Alicia Scott - Partners In Crime

Jack wondered if such things would’ve helped his mother. Instead, she always stayed home, shutting herself up in the house where Tom’s room became a museum to an eighteen-year-old rebel, each item still exactly where Tom had placed it nearly twenty years ago. Even now, sitting at the table, the fourth chair carried a full weight of silent accusation and guilt.

I am Tom’s chair. Don’t you remember him sitting here, throwing peas at you across the table and laughing the way only Tom could laugh? Don’t forget, don’t forget.

Betty returned with the salad. Ben followed her with the steaks. Corn on the cob, freshly steamed and rich with butter, already sat in the middle. Betty poured two glasses of milk for Jack and his father, then a glass of water for herself. Her gaze darted briefly to Tom’s chair before she sat.

They began the meal in silence, the way they always did.

“Have either of you seen Paige Summers,” his mother said at last, her voice slightly high-pitched, as if she was seeking to fill all the silent voids in their lives. “I ran into her at the grocery store just the other day. I would swear she was pregnant.”

“Haven’t seen her,” Jack confessed.

“I didn’t think she had a boyfriend,” Betty pressed. “I haven’t heard of any boyfriend and she certainly isn’t married. Last I knew, she was just starting out as administrative assistant for Jared Montgomery’s real estate firm. Imagine. This town just isn’t what it used to be.”

“It’s none of our business,” Jack said quietly. He’d met Paige Summers only once, but she seemed like a genuinely nice, sweet woman. If she was single and pregnant, then she had enough to deal with and didn’t need any undue gossip. He finished eating his salad. His father dished up the steaks. After a bit, Jack found himself asking, “Do either of you know Josie Reynolds?”

“She’s the town treasurer,” Betty said promptly. She prided herself on knowing who was who in the community.

“You ever met her?”

“I saw her at the Jamesons’ Christmas party last year. Oh, that blond hair of hers. Just gorgeous. You wouldn’t know she was an accountant to look at her.”

Jack agreed with that. He looked at his father, who was nodding.

“She’s good,” Ben said. “A real hard worker.”

Jack raised a brow. That was high praise coming from Ben, who’d worked sixty hours a week all his life to support his family, plus volunteered as a community fireman and Scout leader. “Why do you say that?”

“I’ve been working with her.”

“You have?”

“Sure, I’ve been helping out with the fund-raisers. You know the community auction two weeks ago? Josie’s idea. She’s even the one who called the companies and got them to donate the computers and plane tickets. We raised fifteen thousand dollars that night.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“The big dinner and theater at the old mill? Josie’s idea. She got Grand Springs’s community theater to volunteer their play, and Touch of Class Catering to provide all the food at cost. Made two thousand off of that.”

“Oh.”

“Then this Friday we’ve got the Band, Bingo, Bake Sale coming up—”

“That I know about. In fact, I bought four tickets.”

“Good, good.” His father nodded approvingly. “Josie’s idea again. Sadie’s Sunshine called her up and said they’d like to do something to help out, and Josie set it all up. Smart woman. She really pitches in. People like her.”

“Who are you taking to the bake sale, dear?” his mother asked. She wasn’t too interested in the fund-raisers. Organizing activities taxed her nerves.

“Uh…I haven’t really thought about it.” Jack quickly turned back to his father. When his mother got on this topic, it took a hurricane to shake her off. “So you’ve talked to Josie a few times?”

“Oh, yeah, I work with her a lot.” His father was very active in the community.

“Has she ever mentioned where she’s from?”

“No.”

“What about her family? Does she talk about family?”

“No.”

“Are you going to take Josie to the bake sale?”

“No,” Jack said to his mother with probably more force than necessary. “I’m just…I’m just curious, that’s all.” He didn’t bring up her tie to the Olivia Stuart case. He made it a point never to talk about his job in front of his mother. He was still frowning, however. He couldn’t get the mystery of Josie Reynolds out of his mind. “Don’t you find it odd that she never talks about her personal life?” he persisted. “She’s hardly a quiet woman. She’s definitely not shy,” he muttered.

His father chuckled. “She has spirit. You should hear her with the FEMA folks. That’s kinda fun.”

“But Dad—”

Ben shrugged. “She likes her privacy, Jack. She’s got a right.”

“She’s very beautiful,” his mother said. “And unattached.”

“I’m not interested in her that way, Mom. Really, I don’t have time right now to be interested in anyone. I like my life the way it is.”

His parents exchanged a look he’d seen too many times before. He abruptly set down his silverware. “Is it true everyone’s afraid to mention Marjorie’s name when I’m around?”

Betty’s eyes widened. She looked at Ben for help.

“Well, Jack,” he began in a careful, placating tone.

“Oh, God, it is true. It’s been five years, Dad. I can handle it.”

“She wasn’t right for you,” his mother said immediately. “I told you from the beginning that she wasn’t right. Anyone could tell just by looking at her that she had the morals of an alley cat.”

Jack winced and pushed away his plate. He’d lied, after all. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

His parents exchanged that look again. His ex-wife Marjorie had been a faithless bitch, there was no other word for it. She was the only mistake Jack had ever made, but boy, had it been a big one. He was the type of man who’d assumed he would marry only once. He would meet the perfect, kind, beautiful woman and be faithful forever. They’d raise two children, eat dinner together every night and hike on the weekends. Certainly, coming home early and finding his beautiful wife in bed with a muscle-bound rookie officer hadn’t been among his plans. Nor had he ever imagined the way she’d looked him right in the eye and said, “You deserved this Jack. You never could give me what I need.”

The fancy town house, the luxury automobile, the role of the future mayor’s wife.

Jack was good at many things, but he wasn’t good at forgiving, and he never quite forgot.

“How about some after-dinner coffee?” his mother asked brightly. “Or would you like tea? I have jasmine, mint, English breakfast and chamomile. Or maybe you’d like some cognac, I think your father has cognac. Don’t you have cognac, Ben?”

“Coffee would be perfect, Mom. Here, why don’t you sit for a change and let me help you.”

“Oh, no, no. You just stay right there. I know where everything is, it will only be a minute. It’s not every day you come to see us. The least I can do is brew you some coffee.”

Jack watched her bustle away, her movements nervous and jerky. When she pulled out the coffeepot it shook in her hands.

“It’s all right,” Ben said softly beside him. “The blackout was tough for her, but she’s doing pretty well these days. Sleeping through the nights.”

“That’s good.”

“It has been five years since…since that woman,” Ben said abruptly. He always referred to Marjorie as simply “that woman.” “You made a mistake marrying her, Jack, but that’s all right. You were young and she was beautiful and had that effect on men. Now, Josie Reynolds… Mark my words, Jack, she’s special. Tough as nails, works harder than a dog and beautiful from the inside out. She’s who you need. A girl like that will really challenge you. Take her to the fund-raiser. Give dating a chance.”