Free Killing the Secret by Donna Welch Jones Page A

seemed to be hampering her breathing. Beth’s head was glued to her husband’s shoulder. He kept an arm securely around her.
    Glancing at Jamie periodically, Lexie saw her sitting like a statue. A tissue was never visible near her face.
    At the end of the service, the ushers opened the casket. Abbey was dressed in pink. Her short curly hair had been pulled back from her face.
    Megan and Travis cried out, “Mama, Mama!”
    Baby Nicky was in his Grandpa’s arms. His small face was drawn up in anticipation of his tears. He looked dazed and clearly didn’t understand what was happening.
    Gary leaned over the casket and kissed his wife for the last time.
    The horror of the moment was second only to the murder of her father. Lexie couldn’t will herself to be tough any longer. Tremors disrupted her body and soft sobs escaped from her mouth. For twenty minutes, she stayed in her perch waiting to regain control.
    When she finally was ready to leave, she went out the back door and circled wide around the parking lot. The thought of facing any of Abbey’s family was unbearable.
    Delia met her at the office door and gave her a hug. She left without a word.
    Maybe she doesn’t hate me after all . Lexie sunk into her work, forcing her emotions to the background. She prepared her questions for the three possible victims then arranged a table and chairs for the meeting.
    Close to three, Beth, Loretta, and Jamie entered together. Soon after, Tye arrived.
    They all sat around the table stone-faced waiting for Lexie to begin.
    “So what we have are four of your former team members dead. Two clearly murdered, the third an apparent suicide, and the fourth a mercy killing. If someone is trying to murder your entire team, surely one of you can tell me why.”
    “I’ve tried to remember something we did to provoke a killer,” Beth volunteered.
    “Probably, some jealous fool,” Loretta answered. “Everyone wanted to be us back then.”
    “Name names, Loretta. Who was jealous?” Tye probed.
    “I don’t have names. I just know.”
    Lexie continued, “Did any of you get threatening notes?”
    Each of the three shook her head no.
    “Anyone kicked off your team?”
    Again they each looked at Lexie and responded with a negative headshake.
    “Was there a guy or girl who seemed obsessive about any of you?”
    Jamie finally contributed, “Ronald was fixated on Terri.”
    “He’s still in jail. He couldn’t have killed Heather or Abbey,” Tye responded. “Anyone else?”
    “About every guy in the senior class wanted Heather.” Beth smiled shakily.
    “And me,” Loretta injected. “However, none of them came after me with a poison needle.”
    Lexie raised her eyebrows. “Was there an opposing team that was particularly vicious toward you?”
    “We were the best in the state. They all wanted to beat us.” Jamie rubbed her neck. “No one ever threatened us to our faces.”
    Lexie looked at each of them in succession, purposely staring into their eyes. “I can’t imagine that someone hates you enough to want to murder you, and yet you have no idea of why. What happened that you’re not telling me?”
    “I don’t like being called a liar. We didn’t have any secrets worth killing for,” Loretta’s voice lingered two octaves above normal.
    “I don’t think I’d forget something that might cost me my life,” Jamie added. “I’m really not that stupid.”
    Lexie ignored their protests. “What I hear you saying is there’s no one outside your team who wanted to kill you. What about one of your own? What do you know about each other? About your coaches? About the junior varsity players?”
    “This is ridiculous!” Jamie exploded. “You’re just pulling crap out of the air looking for someone to pin Abbey’s murder on to cover your guilt. I’ve had enough of your game. I’m going home. It’s been a tough day.”
    “I’m with her,” Loretta massaged her forehead. “My head hurts from all this