“Mutual advantage?” Vince asked.
“Yeah. He’d get to go back where he fits in, and I wouldn’t tell his father that he’d been screwing teenagers.” May coughed, and Charlie added, “Pardon my French.”
Skye turned to Charlie. “Did you know Allen Ingels was embezzling from the bank?”
He shrugged, a smug look on his face. “Maybe, maybe not. Let’s just say I knew he was up to no good. Wasn’t sure exactly what.”
“With both her folks in jail, what’s going to happen to Linette?” May asked.
Loretta crossed her legs. “Her grandmother is too frail to take care of her, but her mom has a cousin in Chicago. The little girl’s going to go live with her for now, until we see what happens with Lorna.”
“What do you think will happen to Lorna?” Skye asked Loretta.
“Hard to say. She could get off with probation, or she could go to prison for a long time.”
It was the first Saturday in May, and Skye, her mother, and Vince were attending Scumble River High’s production of
To everyone’s surprise, Abby had volunteered to direct the musical after Kent was removed from duty. Zoe would be the star and Frannie Ryan had taken her role—the evil fairy.
Justin greeted Skye and her family at the gym door. He had signed up to usher. “Ms. Denison, I saved some seats up front for you.”
Skye smiled at him, blinking away the tears that threatened to leak from behind her eyes. Justin had come so far from that boy who would barely speak. His grades now reflected his IQ rather than his depression, he had joined a couple of clubs, and while still not the most popular kid in his class, he had made a friend or two. It was a moment before she could trust her voice to speak. “How nice of you, Justin. Do you know my mom and brother?”
He ducked his head and said to the floor, “Sure. Mrs. D works at the police station and Vince cuts my hair.”
Skye shook her head. She should have known. It was hard to find two Scumble River citizens who hadn’t met each other.
Justin showed them to their seats and said hurriedly without looking at them, “Frannie’s in the first act. She’s the best one.” Before they could respond, he turned and ran back to his post by the door.
They sat without speaking while the gym filled with spectators. Skye finally said, “It’s hard to believe that only a month ago I found Lorelei’s body on that very stage.”
May shook her head. “You need to forget about all that.”
“I can’t. I thought I knew all about the problems between parents and children, but nothing prepared me for the blind selfishness that ended up killing Lorelei.”
May patted her hand, and Vince put his arm around her shoulders. They sat quietly until the lights dimmed and the music started to swell.
Suddenly, May said, “Well, I feel sorry for Lorna’s mother. That woman sacrificed everything so her daughter could get out of the trailers and have a better life.” May tsked. “But no matter how you try to protect your children, they still eventually get themselves arrested and end up in the local paper.”
Skye and Vince looked at each other in disbelief, then exclaimed in unison,
