Visiting the Dragon Lady

So far, Miranda has been raising the son of her ex-lover, Dougie. She obtained temporary custody when Dougie disappeared without a trace. But now, Dougie has returned, and Miranda is afraid he is here to take the boy. A teacher who has been hassling Waylon has been murdered, and Dougie is the prime suspect. It is up to Miranda to prove his innocence.

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Aaron, Mitch and Waylon eat three very large bowls of ice cream with all the toppings, then drift outside to throw the football. It warms my heart to see them out there. They are just three guys, talking about things that I'm not privy to and probably don't want to be. It's not a cop, a misguided thirty-something, and a kid who is worried about losing his father.

I step into the bathroom and turn on the shower. I wipe the fog from the mirror as the water heats up the room.

"Hello, Miranda," Reflection says. "You really thought pretending to be a reporter was going to get those people to open up to you and confess to murdering that man?"

"No, but sometimes you can pick up on a vibe or they might say something related to it. You never know."

"You've watched too many Columbo and Murder She Wrote episodes. You need to tread carefully, Miranda. Dougie is a sitting duck in that hospital. Piss the wrong person off and they might just put a pillow over his face when no one is looking."

I do a double take to see if it's my reflection or someone else's. "Damn. That's harsh."

"Hey, it happens all the time in television shows." Reflection shrugs and nods for me to re-wipe the mirror. "Maybe your monster-in-law, Elaine will talk to you now. Her golden goose has been murdered, after all. She could have a shit storm brewing if what you think he was doing is true. Maybe this Evanoff kid is just the tip of the iceberg."

I hadn't though about that, to be honest. Suppose other students come forward and make accusations about Mr. Tomlin. Suppose Elaine was protecting him. She acted like my suspicions were unfounded. She has been known to act surprised about other things. (Her darling son, Farley, my cheating ex-husband, has five children by three different women. This all during the course of our marriage. Yet, she was surprised I tossed his cheating ass out after nine years.)

After I shower, I go to write in my journal, recounting the day and outlining my thoughts.



So, Elaine will either help me or she will do everything in her power to stop my investigation. There will be no in between with her. I really do hate seeing her. She has bad karma, and sometimes I think that shit is contagious. I don't bring donuts, just a bottle of that atrocious wine she used to drink at Christmas as a peace offering, if you will.

The receptionist seems to know I'm not here for any other reason than to see Elaine. She looks at the bottle of wine in my hand and smiles wryly. "Wish I had an opener. I could use a glass."

I turn the bottle around and stare at the label. "No, this swill is terrible, but Elaine fancies it. Maybe next time I'll bring a real bottle of wine for you."

"She's almost done with the grief counselor."

The thought of Elaine needing a grief counselor seems strange to me. She is usually the one causing the grief. "I guess this has hit the school pretty hard."

"Well, yeah. He was nice enough. He could definitely rub people the wrong way, but to be murdered? That just doesn't seem real."

"I only met him a couple of times. Was he a nice guy?"

She shrugs, a soft smile coming to her face. "He was nice to me. The students were crazy about him."

I think about Waylon. He couldn't have been the only one who had a problem with him, there had to have been others.

"It's a shame what happened," I mutter. "Did you say Elaine is getting grief counseling?"

She sakes her head. "She's talking to the grief counselor. Trying to target the students who are having a hard time dealing with this. She is going to set up some sessions for them, if they need extra help."

"I guess Terence Evanoff will probably need that," I say, nonchalantly dropping the leading question in her lap.

"Definitely, Terrence has been out of school since the day it happened. He was quite close to Mr. Tomlin."

I'm about to ask her what else she knows about Tomlin and Evanoff, when the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I sense the static charge of evil in the air. It is her. She is drawing close.

"Oh, joy, Miranda," Elaine says flatly. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"Brought you a little gift. You are dealing with a terrible situation right now. I'm just worried about you, Elaine."

She laughs, but there is little humor in it. "Ugh, that God awful wine."

I frown, remembering having to toast to Christmas and New Year's with this crap, at her urging.

"I thought you loved this. You drink it every Christmas."

Elaine smirks. "I only got it because I knew you hated it. I just enjoyed watching you try to finish the glass."

I shake my head. "You cu-," I bite my tongue as I see the receptionist staring wide eyed at me. "You comedic little minx, you."

Elaine walks over and plucks the bottle out of my hands. " I know better than to think you'll just go away on your own. You've got seven minutes. Come on."

I hardly wait for her to close her office door before I start my questions. "So, the office lady said that all the students loved Mr. Tomlin. That true?"

Elaine nods. "Most did. There were a few that had problems with him, but that can be said about every teacher in the school. Mr. Tomlin was well liked and a very good teacher. It was mainly parents that didn't like him."

"Mrs. Evanoff?"

"Among others. You didn't care for him, did you?"

"I didn't trust him."

Elaine says nothing, just stares at me.

"Okay, I didn't like him. But, damn, Elaine, you know I wouldn't kill anyone. If your son is still walking around, there's your proof I'm no killer."

She graciously ignores my remark and leans over closer. "Mr. Tomlin was a beacon to some of the young people. He was a safe person to talk to. A lot of parents didn't like that."

"You mean the gay students."

She smiles. "It isn't easy for a lot of them. They are confused, get bullied, some even get physically intimidated. Tomlin let them know there is hope after high school."

I sit back. "I didn't know that."

Elaine smiles brightly. "There is a lot you don't know, Miranda. Believe it or not."

I glance at the bottle of crappy wine. "You want me to dispose of that?"

"Heaven's no, Miranda. It was a gift," she lifts the bottle and gazes at it. "I'll dispose of it."

And, with that, she drops it in her trash can next to the desk.