Murder Is Secondary (2 page)

Chapter 5

Susan stayed in the media center, shelving books for a few more hours. Susan preferred the word
library
, like they used back when she went to school, but in reality there were as many computer resources now as there were books, so ‘media center’ was actually more accurate.
The dust in the place was making her eyes itch. As she walked to her car, she was thinking that from what she’d heard so far today,
Amber Bernstein certainly seemed capable of making false accusations against Tank. She still wondered what evidence they had other than Amber’s accusation. She remembered how she had promised Mike she would talk to Lynette, so she decided to stop off at the police station. When she arrived, the first person she saw was her old sparring buddy, and her daughter’s partner, Jackson Simpson.

“Well, hello there, Jessica Fletcher,” said Jackson. The man had the beginnings of a paunch. He was in his thirties, but already, his dark hairline was beginning to recede.

“How’s it going, Barney Fife?” said Susan.

“Everything’s great. It’s rather quiet here today. Lynette is in her office. Come on in.” Jackson opened the counter gate and led Susan back to Lynette’s office. Her daughter’s small space was neat and professional. Susan eyed a spot on the desk which would eventually be perfect for her soon-to-be grandbaby’s photo––maybe in a pretty silver frame.

“Hi, Mom. What brings you here? Don’t you volunteer at the high school on Thursdays?” asked Lynette.

“I just came from there. I need your help. You know Dad’s friend Tank? He’s in a lot of serious trouble.” Susan explained the situation to her daughter.

“Sexual harassment?” said Lynette. “I’ve known Tank my whole life. He’s such a sweet man; there’s no way I can imagine him doing something like that. That’s awful”

“The girl who accused him has a grudge against Tank and I’m certain she’s making the whole thing up. I did some investigating at the school and…”

“Investigating? Mom, we’ve talked about you leaving the detective work up to me.” Lynette had her hands on her hips and had that stern look on her face. It didn’t go well with Lynette’s large pregnant belly.

“I know, but I was at the school anyway so I figured I’d gather whatever information I could.”

“Mom, I’m glad you have sources.” She held up her hand, anticipating Susan’s protest. “Don’t worry; I won’t ask you to reveal them. If there isn’t any evidence against Tank other than the one accusation, this will go nowhere,” said Lynette.

“Well, apparently they have other evidence too, but we don’t know what it is. Maybe you can do a little investigating for him.”

“You told me an officer came to the school, so that means there’s probably a police report. It’s a slow day. I’ll try to find the report and see what it says. I’ll look into it while you go home and start cooking Dad a healthy dinner.”

“But I may have some key insights.” Susan realized that she was breaking into her pleading tone.

“Come on, Mom. You know you don’t have a deputy’s badge under that sweater.” Susan was distracted by movement under Lynette’s maternity shirt.”

“The baby is moving, isn’t he?” said Susan. “Can I feel?”

“Sure, Grandma. Put your hand here.” Susan’s heart fluttered.

Chapter 6

Home sweet home
thought Susan. She plopped her keys down on the hall table and took off her jacket. Susan went upstairs and changed into yoga pants (which had never actually been worn for yoga) and an Old Navy t-shirt. Shortly after starting dinner, she heard Mike’s car in the driveway and was anxious to tell him what she’d found out.

“Hi, Hon,” said Mike. He gave her a peck on the cheek. Mike spent his days working at the Westbrook City Hall. “How was your day?”

“It was fine.” She proceeded to tell Mike about Amber Bernstein being angry that Tank didn’t pick her project for the National Science Competition. “Crazy as it sounds, revenge against Tank is probably her motive.”

“Did you talk to Lynette? What other evidence do they have?” asked Mike.

“Yes, I dropped by the station. She said she was going to look into it.”

After dinner, they turned on the TV.

“Mike, look. Isn’t that Tank on the news? See. He’s the one walking away from the camera with the sweatshirt covering his face.” She turned up the volume. The news reporter was announcing that a high school teacher had been assigned to non-teaching duties while awaiting results of an investigation into alleged sexual harassment. The caption rolling at the bottom of the TV screen read, ‘Veteran teacher sexually harasses female student.’

“How can they get away with that?” asked Susan. She felt the heat rise into her face. “You know they can’t prove anything. Isn’t that slander or something? It’s only an allegation.”

“According to Tank, the girl’s father is a powerful attorney. I’m sure he knows just how far he can push this. I have to call Tank.” Mike turned down the TV volume and called his buddy. When he finished the call, he told Susan that Tank had been reassigned to the textbook depository, away from student contact while they investigated. Susan knew the authorities must have more compelling evidence than just Amber’s word, and she was determined to find out what it was.

“They won’t be able to prove anything because Tank is innocent. It’s just a shame he has to go through this. He’s been through enough for a lifetime,” said Susan.

“I know,” said Mike. He shook his head as he often did when something seemed incongruous to him. “It’s killing me, but I guess there’s nothing we can do at this moment.”

Chapter 7

“Joey, what do you want for dinner?” Julie Martin called to her teen-age son from the kitchen. Joey was in the living room texting, and at the same time following the baseball playoffs on the news.

“I don’t know. Something good.”

Julie loved when her son gave her such clear direction. “I’ll make some spaghetti. We have leftover meatballs to go with it.”

“Mom, come quick! Mr. Copland is on TV.”

“Why is he on TV?” asked Julie. Joey jacked up the volume.

“What? That’s crazy!” cried her son. “They’re charging him with sexual harassment. They’re taking him out of the classroom while they investigate.”

Julie was clearly upset. Her feelings for Tank ran deeper than anyone knew.

“What the hell? There has to be some mistake,” said Joey. The news was now showing Tank shielding himself with his sweatshirt. Julie’s heart broke for the man on the screen.
He must be so embarrassed,
she thought.

“Aren’t you going to call him and make sure he’s okay?” said Joey.

“He looks a little busy right now, but I’ll certainly try.” The news segment had finished. Julie’s heart ached for Tank, but she continued to get dinner on the table.

It was already growing dark outside. As Julie was taking plates out of the cabinet, she heard a sound coming from outside the kitchen window. She felt her stomach drop to the floor. She inched the curtains apart and peeked outside.
Wait. Was that movement she saw?
When she looked closer, she couldn’t be sure. Julie had moved to Westbrook fifteen years ago and she still jumped whenever she heard random sounds breaking the country quiet. Joey came in and took a swig of Gatorade from the bottle in the fridge.

“Is dinner almost ready? I’m starving,” said Joey.

“Just a few more minutes.” Julie peeked through the curtain. “Was Amber at school today?”

“Yeah. She’s strutting around spouting off about what her daddy the lawyer is going to do to poor Mr. Copland. I can’t stand her,” said Joey.

“She was never one of my favorites either. Mr. Copland is so nice and this is so unfair.” said Julie. She pictured Tank with his deep-set eyes and strong hands. She drained the spaghetti and poured it into a serving bowl. “Can you put this on the table?” she asked Joey. She herself had lost her appetite.

“Sure,” said Joey. He heaped a pile of spaghetti onto his plate. Julie was amazed at how much food her son could pack away while staying in such good shape.
He certainly has his father’s metabolism,
she thought. Despite scarfing down multiple helpings at every meal, Joey’s father had never had a weight problem. Luckily that was about the only similarity Joey had to his father.

“Hey, did you hear all that noise going on outside today at school?” she asked Joey, changing the subject. “They started breaking ground for that new housing development they’re building next to the school. I hope they’ll be done with the bulldozing soon. It’s insane trying to teach over that noise.”

“Yeah, I heard it.”

“It’s going to be a long year. They’re working right outside the window in my classroom.” Julie cleared the table. As she was loading the dishwasher, she could have sworn she saw a light shining across the kitchen window. Again, she peered through the curtains and again she saw nothing outside.
I must be imagining things
, she thought. The parking lot was on the other side of her apartment building, so she knew she hadn’t seen headlights. Still, she felt an uneasiness as she finished up in the kitchen and sat down on the couch with her laptop.
It’s been a while now
, she thought.
I have to learn to stop worrying. Everything is fine now and it will stay that way
.

Chapter 8

“Have fun at the Poker game,” said Susan. Mike was getting ready to go out.

“I will. It’s a good thing I happened to meet that real estate developer at work the other day or we’d be postponing our weekly games for a while. Jason’s colleague from the university is on a recruiting trip, so he won’t be there. We would have been out a player.” Jason was their daughter Lynette’s husband.

“Who is this real estate developer?” asked Susan.

“His name is Zachary Chichester. He came into the office looking for blueprints to the high school. He’s working on the new housing development and I guess they need to make sure the sewers and water pipes stay clear of each other, or that they don’t hit something they aren’t supposed to when they dig the foundations. Anyhow, he’s from New Jersey and he’ll be here in town for a while.”

“Does he have a wife with him?”

“No, he mentioned something about a wife, but he’s here by himself. He’s staying at Rocking Horse Ranch.”

“Well, take these kale chips with you to Jason and Lynette’s. Here’s some hummus dip to go with it.”

“Kale chips?” said Mike. “Jason doesn’t need kale chips. He’s enough of a ‘woose’ already, being surrounded by all those nerdy college professors every day. He needs man food––maybe some chili dogs and beer. Hey, are you going to work on the blanket you started?”

“Yes, siree. It’ll be crib-size before you know it.” Susan gave Mike a kiss and locked the door behind him. She picked up her knitting but was soon bored. She wandered into the kitchen and remembered the can of Pringles she’d bought before they’d started their diet. She opened the canister and decided to try to help Tank out via some internet research.
I wonder what sort of evidence Amber Bernstein’s father has,
she thought. She decided to start by finding some background information on Amber’s family.

Well, Amber’s father checks out. He actually is a successful attorney and it doesn’t look like he’s been personally involved in any law suits,
she said to herself. She licked the salt off of her fingers and googled Amber’s name next. She found nothing out of the ordinary. Amber Bernstein had organized a charity run, and her track and cross country times were on record.

She took another stack of chips out of the can and turned her attention to Tank.
Wait, what was his real first name? Something with a T…. Tony? No. Thomas? That was it.
After searching a bit, she came across a newspaper article about a Thomas Copland from years ago. The headline was “Chemistry Teacher Charged with Sexual Harassment.”
That certainly is interesting
.
Could there be any truth to that?
she wondered. Then, quickly, she changed her mind, adding:
What’s wrong with you?
You know Tank better than that. Maybe she should ask Lynette to look into it.
She dumped the last of the Pringle’s crumbs into her palm, finished them, rinsed off her hands, and called her daughter.

“Lynette, I wanted to see if you could look into something. I googled Tank and found a newspaper article from quite a few years ago that said he was accused of sexual harassment once before.”

“That’s not good, Mom, because now another girl in addition to Amber Bernstein has issued a statement against Tank. She’s a current student at Westbrook. Even though he was no doubt acquitted of the accusation in the past, it casts doubt on his reputation today. That’s three strikes.” Of course, Lynette wouldn’t divulge the new accusing girl’s name.

“What’s going to happen now?”

“If they can corroborate her accusation, then Tank will most likely be arrested and the case will go to trial. Don’t worry too much, though. This case sounds awfully contrived to me. It’s too convenient that all of a sudden there are two sets of accusations against him when for years there have been none. It will work out.”

Susan wasn’t so certain.