Read Between the Tines (17 page)

"Adam."

Another intense study of my face, this one cutting to my very core. "You haven't told him, have you?"

"No and if Daisy found out, she'd be sure to spill it."

"I'm no expert on dating, but even an old broad like me knows you better tell him quick if you want to keep him around."

"I plan on it. When the timing is right." This sounded lame, even to me, so I busied my hands with moving the bag to a shelf under the counter.

She let the clipboard clatter onto the counter. Whether a ploy to get me to look at her or not, I did and found a furrowed brow. She sat, staring until suddenly her face cleared as if she'd shifted some internal thought. "I don't usually butt into your personal life, but I'll make an exception. Adam is the kind of guy you spend the rest of your life with. You keep quiet about this and you'll lose him."

"I'll tell him," I said and ran shaky fingers over my hair. "Tonight. After dinner at the Old School House."

Her eyes flashed open. "You? Eating there?"

I laughed but it came out off-key. "Not my choice, believe me."

She slid her stool close to me and patted my hand. "You okay, Paige?"

"Sure, fine. Why?"

"You told me if you ever went to dinner at The Old School House to shoot you."

She was right. I had said that. I mean, who wanted to be reminded of the time when everything sent you into a panic of teenage insecurity. Apparently, I was the only one who felt this way. The Old School House was always packed with customers, but I was certain the diners were those A list students and their groupies who ruled the school and made it hard for the average person to enjoy their stay.

"Fine. Don't say anything." Hazel removed her hand and picked up her clipboard. "It's none of my business," she mumbled and studied the board. "I'll get back to my work. I'm just your employee."

I snorted. "Oh, please. You know I value your opinion. Adam chose the place and didn't ask my preference."

Her head popped up. "And you're going along with it?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

She threw her head back and howled. "You must really be feeling guilty over keeping this secret if you let him tell you what to do."

Great, now she was going to bring up my need to control everything. Well, I wasn't listening. "I'm going home to get ready for tonight," I said and headed for the door before she lectured me any longer on multiple subjects she was so right about.

Since I wouldn't be coming back here tonight, I hopped into my truck and made the short trip. I parked in the narrow alley and pulled
Gary
's laptop from under the seat. With it firmly tucked under my arm, I climbed the rickety wooden staircase leading to my one bedroom apartment above the pharmacy.

My front and only door led directly into an open space holding both kitchen and living room. My desk mounded with bills and other mail needing my attention served as a divider between the spaces. I should go to the shower, directly to the shower and not pass Go, but my curiosity over what
Gary
's laptop held won out.

I shoved aside the envelopes next to my monitor and opened his computer. The password list I'd tucked inside flitted to the floor. I retrieved the page then booted up his laptop and logged onto mine to search for Jackie Morris in
Beaverton
while I waited for his backup to finish.

The query returned over one hundred links. A quick click on the first one opened the webpage of one Dr. Jackie Morris, counselor. Her site listed a phone number, but no address. I dug into my pocket for the info I'd copied from the police board.

Bingo. The phone numbers matched. Could Jackie simply be
Gary
's counselor? If so, why did they meet at a hotel? Couldn't imagine any reputable counselor who would see clients in a hotel room. An affair seemed more likely. Maybe their relationship started with counseling and moved in another direction.

Only one way to find out. Not knowing what I would say, I picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello, you have reached Dr. Jackie Morris. I'm not available right now. Please leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm free."

I was almost relieved that my hasty phone call didn't go through. Now I had time to think of questions to ask instead of jumping off a cliff like this. I left a message, hung up and moved on to
Gary
's computer with the password box now taunting me on the screen. One at a time, I worked down the list. The fourth one,
buzzy418
worked.

As I waited for the final boot up, I thought back to two weeks ago when my work computer got hung up in this process and then crashed. The tech warned me to backup my important files every day. I tried to comply to be safe, but
Gary
's files were at risk. No way I'd lose the information on
Gary
's computer. I rummaged through the drawer and located an extra flash drive I'd purchased for my home computer, but didn't need yet. I plugged it into the USB port and followed the tech's quick backup process.

Hard drive whirring as files copied, I looked at the screen and spotted his email program. I eased the mouse toward the icon. A box popped up alerting me it couldn't access the default wireless connection so I configured it for my network.

I watched the download. Thirty-seven emails. Some of them had to be spam. I scrolled down the list. Not spam. Looked like he had both business and personal emails sent to this account. I checked the account details. He was forwarding several email accounts into this one. One appeared to be work, the other three were likely personal, but why three accounts? I jotted the account names onto a note pad for later follow up and moved on to the messages.

The most interesting of them was sent from Dr. Jackie Morris this morning confirming
Gary
's appointment tomorrow at three. I sat back. Either Dr. Morris didn't know
Gary
was dead or she was trying to cover her tracks by pretending she didn't know about it. I could show up for the appointment and find out, but where did I go? Did they use the word appointment as a cover for their rendezvous? If so, I'd find her at their usual hotel.

Wait, why hadn't I thought of this before? If she was
Gary
's counselor, he would be paying her. If he was having an affair, he would likely be paying for the hotel room. At least if he was a gentleman. What was I saying? What kind of gentleman had an affair in the first place? Hopefully, he kept his finances on the computer, and I would soon know.

I glanced at the clock in the corner of the computer screen. Drat. I had to get ready for dinner. No time to continue my quest. If I was late I would have to lie about the reason for my tardiness, and I wouldn't add a lie to my deceit. There was always time after dinner to search for
Gary
's finances.

I stood and took a step then turned back. The computer had finalized the backup and the flash drive was no longer blinking. I removed the drive, tucked it into my purse for safekeeping and went to the tiny bathroom. Part of me ached to turn back and read the messages, but I had to settle things with Adam. I could look at the other files later.

The Old School House lived up to its name. The circa 1900s school building had been renovated and now served as a theme restaurant. Locals and tourists alike loved coming here and reservations for the weekend had to be made a month in advance. Weeknight openings often came available at the last minute, which is probably how Adam managed to get a table.

After I climbed two flights of painted concrete stairs, in heels no less, I rushed past Perry who held open the ancient wooden door. "Are we the only ones here?"

"Lisa's running late and I don’t know where Adam is."

We stepped into a lobby area housing trophy cases and yellowed pictures.

"You'll love this place," Perry said.

"Food's that good, huh?" I asked as I looked around and felt all the same misgivings that haunted me in high school.

"Food's good, but the atmosphere is what you'll love."

I stood back and let him lead us up a smaller flight of stairs to the principal's office. I'd seen enough academically adorned offices in my formative years to last a lifetime. No way I wanted to enter this one, but Perry held out his hand.

"C'mon, we don't want be late for class." He chuckled and approached a middle-aged woman wearing a vintage black suit. "Perry Winkle for the seven o'clock class."

"Welcome, Perry," the woman said and ran her bony finger down a list then looked up as Adam entered the room.

He crossed over to me and slipped his arm around my waist. The warmth of his arm gave me hope for a positive outcome when I told him about my deceit, and I smiled up at him. I got a crooked little grin in return that set my heart beating and I suddenly wished I hadn't kept my investigation of
Gary
's murder from him. I didn’t ever want to miss seeing smiles like this one and I was getting more and more worried that he'd be too mad to forgive me.

The woman pointedly cleared her throat. "So you must be Adam Hayes."

"Yes, Ma'am," Adam said in his most lawyerly tone that I usually found intriguing and tonight was no exception.

She gave me a tightlipped smile. "Are you Lisa or Paige?"

I opened my mouth but Perry said, "This is Paige. My wife Lisa is running a bit late."

"Oh, dear, we don't like it when students are tardy." She frowned, drawing down her already long face. "Please have a seat. When Principal Meriwether returns he'll escort you to your class. Hopefully, Lisa will be here by then."

Feeling very much like I'd broken some rule, I sat on a hard wooden chair and tugged down the slim black skirt I'd paired with a pink and black swirly blouse. Maybe my discomfort was from dressing in clothes reserved for formal occasions. I glanced at the frowning secretary.

Nah, her look reminded me of all the teachers who'd glowered at me, telling me I could do better. "You're smart, Paige," they'd say. "Don't waste your brain. Buck up. You can do it." Didn't work. Their faces simply brought out my stubborn streak.

My hands started to perspire, and I wiped them on my skirt. "Exactly how is this fun?" I leaned over and whispered to Perry.

He got a big, goofy grin on his face. "Doesn't it make you feel like you're back in school?"

"Yeah, but unlike you two nerds, I didn't do so well in school."

Adam patted my bobbing knee. "Relax and go with the flow."

The last time I went with the flow in a principal's office, I got a three-day suspension. Lisa warned me. Multiple times. Don't pull the fire alarm during PE. I didn't listen. Sat in a spot much like this one and waited for my mom to arrive with my knees knocking together and a firm scowl planted on my face all through the meeting with the principal and through the next day. It returned daily for a month, when I had to go home straight after school and directly to my room. Memories. Not good.

I rolled my neck to loosen stiffening muscles. Didn't work. My brain worked overtime. I had to find something to keep my mind busy. I looked out the glass window behind our chairs. The principal, dressed in a pinstripe, double-breasted suit clomped down the hall. So much for taking my mind off things.

Smiling broadly, he entered the office. "You must be the new students."

The secretary jumped to her feet, pulled back her shoulders, and for a moment appeared as if she might salute. "This is Perry, Paige, and Adam." She stabbed a finger at Perry and puckered her mouth. "His wife is tardy."

Principal Meriwether cleared his throat and glanced nervously at his assistant. He seemed afraid of her. Maybe he wasn't that bad after all. "Yes, well, I'm sure she'll arrive before class starts. If the three of you will follow me, I'll take you to your teacher." He charged into the hallway with long strides. Ten feet ahead of us in no time, he stopped by a bulletin board touting summer flowers and waited for us to catch up. I gave the construction paper flowers a brief perusal then followed the group down the hallway.

Principal Meriwether stopped at the second door with an abrupt pivot. "You'll be in the first grade tonight. This is your teacher, Mrs. Canfield."

A thirty-something woman, hair pulled back into a severe bun, came to the door, and we exchanged introductions. She firmly gripped each of our hands, ending with me.

"I'll just check my roster for your seat assignment." She glided to the podium. Her crinoline slip rustled with each step. She pulled a pencil from her ear. "I've assigned you to row nine. Please have a seat. You may chat quietly until class begins."

It wasn't hard to figure out which seats she meant. Only one table near the door remained empty. I sighed. The last students to arrive always got stuck in the front.

We sat at the oblong table designed to look like individual desktops with inkwells and pens for each of us. The men had barely taken their seats before launching into talk of baseball. I let them have at it and chewed on a fingernail. When would Lisa get here? I needed to grab her the moment she entered and rush out of Adam's earshot to warn her not to speak of Karen.