7b2696c981e3d60fa8abbc841c83ccf4

“I don’t know what to say, Mrs. Kingsley. Except that it’s ludicrous, of course. Me, having an affair with the mother of a student? That would be highly irregular, not to mention unethical.”

“We need to know, Mr. Beblo. We need to be able to establish where Veronica was two nights ago. And if it’s true that she was with you the night her husband was killed…”

The man wavered, and it was obvious that he was indeed busted. He seemed to realize it, for he lowered his voice and said,“Please don’t tell anyone. If word got out, my career would be over. And my marriage. I have two kids, Mrs. Kingsley.”

“I’ll leave it up to my uncle to decide how to use this information, Mr. Beblo,” said Odelia.

“But you’re a reporter. You’ll write about this in your newspaper.”

“If what you have to tell me is useful to the investigation, I don’t see the need to divulge your private business to my readers, Mr. Beblo. After all, you are an adult, and so is Mrs. James. Though you might want to talk to your wife and tell her what’s going on.”

He bowed his head.“I’m afraid Danny is right, though for the life of me I don’t know how he found out. His mother and I have always been extremely careful.”

“So where were you when Dave James was murdered?”

“Well… there’s a hotel where we like to meet. They rent out rooms but also bungalows, which are located at the back and offer more privacy. One of those bungalows has become the regular spot where we meet.”

“How long has the affair been going on?”

“Maybe a year or so? You see, Veronica, when we first met, struck me not only as a very beautiful and intelligent woman, but also as extremely unhappy in her marriage. The last couple of years she and Dave had grown apart, and had been leading separate lives. And as I got to know her, mainly through many discussions about Danny’s behavior, we grew closer, and then one thing led to another and before we knew what happened we found ourselves having an affair.”

“Does your wife know?”

“God, no.”

“Sooner or later you’re going to have to tell her what’s going on, Mr. Beblo.”

“I know, but I keep putting it off. I always thought this affair was just a temporary thing, a moment of insanity, you know. And that things would inevitably wind down after a while. But it’s been more than a year, and we’ve grown closer instead of apart.”

“And how is the relationship with you wife?”

“Not too good. We’ve been married twenty-five years now, and have two absolutely wonderful kids, but we’ve entered the stage of a marriage where we’re in some kind of a rut, and it’s obvious that she’s not happy, and I’m not happy, but we stick it out, and stay together, partly out ofhabit, partly for the kids.”

“So what are you going to do?”

He shook his head, looking miserable.“I don’t know. I really don’t.”

“Now that Dave is gone, Veronica is free to remarry,” Odelia pointed out.

“Yes, but do I want that? Does she? Will things still be the same between us when we’re not sneaking around and enjoying the thrill of meeting in secret?” He sighed and gave Odelia a crooked smile. “I’m struggling with this, Mrs. Kingsley, but then I imagine I’m not the only one. In fact I’m probably the kind of walking and talking clich? you must see all the time: a middle-aged man struggling to stay in a marriage that’s over, and still unable to commit to his girlfriend.”

“What does Veronica have to say about this?”

“I don’t know. We haven’t spoken since this thing with Dave happened. I imagine she’s pretty busy right now, dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy.”

And as he scribbled down on a piece of paper the name of the hotel where he and Veronica James had engaged in their affair, I wondered why a woman like Veronica, who was always looking for better and greater things, and loved wealth and luxury more than anything, would fall for a school principal, not exactly the hottest and most glamorous job in the world. Then again, maybe she really was in love, which is always a possibility, of course, even with a woman who comes across as some sort of ice queen.

Maybe she liked Adolpho because he was the one guy who could melt her cold heart?

And as we left the school, we happened to pass the playground, and saw how Danny was putting the squeeze on a younger kid, and watched as the younger kid handed Danny some money, in exchange for which Danny returned his sweater to him.

The interaction ended with Danny giving the younger kid a thump against the head, at which point the kid hurried off and Danny casually started counting the money.

“He really is a bully, Odelia,” I said.

“Yes, that certainly is how it looks,” Odelia agreed.

“But is he capable of murder?” asked Dooley, voicing the question that was in all our minds. Odelia had found the principal agreeable to opening Danny’s locker in her presence, but had found nothing of note in there. Some clothes that needed an urgent wash, a musty smell and one scantily-cladlady pinned to the locker door, but no ax.

Chapter 23