Murder Of A Snake In The Grass (5 page)

“You could see that, but I couldn’t, because I didn’t want to. All I could see was that you had done your duty. You made your report. The accusation was investigated and determined to be unfounded. There was nothing more you were obligated to do. You could have let it go.” Luc moved to gaze into her eyes. “I wanted you to let it go.”

“But I couldn’t. The psychologist is the conscience of the school. We have to say the words that people don’t want to hear and expose the truths that people would rather deny. We are the advocates for the children, and believe me, that is not always a very popular position.”

Luc’s face was sober, but he didn’t respond.

“I had to try to talk the girl into telling the truth, if not for her sake then, for her younger sister’s.” Skye stared into his blue eyes, hoping to see compassion there.

“The sister, don’t think she hasn’t haunted me every day since this all happened.” He looked away. “I thought there was nothing I could do. I didn’t want to see what I should be doing, because it would ruin my own comfortable life.”

“Oh?”

“Once you approached her again and started to stir things
back up, her father was hell-bent on seeing you crushed. If I had tried to stand by you, he would have destroyed my whole family. A St. Amant would never have danced at the Comus ball again.”

“And to you that was more important than a child’s welfare.” Skye blinked back a tear. “More important than me.”

“At the time, I told myself that this girl, who you didn’t even know, was more important to you than me.” Luc stared at her. “And that you would accomplish nothing by ruining our lives.”

Had she pursued the matter beyond all reasonable hope for a positive outcome? Skye wondered. Maybe subconsciously she had known she would never fit into Luc’s world and had sabotaged herself. Could it be that at some level she’d realized it was easier to live with being kicked out for a righteous cause than for being personally inadequate?

Suddenly Skye could almost see Luc’s point. He had always talked about their daughter being queen of the Comus ball. That would have been a tough dream to give up. “I think I understand the motivation for what you did, but I still don’t understand why you did it the
way
you did.”

He took her hand. “I was wrong to leave without a word.”

“And to take everything.”

“Yes, even though it was all mine. I had paid for it all.” A line formed between his eyebrows. “I should have been more generous.”

“You left me completely broke, knowing I was going to be fired.”

“I didn’t realize you had maxed out your credit cards or spent every dime of your salary.” He untangled his fingers from hers and moved a step back. “You should have told me.”

“How did you think I could dress the way you wanted me to and not spend tons of money?”

“I was just thinking of you. If you went to the parties and business functions wearing clothes you had ordered from
the Penney’s catalog, you would have been cut dead by my friends and business associates.” Luc’s lip curled. “When we first met, you were wearing slacks you bought at a blue light special.”

“I was in graduate school, and before that, the Peace Corps. What did you expect me to dress in, Prada originals?”

“No, just not in clothes from a store that was mainly frequented by fifty-year-old housewives who lived in trailers.”

“We’re obviously getting off the subject here.” Skye tamped down her temper with great difficulty. “All I want to know is why, even if everything was yours, you thought it was all right to leave me with nothing?”

“I was wrong. I wasn’t thinking straight.” Luc turned his face from Skye. “I was so hurt you had chosen that girl over our future, I wanted to punish you.”

“I literally had nothing but the clothes in my closet, a few knickknacks, and less than a hundred dollars in the bank.” Skye’s voice cracked as she remembered her panic when she discovered how badly off she was. “You even canceled the lease on our apartment. I had less than a week to move out. If a friend hadn’t let me stay with her for the last few months of school, I would have been living in my car.”

“I told you, I wasn’t thinking. Besides, I knew your family wouldn’t let you starve or go homeless.”

“It was humiliating to have to move back here, especially as a beggar. I had to borrow money from my parents.”

“I’m truly sorry.”

“If it wasn’t for Uncle Charlie being president of the school board, and the fact they couldn’t get anyone else to work here, I probably wouldn’t have found another job.” Skye scooted away from him. “Your friends really did a number on my professional reputation.”

“They’re ruthless. That’s why I warned you not to mess with them.”

Skye stared at him. Had he changed, or was he feeding her a line of bull? “I need to think about what you’ve said.”

“Sure, but remember, everyone deserves a second chance. Haven’t you ever done something disgraceful and needed someone to give you a break?”

Skye closed her eyes, remembering the day she told her entire hometown in her valedictorian speech that they were small-minded people, with even smaller intellects. When she moved back, the citizens had given her a chance to make things right. They’d made her suffer, but they’d given her a second chance.

Maybe Luc deserved a second chance too. The cottage grew quiet. It seemed as if Luc was merely a photographic image and Simon hardly existed as she sorted through her feelings, trying to decide whether she should give Luc an opportunity to prove he’d changed. Suddenly the hushed contemplation was broken by a fusillade of knocking on the front door.

Skye checked her watch. It was nearly ten o’clock, extremely late for anyone in Scumble River to come visiting. It could mean only one of two things. Someone was either in jail or dead.

A
t first the shadowy form on her front step looked huge. The haze from the river had increased, making it difficult to see any details. Skye flipped on the outside light and squinted into the soft gray veil. Suddenly, like an amoeba, the figure split, and she could see that she had two visitors, not the one giant person she had initially imagined.

“Who is it?” Luc asked, as he crowded next to Skye to peer out of the foyer’s side window.

“Is someone at the door?” Simon asked, entering from the patio.

“All I can tell is there are two of them,” Skye answered. “Guess I’d better find out.”

“No.” Luc put his hand over hers on the knob. “If you don’t know them, maybe you shouldn’t let them in.”

Skye shrugged. Her house was already filled with people she didn’t seem to know anymore. She did put the chain on, and she opened the door only a crack. “Who is it?”

“It’s us, Ms. Denison, Justin and Frannie. Please let us in. It’s real important.” Justin’s voice cracked.

As she freed the door and opened it, Skye said over her shoulder to Luc, “It’s a couple of students from my high school.” To Simon she added, “It’s Frannie and Justin.” Frannie’s father was employed by Simon at his funeral home, and both kids had worked for him during the summer.

The teens tumbled in like puppies, then stood and stared at the three adults. Finally, Justin said, “Ms. Denison, we need to talk to you alone, right away.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Skye could have kicked herself for being so stupid. It was obvious they didn’t want to speak in front of Luc and Simon. “Never mind.”

“Thanks, Ms. D.” Frannie brushed her long, wavy brown hair from her eyes.

The good hostess in Skye kicked in, and she began introductions. “Luc, as I said, these are students from my high school, Frannie Ryan and Justin Boward. Frannie, Justin, this is … ah … my guest, Mr. St. Amant.”

Frannie narrowed her brown eyes and turned to Simon. “St. Amant. Weren’t you and Dad talking about Ms. Denison being engaged to a guy called Luc St. Amant? I remember because it’s such a weird name.”

It was clear from Simon’s expression that he wasn’t sure whether to deny the conversation or try to explain. The latter seemed to win. “We might have mentioned it in passing. We were probably talking about something else and it came up.”

“Nope.” Frannie smiled sweetly. “You and Dad were talking about how hard it is to understand women. And you said something like you’d never understand why Ms. Denison couldn’t just get over that low-down skunk she’d been engaged to.”

Luc shot Simon an outraged look—and Skye a triumphant one.

“I don’t recall that conversation. Perhaps you didn’t hear us correctly. That happens sometimes when you
eavesdrop.”

“I heard all right.” Frannie frowned and turned to Luc. “So, are you Ms. Denison’s fiancé?”

Luc gave Frannie the tight-jawed smile that adults give children who make them uncomfortable. Before he could
answer, Skye decided it was time to step in. “How about some lemonade while we talk?”

“No!” Justin answered for them both. “I mean, no, thank you. We really need to talk to you right away.”

“Sure, I understand.” Skye glanced around her cottage. Where could they go? It was basically one space. The only doors were on her bedroom and the guest bathroom. It felt wrong to take the kids into either place, and she didn’t want Luc and Simon in her bedroom, which would really be bizarre. Could she ask the two men to wait in the bathroom? No, better to keep them apart. Ah, she had forgotten the tiny utility room off her kitchen with its sliding pocket door. “Okay, kids, we can talk in here.”

They followed her silently, and watched as she slid the door closed. Skye leaned against the washer. Frannie jumped up on the dryer, which creaked a bit under her weight. She was a solidly built girl who would never be a size two or even a twelve, a trait that continued to cause her much heartache.

Justin sat on the small built-in folding table. Skye noted how much the boy had grown since she had first started seeing him for counseling in eighth grade. He had started out close to her height—five-seven—and now was nearly six feet tall. He was still skinny with thick glasses that hid his best feature, warm brown eyes, but she bet that someday he would be a handsome man.

“So, what’s up?” Skye asked, not sure she really wanted to know. Both of these kids were bright and very inquisitive—traits that had gotten them into trouble in the last year.

“Well, we were out riding around,” Justin started.

“Yeah, I just got my license last week, and Dad actually let me have the car,” Frannie added.

Justin scowled at Frannie, then picked up what he had been saying. “We were just buzzing the gut.” He looked at Skye to see if she understood.

She nodded. “We used to call it shooting the loop or tooling.”

“You did that too?” Frannie’s eyes widened.

“Yes, but we used a horse and carriage.”

Justin frowned at both females and cleared his throat. “So, as I was saying, we were minding our own business, just driving around downtown, when we decided to go over to the carnival.”

“I’m surprised you weren’t already there. There aren’t many places to go on a date in Scumble River. I would have thought you’d take advantage of the carnival being in town.”

“No. We aren’t—we’re just friends—we don’t date,” Frannie rushed to explain. “After all, I’m nearly a year older than Justin.”

Justin stared at the floor; a dull crimson stained his cheeks. “We hang out ‘cause we both like the same things.”

“Oh, sure,” Skye backpedaled. “Go on.”

“The carnival was stupid. Mostly baby rides, and all the games were obviously rigged.”

“Yeah,” Frannie broke in. “This one guy got seriously bent when Justin told him that the laws of physics made it impossible for anyone to win his game. He came over the counter at us and tried to hit us with a baseball bat.”

Skye shot up. “I’ll call the police right away. Are you kids okay?”

“We’re fine, Ms. D.,” Justin said. “We’re not here about that. Frannie had to use the bathroom, but all the Porta Potties had long lines and she couldn’t wait, so I suggested the bathrooms over by the bandstand at the far end of the park.”

Justin paused for breath, and Frannie took over. “We didn’t realize it had gotten so foggy, but Justin had a flashlight on his key ring that was pretty strong, and we decided to go ahead. Once we got there I ran right into the bathroom, but when I came out, Justin grabs me by the hand and tells me to look at the bandstand.”

“I thought I saw something shiny when I was messing around with the flashlight beam,” the boy offered.

“At first, I thought he was trying to spook me out, but I took a look, and there
was
something shiny on the steps.” Frannie leaned so far forward, she almost fell off her perch. “We decided to go take a closer look. There shouldn’t be anything shiny at the bandstand.”

“What did you see?” Skye asked.

“Justin went right up to the steps, but I hung back, in case there was trouble and I needed to go for help.”

Skye nodded. “And what was it you saw?”

“A dead body.” Justin’s eyes searched Skye’s face.

She fought to keep her expression neutral. “Of a person?”