Page 56 of Sinful Sorrow

“You take the same econ class as Naomi and Mason, right?” Fletch leans back against the hood of the car, folding his arms and squinting under the bright glare of the sun. We didn’t even have to go inside the building to find someone willing to talk to us. A murder inside your own school, and then the cops turning up on the grass—Dana Jefferson is exactly the type to notice and come say hi.

“Same class as Mason and Naomi and Brent and Kallie.” She drags her gum through her lips again. “Could tell they knew each other from before. They were all over each other from the first day.”

“Are you from Copeland, Dana?”

“Nah.” Smiling, she swings her gaze my way. “I’m from Elkhart Lake, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. It’s a mouthful, right?”

“Sure is. There are probably more kids in Econ 101 than there were in your entire school where you come from, right?”

“More, times a hundred. It’s overwhelming, while also entertaining. There was no one in my high school giggling and touching each other in class the way Kallie was on Brent.”

“Intense displays of public affection,” I clarify. “Indecent?”

“Aw, nah. It’s just that everyone in Elkhart Lake knows everyone else. Most of us are related. It’s fine in the summer, when the tourists and racers come through. That’s when we’d see fresh faces. But school was not where we went for canoodling.”

“Which is what made Naomi and Mason, and Kallie and Brent, stand out to you?”

“I gotta assume they weren’t related,” she sniggers. “And if they were, well…” Her bright eyes widen impossibly large. “I guess that’s between them and the universe. I don’t know who hurt her, though, Detective. I keep to myself mostly. But I observe. And I’m not really sure I observed anything that would help your investigation.”

“Alright. Well…” Fletch sets his hands on his hips and nods. “Thanks for your time.”

“You wanna talk to our professor?” She hooks a thumb over her shoulder, gesturing toward the multistory, multi-million-dollar business that sells outdated education to kids who won’t graduate in time to use it. “Maybe he saw something, seeing as how he was looking up at us every time we were in his lecture hall. Professor Jene is one of those cranky, astute kinds who,” she narrows her eyes, mocking her teacher, “doesn’t tolerate the whimsical. He does numbers, not hands in each other’s pants, if you get what I mean.”

I mean… I think what she means is mostly self-explanatory. So I push off the hood of the car and nod. “We’ll head in and talk to him. Thanks for your time, Dana.”

“No problem.” She flashes a peace symbol and turns to meander away. “I’m gonna tell my mom and daddy I got to help a homicide investigation today. They’ll freak out and demand I come home again. But after that, they’ll tell everybody in the county their daughter is practically famous.”

“She’s got way too much energy.” I tap Fletch’s arm as Dana continues away, then I start in the direction she pointed. “Seventeen and clearly smart, since she graduated and got here. But that small town shit kept her so sheltered, she’s like an eight-year-old who saw a firetruck.”

“Pretty sure Mia has seen more than that girl has. And that,” he sighs, falling into step beside me and shaking his head, “well, that’s something my baby is gonna have to deal with her whole life.”

“Don’t do that to yourself.” I keep my head up. My eyes scouring as we pass under an arch and into an outdoor corridor with signage pointing in multiple directions. Library. Administration. Bathrooms. “Mia is a smart little girl whose father is a cop and her uncles are the fuckin’ mafia. She was always gonna be different from her peers.”

“Now she’s a kid whose dad is a cop, her uncles are the mafia, and her mother is either gonna end up dead or in prison.” He meets my eyes with a fiery stare. “I’m not reporting her for what she did to my apartment. But she’s already that desperate? Means she’s gonna keep ripping people off. Her luck will run out faster than she hopes, and we’re gonna have our next problem on our hands.”

“None of which you get to control. Nor is your fault. Whatever happens, it’s not our case to run. So now we focus on this case. On the handsy Naomi and Mason.”

“Oh! Detectives!” A girl I recognize immediately almost slams into my chest until I pivot and step to the side. Then she claps a hand to her heart, panting heavily, so I catch the movement of her body. “Geez. I almost crashed into you.”

“Sandy Wallace?” Fletch looks the teen up and down. “What are you… what are you doing here? You should be in school, right?”

“Or at home with your mom. You shouldn’t be at Copeland U.” I narrow my eyes as suspicion jumps into my consciousness. “What are you doing here, Sandy? You’re not inserting yourself into your sister’s investigation and muddying things for us, are you?”

“I was just looking around.” She raises her hands, surrendering, almost, and chokes out a nervous breath. “I’m not interfering.”

“You need to go home.” Fletch grabs her arm—not really supposed to do that—and walks her to the arch we already passed under. Then he releases her, essentially kicking her out of the school. “Go home, Sandra. And don’t come back here again.”

“I’m just looking!” Stubbornly, she fixes her shirt and lifts her chin in an attempt to look down at him. “I’m allowed to be here.”

“You’re actually not. And if you try to solve this crime for us again, I’m gonna tell your parents.” He points over her shoulder, snarling, “Go home, Sandra. And stop whatever it is you’re doing before you’re saddled with more trauma.”

“My sister is dead! I’m already well equipped with trauma.”

“Exactly. So leave, find a therapist, and work on it. Don’t compound it.”

I grab my partner’s sleeve and gently tug him back. Then I take out my phone and pretend to dial. “I’m gonna call a cruiser to come get you, kid. They’ll take you home and ensure you stay there.”

“I’m going!” She rolls her eyes and spins on her heels. She doesn’t gift us with a peace sign, though. Her departure, and Dana’s, are not nearly the same. “Jesus. You guys aren’t solving anything. But when I step in and try to help, you thank me with a threat to snitch.”

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