"Yeah, I did. But why wouldn't she want her husband to hear? Is there something going on there with her and Mr. Greenbalm after all?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that. It's just that she was crying about her missed opportunities due to Bodley messing up her scholarship chance and all, and Violet doesn't want her husband to ever hear her crying about that. I mean, Andrew was her mom's physical therapist, you know, after she battled cancer. That's how they met. Anyway, he's always been there for her. She treasures the life she has now. She doesn't want her husband or her son to ever think there's any regrets on her part, but man, don't we all have those 'could've beens'?"
Emily gave a noncommittal shrug. She was sure that was true, but Destiny seemed awfully young to hold such a jaded viewpoint on life.
"So what did Annabeth have to say?" Tad asked, bringing the conversation back around to what he was most interested in, which was anything that might lead them to more information on Jeweliah.
"She mentioned how off Jeweliah had seemed at rehearsals. She's worried about her. I guess she's been spending a lot more time with her mom."
"Well, don't you think that's a good thing?" Emily asked a little sharply, irritated that Annabeth appeared to think that Jeweliah's place was with her.
"Sure. Of course. Nothing meant by that. I'm just repeating what Annabeth said," Destiny replied defensively.
"Sorry. I'm really on edge over this whole mess," Emily apologized. "Jeweliah came by my place after rehearsal last night and had a meltdown."
"What about?" Albert asked curiously.
She didn't want either one of them to necessarily know at this point that she and Tad suspected a student in Bodley's death, so she said, "Feeling overwhelmed, as I'm sure you can imagine. The play, school, dealing with her mom who is grieving over the loss of Bodley. It's a lot to put on a seventeen-year-old girl."
"I agree," Destiny said. "I know we said we'd keep an eye on her, and I probably should've talked to her after seeing how rattled she seemed during rehearsal last night."
"I think she's afraid that she's letting people down," Tad mentioned.
"Oh, everyone has these opening-night jitters. She'll be fine. I'll make sure and encourage her tonight."
"Thanks, Destiny," Emily told her gratefully. They really needed to keep a close watch on everyone tonight. She had woken up with a vague sense of unease burrowed between her shoulder blades and assumed she was mainly worried about Jeweliah. But somehow, as opening night inexorably approached, she felt like the catastrophes were not behind them yet. Whoever had murdered Bodley—and she still strongly believed it was Jeweliah, Annabeth, or some combination of the two—they were still thinking they had gotten away with murder. Had Jeweliah finally been cracking under the pressure last night? Was Annabeth turning on her? Was something huge going to blow up in their faces on opening night? The doubts kept growing.
Trying to sound casual, she twirled some of her pasta around her fork and asked, "So, did Annabeth have anything else interesting to say? I mean, I know she and Violet knew Bodley from back in high school."
"Oh, yeah," Destiny answered enthusiastically. "They got into quite a conversation about him. I guess Annabeth was really crushing hard on Bodley in high school. You know, the whole freshman falling for an upperclassman thing." Emily blushed, as she definitely knew a thing or two about that. Destiny continued, "It seemed pretty hard core on her part, and a few times, she thought Bodley was actually interested in her too, but it sounded like he enjoyed manipulating her more. And then, when he hurt her friend Violet by going after that scholarship, he must have really twisted her up. She sounded like she was really in love with the guy, in an almost-obsessive sort of way, yet she seemed to partly hate him at the same time. It's weird. I mean, she never married, you know?"
She reported this like it was a significant fact, but again, Emily just shrugged. She had had a big crush on Tad in high school, too. Still, she didn't think that her unrequited high school crush was the reason she wasn't married yet. Of course, now she hoped to become Tad's wife someday in the near future, but that was beside the point. Sure, Annabeth was a few years older than her, but Emily thought that saying she never got married because she was still messed up over Bodley seemed a bit far-fetched. However, it did add credence to her theory that Annabeth had murdered Bodley in a fit of rage for revenge.
Destiny was still rambling on, "I mean, I adore Annabeth. I really do, but that girl's a hot mess. She's got some issues to resolve, that's for sure." Her tinkling laugh was drowned out by the ringing of the bell signaling the end of their lunch period, preventing Emily from having to reply.
But as she and Tad moved into the crowded hallway, packed with students maneuvering to their next class, she leaned up to whisper in his ear. "Do you find it odd that Destiny seemed so anxious to spill all on someone who is supposed to be her close friend?"
"Makes me wonder if, deep down, she suspects Annabeth is behind all this too."
"Are you really leaning that way?" Emily asked him, searching his eyes.
His steady, serious gaze underscored his next words. "I'm afraid that your two-person theory takes on more and more credibility the further we look into this."
"That's what I'm afraid of too," she said with a sigh. Completely dejected and still feeling that prickle of unease dogging her, she headed off to try to focus on teaching her afternoon classes.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
By the time the final bell of the day rang, Emily was more than ready for some serious girl talk with Gabby. She had so much to tell her and even more she wanted to talk through with her. She stopped by Tad's room to remind him of where she was headed and to tell him she'd meet him at the Playhouse for their final dress rehearsal later that evening. She then swung by her and Gabby's favorite drink stop for cherry slushes, the twin's favorite, as she assumed they'd be home with their mom today. She ordered a large Dr. Pepper for herself, but of course, only raspberry lemon water for Gabby. She really needed to take a page out of her friend's book, and she was honestly trying, but today was a day that just screamed for caffeine intake.
Driving up Gabby's road gave her an immediate sense of calm, stilling that persistent prickle between the shoulder blades. Talking things out with her best friend always helped. And Gabby was waiting at the door, still a bit paler than normal but looking much better overall, when Emily came toting her carton of drinks up the walk. "Oh, the girls will be thrilled," Gabby said when she noted the small slushes. "But I just put them down for a nap so we could really talk. Let's stick those in the fridge so they'll keep for later."
"I sure hope they wake up before I have to head to rehearsals. I'm in desperate need of some auntie cuddles."
Gabby grabbed her in a big hug after they had stowed the slushes in the refrigerator. "I guess I'll have to do for now." She dragged Emily over to the comfy couch in her living room and demanded, "Okay, go. I've been dying to hear everything that's been going on, and I can tell you're just bursting with news."
Emily let loose a big laugh, relief gushing out with it. She would take some time to focus on the good parts of her life, parts she couldn't wait to share with her oldest and dearest friend, before worrying once again about murder and mayhem. "I did it, Gabs! I did it!"
Gabby let out a squeal that she quickly stifled lest she wake the twins. "You did it! That's so wonderful! Wait… What did you do?"
Emily laughed again. "It's a long story, and don't worry, I'll fill you in on it all—" She preempted Gabby's protest. "—but what I did was tell Tad how much I loved him and how I can't imagine a future without him."
This time Gabby let out a full-scale war whoop and grabbed Emily in a rib-crushing hug. "It's about time. I'm proud of you for finally biting the bullet." She winced at her choice of words. "Anyway, you know what I mean. Now, I want to hear every word."
Emily filled her in on being locked in the Encore Playhouse prop room after being drawn in by the sight of the original dummy. She explained ho
w the time in the dark, enclosed space gave her time to think about just how much she loved Tad and how he was always there for her. Then, after he played the white knight to the rescue of her damsel in distress, she told Gabby how she just couldn't wait to tell him how much she cared for him and how foolish it had been to wait so long. She finished with a deep breath and then segued into talk about the murder.
"And I have to admit that after talking with Destiny at lunch today, I can see where Annabeth's pining over Bodley all those years might have really messed her up, especially once she realized she was in love with a guy who enjoyed manipulating others and getting his way more than anything else."
"And how did you come to this insight?" Gabby asked, confused by the topic switch.
"I, too, had a major crush on an upperclassman who I thought didn't even know I was alive. But Tad was a true standup guy. He was that way in high school, and he still is now. My own dad thought the world of him and maintained a friendship with him over the intervening years between my high school graduation and my return to Ellington. I dated other people during that time, but now I see that, in my heart of hearts, I did hold up every guy I was with to Tad's standard, and frankly, many of them just didn't measure up." She once again anticipated Gabby's argument and cut her off at the pass. "Now, I'm not saying I wouldn't have eventually found a great guy up north and settled down to a wonderful life. But that clearly wasn't the plan for my life. Thankfully. But now that I'm on the other side of all this, I guess I can understand how pining for someone, especially if you were judging other men against this someone, can be a destructive thing if you let it. And for Annabeth, she was judging men against an ideal she must have created in her head in Bodley's absence."
"How so?" Gabby asked.
"If she was judging the men she dated against the real Bodley, the manipulative, greedy man she had come to know him to be, then everyone else would have come out shining like a new penny in comparison. But, you see, no one ever did. They all took a backseat to her ideal image of Bodley as the perfect man. Then, he shows up in person, and she once again is a witness as he destroys someone she cares about. This time, Jeweliah. Maybe the shattering of her perfect image for the second—or third, fourth, fifth, who knows how many?—time was too much for her. She cracked. And with Jeweliah's help, she rid the world of Bodley and herself of any reminders of what an awful guy he could truly be."
Gabby took the top off of her Styrofoam cup to fish out the raspberries at the bottom, not saying anything while she took this all in. "Wow," she finally said softly. "That's a pretty messed up reason to kill someone."
"So you think I'm wrong?" Emily asked, crestfallen.
"No, I didn't say that. I've wondered all along if Jeweliah is behind this. I feel so awful for that girl. She's really been put through the wringer dealing with her mom over the years, and it's painful to watch how hard she tries to be perfect in order to please everyone. But I don't see how she could pull this off alone. Her working with Annabeth makes a lot more sense."
Emily told Gabby about Jeweliah coming by her place and her subsequent meltdown. "I hate to even think that one of our students could be behind this." Gabby reached over and patted her hand reassuringly, and Emily could see in her eyes that Gabby knew how much this went against everything she believed in. Every student, in her eyes, was full of potential and deserving of love. So many teenagers got a bad rap, and sure, there would always be those students who had no desire to achieve and who remained unreachable. For the most part, though, they were still malleable young minds, secretly looking for some guidance as they began to make the decisions that would help them forge their own path in this world. That someone with as much promise and bright potential as Jeweliah Jones could destroy her whole life like this was heartrending.
"So what do we do now?" Gabby finally asked softly.
"We can't just turn our suspicions over to the police and let them take it from here. I can't bear the thought of them examining every single detail of Jeweliah's life, laying a trap for her, while she believes she's gotten away with this and struggles with the guilt. It's like The Tell-Tale Heart. I'm afraid that beating heart she hears is going to drive her over the edge. I want us to be the ones to get a confession from her so that we can make sure, from the outset, that she gets the help she so desperately needs."
"Get her to confess to us? How're we going to do that?"
"I've been giving this a lot of thought, and I think our best bet is to have her talk with Tad. While she feels comfortable with him and trusts him, I think she's also cowed by males. I think she would be more likely to crack and confess with him than with us."
"And how do we get her alone with Tad? That will take some finessing."
Again, Emily nodded and outlined her plan. She wasn't willing to drag her parents into this, knowing they wouldn't want her involved, but she thought Helen would do anything to ensure Jeweliah got help. She would enlist her to distract Sapphira tonight so that Jeweliah would need a ride home, and Tad could insist on taking her. In the meantime, under the guise of a fun girls' night out, Gabby and she could invite Violet, Annabeth, and Destiny out, without alerting anyone else to the plan beforehand, and then she would tell Annabeth that Tad was getting Jeweliah's confession as they spoke, and the best way she could help would be to come clean concerning her own involvement. She truly felt that Annabeth viewed Jeweliah as her own daughter in a way and would do anything to help her.
"And what if she doesn't fall for our trap?" Gabby shrugged when Emily glowered at her. "Sorry, but someone has to play devil's advocate."
Emily thought for a minute, squeaking her straw in her cup as she mined for the last dregs of caffeine. Before she could come up with a backup plan, the thundering of little feet on the stairs alerted them that the twins were up from their nap. "We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it," she told Gabby before a warm, snuggly Phoebe climbed into her lap, her eyes full of sleep and her cheeks rosy. Emily held her close, planting kisses on her soft hair, damp at the hairline from slumber. She tried to let worries about tonight slip away as she held the precious bundle close. Maybe once this was all over, she could finally focus on her own future with Tad, and who knows, maybe a precious child like this was in store down the road?
* * *
After getting in some quality cuddle time with the twins, Emily headed back to town after making plans with Gabby to meet up at rehearsal. She called Tad and asked him to meet her early, briefly outlining the plan that she and Gabby had come up with. Although amenable to the plan, he encouraged her to call Detective Welks and have him on standby. She really didn't want to put anyone else on alert to their plan, though, and so she talked him down to waiting a bit longer, promising she would never be alone. Gabby would be by her side all night. He reluctantly agreed, and they decided they would brainstorm some strategies for getting Jeweliah to open up to him when they met up at the Playhouse. He also said he'd call Helen and alert her to her part in the plan of distracting Sapphira.
"Great, thanks, because I still need to get hold of Destiny and set this plan in motion."
"She was still at the school working when I headed home."
"I'll swing by there first then. See you later. I love you." She still felt a little thrill at saying those three words aloud, but her mind was focused more on tonight's plan to ferret out a confession than on her love life.
She saw that Destiny's little red Toyota Corolla was still in the school parking lot, so she hurried up the stairs to her room, hoping to get her and Albert on board with their plan before rehearsals started. Destiny's classroom door was shut, so she took a quick peek inside before barging in to make sure she wasn't conferencing with a parent or student. She thought she saw Destiny take several confident strides toward her desk, with no discernible limp, but decided she must've been mistaken as she was sitting, rewrapping her ankle, when Emily came in. "The ankle finally feeling better?"
"No crutches, but it's still awfully sore t
o walk on, especially after a full day of teaching."
Emily decided her mind must have been playing tricks on her. She was so ready to have all this mess behind her and enjoy a good night's sleep for once. "I bet. Listen, I'm glad I caught you because I wanted to talk to you about plans for tonight." She still wasn't entirely sure that Destiny wouldn't give Annabeth a heads up, so she presented their plan as a more of fun girls' night out instead. "I think we need to talk to Annabeth about Jeweliah tonight. Jeweliah is clearly cracking under all this pressure, and Annabeth seems to be the one closest to her. I know we're all stretched to the limits right now, what with the play and the murder investigation, so what do you say to a girls' night out after rehearsal tonight? Violet, Annabeth, Gabby, you, and me?"
"That sounds perfect," Destiny agreed. "Frankly, I could use a distraction right about now. I'll call Annabeth and Violet, but I'm sure they'll be up for it too."
"What about Albert? What's he up to tonight?"
"He'll be at rehearsals, of course."
"Right. Can you get him to keep a close eye on Jeweliah tonight too?"
"Sure thing."
"Will he mind you abandoning him for a girls' night?"
"Well, of course not," Destiny snipped. "We're not attached at the hip or anything."
"I—I—I'm sorry," Emily stuttered. "You two seemed to be getting pretty close is all I meant by that."
Destiny finished wrapping her ankle and eased her foot back into her zebra-print flat. "Sorry. Yes, we're getting closer, but he can be a tad smothering, you know what I mean?"
Emily gave her a small smile. She knew Albert was always close at hand, ready to do Destiny's bidding, but she thought his devotion appeared more sweet than annoying. "Well, anyway, see you tonight."
Murder Takes Center Stage Page 16
