Family Skeletons by Bobbie O'Keefe Page A

that’s it. Yes, I think so. It wasn’t the
first time for him, but it was the first time for her, and she wasn’t very good
at covering up. In fact, I thought that was what had given her the courage to
finally break away from Langley. Or it may have been what forced the break. He
might’ve killed her once he found out.”
    “He found out. But maybe it wasn’t his wife he
killed.”
    Mavis turned away. She stared out the window, but it
didn’t appear she was looking at anything in particular. “What a can of worms
this is going to open up,” she murmured. She had the appearance of one looking
at something she didn’t want to see.
    Sunny assumed Mavis was grappling with memories, so
she let the silence ride.
    “Yes.” The older woman sighed, and when she looked
back her eyes held something akin to pain. “Franklin had a wandering eye, and
it lit upon a lot of women between here and Castleton. Since he lived in Reno
for much of the year, someone could’ve even followed him from there.”
    “Who else around here was he linked with?”
    “He was discreet.” Her gaze drifted away. “That was
one of the few redeeming characteristics he had. Even after he and your mom
split, he didn’t flaunt his affairs.”
    “Nevertheless, it seems the list of suspects will be
a long one. My mom and I will be on it, right along with Langley Bowers and his
ex-wife. And I wonder how many others.” Her half-eaten cone was melting and
she’d lost her taste for it. She rose and deposited it in the trash receptacle
at the door. “See you around, Mavis.”
    “Sunny, wait.”
    She looked back.
    Mavis massaged the bridge of her nose, disturbing
the set of her brown-rimmed glasses. Then she straightened them and met Sunny’s
gaze. Because Sunny knew her so well, she sensed the older woman’s discomfort.
    But when Mavis spoke, there was no waver in her eyes
or voice. “If there’s going to be an investigation, which there’s bound to be,
you’ll hear about this anyway. And I’d rather it came from me. I can add two
more names to that list. One is Bev Wilkes. The other is mine.”

 
    Chapter Nine
    Sunny’s body jerked as if she’d been physically sucker
punched.
    Then she found herself once more seated in the chair
but couldn’t recall actually walking back and sitting down.
    Mavis jerked to her feet. “I need a cigarette.” She
led the way outside, fumbling in her oversized shoulder bag. After coming up
with a brightly-colored pack of cigarettes, she started rifling again.
    “Damned thing. Lighter’s always at the bottom.” Her
speech rambled while her fingers searched. “Should have one of those cigarette
purses, pouches, whatever you call it. Keep putting off buying one ’cause I’m
gonna quit, but then I keep putting that off, too.”
    Once she found a pack of matches, she couldn’t get
the match ignited. She seemed close to tears. Sunny took the pack and struck a
match into life and held it to light the woman’s cigarette. Mavis took a deep
drag, as if her life depended on how much of the carcinogenic substance she
could get into her lungs. She held the smoke for a long moment before exhaling.
    Appearing calmer, she walked a short way onto the
sand. She wore medium-heeled pumps, not the easiest shoes to roam around the
beach in, but that didn’t seem to bother her. She took another drag, blew smoke
out, and then faced Sunny.
    “Okay. Shoot. You’ve got questions and you deserve
answers.”
    Sunny simply looked at her, then dropped down to sit
on the sand. The action was appropriate to her jeans and sneakers, but Mavis
wore a skirt and jacket combo in light-green linen. Her attire didn’t stop her
from following suit, however.
    Near the water’s edge, a woman and young child were
building castles in the damp sand. An older couple, possibly in their fifties,
walked hand in hand. Further down the beach a man and a dog played with a
Frisbee.
    Sunny remained quiet for a long moment, staring at
the ocean but