Free The Suicide Club by Gayle Wilson

them harbored this kind of animosity toward her.
    And toward Jace Nolan?
    “Okay, then,” the deputy said, sounding relieved. “If you think of anything else or if you want us to check out the whereabouts of any of your students tonight, let us know.”
    She knew where her kids would say they’d been. Either at school or at home, while she and their parents had been at the PTA meeting. And very few of them would be able to produce any witness who could verify their presence there.
    “Ma’am.” The deputy touched the brim of his hat before he turned to join his partner who was waiting in the patrol car.
    “You want me to come in with you?” Rick asked.
    The idea was appealing, but Rick had obviously just finished his shift. He was probably tired and wanted to get home to his own bed. It must be nearly midnight by now. If the other deputies and the snake hunter hadn’t found anything…
    “I’ll be okay. But thanks. I appreciate the offer. And thanks for coming by. I appreciate that, too.”
    “You call me if you need me, Linds. I mean that.”
    “I will.” She leaned forward and hugged him.
    His arms closed around her, squeezing hard. When he released her, there was an awkward silence. Despite the number of times she’d been around Rick while he and Shannon dated, she’d never thought of him as a friend. He had been tonight.
    “It’s gonna be okay,” he told her. “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I’ll do some looking around on my own. Talk to a few of the kids.”
    “I don’t want to accuse my students and then find out I was wrong. Something like that can follow a kid for the rest of his life. Shannon will tell you that.”
    “Maybe you and Shannon ought to be more concerned about yourselves. That wasn’t a frog in your hamper. You remember that.”
    She nodded, unable to dispute his assertion. She was lucky she wasn’t at the emergency room being treated for snake bite. And she knew it. “Thanks again.”
    “I meant what I said. Call me if you need me.”
    “I will.”
    “You going to school tomorrow?”
    “It’s a little late to get a sub.”
    “If I were you, I wouldn’t say anything about this. Not to the kids. Just watch how they act around you. See if you see anything that sets off alarms.”
    “Like what?”
    “Someone who seems a little strange. They may not, but you never know. Especially if you act like nothing happened.”
    “You know how long it will take for this to get around,” she said, glancing back at her neighbors who were still standing in the middle of her yard.
    “Not by tomorrow morning. Just keep your radar up. Whoever did this is probably going to be looking to gauge your reaction. Maybe you can tell which kid that is.”
    She nodded, even though she wasn’t convinced she’d be able to tell anything by the way her kids acted. Between hormones and football, anything approaching normal was a crapshoot.
    “You want me to let Nolan know?”
    Rick’s question caught her off guard. It was logical that he’d want to tell the guy in charge of the church fire investigation that she was wondering if this were related.
    “Do what you think is best,” she said finally. Jace had a right to know. And he was bound to find out anyway.
    Was letting Rick tell him the coward’s way out? Maybe. But right now she didn’t want to have to face Jace and confess that she was wondering if he’d been right. Let Rick convey her doubts. In the meantime, she needed to try to get some sleep and get ready for tomorrow.
    “You gonna be okay?”
    Rick’s question brought her eyes up. “Of course,” she said with more conviction than she felt.
    And if she wasn’t, she would deal with it in private.
     
    Although she’d resisted the impulse to pack a bag and spend the remainder of the night at her parents’ house, she hadn’t been able to just crawl into bed and go back to sleep.
    She’d settled down in the den instead, the light beside her recliner on so she could see most