“It means going to the bathroom explosively.” Ronan hoped his explanation was enough for Everly to understand and not have any follow-up questions. He knew the gastro issues, along with the other symptoms Fairbanks described, were all associated with acute arsenic poisoning.
“Katie told me that she had a problem like that.” Everly turned back to Fairbanks. “She was the little girl who died that day. Did you know her?”
“I knew all of the kids. Marie and I lived one block away from the children and their families. We used to have a neighborhood block party every summer with hot dogs and watermelon. The kids would play under the sprinklers, and in the evening, we’d have a bonfire and s’mores.”
“That sounds amazing.” Everly frowned, her attention on Fairbanks. “But then it wasn’t. After the kids died, right?”
Fairbanks’s eyes widened. “The autopsy on the kids came back pending because the medical examiner was waiting for the toxicology report. All of the kids in Marie’s class told the police about the cookies she would bring in on Fridays. Everyone in town thought Marie had poisoned those kids. We got a couple of bricks thrown through our windows. The house was egged several times. Someone keyed my car, and we got letters.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “Hate letters wishing the most awful things would happen to my wife.”
“She was scared to go to school,” Everly said.
“She was. I told her she could quit working. Take a leave of absence or whatever, but Marie knew she was innocent and wanted to be in class with her kids where she belonged. Our entire lives were upended in the blink of an eye. My parents offered for us to come stay with them until the panic blew over, but Marie wanted to stay in our house. All I ever wanted was to make her happy, and that desire got her killed.” Fairbanks sunk his head into his hands and quietly wept.
Ronan’s eyes were on Everly, who wore a curious look on her face. He wanted to ask her what was on her mind, but it would have to wait until they wrapped up the interview. There were a few more questions that needed to be asked. “I hate to bring this up, but were you aware of anything going on between Marie and Principal Whittaker?”
Fairbanks lifted his head. His eyes burned with anger, bordering on rage. “How dare you? My wife was faithful to me.”
“We don’t mean any offense, Mr. Fairbanks,” Fitzgibbon said kindly, “but we need to cover all bases here. If Marie rejected him or wanted to end their friendship…”
“Joseph Whittaker was a fox in the henhouse. He was surrounded by young women fresh out of college and took advantage of the situation. There were rumors about him and several of the teachers in the school. He touched them. Offered promotions for certainfavors.” Fairbanks eyed Everly and obviously decided not to explain himself further. “Nowadays, what he did would have been called sexual harassment, but back then, it was just the way things were, with men pressing their advantage on women who were afraid to lose their jobs if they didn’t comply.”
“Who do you think murdered your wife?” Jude asked.
“I think it was the parents of the dead kids. One or all of them. Who else could it have been?” Fairbanks looked from Ronan to Fitzgibbon.
“If I’d been the one running the investigation, I would have looked at the parents of the poisoned kids, the principal, and you, Mr. Fairbanks.” Fitz didn’t look pleased at having to include their host. “Unless there’s someone else you can point to. Problems with in-laws, other neighbors who may have taken advantage of the situation to exact revenge for something unrelated. A former or current lover of either of you?”
“I wasn’t cheating on my wife. Marie was my everything. She wasn’t cheating on me either. My parents loved her, and Marie’s parents were happy that I’d married their daughter, at least they were until that last day.” Fairbanks shook his head. “I’ve wanted justice for my wife for over fifty years. To be honest, I’m not sure I’ll live to see the day.”
“We’re going to do everything in our power to figure out what happened to the kids and your wife. Our next step is to speak with the principal and the parents and siblings of the dead kids and see where that leads us.” Ronan got to his feet. He was starting to feel suffocated in the small living room.
“Is there anyone you think we should look at?” Jude got to his feet and moved toward Fairbanks.
“Only Whittaker. No one else comes to mind off the top of my head. I’ll reach out to Detective O’Mara if I think of anyone else. I have your number.”
“Thank you for meeting with us today.” Everly patted Fairbanks’s liver-spotted left hand. “I promise to do everything in my power to help Marie.”
“You’re pretty brave.” Fairbanks smiled at Everly.
“I learned that from my dad.” Everly hopped off the couch and reached for Ronan’s hand.
“We’ll be in touch.” Ronan led everyone outside and back to the SUV. He opened the back door and helped Everly into her car seat. “What did you get? Anything good?”
“Mr. Fairbanks was nervous when he asked if I’d spoken to Marie. I couldn’t tell why though. He’s hiding something, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.” Everly frowned the same way she did when she lost a game of Candy Land. “We need to speak with her, Dad. You need to call Principal Preston and see if he’ll let us back into the school. It’s vacation week, so no one will be there.”
“I had a feeling you were going to say that. I’ll send him a text.” Ronan smacked a kiss to his daughter’s cheek. “I’m really proud of you for the good work you did today.”
“I have the bestest teacher in the whole world.” Everly pointed at Ronan.
Ronan felt a wave of emotion burst over him. “Yeah, you do!” Ronan burst out laughing at the surprised look on his daughter’s face. She’d been expecting him to say he had the bestest daughter. He did, but telling her just now would overwhelm his emotions. He’d make sure to tell her later, after he’d gotten her a fifth drink of water before bedtime.
14
Tennyson
Ten and Ezra had a wonderful morning at the Salem Public Library. They sat and listened to several stories, made some crafts, and picked up a stack of new children’s books for him to read to Ezra and several chapter books for Everly and Ronan. Cope and Lizbet had gone with them, and they’d all stopped for lunch at a local diner. Chicken Caesar salads for him and Cope while the kids shared a basket of chicken tenders and fries.
Ronan had texted earlier to say he and Everly would be home soon and that there was a lot the two of them needed to talk about. Ten could only imagine how the morning had gone interviewing Greg Fairbanks, widower and potential killer. Throughout the morning, Ten had checked in on Everly with his gift. Nothing raised a red flag, and with Ronan’s text, he knew his daughter was safe.
