Page 36 of Daddy's Mad Love

The presses must have been working overtime this morning to print a new edition… but if it was what I suspected, then it was very big news indeed. Tomas did very quick work.

My mother narrowed her eyes, looking between my father and me and pursing her lips. Her gaze darted down to the end of the table where Mrs. Smith and Arthur were sitting. She was quietly trying to get him to eat while he poked glumly at his eggs. Hailey was seated with them, though she’d been trying to peer out the nearby window onto the street. Something must have alerted her attention to my mother’s scrutiny because she turned to look at us.

I smiled at her and took another bite of my breakfast.

The suspicion in her gaze deepened.

I was already looking forward to my reward this evening. Last night had been very nice, likely partly because she was beginning to trust me, at least a little. Saving the mayor’s wife had opened her up to me. Now, I would prove to her that I keep my word.

There was a knock at the door, then Gio strolled in, holding up a fresh news sheet.

“Addition to the paper this morning,” he announced. “Mayor Smith was found dead this morning.”

At the end of the table, Mrs. Smith jerked her head up, her mouth dropping open to match Hailey’s similarly shocked expression.

“Gio, have a care!” my mother scolded, tipping her head toward Mrs. Smith and Arthur. The mayor’s newly-made widow looked poleaxed, completely frozen in shock. The child, however, had perked up.

“Father is dead?” There was no mistaking his tone for anything but hopefulness.

“My condolences,” Gio said. “And my apologies for the insensitive manner of my delivery.”

“Thank you,” Arthur said automatically. Looking down at his plate, he suddenly began eating, as if his appetite had returned.

It made me suspicious that things at home had been far worse than Mrs. Smith had dared to tell Hailey. Or perhaps she had not known. Arthur had already shown himself to be protective of his mother, like a good son. I suspected yesterday had not been the first time the mayor had been free with his fists to the child, just the first time Mrs. Smith knew of.

“He’s…” Hailey started to say, then stopped, her eyes widening as she looked down the table at me. My moment of glory was distracted when Mrs. Smith broke into noisy tears—whether they were grief, relief, or most likely a combination of both, she drew Hailey and my mother’s immediate attention.

Knowing I would want to see it, Gio moved over to hand the broadsheet to me. It was a short, concise story—they did not have much information at the moment. The mayor’s body was discovered early in the morning by his assistant, who had arrived for a dawn meeting and found him there, dead of a single gunshot wound to the head. The note on his desk beside his body declared that he could no longer take the pressures of his job and apologized to his wife and child for his actions. Until a new mayor could be elected, the Public Advocate would step in as acting mayor.

I looked up from the paper and handed it over to my father to read. Mrs. Smith seemed much calmer now, though still caught between grief and relief, tinged with a heavy dose of guilt. She was safe from her husband, though, which was what Hailey had requested of me. Whatever emotional repercussions there were for her, those were for her to handle on her own.

“You can stay with us for as long as you need,” my mother was telling Mrs. Smith. My father rolled his eyes, but he didn’t protest. He knew it would be pointless. If my mother wanted Mrs. Smith and Arthur to stay as our guests, that was what would happen.

Hailey was still staring at me, suspicion in her eyes. I smiled at her and lifted another forkful of food to my lip. If I was eating, I couldn’t answer her questions. Though hopefully, she would know not to ask them in front of our guests, anyway.

She pressed her lips together.

In the distance, I could hear a sudden pounding at the door, then it being answered. Curious, I tilted my head, my guard going up… and then back down when Hailey’s friend Clara burst into the room, Mrs. Valachi right on her heels and appearing slightly disapproving. Clara had the news sheet in her hand.

“Hailey! Hailey, did you hear… Oh, hello, Mrs. Smith.” Loud and impetuous, Clara came to a grinding halt as she took in the sight of everyone at the breakfast table—especially Gio, who had not sat down yet and was already sidling closer to her. Reaching up to run a hand through her short blonde hair, Clara blinked and smiled. If she was aware of Gio’s interest in her, she didn’t show it. “I’m so sorry to barge in. I just really needed to speak with Hailey about… well…”

Her hand dropped down as she hesitated to announce the demise of Mayor Smith in front of his wife.

“Is it because Father is dead?” Arthur asked, looking up from shoveling food into his mouth. I choked on a laugh, and Gio reached up to cover his mouth. Even my father had to cough to cover his reaction. Gallows humor was strong in our household, but it was also Arthur’s matter-of-fact delivery that made it so hard not to laugh despite the seriousness of the situation.

“Oh, Arthur.” Mrs. Smith covered her face with her hands.

“Um, yes,” Clara said. She eyed Gio, who had managed to make his way directly to her side, in her space, and delicately stepped around him. If she was unnerved by the way he was eating her up with his eyes, she didn’t show it. “I wanted to make sure that Hailey knew since she’d been trying to help you and your mom.”

Arthur nodded.

“She did help. We’re safe now. We’re going to stay here.”

“We can’t stay here forever,” Mrs. Smith said, lowering her hands. Her cheeks were bright red to match her nose eyes and puffy eyes. “But yes, likely for a day or two, at least… if we can avoid the press…”

“The press and the cops. We’ll have them come here to talk to you. I’m sure they’re going to want to, but I’ll be by your side the whole time,” my mother said reassuringly. My father would not have told her about our involvement in the mayor’s demise, but she knew.

There was nothing to tie it to us, though, other than my mother hosting a new friend at her house in a time of grief. The police would not give her any trouble if she was with us. All of which should make Hailey happy.

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