Page 207 of Secrets Along the Shore

For the first time, something softened in Clarice’s expression. “He did care. He had a gift for making children feel seen. It’s one of the reasons I left. He didn’t have room for a wife when there were dozens of children demanding his attention.”

She settled into her chair, folding her hands in her lap. “We never had kids of our own. He used to say the students were all the childrenhe needed. I had no objection. I’ve always been more of a dog person. Children are messy. Emotional.”

I nodded slowly, unsure whether I admired her honesty or resented her detachment. Maybe both.

“So when he began bringing us kids to the lake house…” I waited for her to complete my thought.

“That was the final straw,” she finished. “It was our sanctuary. But he insisted he could help them. He believed he had the magic touch. I didn’t believe it then. I don’t believe it now. He kept the lodge. I got the Victorian.”

“Sounds reasonable.” I bit back a smile.

“I was perfectly satisfied.”

I tapped my fingers against my thigh. “Do you remember the first student who came to the lodge those summers?”

Clarice wrinkled her brow. “Maybe. But I wasn’t paying attention to them. The students were added noise, along with Aaron’s nephew, who visited a few times. The way you all talked was so loud.”

Her callousness grated, but at least she was honest.

“It was Olivia Bishop,” I said. “Of the Bishops across the lake. The girl who drowned five years later.”

Clarice stiffened. “You’re certain?”

“Yes. Judging by the files and yearbooks in the secret room, she was Deaf and a student at Bayberry. But she wasn’t born that way. Like me, she lost her hearing after birth from a possible illness.”

Clarice blinked. “The Bishops…yes, I remember them being reclusive.”

“They weren’t always. They pulled away after Livvie became ill. Like they were ashamed.”

Clarice tilted her head. “My husband believed he could help those children. I never understood why. But he was drawn to them. Said he could fix what others couldn’t.”

I swallowed, trying not to curl my lips in distaste at her words. “Livvie got her hearing back. But no one else did. And all the other students…they’re dead. I’m the only one left.”

Clarice’s gaze narrowed. “Interesting. Sounds coincidental.”

I shook my head. “I don’t believe that for a second.”

She leaned back in her chair and braced her hands on the edge of her desk. She lifted her chin haughtily. “Then you’d better watch your back, Ms. McBride.”

I didn’t flinch. Instead, I met her chin for chin. “I’m here to make sure I face this head on, as I always do. If you know something I should, I do hope you will share and be on the moral side of what went down at that lodge.”

The flicker in her eyes said all I needed to know.

Clarice Scanlon fled her home and marriage, choosing to put her head in the sand rather than help innocent children from a monster.

As far as I could tell, she was useless to me. But at least I knew I was on the right path. People in this town knew things and were afraid to speak up. I just needed to find the weakest link and make them sing.

CHAPTER

TEN

I pulledinto the Sheriff’s Department parking lot as a low-hanging cloud stretched over the town like a veil, dulling the colors of everything in sight. I sat in my car for a long moment, watching the front doors. My conversation with Clarice had left me rattled, though I shielded my feelings from her. Her cold secrecy was exactly what I needed to confirm my growing fear.

Someone had covered up what happened to Livvie.

And Sheriff McNealy might know more as well, especially if he had been a part of the case.

I stepped out of the car and walked across the lot. Through the glass doors, I caught a glimpse of the front desk and stopped short.