61
After her conversation with Fran, Aline was troubled. She had to speak to Mike Wilson about Jamie, but she knew it would not be a short conversation.
He answered on the first ring. “Mike, it’s Aline Dowling. I have some information I want to share with you. By any chance are you free for dinner tonight?”
“Yes, I am” was his immediate response.
“Do you know Esty Street, the restaurant in Park Ridge?”
“Sure. I love their food.”
“Seven o’clock tonight?”
“We’re on.”
For the rest of the afternoon Aline had a sense of relief. She knew Mike Wilson was determined to find Kerry’s killer, but he didn’t know Jamie the way she did.
When she arrived at the restaurant, Mike was already there. He waved to her from a table in the corner. She slid into her chair and saw a white wine waiting for her. This time there was a white wine in front of Mike as well.
“Tonight I’m joining you,” he said.
“If ever I needed a glass of wine, it’s now,” Aline told him.
“Then I’m glad you didn’t have to wait for it. By the way, how are your folks doing?”
“They’re doing a little better. They’re planning a long weekend in Bermuda.”
“Glad to hear that. They’ve been through a lot.”
The waiter came over with menus. “Let’s take a look and get our order in before it gets crowded.”
He could sense the tension in Aline. Her eyes looked strained, and he realized that in the last few weeks she had lost some weight.
Mike said, “Aline, I asked how your parents are doing. I neglected to ask how you’re doing.”
“Frankly, Mike, I just can’t believe what’s going on. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know Alan Crowley very well. Most of the time Kerry went out with him I was in London. I met him a few times when I was home for a holiday. But whenever Kerry mentioned him in emails to me, it seemed obvious that she and Alan cared deeply about each other. I know that they had that spat at the party, but there’s a big difference between being upset with each other and killing somebody.
“You certainly know that Tony Carter is telling everybody that Jamie killed Kerry. It drives me crazy to hear that. I started babysitting Jamie when he was eight years old. I can tell you right now that there’s no way in the world that he ever would hurt Kerry. Quite simply, he loved her.”
“Aline, you just admitted to me that you don’t really know Alan Crowley that well because you were away during the time Kerry was dating him. Let me remind you, you were also away from Jamie those three years. That sweet young boy you babysat for is now a young man. People change over time. That may be the case with Jamie.”
“Mike, people don’t change that much. I would swear on a stack of Bibles that Jamie is incapable of hurting anyone, especially Kerry.”
“Aline, I’m going to share something with you that I really shouldn’t. I want your assurance that this conversation stays at this table.”
Aline nodded.
“I went to the Chapman home the other day and talked to Jamie. My office is currently processing several pieces of potential evidence. We’ll know a lot more when we get the results.”
Aline knew she had to be satisfied with that. “Just to let you know, Mike,” she said, “my mother agrees with me that Jamie would never hurt Kerry. And she saw Jamie all the time in the three years I was gone.”
“Aline, I want to find out what happened to Kerry. I’m going to pursue every lead to its conclusion.”
He decided to change the subject. “What’s new at school?”
“The usual. Right now the seniors are under the gun to finish their college application essays. I’m spending a lot of time working on them. As you can imagine, some of them are so torn between what schools to apply to.”
“I’m not surprised. This is the first really important decision they’re making in their lives.”
“I do have one student I’m worried about. She started at the school in January after moving here from Chicago. For no apparent reason her marks have gone down. She’s very withdrawn. Her parents are worried sick.”
“Do you think drugs are involved?”
“No, I don’t. But I can sense she’s holding something back. I just don’t know what it can be.”
“Does she have any friends at school?”
“Even though she’s two years younger, she was very close to Kerry when they played lacrosse last spring. I’m told that Kerry was her confidante on the team. And now she misses her very much.”
“Are you worried she might hurt herself?”
“Yes, and so are her parents. They tried to get her to see a therapist. She refused.”
“Typical, unfortunately. I really hope the problem is homesickness and, with time, she’ll get over it.”
Their orders came, and Mike was happy that as the meal went on, Aline’s spirits brightened considerably.
Mike walked her to her car and opened the door for her. It was an effort to resist the urge to put his arm around her.