by Robin Lyons
She smiled and gave him a thumbs up before slamming the door.
The DeSalvo’s front door opened as soon as she got close. Joss stood smiling on the other side of the door. “Oh my goodness, the wind. Did you have fun with your friends?”
“Yes.” She left her shoes by the front door, peeled off her coat and hung it in the coat closet. Kevin and Stu asked Brandi and me to go to the Winter Ball.”
“They did?”
“As friends. Nothing more.” Rae shook her head.
“I see.”
“I’ve never been to a dance.”
“We’ll need to know more about it. Who chaperones? What time? Is there security? I’ll have Steffan look into it and then we can talk about it. I know you’ll need a fancy dress. When is the dance?”
“Next Saturday. The theme’s Winter Wonderland Masquerade.”
“Well then, we’d better decide quickly.”
“Thank you.”
Joss looked excited when she talked about helping her find a dress. Rae was pretty sure she’d be allowed to go. “Can I swim laps for an hour or so?”
“Yes, dear. I need to make a phone call anyway.”
In record time, Rae changed into her swimsuit and stood at the back door looking out at the pool. Without hesitation, she went outside and dove into the pool at the deep end.
Chapter 28
After Kevin’s friends left, Aunt Jane asked him if he’d seen her cat, Mr. Boots.
“No. Your stupid cat better stay away from me.”
She put a hand over her heart. “I can’t find him.”
“I don’t care.” Kevin went upstairs.
An inside cat, he had to be somewhere in the house. She started to worry he was accidentally shut in a room they didn’t use often. With an opened tuna fish can in hand, she went from room to room calling his name.
Frustrated, Jane knocked on Kevin’s bedroom door.
“Yeah.”
She opened the door a few inches, enough to poke her head inside the room.
He was watching TV.
“Will you check in your game room to see if Mr. Boots wandered down there while your friends were here? He might be locked in there.”
“He’s not.”
“Would you please double check?”
“I’m positive he’s not in there.” He bumped up the volume a few notches on the TV.
Jane was in her bedroom looking again under her bed for Mr. Boots when the house phone rang. She picked it up at the same time Kevin answered one of the phones downstairs. She listened for a moment to see who was on the line.
“Hello.”
“Kevin.”
“Hi, Gramps.” Kevin’s voice held no sign of emotion.
Jane knew she should hang up. But at this point, Kevin and his grandfather would hear her hang up and realize she’d been listening.
“I thought you were going to call me earlier,” his grandfather on his father’s side said.
“Some friends came over, and we hung out. I guess I forgot.”
“What friends?”
Jane thought it weird that Kevin’s grandfather asked about his friends.
“Stu and a couple of girls from school.”
“When I live there, you can have as many kids over as you want. In fact, maybe somebody has a single mom for me.”
Jane sucked a quiet breath in not wanting to make a sound. Why does Kevin’s grandfather think he’s moving in here? Her heart pounded.
Kevin laughed. “I’ll see what I can do to hook you up.”
“It’s been a long time since I was with a woman.”
Jane wanted to disconnect from the highly inappropriate conversation, but she continued to listen.
“I might even be able to hook you up with a girl from school. She’ll do anyone. It’s like she’s keeping score of how many guys she can screw. Maybe she’s open to all ages.”
Jane wanted to vomit.
“Now you’re talking. Get me a young piece of ass, and I’ll double your allowance.”
Jane listened intently and wondered, why does Mr. Jackson senior think he’ll be in control of Kevin’s allowance? Jane’s mind raced around possible scenarios of how Kevin’s guardianship could shift to his grandfather—legally the next of kin ahead of her. Had it not been for Kevin’s father signing an order to appoint guardianship to Jane and Mr. Jackson senior’s felony record, he may have been Kevin’s guardian. Is there a loophole he’d found to oust Jane and assume Kevin’s guardianship?
Kevin’s grandfather continued, “What’s happening with the missing kid? Was that your handy work?”
“Yeah. You told me to prove my loyalty to you.”
“Nobody came to your house and asked if you saw him?”
“Same night.”
“What’d you say?”
“The truth. I saw the kid playing in the yard.”
“Good job. You’re more like your old gramps than I realized.”
Kevin snickered.
Jane covered her mouth and began to shake. She wanted to throw the phone, but she held it to her ear.
“You got that right. Just for fun, I killed Jane’s cat too.”
Jane gasped. Too?
“Did you hear that?” Kevin asked.
“No. I didn’t hear anything. How’d you do it?”
“The cat or the kid?”
“The cat.”
“Jane went to the market so I grabbed the cat by the neck and squeezed as tight as I could. He squirmed and tried to claw me, so I squeezed tighter. And then I heard crunching noises, and he went limp. His eyes looked dead.”
“What did you do with the carcass?”
“I shoved him to the bottom of the trash. The garbage got picked up this morning.”
“How’d that make you feel?”
“Powerful.”
Jane gently pushed the phone in place to disconnect her end and ran to the bathroom to vomit. She sat on the floor in front of the toilet overcome with grief and fear. As her mind processed what she’d overheard another bout of nausea caused her to lunge forward.
She sat on the floor leaning against the wall across from the toilet crying when she heard a gentle knock on her bedroom door.
And then Kevin appeared at the bathroom and looked at her. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t feel well.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“No. No. Just let me rest.”
“Okay. I’m going to go to the mall with Stu. I’ll be home before seven.”
Jane nodded. She hoped he didn’t come home at all. Ever.
Chapter 29
Announcing a storm’s approach, strong winds blew all day. The storm arrived around dinner time and brought torrential rain to Brookfield.
Rae slept over at Brandi’s house. The girls talked and listened to music in Brandi’s bedroom.
“Want to see who’s online?” Brandi asked Rae.
“On DayJabber?” Rae shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”
Before her parents died, Rae’s weekends centered on competitive swimming or swim practice. She’d mostly had a good relationship with her parents. Any time not devoted to swimming she hung out at home and wasn’t into social media.
Brandi opened her laptop. Rae grabbed her cell phone.
Although they sat side-by-side, they both logged into the website.
Rae watched as Brandi typed messages to their friends.
“There’s a guy from school I see on here sometimes who’s sorta stalking me,” Brandi said. “He makes me want to know who he is but then won’t tell me.”
“Stalking you how?”
“He says stuff about seeing me at school. Comments on my clothes and stuff like that.”
“What if he’s a creep?”
“I don’t think he is. He sounds cool.”
Rae watched Brandi search for someone named CJ. He wasn’t online.
Brandi to group (Rae, Stu, Kevin): Hi guys. Rae’s here. What’d you guys do today af
ter we left Kevin’s?
Stu to Group: Nothing. You?
Kevin to Group: I hung out with my grandpa. Hi Rae.
Brandi to Group: Rae came over for dinner and is staying overnight.
Kevin to Group: Will you two sleep in the same bed?
Brandi to Group: You’re disgusting, Kevin.
Kevin’s antics tickled Rae.
Kevin to Group: Don’t take it out on me because you guys are all still virgins.
Brandi removed her hands from the keyboard like it burned her fingers.
“Do you want some cake? My mom made a chocolate cake.”
“Sure,” Rae responded.
Brandi abruptly closed her laptop.
“Don’t you need to log off or something?”
“No.” Brandi shrugged. “It’ll log you off automatically.”
Rae tossed her phone on the bed. She understood why Brandi abruptly ended the chit-chat with the guys. Any talk of sex made her uncomfortable. When they first talked about the assault, Rae had asked Brandi if she thought Stu or Kevin assaulted her. Brandi was confident Stu would never have forced himself on her. They were more like a brother and sister. She wasn’t so sure about Kevin.
When Rae first met Kevin, he made her feel uneasy. She couldn’t explain it. Since she’d spent more time around him because of Brandi’s close relationship with Stu—and that included Kevin as part of the package deal—he seemed less annoying.
Thunder clapped loud enough to rattle the framed photos hanging on the wall. Brandi and Rae froze halfway down the staircase. A second later through the foyer window twenty feet up, Rae saw a bright bolt of lightning flash and light up the night sky. Another crack of thunder followed. The electricity blinked off.
“Mom,” Brandi yelled.
“Hang on Brandi, we’re getting the flashlights.”
Chapter 30
Across town, Crosby Nash sat in his study reviewing speech videos when thunder boomed and shook the walls. Several seconds later lightning flashed. The lights flickered but remained on.
The first few speeches had been mock eulogies. This time students had to write one about a person from an obituary in a newspaper. They had to practice delivering a heartfelt tribute. Nash gave points for eye contact with the ‘family’ of the deceased and addressing the key points from the person’s life in chronological order. The eulogies must also be touching. He expected students to use appropriate tone, sincerity, and keep gestures to a minimum.
More thunder and lightning tore through the sky.
In the midst of a long, slow sip of his drink, Nash’s wife burst through the door.
“Crosby.”
He jerked his feet off the desk and sat upright. Splashing part of his drink on his shirt. Video clicked off. “What happened?”
He thought she looked adorable in her pink plaid bathrobe with her long hair pulled up into a ponytail.
“The storm’s getting worse and I’m scared. Let’s go to bed.”
“Babe, I have two more videos. It might take me thirty minutes before I’m done.”
She marched toward his desk grabbed the back of a chair and drug it along with her. “Then I’m watching videos with you.”
“Are you sure?”
She sat with a thud. “I’m staying here.”
“You’re so cute.” He pulled his wife into an embrace to comfort her. His hand wandered into the opening of her robe and squeezed one of her breasts.
“Ouch.” She swatted his hand away. “I can’t believe you’re thinking of sex when there’s a storm raging outside. Let’s get busy on these videos so we can go to bed.”
Crosby started a new speech. Kevin giving a sales pitch. He began telling his wife what the students were expected to cover in their speech. That they had to choose a product or a concept. Kevin tried to convince Stu to buy his concept car. He’d created some visual aids on the computer using images from high-end sports cars.
“Maybe the speeches would be better in person. Tuck me in bed, and you can stay up another thirty minutes.”
Crosby did as his wife asked but stopped at the alcohol cabinet on his way back to his study. He poured himself another cocktail.
Back in his study, he resumed his comfortable position with his feet on top of his desk. Earbuds in his ears, he opened a video and watched the students. He made a mental note to speak to Kevin about the poor quality of the sound on his video.
The video was almost over when his wife rushed into the room. Startled, he slammed his laptop shut. “What?”
“I’m scared. Something’s scratching on the bedroom window.”
“Why are you staring at me? Get up and see what it is.”
“I’m sure it’s a tree branch. What else could it be?”
“Go look.”
“Fine.” He chugged his drink. “I’m done.”
His wife smiled and hugged him. “Thank you, sweetie.”
“You can thank me when we’re in bed.” He winked.
“You’re ridiculous.”
Chapter 31
Roni squealed when she saw Mac walk outside the school. Before he reached her, she said, “I had a blast yesterday at jiu jitsu with Nico.” Not surprised by her enthusiasm and broad smile, he could tell she was sincere.
“Your skill level’s improving. I’d say you have natural ability. I’m confident you’ll have no problem with arrest control.”
“Really?” She leaned close. “I got Nico with a triangle.” She stifled a giggle as her cheeks reddened. “How about that storm last night? Did your power go out?”
Mac shook his head. “No, but the school lost power for about an hour. I had to come in to reset the security system.”
Her eyes bulged. “You had to come here last night?”
As Mac started to reply, Roni turned away. One of the mothers had said her name. She held up a finger to Mac. “Be right back.”
He watched Nico park in the visitor lot. Nico and Rae walked across the street together. Rae went inside. Nico walked to Mac.
“Thanks for the invite to jiu jitsu yesterday. Clearly, I’m out of shape and out of practice.”
Mac smiled. “You did fine. Stick with it, and you’ll get back to the same level you were.”
“You’re too nice. That Roni’s a beast. She moves fast, like a spider. She’s a spider beast.” He laughed. “She caught me with a deep triangle choke.”
They both smiled.
“She told me. She’s good. And she only started last semester.”
“Impressive.” Nico nodded.
Mac watched parents pull forward along the curb to drop off their children. Kevin and his Aunt Jane were several cars back.
Roni joined the guys. While she and Nico talked and teased about jiu jitsu, Mac focused on Kevin. Still, he overheard Roni say to Nico, “I try to move fast. If one strategy doesn’t work, I quickly shift to a different strategy. And I think about what my opponent might do next, like in chess”
A small pick-up truck parked at the corner of the adjacent street down from the school caught Mac’s attention. You couldn’t miss Kevin’s grandfather’s multicolored junker. He’s a long way from Sacramento.
Mac flashed back to the day he saw the grandfather and Kevin in court acting like best buddies after Kevin had told Mac he wasn’t allowed to see his grandfather.
“I’ll see you later,” Nico said.
“Hmmm. Yeah. See you this afternoon,” Mac said without breaking his visual on the truck.
“What’re you looking at?” With Nico gone, Roni noticed Mac’s distraction.
“That truck.” He bobbed his head toward Mr. Jackson Senior’s vehicle.
“Is that someone you know?”
“Kevin Jackson’s grandfather.”
“No way.”
Mac didn’t want to deal with Kevin’s grandfather. He had other things on his mind. Like letting Kevin know he was on to him.
Kevin’s aunt dropped him off at the curb.
Mac stepped si
deways to block Kevin. Kevin dodged one way, Mac stepped in front of him again.
“What?” he said rolling his eyes.
Mac stood with his feet spread wide and his hands clasped in front.
“What’d you do to the missing boy?” He snarled.
“You’re crazy.” He stepped sideways.
Mac stepped in front of him again. “You’re not going to get away with anything this time. Nobody thinks you’re the innocent boy you tried to portray last semester.”
Roni touched Mac’s arm. “Mac.”
When he looked at Roni, Kevin stepped around him, waving him off as if he were an irritating fly. He strode to Stu. They had a quick, quiet conversation before disappearing inside.
Roni looked up at Mac. “Is everything okay?”
“Be right back,” Mac said over his shoulder.
As he neared the corner, Jackson Senior drove away. Mac’s gut told him the Jackson family drama hadn’t ended. Kevin and his grandfather had something cooking, and Mac was going to be ahead of the trouble this time. He didn’t trust Kevin’s grandfather, and he trusted Kevin even less.
Chapter 32
After his failed attempt to chase down Kevin’s grandfather, Mac hustled back to the front of the school.
A little more than two weeks had passed since Brandi’s father had asked Mac to help him figure who assaulted his daughter. Mac decided next time he saw Officer Tanner, he’d ask for some investigation tips and see what suggestions Nico might have as well.
As Mac watched kids hustling into school in the final minutes, he became acutely aware that, both Scott and Nico waited in the visitors’ parking lot.
Whenever Scott stayed long after Brandi had gone inside the school, it meant he wanted an update. His mind itemized his progress on his short list of suspects. Nico hanging out was not normal.
Roni strolled to Mac. “Are you working at the dance?”
“Huh? What? Oh, the dance. Yes, I’m working. Are you?”
“I volunteered to chaperone.”
“What kind of shenanigans can I expect? And whose lame brain idea was it to throw a masquerade ball?” Mac nodded hello to a father walking past them toward the school entrance. He watched the father give his young son a warm embrace and then a pat on his back.
