School's Out for Murder (Schooled in Murder Book 2) (6 page)

When Emily got back to the carnival, she replenished their stock of prizes and then helped out during the afternoon crush. She felt like every child in town must have stopped by to play the Whac-A-Moles at least twice, by the way her feet were aching. She was looking for an excuse to sit down for a moment when she saw Helen and Barnes headed her way. When Helen waved her over to a nearby bench, Emily heaved a sigh of relief and slipped out of the booth to join them.

The second she was within earshot, Barnes blurted out, "Well, was I right about Superintendent Johnson or what?"

"What?" Emily asked, puzzled, until she remembered Barnes mentioning the night before that the superintendent had clearly had reason to be angry with the mayor. "Has something happened?"

Helen laid a hand on Barnes' arm, and he smiled down at her fondly. Emily tried to repress a shudder. It was wonderful to see Helen look so happy, but for Emily, the thought of Barnes touching her was the equivalent of being crawled on by a spider. Helen said softly, "We ran into Principal Matthews earlier, and he told us that Superintendent Johnson had been called into the station and that Detective Welks had asked you some questions about him. What was your perception of the situation, dear?"

Helen looked concerned, and Emily wanted to alleviate her worries, but she was afraid that Gangly-Arms definitely had an issue with Superintendent Johnson. Before she could tell the couple that, however, another voice spoke her name from behind her. Emily spun around to see Susanna Fowler standing there, looking as pale and thin as she usually did. The town librarian was normally smiling brightly, but today her smile was conspicuously absent. "Emily, I wanted to let you know that I put you on the waiting list for the latest Carolyn Hart book. I know how much you love her Annie and Max Darling."

"Oh, thank you, Susanna," Emily answered. She turned to include Helen and Barnes in the conversation, but with a small wave, Helen let her know they would catch up with her later. Emily turned back to the unhappy-looking woman beside her and asked softly, "Are you alright?"

"Oh," Susanna let loose a high, nervous-sounding laugh. It was obvious her nerves were stretched to the breaking point. "It's all this business with the mayor being murdered. I just can't believe we've had two murders in our beautiful town in the same year. What's becoming of our world, Emily?"

Susanna started to wander through the still-bustling carnival crowd, so Emily fell into step beside her. "I don't know, Susanna. It's frightening to contemplate such violence existing in our safe little world. Did you know the mayor well?" Emily tried not to wince at the little white lie, but she decided she might as well feel the woman out while she had the chance.

"Actually, we went to school together." The librarian scuffed the toe of her sandal lightly against the ground, not meeting Emily's eyes.

"Oh, really? What was she like back then?" Emily tried to keep her question casual, but she was taken aback by the sharp glance that Susanna threw her way. Her eyes had turned absolutely glacial, and she gave a disdainful sniff.

"I have to say, Janice was always a force to be reckoned with. What she wanted, she got, no matter what the cost." Besides the anger, bordering on hatred, which Emily saw in Susanna's face, she noticed a lingering trace of sadness. Could the librarian still be carrying a torch for Larry McBain? That would certainly put an interesting spin on things.

"I take it you two weren't friends?" Emily tried to lighten the tone of the conversation.

This time Susanna let out a harsh laugh, and the lines of her face went hard. "Hardly. But come to think of it, I'm not sure Janice ever had a true friend. You have to be a friend to have one. She was better at making enemies."

Emily wanted to prod her a little more, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tad headed their way. Susanna glanced up and saw him, too, and Emily watched as she worked to compose her face back into its normal, placid lines. "Tad, I'm glad to run into you. I've placed the new Richard Castle novel back for you, also."

"Thank you, Susanna," Tad replied, smiling down at her. When Susanna didn't answer, he frowned over her head at Emily, clearly wondering what he had walked up on. Before either one of them could say a word to the silent librarian, however, she suddenly turned and headed in the opposite direction.

"See you both later," she called hurriedly over her shoulder, and then she was gone, swallowed up by the boisterous crowd.

"Was it something I said?" Tad asked, only half-joking.

Emily turned back in the direction of her booth, heaving a bone-weary sigh. "Tad, sometimes I wonder if we ever truly know the people around us. It seems like everyone has a secret to hide." To her surprise, her voice had gone thick with tears.

"Hey, hey," Tad said softly, stopping to pull her into the circle of his arms. "Rough day?"

"You could say that," Emily murmured into his broad chest, inhaling the musky, yet fresh smell that was so uniquely Tad. "But we have something fun planned for tonight," she told him, looking up into his concerned eyes.

"Oh, do we?" Tad questioned, tucking his arm securely around her as they continued on toward the English department's booth. His eyebrows waggled suggestively. "A quiet night in, perhaps?" he asked, his voice husky.

"'Fraid not," Emily laughed, giving him a light nudge in the ribs with her elbow. "After our lunch with Amelia, we decided she could definitely use some more fun in her life. We suggested a girls' night out, but she wanted us to do a couples' night instead. She's anxious to introduce us to her boyfriend."

"Amelia has a boyfriend?" Tad asked, sounding as surprised as Emily and Gabby had been. "You'd think that information might have been circulating in the gossip mill, especially since you said she's been accused of having an affair with Larry."

"Well, hopefully, we can all have a nice evening and help Amelia put some of this unpleasantness behind her. We're doing a barbeque at Gabby and Greg's at 8."

"Sounds good to me. Pick you up around 7:30?"

"You got it," Emily said, rising up on her toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Tad ran his hand down her cap of hair, and she shivered. They tried to avoid PDA in front of the students in order to set a good example, but even the lightest touch from Tad went straight to her heart. "See you then," he smiled and headed off to start closing up the Mathletes booth. The police presence that Detective Gangly-Arms had posted at the carnival was circulating, encouraging everyone to close up for the evening so they could herd the crowd home.

Seeing that her kids were already working to close up shop, she took a quick detour by the history department's booth. They were the ones selling funnel cakes this year, and Emily figured if she had one now, she'd be hungry again by the time they got to Gabby and Greg's. The whole school carnival experience just wasn't complete for her until she'd had her funnel cake.

Sharon Grimes, the senior high history teacher, flashed her trademark barracuda smile to Emily as she placed her order. Sharon, a nice enough woman, but a terrible gossip, clearly had something to ask Emily. While Emily waited on her funnel cake, Sharon leaned against the counter of her booth, her ample hips digging into the corner edge. She didn't seem to notice, however, as her attention was focused solely on Emily. "So," she began, her toothy grin never wavering, "I saw Tad escorting that cute new junior high math teacher home last night." She continued to stare at Emily, but Emily was giving her nothing to work with. When Emily remained silent, Sharon continued, "I certainly hate to see people getting the wrong idea about those two, what with them working so closely together in the math department and all." She tried to put on a look of sympathy, but her predatory smile refused to be pulled down. There was nothing Sharon Grimes loved more than a hot piece of gossip.

Accepting her funnel cake from one of the students working the booth, Emily looked Sharon straight in the eye and said, "Yes, it would certainly be a shame for someone with nothing better to do than to start some kind of ridiculous rumor. Especially when all Tad was doing was helping out a colleague who had just experienced a devastating loss."

Sharon's eyes went wide, and her barracuda grin changed to a gaping guppy's mouth. Before she could come up with a retort, Emily gave her a saccharine-sweet smile and turned on her heel. She tried a few bites of the funnel cake, but unfortunately, Sharon's nastiness had ruined her appetite. Passing by a trash barrel, she dumped in the powdered-sugar goodness.
What a waste!
she thought with disgust.

Her kids had most of the booth packed away for the night by the time she got back, so she sent the remaining crew on its way and finished securing the tarp over the booth herself. One of the boxes of stuffed ravens she had brought back was holding up one side of the tarp. As Emily bent to push it more securely under the booth's covering, she tried to brush off the vaguely uneasy feeling that was sneaking up her spine at being left at the scene of the crime, so to speak, by herself.
Get ahold of yourself, Emily
, she told herself firmly. There are still plenty of people around, and you have nothing to be afraid of. Still, when she caught a flutter of white out of the corner of her eye, she gave a nervous gasp and let go of the rope she was trying to secure. Patting a hand over her racing heart, she looked closer and saw that the flutter of white was actually a piece of paper half-caught under one of the boxes of stuffed ravens. Securing the final rope, she reached down and grabbed the now-unfrightening piece of white paper.

What did you think it was, silly?
she berated herself.
A ghost?
Despite her admonitions to her scaredy-cat self, when she saw what was typed on the piece of paper, her heartbeat ratcheted back up to gallop. The scrap of paper read: "Dear Mayor, Meet…" That was all that was there, but Emily had no doubt that whoever had killed the mayor had written that note.

*   *   *

"It must have gotten stuck to the bottom of one of our boxes of stuffed ravens when they were moved to the new booth," Emily was explaining to Gangly-Arms not ten minutes later, setting a land speed record getting from the carnival to the police station. "When I moved the old boxes around to make room for the new ones, it must have been dislodged."

"Still, I can't believe our guys missed this last night." Based on the thundercloud hovering over Gangly-Arms' face, Emily saw a severe dressing-down in some officer's near future. She did not envy that person or persons.

"It has to be from the murderer, right?" Emily went on excitedly. "Do you think it will contain any useable prints?"

"I think that is a matter of police business," Gangly-Arms replied stiffly, his face still creased in a threatening frown.

"Yeah, but since I found it and all, I thought maybe…" Emily trailed off as Gangly-Arms' frowned deepened.

"You thought what?" the detective asked severely. "That I would let you play
CSI
with us, Ms. Taylor? You did your civic duty by bringing this to our attention, and for that we thank you. Have a nice evening."

Emily stood stock still a moment, thoroughly irritated by Gangly-Arms' brush-off. After a few seconds, however, the detective turned and disappeared through a door into the back of the station, leaving her staring at nothing. Turning back to the exit, Emily tried to reign in her extreme irritation with the close-lipped detective. After the ordeal they had all been through that past fall in uncovering Coach Layton's murderer, Emily thought they had formed a somewhat amicable working relationship.
Apparently not,
she thought bitterly, pushing through the front glass doors and stomping over to her waiting vehicle.

Emily continued to grumble once she was home. She knew that she had no business actually getting involved in the case, but it still irked her that Gangly-Arms would shut her out after all she had done to help the investigation into Coach Layton's death. Well, maybe it had been more hinder than help at times, but still, she had virtually put her life on the line. Didn't that count for something?

Frowning, she flipped through her closet until she found the perfect outfit for an evening at an outdoor barbeque. The May evenings were still cool, so she snatched a cardigan to toss over her white sheath dress with eyelet trim. To keep the outfit from looking too Swiss Miss, Emily paired the sweet dress with a wide canary yellow belt that matched the sling backs she had picked up on a whim at Nordstrom's the last time she and Gabby had gone shopping in the city. While Emily didn't miss living or teaching up north, she did miss the shopping. Gabby had thought the shoes were too edgy, but Emily knew she would find the perfect outfit for them. Looked like her superior shoe-fashion sense had been spot on once again. Giving a little twirl in the mirror, she decided to slick back her hair to look a little more like Audrey Hepburn to fit the style of the outfit. Once she felt completely
Roman Holiday
-ish, she settled down to wait for Tad with one of her constant companions: her journal.

Chewing on the end of her pencil, Emily turned to a fresh page and then began to pour out her thoughts. By the time her hand was cramping, she felt calmer and in better spirits. Writing always did that for her. Looking over what she had written, Emily summed up her journal writing with a list of people who seemed to have a reason to want Mayor McBain out of the picture. Adding notes to her list of names, Emily decided that the ability to keep her nose out of things just wasn't in her DNA.

1. Larry McBain—Rumored to be having an affair. But there is
no way
Amelia is, was, or ever will be involved with another woman's husband. But if Janice believed the rumor, would she have changed her will to leave everything to Maclaine anyway? And what about what Superintendent Johnson said about Larry being "cuckolded"? Was Janice the one having an affair? Did Larry need to get her out of the way for the sake of his relationship with another woman? Or was he jealous of someone Janice was involved with?

2. Maclaine Forrester—If the rumors were true and Janice changed her will, Maclaine would be an heiress. Janice supposedly had a large family fortune and Maclaine was her only relative. In fact, could Maclaine have moved to Ellington because she knew of Larry's supposed affair? Maybe Tad would know something.

3. Susanna Fowler—Again, if the rumor mill was true, and it rarely was, Janice and Susanna were old high school enemies. Could Susanna have gotten Janice out of the way so that she could have the love of her life all to herself? Janice was also threatening to cut library acquisition funding, so unfortunately, that just added fuel to the fire where Susanna's hatred of Janice was concerned.

4. Amelia Franklin—Rumored to be the one who Larry was having an affair with. Clearly, the rumor is nothing more than that—a rumor. Larry was obsessed with dental hygiene, but Amelia had told him that was no longer comfortable acting as his dentist. Was someone trying to frame Amelia? And who was her boyfriend? He might be…

Tad sounded his usual
rat-a-tat-tat
knock on the front door before Emily could finish her thought. Laying her journal aside, she hurried to let Tad in. Even though things had been strained between them the past couple of days, Emily's heart still sped up at the sight of his tall, lean form in dark jeans, loafers, and a teal plaid button-down with the sleeves rolled up to show his tan, muscled forearms. The color brought out the blue in his gray eyes, turning them the color of a stormy sea. She reached up to run her fingers through his dark hair, going curly at the ends. She swallowed the drool pooling in her mouth before she said, "Hey, handsome, you look amazing."

Tad's eyes warmed as he smiled down at her. Then he grabbed her hand and spun her out in a fast twirl, tugging her firmly against him when he was done. "I'd say the same goes, Em. Are you a runaway princess in disguise?" Emily giggled (something she only did around Tad) pleased that he, too, had thought of
Roman Holiday
. She had made him sit through more than one screening of it, as it was one of her favorites.

"I just might be," she told him. "So be sure and show me a good time before I have to go back to my regal, yet boring, duties."

"Your wish is my command, Your Highness," Tad said, tucking her arm securely in the crook of his elbow as he led her out to his spotless Prius.

They enjoyed the first few minutes of the ride out to Gabby and Greg's sprawling farmhouse on the edge of town in companionable silence. The sky was a riot of colors as the sun sank below the horizon, and the rolling hills of green were a welcome sight after a particularly bitter winter. "Gorgeous night, isn't it?" Tad finally broke the silence.

"It is," Emily agreed. "I hope we can get Amelia's mind off her troubles for a while. She looks so tired."

Tad glanced at her at the corner of his eye as he asked, "Any news on the investigative front?"

"Why would you ask
me
?" Emily stared out her own window, careful not to meet Tad's eyes.

He let loose a low chuckle, but said nothing. "What?" Emily asked again, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Because, Pit, if I know you, and I do, you've already managed to stick your nose into several places it shouldn't have been."

"You know," Emily began in her defense, "it's not my fault that people always seem to gravitate toward me when they want to pour out their troubles."

"That's true," Tad conceded. "But your sympathetic ear and open heart are legendary in these parts, my dear." Tad raised his eyebrows meaningfully and patted her knee. "Of course, those are also some of the very traits that make me crazy about you."

Emily's heart skittered around in her chest, and she covered his hand with her own. "Thanks, Tad. You know my heart is wide open where you're concerned." She waited with baited breath to see how he would respond, but he said nothing, only turned his hand to link his fingers with hers.
Oh well,
she thought ruefully. They cared about each other a great deal. That was enough. For now. Returning to Tad's original question, she launched into an account of her day, starting with finally explaining the rumors circulating about Amelia and Larry having an affair and ending with her trip to the police station when she discovered the scrap of paper at her booth.

"Wow," Tad said, pulling into Gabby and Greg's long, curving driveway. "You really have had a day."

"You could say that," Emily agreed, admiring the lights shining out against the darkness. Outside of her parents' house, the one she grew up in, Emily had never known a home she felt more comfortable or welcomed in than Gabby and Greg's. Emily felt that familiar tug that she had been experiencing since the first time she had come here with Tad, that pull to her heart that made her wonder if they would one day share such a homey place, possibly one that held children. She shook off the feeling as she felt Tad reach over to massage her tight shoulders.

"Come on," he said, tugging her hand. "Let's go see who Amelia's mystery boyfriend is."

They found Gabby and Greg setting the table out on their new deck. The space was gorgeous. Lanterns strategically placed around the perimeter gave the area a cozy glow and recessed outdoor lighting showed not only the gentle curve of the two-tiered deck, but the beginnings of a playhouse in the far corner of the yard. "What's that?" Emily asked excitedly. She had had her own playhouse growing up, one her dad had built for her, and she had spent hours in it, teaching school to her dolls, hosting tea parties with her friends, or whiling away the hours with a good book.

"I wanted you to see it in person first!" Gabby was as excited as if the playhouse was for her. "We decided that since the deck was more a project for us, we'd add the playhouse as a project for the girls. Your dad is going to help Greg finish it, but then you have to help me decorate it."

"That may be the most exciting news I've heard all day," Emily exclaimed, taking in the playhouse's peaked roof and tiny front porch. "Everything looks gorgeous, as usual, Gabby. You guys did an amazing job with this deck."

"Thanks." Gabby smiled over at her husband. "This man of mine sure comes in handy. Aren't I lucky?"

"I'd say we both are," Emily answered, watching as the two men in their lives took up positions on either side of the manly grill, their arms crossed and their eyes narrowed against the smoke as they checked out the sizzling selection of meats wafting out mouthwatering scents on the cool night air. "What can I help you with?"

"I just have the salad left." Gabby led the way into the kitchen to finish up the final touches on dinner. She and Emily were headed back out to the deck to join the men in a glass of wine and speculation as to whom Amelia's boyfriend might be, when the front doorbell rang. All four heads turned at the sound and Emily did a nervous little dance in place as Gabby went to let in the final two members of their little dinner party. Finally, they would learn the man's secret identity.

But when Gabby led the newcomers out onto the new deck, Emily was sure she wasn't the only one whose jaw dropped open in shock. Amelia, looking radiant in a flowy, peach-toned dress with a light shawl, was a woman transformed. Where she had appeared wan and anxious when Emily and Gabby had lunched with her earlier in the day, she now glowed with the look of a woman in love. But Amelia's transformation was not the source of their shock. Rather it was the man that Amelia was clearly gaga about. Tad was the first to break out of the temporary speechlessness that had settled over the group on the large deck.

"Trent Winters! Man, long time no see. How the heck are ya?" Tad stepped forward to shake the newcomer's hand, grasping his elbow as he did so in that manly way men had that always made Emily wonder if that was their version of women's hugs and air kisses.

"Fine, fine. And yourself, Tad?" Trent's rich baritone sounded warm and sincere, revealing no trace of awkwardness at this surprise reunion. Emily didn't bother to listen to Tad's response, instead focusing on Gabby. Her best friend's face was pale, her large brown eyes slightly glazed with shock. She still held a box of matches in one hand, a single match in the other, prepared to light the citronella candle on the ledge of the deck next to where she stood, unmoving, just as she had been ever since leading the new couple back out onto the deck. Emily saw that Greg was watching Gabby's reaction, a look of confusion marring his even features. Emily moved quickly to Gabby's side, giving her a slight nudge to the ribs with her elbow.

Gabby gave a jolt, like someone startled out of a nightmare, then she stepped forward, ready to make her guests feel welcome. "Amelia, Trent, I'm so glad you guys could make it."

Amelia placed a hand lightly on Gabby's arm. "Isn't it a wonderful surprise? When I moved back to Ellington, I had no idea that Trent was in the area. But then we ran into each other at Walmart, of all places, started reminiscing about the good 'ole days, and well, one thing led to another, and here we are."

"Yes, here we are," Gabby smiled as she turned to introduce everyone to Greg. "You see," she explained to her still-puzzled husband, "Trent and Amelia went to school with Emily and me. They were a grade ahead of us."

"It's nice to meet you," Greg replied, and Emily wondered if he was picking up on the slight air of tension still pervading the group. Since Greg had grown up in Chicago, he didn't know most of the people his wife had grown up with. Emily was sure he had no idea that his wife had once harbored a major crush for the man now standing on his new deck.

Emily decided it was time to join in this slightly surreal conversation. "It's nice to see you again, Trent. Didn't I hear you were coaching in the area now?" Emily ignored the warning glace Tad shot her way. She'd meant her comment as a slight dig. Back in high school, Trent's ego had been legendary. Although he had been a truly talented basketball player, his constant bragging about playing college ball and then joining the pros had not endeared him to many of his classmates. In fact, Amelia, a talented player in her own right, had been one of his few true friends. The rest of his group seemed to be more hangers-on, awed by Trent's supposed celebrity status. Emily had always secretly wondered if Amelia was only such a good friend to Trent because she had a crush on him. But the then-tomboy Amelia had never breathed a word of feeling anything more than friendship toward Trent, which had been good for her friendship with Gabby, who had a not-so-silent crush on the basketball superstar. But Trent never even gave Gabby a second glance, which was odd since every boy in their own grade was half-in-love with gorgeous, dark-haired, sweet-natured Gabby Moretti. Gabby had suffered over two years of unrequited love for Trent, until their senior year when she finally decided that since Trent had graduated and left for college, she should finally move on. As far as Emily knew, Gabby hadn't seen Trent since the day he left Ellington.

Emily watched Trent closely to see how he would respond because the Trent she knew from high school would have some excuse as to why he hadn't made it to the pros. But he wrapped his arm around Amelia and smiled at Emily, saying, "That's right, Emily. When I decided to move back last year, there weren't any openings at Ellington, but I was able to secure a varsity coaching position at Brentville. It's not home, but it's been fun working with the kids."