Lost Distinction (Jordan James, PI Series) Read online

  “This is Lake Wiyon. It’s the Mohegan word for moon,” Rick said, looking across the soothing water. “The way the moon reflects across the lake gives the illusion that it’s looking up at itself. The Mohegans recognized this and that’s why they called it Wiyon. It seemed a lot bigger to me back then.”

  My interest was in neither the Wiyon nor the lake, but instead in Rick. “Did you spend a lot of time out here?”

  “I was on the sculling team all four years.” He ambled across the dock. It groaned in protest under his weight. He stopped at its edge and sat down with his legs dangling mere feet above the water.

  Awkwardly, I stumbled across the dock for a few moments before giving up and removing my heels. I hurried across the platform in my hose-clad feet and stopped when I reached him. A single boat was tied loosely to the wharf and slapped against the waters in a rhythmic manner, which created a loud sound.

  “Sculling. That’s a form of rowing, right? Was Arthur on the team, too?” It became obvious that sitting on a pier in a tight, black cocktail dress was not going to happen. Sighing, I shifted my weight and crossed my arms.

  Rick was oblivious to my ordeal. “No, Arthur wasn’t really into sports. That bothered his father a lot. His brothers, even William, all excelled at sports. Football, lacrosse, track, rugby. But Arthur, he’s smart, not strong. According to the ambassador, a Cross should be both.”

  “So, by that twisted logic, William’s a better son?” Rick didn’t reply, but his eyes steeled. “Wow.”

  I tried to imagine the meretricious William Cross doing anything that could result in damage to his face or thin frame and found it impossible. Mr. Cross saw more value in a sleaze-ball son than one who dedicated his life to helping children? I liked this family less and less.

  Thinking about William reminded me of the incident at the club that resulted in Rick’s shiner and I felt myself becoming angry again. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “So why didn’t you want to come back here? It seems like a nice school.”

  Rick swung his legs around and stood up. He walked to the land again with me in tow. “It is a good school. It’s just, well, that time in my life I, well, like I’ve told you before, I was really angry about what happened to my dad. Hit me hardest in high school. That’s where Arthur came in. I felt an instant connection to him even before we realized we were related. Our friendship, I needed it. I guess what I’m saying is I have a lot of bittersweet memories here and when I graduated, I didn’t think I’d ever be able to come back again without rehashing them.”

  He paused when we were in the center of the grove. Gently, he brushed my hair behind my ear. “You have no idea how much your solving my father’s case meant to me. It can’t bring him back, but it’s brought me a sense of closure and a peace I’ve never felt before. I can never fully thank you for that.”

  I couldn’t see him but I knew he was near. With my shoes in my left hand, I stepped closer and fell into his arms. He kissed me passionately before releasing me and taking my right hand, leading me through the grove and back toward the dorms.

  When we were a few yards away, I looked around for Michelle. We headed in the direction of the courtyard, both assuming she had made her way to the cars and was waiting for us. I was startled when we entered the courtyard and saw her sitting at the base of the statue of Phineas Crowell with three young boys dressed in black sitting around her in the grass. At first, I thought something was wrong but my fears were alleviated as soon as I heard her laugh.

  Rick strode up to the statue and his presence caught the teens off-guard. They jumped to their feet and backed away from us nervously. Michelle, still seated, waved her hand in an airy manner. “Oh, don’t worry about him.”

  “Is that your husband?” one of the boys with white-blond hair and gray-blue eyes asked, taking another step back.

  Michelle glanced at Rick and laughed again. “Who? Him? No. He’s with her.” She pointed gracefully at me and the boys noticed me for the first time. Although I would consider myself semi-attractive on a good day, I was no match for Michelle’s radiance. Not even on her worst day. They lost interest in me quickly and returned to her feet like helpless puppies. Rick stood beside me at a loss for words.

  “Uh, Michelle? What—what is this?”

  Michelle smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh, nothing. I was just waiting for you two.” Pausing, she winked. “Honestly.”

  “Yeah.” A lanky boy with acne on his cheeks and shaggy brown hair scoffed at her response. “That and saving our butts.”

  “And just how did she do that?” Rick inquired, crossing his arms like a suspicious parent. Michelle stood and flipped her hair back as she glided over toward us, her fan club following close behind.

  “Richard, really, it was nothing.”

  A second boy with short brown hair and a fairly-clear complexion threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “Nothing? You seriously saved us. We would’ve been dead if Brackish caught us.”

  At this, I noticed a slight grin creep across Rick’s face. He hid the smile behind his hand, pretending to scratch his lip. “What happened?”

  The boy with blond hair stepped closer. He appeared to be no more than fifteen-years-old and had clearly not hit his growth spurt yet. Despite being vertically-challenged, he was larger than life thanks to his mannerisms. “We were coming out here tonight to roll that statue, right,” he began, motioning at the school’s illustrious founder. “We were so careful but somehow, Brackish knew we were here. Dude’s got dog ears or something. When we realized he was coming, we split. We had just passed Ridgeley Hall when we see this wicked hot, uh—”

  He stopped speaking and his face turned a bright shade of crimson. Michelle smiled politely, clearly used to her impact on the opposite sex, and we waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, the boy with acne added, “We saw her leaning against this sick ride. I mean, it was, well, anyway, Brackish was getting closer, right? We panicked. Then, she says, ‘Get in the car.’ She leaned against the front, blocking his view. When he asked about us, she told him we ran away and he charged off toward the baseball field!”

  They cracked up at this and gave each other high fives. The second boy turned his attention to Michelle. “You’re wicked awesome.” Pausing, he frowned. “You really married?”

  Michelle held up her ring finger, which was sporting a massive diamond. All three boys sighed. Rick scratched his neck.

  “You guys wouldn’t happen to know Professor Cross, would you?”

  The boy with blond hair regained his voice. “Oh, yeah. He’s cool.”

  “He’s my cousin. When was the last time you saw him?”

  The boys looked at each other before the boy with acne replied, “I guess two weeks ago. He was supposed to teach some sophomore English class, but he bailed.”

  “Did he give a reason? Did he seem upset?”

  The boy shrugged. “Beats me. No one tells us anything. But I did see him leaving school last Wednesday at lunchtime. He had a suitcase or something. I was gonna say ‘hello’, but he looked freaked.”

  “How?” I pressed.

  “I dunno. Just upset. I wasn’t gonna ask.” He scratched his disheveled hair and looked around nervously. “Hey, guys, you hear anything?”

  The others paused and listened. The clear-faced boy with brown hair shook his head. “No, genius. You’re just paranoid.”

  “Whatever, Scott,” the boy muttered as his face achieved another ruby shade. “We’d better get going. I don’t wanna get caught. Brackish is bound to head back this way soon.”

  Scott shoved him. His clear height and weight advantage caused his victim to fall to the ground, hard. While Scott laughed, Michelle leapt into action. She knelt down beside the fallen boy and brushed his blond tresses from his face.

  “Are yo
u okay, Bobby?”

  The boy, Bobby, glanced up at Scott and shot him a triumphant grin the second Michelle turned away to look at Scott reprovingly. When Michelle glanced down at him again, Bobby stared at the ground beneath him with a troubled expression.

  “Yeah, sure.” He wiped grass off his pants. “It just sucks, you know, being short.”

  “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re young. You probably haven’t hit your growth spurt yet. I’m sure when you do, you’ll tower over these two, just like Richard. It’s just a shame that people who are supposed to be your friends make you feel bad about yourself.” Michelle glared at the other two boys with a look that took even me aback.

  The boys stared at the ground with remorse. Although it was clear to me Bobby intended to mess with his friends, Michelle’s earnestness seemed to bring about a sobering revelation to them all.

  Scott walked up to Bobby. “Hey, man, sorry ‘bout that.” He extended his hand. “I didn’t mean anything. I was just messing. We cool?”

  Bobby shook Scott’s hand. The boys laughed. Rick put his arm around my shoulder. “Listen, guys, you probably should get back to your dorms now. It’s definitely past curfew and Brackish’ll be back this way soon. I guarantee it.” The boys stared at Rick incredulously. “What, did you think you guys invented that nickname? My friends and I were calling him Brackish when you were in diapers.”

  The boys stared at Rick a moment longer before turning their attention back to Michelle. Scott took her hands in his. “Thanks again, Lady. No one is gonna believe this. A hot chick saved us from Brackish.”

  The other boy pulled out his cell phone. “Let’s get a picture with her!”

  Scott punched his arm. “Fat chance, Derek. Unless, uh, would you mind?”

  Michelle winked at me. She took the phone from Derek. Holding it out to me, she asked, “Care to do the honors?”

  As I reached out to accept it, Rick stopped me. Leaning close to me, he whispered, “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  Rick crossed his arms. “It’s just, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea if a photo like that was leaked online.”

  Michelle, tired of our quiet deliberation over an innocent request, walked over to us. Instead of asking Rick about his reservations, she turned to me. “What’s the problem?”

  “Listen, Michelle, I know it seems like an innocent request,” Rick began, “but what do you think Ed is going to say if he finds out? I mean I just don’t see the point in aggravating an already delicate situation.”

  Michelle turned the phone over in her small hands as she stared past us. Finally, she glanced at me with a sad look in her gray eyes. She hiked over to the boys and handed Derek his phone back. “I’m sorry. I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

  With a collectively dejected look on their faces, the boys nodded and Derek shoved the phone back into his pants pocket. Michelle walked slowly past the statue and toward Ridgeley Hall. It was clear to me that Rick’s suggestion was meant to help both Michelle and his family, but he felt bad about it. Impulsively, I shoved my shoes in Rick’s hands and then I strode up to Derek with my palm outstretched.

  “Phone.” He stared at me, startled, but quickly retrieved the phone from his pocket. I opened the camera option and motioned for the boys to stand by Michelle. She stood in the shadows of the large, red-brick class building. They rushed to her side. Michelle looked at the boys, then Rick and finally me. She had a confused look on her face. I winked at her. “Smile!”

  All four of them smiled and I took a quick photo. I pulled up the photo gallery and confirmed the picture was how I wanted it to be. Satisfied, I tossed Derek his phone. His grin was so wide that I feared he might pull a facial muscle. “Hey, thanks, Lady!”

  “Don’t mention it. Come on, guys. We should go.”

  Rick, with a dumbstruck look on his face, nodded and walked over to us. He handed me my shoes and I put the heels back on my tender feet, grudgingly. We walked between two class buildings. As we reached the sidewalk, I glanced back to see the boys running toward the dorms.

  Rick offered to drive us back but Michelle feared leaving either vehicle unattended overnight, especially her husband’s. We decided Rick would drive back in one vehicle and Michelle and I would follow him in the other. Michelle climbed into the passenger side of the Bentley and started the engine.

  It roared to life in approval. She then turned on the radio, providing Rick and me with a private moment thanks to its melodious hum. Rick looked at me.

  “Are you mad at me?”

  Rick took the lapels of his jacket, which I was still wearing, and buttoned them. He kissed my forehead. “No. I’m not mad.”

  “Disappointed?”

  “Not in you,” he insisted. He nodded at the car. “And before you ask, I’m not disappointed in her, either. I suggested that to prevent her from suffering any added grief.”

  I searched his eyes. “What do you mean by ‘added grief’?”

  Rick stared up at the moon. He stood there, silent, for several moments before replying, “I just mean, well, with a highly visible and powerful family, she has to be careful. She’s the wife of Edward Cross, a judge, who will probably run for higher office at some time in the near future. She’s the sister-in-law of a congressman running for senate. Finally, she’s the daughter-in-law of the United States Ambassador to Great Britain. If there’s anyone who has to be conscious of her behavior and its ramifications, it’s Michelle Cross. That’s why I said what I did and why she eventually agreed.”

  I considered the implications of his statement. It rang very true to Michelle’s own admission from early that day. While Rick was momentarily upset by my lack of faith in his judgment and willingness to run off without a word, Edward’s reaction to Michelle’s dalliances, despite their innocent nature, would most likely be far worse.

  I didn’t even want to imagine how Gatlin Cross would react to his daughter-in-law rushing off in the middle of the night to an all-boys boarding school in search of clues to the whereabouts of a son he preferred not to acknowledge was missing. The more I thought about it, the more I understood why both Rick and even Arthur wished to distance themselves from this family.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just, that look on her face got to me. It seems like everyone is so hard on her and tries to keep her from being herself. She’s under such pressure to conform that I wanted to help her have a little fun. Plus, that photo is garbage. No one could even make her out. It’s too dark.”

  “What do you mean?”

  I grinned mischievously. “Well, let’s just say that I killed two birds with one stone.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “That phone’s camera didn’t have a flash,” I explained. “It’s dark out here. All anyone can make out in the picture is that there are three boys standing beside a dark-haired woman in an evening dress. You can’t see Michelle’s face. I made sure of that before handing the phone back to that kid.”

  A smile slowly crept across Rick’s face as he realized what I was saying. He gently took my chin in his hand and pulled me within inches of his face. “You’re pretty clever, you know that?”

  “I know. Know what else I know?”

  He leaned in closer. The sweet smell of his cologne invaded my senses. “What’s that?”

  I winked and replied in my most seductive voice, “It’s getting late and we have a long drive back.”

  Rick laughed out loud. It was so rare for him to laugh like that. I felt a warmth radiate inside me that I was able to evoke such an emotion in him. He took my hands in his and kissed them. “You’re right. Let’s go. You’re sure that you can make the drive? We can leave a car here. It’s safe.”

  “No, I’m fine. Too much excitement to fall asleep right now.”
/>   He studied me for a few moments before nodding to himself. “All right. Well, follow me, okay? There shouldn’t be too much traffic now, but you never know.”

  I agreed and we kissed again before climbing into the vehicles. As soon as my seatbelt was fastened and the car was in reverse, Michelle turned the radio down. “Everything okay?”

  I focused on the rearview mirror, making sure no cars were behind me before backing up slowly. Rick was already waiting near the exit of the parking lot when I put the car back in drive. I realized that Michelle was still waiting for a response.

  “Yeah, everything’s fine.” I followed Rick as he turned left and drove down the empty, silent street. Since Crowell Academy was located on a hill outside of Middletown, I maintained a safe distance from Rick’s vehicle as we crept along the road. Less than twenty minutes later, we were back on I-95 North. Although she initially tried to stay awake and keep me company, Michelle fell asleep less than an hour into the drive.

  I used the time to reflect on the article about Francine Harris and the threatening message written across it. Neither Rick nor Michelle had any idea who Francine Harris was. If she had been someone Arthur was intimately involved with, those closest to him were unaware of her very existence. I wondered if this was one of the women William had referred to earlier that day.

  I also found it curious that the article specifically mentioned her physical disability. During this day and age, if one mentions anything personal about another, that individual is liable to the most severe and costly lawsuit imaginable. The white lights of passing vehicles illuminated the darkness like an inconsistent, hypnotic rhythm.