“Okay, sounds like we have things covered for now,” says Carson. “You guys are doing a good job. I’ll go deal with the press for now and then call each Council member to give them a general idea of what we know. Keep in touch with any updates.”
Rockville is known as a nice family community with good schools. Much of the town is residential, but with enough commercial establishments to please most everyone. At one time it was largely a farming community and while it still serves area farmers, it has also become a distant suburb of Grand Rapids. Many residents work at Steelcase or one of its related businesses, while some are involved in the high-tech industry. The small-town feel, clean living, and mostly crime-free community is appealing enough to folks that the commute to Grand Rapids is worth it. Others work in local businesses that support the community itself.
Lincoln High School serves all of Rockville, and parts of the surrounding county. Most students either take the bus or drive to school. About 15% of the students live close enough to be able to walk. The school has approximately 1200 to 1300 students in any given year and is best known for its football team. For whatever reason, the Wildcats are usually one of the top class A football teams in the state and this year is no different. In fact, this is one of their best seasons. The team is undefeated, with the closest game being a 24-17 win over Shepard High School, another top-level team in their division.
The Wildcats football team is led by senior star running back Brad McGivens. McGivens was first-team all-county last season and placed on the second-team all-state. Some are predicting he will be first-team all-state this year. In 10 games, McGivens has rushed for 2,198 yards and caught 41 passes for another 698 yards. Combined, McGivens is averaging 290 yards of offense per game. His lowest rushing total this season is 127 yards against Shepard High. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. If he can’t run from you, he will run over you. McGivens currently has 23 college scholarship offers, including from the University of Michigan and Michigan State. He still has at least one more game to play, next Saturday’s league championship, and most likely one or more games in the state playoffs.
McGivens also plays on the baseball team, leading last year’s team in batting average (.407) and home runs (14). He is certainly considered the top athlete in the school and he knows it. He never shies away from the fact that he is the best. He also happens to be quite good-looking, standing at 6’0” and a muscular 205 pounds. His wavy brown hair is combed back and hangs a little past his ears, just off the shoulder. His eyes are sky blue in color. Some say he looks like a bigger, better-built Matthew McConaughey. He is also one of the older Senior students, having turned 18 in October.
Brad McGivens is also known as quite the ladies’ man. He is known by everyone in the school and pretty much anyone in the community who follows high school sports. He has an outgoing and brash personality, sometimes being a bit of a bully. He can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Brad is not afraid to use his popularity and celebrity status to his advantage, especially when it comes to getting the girls. While he doesn’t give much attention to the non-athletes in school, he generally isn’t mean to them either, so long as they don’t cross him. Many of the students are intimidated by him.
Brad is not a bad student, but he doesn’t put much effort into his studies. With unimpressed teachers, Brad can usually do enough to get a C grade, and sometimes even a B. There are a few teachers who fall for Brad’s charisma and fame (and potential fame) and generally give him a pass just for showing up to class. They provide him with enough A’s and B’s to keep his average in the B range, plenty high enough to get into most colleges offering him a scholarship.
Brad doesn’t think much about his future, other than he plans to someday be a pro football player. Most of his attention is spent on having fun and dating girls. He never has a girlfriend for long, as the challenge of getting the date is what excites him. That, and of course “scoring” with each girl he dates. One of his goals is to score with every cheerleader, a total of 12, not counting the three male cheerleaders of course. He has managed to date seven of them, but the other five don’t seem interested and have thus far turned down his efforts to date them. He is in his senior year, so he knows his time is running out, but still believes he can charm a few more of them before next spring.
Wednesday, November 4th
How Brad comes to be acquainted with a 16-year-old Junior named Aaron Livingston starts on this Wednesday. It is a strange relationship, as Aaron is the polar opposite of Brad. Aaron is about 5’8 and 145 lbs., with short, curly, light brown hair and wire-rim glasses. He is not a bad-looking kid, but does fit the look of what some would call nerdy. He is not interested at all in sports and has only attended two football games his entire time in high school. Nor is Aaron outgoing or brash about anything. He is shy, quiet, and very studious. He is especially insecure and shy with the girls. He lives with his mother, Megan Livingston, in a modest home and has no siblings. His father died from a heart attack when Aaron was 4 years old, and this had a profound impact on Aaron. His mother believes this is partially why Aaron tends to lack confidence in social situations.
Aaron is intelligent and cares about his grades, mostly earning A’s. He does not have a lot of friends, but those he does have are like him, with like interests in technology, video games, and chess. Some of Aaron’s favorite video games are Chess, League of Legends, and Darkest Dungeon, although he will play just about anything. Aaron also plays board Chess with some of his friends. He does not participate in school activities with the exception of one. He is a member of the school’s Chess Club. The club meets once a week and allows Aaron to play other chess players that test his skill level. He is getting rather good at it. He now wins about 70% of his matches.
“Hey Aaron, what’s up?”
Who’s that? Aaron wonders. He turns around from his seat at one of the cafeteria tables in the corner and sees Brad McGivens walking toward him. What does he want? Two of Aaron’s chess-playing friends at the table wonder the same thing.
“Uh, not much,” Aaron says softly.
“Good, because I’ve got a hot opportunity for you,” says Brad. “You see that girl over there?” as he points in the direction of Wendy Spire, sitting with a couple of friends at another table half-way across the room. “I’ll bet she would be someone who would like to date you.”
“But, I don’t even know her,” Aaron says.
“No, but you will if you let me help you.”
Aaron is certainly not a lady’s man, and he has never had a girlfriend, but it doesn’t mean he hasn’t fantasized about one. And if he is being honest, Wendy has attracted his attention in a couple of his classes. However, other than a quick “hi” or “hello,” he has never spoken to her. He likes the fact that she seems to be kind to everyone, is studious like him, and appears to be on the shy side like he is. At least they have some things in common. But Aaron is too shy and insecure to ever start up a conversation with her, let alone ask her out on a date.
“How could you help me?” asks Aaron.
“Well, you’ve seen me talking to Wendy from time to time, right? She’s a friend of mine and I think you would be the perfect type of guy for her. And I could help you set up a date, maybe even score with her.”
Aaron is confused now. “Score? What are you talking about?”
“Never mind, just let me help you get to know her.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“What, are you gay or something?’
“No, I’m not gay!” Aaron says in a louder voice.
“Well then, give it some thought big boy,” says Brad as he walks away.
“What the heck was that about?” asks Timmy Goodman, one of Aaron’s friends sitting at the table. The other friend at the table, Harold Best, simply sits with a puzzled look on his face.
“I don’t know,” Aaron responds.
Brad of course has not talked to Wendy about Aaron. Brad is angry that Wendy Spire has once
again spurned his attentions. Wendy is different from any girl he has ever dated. Wendy is only 16 and a Junior. She is not a partier, does not particularly like sports (although she did attend some of the football games for the social side of it), and is much more interested in her studies than Brad. Wendy is also shy and reserved. She knows boys who are casual friends, but has not dated anyone. She also plays violin in the high school orchestra and has worked her way to second chair. Wendy is hoping to one day take over as first chair. Wendy only has a few close friends, her best one being Katy Anderson. Wendy and Katy share everything.
Three things make Wendy attractive to Brad. One, her demeanor is different than any other girl he has ever dated. Most of his girls have been partiers with big personalities like his. Wendy is just the opposite. She is quiet, studious, and highly intelligent. Second, while she is not stunning in the way some girls are, Wendy has a reserved beauty to her. She is well proportioned at 5’5”, 120 lbs., and always well dressed. She has long flowing blond hair, nice skin, and comports herself with an air of class he is not used to. Third and finally, she is not someone who fawned over him or flirted with him like many other girls. In fact, she has brushed aside all his advances since he first laid eyes on her a year ago. This may be the one thing that is most attractive to him; the challenge to get her to date him. It is easy to get most girls to date him, but not Wendy. Brad takes offense to the fact that Wendy does not want anything to do with him. How could she not want to date me? he questions. I’m maybe the best-looking, greatest athlete she will ever meet. It doesn’t make sense to Brad. The more she rejects him, the more he wants to get her to like him enough to go on a date, with the ultimate goal of course to score. What a victory that would be.
Trying to win Wendy over by talking to her directly has not worked for Brad. He comes to believe she simply does not like sports figures, and maybe if she can see him through different eyes, he will have a chance with her. Brad is too conceited to think maybe it is his personality she does not like. Maybe if she gets to know me in some other way, she will learn to like me, thinks Brad. This is when Brad develops his plan to try to win her over through someone else. Aaron Livingston seems like the perfect person to help him out.
Friday, November 13th, 2:15 pm
Sgt. Thomas walks into the detective's office.
“I think we have something,” he announces.
Both Walker and Baker look up with expressions that say, what is it?
“While talking with students from the school, Officer Ivey located a close friend of Wendy’s,” shares Thomas. “She found a student by the name of, let me see, I’ve got it written down. Here it is, Katy Anderson. According to Anderson, Wendy was supposed to meet a boy by the name of Aaron Livingston after orchestra practice, around five-thirty last night. Katy last saw Wendy as they were leaving practice.”
“Yeah, the Chief mentioned a student by the name of Aaron as someone we needed to talk to,” says Baker.
“Aaron Livingston?” repeats Walker. “Didn’t that ring we found in the grass have the initials of A.L.? Let me see that ring again.”
Sure enough, the gold ring found at the scene has the initials A.L. engraved on the top.
“I think we may have our first lead,” Baker says.
“I’m going back out to coordinate the neighborhood canvass to see if anyone saw anything suspicious last night,” Sgt. Thomas says as he walks out of the office.
Just then, Chief Cindy Carson walks in for an update. Walker explains to her the new information they’ve received and shows her the plastic bag containing the gold ring.
“Okay then, let’s get someone to track down this Aaron Livingston kid,” says Carson.
“I’ll work on that,” says Baker. “Don is leaving for the autopsy at three-thirty.”
Several minutes later, Officer Linda Ivey walks into the office with more detailed information. She had located and interviewed Wendy’s friend, Katy Anderson. Officer Ivey tells the detectives that according to Anderson, Wendy had been texting with some secret admirer for a week or so. Initially, the texts were anonymous, but eventually, they found out it was Aaron Livingston doing the texting. The texts were mostly about how he admired Wendy. He admitted to being shy around girls and wanted to meet her privately just to talk. Wendy was intrigued and flattered. Wendy knew who Aaron was and while she had not socialized with him, she somewhat knew him from a couple of classes they had together. He was studious like her and seemed like a nice guy. She even thought he was kind of cute. After a series of exchanges, Aaron asked Wendy to meet him Thursday after school. Aaron had also texted he had found her yellow scarf, which had been Wendy’s favorite scarf. Apparently, Wendy had lost the scarf on Tuesday of this week. Wendy suspected the scarf had been stolen from the cafeteria, but once Aaron said he found it, she figured it must have just been misplaced. Not only did Wendy want to get her scarf back, but she was curious to talk to Aaron in person. Maybe even a bit excited.
Wendy texted Aaron that she had orchestra practice on Thursday night, and it would probably be a long one, as they were getting ready for an upcoming concert. She could meet him around five-thirty. Aaron agreed, suggesting they meet out back beyond the courtyard near the creek and he would walk her home from there. Wendy typically took this path home anyway as it was shorter than going out the front of the school and walking back around in the direction of her home, so it seemed like a good place to meet. At that time of night, it would also give them some privacy.
Katy was a bit concerned given it would be getting dark by then, but certainly didn’t consider a shy introvert like Aaron to be any danger. Katy now wishes she would have gone out back with Wendy. Katy now suspects Aaron had indeed stolen the scarf as a means to get her to meet with him.
Thursday, November 5th
Brad finds Aaron sitting at his usual spot in the cafeteria with Timmy Goodman and Harold Best. They are just finishing up their lunch.
“Been thinking about my offer, Aaron boy?” says Brad as he slaps Aaron on the back.
“Not really,” replies Aaron.
“Why the hell not? You know how good I am with getting girls and I hate to see you go your whole four years of high school without ever meeting a girl, especially one who likes you.”
Aaron looks up at Brad, “What do you mean, likes me?”
“Well, I was just talking to her about you; you’ve seen me talk to her before, right?”
“Sure, you seem to be over there a lot,” says Aaron, referring to the number of times he’s seen Brad stop at whatever cafeteria table Wendy is sitting at.
“Damn right!” Brad exclaims. “And she has told me she thinks you are a nice guy. So why don’t you go over there and start a conversation, ask her out?” he says, knowing Aaron would do no such thing.
Aaron looks down at the table, “I’m not very comfortable around girls like you are Brad.”
“I know that numb nuts, so let me help you set it up.” Brad smiles. “Just get to know each other. I’ll help you start a texting conversation, and then if it goes well, set up a meet. Let me see your phone.”
Brad reaches over and grabs Aaron’s phone off the table in front of him.
“Hey!” Aaron protests.
Brad holds up his hand, “I’ve got this.”
Timmy and Harold watch in stunned silence. They are not sure how this is going to work, but it is somewhat interesting. Neither of them has ever dated and could use a few tips as well.
“We are going to text her a message,” says Brad.
“Whaaaat?” Aaron says with a wide-eyed look of fear.
“Don’t worry, she doesn’t have you in her contacts list, so she won’t even know who it’s from,” Brad assures him. “At least not right now anyway.”
Early last year, Brad had exchanged phone numbers with Wendy before she knew who he was or what he was like. He has kept her number in his phone ever since. Brad types a message into Aaron’s phone and sends it to Wendy.
Wen
dy, I’ve seen you around and wanted you to know I think you have a wonderful personality. I’m not good at talking to girls yet, that’s why I’m texting you this.
Brad hits send and then shows Aaron the message.
Aaron starts to feel his face flush. “I can’t believe you sent that,” Aaron says in a quiet voice.
Based on his past conversations with Wendy, Brad suspects Wendy may ignore a text that talks about how beautiful she is. But, addressing her personality might get a response, as he knows personality is more important to Wendy than good looks.
“I’ll check in with you tomorrow,” Brad says as he walks away.
“Can you believe that?” Harold exclaims. “What are you going to do?”
“If she finds out this came from me, or at least thinks it did, I’ll be so embarrassed,” responds Aaron.
“Well,” laughs Timmy, “at least you’ve started a conversation with a girl.”
Ding-Ding. Wendy picks up her phone to check the new message that just arrived.
“Huh?” who’s this from? she asks herself. At first, she thinks it might be from that obnoxious Brad McGivens. But then she remembers she still has his number in her contacts from last year, so his name would have popped up. Besides, it is not something he would say. Since when does he care about personality? She looks around the cafeteria trying to see if anyone is looking at her. After a few moments, she texts back.
Who is this? No one responds.
Friday, November 6th
On Friday, Wendy and Katy are still talking about the secret text Wendy had received the day before. Must have been a prank of some sort they believe, as no further messages have been received. Still, it is on Wendy’s mind most of the morning. She finds it hard to concentrate in class, thinking about who might have sent the mysterious message.
At 12:15 pm, as is their normal routine, Wendy and Katy meet in the cafeteria to visit and get something to eat. Normally, they would talk about schoolwork, excitement about the upcoming concert, what to do on the weekend, or perhaps any significant news of the day. On this particular day, all they can talk about is the secret text. Why has there been no response back? Has this just been some joke?
Behind The Lies Page 9