nothing he needed to worry about. “A name came up in one of Rafe’s cases that we thought Aunt Regina might know something about.”
Uncle Sid fitted himself in next to his wife, with a grin at her. “And did she?”
“Not much,” Aunt Regina admitted, her tone disgruntled. “It was about that teacher at the high school in Columbia who had sex with the student…”
Uncle Sid was nodding long before she finished the sentence. “I remember that.”
“Do you know who it was?”
Rafe and I asked at the same time, and exchanged a look.
“The kid?” Uncle Sid shook his head. “I don’t think that was ever revealed. I remember the teacher, though.”
“Jurgensson?”
“Kent,” Uncle Sid said. “Nice guy. Played golf.”
“Do you have any idea what became of him?”
But Uncle Sid didn’t. “Haven’t seen him since it happened. Poor bastard lost his job, of course, and had a hard time finding another. Last I heard, he was working some menial job in Tupelo or Tucson or someplace like that.”
“Who told you that?” Rafe wanted to know.
Uncle Sid turned to him. “He made up part of a golf foursome. One of the other players stayed in touch with him for a bit.”
“Name?”
“Art Mullinax,” Uncle Sid said. “I just played a round with him this afternoon. But if he’s heard anything from Kent in the past ten years, he hasn’t said anything about it.”
“It’s worth checking,” Rafe said easily. “Where can I find Art Mullinax?”
Uncle Sid sighed. “He lives on the other side of Columbia, not too far from that house you blew up.” He glanced at me. I wanted to protest that I hadn’t blown up the house; other people did that, but I decided it was better not to derail him. “Big spread called Daffodil Hill Farm. Him and his wife and about fifty acres.”
“I’ll have a look,” Rafe said. “Don’t worry, Sid. I’m not looking to rake up old scandals. And I won’t mention your name.”
“It won’t matter,” Uncle Sid said. “Everyone knows who you are, and that you married my niece. When you show up, he’ll know who you talked to.”
Maybe someone else could go talk to Art, then. Someone other than Rafe. Someone like… oh… Leslie Yung, for instance.
Before I could open my mouth to say so, Rafe had gone on. “I’m just trying to track down the teacher, Sid. Nothing to do with your friends at all.”
I lifted Carrie to my shoulder and patted her back while Uncle Sid looked unhappy. “What’s the use of dragging it all back out after all this time?” he wanted to know. “Just let bygones be bygones, is what I say.”
“I wish it was that easy,” Rafe told him, “but if there’s a connection to my murder case, I need to know about it.”
“What kind of connection?” Uncle Sid threw both hands up. “He wasn’t a murderer, for God’s sake. He was a gentle scholarly guy who taught Latin and played golf. Not the type who would have forced himself on anyone.”
I opened my mouth to mention that force doesn’t have to enter into a statutory rape charge, but before I could, Uncle Sid went on, a little more calmly. “Yes, he got off easier than he should have. No question. There should have been charges files and he should have gone to jail, or at least had his name added to the sexual offender registry. Instead, he vamoosed before any of that could happen. But he wasn’t a murderer!”
“Nobody’s thinking he is,” Rafe said. “It’s just a loose end I have to tie off. His name came up, and I’ve gotta check it off the list. That’s all.”
Uncle Sid nodded. Reluctantly.
“We appreciate it,” Rafe said. He glanced at me. I nodded, too. I was ready to go. My clothes were back together and Carrie had been burped.
I lowered her into the car seat. “Enjoy your evening. Maybe we can do dinner together some other time. At the Wayside Inn or Beulah’s or somewhere, so no one has to cook.”
“I’d like that,” Aunt Regina said and got to her feet to buss my cheek. Then she bussed Rafe’s. “Take care of your girls.”
He nodded. “I intend to. Sid.”
He gave my uncle a polite nod. Uncle Sid nodded back, but he looked unhappy. Since there wasn’t anything we could do about it, or anything we could say that hadn’t already been said, we wandered down the garden path and through the gate in the picket fence while Aunt Regina and Uncle Sid took themselves into