Page 25 of Be A Detective, They Said. It’ll Be Fun, They Said

Her sigh came out raspy and long. “Thad and I went to school together.”

My eyebrow lifted. So what? Or…no. No. Wait. Please don’t let her tell me they were having an affair.

“And?”

Her embarrassment was clear. “And she accused me of trying to steal her husband.”

For the second time today, my mouth fell open. “I’m sorry? Why on Earth would she think that?”

Solange’s breathing shuddered as she put her face in her hands. “We happened to see each other at parent-teacher night and reconnected. We’d dated in high school.”

Oh, sweet fancy Moses, that must have made Neerie insane. Before they divorced, she was incredibly jealous of anyone who even breathed in his direction.

“So because you dated in high school, she jumped to the conclusion that you were trying to steal her husband?”

Solange’s eyes went wide. “Not then, no. Not here at the school. It happened after and it was awful. She made a big scene.” Her shoulders slumped. “We ran into each other and had coffee. It was no big deal, I swear. We just happened to be in the same place at the same time, is all. We decided to catch up. She stomped into the coffee shop like she’d been watching us or something and accused me of trying to rekindle an old flame. But what she didn’t know was…”

I put my hand on her arm. “What didn’t she know?”

“That I don’t want her husband. I don’t want any man. I’m gay.”

“Oh, Solange. I’m sorry she made a scene like that and embarrassed you.” What I couldn’t believe was that Neerie hadn’t told all of the mothers here at the Paranormal and Gifted about it. Though, that might make her look bad if she was perceived as bested by someone else.

“It’s fine. Thad was one of the first people I ever told in high school that I thought I was gay—when we broke up, I mean. That was why we broke up. He was so kind to me when I was so confused. But I spent a lot more years confused. I mean, I married a man, had a child, and still couldn’t admit my true feelings. Finally, I came out of the closet. Mostly. I got divorced, but I wasn’t fully ready to be out in the open, I guess. That’s what Thad and I were talking about when Neerie found us.”

My heart twisted in my chest. “And Thad kept your secret because you’re still not ready to tell anyone?”

“Yes!” she moaned. “Right now, I’m just trying to navigate single motherhood, but I was so afraid Neerie would find out, and I don’t even know why, but I made Thad swear not to tell her.”

“Even if it meant she tortured you…” Gosh, I felt awful for Solange.

Her misery was clear. “Yes, and torture me, she did. She made snide comments all the time about me being his wannabe wife and all sorts of ugly things. Finally, I’d had enough. I don’t know how, but I found my spine.”

“And you confronted her about how she was treating you?”

Solange sniffled. “I did. We had a loud argument in her PTA office. A really loud argument. Even Agnew the janitor heard us.”

Wait. Back up. Neerie had an office here at the school?

I held up a hand. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but Neerie has an office?”

Solange rolled her eyes. “It’s not an official office, but Principal Mathers finally gave in to her complaints about having nowhere to work on school events that brought in a lot of money, so she gave her what basically amounts to a broom closet right near the boiler room.”

Note to self, take a peek at the broom closet. “I see. Anyway, please continue. You had an argument Agnew overheard?”

She nodded, her hair shiny under the auditorium lights. “We sure did, and I said some things… some really awful things.”

“Like?”

“I…I said I hoped…I hoped that she’d disappear off the face of the planet. And now…” Her face crumbled, eyes filled with guilt. “And now she has!” she wailed. “I manifested this, Wanda! I did this!” She began to cry in earnest, putting her face in her hands.

I pulled her into a hug, patting her back. “No. No, Solange. You didn’t. That’s impossible. Did you physically kidnap her?”

“Nooo!” she sobbed.

“Then you’re not responsible for her disappearance.”

“I was just so tired of her taking out whatever her problem is on me! I was an easy target, and she knew it. She knew I was afraid of her. She knew I wanted to be the best parent possible for my son Michael. Divorcing his father was hard on him. I’m just trying to be there for him—be involved. That’s why I joined the PTA, but I just couldn’t take it anymore! She was so awful!”

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