Dancing in the Dark by Mary Jane Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

jail or not, her son
needed to get it straight. “And to tell you the truth, Anthony, you
sound like a spoiled brat.”
    Now Anthony joined his sister, staring at his plate in silence.
    “More garlic bread, anybody?” Emily asked, trying to break the heavy
mood. As the bread basket went around the table, Diane noted that her
daughter passed on it while the three others at the table each took
another piece.
    “Michelle, Emily’s garlic bread is delicious.” Diane held the basket
out again to her daughter. “Why don’t you have some, sweetheart?”
    “Because I’ve already had two pieces, Mom.” Michelle didn’t bother
keeping the exasperation out of her voice.
    Diane was ready to put her daughter in her place for the snippy
response, but she knew that if she came down too hard, Michelle would
only storm off and leave the rest of her dinner uneaten. Lately it
seemed the fourteen-year-old was almost looking for a reason to get
angry. Diane had been chalking it up as a reaction to the stress and
embarrassment caused by knowing that her father was in jail along with
a predictable case of teenage rebellion. But despite the many
conversations she had had with her daughter, things were not getting
better.
    Deciding to ignore Michelle’s comment, Diane plowed ahead,
describing the advantages of their new trip. “Look. There’s the beach
every day. We can go to the movies or play miniature golf at night.
There must be rides on the boardwalk somewhere nearby, so we can do
that. Maybe there will be a concert you guys would want to see.
Anthony, after dinner, why don’t you see what you can find out on the
Internet?”
    At that, Anthony lifted his digital camera, held it steady with both
hands, framed his mother in the light display, and pressed down on the
shutter release. The camera’s flash blinded Diane.
    “Anthony!” Diane yelled, exasperated. “I’ve told you a million times
not to bring that thing to the table. Daddy and I wanted you to have
the camera as a positive influence, but you’re getting to be so
annoying with it. If you bring it to the table one more time, you can
take a picture of me killing you!”
    The rest of the dinner conversation consisted of Diane and Emily
talking over what still needed to be done before the family left for
Ocean Grove in the morning.
    “May I be excused, please?” asked Michelle, and Diane felt a moment
of relief. All traces of politeness were not entirely gone. There was
hope.
    “Yes. Go ahead.”
     
    “Me too?”
    “Yes, Anthony. You too.”
    Both siblings took their plates into the kitchen. Michelle scraped
hers into the trash can, and Anthony left his on the counter next to
the sink.
    “You did the cooking, Em. I’ll clean up,” Diane volunteered.
    “No argument from me.” Emily grinned. “I’m going to run out to the
drugstore and get some sunscreen and lip balm. Want anything?”
    “A large bottle of Advil would probably be a good idea.”
    “Done.”
    Diane heard the front door of the apartment click closed as she took
Anthony’s plate and napkin from the countertop and pushed her foot down
on the trash can pedal. She was about to scrape the pasta left on the
plate into the garbage when her eyes fell on the contents already in
the can. Two pieces of untouched garlic bread lay on top of Michelle’s
paper napkin.

CHAPTER 15
    “Diane Mayfield from KEY News called today, Lou. She wants to
interview Leslie.”
    Leslie stood near the door, with her back against the dining room
wall, straining to hear her parents’ low conversation on the other
side. Audrey and Lou Patterson were at the kitchen table, sipping
decaffeinated tea and trying to decide what to do to unravel their
daughter’s mess.
    “I don’t think we should commit to anything, Audrey—not until we
have an attorney who can tell us what Leslie will be facing if the
police decide they can prove she faked the whole thing.” It was her
father’s deep voice. “I’ve gotten a few names.