Page 44 of One Last Night

The answer comes to me with a burst of inspiration. The Bellamy children are tutored at home, but Kevin attends the island’s private preparatory academy. If I could meet him there, maybe I can convince him to talk to me. It’s a long shot, but it’s worth the effort.

Keeping this from Sean over the weekend is difficult, all the more difficult when he confides in me Sunday evening that he’s found nothing to connect either the Bellamys’ employees or Robert Cartwright to the sabotage. The police, it seems, haven’t found anything either, and no arrests have been made.

But if I tell Sean my plan, he'll disapprove strongly, and I don't want to hear his reproof right now. So, I keep it to myself, and on Monday, I am ready to put it into action.

I inform the children that today will only be a half day of school because I have an errand to run in the city that afternoon. Sean is a little harder to convince because he offers to chauffeur me, but I convince him to let me go on my own while he doublechecks the servants just to ensure we didn’t miss anything. That will keep all of them at the house and give me time to work. And if I learn what I hope to learn, then I’ll come clean to Sean. I’ll still get a reproof, but it will be far more gentle if I come to him with evidence.

St. Agatha’s Preparatory Academy is located in the town of Aquinnah on the extreme southwestern portion of the island. I learn from the school’s website that instruction ends at three-oh-five, and I park across from the school at three-oh-three. I spot Kevin at three-oh-eight walking with a group of four other boys.

I curse inwardly. I need to get him alone if I’m going to talk to him.

His friends follow him to a bright red late-model sports car, and my heart sinks further. I’m used to walking most places, but most people, especially younger people, prefer to drive even very short distances. It looks like I might have completely flubbed my first attempt at talking to Kevin.

When the other four boys enter the car and Kevin waves goodbye to them, I release a huge sigh of relief. He walks away from the school and starts alone down the road that will lead to his home four miles away. It's a bit of a walk, but not an issue for a strong young man like Kevin.

I wait until he rounds a corner out of sight of the school, then pull the van out of the parking lot and follow him. I catch up to him a minute later. He gives the van a casual glance, then goesback to ignoring it until I park twenty yards in front of him and step outside.

“Kevin?” He looks up at me and flinches. “I’m Mary Wilcox. Do you remember me?”

He grows instantly wary. “Yes, I met you once. What are you doing here?”

“I was hoping to talk to you for a bit. It’s about Luann.” That’s not exactly a lie. Thisdoesconcern Luann.

His wariness turns to worry. “What happened? Is she all right?”

“She’s all right,” I admit, “but I need your input on something serious.”

He hesitates. “I’m… not sure if I should.”

“It has to do with the attack on the vineyard the other night.”

He pales and looks around quickly. When he sees that we’re alone, he meets my eyes. I keep my gaze steady, and after a moment, he sighs. “Damn it.”

He gets into the car quickly, choosing the rear compartment rather than the front seat. When I return to the drivers’ seat, he says, “There’s a park up ahead on the second left. Pull up there and we can talk in the car.”

I oblige, and when we’re parked, he asks immediately, “What did she tell you?”

I consider lying and telling him that she’s spilled everything to me, but I’ve lied enough lately, and there’s no need to make Luann appear untrustworthy.

“She didn’t tell me anything. I overheard her on the phone with you the other day. You were both worried that the police might discover that it was you who sabotaged the vineyard and not your father.”

I look at him and see that his face is pale, and his shoulders are stiff as a board. “She said that?”

“She was trying to reassure you that your father would be all right and that you two shouldn’t tell the police a different story than the one she provided to me initially.”

Soyouwere the one who told the cops that Dad did it.”

“That was me,” I confirm, “because of what Luann told me.”

He sighs and crosses his arms. “Well, Dad’s been working sixteen-hour days trying to manage his company while also proving he’s not trying to kill anyone, so that’s been fun.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I believe that you and I can help put a stop to that.”

“I’m not going to confess to the attack,” he blurts out, quickly adding, “If I didn’t do it.”

“I don’t know that you’ll have to tell the police anything,” I reply. “I can’t promise that you won’t, but Icanpromise that your parents love you very much. They won’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Dadwon’t want anything to happen to me,” he corrects. “Julian Bellamy won’t give a shit, and Victoria Bellamy will be calling for the death penalty.”

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