“Your parents can vote for whomever they like,” Kennedy said. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
“You might have a problem with it if you lose the election.”
“I’m not going to lose the election.”
Joe smiled slyly. “I’m just saying that it’d be a shame if you did. Especially when you had all the support you needed—until you got involved with Grace.”
“I’ll see whoever I want,” Kennedy said with a scowl.
“Of course. I’m not trying to tell you any different.”
Kennedy didn’t believe it. But before he could say anything else, someone touched his arm. When he turned, he saw Janice Michaelson, a woman about four years older who was currently living with a female friend she’d met on the Internet. Because she’d never married—or apparently even dated—rumor had it that she and her friend were lovers. With her boyish haircut, lack of makeup and choice of wardrobe, Janice certainly fit the stereotype, but if she was a lesbian, she’d never admitted it. Kennedy didn’t blame her for keeping quiet. Being g*y wasn’t easy in a town like Stillwater.
“Wanna dance?” she said.
Joe made some wisecrack about which of them would lead, and Tim and Randy started to laugh. Buzz pretended he hadn’t heard.
“Sure.” Kennedy put his hand on the small of Janice’s back, hoping to steer her away before Joe could insult her again. But she stood her ground and leveled Joe with a look.
“At least the women I know like me,” she said. “That’s more than I can say for you.”
Joe flushed as Tim said, “Oh, she burned you, baby. She burned you bad.” Even Buzz laughed.
“You think that’s funny, you fat ugly dyke?” Joe said. “At least I’m not suffering from penis envy.”
Her gaze fell pointedly to his crotch. “With the size of your dick, you should be.”
The muscles bunched in Joe’s arms as he shoved off the edge of the table. He opened his mouth to make a retort, but Kennedy recognized the gleam in his eyes and yanked Janice onto the dance floor.
“Joe’s an idiot,” he said as he led her through the crush of bodies into the very middle.
“If you’re just figuring that out, you’re a little slow on the uptake,” she murmured.
“He saved my life.”
“He probably pushed you in to begin with.”
Kennedy had never danced with Janice before. Typically, she and her friend—or partner, if the rumors were true—hung out at the bar or played pool. Sometimes they sat in back, watching football on the big screen and eating chips and salsa.
“Where’s Constance tonight?” he asked.
“She went to visit her father in Nashville.”
“Is that where she’s from?”
“That’s where her father’s from. She was raised in Michigan by her mother.”
He was already running out of small talk. “So you’re on your own tonight?”
“I’m not staying long. Actually, I was on my way home until I saw you come in.”
“Me?” he responded in surprise.
“Yes. This is probably really stupid of me, but—” she glanced to either side and lowered her voice “—I need to tell you something.”
Now he was really befuddled. What could Janice have to say to him? “About what?”
“I’ve heard you’re seeing Grace Montgomery.”
“Don’t tell me I’ve lost your vote, too,” he said with a grimace.
“Whether or not you date Grace won’t affect my support. But there’s a lot more at stake here than an election. That’s why I feel I need to say something.”
“If you’re waiting for my full attention, you’ve got it.”
She bit her lip, looking uncertain.
“Well?”
“I hope I don’t live to regret this,” she said with a small groan, and gestured him closer.
Kennedy could see Joe straining to get a peek at them and turned Janice the other way. “What is it?”
“I saw Clay driving Reverend Barker’s car the night he disappeared.”
“What time was that?”
“Late. Very late.”
Kennedy missed a step and nearly crashed into her. Instead of trying to continue dancing, he pulled her off to the far side, well away from Joe and the others. “Want to repeat that?”
“You heard me,” she said.
“But that can’t be. All the Montgomerys say they never saw Barker or his car after he left for the church at six o’clock.”
“The only member of their household who might tell you the truth was staying at a friend’s house, remember?” she said.
It was his turn to look around, to be certain no one was listening. “You’re sure it was him, Janice?”
“Positive.”
Kennedy hated the confidence in her voice. “How?” he asked, feeling sick.
“Because I saw him. I was coming the other way.”
His mind raced as he tried to absorb the significance of Janice’s words and what they meant to Grace, his family, the Vincellis, the rest of the Montgomerys, the whole town. “Where were you?”
“Gossett Road. I was coming back to town. He was heading out. His mother was following him in that old Fairlane she used to drive.”
Kennedy pressed his fingers to his temples. After all these years, why was Janice divulging this now? “Why didn’t you tell anyone at the time?”
“I was only seventeen.”
“So?”
When she answered, she mumbled so badly, he couldn’t understand her. “What?” he prompted.
“I said I would’ve had to reveal what I was doing out that night!” she snapped.
Lou Bertrum turned to stare at them, and Kennedy motioned Janice even farther into the corner. “What were you doing?”
“I don’t want to say.”
“It’s too late for that now.”
She put a fist on her hip, shifted her weight, sighed. Finally, she said, “I was coming back from Lori Hendersen’s house, okay?”
Lori Hendersen? Although it had been years since he’d seen her, Kennedy immediately remembered his sophomore history teacher. Along with several of her friends from Jackson, she’d organized a Gay Rights parade that marched through the center of town his senior year—and had her house burnt to the ground for her trouble. “Oh,” he said as he realized exactly why Janice had maintained her silence for so long.