THAT night at the bonfire, her kids were flying high. The entire camp was buzzing with the word of Judith, Jill, and Noble D’s exploit at Camp Wildwood. Terrance was telling anyone who would listen that Judith, Jill, and D were the chosen emissaries from the Red Team because they were three of the more upstanding, rule-abiding kids, and therefore under the night supervisor’s radar. He assured people that the entire team was involved in the venture, though, and had agreed on the three campers to represent them.
“We all chipped in for the pizza, and it was my idea to tie the Red Team’s flag around the goat’s neck,” Alice overheard Terrance bragging to the Gold Team’s student leader as darkness fell and a couple managers started to shout for them to take their seats.
Alice started to sit down on the beach between Judith and Matt Dinorio when someone spoke from behind her.
“Alice? A word please before things officially get started.” Alice noticed Judith’s concerned expression when they both turned to see Sebastian Kehoe standing behind her.
“Sure,” Alice said.
Kehoe nodded in the direction of the woods. The sun had just slipped beneath the horizon, leaving the western sky a brilliant blend of magenta, orange, red, and gold, but the woods were dark. Kehoe paused just inside the shadow the tall trees cast onto the beach and faced her.
“I suppose you know what this is about?” Kehoe asked.
“Um . . .” Alice blinked. The light from the western sky gleamed red in his glasses, although his face was cast in shadow. “Bang?” she asked hesitantly.
He looked grim. “I’m not happy about your little spectacle. I’ve made it clear around camp that while Camp Wildwood forays have been condoned if not encouraged in the past, we were putting a damper on the idea this year. Now your kids have gone and made it seem even more glamorous and desirable to break the rules in subsequent years.”
Alice swallowed thickly. “I didn’t think there was any real danger in it, sir. My kids knew they’d have to be respectful. I wasn’t encouraging theft. I made sure they understood that.”
Kehoe’s mouth clamped together in a tight, straight line. “I suppose you had some advice from a certain former Red Team member? Some instructions from another Durand maverick?”
A chill passed over the surface of her arms. He was referring to Dylan, of course. He really did suspect their involvement. Or possibly, he more than suspected.
But he was wrong to think Dylan had given her the idea. She raised her chin.
“No. Any ideas I did plant with the kids were mine alone, and they came up with the rest. The whole photo as a symbol of the claiming of the goat versus actually stealing it was their idea. So was the pizza party, which personally, I think was brilliant. It was a gesture of friendship, and it went a long way to mend any bad feelings that happened between Camp Durand and Wildwood last year.”
Kehoe looked like he’d just eaten something bitter. “Apparently, most of the Durand managers agree with you.” He hesitated. “So did the Camp Wildwood staff. Their staff supervisor contacted me this afternoon and asked all of the Durand campers and staff to come to a cookout next year at Camp Wildwood.”
“That’s great!”
“I didn’t ask you over here to praise you,” he snapped. Alice’s grin vanished in a split second. He was coiled as tight as a spring. She resisted an urge to step away from him. Surely it was a trick of the fading light and shadows, but Kehoe looked a little crazed at that moment.
“You’re as full of yourself as she was. As he is. What do you actually think is going to come of this? That you’re going to ride off into the sunset with your prince?” he snarled. “It didn’t happen before. It’s not going to happen now.”
She stood there, her mouth hanging open in shock, watching as Kehoe walked stiffly away from her toward the blazing bonfire.
AS she returned to the circle of the kids, she not
iced Sal Rigo standing at the back of the crowd. His face looked rigid as he watched her approach. She had the distinct impression he was poised to spring into action. Alice nodded once in reassurance. For the first time, the sight of him nearby reassured instead of annoyed her. Kehoe had been beyond rude. He’d bordered on vicious. Rigo warily turned and sat with the others on the sand, keeping Alice within his sight.
The encounter had rattled her. She had no doubt the “he” that Kehoe had referred to as he dressed her down was Dylan. Had he garbled his words, by initially saying she? And what had he meant about before? Was he trying to make her believe Dylan had become involved with a new recruit before, and that Kehoe had stopped it? Because Alice had worried about that in the beginning, but in the end, she just didn’t believe Dylan made a habit of this. It showed how angry Kehoe was . . . how desperate, that he’d stoop to innuendo and slander. She’d never seen Kehoe come undone. He was usually so meticulously in control.
Maybe too in control. Tonight, all the pressure he must exert to be so together all the time had seemed to be steaming out of the cracks in his armor.
The only thing she knew for certain was that Kehoe’s feelings toward her were not the dislike and disapproval she’d suspected.
Sebastian Kehoe clearly hated her.
SIXTEEN
At nine thirty that night, Dylan sat in his den talking to Jim Sheridan. Since tonight was the bonfire, Alice would work late. They’d planned to meet an hour later than their usually designated time. He’d originally been glad to have a little extra time to deal with Jim’s visit.
Now he was just annoyed and frustrated.
“Why did you have to push it?” he barked at Jim, his anger undisguised.
He sat at his desk, his elbow on the blotter. He pressed his fingertips against his shut eyelids. His flash of fury drained out of him almost instantly, leaving him weary in its wake. Jim had just informed him that he’d done a background check on Alice Reed. In doing so, he’d come across Sissy Reed’s name, and done a subsequent check on her. Being the bullheaded, diligent cop he was, he’d eventually gone deep enough into both Sissy’s and Avery Cunningham’s separate criminal histories to notice that Sissy and Cunningham had both served time at Cook County Juvenile Detention at the same time.