by B. J Daniels
“I doubt she knew she was going to die.”
“No, I’m sure she didn’t.” She sat down in the chair next to him and leaned back to close her eyes as if to take a moment to enjoy the late-afternoon sun. “It was her payback for you breaking up with her. She thought it would be her word against mine. No one ever said she played fair.”
“She made it to hurt me and keep the two of us apart,” he said, studying her beautiful face in the sunlight. He felt scared that the two of them might never get their chance after all.
Lizzy stirred, opened her eyes and sat up as if ready to go back to work. “Whether she meant to or not, that video proves that someone in Ariel’s tight circle of friends was sleeping with our history teacher, Coach Nick Rice. If not Ariel herself.”
“Coach,” Shade said under his breath. The man had only taught history at Progressive, but apparently he’d coached football at his last school. He liked the nickname and often wore a jacket with coach printed on the back.
Lizzy turned to look at him. “You were right. Ariel was six weeks pregnant.”
* * *
SO WHO WAS the mystery woman in the video? I’m not telling. Too bad it didn’t work out quite like I’d planned it. I’d hoped the video would come as a shock to Shade and sour his feelings for Lizzy.
But he saw right through my ruse even before Lizzy confirmed that it wasn’t her doing the nasty with Coach. Maybe if I’d lived, I could have convinced him otherwise and changed his mind about breaking up with me.
But I hadn’t planned on being murdered and dumped into a pond for years. So to say things didn’t go so well is putting it mildly.
Given my murder, of course I knew he would show the video to the sheriff and she would tell him it wasn’t her and the two of them could then speculate. Did it have anything to do with my murder? My pregnancy? Let them wonder.
Once Lizzy talks to Coach, he’ll set her straight. Or maybe he’ll lie. That would certainly make things more interesting. Is he that smart? He might not be, given that he didn’t know he was being recorded in my bedroom with a minor.
I do hate that my dirty laundry will be hanging out for everyone to see before this is over. Why didn’t I take more of it to my grave?
You reap what you sow. Isn’t that what my grandmother told me when she caught me being my bad self? Grandmother’s long dead and I don’t need the reminder now. I can clearly see what being vindictive and malicious and conniving has gotten me. A watery grave at the ripe old age of seventeen—and my most buried secrets about to be exposed.
Worse, the video has only pushed Shade and Lizzy closer. Now they both feel sorry for me. Admittedly, it was pretty pathetic recording Coach that way, but I’d hoped that the video might come in handy...
But Shade and Lizzy aren’t out of the woods yet, are they? It appears that I’m not the only one throwing a monkey wrench into their budding relationship.
Shade’s former college romance is doing that. So at least I’m enjoying that.
* * *
LIZZY FOUND HERSELF deep in thought as she drove back toward town with the video as evidence.
But evidence of what? Maybe all it proved was that Ariel was a very warped young woman, something they’d known for some time now.
She tracked down their former history teacher, Coach Nick Rice. He was teaching at a small private school back east. She called his office number and left a message for him to call. It was time to find out who the woman was in the video.
As she hung up, her concern turned to Shade. He’d acted strangely earlier. On the phone, she’d thought he was flirting with her, joking around like he often did. She’d wondered at the time if he ever took anything seriously.
But sitting on his porch with him, she’d seen a different side of him. Something had been bothering him and she didn’t think it was the video. Surely he didn’t think that the woman on it had been her.
No, something else was worrying him. The upcoming reunion? The murder investigation? Or something even more serious?
She reminded herself that she didn’t have time to worry about Shade Sterling. Glancing at the clock, she realized she might be able to catch Jennifer as she was leaving work. But when she stopped by the café where Jennifer waitressed, she was told that she’d been fired.
Lizzy had seen Jennifer only a few times since high school. She’d always seemed down on her luck. Looking up her residence, Lizzy swung by the apartment complex. Jennifer’s older-model sedan was parked in apartment nineteen’s slot.
Parking on the street, Lizzy headed for number nineteen. Jennifer answered on the second knock. She was still wearing her uniform from the café. Lizzy caught the faint scent of grease.
“Sheriff,” Jennifer said, smiling. “I heard you would be stopping by.” She stepped back. “Please come in. Can I offer you a beer? I was just having one myself.”
She declined the beer but took a seat in the living room and pulled out her pen and notebook as Jennifer disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a bottle. The woman took a seat. She seemed excited to have company. Lizzy could imagine that she’d had a rough day and was trying to forget it. Even talking about her friend’s murder must have seemed better than how the rest of her day had gone.
“So are you getting closer to catching the killer?” Jennifer asked and took a long drink.
“It’s still under investigation.”
The woman chuckled. “You sound just like the law on TV. I love it.”
“I need to ask you about graduation night—in particular, the party.”
“Sure, what do you want to know?”
“I understand you had an argument with Ariel earlier in the evening.”
Jennifer laughed. “Let me guess. Kayla. Of course she would tell you. That little eavesdropper.” She leaned forward, making Lizzy aware that this beer wasn’t her first. “What did she tell you?”
“I’d prefer to hear it from you.”
Jennifer waved it off. “It was just Ariel being Ariel. You know how she was. She was in a bad mood and taking it out on me.”
“Did you see Stephanie before you left?”
Jennifer shook her head. “I don’t remember seeing her at all. I’m sure she was there, probably out with the guys.”
“When did you leave the party?”
“Before Ariel left. I was tired of all the arguing. A storm was coming in and I wanted to get home before that.”
Lizzy frowned, trying to remember if she’d seen Jennifer’s car at the party. “Did you drive your car home?”
Jennifer looked surprised. She took a sip of her beer. “No, I ran into this guy I knew. He had a motorcycle. He took me for a ride. Then I got this text from Ashley to meet at the cemetery. I wasn’t going to go. I’d really had enough for one night, but I eventually had him drop me by there. I figured one of them would give me a ride to my car.”
“Where had you left it?”
“At that convenience mart near Brad’s. That’s where I saw Snake filling up his bike.”
“Snake? What’s his real name?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. He said he used to ride with some biker gang out of California. That’s all I know. But I loved riding on the back of his bike and that night I really needed it. I’d just graduated and I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do with my life.” She met Lizzy’s gaze. “Unlike the rest of you all headed off for college or marriage or whatever.”
“What was Stephanie’s relationship with Ariel?”
Jennifer looked away for a moment. “It’s all going to come out anyway because of Ariel’s murder.”
“I’m not sure I’m following.”
“Her diaries. I’m sure Ariel wrote it all down in them, didn’t she?” Jennifer frowned. “You really didn’t know? Stephanie told me that Ariel said she had it all in her diary. She said it was a
ll lies but that she couldn’t get Ariel to tear out the page. I just assumed you’d read them.”
Diaries? Lizzy had gone through what Ariel’s mother had given her, but there hadn’t been any diaries. Avoiding the question, she said, “What had Ariel written about her that was a lie?”
“I have no idea. I never saw the diaries. I didn’t even realize Ariel kept a diary, let alone that she wrote down things about us. When Stephanie told me, I was surprised. But it was just Ariel’s take on things. I didn’t understand why Steph was so upset. Are you sure I can’t get you a beer?” Jennifer asked as she got to her feet to take her empty into the kitchen and presumably get another.
Lizzy rose and put her pen and notebook away. “No, I’m fine. One more thing. Did you see anyone around Ariel’s car or anyone possibly following her as she left?”
“Like I said, I left before she did. I saw Shade go after her, but he came right back. She was arguing with Brad about moving his car before I left.”
“Did anyone see you leave?”
Jennifer shrugged. “I think everyone was busy watching Ariel. She always was the center of attention.”
“Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.”
Jennifer had stopped in the middle of the room still holding the empty beer bottle. “Who do you think killed her?”
Lizzy avoided the question by saying, “Hard to say with so many people having motives.”
“Me included,” Jennifer said with a laugh. “I hated her and wasn’t sorry to hear she was dead.” She must have realized what she’d said and colored. “You know what I mean.”
Lizzy did.
* * *
SHADE TOLD HIMSELF that he wasn’t going to say anything to anyone about Hannah and Maisie until he knew for certain. But the next morning as he was getting packed up to head to the guest ranch to get everything ready for the reunion, Dorothea tapped on his door.
“Want to talk about it?” she asked as she plopped down on the end of his bed.
He smiled, remembering all the times growing up that she’d done the same thing. After their mother had died, Dorothea had become like a mother to them. She might not be a witch and have psychic powers like she claimed, but she definitely seemed to know when he needed to talk.
“Hannah,” he said. “Did she say anything to you?”
“About why she was in town, why she wanted to see you?” Dorothea shook her head. “But it upset you, her being here.”
He joined her on the end of the bed and without looking at her said, “We dated in college. She broke up with me. Then we met again about three years ago, went out, spent the night together.”
“Oh. So she was here trying to get back together again?”
Shade laughed. “Not exactly. She married the guy she broke up with me for and had a kid. Turns out three years ago, she was engaged to him when we met up. But recently she found out, she said, that the kid wasn’t her husband’s.” He glanced over at Dorothea.
Her eyes widened as she looked at him. “This child—”
“Might be mine. I saw the little girl yesterday. Maisie is the spitting image of me at that age.”
Dorothea let out a breath. “I see.”
“The DNA test results should be back anytime. I’m waiting for the call.”
“Does Hannah know you’re in love with someone else?” she asked.
He swallowed the lump in this throat. “That’s not the problem. Hannah’s husband wants nothing to do with Maisie since he found out she isn’t his and Hannah is... She’s dying.”
This time Dorothea let out a whoosh of breath. “Oh my. That poor woman. That poor child.” She looked over at him. “Shade, what are you going to do?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LIZZY GOT THE email from the phone company early the next morning. She’d been packing for the reunion when her phone sent the notification. She loaded her car and headed for her office, anxious to see who’d contacted Ariel the night she died—and vice versa.
At the office, she printed out the information and began to go through it, surprised the phone company was able to give her information from ten years before. Her instincts had told her that Ashley might not have been telling the truth about the text from Ariel’s phone—but there it was, 11:50 p.m. on the night of the graduation party, minutes after she was seen leaving the party.
What was odd was that Ariel had made a call only minutes after the text. It was the last call made from her phone. Lizzy didn’t recognize the number. When she looked it up, she was even more surprised. Why would Ariel call Kayla Harrison, the wallflower back at the party?
And if Kayla got the call, why wouldn’t she have mentioned that Ariel called her possibly minutes before she was murdered?
Lizzy would make a point of asking Kayla at the reunion. It surprised her that Ariel even had her number. She looked to see if Ariel had made any other calls to Kayla. She couldn’t find any from that date.
The call nagged at her. She tried Kayla’s number. No answer. She didn’t leave a message. She would see her soon enough.
Realizing there were two classmates she hadn’t interviewed yet and that she might still have time to catch them before the reunion, she put Kayla out of her mind temporarily. She didn’t know why she’d left Josh and Tyler for last. Maybe because she suspected them the least?
She smiled to herself as she thought about what her aunt had said about the killer being the one you overlooked.
Tyler Brent lived in one of the mansion-like homes on Whitefish Lake. He used to brag that he’d been kicked out of every expensive school in the country before ending up at Progressive. He always dressed preppy, and being a loner, had managed to stay above the fray their last year in high school—the only year he attended.
Ariel called him stuck-up and often tried to bait him, but he’d never risen to it. He’d always stayed aloof as if she didn’t bother him. That should have driven Ariel crazy, but for some reason, she left him alone most of the time. Lizzy had always suspected that Ariel envied Tyler because he came from old money. But it still didn’t explain the apparent treaty they’d had between them.
When Tyler opened the door to her, he was dressed in khakis, loafers and a button-down shirt under a cashmere sweater. His hair was a little longer than it had been in high school, but he looked the same. He’d moved back in with his parents after getting kicked out of a number of Ivy League colleges.
“Good morning, Sheriff. I thought you’d forgotten about me.”
Lizzy smiled. “Not at all. Do you have a few minutes?”
With a sweep of his arm, he invited her into the huge living room that opened to an even larger kitchen and sunroom. The view of the lake and the mountains was incredible. This morning a light mist hung over the crystal clear water making the surface sparkle. Like a lot of Montana fall days, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Once the mist burned off the lake, it would be a picture-perfect day, the kind that made people say they wouldn’t live anywhere else.
That was until winter set in and many of them turned into snowbirds and headed south. Tyler’s parents had already flown the coop for warmer climes, she’d heard.
“I won’t take much of your time,” Lizzy said. “Are you planning to come to the reunion?”
She expected him to decline and was surprised when he said, “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Really? I don’t recall seeing you at our graduation party.”
He chuckled as he took a chair across from her and crossed his legs, exposing argyle socks. “You’re going to want to know my whereabouts. Okay. Here at home. Alone. But you know how I was. I never did play well with others.”
“But you’re coming to the reunion at the guest ranch?”
His smile broadened. “Only out of curiosity. I want to see how they react when thrown together after what happened to Ariel. They might tear
each other apart.”
Lizzy certainly hoped not. “Did you kill Ariel?”
“That was blunt enough,” he said, looking nonplussed. “Why would I?”
“She wasn’t very nice to you.”
He laughed. “She was brutal to most everyone. I was lucky that she was only not very nice to me. Also if I killed everyone who wasn’t nice to me...” Tyler shook his head. “Ariel didn’t bother me. She was a spoiled brat. I probably understood her better than anyone.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Grinning, he leaned toward her. “You don’t really expect to get the truth when you ask a question like that, do you? Of course I didn’t kill her. How’s that? But I have some theories on who did.”
“I’d love to hear them.”
He leaned back. “Maybe I’ll share them at the reunion. Until then, I should get packed.” He rose to see her out. “Unless you have more questions.”
* * *
SHADE HAD BEEN doing little other than asking himself what he was going to do about Maisie. Now sitting on the end of his bed talking to Dorothea, he shook his head. “If that little girl is mine...”
“Do you really need the DNA test to confirm what you already know?” Dorothea asked.
Shade pushed to his feet and raked a hand through his hair. “Am I ready to be a father? Hell’s bells, until recently, I would have told you I wasn’t ready to settle down and be a husband. I thought kids were so far into the future I never gave them a thought. But when I saw Maisie...”
“She’s already stolen a piece of your heart.”
He turned to look at her. “She has and I don’t want her to. What if she isn’t mine? What if Hannah is lying about everything? What if I make a terrible father and Maisie ends up hating me?”
“You’re that afraid of getting your heart broken? No wonder you’ve never had any relationships longer than a few months,” Dorothea said, getting to her feet. “A child is a lifetime relationship. So you’ll have time to figure out fatherhood, trust me. You think I knew what to do with you boys when your mother died? I had to wing it and have faith. Since I already loved the lot of you...”
