Page 6 of Once Silenced

A cloud passed over Riley’s face, darkening her features as memories of Margaret Whitfield filled her thoughts.“Of course.Margaret Whitfield.She was one of my favorites—and yours too.What about her?”

There was a haunting pause before Tracy’s next words confirmed Riley’s worst fears.“She...she died last night, Riley.And there’s a rumor going around that it wasn’t natural causes.They’re saying she was murdered.”

The wine glass slipped from Riley’s hand, shattering on the porch as the first drops of rain begin to fall.

CHAPTER THREE

The broken wine glass fragments on the porch seemed to reflect the splintered peace of the evening.Riley clutched her phone tighter as if that pressure could wring out more information.

“How did it happen?”Riley said.

“I don’t know,” Tracy said.“It’s what people are saying, that’s all.”

“Tracy, please,” she implored her caller, “there must be something else you can tell me.”

“I wish I knew more, Riley,” Tracy replied with a sigh from the other end of the line.“It’s all over town, but no one knows anything for sure.Just hushed whispers and sideways glances.I just thought you should know what happened.”

“Yes, definitely,” Riley assured her.

Both women fell silent for a moment.Riley’s thoughts were punctuated by a distant rumble of thunder.

“Remember how she’d quote Shakespeare during algebra?”Riley’s voice was a husky whisper.“As if solving for x had anything to do with Hamlet.”

Tracy’s laughter crackled through, “To solve or not to solve, that was the question!”

“That one always stayed with me,” Riley said with a sigh.“You know, she always found a way to make learning fun,” she added, her voice trembling slightly as the gravity of the news began to sink in.“Do you remember that time when she turned our math assignment into a treasure hunt?”

A peal of laughter echoed from Tracy’s end of the line.“Oh my goodness, yes!That was ingenious.She had us solving algebra problems that led to coordinates on a map.”

Riley laughed softly, despite the lump forming in her throat.“And Mrs.Whitfield sitting there with that oversized pirate hat on her head.Every time we solved a problem correctly, she’d let us move our little ship closer to the ‘treasure’.”

Their shared laughter provided a fleeting respite amidst the somber news they were grappling with.

“Take care of yourself, okay?We’ll talk soon,” Tracy said, sounding weary.

“Thanks for calling, Tracy.But can you tell me anything at all about why anyone thinks this … death … might have been a murder?”

“Just rumors, like I said.Nothing specific.I don’t even know how exactly …” her voice trailed off.

“Okay.But if you hear anything more—”

“First call’s to you.Promise.”And with that, the connection clicked off.

“Riley?What’s wrong?”Bill’s voice was concerned, his hand gentle on her shoulder.

“It’s Margaret Whitfield, my high school Algebra teacher.She’s dead, Bill.And Tracy says...she told me it might be murder.”

He looked up, his eyes meeting hers in the half-light.“I’m so sorry, Riley.Do they know what happened?”

“Tracy didn’t have any details.Just rumors that it wasn’t natural causes.God, I wish I knew more.Mrs.Whitfield was special,” Riley murmured, her voice barely rising above the rain that had turned from a gentle patter to a persistent drizzle splashing onto the porch roof.After a few moments, she said, “We’d better get this glass cleaned up.”

Bill went to the kitchen and returned with a broom and dustpan while Riley knelt to gather the shards.Her hand shook a little as she reached for the largest piece of the shattered wine glass.Then they worked in companionable silence, as the rhythmic sweep of bristles against the porch backed up the steady rhythm of falling rain.The last of the glass crunched underfoot as Riley and Bill gave one final sweep over the porch, making sure all the fragments were collected.

With that disposed of, Riley felt a different kind of sharpness—the edge of her trained instincts—as questions sliced through the fog of shock.

Who would want to harm Mrs.Whitfield?She wondered.What could possibly be the motive?

“Maybe I could just make a few calls,” she mused aloud.“Just to check on the investigation’s progress.For peace of mind.”

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