Sneaking Suspicions (The Tharon Trace Mysteries Book 1) (2 page)

CHAPTER 1

November 9, 2056

A chill wind blew across the schoolyard and seeped through Tharon Trace’s thinly lined, gray wool coat, causing her to shiver.  The coat had been sufficient the day before when the temperature topped out over sixty degrees.  Clear blue skies had graced northeastern Indiana, casting a perfect backdrop for the vibrant maples bordering the schoolyard—but overnight the temperatures dipped below freezing and the leaves fell from the trees, leaving bare branches to scratch at the sky.

Tharon watched a purple ridge of clouds muscle across the rolling hills to the west of Sandy Creek, bathing the land and the town in shadows.  She smiled wistfully at the younger children repeatedly shuffling the leaves together into huge colorful mounds and then squealing with delight as they jumped into and flattened them.

As if she were a mind reader, Veronica Miller scoffed in her ear.  “Look at them getting so excited about a bunch of dumb leaves.  Honestly, there are so many better things they could be doing.”

Tharon sighed, knowing it was futile to argue with Veronica who simply couldn’t fathom the pure joy of jumping into a pile of leaves.  Shivering again, she knew it was less from the cold than the favor her new best friends expected of her.  She never thought she’d long for second grade again, but sixth grade was rapidly becoming the pits.

Her other new best friend, Tracy Walker, was the younger sister of Kaid Walker.  He and Helm Harris were in the seventh grade and, without rival, the most popular boys in middle school.  They were also on Veronica and Tracy’s radar since both girls reasoned the two boys were their tickets to popularity as well.

Tharon couldn’t help but suspect ulterior motives for Veronica and Tracy wanting to be friends with her since she was about as far down the popularity totem pole as you could get in a rural Indiana school.

Tharon put off talking to Kaid as long as Veronica would let her, yet she felt compelled to launch one more complaint.  “Do we have to tell the boys we like them?  Can’t we just say we like them without telling them we do?”

With a coaxing voice Veronica pleaded, “Just tell Kaid I like him.  That’s all you have to do.  In fact, you don’t even have to say anything.  Just give him my note and wait for his answer.”  She thrust a folded piece of notebook paper into Tharon’s gloved hand.

Veronica flicked her long straight blond hair over her shoulder.  She folded her arms, raised an eyebrow and impatiently tapped her right foot on the cracked asphalt of the school yard.  “We
all
promised, Tharon.  Look, Tracy’s talking to Eddie for you right now.” She nodded her head in the direction of the bleachers where Tracy talked with one of the Edwards twins.

Tharon’s nervous gaze traveled across the school yard to Tracy Walker who flicked her long straight black hair behind her shoulder in a perfect mimic of Veronica.  But Tracy wasn’t talking to Eddie. She huddled deep in conversation with his identical twin Everett.  Tharon shook her head. Tracy never could tell the twins apart.

Everett glared at her from the bleachers with more contempt than usual.  He was someone you didn’t want to cross.

Tharon had learned that the hard way four years ago when she had accidentally worn her work boots on the bus.  Everett kept taunting her, calling her a stinking pig and other insults that had her near tears.  If she’d just kept her mouth shut that probably would have been the end of it, but no, she had to say
smeller’s the feller
to him.  The other kids laughed until Everett turned his glare on them.

It had been her eighth birthday and she remembered it vividly.  At the end of recess, Everett pulled her behind the dumpster and threw her down in the sticky pungent filth that seeped from it.  Then he straddled her and pummeled her chest with his fists.

Eddie pulled Everett off her when he saw how savagely his brother was beating her, but not before Everett landed a parting kick to her ribs and left her with a warning that if she told anyone, no one would believe her because it would be their word against hers, and if she told, he’d beat her again.

Eddie at least seemed sorry and didn’t call her names, but he never tried to stop his brother from ridiculing her.  And she had no doubt if it came down to her word against theirs, he’d side with his brother.

No one crossed Everett.  Not even his brother.  In that way he was like Veronica.

Right on cue, a huff spewed from Veronica’s lips reminding Tharon that she’d agreed to talk to Kaid, who had hurt her more deeply than the Edwards twins.  Nothing stings worse than the betrayal of a friend—unless it’s the betrayal from two friends.  And it was the
nothing
that stung.

Kaid Walker and Helm Harris had been her best friends since she was seven, until the past spring when suddenly they just stopped.  Stopped playing with her, stopped sitting with her on the bus, stopped talking to her.  The cold ache bore into her heart again.  She had no idea what she had done that caused them to no longer like her.

Veronica and Tracy had filled the friendship void left by Kaid and Helm.  At least the girls kept her too busy to brood about missing the boys.  Veronica’s forceful enthusiasm filled the summer with sleepovers, shopping, and theme parties such as polishing nails, karaoke, and makeovers.  Veronica’s latest scheme, to get boyfriends before Thanksgiving, edged Tharon way outside her comfort zone.

Given her history with the twins, common sense dictated the Edwards twins would be the last boys Tharon would choose to like.  She chewed on her lip, trying to remember how that happened.  She recalled a conversation in which Veronica and Tracy claimed Kaid and Helm as
theirs
and pestered Tharon to pick a boy.  They shot down every safe suggestion she made as unsuitable.  Finally Veronica said, “I think you should pick one of the Edwards twins.  Which one do you like more?”

Of course she said she liked Eddie better.  He at least hadn’t beaten her.  And somehow that innocuous declaration linked her to Eddie in the blasted boyfriend scheme.  The only consolation she had was that she didn’t want a boyfriend in the first place and was confident Eddie would never agree.

She shook her head wondering how she’d ever given Veronica the power to sweep her along in this silly plan.

The wind pressed a mass of rustling leaves across the ground like a hoard of fleeing rats tumbling over each other, and skittering towards Tharon.  In many ways she identified with the leaves, tossed about on the whims of a greater force.  Veronica was the wind.  Tharon was a leaf rat.

Veronica’s foot tap turned to a stomp and snapped at Tharon’s attention.  She looked at Veronica and couldn’t mask the hurt in her voice. “I don’t know why you want
me
to do it.  Kaid’s hardly said two words to me since last spring.”

Veronica took a deep breath.  When she spoke her tone was deceptively calm, the way the wind gets still right before a bad storm.  “I’m sure he’s just busy with sports now.  He doesn’t have time for his little neighbor and her little games.”

Tharon averted her eyes at the stinging insult, mainly because it rang so true to her.

Veronica placed a fuzzy pink gloved hand on Tharon’s shoulder. “Look, I don’t think he hates you.” She stood tall, flipped her hair behind her shoulders and smoothed her jacket.  “It just means he’s ready to go from a friend who’s a little girl, like you, to a genuine girlfriend, like me.”

Self-consciously fingering her long brown pigtail braids, Tharon looked down at her thrift store jeans and shoes and realized Veronica was right.  Even though there were only a few months difference in their ages, Veronica was much more suited to be a girlfriend to any boy, especially someone like Kaid.

The realization left her with a pang of longing for the easy friendships she missed.  It wasn’t that she wanted Kaid as a boyfriend, she didn’t want to have a boyfriend, but she ached for her old friendships with Kaid and Helm and all the fun they’d shared playing in the woods and on the farm.  Maybe she should stop trying to hang on to a childhood that no longer existed.

More as a moan of dread, than to dispute the point, she repeated, “I thought we were just picking boys to like.  I didn’t know we were going to tell them we liked them.”

Veronica stomped her foot again and planted her hands on her hips.  Her fitted pink down jacket hiked up, exposing the sequined pockets of her blue jeans.  “We agreed to all get boyfriends before Thanksgiving.  We can’t be friends if we don’t keep our promises to each other.  Just give the note to Kaid now, while he’s alone, and I’ll go talk to Helm for Tracy.  Honestly, it isn’t that hard.”

Tharon shoved her hands into her coat pockets and scuffed the soles of her shoes as she dragged herself across the schoolyard.  She exhaled her own visible sigh into the cold air and trudged toward Kaid.

Kaid Walker’s dark hair, blue eyes, dimples, and friendly nature brought a smile to the lips of all the sixth and seventh grade girls—including Tharon.  The Walker and Trace families were close friends, and she, Kaid, and Tracy had practically grown up together.  She’d always felt comfortable around Kaid—somewhere between friendship and siblings—not giddy and nervous like most of the girls.  At least she did until he turned his back on their friendship.  Now she didn’t know what to feel.

The closer she got to Kaid, the more apprehension filled her heart.  Would he snub her and treat her like a little kid?  Even though the next day she was turning twelve—there was a big difference between her twelve and his thirteen.

Sure, they couldn’t stay kids forever, roaming the woods on imaginary quests, climbing trees and playing till dusk every night.  She just never dreamed the transition away from that happy childhood would be so abrupt.  She thought, whatever else changed, that they’d always be friends.  She never thought she wouldn’t be good enough for his friendship.

Her nervousness mounted and she felt like a hive of bees were swarming inside her chest, trying to sting their way out.

Kaid hopped from one foot to the other trying to warm up as he waited his turn at flag football.  Visible white puffs of breath burst from his mouth and accented his cheers for his team.  His jet black hair poked out from under his tweed newsboy cap.  Even from a distance she could see his dimples.

She envied those playing and wished she could play too, but Veronica had decreed that flag football wasn’t a proper activity for popular girls.  Tharon frowned.  Before Veronica opened her eyes, she’d lived in blissful ignorance of the value of popularity.  She felt another tug at her heart as she longed again for the time spent hunting with her father, or long days exploring the woods with Kaid and Helm.

She thought
what is wrong with this picture?
  The faces of the girls on the field were filled with smiles and laughter, while her nervous apprehension for delivering notes and scheming about boys felt crippling.

Kaid turned as she neared him.  “Hey, Tharon, want to play?” he nodded toward the field and his face broke into a dimpled grin.

His easy smile threw her off.  She muttered, “Well, I’m not sure.” She cast a glance back at Veronica whose frown turned into a radiant smile when Kaid followed Tharon’s gaze.  “I’m supposed to tell you that Veronica likes you.”  She fumbled in her pocket, and passed the note to Kaid.

He unfolded the note, glanced at it and stuffed it into his pocket.  “Why are you supposed to tell me?”

She shrugged.  “Veronica and Tracy said we have to have boyfriends before Thanksgiving.”

Kaid shook his head. “I knew Tracy was up to something.  She’s been way too nice to me lately.”

Tharon plunged ahead before she lost her nerve.  “Veronica picked you and Tracy picked Helm.” 
Why on earth did I ever agree to this?

Kaid crossed his arms and gave her a crooked grin. “So who did you pick?”

Tharon shook her head. “I didn’t want to do this but they said I had to like someone too so I picked Eddie Edwards.” 
Actually, Eddie was picked for me. 
She kicked at a stone and it popped out of the dirt.  Why did the plan seem wonderful when Veronica talked about it, but when she explained it, the scheme sounded lame?

Out on the field Helm snatched the football from the air and sprinted for the goal.  His strong legs pumped hard as he pounded the sod and stretched the gap between him and the pursuing team.  He crossed the end zone and danced a victory jig.

Kaid jabbed the air with his fist and shouted, “Way to go, Helm!”  He turned back to Tharon. “So do you like Eddie?”

She smiled at Helm’s dance and shrugged her shoulders.  “Not really.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “So why are you saying you like him?”

She shrugged her shoulders again and held up her palms. “Because Veronica and Tracy said I had to pick someone and they took the two best boys.”  She blushed as soon as the words escaped from her mouth.  She watched Helm jog easily to the sidelines.  His blue knit hat popped off and his thick light brown hair danced in the wind.

Kaid moved in front of her to block her field of view.  His mouth stretched into a wide grin and Tharon was sure he’d sprouted an extra dimple.  “So you think Helm and I are the best boys?”