Schuyler Square Day 54 Veronica Doesn't Like Coincidences...or Nosy Girl Reporters

“That is a strange coincidence,” Veronica agreed.

“Isn’t it? It reminds me of a story I once heard,” Chelsea said, nervously fingering the large rhinestone necklace she was wearing. “A friend of mine’s family had tickets to see a play. Her father didn’t want to go so he stayed home. While they were at the play he killed himself. My friend grew up and after she got married, the same play came to town. My friend went to see it again and while she was at the play, her husband committed suicide. Isn’t that odd?”

Tom laughed shortly. “I don’t think I’d be too interested in seeing that play ever again. What play was it?”

“Our Town.”

“Did you make that up?” Tom asked.

“I did not. It happened to my best friend in high school.”

Veronica wanted to get out of the Schuyler Square Country Club in the worst kind of way. “Tom, would you please take me home? Now?”  Not that she was so anxious to go back to the house where Mary Austin had been murdered but she knew that she couldn’t stay for one more second in the ballroom while Ron’s body grew colder and colder in the kitchen.

“Of course. Do you need a ride, Chelsea?”

Chelsea shook her head. “No, thanks. I have our car. Peter went to the station with another officer.”

Tom gently steered Veronica through the crowds of people toward the door that led to the parking lot. Once they were outside in the cool night air, Veronica felt her head begin to clear.  "What would compel Chelsea to share that strange story with us?" she asked.


"Chelsea's been pretty strange herself lately," Tom commented. "She's usually so down to earth but for the past few months she's been acting, I don't know, flaky."


"The direct result of living with a no-good, cheating louse." She should know. She almost lived with one twenty years ago. And now he was dead. “I’m going to call Kirk,” she announced.

“No need to do that,” Tom replied, nodding toward an approaching figure. “Here he comes now.”

Kirk quickly crossed the parking lot and immediately enveloped his mother in a bear hug. “I’m sorry, Mom,” he said. “I know this has to be hard on you.”

“You know?”

Kirk nodded. “I was there when it happened.”

Veronica jerked her head back. “When it happened?”

“I mean right after it happened. I saw…I saw his body in the kitchen.”

“Oh, Kirk. I’m sorry too. What a nightmare. Who could have done this?”

Mindy Cooper joined them, her dark eyes blazing. “Hello, Veronica, Tom,” she said. “Some night, huh? A tragedy, of course, but I just heard the strangest thing—did you know that the woman who was murdered in your house was killed on this very night twenty years ago?”

“Mindy,” Kirk requested. “Not now.”

“Oh, come one. You freelance for the paper, Kirk. You know that this is a live one.”

“I’m sorry?” Veronica asked stiffly. She wasn’t quite sure how she felt about Kirk’s newest girlfriend. On the plus side, she was employed. On the negative side, she was incredibly nosy and more than a little pushy.

“A live one. A story that the readers of the Schuyler Square Times will eat up with a big, ol’ wooden spoon. Can’t you see that, Veronica? Two murders on the same night only twenty years apart? We have to run with this one.”

“Mindy, Ron Schuyler was murdered less than two hours ago. Do we have to go into this right now?”

“We in the mass communications world always say that there’s no time like the present.” Mindy looked from Veronica’s face to Tom’s and finally to Kirk’s. “What? You think it’s in poor taste or something to write about this?”

“I’d say poor timing,” Kirk responded. “Give us a few days to catch our breath, OK?”

“I’m not making any promises,” Mindy said. “This might just be my ticket out of this hick town. I could get picked up by one of the big boys, they'll like my style and it will be good-bye, Schuyler Square, hello New York. Or at the very least Kansas City. Wouldn't that be fantastic?"

Veronica looked at Mindy with disdain. She was liking her potential daughter-in-law less and less.

Schuyler Square Day 46 The Policeman's Retirement Ball Goes On

Tom didn't seem exactly shocked by her revelation. "I didn't surprise you, did I?"

Tom shook his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "I suppose I figured out that Kirk was Ron's son a long time ago. What did surprise me is that you were ever involved with someone like Ron. You're so...nice and he's such a--"

"Jerk?" Veronica suggested.

"For lack of a more colorful adjective," Tom agreed. "It's none of my business, but how did it happen?"

Veronica shrugged. "What can I say? I was young and stupid and he was older and manipulative. Believe it or not, I thought I loved him."

Tom was too polite to agree totally with her. "Like you said, you were young. So what are you going to do now? Are you hoping the two of them well develop some kind of relationship? You probably already know that Ron has never been nominated to be Father of the Year. He's always pretty much ignored his other kids and it shows. The older one turned out just like him and the younger one is afraid of his own shadow.”

Veronica made a face. “To tell you the truth I don't know what I want now. At first I was all about revenge. I had lost my job in Minneapolis, Kirk was writing a novel and not bringing in a regular salary, we were about to lose our house and it dawned on me that perhaps Kirk’s dad should be kicking in some money after all these years. But then I came back here and Ron found me a job and a place to live and was fairly decent about it all. I must still be stupid because that seemed like enough to me.”

“You’re not stupid and don't forget the house he's renting to you was never a hot commodity on the market. There was a murder committed there."

"Thanks for reminding me."

"A murder that Ron might have had something to do with."

"Why are you saying that? What do you have against Ron?"

"Plenty on a business level but on a personal level it sounds like you might still be in love with Ron Schuyler. That bothers me because I think I'm falling in love with you too.”

“Are we having fun?” Chelsea Van Husen joined them, bouncing into their conversation like a giant rubber ball. Veronica smiled at her friend, trying not to look shocked as she took in Chelsea’s outrageous outfit and even more outrageous hair color. Poor Chelsea. She was trying so hard to get her husband’s attention that it was almost painful to watch. “It’s a fabulous party, isn’t it? Peter and Mavis did a wonderful job. Have you seen Mavis tonight? She looks stunning! Everyone looks stunning—the men, the women—even the bus boys look stunning!”

Chelsea was babbling, something Veronica had never heard her do. Chelsea was usually the epitome of calm and collected. There was an odd look in her eyes too—she was so fired up that she seemed close to manic. “Would you like to get something to eat, Chelsea? Or have some champagne?”

“Oh, no—I’ve got to find Peter. I have to tell him something—it's very important--I'll see you two later—“

Chelsea vanished into the crowd. “What’s the matter with her?” Tom asked. “She’s acting higher than a kite.”

“She probably feels like a fool since everyone in town knows about her husband and Mavis Schuyler.” Veronica cringed. “Just like everyone knows about me and Ron and our son.”

“Don’t do that to yourself,” Tom suggested. “Let the past go. You can’t change it. Focus on your future instead--”

A scream interrupted him as a woman wearing a white catering outfit suddenly ran into the crowded ballroom. She stopped in front of the band and began waving her arms frantically. “There’s a dead body in the kitchen!” she screamed. “Somebody do something!”