Chapter Thirty-One

We waited in the outer office while Frank questioned Mrs. Sinclair. Nancy watched from the other side of the mirror and fed the deputy questions.

“Nancy and Frank will get the truth,” said Deputy Andrews. “They’re a good team.”

I nodded.

He began to speak, hesitated, then said, “On the one hand, I hope if May killed the principal and Amber, she was also behind your dad’s death. I’d like you and Nancy to have answers. On the other hand, I can hardly believe May would do any of it.”

Forty-five minutes later, Nancy came out. “Andrews, get Amber’s phone and bring it to Frank.”

“Did Mrs. Sinclair give up the password?” I asked.

“No,” said Nancy. “But I know what it was.”

Twenty minutes later, Frank led Mrs. Sinclair out in handcuffs.

I stood as Nancy came my way.

“The cloud had it all, and more,” she said. “Amber was planning to run away, to go to Edmonton and start a new life. Principal Larry was helping. He used money the reverend stole from the church to fund their great escape. I read the texts and it’s like a junior-high fairy tale. They were going to be together, he was going to help raise the reverend’s baby, and she was going to go back to school.”

Craig had said the green liquid in the blood had been a sign of possessiveness, jealousy. The more Nancy spoke, the more it felt like those emotions had been Principal Larry’s, wanting what he couldn’t have, and Amber playing him to get the life she wanted.

Nancy sat down. “May installed spyware on Amber’s phone. She’d been monitoring all of it.” Lowering her voice, she continued, “It wasn’t Serge who reset the phone, it was May. She didn’t want us finding the apps.”

“But she never said anything to Amber? Never confronted her?” Serge asked.

“It’s like sneaking into your kid’s room to read their diary. She just wanted to know what was going on. When it looked like she was going to lose Amber, that’s when the confrontation happened.”

“Was it an accident?” I asked.

“According to her. May showed up, they argued. Amber wanted out of the town, but didn’t want May coming with her. The plan was for her to run that night. Larry was to join her later, help set her up in Edmonton. May and Amber fought, and when it looked like Larry was going to side with May, her daughter pulled the weapon.”

“Amber had a gun?” Serge asked.

Nancy read the text. “After their house was vandalized and the harassment started, May bought the gun for protection. She didn’t realize Amber had taken it. There was a struggle, the gun went off.” She rubbed her eyes. “She didn’t mean to kill her daughter, and once it was done, she snapped. She was mad at the town, the church, furious with Larry. Blamed him for Amber’s death, and decided to act as judge, jury, and executioner.”

It was all so sad. May wanting to protect her daughter from the mistakes she’d made and driving Amber farther away with every attempt. Amber, wanting a sense of autonomy and finding it in all the wrong places. And all of it mixing into a toxic stew that boiled over and burned everyone. “What happens to her, now?”

“Jail. Trial. God knows what a judge will say to any of this.”

“There are no happy endings in this town, are there?” I asked.

She gave me a tired smile. “In this life, sometimes there are just endings. Come on, let me grab my coat, then let’s get home.”

“Hey, what was the password?” asked Serge.

“The one thing Amber wanted and the thing her mother and this town could never give her,” said Nancy. “Freedom.”

✦ ✦ ✦

Nancy went to get her coat, and I started for the truck.

“Hold up,” said Serge. “Something she said’s got me thinking.”

Does it hurt?

“Ha ha.”

I rubbed my eyes. How about if I wait in the car for you guys? I’ve had about as much as I can take of all of this. I want some quiet and a place where no one’s watching me.

“Fair enough. See you in a couple.”

Deputy Andrews kept watch as I stepped into the black cold of the night and pulled my scarf tighter. The headlights of the SUV glowed in the snowfall, a warming beacon I needed. Amber, Mrs. Sinclair, Principal Larry, the reverend, it all left me feeling sick. All these people trying for their happiness and consuming everything good in their path. I hit the unlock button and heard the vehicle chirp in reply. I waved to the deputy as I opened the door. He waved back and went back into the station.

“Did the mom do it?”

I jerked back. “Carl!” I fumbled for the panic button on the fob, but he was faster. He grabbed and, twisting my wrist, wrenched it away.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’ll only hurt for a second.” He pulled his hand back, into a fist, and smashed it into my jaw. I slammed into the SUV’s door. There was a dull thunk of my head hitting metal and I pitched into blackness.