Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

A patrol car skidded to a stop beside Colin and Holly, and they were put into the back seat. The car pulled away, with Whitlock following close behind, and Foley walked over to me.

“I gotta say, this one stings a bit,” Foley said.

“It shouldn’t,” I said. “We found Claire’s killer. Nothing else matters. Thanks for hearing me out when I called, and for letting me be the one to confront Holly.”

“It’s the least I could do after what I said to you the other day. What caused you to suspect her in the first place?”

“I could say it was the cologne and the fact I thought Claire had started having feelings for someone at the school, even though I wasn’t sure who that might be. Today I was thinking about the expression on Colin’s face the first time we met. Everyone in the break room that day seemed genuinely sorry about what happened to Claire, even Holly. But Colin seemed a lot more pained than everyone else.”

“Is that all?”

“Yesterday, when I was walking through the halls of the school, I passed by one of the classrooms, and when I looked inside, I saw a quote by Jane Austen.”

“What was the quote?”

“‘What is right to be done cannot be done too soon.’ At the time, I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t know whose classroom it was either.”

“How does the quote relate to you suspecting Holly?”

I stared at him a moment, trying to decide if I wanted to say something more.

He gave me a playful elbow to the side. “Come on, out with it. It’s freezing out here.”

“I had one of those dreams I have. In it, I saw Claire, and she mentioned the quote. And look, the most logical explanation is that the quote had been dancing around in my mind ever since I saw the poster, and I just hadn’t connected the dots yet.”

“Logical, yes. But it doesn’t make for as good of a story. Your sister has told me a little about those dreams. Been having them since you were a kid, right?”

“Right.”

“I have to believe there’s some higher power in play sometimes, whatever that may be. Gives life a lot more spice. And with that, I better get on my way. Oh, and … I’m sorry about the other day. I could have handled it better. We okay?”

I shot him a wink. “I believe I can let it slide this once.”

THE END