I've Got My Eyes on You(42)

“You didn’t tell me you know Italian as well.”

“My grandmother was from Italy. She loved to talk to me in Italian. Fortunately, I remember most of it.”

“You are a man of many hidden talents,” Aline said, smiling.

“My mother would often say that to me. And then my aunt would always chime in, ‘If you’re so damn smart, why ain’t you rich?’?”

The calamari and the veal were excellent. Their conversation glided easily from politics to favorite movies. When they were finishing their cappuccinos, Aline brought up a topic that had been in the back of her mind all evening.

“Scott, I’ve been meaning to ask you about a student I’m really concerned about. I’m sure you know her because she played varsity lacrosse.”

“Who are you worried about?”

“Valerie Long, the girl who transferred to Saddle River last January. I met with her parents today.”

“It sounds serious. What’s wrong?”

“She appears to be withdrawn and depressed. One of her teachers has already spoken to me about her appearing distracted.”

“I’m so sorry to hear this.”

“The reason I bring it up is, as her coach, you got to work closely with Valerie last spring. Is she in any of your math classes?”

“No, not this year.”

“What was your impression of her when you coached her?”

“Frankly, she’s a kid with two personalities. On the sidelines she is shy, often standing someplace off by herself. Put her in the game and she goes into attack mode. She’s the most aggressive player on the field.

“But when the game’s over, it’s back to quiet and timid. She was the only sophomore on the varsity squad. I know Kerry tried particularly hard to make her feel included.”

“Was Valerie close to any of the other girls?”

“Not really. I tried to be, what’s the word, available to her. But she kept me at a distance as well.”

“Do you see her often in school now?”

“Lacrosse isn’t until the spring, so I don’t see her every day like I used to. We’ll pass in the hallway and say hi to each other. Nothing really beyond that.”

“Okay. I’m just trying to figure out a way to get through to her.”

“I’ll try to help, engage her in conversation. Maybe she’ll open up to one of us.”

“Thanks. And thank you again for dinner.”





54




As Nancy Carter glanced out her kitchen window, she found it hard to believe how quickly the last two weeks had flown by. She and her husband Carl had agreed that he would take their son Tony to Alaska on a fishing trip. It would be a break in every sense of the word. Workaholic Carl would see that his partners at his civil engineering firm were perfectly capable of running the business while he was away. Tony would break his habit of constantly being on social media by leaving his cell phone home. Carl had brought his phone, with the understanding that Nancy would contact them only in the event of a dire emergency.

And, she admitted to herself, although she dearly loved her husband, it was a nice break for her.

But in the two weeks they were away, Nancy wondered if she should have let Tony know that Kerry Dowling had been murdered.

Tony had gone to Saddle River High School for two years and was about to start at Choate, the famous boarding school in Connecticut, where he would do his junior and senior year. He and Kerry had known each other from the time they had been in student government together. Nancy knew he would be very sad to hear of her death and learn that he had missed her wake and funeral. That was precisely why she had decided not to tell him about what happened to her while he was away.

She had checked the United Airline app. Their flight had landed in Newark on time. The sound of car doors opening and closing in the driveway announced their arrival.

After hugs all around and carrying in their gear, they sat at the kitchen table.

Carl introduced the conversation Nancy had been so concerned about. “So, did we miss anything while we were away?”

Looking at Tony, she said, “I’m sorry to say yes. Something terrible happened while you were away.” She told them about Kerry’s tragic death and the police investigation.

Tony immediately grabbed his cell phone off the charger and reviewed the messages his friends had sent him about Kerry. They repeated the same information. Kerry had a party on Saturday night. Her father and sister found her dead in the pool around noon on Sunday. Kerry and Alan had a fight at the party.

“We were away for two weeks,” Carl said. “When did this happen?”

“I heard about it on the radio literally while you were on your way to the airport to start your trip. Then Alan was arrested. From what I’ve read in the papers and seen on the news, the police believe Alan went back after the party was over and killed Kerry.”

“So Mom, they found her in the pool Sunday morning, around the time Dad and the limo picked me up at the Acme?” Tony asked.

“That’s right, Tony, and I hope you’ll understand why I didn’t—”

Waving her off, Tony said, “No, Mom. That’s okay. Did the papers say anything about Jamie Chapman?”

“Jamie Chapman?” Nancy said incredulously. “No, why would they?”