy said, “That’s so great. I’ll help you with anything you need. The adoption application is over there on the desk.”

  “Hold Stripes while I fill it out.”

  “Stripes?”

  “She looks like a Stripes. And this one is Ebony. I don’t know what to call the mama yet.”

  Jessica filled out the paperwork while Maddy ran to tell Coralee the good news. It would take a day or two for the Humane Society, their partner in the café, to go over the paperwork and approve it.

  Emily said, “You should go with Jessica to pick up cat supplies.”

  “I will.”

  Maddy went with Jessica to get the cat supplies. Henry and Emily headed home.

  “What do you think about Sam?” asked Emily.

  “What do you mean? He seems okay.”

  “I don’t trust him. I saw him hand a note to Summer Martin. I’ll bet it was his phone number. When she came to take our order he didn’t act like he’d ever met her before.”

  “Jessica has a good head on her shoulders. She’ll figure it out.”

  “How do you go from investment banking into teaching? Why didn’t he get another job in the financial industry?”

  “I don’t know how easy those jobs are to find.”

  “I can’t see him enjoying children.”

  “Why? Because he doesn’t like cats?” Henry parked the Jeep and they went inside. Emily took off her coat and grabbed her laptop. She googled Fielding Construction.

  “What are you doing?”

  “The night of the science fair, Sam dropped a business card.” She took it from her purse and showed him.

  “So? Maybe he wants to have a house built.”

  “Then why is he using a company based in Chicago? Look at the address.”

  “Maybe the father of one of his students gave it to him.”

  Emily searched. “Aha. Do you know what Fielding Construction specializes in?”

  “Miniature houses? Hospitals? How do I know?”

  “Charter schools. This article says the company has partnered with Horace Mann Charter and they’re the leaders in opening schools throughout the country.”

  “So he may be looking for another job. What’s the problem?”

  “He was complaining about the state of public schools at breakfast. He was an investment banker. Faith Maguire blocked the building of a charter school here in Sugarbury Falls, but I read in the paper the other day that construction is underway. According to this article I’m reading, Horace Mann Charter is the fastest growing company in the US right now.”

  “Why was Faith trying to block it?”

  “Because tax money then has to be shared. Public schools lose funding and they’re strapped for money as it is. We live in a small school district. I can’t see why we need another school. Maddy’s classes aren’t full. In fact, the school didn’t offer calculus this year due to under enrollment.”

  “You think Sam was investing in the charter school?”

  “Or the construction company. If he had invested in either the school or the company it would have lost a small fortune. With Faith Maguire out of the picture, look what happened. She’s dead and right away construction is moving forward.”

  “You don’t even know that he invested in it.”

  “I know who could help us figure it out.”

  “Are you going to bother Rebecca again?”

  “She enjoys helping me. Where’s that bottle of wine we never opened at dinner?” She rumm
aged through the fridge. “I’ll bring this over. Are you coming?”

  “No, thanks. I’m going to grab a beer and watch some basketball.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  She called Rebecca first. Rebecca was only too happy to help. She kissed Henry on the cheek. “Last chance to get in on some spy work.”

  “Have fun.”

  Emily walked over to Rebecca and Abby’s. When the door opened, the aroma of fresh cinnamon rolls made her stomach growl, in spite of the plentiful brunch.

  “Abby’s rolls just came out of the oven. Want one?”

  “I shouldn’t. But I will. And I brought wine. You and Abby can have it with your dinner.”

  “So, what are we hunting for?” She opened her laptop and pictures of foster children filled the screen. “Abby and I are thinking of adopting through the foster care system.”

  “That’s wonderful! You’d be great parents.”

  Abby said, “We’ve been talking about it for some time. We knew before we got married we wanted a family someday. My photography business is really picking up, and with our flexible hours, I think we can handle it.”

  “If you need a reference, let us know.”

  “Now, what are we searching for?”

  “Fielding Construction, Horace Mann Charter Schools, and Sam Benson.”

  “Okay. Let’s start with Fielding Construction. Give me a minute. Looks like they’re making a fortune building charter schools all over the country.”

  “I know. Can you get a list of investors?”

  “Give me a few more minutes. Hmm. There are a lot of investors.”

  “Is Sam Benson one of them?”

  She scrolled through the list. “Sure is. He invested oodles.”

  “Before or after Faith’s death?”

  “Before. Months before. In fact, when did he start working here? You said this was his first year, right?”

  “He said he moved here last summer to start the school year.”

  “He invested well before then.”

  “Can you check out his employment record? He says he was an investment banker before he started teaching.”

  “Do you know what company he worked for?”

  “No.”