Page 10 of Laced With Secrets

“And Richard Fairfax Sr., definitely. He was hard to miss—important family, always impeccably dressed. He and Thomas would sit together in that corner booth, heads close, talking quietly.” She hesitated. “The way they looked at each other… even at eleven, I knew that wasn’t just business.”

So Richard was connected to Thomas. That confirmed what we’d suspected from the photograph.

“Who else?” Penny asked.

“Robert Winslow, of course.” Sienna tapped her fingers on the table. “Though he mostly kept to himself. He just never seemed the same after his wife’s death, if you know what I mean.”

“And then there was your grandfather Joe,” Sienna continued, and my breath caught. “He and your grandfather Benji came in often. “Chesapeake was… intimidating, but he seemed protectiveof Thomas. I remember once seeing him put his hand on Thomas’ shoulder when Thomas looked particularly upset.”

My mind raced. Thomas had very personal connections to Richard Fairfax, Robert Winslow, Vincent Antonelli Sr., and my own grandfather’s circle. But who was the man who led the construction crews?

“Did you ever get the name of the guy with the hard hat?” I asked.

Sienna’s forehead creased with deep lines as she dug through her memories. “If I did, I don’t recall. But I definitely think he was the foreman.”

“Did you ever hear what they were discussing?” Penny asked.

“Not really. But I remember one afternoon—must have been mid-April—Thomas was here with the foreman and Judge Whitmore. It was unusual to me because the judge never ate at the diner before. Thomas was practically shaking, telling them he couldn’t be part of whatever they were planning. The judge kept trying to calm him down, saying they’d handle everything, but Thomas just kept saying ‘This isn’t right. I won’t be part of it.’”

“Part of what?” Penny leaned forward.

“I don’t know. I had to finish my homework and I wanted to play outside before it got dark.” Sienna’s expression turned sad. “About two weeks later, Thomas disappeared. And everyone acted like he’d just moved away. Being a kid, I just assumed they were right. Looking back on it now…”

Robbie arrived with our food, setting down my salad and ice cream, then placing an enormous bowl of pickles in front ofPenny, who visibly fought back a grimace. As soon as they both walked away, we executed our food swap with practiced ease—I slid my ice cream toward Penny while he pushed the pickle bowl in my direction.

I speared a pickle with my fork and took a bite, the sour crunch satisfying the craving instantly.

I moaned.

“You’re making obscene noises,” Penny observed, dutifully taking a small spoonful of the ice cream while I combined a pickle with vanilla in the most satisfying bite imaginable. Heaven.

“I can’t help it. This is exactly what I needed.”

“The food or the information?”

“Both.” I leaned forward, lowering my voice. “So we already know Thomas was connected to multiple men who were all involved in the district renewal project. Richard Fairfax, Judge Whitmore, Robert Winslow, Vicente Antonelli, my grandfathers, and this foreman guy, whoever he was…”

“Any of them could be the baby’s father,” Penny said quietly. “Excepting Joe, of course. I don’t believe he’d step out on your grandfather like that.”

I nodded. I didn’t believe it either.

“Which leaves us with five suspects...” I said while alternating between salad and my forbidden craving combination.

“What were they planning that he didn’t want a part of?” Penny asked before taking a hearty bite of his club sandwich.

I thought about the timeline. “Spring of 1973. The big preservation deal. Richard’s marriage to Caroline Pemberton happened not long after Thomas disappeared.”

“The pregnancy would have threatened the engagement.” Penny’s jaw worked as he chewed thoughtfully, his brow furrowing. “And that cost Thomas his life?”

“Maybe. But based on what Sienna said she overheard, I’m thinking Thomas discovered something illegal about the development deal and threatened to expose it.” I took another bite of ice cream before surreptitiously following it with a pickle slice. “We need to find out what that renewal project actually involved. Who benefited? Who had the most to lose if Thomas talked?”

My phone buzzed. A text from Dominic:

How’s lunch? Want me to pick you up?

I typed back:

Good. Getting a ride home with Marcus.