Academic Curveball

by James J Cudney

  “Jordan Ballantine left about ten after five, but I don't see him anywhere else on the camera. Then there's Striker Magee. He showed at five, argued with Jordan, then exited five minutes later. He returned at six.”

  “Do you know where he was during that time?” I asked, curious why he'd leave in the middle of a workout. I'd seen him doing pull-ups when I got to the fitness center just before seven.

  “I checked the other cameras in the building but didn't see him anywhere. He might have used the restroom or made a phone call between his workouts.”

  “Or he might have killed Lorraine. What about the self-defense class?” I said.

  “We don't have a camera view where the instructor was teaching it, but he provided the list of staff and confirmed there was only one no-show. No one left early, and he doesn't accept late arrivals. The class ran from five thirty to six thirty. I saw everyone leaving the building when I arrived.”

  “Who was the no-show?”

  “Dean Terry, but she was seen on camera entering the building during the window Lorraine was killed. I'm going to speak with her today to find out why she skipped the self-defense course,” Connor replied. “Looks suspicious.”

  “That's interesting. So where does that leave us?”

  “I'm cross-checking the list of people who the front camera captured entering or exiting with anyone we can eliminate based on other camera angles or being in the fitness center or self-defense class. It'll probably leave us with about twenty people whose time we can't account for inside the building between four thirty when Lorraine showed up to confront Coach Oliver and seven thirty when the sheriff began a sweep for anyone still onsite. Then we'll chat with them over the weekend to document alibis.”

  “That's helpful. Anything else you can add right now?” I asked.

  “We can't verify Coach Oliver's whereabouts during the latter part of the period. He says he was at Grey Field for a practice volleyball game, but we have minimal camera coverage in that area. Jordan and Carla were also in Grey Sports Complex during that time, but you saw them at a quarter to seven when the cable car arrived at North Campus. Oddly enough, Alton Monroe met with his sister, Lorraine, right outside the building before she met Coach Oliver at four thirty.”

  “Good progress, thank you for letting me know.” A sense of relief began to fill the empty space inside me. I still grieved for Lorraine and worried who killed her, but at least we'd know soon. It was curious why her brother had shown up. I'd need to find time to ask him about it.

  I hung up and called Cecilia, Emma's grandmother. I needed an update on my baby girl, and hearing about her day at school would help me feel better. I then delivered the news I wouldn't be back for a few weeks as I was doing a favor for my father. Cecilia was unhappy when I informed her she needed to put Emma on a plane to Braxton and agreed to only when I accepted she'd be coming with my daughter, too. Luckily, she'd only intended to stay long enough to drop her off, then she planned to visit New York City for a shopping trip with some friends.

  I called Derek and left a message about the second murder. It was strange he didn't answer my call, but I had a wake to attend. After arriving at the funeral home, I switched off my cell and exited the Jeep. The last time I'd been in one was for Francesca's services. I hadn't wanted to attend today, but it was a necessary evil.

  As I approached the front entrance, I almost collided with two women heading down the stairs. “Oh, I'm so sorry. My head's not quite right at these kinds of places.” When I looked up to see who it was, I'd felt even worse.

  “I wondered whether you'd show,” Myriam replied. “How did your second day of classes go?”

  I nodded at my dreaded colleague. Even in mourning, she was as elegant as possible. It was also the first time I'd seen her in anything but a pantsuit. Her slate-gray winter coat hung open and revealed a floor-length black dress beneath its heavy fabric. A string of diamonds around her neck beamed at me rather than a smile. I suppose it was a funeral, but I'd come to recognize in the four or five times I'd met the woman, she always seemed to have a bitter expression.

  “Fine, thanks. I'm feeling well-integrated and connecting with several of the students,” I said studying her companion knowing I'd recognized her somewhere but not how or why. She was taller than Myriam and in her four-inch heels easily matched my height. Whereas Myriam had a sour expression and very stark-looking features, this woman projected an ethereal composure—that was the only description coming to mind. Her wavy, golden hair flowed endlessly down her back, and her almond-shaped green eyes sparkled. I thought perhaps she'd been a model, and I'd seen her on the cover of a magazine, but my brain wasn't capable of recalling right now.

  “This is Ursula Power,” added Myriam cocking her head in the other woman's direction. “She met Monroe a few times last semester during some on-campus events and wanted to pay her respects.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Kellan. Did you know Abby well?” the goddess across from me replied.

  I was mesmerized how beyond stunning the woman's appearance was, but it then occurred to me Myriam hadn't revealed my name when introducing us. How did she know who I was? “I'd not met her in person. I was supposed to interview her the day she unfortunately died, but well…”

  “He that dies pays all debts,” Myriam replied before I could finish. There was a self-righteous expression on her face as she said the words.

  I might have been distracted and not interpreted her body language in the fairest manner given my less-than-welcoming feelings toward the woman. I also had no idea what her quote meant, but I was more focused on how Ursula knew my name. “Pardon me, but have we met before?”

  “I don't believe so, but I've heard a lot about you.”

  What had Myriam told her? I had little time to ask any further questions once Coach Oliver walked up the front steps and interrupted us. Myriam glared at him as he began talking.

  “Hello. Such a tragic reason to bring us together,” he noted before introducing himself to Ursula.

  Myriam responded, “I suppose you received notice I've asked Dean Mulligan and Dean Terry to suspend Craig Magee until the investigation into his grades from earlier this semester has been completed. After reviewing the last exam he took for Monroe, there's no way those were his test results. Someone else completed that test or switched his results with a different student's.”

  “Yes, that's exactly why I stopped to see you right now. Who do you think you are interfering in my baseball team's success? Professor Monroe gave him that 'B+' and you verified it was a passing grade. Striker was ready to handle the game this week. Jordan was only going to relieve him if needed. Now I've got to start the other way around and all because you've stuck your nose where it shouldn't be.” Coach Oliver angrily shook his finger in Myriam's face. As his nostrils flared, I could barely contain my glee at two of my least favorite people getting into an argument right before my eyes.

  It suddenly made sense why Jordan told me he would be starting pitcher in the upcoming game. I watched Coach Oliver and Myriam go at each other until Ursula inserted herself into the conversation.

  “I don't believe this is the time or place for you two to have this debate. Regardless of how either of you felt about Abby Monroe or who should be pitching on Saturday, this is a memorial service for a woman who was murdered in cold blood,” she replied with sheer, impressive elegance. “I'd suggest saving your personal feelings for tomorrow when you can have a civilized conversation about the investigation into the student's grades.”

  Myriam stepped backward and calmed herself down. Ursula had certainly made an impression on Coach Oliver, too. I added my two cents not to feel left out of the conversation but also continue the theme of behaving in public. “I concur, Miss Power. This is definitely not the time or place.” I looked sternly at Myriam as it might have been the first time I could push back on her without any retaliation.

  “I think it's time to leave. Shall we, Ursula…” Myriam replied walking away
. I was unsure if it was a question or a statement. Ursula indicated she looked forward to seeing me around. Both women walked toward the parking lot. Then a dark-colored BMW angrily tore away from the funeral home. Myriam had been the driver, I was certain.

  “Ain't that Ursula one fine specimen!” Coach Oliver whistled and entered the building with the smug look of a man who needed the expression quickly wiped off his face.

  Although I had more questions for Braxton's seedy athletic director, they'd have to wait until an appropriate time. I followed Coach Oliver into the funeral home to pay my respects for Abby Monroe.

  After the customary nods and weak, uncomfortable half-smiles with a few students and faculty members I'd previously met, I searched for any member of my family or Alton Monroe so I could use my time at the funeral parlor wisely. I set my sights on Alton when he stepped away from the casket and toward a few of the flower arrangements.

  “Oh, Kellan, is it?” asked Alton extending a hand in my direction. His expression clearly indicated he wanted to escape the room full of people he barely knew. “It's kind of you to come when you never even met Abby.”

  “Of course, it felt like the right thing to do. I'm truly sorry for Lorraine's death,” I added. Despite his tenuous relationship with Abby, the grief on his face was apparent. Losing both his sister and his soon-to-be ex-wife had taken its toll. And then again, while I didn't think he could be responsible for the murders, I wasn't ready to cross him off my list and worried what I mistook for grief was guilt. I needed to find out why he was at the Grey Sports Complex when Lorraine had been pushed from the window.

  “I almost didn't come, but your father thought it would be better to have a representative from Abby's family,” he replied as we walked toward the far corner of the room where it was quieter.

  My parents were embroiled in a conversation with Dean Terry and Dean Mulligan that looked way too uncomfortable. My mother quietly nodded at the deans while my father smirked. I'd have to ask my father what it was about when I had a moment. I noticed Connor and Sheriff Montague step into the room as Alton began talking again.

  “Braxton's finest,” he quipped. “I spent a fair part of my morning with her discussing my whereabouts during my sister's unfortunate death. They are quite persistent about specific dates, times, and places, aren't they?”

  Alton's words intensified my curiosity and opened the opportunity I'd been looking for. “I take it they questioned why you were on campus the day Lorraine was killed?”

  “Exactly. I told them she called me to help calm her down about some guy cheating on her. I met up with her near the athletic facility to give her the courage she needed to dump the guy. I asked if she wanted me to stick around, but she told me she needed to confront the man herself. Why anyone would think I could be responsible for hurting my sister is beyond me. It's appalling the way they interrogate you over the littlest things.”

  “I'm sure you met someone afterward who could verify your whereabouts, right? That should clarify your alibi.”

  He shook his head. “Unfortunately, nothing will. Lorraine and I talked for thirty minutes, but I left right at four thirty. I hadn't spent much time on campus before, so I walked through some of the sports fields, then I got in my car at six thirty. There's nothing to confirm where I was during the time in between.”

  While Alton had a supposedly airtight alibi during Abby's murder, maybe I didn't have all the latest information from the sheriff. “What motive would they possibly have to suspect you?”

  “My sister had invested in several stocks over her lifetime and made a windfall in last year's upturn. I was notified this morning she'd left close to two hundred thousand dollars to me,” Alton replied seemingly calm about the inheritance which made me think he was even less guilty than I had considered earlier.

  “I would never have guessed by the way Lorraine acted or lived her life,” I said. Although she always dressed well and drove a nice car, she had no air of wealth or attitude about her. “She was a wonderful friend to me over the years.”

  Alton nodded and indicated he concurred with me about Lorraine's generosity. “That sheriff seems convinced Abby's death is connected to something on campus, but she wouldn't give me a lot of details. Did you ever find what you were looking for in those files from Abby's office?”

  “Yes, it wasn't a whole lot, but we have the last of her research for the television show. I also came across a few odd things in her grade book which is why I agree with the sheriff that her death might be related to something underhanded at Braxton.”

  When Alton seemed interested, I explained the basics of what I'd found with Striker's grades and what Coach Oliver had said about Abby offering to change them if he agreed to give in to her demands. I unexpectedly learned a new piece of information from Alton.

  “Abby might have bent a few of the less important rules in life to access a story, but she would never do anything unethical or immoral when it came to student's grades. She also had a severe distaste for college athletics usurping a student's time while preparing for future careers.”

  “I'm glad to know this side of her, but I can't figure out why Coach Oliver would lie about it.”

  “I might be able to explain now that you've filled in a few blanks. Abby and I'd met up a few evenings to close on the divorce settlement. I don't know whether it was the wine or a momentary truce, but on those nights, it felt like old times. Abby told me she'd started dating someone and was glad she and I could find a way to settle things. She was all ready to finalize our divorce, then everything came crashing down. Abby realized the guy had only been taking her on dates in the hopes she'd change her mind about a student's grades. She'd apparently seen a grade changed once before and thought she'd made a mistake, but when it happened again, she knew there was something worse going on. She was going to expose someone for being a fraud over something she'd found out.”

  Coach Oliver was looking much guiltier. Maybe Sheriff Montague was here to finally arrest him. “Abby did mention something about a crime happening in Wharton County, perhaps that's what she was hinting at on a previous call. Do you know what it was?”

  “Unfortunately, no. She and I hadn't spoken much afterward. In addition to taking her anger out on the guy, she also put the screws to me by reneging on the deal we'd made that last night to sign the divorce papers.” That news explained Abby's fight with Lorraine the day before she died.

  Alton excused himself and went to say his goodbyes to my father. I was on my way to see Connor and Sheriff Montague when I heard my name being called. Nana D had shown up to the funeral service. Somehow, I didn't think this was going to end well.

  Chapter 20

  “What are you doing here, Nana D?” I asked crossing to the entrance of the funeral parlor.

  “I had a few stops to make downtown today. Just thought since I was in the area, I should put in an appearance,” she said. Nana D was in her standard funeral outfit—a stylish, vintage dress cut just below the knees with a little bit of white trim on the hem. “I also needed to talk to you about Bridget.”

  I couldn't believe how persistent she'd become about setting me up with the girl. It's one thing to keep finding ways to bring us together but to be so pushy at a funeral service. “Nana D, I think you…”

  “Oh, slow your roll. I thought you needed to hear something she told me about earlier today when I called to change the time for our lessons on Sunday.”

  She stopped talking to me as if I understood what she was trying to say. “Keep going, Nana D.”

  “Don't rush me,” she replied while sitting near the entrance. After helping herself to a few cookies and a cup of tea, she looked at me with a satisfied expression. “Okay, now I can finish my train of thought. I must be doing too much, starting to feel like I'm getting a little more mature lately.”

  “Rest a minute if you need. I'm not going anywhere.”

  “But I am. I've got to see Marcus Stanton in twenty minutes. That man owes me his
final decision, and if he doesn't back down, he won't know what hit him.” Nana D slammed her fist on the arm of the chair sending the tray of cookies way too close to the edge of the table. “Where were we?”

  I stopped the tray from falling and waved my mother off when she looked ready to rush over. “What did you need to share?”

  “Bridget had some interesting news. Apparently, she overheard a scandalous conversation on campus between someone and that baseball scout.”

  My imagination began to overload with curiosity. “What'd she learn?”

  “That scout said that he was doing his best and couldn't be stuck in the middle anymore. The decision was out of his hands.”

  “Who did Bridget see the scout talking to?”

  “I didn't say she saw them. She overheard them,” Nana D rattled back to me.

  “Okay, did Bridget know who he was talking to?”

  “Would you let me finish telling the story, Kellan?”

  I kept my mouth shut and let Nana D relay her conversation with Bridget. While Bridget had been eating lunch in the student union building, the scout was at a nearby table talking on the phone. She recognized him from last week's pep rally and baseball game, but she wasn't sure who was on the other end of the phone. The scout said he'd already made the recommendation for the position and that if all went well, there'd be a place in the Major League Baseball organization after the semester ended at Braxton. The scout also said he couldn't do anything else to help, then hung up.

  “What do you think it's all about?” I couldn't think of who else would be on the call but Coach Oliver. Was he looking for a job outside of Braxton? Was that why he was so adamant about looking good in this baseball season?

  “Bridget didn't understand what the scout meant, but she thought it was peculiar. That's why she mentioned it to me. I might have been asking her a lot of questions about what the students thought of Abby's and Lorraine's deaths.”

  “Why are you sticking yourself in the middle of this investigation?” I said.