"Don't you dare." Gersham said threateningly. "You are my son. Maybe not by blood, but one can hope that I have instilled in you a don't quit attitude. You don't quit, you hear me."
"Yes Dad," Taj said meekly. "I am going to do the Psychiatry Center and I am going to make sure I hang in there for the presidency but I think I am going to draw the line at hiring a PI—it's not my style. If Bancroft wants the job this badly he can have it."
Gersham sighed down the line. "Okay Taj, your choice. Harriet wants to talk to you. She said you should call her later on this week before she goes on her six week Alaska tour with some retirees from church."
"I will call her," Taj said. "Tell her I miss her cooking."
"Make sure you call her," Gersham said sternly, "and tell her yourself. She's been going on and on about being abandoned by you."
They chitchatted a bit and then Taj hung up the phone.
He contemplated his position at the school. He could always depend on Gersham Jackson to give him good advice but this time he wasn't sure that he wanted to follow it. He was not into any cloak and dagger stuff.
He knew his father wanted him to be competitive and to win the presidency. But just like high school, when he was heavily in the track and field, he had quit to concentrate on Medicine. Maybe now he should do the same for the presidency. He drummed his fingers on the table, his thoughts troubled. He was reviewing every piece of the conversation with Bancroft when Natasha snuck her head around his door.
"Hi Taj," she came fully in the room; she had two patty bags and two cups of juice. "I stopped at the cafeteria and thought you would appreciate something to eat."
Taj looked up at her with surprise. "How thoughtful. Are you buttering me up for something?"
Natasha sat across from him and handed him the juice and the patty. Why would you ask a question like that? Aren't you used to random acts of kindness?"
"I read people for a living," Taj said. "A fair amount of my job is diagnosing persons with mental disorders."
"I don't have a mental illness," Natasha sputtered. The sunlight that was streaming through the office window caressed a lock of her hair and it appeared red. Taj stared at it transfixed for a while.
"I didn't think so," Taj said biting into his patty, "but I sense that there is a masking, or should I say a deception behind your eyes. Since I believe that I'm the target of this deception I have to ask. Did Bancroft set you up to distract me from the presidential race?"
Natasha gasped. "No. Why do you think so?"
Taj shrugged. "I met with Bancroft today and I got the distinct feeling that he would do anything to get rid of his competition, so to speak. I can't help being suspicious of everything and everyone right now. Especially you."
Natasha swallowed her patty in mid-chew and then choked. She coughed and then looked at him with watering eyes. "So you think Bancroft is that determined to get the presidency huh?"
Taj shrugged and put down his patty. "I noticed that you didn't answer my question Natasha. I thought you said you don't play games. After assessing our meeting yesterday and your offer as student assistant I am not feeling as if this was a coincidence. Is Bancroft banking on me having some sort of affair with you and then use that as evidence to the board of trustees?"
Natasha laughed.
Taj frowned at her but looked up as Anne Carter entered his office with a frown on her face. "Dr Jackson, I am going to head out early this evening. There is a delivery at my home I really need to pickup."
Taj nodded. "Okay Mrs. Carter."
He watched as she closed the door softly and then looked at Natasha again. "What is so funny?"
"Do you realize that even if I was a plant from Bancroft, you would have just caused me to go to him and tell him that you are probably unto us?"
Taj shrugged. "I am on the verge of bowing out of this presidential race, something doesn't feel right about it. You can tell Bancroft that."
He looked at the patty disdainfully. "You didn't poison this, did you?"
Natasha laughed again.
"I am not trying to be funny," Taj said getting up. "I came here to do what I thought was a simple assignment. I thought this was a Christian university where people treated others with human decency and Christian values. So why on earth am I feeling as if I dropped into a cauldron of intrigue?"
He looked through his window with his hand in his pocket. Then he started chuckling and shook his head. "My father even suggested that I get a PI to check out Bancroft's background."
He looked around at Natasha who was looking at him with a bemused look on her face. Her mind had been racing when Taj started talking and she was contemplating if this was the perfect time to enlist his help with their investigation—obviously, Taj was clueless about what he had found himself in.
"Sorry to vent," Taj said sitting back down across from her.
Natasha shrugged and leaned forward. "Your theories would have some merit but I doubt Bancroft sees you a big a threat to go to those lengths to get rid of you."
Taj sighed. "You are right. It's just that he rubs me the wrong way."
"He might have gone through those lengths to get rid of somebody else though..." Natasha stared at Taj, taking in his curly ruffled hair that looked as if it had been ruffled several times in frustration during the day, and then made up her mind to trust him. He could be a big asset to the investigation. He could be their link to faculty.
Taj was gazing back at her with a frown. "What are you saying?"
"I am saying that the past president, Edward Carlisle, was murdered." Natasha lowered her voice.
Taj jerked up and stared at her intently. "How'd you know that? Who are you really? What's going on here?"
"One question at a time Doc." Natasha said getting up and looking outside into the open office area. Anne Carter's desk was empty and there was nobody else in the other offices.
She closed the door and then grabbed her phone from her knapsack.
Taj was looking at her, frowning and suddenly feeling nervous. Natasha had gone from simpering student to tough military style general in one minute.
She dialed a number and then said, "I am about to reveal to Taj Jackson who I am. I have reason to believe that he can help us with our investigation."
Taj listened incredulously as she spoke. So, she was a cop? This was really a day of surprises.
Natasha sat back down and smiled at him. "Don't worry Taj, my partner Harry Campbell will be here in a minute. I would prefer if he were here when we speak so that I do not have to repeat the conversation."
Taj nodded bemused. "So what's your real name?"
"Natasha Rowe, same as before," she said briskly. "I am undercover and so is Harry. It is imperative that you don't blow our cover." She looked at him and grinned. "It's a pity we won't be able to have that drink after all."
Taj smirked. "I guess that would be when you tried to get more information from me right?"
Natasha nodded. "I know a great deal about you already. We had to research all the likely suspects."
Taj frowned. "Why would I be a suspect? I was not here when the man died? I hadn't even met him!"
Natasha shrugged. "We like to be thorough. We suspected that you were brought here as a decoy for Bancroft to get presidency. Of the three candidates, you were the anomaly. We thought you knew Bancroft and would be willing to step out of the selection process when the time was right because the two other contenders have issues."
Taj nodded. "So I heard. Bancroft said that Anita Parkinson owes him and Akheim Winter was involved in a scandal.
Natasha grunted. She crossed her legs and then her arms. "Are you related to Ryan Bancroft?"
Taj shook his head vehemently and then sighed, "I am not sure. The resemblance is there. Some days it's more obvious than others. Like today he was speaking and I had the uncanny feeling that I was staring at my own eyes. He and I have very similar eyes."
Natasha nodded. "Do you have any idea who your birth par
ents are?"
Taj shrugged. "No. I have never really wanted to find out."
They heard faint steps coming down the corridor and then Harry knocked on the door.
"Come in," Natasha called out. Then she turned to Taj. "Sorry Doc. I don't mean to be commandeering your office."
Taj waved. "No problem."
They both looked at Harry who came in with his large knapsack on his shoulder. He rested it in the chair beside Natasha and sat down folding his long legs under Taj's desk.
"Harry Campbell." he said nodding at Taj.
Taj nodded, "Taj Jackson."
"Lets get something straight here Jackson," Harry said as he rummaged in his knapsack for his notebook. "What you are about to learn is completely confidential…If you in anyway impede this investigation, I can lock you up."
Taj grinned. "The power of the police. I understand why the threats have to be made but they are wasted on me. I must admit I am still in shock at what Natasha just told me about Edward Carlisle, but I haven't been around here long enough to be having intimate conversations with anybody."
Harry nodded. "Fair enough. What about your secretary?"
"Who, Anne Carter?" Taj asked incredulously, "She and I have barely had a conversation."
Harry scratched his chin. "Are you aware that she was Carlisle's secretary up to his death?"
"Nooo," Taj said apprehension once more making him frown.
"Are you aware that she is the wife of the head of the board of trustees?"
Taj shook his head again, "Her husband is D.M. Carter?"
"Yes," Harry said leaning back in his chair. "What do you know about D.M. Carter?"
"Well he approached the head of administration where I used to work and told her I was being considered for the presidency of this university. My chairman at the time was so proud he could not contain his excitement. I guess I got a little bit excited too."
Harry nodded and then glanced at Natasha. "Why would Anne Carter's husband single out Taj Jackson for the presidency?"
Natasha shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Taj looked from one to the other. "Bancroft mentioned that Carter was out to annoy him. So he chose me."
Harry's ears perked up. "So Carter hates Bancroft?"
"I got that impression," Taj said, "and I am also pretty sure that Bancroft hates Carter."
Harry rubbed his ears. He always did that when he was close to some important piece of information and could not figure out what it was.
"Lets talk about you." Natasha said to Taj. "Where were you born?"
Taj swung in his chair. "I think it was at the Black River Hospital. I don't know who my biological parents are. My parent's helper, Harriet, arranged my adoption. My father, Gersham Jackson, part-owned a string of jewelry stores and my mother, Darla Jackson, was an artist. She died trying to save a cat from being hit by a truck."
"Sorry for your loss," Harry said seriously.
Taj shrugged. "Darla was not really a mother in the sense of being a mother. Harriet was more my mother, to be honest. I miss Darla sometimes though…when I allow myself to think about my childhood any at all."
"Is it possible for us to talk to Harriet?" Natasha asked.
"Well," Taj said, "I'll call her later. I can put you on speakerphone. She is supposed to be going on a trip to Alaska for six weeks. I was planning to call her in the night."
Natasha nodded.
Harry frowned. "How is this relevant to the case?"
"We need to find out his connection to the case." Natasha said quickly.
"No," Harry frowned. "We don't. That is personal stuff."
"It's not," Natasha said stormily, "I just have a hunch that this is important to the case."
Harry looked at her hard and then backed down. "I have always listened to you and your hunches."
"Good," Natasha said, "listen now to this one."
Harry yawned and then stretched out his hand, flexing his fingers rapidly. "Okay then."
"So when can we come back for the call?" Natasha asked Taj.
"At around four this evening." Taj had been looking between the two of them and then he asked, "So who are the other suspects?"
"Bancroft," Harry said, "Edward Carlisle's wife—Miranda Carlisle, your secretary—Anne Carter."
"That's a pretty short list," Taj said, "I thought it was longer than that. Was Carlisle so loved that his list is so short?"
"The list was longer," Natasha said, "but the motives just don't add up."
"What's Anne Carter's motive," Taj asked quietly. He was alarmed that his secretary could be a murderer. She looked so unassuming and needy. But then again he had to be reassessing his view of the university.
"She was close to him. She said he had a secret life which was sickening." Natasha replied readily.
Taj frowned. "Seems like you are grasping at straws. That's just one person's perception of him. I wonder what that secret life was."
"We intend to find out." Natasha said picking up her cold patty. "So we'll meet back here at four?"
Taj nodded. "You might also want to accompany me to The President's Ball tomorrow evening. I figure all of your suspects will be there."
Natasha nodded and smiled slyly. "So we still get to have our date then?"
"It's work," Harry said belligerently, "remember that Detective Rowe."
"Oh kill joy," Natasha winked at Taj who could barely muster a smile, he was sitting in his chair, stunned.
Chapter Seven
Taj sat bemusedly through his department meetings, glancing furtively at his watch every two minutes. His mind was racing with thoughts. Why hadn't he had the foresight to question Harriet about his biological parents long before this? Now he was going to have to deal with whatever news he heard in front of Natasha—a woman who he was surprisingly still attracted to—and her detective partner.
He swallowed a yawn as the Dean of the college of Science wrapped up the meeting in his sonorous voice.
Taj grabbed his briefcase and hurried to his office as soon as he politely could. He had not wanted to stop and talk to anyone but a few of his colleagues were very anxious to hear about the progress of the Psychiatry Center.
He let himself into his office and saw that Natasha was sitting in his chair—her foot propped up on his desk. She was chewing gum and was in the middle blowing a bubble when he walked in. She was busy reading something on her laptop.
"Oh hi," she jumped up when he straightened at the door, a grin on his face.
"So this is what fake assistants do when the professor is not around?" Taj looked at her sternly.
Natasha blushed, "I am sorry to make myself so much at home Taj, but I just received the password for Edward Carlisle's school email address." She chuckled. "The systems administrator was very helpful when Harry insisted. I am just browsing through his email from as far back as 2001."
Taj whistled and sat across from her. "Wow, any useful insider information in there for a presidential hopeful?"
Natasha frowned. "Even if there was, I wouldn't give it to you. This is a criminal investigation Taj, not a game."
Taj held up his hands. "Okay Detective. No need to remind me. In the future, I will try to remember to censor all the email that I send through the school's servers. I can't believe it is that easy to get the password to someone's email address. In this information age truly there is no privacy, huh?"
Natasha nodded. "That's so true but if you are not criminal minded there is no need for you to be super cautious. Frankly, we can get access to your deleted messages too. That's the first place I look in an investigation where email is involved. Being cautious is good, but we instantly become suspicious of the super cautious."
Taj looked at her contemplatively. "Works the same for my profession. The super cautious are usually the ones with something to hide."
Natasha caressed the edge of the laptop. "You know, you can be a real asset to this investigation, with your knowledge of human behavior."
She looked at him appreciatively and then suddenly felt hot under her purple turtleneck collar. He had warm chocolate eyes with very white corneas. They were looking back at her with a knowing awareness.
She cleared her throat. "Uhm...this is not going to work."
Taj raised his eyebrows indolently. He made no move to help her escape the tension that was building between them. He saw her discomfort and he reveled in it.So, the business-like attitude from earlier in the day was just a front.Natasha was a woman and she was attracted to him—detective or not. He anticipated that this would be an interesting next couple of weeks, until she solved the case of Edward Carlisle's death.
Harry knocked on the door and pushed his head in; Natasha looked up with relief.
"It's four o'clock," Harry said coming in. "Have you called your housekeeper yet?"
"Not my housekeeper anymore," Taj said. "She lives in a retirement community where she is involved in sorts of activities. She is hardly at her condo, so we have to call her on her cell phone."
Taj reached for the office phone and dialed Harriet's number; putting her on speakerphone.
"Hello," her chirpy voice came on the line.
"It's me," Taj said hurriedly, "but before you get too excited, there are two detectives here with me and we have you on speaker phone."
"Taj Jackson are you in trouble?" Harriet asked in a panicked rush.
"No, he is not," Natasha said quickly to defuse Harriet's panic. "My name is Natasha Rowe, and my partner Harry Campbell and I just want to ask you a few questions about Taj's birth."
Harriet cleared her throat, "Why?"
"Well," Natasha said gently, "we are in the middle of an investigation and we have reason to believe that Taj may be biologically connected to a man named Ryan Bancroft."
"Never heard of him," Harriet said.
"Would you mind telling us about the circumstances behind Taj's adoption?" Natasha asked, her pen poised to scribble.
Harriet sighed. "My mind is not as fresh as it once was, but I'll try." She cleared her throat. "A church sister of mine in Top Hill—where I used to live—told me one evening after church that she was keeping a teenage girl that was pregnant because her mother could not afford to keep her and the new baby.
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