Page 91 of Last Call

Owen’s eyes popped open wide.

Riley held out her hand. “Come on. That is an A+ paper,” she said, leading him to the kitchen.

Pete took a sip from his beer. “He’s a neat kid.”

“Yeah. He really is,” Fallon agreed.

“Listen, Fallon.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“No. It isn’t. It isn’t mine, either.”

“But?”

“I remember when Mary Branigan wrote that petition to keep you from opening Murphy’s. Your mom and Mrs. Sherman came to my mother’s house. Ida was pissed because Dora didn’t shut it down.”

Fallon shook her head.

“My mother told Ida that Dora tried. She asked Mary to drop it.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Dora was their fifth wheel.”

“You mean when they were in school?”

“Longer than that. A lot longer,” Pete said.

“I never saw Dora at my mother’s house. Never.”

“Not that you remember,” Pete said. “I didn’t know about this until Andi’s mom passed. I brought my mom to see her. She and Pat told Andi and me to stay. Pat was so sick, Fallon. Andi was a mess.”

“I remember.”

“Things between Andi and Jake weren’t good then, Fallon. I think that’s why Pat and my mom decided to tell us about Dora.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know what Andi has told you. When Jacob was a baby, she walked in on Jake. In their bed with Delia Hutchinson.”

Fallon was sure she’d stopped breathing. Delia Hutchinson graduated with Fallon and Billie. She was always an incurableflirt. Fallon never imagined she’d sleep with someone’s husband, much less Andi’s. “Andi never told me that.”

“Not surprised. She was supposed to spend the night at her mom’s. They were going through her father’s things, deciding what to donate. It was a shitty time. I meanreallyshitty for Andi. Her dad had just died, Jake had taken the sales job. He was never home, and Jacob wasn’t even a year old. I guess your mom and Pat said they’d babysit so Andi could be with Jake. She went home to surprise him. She ended up with the bigger surprise.”

“What the hell was he thinking?”

“Jake Maguire doesn’t think.”

“You don’t like him,” Fallon said. “You never said anything.”

“I love Andi. I said plenty back then. Some of it probably hurt more than it helped. I backed off.”

Fallon sighed. “What does that have to do with Dora?”

“You probably won’t remember this. I barely remember it. Dick Bath wasn’t always a lawyer. He worked for the State Police.”

“I don’t think I ever heard that.”

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