Page 74 of Deadly Waves

“It’s not some big mystery,” Tabitha said. “He likes younger girls and I wanted an older man. Teenaged boys are such a bother. They’re immature and have no idea how to treat a woman. I like my men older. That’s been the case since I lost my virginity to Captain Archibald when I was fourteen.”

Mandy was horrified. “What?”

“Yeah, he got drunk one night and thought I was his dead wife or something,” Tabitha said. She didn’t seem particularly bothered by the admission. “That was his excuse anyway. We were alone in one of the bars after closing because my father had a conference call. It was over within five minutes, which sucked, but it was the way he treated me after that sold me on older men. He was so … caring.”

“That’s because he knew he raped you and wanted to make sure you wouldn’t talk,” Sophie said, disgusted. “That’s not how you show someone you care.”

“You don’t know,” Tabitha seethed. “You weren’t there.”

“Fine,” Sophie forced out, reining in her temper. “That doesn’t explain how you ended up with this … tool.”

“She approached me at school,” Peterson supplied. “She seemed … keen … to spend time together. I knew what she wanted. I know what they all want. I was happy to give it to her. Unfortunately for me, she kept wanting me to give it to her even after I tried to move on.”

Sophie couldn’t muster a lot of sympathy for the despicable man. “Oh, poor you,” she said. “Let me guess, you decided to date the teacher – I can’t remember her name – as a front to hide what you were doing with your students. How well did Tabitha take that?”

“Not well at all.”

“Why should I?” Tabitha snapped. “He’s my man. He’s going to be my husband as soon as I’m legal.” She missed Peterson’s reaction to the words, and the momentary flash of disgust that flitted across his face. “He only dated Mrs. Larkspur as a cover. Isn’t that right, honey?”

“That’s right,” Peterson gritted out, forcing a grim smile. “I only love my Tabitha.”

Something was decidedly wrong with this situation, other than the obvious, of course. Sophie couldn’t quite wrap her mind around what it was. Mandy was quicker on the uptake. Perhaps it was her time studying Clint’s history for clues on what turned him into a madman, but she grasped the truth before her friends could figure it out.

“You killed the teacher, didn’t you, Tabitha?”

Peterson jolted at the words, stunned. “No, that’s not true,” he said. “Denise took off on her own. No one killed her.”

Mandy didn’t believe that for a second. “Tabitha killed her because she was competition. You have to see that. You decided to move on permanently because you found it was easier dating someone your own age than constantly looking over your shoulder. I’m going to bet that Tabitha got wind of that and … fashioned her own happy ending.”

“You’re smarter than you look,” Tabitha said, looking Mandy up and down appraisingly. “That must be how you got your hot husband. I would totally go for him if I didn’t already have a man.”

“Yes, but James isn’t interested in children,” Ally pointed out, speaking before she realized how stupid it was to agitate the girl. “I mean … he likes his women a little older.”

“Obviously,” Tabitha said dryly, her eyes flicking to Mandy. “You guys are kind of kinky, aren’t you? I saw you flashing your panties to him in the dinner line. He seemed ready to take you right there.”

Mandy’s cheeks colored. James wasn’t going to be happy when he realized how many people saw her little show. Of course, he wasn’t going to be happy when he realized she was in danger again either. Nope. No matter how you looked at it, James Hardy was not going to be happy tonight. The realization caused Mandy’s heart to roll.

“We’re married,” Mandy said. “I don’t think kink really comes into play.”

Ally made an incredulous face but wisely kept her mouth shut.

“Is that true?” Peterson asked, his eyes latching onto Tabitha’s face. “Did you kill Denise?”

“I didn’t kill her,” Tabitha answered. “I simply … removed her from the picture.” She sounded much older than her sixteen years. Mandy couldn’t help but wonder when she stopped being a child. Was it when Richard Archibald raped her and left her confused about love? Perhaps she was always like this.

“What does that mean?” Peterson asked, his voice breaking. “What did you do to Denise?”

“I simply asked to meet her at a private place so we could talk,” Tabitha replied. “I told her about our relationship and that I needed you to stay with me so it would be beneficial to all of us if she took a step back.

“She didn’t believe me at first,” she continued. “She thought I was making it up. Then, after that, she wanted to turn you into the police. She switched sides pretty quickly. I mean … she didn’t even take five minutes to convince and then she was ready to betray you. I did you a favor.”

“What did you do?” Peterson hissed, clenching his fists.

“I hit her over the head with a flashlight that I had in the back seat of my car,” Tabitha replied. “She was unconscious but not dead. Then I put her into the trunk of her car and pushed it into the lake. It was a lot easier than I thought. The car kind of rolled itself in, actually.”

Peterson’s mouth dropped open. “You drowned her?”

“It’s no different than what you did to Shelly,” Tabitha challenged. “You got her pregnant and made her disappear.”