UNKNOWN ALLIANCE Page 4

  She looked at her mother, leaning against the counter listening to their conversation. “They used to be really wild. Mom knows.” Sam nodded toward her mother. “She and dad went every year back in the day.”

  “I’m outta here, and don’t tell stories about your mother.” Tammy grabbed the coffee pot and went off to pour refills.

  Sam leaned closer. “They used to be kinda sexy. Before everyone started having kids. People skinny dipped in the pool. Not that I ever did.” She winked.” And a lot of alcohol.”

  “Not so sexy anymore?”

  “Much more calm now with the boys and their friends attending.”

  “No more skinny dipping?”

  “Oh, no. Suits were required in the pool.”

  “What’s everyone else doing while the kids hog the pool?”

  She tapped her finger to her lips. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re fishing for something specific. Spit it out.”

  Marco stopped eating and looked sideways at Mac.

  “I heard about some sexy stuff going on among the kids.”

  Sam shook her head, her eyes wide. “Not that I saw.”

  “Maybe some of the kids did drugs.”

  Sam sucked in a breath. “No way. I didn’t see anything of the sort. When I was in the pool area, the kids had fun playing games like Marco-Polo. Not to poke fun at your name Marco.” She touched Marco’s arm.

  “Is okay.” Marco smiled.

  “Thanks, Sam. And thank you for the yummy cinnamon roll. Can I get one to-go?” Mac showed her his last bite. “Mmm delicious.”

  “Sure. Fresh from the oven. Just for you.” She blushed again and scurried out of sight.

  Marco leaned toward Mac. “I think she likes you.” He winked.

  Mac and Marco finished their breakfast while they talked about the training center and Marco’s upcoming Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition.

  Afterward, Mac drove through downtown on his way to the school, to his surprise, he saw Dr. Zita with Nena Minski—Blackstone Academy’s Chief Business Official—leaving Brookfield Coffee. Nena held the purse strings for the academy. He shook his head. Either they know each other, or they hooked up super-fast.

  At Handley’s, Mac had decided to approach Marlene about the party.

  When Mac turned the corner into her office, he found her quietly reading the newspaper and drinking coffee.

  ‘Good morning.” He sat in the chair next to her desk.

  “Back at ya. You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”

  “Brought you something.” He handed her the white waxed bag from Handley’s.

  Her mouth formed a perfect O. She laid the paper down. “For me? Why?”

  “It’s payment for information. And I’ll sweeten the offer with some gossip.” It hurt his gut to be the source of gossip, but he felt desperate for information.

  “Okay. What do you want to know?”

  “About the annual party at the Collins’s? Did you go on Saturday?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Have you gone in the past?”

  “I have.”

  “Why didn’t you go this year?”

  “I didn’t feel like going. I’m turning into a bit of a homebody. Why? What’s going on?”

  “I’m trying to dispel some rumors.”

  “What kind of rumors? A few of the teachers went, maybe I can find out information for you.”

  “It’s not a big deal. If you hear anything, let me know but don’t probe. And for sure don’t tell anyone I asked about it.”

  “Okay.” She awaited further instructions.

  “I heard some of the kiddos were maybe doing drugs.”

  She gasped. “Oh, no. Not again.”

  “Not like before. More like...” Mac looked left and right before leaning close. “Put you in ‘the mood’ type drugs.”

  She scrunched her face. “Yuck.” She remained in that disgusted pose for a second. “What’s the gossip?”

  “Huh?”

  “You said you had gossip to sweeten the offer.”

  “Oh.” As the word came out of his mouth, Mac saw on the small monitor at Marlene’s desk. Dr. Zita and Nena walked up to the entrance door. He pointed at the monitor. Marlene’s head swiveled to where he indicated. “I saw them at Brookfield Coffee this morning.”

  Before she could reply the new boss and the chief business official walked toward her office.

  “It’s not supposed to rain until next week,” Mac said.

  Marlene caught on and replied loudly, “I covered my roses last night so they wouldn’t freeze.”

  Dr. Zita looked at them and walked past Marlene’s office without saying as much as a hello. Before she and Mac had time to greet them, they were out of sight.

  “How rude.” She quieted her voice to a whisper. “What do you think about him?”

  “We haven’t talked much.”

  Her eyes darted around checking to be sure nobody was in listening distance. “I’m just going to say it—I thought something was going on between them,” she said quietly.

  “Let me know if you find out anything about the party and keep it quiet.” Mac stood.

  Marlene nodded and held her index finger to her lips. As if it were an afterthought, she lifted and rattled the Handley’s bag. Mac looked back at her. She mouthed the words, thank you.

  Chapter 10

  Across town, RaeAnn sat on a tall chair at the island in the DeSalvo’s kitchen watching Mr. DeSalvo make pancakes. Though hungry, she didn’t want to eat. Her mind and her emotions were in conflict. Last night, she tried Mr. DeSalvo’s ravioli to be polite. Delicious but now she had a stomach ache.

  Their house was eerily quiet. Nothing like her home where mom always sang, and dad always jabbered about something.

  Her mom made pancakes on Sunday. She couldn’t remember what day it was. Not Sunday, she knew that much. RaeAnn glanced at her phone, noted Wednesday as well as the text messages from Ciera and Haylee.

  She had texted with her friends long into the night and early morning. They couldn’t believe what had happened. It felt good to talk to her friends. A gift of normalcy. They wanted to know when she’d be back in school. She didn’t know. They had to sign off and go to sleep otherwise they would have continued all night. Next thing RaeAnn knew morning dawned.

  “When will I go back to school?” RaeAnn asked whoever wanted to respond.

  Mrs. DeSalvo cleared her throat. “You won’t be going back to Brookfield High, dear. You’ll transfer to Blackstone Academy.”

  “What! Why?”

  “We live in the Blackstone Academy district.”

  RaeAnn waited for some type of a telling sign to indicate more to the answer, but none came.

  “Can I at least stay on the Brookfield swim team? I know all the kids there. Please,” she begged.

  “I’ll look into that and let you know. Meanwhile, you’re welcome to swim in our pool as often and as much as you’d like.” She paused. “I’m sorry you’re going through all this, RaeAnn. I know it must be difficult to lose your parents and then have additional life changes as well. I don’t want to make life harder on you than necessary.” She sounded sincere and apologetic.

  Without acknowledging Josslyn’s comments, RaeAnn went to her room. The largest home she’d ever been inside, the DeSalvo house could fit two or three of RaeAnn’s house in it. Not that she’d been inside that many homes. Until yesterday her world consisted of school and swimming. She used the family’s shared computer to do most of her homework but nothing else. With her cell phone, she’d go on DayJabber (Jab for short), a social media website where high school kids chat with each other. She’d complain about her parents to Ciera and Haylee. She had many regrets now and hadn’t been on there since she found out her parents died.

  She buried her head in a pillow on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

  Later, she felt someone touch her arm. And heard Josslyn’s voice say, “RaeAnn, it’s almost time dinner time
.”

  “RaeAnn.”

  She opened her swollen eyes and saw the friendly eyes of her foster mother who was seated on the edge of the bed.

  Josslyn smiled. “Are you hungry? You’ve been asleep for hours, and you didn’t have breakfast or lunch.”

  RaeAnn shrugged.

  “I checked into the Brookfield swimming team. You have to be a Brookfield student to continue on their team. Blackstone also has a team, but it’s smaller. I’m sorry.”

  RaeAnn sat up and leaned against the headboard.

  “Are you hungry? We’ll have dinner in about thirty minutes and would love for you to join us.”

  Again, she shrugged.

  Josslyn stood to leave.

  “Josslyn, you can call me Rae. Everyone does.”

  “I’d like that. You can call me Joss.” She left the room.

  Rae looked around her new bedroom and wondered how long kids lived with their foster families. Yesterday, she hadn’t paid much attention to anything when Officer Tanner brought her to the DeSalvos.

  In her room, French doors led to a balcony that overlooked the backyard pool. Plus, she had a private bathroom.

  The room had a nice desk with a laptop on it. Rae peeked in the drawers and found all the supplies any kid would want. She didn’t see a dresser in her room. When she went to bed last night, her pajamas were laid out on the bed, so she hadn’t thought to look for her clothes.

  She decided to investigate the walk-in closet that turned out to be bigger than the hall bathroom at her house. Two pairs of jeans, a few tops, and a sweatshirt hung from hangers. Upon further inspection, she saw the clothes were her size. A pair of sneakers and boots rested on a shoe shelf, also her size. The dresser in the closet had a few pairs of underwear, a sports bra, and socks.

  She squinted to read the size on the undergarments. Dropping the panties on the floor, she backed up until bumping into the wall. She wondered who shopped for her clothes and when. Her parents were killed yesterday.

  Her stomach growled and reminded her she hadn’t eaten all day.

  Chapter 11

  The Blackstone Academy Speaker Club met weekly on Wednesday afternoons. Brandi silently scolded herself for allowing Stu to talk her into joining the club. She shook her head and grumbled under her breath as she walked toward the classroom where the club met.

  “What’s the matter B?” Stu placed his arm around her neck.

  She didn’t care for the nickname he’d given her in fifth grade but never told him.

  “I don’t know how I let you talk me into joining this stupid club,” she said with some anger. “Tell me again why I agreed to do this?”

  He removed his arm and walked beside her. “Because you’ll learn how to speak in front of people, like at job interviews and making a presentation. Unless you think you’ll never need to work, then don’t go.” He stopped walking, turned to face her. “But before you quit.” He smiled and continued. “The class is fun too. We do skits and stuff. Mr. Nash is super easy-going and relaxed.”

  “Hmmm,” she murmured

  They stood in front of Mr. Nash’s wide-open classroom door.

  “So, what’s it gonna be? Go or no?” Stu eyed his long-time friend.

  “Fine. I don’t want to wait outside in the rain for an hour because my dad thinks I’m going to this stupid club meeting with you.” She sighed releasing her exasperation. Before entering the classroom, she pulled her sweater tight and crossed her arms. She never used to be self-conscious about her large breasts until after what happened at the Collins’s party. Now she felt like all the boys ogled her as if she were naked.

  The desks, arranged in a half circle, faced the front whiteboard. Brandi followed Stu into the class and sat between him and Simone, the friend she went with to the Collins’s party. Simone quietly clapped her hands as Brandi sat down. She looked around, recognizing Todd Palmer and Alonzo Ramirez, friends of Stu’s. She didn’t know Lara Simpkin, only knew of her reputation. The rest of the kids she’d just seen around.

  Mr. Nash approached Brandi. “Welcome to the Speaker Club.”

  Brandi wanted everyone to stop looking at her. She felt nauseous and on the verge of a panic attack.

  Stu patted her leg. “It’s okay, B, there’s no pressure.”

  A few more kids joined the half-circle. Kevin Jackson sat on the other side of Stu and nodded his head at Brandi. She tried to avoid Kevin as much as possible. He gave her a weirdo vibe even though he’d never done anything to her to warrant her ill feeling.

  The kids quieted down as Mr. Nash wrote on the whiteboard. “Speech is power; speech is persuasive.”

  “We have a few new kids since we last met before Christmas. Welcome.” He looked around the room until his eyes bounced between Brandi and a guy Brandi didn’t know. “The purpose of the club is to learn the basic concepts of communication. In a few minutes, I want you to go around the room and introduce yourselves and say a few things about who you are and why you’re here.”

  Brandi shot a look at Stu who shrugged his shoulders. He leaned toward her and said, “Not a big deal. You got this.”

  The intercom crackled and Marlene Weeks’s voice filled the classroom. “The Budget Committee Meeting will begin in five minutes in the conference room.”

  After the intercom quieted, Mr. Nash went on, “During the upcoming weeks you’ll learn How To Know Your Audience, How To Be A Food Critic, How To Stand Out At A Job Interview, and How To Conduct A TV Newscast. And each of you will have a turn to co-host the morning bulletin.

  “We’ll also do fun stuff to improve your listening skills and nonverbal communication.” He paused to sip from a water bottle. “Sometimes you’ll work in groups, other times in pairs, as well as solo. I’ll arrange for you to give a presentation speech at a small event like the Chamber of Commerce, a School Board Meeting, and to the Board of Realtors. For those speeches, I’ll try to be in the audience, so you have a familiar face to focus on instead of a group of strangers. Above all, let’s have fun learning how to speak in front of a group. It’s a skill you will appreciate as you venture out into the working world.”

  Brandi looked at Stu again and stuck her tongue out. When she turned her attention back to Mr. Nash, he was looking at her.

  “Brandi, tell us a little about who you are and why you joined the Speaker Club.”

  Chapter 12

  Seat belt on, RaeAnn sat on the passenger seat of Officer Tanner’s jeep. “Sorry I had to pick you up so early.”

  “It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

  Before Officer Tanner drove through the gate to leave Blackstone Estates, RaeAnn said, “Did you know I can’t go back to Brookfield High?”

  “No. Why not?” She turned to get a read on her passenger. Poor kid. Found out her parents died yesterday and now displaced from her network of friends.

  “Something about the DeSalvos living in Blackstone Academy area and I have to go there.”

  Officer Tanner detected a hint of defeat in RaeAnn’s voice.

  “I don’t have kids, but I know schools have their own boundaries for attendance, so that makes sense. How do you feel about switching schools?”

  “Does it matter how I feel?” she grumbled.

  The two fell quiet for a few seconds.

  “And I can’t stay on the Brookfield swim team either. I’ve been swimming with those kids and the coach since we were little.”

  “I’m sorry, RaeAnn.” Not having children of her own, Officer Tanner wasn’t sure how to console the girl who’d had her world ripped out from under her.

  “Call me Rae.”

  “What?”

  “Everyone calls me Rae.”

  “Oh. Okay. My name’s Monica but if other officers are around you should refer to me as Officer Tanner.” She did a quick glance at her passenger and smiled.

  Rae forced a small smile in return. “I’m not sure how much stuff to take with me.” “I feel like I’m moving out.” She started to sniff
le.

  Monica parked in the driveway of Rae’s vacated home. The porch light still on and all the blinds closed. The Mountain Tribune newspaper in a plastic sleeve type bag lay on the lawn.

  The two sat in Monica’s jeep staring at the empty house. “How about pack two suitcases as if you’ll be gone for a couple weeks. Pack some books or a tablet, some music, pajamas, slippers, underwear, clothes, make-up. You probably better pack shampoo and that kind of stuff too. Anything you normally use. If you need more or something else, call me, and I’ll bring you here,” she said.

  They went into the dark house. An unpleasant smell of stale pizza permeated the air.

  Rae went to her bedroom. Monica opened windows and the patio door to let in some fresh air.

  Monica looked in kitchen drawers for an address book. She turned on the computer in the office to see if an address document of some sort existed so Rae’s uncle would have names of people to notify. Instead, she found an address book in the bottom drawer of the desk and flipped through it.

  “Hey, Rae,” Monica shouted as she approached the bedroom. “How’s it going? Do you need any help?”

  She sat atop a black and pink zebra striped bedspread that covered her twin bed. Two suitcases lay open and empty on the floor.

  “Rae. Would you like me to help you pack?” Monica said softly.

  Barely audible, Rae said, “I don’t remember what you said I should take.” She paused and then continued. “Joss told me I have to make some decisions about my parents... their remains.”

  “You can ask your uncle to take care of that for you. Do you know if your parents wanted to be buried or cremated?”

  “No.”

  “Which do you think they would’ve wanted?” Monica selected items to put in the luggage for her.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you think they’d want a funeral?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Did they have a lot of friends or work associates?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you think you could attend their funeral if there were one?”