Page 24 of The Hampton Beach Café 5
Lucinda nodded in agreement. “We need to expose his shady jerk-off behavior and get him thrown directly in jail.”
“Who directly in jail?”
Kennedy's voice almost echoed in the kitchen––or at least it felt like it did to Frances.
Slowly she turned to face Kennedy, where she stood in the doorway, catching Lucinda's eye as she did so.
“Uh, hey,” Lucinda said, shuffling the papers in her hand. “What are you doing here?”
Crossing the kitchen, Kennedy's expression turned guarded as she grew close.
“The receptionist said that you'd been by––she asked if you found the historical census records you were looking for,” Kennedy explained. “I needed to know you'd actually kept up your end of the bargain and made sure my involvement was... invisible.”
With an unsubtly eye roll, Lucinda scoffed.
“Yes, Kennedy, your public reputation is as shiny and golden as ever.. although––”
Frances cut her off with a stern look––but not quickly enough.
“What?” Kennedy said abruptly. “What does she mean? And who exactly is going to jail?”
Ugh––Lucinda really couldn't be tactful if her life depended on it.
“Um,” Frances said, hesitatingly. “Well, you know how we told you we thought someone was scamming people out of their homes...”
“You weren't lying, were you?” Kennedy said, sounding more hurt than Frances would have wagered.
“No,” she said quickly. “Not lie, exactly. More like we just didn't tell you everything. We do think that someone is scamming people... I just thought it would be better not to tell you who we thought it was until we had proof...”
“Who!?” Kennedy exclaimed.
Both Lucinda and Frances cowered somewhat under her glare which intensified as they glanced at each other.
“Clarkson.”
As Kennedy's expression changed, Frances felt the air go almost physically cold around them. With a flurry of paper grabbed from behind them, both she and Lucinda launched into an explanation.
Kennedy's reaction was not what either of them would have hoped for, but it didn't surprise Frances one bit. She looked skeptical, her eyes narrowing with disbelief as she listened to their accusations.
“I can't believe this,” Kennedy said, her voice laced with anger. “Clarkson absolutely would not do something like this. He's been set up, or this evidence is fabricated. You have to be mistaken––or lying.”
Frances and Lucinda exchanged frustrated glances, their determination intensifying.
“We're not mistaken, Kennedy, or lying,” Frances said firmly, her voice intentionally calm and even. “We have the proof right here. Clarkson has been lying to all of us.”
Lucinda chimed in, her tone resolute. “We've done our research and have concrete evidence of his scams. He's been taking advantage of little old ladies!”
That was probably the wrong tack. Frances cringed as Kennedy screwed up her face in evident disbelief.
“I've known Clarkson for years––and so have you, Frances!” Kennedy said, her voice wavering with emotion. “He's been nothing but supportive of our community. I will not believe he would do something like this.”
Frances leaned in, her eyes blazing.
“Kennedy, I understand that this is hard for you to accept. But you can't let your personal feelings get in the way of what's right in front of you! Clarkson has been playing us all! You, maybe most of all.”
That seemed to stop her in her tracks.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
