“Blackmail would certainly jive with what Horace said about Raymond wanting his money now. Perhaps he truly couldn’t wait.”
"So we need to figure out who he might have been blackmailing and what he knew."
"Exactly." Nana June pulled out an old microfiche reader and began loading reels of old Meadowlark Creek Gazettes. "Let's start with twenty-five years ago. The Carter girls and Lucy were born and raised here. Twenty-five years ago, they would have been in high school."
Sara Lee opened her laptop and pulled up the library's newspaper database. "Nana June, this will be so much faster online. Watch. Oh, what was Lucy’s maiden name?”
“Bernley."
She typed in search terms—Lucy Henderson, Lucy Bernley, Meadowlark Creek. Within seconds, results populated the screen. The wedding announcement they'd seen before. A few mentions of committee work. But then, going back, Sara Lee clicked on an article. "Look at this.”
It was a grainy photograph of cheerleaders at a football game. The names were listed under the photograph. Among them were Petunia Carter and Lucy. “They were classmates and cheerleaders together.”
Nana June nodded. “Petunia, her sisters, and Lucy were all close in age. Pretty girls. Never heard anything bad about any of them.”
Sara Lee kept going. She found a copy of an old yearbook, but Lucy’s photograph was missing. “Did she move away?”
Nana June’s brow furrowed. “Her family didn’t. I have no idea why she's not listed there.”
“Not in the yearbook, not listed in any clubs, sports, or cheerleading.” She kept going and went on to the next year. “This would have been when she was a senior, and she’s in this one. It’s like a year is missing.”
They continued searching. Sara Lee's fingers flew over the keyboard while June cross-referenced with physical records. Gradually, a picture began to emerge.
Lucy Bernley went to college, then came back andwas with a young man, Orville Henderson. “So that’s what our mayor looked like when he was younger,” Sara Lee said, grinning.
“Oh, yes… I remember when they got married. Quite the handsome couple. He worked at the bank in town.”
"And Lucy was very much a part of Meadowlark Creek society," Sara Lee observed. "Making herself visible, respectable, connected."
"Why she was gone that year, I simply don’t remember hearing anything about it." Nana June nodded slowly. "Not impossible. But if she had been a young teen running from something, I can only imagine Raymond ferreting out her secrets."
Sara Lee thought about Lucy's perfect appearance, her careful social status, and the way she'd become exactly what a mayor's wife should be.
But what happened in that missing year?
They shifted focus to Bob’s lumber business next. Nana June searched through business registrations and tax records while Sara Lee pulled up newspaper archives.
"Here," Sara Lee said, finding an article from several years ago. "Cordell Lumber facing financial difficulties. Owner Bob says economic downturn affecting sales… considering loan options to maintain operations."
Nana June found the follow-up in public records. "Large loan taken out in the next year. But look at this… it was paid off entirely by the end of the next year. That's unusually fast for a business that was struggling."
"Where did the money come from to pay it off?" Sara Lee wondered aloud.
"That's a good question." Nana June tapped her pen against her notebook. "Bob gets a large loan. A year later, it's paid off, and business is booming enough that he can invest in Barb's coffee shop. What happened in between?"
Sara Lee remembered Barb's pride in her father's success, her gratitude for his investment in her dream. If that money had come from something shady and if Raymond had known about it...
She pushed the thought away. They were just gathering information. Not making accusations.
They continued researching, pulling up articles about Helena’s accounting practice. She'd worked for multiple local businesses over the years, including Bob's lumber company. Jerry and Ivy's restaurant had weathered various economic challenges but always managed to stay afloat. They read about Judge Melton's career and his mother's death two years ago.
Mister Smee had moved from the bookshelf to one of the reading tables, where he'd curled up on top of a book someone had left there. Sara Lee went over to move him off the library materials, but stopped when she saw the title.
"Nana June," she called quietly. "Look at this."
Her grandmother came over and read the book's spine. "The Secret History. Hmmm…it’s about hidden crimes coming to light years later." She looked down at the cat with an expression of wonder that Sara Lee was getting used to. "Thank you, Mister Smee. Very helpful."
Sara Lee stroked the cat's soft fur, feeling the rumble of his purr. "Do you really think he understands what he's doing?"
