Dove Sport

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Pre-Game

THE MORNING BEFORE CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Ever since Dara had begun meeting up with Blair to help with their little investigation of Seth Lark's murder, time had seemed to fly by. Every day that passed Dara became more and more on edge. That morning she'd skipped class with Blair to have an emergency meeting with Mary Wallis. Blair and Dara had headed to school as per usual, but slipped out of the building just before the first period bell rang to drive back to Blair's place. With any luck, the meeting would be quick and the two girls would be back in the halls of Doveport High before lunch and, more importantly, before their friends could notice they were missing.

Dara followed as Blair unlocked the front door of her house and they found her mother in the kitchen, hunched over a newspaper with a red coffee mug in hand.

"Mom?" Blair questioned. Mary Wallis looked up, startled as if she hadn't heard them open the front door and tramp through the house.

"Oh hello, dear." Mary gave her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek before nodding to Dara. "Wake." With a furtive look between the girls, Mary asked, "Did anyone see you two leaving?" Dara shook her head. She'd driven them in her Granny's car. If anyone checked, Blair's bike would still be chained to the rack beside Arsen's. Mrs. Wallis sighed in relief. "Alright ladies, I want you to look around. Anyone not in this room is on the table to be a suspect for Seth Lark's murder." Dara perked up.

"Oh my god, mom." Blair groaned. Mary ignored her and fixed her eyes on Dara.

"Let's talk about your father." She said. Dara gulped.

"He has an epic grudge against the Larks, and by extension, so does my mother. So," Dara met Mary's eyes head on, "It's possible that they could have been involved." She thought back to how she'd learned he'd been hiring people around town to carry out deeds for him. Dara flicked a glance at Blair. "Maybe Arsen's dad."

Blair stiffened. "You really believe that?" She asked.

"I think it's within the realm of possibility," Dara explained. "He hired him and some of his buddies to trash Olde Town and a couple of other properties around town, maybe he could have also hired him to-"

"Commit a murder." Mary finished for her. Her eyes were on Blair too now, like she was daring her daughter to deny that it was possible. "And, for all we know, he could have other accomplices in town."

"What are you basing this belief off of?" Blair asked. "That you seen a couple guys trashing properties in the area?" There was an edge in her voice that hadn't been there a few seconds ago. Dara cocked her head, wondering why Blair was going on the defensive.

"They could be conspiring together." Mary said calmly.

"About what?!" Blair asked. She threw her hands up, exasperated.

Dara stepped in. "I don't think tha-"

"That's what you and Dara need to figure out." Mary crossed her arms. "You both go to school with Arsen, and you especially, Blair, have access to him and his family. I want you to figure out what's going on here- without raising suspicion, of course."

"I'm not going to spy on my boyfriend!" Blair exclaimed. "I can't believe you. This is his investigation too, we should have him here with us instead of sneaking around behind his back." Blair sighed heavily. "Besides, if he thought his father could have had anything to do with this, I'm sure we would have already investigated him."

"I think," Mary said, "You might be too close to this to see the situation properly." She glanced at Dara, and for once, they were in agreement. Dara knew firsthand how hard it was to see a problem when you were standing in the middle of it.

"I'm not going to insult and betray Arsen by entertaining your conspiracy theories." Blair said firmly. She looked to Dara, "I'll meet you by the car." With that, Blair left the kitchen and slipped out the front door. Mary rubbed her temples.

"That's not how I wanted that to go," she admitted.

"Listen, Mrs. Wallis," Dara said, "I understand why Blair doesn't want to be involved, but I don't have the same loyalty to Arsen and his dad that she does."

Mary's eyes narrowed. "I'm listening."

"Helping you find out the truth about Arsen's dad will help me find the truth about my own father, and whether or not he was the one really behind Seth's murder. If you want to go after Mr. Payne, I'm all in."

Mary tilted her head consideringly, then, she smiled. Dara took that as an agreement to tolerate one another for the sake of their investigation, and took a seat at the Wallis's dining table. Over the next hour, the two women hatched a plan to try and catch Ben Payne out for the murder of Seth Lark. When the rough details of the plan had been hammered out, Dara stood and checked her phone.

"I need to be getting back before lunch, and I don't want Blair to get too suspicious anyways. I'll talk to Nick about getting his help with this. With any luck, this should go off without a hitch."

Mary made an affirming noise. She'd finally drained her coffee. "Oh Dara, we don't need luck if we're smart enough."

***

When school got out the afternoon before the homecoming dance, Dara wasted no time climbing into her car and driving home. She pulled into the driveway and found Nick's car already there, waiting. Pleased he had managed to be on time, she locked the car and headed straight to her room. He was sitting at her desk, spinning himself back and forth idly while he scrolled through something on his phone. She cleared her throat when he didn't notice her in the doorway.

"Ah!" Nick jumped in his seat and dropped his phone. "Jesus, I hate that you can sneak up on me. He stood and slipped his phone into a back pocket. "So what's so important that I had to be here as soon as you got out of class?" He smirked, "Did you just miss me that much."

"As if." Dara scoffed. "It's about Blair's investigation. I need your help." She watched as the smirk slipped off his rather nice face and was replaced with a more serious look.

"Oh?" Nick tried for nonchalance, but Dara could hear the underlying worry in his tone.

"Do you remember what you overheard at the Lark Halloween party? The part about my father?" She knew he did. She so vividly remembered when he'd told her that Mr. Lark had played a part in her father going to jail. Nick nodded, tense. "And you remember the theory that my parents may have gone after Seth as retribution?" Again, he nodded. "I have a suspicion that they may have hired Mr. Payne to do their dirty work."

"Hold on, what-"

Dara held up a hand to stop him. "Please, just let me finish. I've been helping Blair and her mom with the investigation. Earlier today I met with them and Mrs. Wallis is thinking the same things I am." She paused as Nick swore lowly.

"That's bad."

"I know, trust me, Nick, I know. However, I need a favor from you." Dara fiddled with her hair a bit before forcing herself to stop. She had no reason to be nervous. She and Nick had both done far worse things than what she was asking him for now.

"You know I'll agree, so why even bother to really ask?" Nick quirked a brow at her.

"Tomorrow night is the homecoming dance." He nodded, as if he knew this already. Dara pushed on. "Mrs. Wallis is planning to distract Arsen's dad somehow, and while she does that I need you to help me search his place for evidence that he could be connected to this." As she spoke, she felt Nick's apprehension growing. She told him the finer details of the plan and tried not to seem like she was begging for his help, though she wasn't above it.

"Does Arsen know?" Nick finally asked when she was done.

"No. Blair doesn't either. They're both too close to Mr. Payne to do this, and I don't particularly think Arsen would enjoy going after his own father." She felt Nick hesitating. He knew this had merit, and he was holding back. "Please, Nick." Dara pressed. "I need to know if my parents are connected to this- I need to know if they have blood on their hands or not."

Nick looked up at the ceiling. After what felt like an eternity, he sighed and nodded. "Okay, fine." He met her eyes. "I'll help you."