A sitting U.S. Senator.
One of those things was not like the other two.
“It’s a fairly large leap to go from pestering a doctor for a seven-thousand-dollar payoff to extorting a hundred thousand dollars from an elected official. Not to mention, Coyle accepted the package easily enough.”
“Why wouldn’t he? Everyone else had paid off as directed. If it was working, why not go after a bigger fish?”
“Yes. I suppose. It’s not my problem now. Let the Feds sort it out. I got what I wanted, which was Irene safely out from under Moriarty’s control.”
“Actually, my brother, I believe what you really wanted was Irene.”
That was true.
Which only made me sad again.
* * *
The Bennets
Reen
We werein Beth’s bedroom huddled together on her bed. Me, Janie and Beth. There wasn’t really anything to say, after we’d told Janie what happened. We were just here to offer Beth support.
“You know,” Beth said finally. “Maybe what happened last night is a good thing.”
I looked at her in total disbelief. “How can you say that?”
She shrugged. “This way my mother can’t do what she tried to do over the summer. There is no more living in denial. Orkeeping up appearances. It’s out there. It’s done. Roger has to face the consequences for what he did, and we can move on.”
“No,” I told her. “Maybe that’s a positive outcome, but we are not letting Locke off the hook that easily. My boyfriend is an asshole for what he did. He was trying to show off and he didn’t care who he hurt while doing it.”
“Yes, but at least it’s over,” Janie said. “No more thugs coming after you. No more lingering threat of your game being busted up by the police.”
“No more money,” I lamented.
“Reen!” Janie screeched at me.
“Okay, fine. Fine. It’s all good. I promise to stay on the up and up from now on.”
“And you do have Locke to thank for that,” Beth pointed out.
“I guess. It’s just…I thought it was all so magical. Me being invited to the Cotillion. My pretty dress, my boyfriend giving me flowers. We danced and it felt like…like happiness. Real happiness. Then the sprinklers went off and everything just got washed away. Like it was some kind of dream. Like I should have known I wasn’t allowed to be happy.”
Janie, who was lying next me, nudged me with her shoulder.
“You wanted to be the princess,” she said.
“Just one time!” I wailed.
“I know,” she said. “And I’m sorry it didn’t work out like you thought it would. But when you were dancing around the room and you were happy, what was really making you happy? The dress, your hair, the pretty room?”
I let out a big sigh. “No. It was Locke.”
Beth nudged me from the other side. I was the meat in a Janie and Beth sandwich. “I’ve never known you to be happy, Reen. Not really, really happy. You were practically glowing last night.”
I glared at her. “Beth Bennet, you’re not suggesting I can only find happiness with a guy?”
“Absolutely not!” she replied.
