School's Out for Murder (Schooled in Murder Book 2) (16 page)

"Oh, baby," Trent said in a low, seductive voice, "you know I only had eyes for you that night. You had me distracted by those gorgeous blue eyes of yours."

Emily felt her stomach revolt, especially when she watched Maclaine visibly melt, a small smile tugging at her lips. Even in her extreme disgust at Trent's behavior, she hated that Maclaine was going to lose yet another person she cared for when the truth came out. But unfortunately, there was no way she could let Trent continue his charade, hurting both Maclaine and Amelia in the process.

Steeling herself to break Maclaine's heart completely, Emily casually said, "That's really interesting, Trent, because I actually
misplaced
my phone before Gabby and I came over to see Maclaine and Larry that evening. But of course you already know that because you must've taken it while we were all at Gabby and Greg's house."

Maclaine's eyes darted back and forth between Trent and Emily. "What's she talking about, Trent?" she asked, her voice faltering. "Why would you be at Gabby and Greg Spencer's house?"

Before Trent could come up with another lie, Emily told Maclaine flat out, "Because he was never at a conference, like he told you. He was actually at a dinner party at Gabby and Greg's. And Maclaine," Emily looked straight at the woman across from her, ignoring the piece of bad rubbish beside her, "he was there with Amelia Franklin."

Maclaine shook her head, confusion clouding her red-rimmed eyes. "Amelia Franklin? What would he be doing with her?"

"They were together," Emily told her, trying to break the news as gently as possible. "Trent has been dating both of you."

Maclaine's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped, looking as if Emily had struck her a debilitating blow. Emily felt horrible for crushing Maclaine's hopes and dreams, but at the same time, she was taking great pleasure in smashing Trent's little game to pieces. How could she have ever been so stupid to as to believe that Trent had changed? After all, what was that saying? A leopard never changes its spots?

Trent laughed long and loud. "Oh, come on, doll. Who're you going to believe, her or me? You know you're my one and only. I haven't seen Amelia since high school."

"Maclaine, look at me. You know I'm telling you the truth. I have no reason to lie to you," Emily told her, leaning forward and gripping Maclaine's ice-cold hands.

Maclaine stared down at the table, shaking her head slowly back and forth. "Babe?" Trent said softly. "I don't know what Emily's game is, but ignore her. You know you can trust me."

"I don't know what to think," Maclaine finally said, still not looking at either one of them. "What did you say your conference was for again, Trent?"

"It was a coaching clinic," Trent said confidently.

"Really?" Maclaine asked, a hint of anger returning to her voice. "Because you told me it was a history teachers' conference."

Trent jumped to his feet, his calm, laidback demeanor gone. "Look, doll, I won't put up with you questioning me this way. Either you trust me or you don't."

"I don't," Maclaine told him, looking him square in the eye. Emily wanted to jump up and down and cheer. She was so thrilled that Maclaine had finally found her backbone. That was until Trent slammed his hands down on the table between her and Maclaine, making them both jump.

"Then you've just made a very fatal mistake," Trent said in a deadly calm voice.

Something that had been tugging at the edge of Emily's conscience since she and Tad had stopped by Amelia's house the other morning suddenly leapt into sharp focus. She should have seen this coming. Trent had told them that morning that Maclaine had reported that Larry was headed over to Susanna's the night of the fire. But how would Trent have known what Maclaine had told them? Neither she nor Tad had ever mentioned it. Trent knew about Larry's plans because he had talked to Maclaine himself. What a jerk!

"Maclaine, you're better off without him," Emily told her, thoroughly sick of the whole situation. And then she remembered the theory Trent had proposed that morning as to who might be the guilty party not only in the mayor's death, but also in the fire at Susanna's. "Do you know he even suggested to Amelia, Tad, and me that
you
were the one responsible for your aunt's death and for setting the fire at Susanna's?" The smile she shot at Trent was as smug as they came. Score one for her.

Maclaine jumped up to face Trent. "You didn't! You wouldn't! You know how much I loved Aunt Janice." When Trent merely stared at her, his face calm and unreadable, Maclaine gave him a shove to the chest. "Get out of here! I never want to see you again!"

Yes!
Emily thought.
Good for Maclaine!

But Trent wasn't going down without a fight. "She's lying. She tried to come on to me, and I rebuffed her. She's just jealous." He moved to put his arm around Maclaine. "You have to believe me."

"Well, I don't," Maclaine said again, but Emily could see by the way she was watching Trent that she still wanted desperately to believe in him. "Emily has no reason to lie to me," she added, though her voice wavered.

"Of course she does," Trent told her. "She wants to get back at me because I never gave her the time of day in high school. She and her friend, Gabby, were always hanging around like pathetic little groupies."

Emily refused to rise to the bait, biding her time. With liars like Trent, usually if you gave them enough rope, they'd hang themselves. Instead of even glancing his way, she focused her gaze on Maclaine, willing her to see the light.

"I don't know…" Maclaine faltered.

"You don't know?" Trent growled.

Emily could see that Maclaine was torn. She clearly had cared deeply for Trent, and in light of all that she had lost, the idea that Trent had betrayed her was one loss too many. Emily felt terrible for her, but at the same time, she was sick and tired of Maclaine's lack of a backbone. Although seeing Trent for what he was, knowing he had lied to her the entire time, would hurt Maclaine in the short run, ultimately it would be better for her. Emily had to make her see reason. "Maclaine," she said urgently, drawing her attention, "I've seen him with Amelia. We've all seen him with Amelia. He's been playing you both. Where is your backbone? Stand up for yourself! You deserve better than this." She didn't know if Maclaine would run to Trent or actually listen to her.

There was silence for a beat. Then slowly Maclaine's shoulders straightened, and she said, "She's right, Trent. I
do
deserve better. I've seen what damage can be done in a relationship when one person cares for someone else, yet doesn't say anything. Look at what happened with Aunt Janice and Uncle Larry. She was always so busy with work, just like you've been telling me
you
were. Uncle Larry became more emotionally attached to Susanna, yet stayed with Aunt Janice. I won't be in a relationship where I'm not the number one person in my partner's life. And you know what, Trent? Amelia deserves better than this, too. She's a good person. How could you do this to us?"

Emily decided to chime in before Trent had a chance to try to explain away his despicable behavior. "Yes, Trent, how could you do this? How are you going to try to worm out of this one? And while you're trying to explain things, how about explaining why you
accidentally
picked up my phone? What game do you think you're playing?"

Trent completely ignored Emily. Instead, he turned to Maclaine and both she and Emily took a step backward when they saw the transformation his demeanor had gone through. No longer were they looking at the haughty, smug Trent of moments before. This Trent looked hard and cruel—and desperate. He grabbed both of Maclaine's hands roughly, and when she tried to jerk free, he only held them tighter. "Do you understand what you're doing, Maclaine?" he asked her. "You're ruining everything! After all I've done to ensure our future, to ensure that we'd have everything we needed? All the money we could possibly want so we can blow this ungrateful, pitiful little town and go live the lives we were meant to live?"

Once again, Maclaine tried to jerk free from Trent's grasp. "Trent, what are you saying?" she asked, her voice shaking with sudden fear. "What money? What have you done?"

Trent let go of her hands to gesture with his arm, his movement encompassing the entire McBain home. "
This
is what we deserve!
This
is what we should have! Amelia meant nothing to me. Nothing! I was just waiting for the right time to get rid of her. Just as soon as I was sure you would see reason. Don't you understand what I've done for you?"

"Done for me?" Maclaine parroted. Emily could see that she was too overwhelmed to do much more than repeat Trent's own words.

Trent slammed his hand down on the kitchen counter, and the whole room seemed to shake with the force of his violence. "There's nothing standing in our way now, what with your aunt out of the way and everyone assuming your uncle is having an affair with Amelia. The money will be all ours, and we can finally live the life you've always wanted."

"What?" Maclaine faltered, sinking down onto one of the padded barstools. "What are you saying?"

Emily knew the question was a rhetorical one because the impact of the truth hitting her had rocked her to her core. Trent Winters was the one who had killed the mayor.

Not giving Trent time to answer, Maclaine continued to ask, "Why would you say that you did this for me? Why?" Maclaine began to scream at Trent, the truth written on her face.

Trent looked at her in surprise and confusion, seemingly shocked by her reaction to his announcement. "You told me when we first started dating how all you ever wanted was a stable life. A home. You deserve that, and now I can be the one to give it to you." Trent spoke softly, as if afraid of spooking Maclaine.

"But I loved my aunt!" Maclaine wailed. "She was like a mother to me!" Emily could see by the emotion evident on Maclaine's face that she had taken one blow too many. This new revelation was too much for her.

But Trent, oblivious to her distress, continued, "Don't you remember the way your aunt laughed at me when we were younger? Laughed at the idea that I would go to the pros, that I would be famous? That I would be rich? She thought I'd end up with nothing, but the joke's on her because the one who ended up with nothing was her. We will have her money, and I have the satisfaction of knowing she died doubting her precious Larry, just like I wanted."

Emily stepped forward, reaching for Maclaine, wanting to both protect her and shield her from Trent's words. At the same time, she also knew Maclaine needed to hear the whole truth in order to process what had happened. "You started those rumors about the affair, didn't you?" Emily accused Trent.

Trent laughed long and loud. "In this backwater town, rumors spread like wildfire. I casually mentioned to a few people in passing that I had seen Larry and Amelia together, and then all I had to do was sit back and watch the storm of gossip rage. I knew that the one thing that Janice McBain would never tolerate was being mad a fool of. I knew the minute she suspected Larry, Mr. I'm Proud to Be a Kept Man, she'd change her will and leave everything to you, Maclaine. It was a simple matter, then, to get rid of Mayor Holier Than Thou. Besides, Maclaine, you said once that you'd wished your aunt had adopted you all those years ago. But she didn't. She let you down. But I won't let you down. I'll give you the life you deserve."

Maclaine worked up the energy to scoff. "But it's not me you want," she told him, her backbone now in strong condition. "You just want the money. That's why you did this, Trent! What else have you done?"

"Whatever I've done, I've done for us!" Trent shouted. "I've done what I needed to do to get us the life you told me you wanted, the life I know that we both want and deserve. Now, go pack your things so that we can leave. Then we can finally start living the life I've secured for us."

"Are you crazy?" Maclaine yelled at him, but Emily put a restraining hand on her arm. It was evident to her that Trent had passed Crazy Town several stops back. He was now full steam ahead to Insanity. But Maclaine continued to yell, "I'm not going anywhere with you! I want nothing to do with you!" Turning to Emily, she said in a calmer tone, "Call the police."

"No one is calling anyone!" Trent screamed, his face a very unbecoming shade of purple. "Hand over your cell phones."

Emily could see that Maclaine was still thinking of resisting. She gave her a nudge and then held out her own hands, palms up. "You already have my phone, Trent," she said, hoping that he would think Maclaine had left it at his house. Now that the phone had been off for a while, she was praying that she could manage to reach in her pocket and turn it back on. Maybe there would be enough power to hit the emergency call button. Since she had gotten a new phone last night, her old phone had been disconnected. Still, it should be able to call emergency services.

"Where's yours, Maclaine?" Trent asked, holding out his hand.

Maclaine shrank away from him and said, "It's upstairs. I left it charging." Emily wasn't sure if Maclaine was telling the truth or not, but judging by the look of fear on her face, she was.

"Fine," Trent told her. "I'll get it. We're going up there so you can pack. Right now." Grabbing them both by an arm, he started marching them out of the kitchen and toward the stairs.

Emily saw no way out of the situation at the present moment. She didn't see any weapon on Trent, and she figured that if he'd had a gun, he would have pulled it on them by now. Still, he had maintained his trim, athletic figure he'd had in high school, and he towered over both her and Maclaine. Between her complete lack of coordination and Maclaine's waif-thin stature, there was no way they could overpower him, even if they double-teamed him.

Whatever backbone Maclaine had demonstrated in the kitchen seemed to have dissolved. Her head hung low, and she no longer resisted Trent's iron grip on her arm. If only Trent hadn't shut the front door behind him, Emily might have tried to make a break for it. But she knew she'd never be able to outrun Trent, even if she did manage to break free of his hold. Unfortunately, while giving her height and being generally cute, her strappy sandals were not exactly conducive to outrunning a crazy man. Giving up on that idea, she reached over and clasped Maclaine's hand in hers, hoping to share some strength with her. But the hand she took was ice-cold and shaking with tremors. All of the harsh revelations of the past few days had been too much for her. Maclaine's overloaded system was going into shock.

Trent stopped at the base of the stairs and motioned for Maclaine to go first. He, too, seemed to notice that Maclaine was withdrawing into herself, too devastated to resist his orders. Maintaining his grasp on her, Trent pulled Emily along with him, hot on Maclaine's heels. At the top of the staircase, Maclaine turned left and entered the first door they came to. Emily had an impression of soft violet and creams in a muted paisley pattern as Trent shoved her carelessly onto the bed in what was clearly Maclaine's bedroom. "Don't move!" he barked at her then turned to Maclaine, who was standing motionless, gripping the carved footboard with both hands, as if it was the only thing keeping her upright. Emily used her position, reclining half-on, half-off the bed, as an opportunity to tuck her hand in her pocket and try to turn on her phone. To her horror, the phone wasn't there. It had apparently fallen out when Trent shoved her! Staying as still as possible, she frantically searched the floor. There it was! She could just make out the corner of her screen peeking out from beneath the violet-colored dust ruffle. Using only the toe of her sandal, she gave the phone a nudge so that it was completely concealed from Trent's eyes. She would have to bide her time carefully for the perfect opportunity to grab it and press the power button.

Trent was talking urgently to Maclaine now, once again explaining how everything he had done, he had done for her. Maclaine was nodding numbly, her eyes glassy and unfocused. Emily watched as Trent led her over to the closet, and as Maclaine mutely pointed, he pulled down a suitcase. When he threw it onto the bed next to Emily, she decided to use the action to her benefit. Acting as if she had been struck by the hard-sided piece of luggage, she cried out and slid off the side of the bed, grabbing her leg as if she was in pain. The moment she touched the floor, she scooped up her phone with one hand, pressing the on button and emergency call as she stuck it in her pocket. Thankfully, she had moved quickly as Trent was on her in a bound, yanking her up off the floor and shoving her back on the bed. "I told you not to move!" he yelled in her face. Emily didn't bother to respond, too focused on praying her phone still had some battery life left.

Maclaine still stood where Trent had left her, staring dumbly at the contents of her closet. "Hurry up and grab what you need!" Trent ordered her, giving her a little shove. Maclaine stumbled, but managed to right herself on the open closet door. "I don't know for sure how long we have before your Uncle Larry gets back, so get a move on."