What Happened to the Bennetts(34)

I shook my head in disbelief. I scanned the comments from the online community:


JellyBelly Rick, I get why he would burn down the house, since it could be the crime scene, but why his office? And why burglarize the wife’s studio? Do you think that was for the insurance money? And how could he collect, if he’s a fugitive? And most of all, WHERE ARE THE BODIES?


Dark Horse I was thinking the same thing, Jellybelly, but he could have done it to make it look like someone else! We have to dig deeper. I’m going to investigate, too, and I’ll keep you all posted here. I don’t live that far away, I’m at the Jersey shore.


Slim Jim I know you ladies think you’re experts, but you assumed right away that the father killed his family. What if it was the mother? What if she pulled a Susan Smith and drove her family into the river?


Professor Outlaw Slim Jim, you need to educate yourself. Familicide, or the murder of an entire family, is more commonly committed by men than women. A study published in the Howard Journal of Criminal Justice reports that in 71 cases of familicide, 59 of the perpetrators were male. The “family annihilator” is usually a middle-aged man, a good provider who “appears to neighbors to be a dedicated husband and devoted father.” I’m paraphrasing Prof. Jack Levin, Professor of Sociology and Criminology Emeritus at Northeastern University in Boston. Bottom line, do the reading. The odds are, it’s Daddy, not Mommy.



Suddenly I heard Lucinda and Ethan coming downstairs and closed the laptop. It was almost five o’clock, and they had been in Ethan’s bedroom the whole day. I hadn’t seen Lucinda since our fight this morning. I didn’t know what to expect from her.

I rose as they trundled into the kitchen, downcast. “Hey, how are you guys?”

“Okay.” Ethan plunked down at the table, resting his face on his hand, and I ruffled up his brown hair, soft under my palm.

“Hey, buddy. You must be starved.” I tried to catch Lucinda’s eye, but she was looking around the kitchen.

“Jason, how old’s that coffee?”

“Too old, but come here.” I took her arm and drew her close to me, kissing her on the forehead. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” Lucinda leaned into me and linked her arms around my waist. “Sorry if I was cranky before.”

“No worries. Food’s on the way. I ordered us something special. It’s being delivered any minute.” I let Lucinda go, and she went to the coffeemaker, so I turned to Ethan. “Buddy, how you feeling?”

“Okay.”

“I got your favorite thing for dinner.”

“Cool.”

I noted he didn’t ask what I meant. His blue eyes looked washed out, and his skin was pale, which happened when he was sick. “You getting a cold or anything?”

“No, just tired.” Ethan looked over as Moonie trotted in. “He pooped in my room.”

“That’s weird. Moonie, come.” I motioned to the dog, who followed me to the back door, and I watched him go down the steps, then left him. I came back into the kitchen, dismayed to see Lucinda on my laptop, looking at the citizen detective website.

“Jason, what’s this?” Lucinda unhooked her reading glasses from her collar and slipped them on, as she read the website. “This is about us?”

“Don’t let it bother you.”

“They’re saying you killed us. You murdered us.”

Ethan scooted over, leaning on his forearms. “What? Dad killed us?”

Lucinda recoiled. “Jason, they can’t say this about you. It will ruin your reputation.”

I waved her off. “Honey, we’re getting different names. My reputation no longer matters.”

“But this is outrageous.” Lucinda read the screen, eyes flaring behind her readers, which magnified them. “They’re calling you a family annihilator.”

I held her shoulder. “It’s nothing.”

Ethan looked upset. “Dad, who are they? How can they investigate us?”

“They’re not going to. They’re people who follow true-crime cases, that’s all. It’s their hobby.”

“Like Dateline? Like 48 Hours?”

“Right,” I answered, and Moonie started barking at the back door. I ignored him because Lucinda was typing, her jaw set with determination. “Honey, what are you doing?”

“Checking my page.”

Moonie kept barking, so I let him in. He trotted to his food and water, sniffing the unfamiliar kibble.

“Oh no.” Lucinda frowned at the laptop. “Jason, some of our friends think you murdered us, too. This is crazy!”

Ethan leaned over. “It’s not my friends, is it? What are they saying?”

I went over and read posts from the other parents, whom I knew from school or the games:


Julie Carruthers Jason always seemed like a nice guy, but the quiet ones are trouble.


Melody Frank-Yoli Agree! Still waters run deep!


Susanna Burlemann Don’t talk trash about the Bennetts. What kind of friends are you?



Ethan’s eyes rounded. “Mrs. Carruthers is Jared C’s mom. What does that mean, ‘Still waters run deep’?”

“It means quiet people hold things in.”