Page 106 of A Scandal in Homeroom
“No, I have to go with them.” Beth was pulling away from Fitz, who was clearly trying to stop her. “I have to help my mother!”
Fitz let her go, then turned, searching the crowd. He stopped searching when his eyes landed on me. He charged across the room, and before I could react, he had a firm grip on the lapels of my jacket. I could have dislodged him, but I was too stunned to try.
“Here?! Now?! You exposed him like this?! In front of everyone?”
“He needed to be arrested. He’s a criminal, Fitz.”
Didn’t he understand? This was perfect. Moriarty had been outed to the entire town.
“I know that,” he growled. “But if you had used that very big brain of yours, maybe, just maybe, you could have figured out a better way to have him arrested without humiliating his entire family! They are innocent!”
He let me go then with one last look of disgust before he went to find Beth.
Something was wrong. This was supposed to have been epic. Where was Irene? Surely, she would appreciate this moment. She was free. I’d done it. I’d saved her without exposing the poker game, without getting her in trouble.
She was still standing by the punch bowl. The sprinklers had been shut off, but the damage to the room was done. The flowers were drooping, the candles all doused, puddles of water covered the parquet floor.
Irene was drenched. Her careful ringlets of hair pressed against her face. Her mascara dripping down her cheeks leaving a stream of black.
She looked…she looked…devastated.
No, no, no. That’s not what I’d intended. I rushed to her.
“Irene, I did it. We caught him. You’re free of him.”
She nodded slowly. “So this was all planned.”
“Of course. We needed a way to expose him, and I thought this would be perfect. Now the whole town knows what he is.”
“But Beth…”
“Beth hates him. She said so. Now her sisters and mother will realize what kind of man he is. Don’t you see? I thought you would be happy.”
“Happy?” she shrieked. “Look at me!”
Yes, well, she’d did look a little like a drowned cat, but still a pretty one.
“I’m sorry. This really wasn’t what I intended when I arranged for your invitation. But once I realized who Moriarty actually was, I couldn’t help myself. I thought you would be pleased to be here and witness it all.”
I’d wanted to impress her. Make the big gesture. This was what I did. I solved puzzles. I got the bad guy.
“Arranged for my invitation?” she asked softly. “Youdid this.Yousent the invite.”
“Well, no, I just made sure your name was added to the list. It was all rather easy. Let me tell you, the Haddonfield Historical Society is about as secure as the Haddonfield Police Department. What?” I asked, as her expression became even more sad. “You said you wanted to go. That day in the gym. Our first dance. I thought you would be pleased.”
“I told you,” she said, her voice low and ominous, “I don’t want or need your pity.”
“This wasn’t about pity…”
“Yes, it was. Let the poor little Have-not go to the dance. Won’t she be soooo happy and grateful? Maybe you would even get more than a hand job this time.”
“Irene,” I barked. That wasn’t right. She was misunderstanding everything.
“But that wasn’t good enough,” she continued, half shouting, half crying. “You had to show off. Ruin everything. For Beth, for me. I want to go home.”
“Irene,” I started, but really, I didn’t know what to say. “I did this for you.”
“No.” She shook her head and used her forearm to wipe away the black stains from her face. “You did this for you! Take me home. Now.”
