Page 81 of Little Buried Secrets

“We should move this conversation to the game room,” I said.

“Excellent idea,” Harvey added.

“I’ll clear the table,” Phoebe said. “Those of you who want to talk, go and talk.”

Phoebe stood and began gathering plates. Giovanni joined her, followed by my brothers and my aunt. My mother, Harvey, Simone, Foley, Whitlock, and I reconvened in the game room, taking seats on the sectional sofa. Over the next several minutes, Foley and Whitlock gave an overview of the investigation on their end, and Simone and I talked about what we’d been doing on ours.

I was hoping to avoid talking about suspects in the case, but there was no getting around it. My mother pushed until we relented and offered a few small details about those we’d been talking to in the past week.

When we finished, she wasted no time piping up with her opinions.

She stood in front of us like she was on stage and said, “I’ve watched enough episodes of Murder, She Wrote to know the suspects who seem innocent are almost always guilty. I suggest you speak to this Coach Warren fellow again. I’ll just bet Margot’s note and the secret she was keeping has to do with him. There’s more to the story between those two. I feel it in my bones. Yes, yes. It makes perfect sense. My money’s on him.”

For a moment, we all sat there, looking at each other and saying nothing.

No one wanted to be the one to discredit what she’d said for fear of the backlash they’d receive if they did.

Harvey seemed to sense our hesitation.

He looked at my mother and said, “Well, Darlene, you bring up some good points. I’m sure they’ll take your feelings about the coach into consideration.”

“Of course, they will,” my mother said. “And why not make haste? Why not go to this coach person’s house this very moment and give him another grilling? You put the screws to him hard enough, I bet he’ll drop the innocent act and you’ll get a full confession.”

“It’s Christmas Eve, Mom,” I said. “It can wait.”

“Are you suggesting Dr. Rae should wait too?” my mother asked. “Every second this case isn’t solved is another second the good doctor lives without an ounce of closure. She deserves answers. If you can give them to her, why wouldn’t you?”

“She will have answers soon enough,” I said. “I know you’re worried about her and what she’s going through. So are we. I need you to trust me, to trust us, and that we are doing everything we can. Please.”

Before my mother had the chance to respond, Harvey looked at Foley and said, “You mentioned another suspect a few minutes ago, Isaac Turner. The name is familiar to me. I feel like I’ve spoken to him before, some time back, before I retired.”

Foley nodded. “You’re right. You met him when he was a lot younger. I located an old file on him. When he was in middle school, he took a pair of scissors and lopped off a big chunk of one of his female classmate’s hair.”

Harvey nodded. “Oh, yes, I remember now. The principal called, and I went to the school and talked to Isaac. He claimed the girl wouldn’t stop making fun of him, and he wanted to teach her a lesson.”

He wanted to teach her a lesson.

Had he wanted to teach Margot one too?

Just when I thought my mother would make another case for Coach Warren’s guilt, she surprised me by saying, “Perhaps you need to speak to both men again.”

Her tone had changed, becoming a lot calmer than it had been moments before. I had to hand it to Harvey. He knew just what to say in situations like these.

Whitlock stood and said, “Well, folks, getting together tonight has been an absolute delight. The food was incredible, Darlene. Thank you for including me in the festivities this evening. I’d stay longer, but this old-timer knows when it’s best to call it a night.”

“We’ve enjoyed your company,” my mother said. “You have an open invitation to join us for Sunday dinner anytime.”

Whitlock offered his gratitude one last time and shot me a wink. “Care to walk me out?”

I nodded, and we went to the kitchen, where the rest of the family was working putting away food and washing dishes. Phoebe handed Whitlock a to-go container full of various items, and I escorted him outside.

As the door closed behind us, I said, “You and Aunt Laura sure were chatty at the dinner table tonight. Have you ever thought about asking her on a date?”

He grinned and said, “What makes you think I haven’t?”

“Oh, well, good for you. She likes your company. I can tell.”

“Listen, the reason I asked you to walk me out is because there’s something I didn’t mention. I love your mother, but she doesn’t need to know everything, and I also wanted to speak to you first.”

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