by Jack Parker
Just gotta keep my hot streak going, he reminded himself. It was easy for him to see he would need to utilize his skills to the best of his abilities if he was going to bring this case to an end.
Chapter 10
Clue in a Book
"You're absolutely sure it wasn't Randy?" Teneire asked very quietly. The entire questioning room had now become almost dead silent from the tension that was suddenly arising. Had Collin actually thought of something logical that would make Randy someone who would be worth talking to?
"Positive," Lisa said very uneasily as she passed her eyes down to the floor. "He'd never do something like that. Sure, he wasn't always the nicest guy to be around, but…" She never finished her sentence.
A long silence passed before Collin prematurely blurted out, "I think we should call him in!"
"What, you mean Randy?!" Teneire yelled.
"Doy!"
"Collin, weren't you listening to a thing anyone's been saying about him?!"
"What do you mean?"
Teneire groaned. "We have to have gone over at least ten times now that Randy doesn't work there anymore. No one knows where he is."
"Hey, you're the police. You can track'em down, right?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Well, couldn't you do that!? He might have something useful to say!"
Teneire groaned and turned his attention back to Lisa. "Ms. McNorr, thank you very much for taking the time to talk with us. You're free to go."
"Thank you, sir."
Lisa got up without any hesitation and started walking to the door. As she opened it, she turned around and gave Collin a cold glare. After staring at him for a few seconds, she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her very calmly.
When she was finally gone, Teneire let out one more sigh and began massaging his head as if he was getting another migraine. Collin deduced that that would probably be a good time for him to go home and leave Teneire alone for the rest of the day.
* * *
Collin had the next two days off from work, and that entire two-day period allowed him to build up the excitement and get refreshed for looking into everything more. He felt like he was getting closer with each passing day, despite the fact he had learned almost nothing new ever since he started his "investigation".
While he was off from work, he kept wracking his mind and tried to think what would be the most effective question that he could ask others that could possibly put him in the right direction. He concluded that the most logical thing he could do was learn more about Randy and see if he was really the harmless guy Lisa was describing him as, or if there was a bit more to him than Lisa was letting on…
"Lees really doesn't like talking about it," Jess said very casually. She was the first one Collin approached, and she had had plenty of time to forgive him for becoming so aggressive when she was called in for questioning.
"Why not?"
"I dunno," she casually answered. Collin had started by asking her about the relationship between Lisa and Randy. "I guess she was just trying to stay professional and not talk about her love life on the job. Either that or she was uncomfortable, I guess."
"But was she happy, anyway? Like, did they seem like a good couple?"
"At first, they did."
"At first?"
"Yeah. Lisa was always happy and was in a much better mood when she first started seeing Randy."
"Wow…Randy must've been pretty nice to her."
"Actually, he probably wasn't."
"Huh? How do you know?"
"None of us can really tell. Lees didn't really feel like talking about it a heck of a lot."
"Then how do you know Randy probably wasn't nice to her?"
"It was kinda obvious. After they had been seeing each other for kind of a while, Lisa just started looking unhappier."
"And you think that's because of Randy?"
"Yeah."
"Any idea if he did anything that would make her feel that way?"
"We didn't see much, but it looks like he was kind of controlling and thought that since he had the higher job, he had the higher authority. I guess he was just really controlling and everything."
"Wow…so he was a control freak?"
"We can't really say for sure. That's just what it looked like."
"Hmmm…poor Lisa."
"I also think those rumors about Randy had something to do with it, too."
"Rumors?"
"Yeah. Oh, that's right. You're a newbie. You don't know about those rumors, do you?"
"You mean the ones about him having those... "dirty" magazines in his desk and all that other nasty stuff?"
Jess immediately looked confused and slightly suspicious. "How do you know about those?"
"I used to work for the police when they were working on this case last summer and I heard all about it then."
"Uh…yeeeaahhh…well, anyway, that's what I think. Lees probably found it all to be too much. Randy being a control freak and all those bad rumors going around about him…that's why I'm thinking Lees started getting a little out of it. It was all probably just more than she could handle."
"Aw…now I'm feeling bad for her."
"You should be, especially after what you put her through the other day when she was coming in for questioning."
"Huh?...oh, was I a bit over the edge?"
Jess let out a nervous laugh. "She came back muttering about how she was gonna wring your neck or something like that."
"Ooooooooo…well, I probably don't wanna talk to her then."
"Smart choice. Oh, uh…thanks, Jess."
"Anytime."
Collin began walking away from Jess and was now headed back towards his work post. He thought about everything he had just learned, and, while it helped him learn a bit more about Randy, it didn't help him figure out who could've been the one who was Scott's murderer.
"Well, that didn't help a lot. Hmmmm…"
-
"Randy? Pfft. I'd like to forget him," Ian remarked as he continued staring out at everyone in the water from the top of his lifeguard tower.
"Why?"
"The guy's a punk. I mean, really…if you could get one day off from him you were the luckiest guy in the world."
"He was really a tough guy, then?"
"Oh yeah. He wasn't really that nice to anyone here. It was pretty much, "Come to work. Do your job. Get paid. Go home". And if you had any problems with that, well…he wouldn't really do much for ya."
"Sounds like a real jerk."
"Ahhh…well, he was actually all right. Just really strict. But yeah, he definitely got a little wacko at times."
"What about Lisa?"
"Huh?"
"Was he that way to Lisa?"
"To Lisa? Pffft. No way. He treated Lisa like a queen. Well, at least compared to the way he treated us, anyway. But yeah, he was a nicer guy to her."
"Really. Hmmmm…"
"I think he really liked her. And I think she liked him back. And these are all rumors, but it sounded like they were even talking about getting married."
"What?! Lisa never mentioned anything about that!"
"She never told anyone about that. D'ja listen to what I said, dude? I said those were rumors. RU-MORS!"
"Uh…right. Thanks, Ian."
"No prob, dude."
Collin instantly turned around and got ready to run somewhere, but as he was about to depart, Ian stopped him.
"Hey, buddy!"
Collin froze and turned around. "What is it?"
"If you see a chick with long brown hair in a rented one-piece bathing suit, tell her she's gotta return that bathing suit to me, all right?"
"Don't people drop those off in the bin at the front office?"
"Just do it, all right?!"
"Uh…right. Sure thing, Ian."
"Thanks, buddy."
* * *
"Please, I don't want to talk about him," Lisa said coldly. "Randy and I are done, all right? We
've been done for some time now! We've been done for so long, this is light years before Scott died."
"Oh, come on," Collin whined. "It couldn't have really been that long, could it?"
He had caught Lisa just as she was starting her break. While she was trying to heat up leftover ravioli that she had been keeping in the refrigerator, Collin was questioning her again-this time, on the relationship she and Randy had shared and what happened to it. Neither of them realized that Christine was on her way to the break room and was just a short walk from the door, in plain earshot of everything being talked about on the inside.
"Collin, I know you really want to find out what happened to Scott, and I don't mean to ruin your dreams or anything like that, but…the cops have been on this for over a year. They're the best crime solvers around and they couldn't figure it out. What makes you think you can?"
"I dunno," Collin answered. "But I can. I mean, this is a rogue's gallery here. I've gotta figure it out if everyone who it could possibly be is right here!"
"…not everyone."
"What do you mean?"
"You're forgetting about Randy."
"Randy?! But I thought you said you knew for a fact he didn't do it!"
"And don't you remember what you said when you were questioning me the other day?"
"Uh…"
"Ya hear that, Mr. Teneire?! Randy's in love with Lisa. They break up. Lisa hooks up with Scott. Scott dies a few months later. Randy leaves a few weeks after that. I don't know about you, but I think that'd be enough to make Randy a person of interest now!"
"If you think about it, he would've had a motive and an alibi. All he had to do was say he wasn't working that night and he'd have all his coworkers back him up."
"I know I said that, but…you really think Randy could've done it, too?"
"Isn't that what you were driving at?"
"I guess, but you knew him better than anyone else here and you made it sound like there was no way he could've done it. But if even you got doubts…"
Christine gasped as she continued eavesdropping. She covered her mouth with her hand and inaudibly whispered, "Randy…". She immediately ran quietly from the break room with neither Collin nor Lisa seeing her.
"All right, if you REALLY think he could've done it," Lisa started, getting more irritated with each passing moment, "Then by all means, please do your homework and see if you come up with anything."
"You really want me to see if I can…"
"I want this thing to be over. All right? I don't care if you have bring Ian, Jess, Randy, me, my dog in for questioning. Just do whatever you need to do to get this thing shut up once and for all, all right? I'm sick of it!"
Collin didn't know what to say, so he decided it was best to keep his mouth shut. After about ten seconds, he choked out, "All right. You got it."
* * *
The rest of the day went by at an excruciatingly slow pace. When the final seconds ticked down and Collin was ready to leave, he noticed Nick was standing at the counter and writing in a large book that had a completely black cover. As Nick scribbled quickly in the book, he didn't even notice Collin was standing there.
"Nick?"
Nick jumped quickly but regained himself when he saw it was Collin. "What is it?"
"What are you writing?"
"You mean this?" he asked rhetorically as he pointed to the open book in front of him. It's the log book."
"Oh, yeah, right. I remember Lisa telling me about that. She said we're only supposed to write something down in there if something big or weird happened."
"Yeeeeeaaaaah?..." Nick asked, not picking up on the hint.
After a short and awkward pause, Collin continued with, "Well, what happened?"
"Some guy drilled a small hole in the girls' bathroom and started looking in at'em."
Collin made a face. "That guy's sick. What happened to him?"
"Well, the police had to show up. And Lisa had to deal with them. Heh, if the police know what's good for'em, they won't show their faces around her 'till next month, she's getting so fed up with them."
"Yeah…hey, did you just finish writing in that thing?" Collin asked as he pointed to the open black log book.
"Yeah, why?"
"Mind if I take a look at it?"
"Knock yourself out. Don't get excited, Coll; this isn't even bathroom reading."
Collin walked over to the book and read the passage Nick had just written: a guy showd up and he put a whole in the girls's restroom and he looked and he got caught and nick toled leesa who called the police. and when they showed up they arrested the guy and he got taken away and leesa filled owt papers. 4:49 pm july 12nd.
As he read, Collin made a very confused and puzzled face. How did this kid pass school?...or DID he?!...
"See? Told ya."
"Yeah, Nick, you were rig…hey!"
"What?"
"Have you completely filled up a log book before?"
"Yeah. Like, fifty times. Why?"
"Do you keep them when you're done with them?"
"Yeah."
I think I'm getting somewhere! "Can I take a look at the one that was used around the last week of July last year?"
"Nope," Nick bluntly responded.
Collin didn't realize he was smiling and holding his breath until his entire body deflated. "What do you mean, 'nope'?"
"The police have it. They took it last year when Scott got killed and they never gave it back."
"Oh…right."
"Yeah, that kinda puts a dent in your plans, doesn't it?" Nick asked with a cocky sneer. "Hey, you used to work there, right? Go to the sergeant and sweet talk him, and maybe he'll let ya take a look at it."
"You know what, Nick? You're smarter than I gave you credit for! That's a great idea."
"Smarter than you gave me credit for? What's that supposed to mean?"
Well, after seeing what you wrote in that log book… "Nothing. I was just kidding."
"Yeah, sure."
"Anyway, thanks a bunch, man!"
"Uh…whatever."
Excitedly, Collin ran out the front door to headquarters and hopped right into his car. He pulled out of the parking in a way that violated just about every traffic law that he could have possibly broken in those circumstances, and he speedily drove over to the police station.
After parking the car with little or not attention paid to getting it straight, Collin burst through the front doors and quickly walked into Teneire's office; he opened the door without even knocking first.
Teneire looked up and looked astonishingly disappointed with who it was that was standing at the door.
"What is it now?"
"Sir, I'd like permission to look at some of the stuff you collected last summer, if you don't mind."
"Don't mind?! I can't do that!"
"Yes you can! But if you don't want me to look at anything, just say the word."
"I wouldn't mind it if you could look at some of the evidence-that's what you meant, right?"
"Right!"
"Yeah. Well, like I said, if I could, I'd let you, but it's illegal. I'd lose my badge," Teneire explained. It was all too obvious that Teneire was simply using that as an excuse not to let him look at some of the older evidence…which was nothing less than what Collin was expecting.
"All right, then," Collin said sneakily as he reached into his pocket. "Then if it's not legal, what do you call this?"
As he opened up his palm, Collin revealed the badge that Teneire had given him the summer before for helping out at the station.
"What's that?" Teneire asked, now looking nervous.
"I think you know perfectly well what it is, sir. That right there is the badge you gave me. You told me I had all your privileges if I showed it to you."
"What?! You can't be…"
"I am serious, sir. When you gave me this badge, you gave me the right to look into the evidence room. So…can I please look at something in the evidence place?"
/> Teneire looked at his former worker in astonishment. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to find something to say that would foil Collin's plans, but he couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.
"Ugh…fine. You do realize that if someone catches you in there, I'm gonna have a LOT of explaining to do."
"Don't worry, Mr. Teneire. I'm well aware of the consequences you'll have to face," he said in mocking way.
With a last grunt, Teneire stood up and started fumbling with the key chain around his belt. He picked through the keys around it until he got to the one that could unlock the door to the evidence room.
"Don't take too long, all right?"
"No problem. I'll be in and out in a jiffy."
"Good. Oh, before I forget…you're gonna have to put on a pair of rubber gloves before you go searching through all that stuff. You get your fingerprints on any of that evidence, and there's gonna be trouble."
"I understand."
"Good. The gloves are on a table right next to the room. You have ten minutes to find something good, all right? If you're in there any longer, you could really mess up a lot of the stuff in there."
"What do you mean?"
"Just don't move a lot of stuff around and put it back wherever you found it, all right? You can't just throw pieces of evidence into a room with no pattern, you know."
"Yeah, all right. Don't worry about it. I'll keep everything nice and straight.
"Good."
Before Collin even realized it, Teneire had stopped; they were both standing right in front of the evidence room. The door leading into it looked very heavy and there was a large sign on it that read DO NOT ENTER- FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ONLY, which only added to the intrigue and made Collin want to see the inside of it more.
Teneire inserted his key in the lock and opened the door up. Collin was almost disappointed to see that the inside was hardly anything more than plain white walls with several file cabinets spread amongst the walls. There were also some larger items that were carefully wrapped in plastic that were leaned up on the sides.
"All right, the stuff for last summer's case should be right in here…" Teneire mumbled aloud to himself as he unlocked one of the file cabinets. "What exactly were you looking for, anyway?"
"The log book."