‘I’m beginning to feel sorry for Bishop,’ Graham said.
‘I’m just delighted the comparisons are so much in my favor,’ I said.
‘Don’t think this’ll last forever, Mom,’ Graham said, rising from his bed. ‘So, I’ll take my car?’
TEN
Champion tried to get rid of the Pugh woman. ‘You stay here—’ he started, shortly after her son had driven off in his car.
She laughed. ‘Not on your life!’
‘Ma’am, this is a police investigation—’
‘Forget it, Nate,’ Luna said. ‘It doesn’t work. If we don’t take her with us she’ll find some way of getting there on her own.’ She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. ‘That’s just the way she is. And it’s better to have her with us rather than running around on her own mucking things up.’
The mom glared at Luna. ‘I don’t muck things up! But other than that, you’ve got it right!’ the mom had declared. ‘So?’
Champion had just given his head a shake and walked out the door to his unmarked car, the two women trailing behind. At least she sat in the back seat, he told himself, which meant she’d have to have someone open the door for her. He grinned, thinking to himself how he could just leave her there. Then the scenario of her screaming her head off in front of McMillan Hall and every student in a five-mile radius running up to see what the drama was came to his mind and he figured letting her out of the back seat might be the best bet.
Graham had no idea how to find the service elevator at the Four Seasons. He thought if he asked that would just draw attention. He supposed the whole reason Bishop’s mom wanted him to come up the service elevator was to avoid drawing attention. Or she thought of him as a lesser being who didn’t deserve the finery of the hotel’s main elevator. Probably both, he decided. He then opted for the main elevator. It was nice and he managed not to dirty it with his unworthy germs, he thought to himself. He found her room without a problem and knocked on the door.
Adrianne Alexander opened it, looked at Graham and turned her back, leaving the door open. Graham came in the room and shut the door behind him, then noticed it wasn’t exactly a room – it was a suite. And a nice one, too. He wondered if maybe he and his mom could move into the Four Seasons for the duration of this mess. Then thought that the cost might come out of his senior year tuition.
‘We’ll take my car,’ the woman said.
‘OK.’
‘Well?’ she declared.
‘Ah … Oh, you wanna go now?’
‘Would you rather I call room service for cocktails and appetizers?’
Having been raised by E.J. Pugh, Graham knew sarcasm when he heard it. ‘Ah, I couldn’t find the service elevator—’ he started.
She sighed. ‘Whatever. Take the elevator to the garage level and wait near the doors. Not in front of them but near them. Do you understand?’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ Graham said.
‘Then go!’
‘Ah, yes, ma’am,’ Graham said, biting his tongue. On the way down in the elevator he thought of all those things he could have said to Bishop now that he himself had spent some quality time with Bishop’s mother. Things like, ‘I know a good therapist.’
He did as he was told, stood off to the side of the elevator doors and waited for his roommate’s mother to show up. She took her time. By his watch, he’d stood there for over five minutes before she came out of the elevator. When she did, she totally ignored him and headed to her car. Graham followed behind – at a discreet distance. She got into her Beamer, unlocking the passenger side with her key fob and then started the car. Graham hurried into the passenger seat.
The woman left rubber as she screeched out of the parking lot, so fast Graham felt the need to hold on to the handle by the door. She didn’t look as she came out of the exit, and Graham saw a car screeching to a halt and another running up on the sidewalk to avoid her. Ms Alexander didn’t seem to notice.
It was early evening and the sidewalk in front of McMillan Hall was crowded with students rushing somewhere, anywhere. Others were just standing around, talking in small groups, sitting on steps with a book on their laps or just staring off into space, depending on whether the evening’s refreshments had already been imbibed or inhaled. Ms Alexander dropped Graham off in front of the McMillan dorm and headed to find a parking space, leaving Graham terse instructions to hide in the stairwell until she found him. He did as he was told, apologizing to Bishop in his mind. The stairwell stunk. It was a mixture of urine and vomit, the traditional smells of a dorm that housed a lot of freshmen.
It took twice as long for her to find him in the stairwell as it had for her to show up in the parking garage at the hotel. When she finally did, she didn’t say a word, just began walking up the stairs at a brisk pace. Graham hadn’t even had to suggest they use the stairs – she’d come up with the same idea on her own. So, Graham considered, she really was up to no good. He thought he might be getting out of this predicament sooner than he’d anticipated.
Once on the fourth floor, she used her head to indicate that he go first through the door that led to the corridor. He opened it gingerly, checking right and left. There was no one in the hall. He motioned her forward but she refused. ‘You go open the room door. I’ll come in after you,’ she said.
Graham sighed, nodded and headed out into the hall.
I was beginning not to like Nate Champion very much. I’d earlier thought he was nice to look at but familiarity not only breeds contempt, it also strips one of any allure. I was beginning to see the hairs in his ears and the wrinkles in his neck – whether they were there or not. I do have my fickle side. He had stuck me in the back seat of his unmarked car. Although it was unmarked, it still had those lovely police vehicle amenities of no door handles on the back doors. I knew I was only a whim away from being stuck in the car while Luna and Champion dealt with whatever was going to transpire.
I thought reminding Champion of how helpful I’d been and could continue to be might help my situation. ‘So did we tell you about seeing Gretchen Morley at Threadgills?’ I asked.
‘No,’ he said.
‘Ah, yeah, well, we did. Graham and I. She was sitting there with another girl, but when she saw us she got up and left.’
‘No doubt thinking she didn’t want to eat in the same room as the guy who killed the love of her life,’ the asshole said.
‘Jeez, Nate, give it a break,’ Luna said, obviously reading my mind.
‘Or she was feeling guilty and thought we were watching her!’ I countered.
‘Or she was through eating and left,’ he said.
‘She just left her friend sitting there all by herself. And her plate looked like she hadn’t finished it—’
‘Grief will take away your appetite,’ he said.
‘Why are you being such an asshole?’ I asked, truly interested in his answer.
‘It’s in my nature,’ he said and Luna laughed. Personally, I didn’t see any humor in any of this.
‘Maybe we should talk to that girl she was having lunch with,’ I said. ‘Maybe she said something incriminating to her.’
There was a loud sigh from the driver’s position. ‘You need to give it a rest,’ Champion said. ‘One suspect at a time. Today’s special is the vic’s mom, OK?’
‘OK, fine,’ I said, gritting my teeth. ‘She probably did it anyway.’
‘Probably not,’ Luna said.
‘Then why are we doing this?’ Champion asked, rather loudly.
Luna shrugged. ‘What else do we have?’
Champion pointed behind him. ‘Her kid,’ he said.
I glared at his back, hoping his hair would spontaneously combust.
Graham kept his eyes on the mom, although trying to be coy about it. It didn’t take long for her to find what she was looking for, and, as Champion had surmised, she put the thing she found in her right front coat pocket. Check, Graham thought to himself. Over and out.
‘Let’s go,’
Adrianne Alexander said, moving to the door, Graham following. She opened the door with the obvious intent of peeking out to see if anyone was there but the door was pushed open by the detective, making Ms Alexander stumble backward.
‘What’s going on here?’ Champion demanded, with Graham thinking not Hollywood, but not bad.
‘Ah—’ Graham stammered.
Ms Alexander righted herself, squaring her shoulders. ‘I’m Bishop Alexander’s mother and I have a right to my son’s things,’ she said.
‘No, you don’t,’ Champion said. ‘Not those things in a sealed room that could be considered evidence,’ he continued, trying to ignore Graham’s head repeatedly pointing in the direction of her right pocket. ‘And you!’ he said, turning on Graham in an attempt to get him to stop the head bobbing. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’
‘Ah, she asked—’
‘Not another word!’ Champion said. Then: ‘Did either of you take anything out of here?’
‘Of course not,’ Ms Alexander said.
‘Do you mind if I have a look?’ he said, reaching for her left coat pocket, finding nothing then going for the right. He pulled out the photo he’d seen earlier in the lap drawer of the victim’s desk. The picture of his parents in an embrace. ‘What’s this?’
‘Nothing,’ the woman said, her face turning pale as she spoke.
‘Looks like something to me,’ Champion said.
‘Can I go now?’ Graham asked.
‘Shut up,’ Champion said. ‘Actually, yeah, you can go now. Straight to jail. Both of you! Come on!’
Luna showed up at that moment to help cuff the suspects, latching on to Graham to make sure the cuffs were loose on him.
‘Don’t you dare!’ Adrianne Alexander said, pulling away from Champion. ‘I want my attorney right this minute! You had no right to search my body—’
‘I saw something incriminating sticking out of your pocket,’ he said.
‘That’s bullshit, you son of a bitch!’ she yelled as he got both her arms behind her and snapped on the cuffs.
‘Yeah, that’s what they call me,’ he said, and, with Luna’s help, walked his prisoners out of the room.
‘I don’t know who that is,’ Lisa Garcia, the computer tech in the office said, ‘but it’s not her husband. According to what I could dig up on Adrianne Alexander, she’s never been married. Alexander’s her maiden name. And the vic’s birth certificate says “father unknown.”’
‘She doesn’t seem the type,’ I said, although I’d been told talking was close to a criminal offense and I should keep my mouth shut.
Both Luna and Champion shot me a look, but Luna said, ‘What type is that?’
‘The type that would get knocked up and keep her baby. How old is she?’ I asked Garcia.
‘I’ll ask the questions!’ Champion said. Then sighed. ‘How old is she?’ he asked Garcia.
Lisa Garcia, attempting to hide a smile, said, ‘Forty-nine.’
‘OK,’ I said. ‘Say Bishop was the same age as Graham – twenty. Means she was twenty-eight or twenty-nine when she got knocked up. We know she’s a high roller in the oil business, right?’
‘There’s only your son’s word about that—’ Champion started, but Garcia interrupted.
‘No, she’s right,’ she said, looking at her computer screen. ‘She’s vice president of Legacy Oil Company, which is one of the big five. So, yeah, she’s a high roller.’
‘Education?’ I asked.
She hit a few buttons, then said, ‘Masters from the Wharton School of Economics.’
‘So,’ I concluded, ‘she made a conscious decision to get pregnant.’
‘What makes you say that?’ Champion asked in an accusatory manner.
‘A woman of her education, obvious ambition and sociopathic tendencies wouldn’t keep an unwanted pregnancy. I think she was feeling the clock ticking – we felt it a lot earlier back in those days – and decided to get her a kid.’ Turning to Garcia, I asked, ‘She’s the natural mother according to the birth certificate?’
She clicked back to another screen and said, ‘That’s what it says.’
‘So she either duped some guy into getting her pregnant without knowing he was doing it or she went for artificial insemination,’ I said.
‘OK, but what does that have to do with anything?’ Champion demanded.
‘That picture. It’s not daddy,’ Luna said.
‘Oh,’ Champion said. Then he got up and headed for the interrogation rooms.
Luna allowed me to follow her into the observation room to watch Champion interrogate Adrianne Alexander. Well, she didn’t so much allow me as didn’t notice I was there until after the door was closed behind us. She just sighed and didn’t say anything.
Champion held the picture up in front of Ms Alexander. ‘Who’s this?’ he asked.
‘None of your business,’ she said. Then added: ‘Where’s my lawyer?’
‘Have you called him?’ Champion asked.
‘Of course not! You haven’t let me near a phone!’
‘Then I guess he’s not here yet,’ Champion said.
Alexander jumped to her feet. ‘Look, you pissant—’
‘Sit down right now!’ Champion said.
She stood there for thirty seconds or so then slowly sat back down. ‘I’m not saying a word.’
‘That’s five,’ he said.
‘That’s the last!’
‘That’s three.’
‘What are you? Twelve?’
‘Four. You’re going back up.’
‘Oh, for God’s sake!’ Alexander said, throwing her arms up in the air. ‘What in God’s name do you want?’
Champion pointed at the picture. ‘Who’s this?’
She folded her arms over her chest and looked over his head at the mirror, about eye level with me. ‘None of your business,’ she said.
‘Obviously it is,’ Champion said. ‘Why else would you rope the Pugh kid into sneaking you into your son’s room when you knew it was off limits?’
‘I had no idea it was off—’
‘The seal on the door didn’t give you a clue?’
‘To me!’ she finished. ‘I’m his mother, for Christ’s sake! I have a right to my son’s things!’
‘Actually, no, you don’t. Not while they’re in a sealed room and still considered possible evidence,’ Champion reminded her.
She huffed. It wasn’t a sigh. It was an actual huff. I’ve heard about them but never actually seen someone do it. It wasn’t pretty.
‘I want to call my attorney now!’ she said.
‘You’re not under arrest, Ms Alexander. You’re only being detained as a possible witness. As such, you don’t have the privilege of a telephone call.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’ she yelled, jumping again to her feet.
‘You’re acting somewhat irrationally, Ms Alexander. We have an arrangement with Austin State Home to detain people who are acting irrationally. Would you like me to call them?’
She sank back down on her chair. ‘Are you threatening to have me locked up in a mental institution? Are you really doing that?’
‘Of course not!’ Champion said. ‘I’m just encouraging you not to act irrationally.’
‘I’m going to have your badge!’ she yelled. ‘Do you have any idea who I am?’
‘Yes, ma’am, you’re the woman who broke into a sealed room and stole—’
‘I’m senior vice president of Legacy Oil and as such I’m quite familiar with the governor and the attorney general! The attorney general and I play golf whenever he’s in Houston! So if you don’t want to end up out of a job and unemployable, I’d suggest you get me my goddam phone call now!’
‘Actually, the attorney general is my brother-in-law,’ Champion said, ‘so that’s not much of a threat. I know where his bodies are buried.’ He grinned at her.
I turned to Luna. ‘Really? His brother-in-law?’
Luna shook her head. ‘
Not that I’ve ever heard. It’s OK to lie when interrogating a suspect and I’m pretty sure that’s what Nate is doing.’
‘I hate it when you call him by his first name,’ I said – OK, peckishly.
‘Shut up,’ she said.
I turned my attention back to the interrogation room.
‘One more time,’ Champion said, poking his finger forcefully on the picture before him. ‘Who is this?’
‘I’m not telling you! Lock me up! Whatever!’ Alexander said, arms across her chest, her eyes again looking anywhere but at Champion.
‘OK, fine. If that’s what you want.’ He went to the door and opened it, calling to a uniformed officer, ‘Hey, Minnie, I need you to take this lady down to lock-up. Material witness,’ he said.
The officer named Minnie, a Hispanic woman in her thirties, came in and took Adrianne Alexander by the arm. Adrianne jerked her arm out of the woman’s grasp, but when the younger woman brought out the cuffs, Alexander said, ‘OK! All right! Jesus, you people!’ and allowed herself to be led out of the interrogation room.
The door to the observation room opened and Champion walked in. Upon seeing me, he frowned deeply. ‘Luna, I swear to God! What is this woman doing in here?’
Luna shrugged. ‘She followed me,’ she said.
‘She’s not a damn puppy!’ Champion almost yelled.
‘But I’m as cute as one,’ I interjected. Nobody seemed to find it amusing.
I could see Champion physically trying to calm himself: deep breaths, rolling his shoulders, shaking out his arms. I have that effect on men. Finally, with a deep sigh, he turned to Luna and said, ‘So, what did you think?’
‘I think maybe we should have your gal Garcia run a facial recognition on the guy in the picture.’
‘I’m not sure there’s enough of his face to do that,’ Champion said.
‘We can ask,’ Luna suggested.
‘Yeah.’ Champion sighed. ‘Whatever.’ He was not a happy man.
Graham and Miranda were coming out of their government class when they saw Gretchen Morley deep in conversation with another young woman. The same woman, Graham was pretty sure, Gretchen had been sitting with at Threadgills when he and his mother were having lunch. He leaned into Miranda. ‘Who’s that with Gretchen Morley?’ he asked.
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