Page 69 of The Secrets We Hide
“Good morning to you, too, sunshine.” Celia turned in her chair and grinned at Emmy. “I didn’t know anything about her. Had to look up her file. She was sent to my office a couple of years ago. Part of a group of girls who were being bitchy little jackasses. Spreading gossip about each other, being prickly and mean. It was more about the drama than actual malice. I gave them all detention. Never heard any complaints about Mandy again. Sixteen’s about the age they start to grow out of that.”
“Did you call in Allison to talk?”
“I’m sure I talked to all the parents, but I have absolutely no memory of what any of them said. Probably some horseshit about how they were gonna sue me for punishing their kids. I swear to God sometimes I wish I taught at an orphanage.”
“I’m going to send a deputy by the school to search Mandy’s locker.”
“She doesn’t have one.” Celia tapped her finger to the side of her nose like Paul Newman inThe Sting. “You’re not the only detective in the family.”
“Can you send me a list of her teachers?”
“Check your email.”
Emmy tried again, “What about any strange men hanging around?”
“I should be so lucky.” Celia gave a heady laugh. “Honey, are you really asking me if I saw a strange man hanging around the school and decided to keep it to myself?”
Tires crunched in the driveway again. Emmy glanced out the kitchen door. She told Jude, “Cole’s here. Make sure you give him his assignments before you fly back to Quantico, Dr. Archer.”
Celia rolled her eyes.
Jude pressed her hands flat to the table. She wasn’t sure she was up to being Emmy’s punching bag this morning. Celia’s revelation had left her feeling exposed. She was anxious about Tommy figuring out the truth but also relieved that he wasn’t punishing her. All Jude ever got from Millie was sharp accusations, and Father Nate glared at her like he would just as soon burn her for a witch. Only Celia had acknowledged the toll carrying the secret was taking.
“Chin up.” Celia winked at Jude as she made to leave. “Emmy Lou Clifton, you be nice to your sister.”
Cole passed her on the porch. Their voices were muffled in Jude’s ears. She made herself busy by clearing the table, finding two more mugs for coffee. She opened the fridge. Looked for something that could pass for breakfast.
Cole came up behind her. “I’ve never seen that much food in my life.”
“I’ll fix you a plate,” Jude offered. “Take a load off.”
Cole grabbed one of the coffees and slumped into his chair with an exhausted groan.
Jude felt herself smiling as she pulled out a breakfast casserole and scooped a healthy portion onto a plate. Celia was right. Shewasa fussy grandma. “How did it go?”
“It went.” Emmy’s tone had a pointed edge. She was back in control. She tapped Cole’s shoulder for him to sit up straight, telling him, “Get some sleep after breakfast, then I need you on all the CCTV from the strip mall behind Allison’s house. I’m gonna take a shower and head back out.”
Cole waited until the pipes started banging from the shower upstairs to slouch back down in his chair. Any other grown man pouting so openly would’ve earned a sharp rebuke from Jude, but she felt his disappointment tug at her heart.
She put his food in the microwave and sat down. “Well?”
“She’s pissed off at Brett. He talked to some reporter in Atlanta who did a story on the shooting. Told them the second he was sworn in as sheriff, he was gonna make an arrest. He didn’t say who, but everybody knows it’s Bill Garrison.”
Jude was momentarily speechless. “Did Brett say anything about gathering actual evidence?”
“The reporter didn’t push him, but it’s blowing up online. Bill Garrison’s mother is shitposting every comment. His brothers are dicks. They’re all trashing Mom, saying she’s in over her head.”
“Okay.” Jude knew what it felt like to have a colleague stab you in the back. Everyone had questioned her methods until she’d arrested Freddy Henley, then everyone had wanted credit for being part of the chase. “We can’t do anything about assholes online. Catch me up on what you’ve been doing.”
“Whole lotta nothin’ with a side of bullshit.”
“Start with the bullshit.”
“She stuck me behind my desk while everybody else went out.”
“And the whole lotta nothin’?”
“Sherry says it’ll take a few days to crack the passwords on the phones and laptops. The subpoenas for all the CCTV, electronics and bank records will take weeks to come in, but we got all the paperwork from Allison’s dining room and brought it back to the station. There’s some old credit card stuff from last year. A couple dozen phone bills. Nothing to follow up on. From what I could tell, most of Allison’s private eye work was chasing around cheaters and documenting divorce cases. Half this town’s got gonorrhea, by the way.”
