l and won’t distract from the Gala and the rest of the events.”
The room was silent, unsure now where to throw its support between the two polarized sides. Father Shay had been quiet throughout the evening, looking as he often did at long school meetings—like he was sitting up in his sleep. He rose and came to join Jeremy and Meredith at the podium. Allie returned to her seat, unsure what the priest’s presence meant.
“I think what Allie is proposing sounds reasonable,” he said in his thick Irish brogue. “As a school, we must remember it’s the work of all of our faculty, our students, and our supporters that make us the fine institution we are. If Allie should find some items, some old video clips, let’s permit her the opportunity to see what she can do with them. We can all review the video when she’s done and make a final decision. Would three weeks give you enough time, Allie?”
She tried to restrain her joy and elation. “Yes, Father.”
“Then I think we can all agree this would be the best plan for the time being. The rest of the planning will continue in the meantime.” Having said his piece, Father Shay returned to his seat.
Meredith smiled. Uh-oh. That couldn’t be good. “Then it’s settled. We’ll take a look at Allie’s little video in three weeks’ time and make a final decision. Now, if there’s nothing else, I’ll end the meeting here. Thanks for coming.”
Allie felt a little shaky. She’d done it. And she was going to follow through, no matter what goodwill it might cost. Hearing Mr. Williams’s death had not been an unfortunate tragedy like everyone had believed, but was actually something far more sinister, had played a heavy toll on her conscience. It was like they—she—had failed him. All these years, and he’d been right under everyone’s noses the whole time.
Murdered.
Waiting to be found.
And making one big question start to niggle in her mind:
Why?
Chapter Four
The hint of cloves and cinnamon was like a drug. Within seconds of consuming the first oatmeal cookie—almost burning the top of her mouth in the process—the tightness in Allie’s shoulders and neck finally eased. Something an hour on the treadmill and a long, hot shower hadn’t been able to accomplish.
“That bad, huh?”
She looked up to see her tall, waif-like sister watching her with a smirk. So caught up in her culinary bliss, Allie hadn’t heard her arrive.
“Do I need to ask?” Laney dropped her purse on the kitchen table and slid onto one of the barstools.
“I’m that predictable?”
Laney raised her arched brow. “From my experience, I’d say a batch of your mom’s raisin oatmeal cookies registers as a red alert on the stress scale. Are you still upset about your old teacher? Or is it the return of Mr. Teenage Heartthrob that’s got you all hormonal?”
Allie sighed. She knew she shouldn’t have told her sister about Sam. Ever.
She pretended not to have heard the last part. “Mr. Williams was more than just my old teacher, Lane. He helped me through some stuff, believed in me when it seemed no one else did. I’ll always be grateful to him. And to think someone killed him…why would anyone want to murder him?”
“You’re taking this awfully hard.” Her sister’s brow went up. “Are you sure there wasn’t something more between you and this teacher than just a student-teacher relationship?”
“Yeah,” Allie drawled. “Because men were falling over themselves to sleep with the fat chick with a bad perm and overbite.”
Laney laughed and tucked a piece of her naturally-blond hair behind her ear. “Come on. You weren’t that bad.”
“How would you know? When I was in high school, you were still in elementary school idolizing Barbie and the Care Bears.”
“You’re changing the subject now.”
“I think it’s important that after everything he did for me, I do something for him. For his memory. I know Mr. Williams made a difference in a lot of people’s lives, not just mine. But when I brought it up tonight at the planning meeting, all anyone could think about was the unflattering publicity the school would receive because of the taint of murder.”
She noticed her younger sister eying the cookies and pushed one toward her. Allie’s father had married Peg almost a year after Allie’s mom died, and Laney had followed the next year. Allie’s half-sister had been blessed with Peg’s tall, slim build, so her figure had always been lithe. But lately, it had become alarmingly thin.
Laney grabbed the cookie but didn’t take a bite. “They should be more worried about the new teacher they brought on board than any video you could put together. You mention the name Sam Fratto at my ward, it’s like saying Salman Rushdie at a mosque. It’s a good thing you stopped obsessing about that jerk.” She shook her head. “Good grief. Love at first sight while serving detention? You must have watched too many John Hughes movies.”
Allie bit back a smile. If only that first meeting had been as romantic as the movies. But Sam hadn’t even known she existed that day when he stood in the doorway of the detention room. Back then, he’d worn his hair longer, a bit shaggier, and he’d had to brush his bangs back to survey the room. Giving her the first glimpse of those grayish green eyes that were to haunt her for far too many nights from that moment on.
“I still can’t believe what he said to you at the airport,” Laney muttered.