Phi Beta Murder (16 page)

“I see.”

“The case against Wylie was a flimsy fabrication and it was thrown out with good reason. Fortunately the jury showed better judgment than the faculty at Hilliard.”

The dean of students cleared his throat. “I’ll, ah, review Wylie’s case. Well, thank you for all you have done.” He vigorously shook Rex’s hand. “Have a safe trip home.”

“Now that you have clear proof it wasn’t R.J. on the video, wouldn’t the right thing to do be to reinstate him?”

Rex didn’t wait for an answer before walking off through the main doors in the direction of Keynes Hall. He had one final task to accomplish, the hardest so far.

Later that morning, after
he had heard back from the dean and while his son was at a lecture, Rex sat down at Campbell’s laptop to write to the Clarks, assisted by the American spell-checker.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Clark:

Much as this news will undoubtedly come as a fresh shock, I must inform you that it appears Dixon did not in fact commit suicide, but was murdered by a student named Andy Palmer. The motive he gave me was that he had known R.J. Wylie—the boy who was erroneously implicated by Dixon in a drug deal—since high school, and was seeking to right the wrong of his friend’s expulsion from Hilliard University.

Andy Palmer studied with R.J. Wylie, also a chemistry major, in his room and discovered access to Dixon’s room below through the air ducts. Being under the effects of a sedative, Dixon was less able to put up a defense than he might otherwise have been. Andy forced him onto a chair (possibly with the aid of a weapon) and put a rope around his neck. He showed him the suicide instructions he had brought with him. The plan was to coerce Dixon into signing a written confession to falsely accusing R.J. Wylie. According to Andy, Dixon knocked over the chair while struggling to get free. Andy panicked and fled the scene.

The dealer in the phone video was Dixon’s ex-roommate, Tyler Clapham (“Klepto”), who managed to convince Dixon to incriminate R.J. Wylie instead. Klepto, while not a direct culprit in Dixon’s death, acted as a catalyst for the tragic sequence of events. He is the webmaster of StudentSpace.com, which the university is now attempting to shut down. Klepto has been suspended pending a full inquiry into his role in the drug deal that resulted in R.J.’s expulsion and ultimately in your son’s death.

In conclusion, R.J. Wylie, an able student, was falsely accused of drug-dealing and has, as far as I can ascertain, never sold drugs. His high school friend Andy Palmer wished to redress this wrong, and events spiraled out of control. Dixon, it seems, also refused to sell Andy the Xanax at the price he was selling it to his friends, and this angered Andy, who is responsible for posting the Nantucket poem.

I should add that R.J. is not a completely innocent party in all this, since he was using cocaine, contrary to dorm rules, at the time of his arrest. He is now clean and mentoring kids in an anti-drugs program.

These are the facts as I understand them. I will follow up by phone at the weekend.

Yours sincerely,

Rex Graves, Q.C.

He hoped a couple of days would be enough time for Dixon’s parents to absorb the impact of the email before he spoke with them. As it turned out, Keith Clark called him within the hour.

“It’s been an emotional roller-coaster,” he admitted. “Katherine and I have been talking about the situation since we got your email. First of all, we are so very grateful for your involvement; otherwise we would never have gotten at the truth of what happened.”

He took a deep breath. “We spoke to the dean by phone a short while ago, and he confirmed that the website has been shut down. He is amenable to re-enrolling R.J. Wylie, subject to regular drug screening, and provided that the school’s action is not construed as an admission of culpability. R.J. may have to make up some classes in the summer. We agreed not to pursue a lawsuit against Hilliard, and we’ve decided to help R.J. with his tuition fees.”

“That is truly generous of you and Katherine,” Rex said in admiration. “Does R.J. know about this yet?”

“I spoke to his father. The poor man broke down. The stress he’s been under must have been intolerable. He took out a second mortgage on his house to pay for his son’s defense. I understand that R.J. is currently working construction to pay off the loan.”

“Aye, he’s working at the top of a skyscraper.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want my son doing that. In any case, Katherine and I had been thinking about setting up a scholarship in Dixon’s name. Under the circumstances, we think R.J. should benefit instead.”

Rex gave a heartfelt sigh. “I believe it’s a good decision. I’ve had the opportunity to talk to R.J. at length. He’s a bright lad and should have had a bright future. Thanks to you, he’ll still have that chance. I don’t think he’ll make the same mistake twice.”

“We don’t always get second chances for ourselves or our kids. The next best thing is to be able to provide them.”

“I’ll call you in a few days and let you know how we’re getting on at the cottage.”

“Please do. Have a great time down there.”

As Rex closed his phone, a mingling of sadness and optimism overcame him. Mr. Clark’s words moved him to tears. Just when you thought all hope was lost for humanity, along came someone who restored your faith in mankind. What a great moment it would be for R.J. when he got the news.

“So, how does it
feel to solve a case?” Kris asked Rex. She was seated beside Mike at the trestle table in the student quad.

A group of Campbell’s friends had barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs for a late lunch.

“Och, it’s the best feeling in the world.”

“I heard Four-Eyes is copping to Man Two,” Justin said, squirting mustard onto a bread roll.

“The police searched his car and found a switchblade,” Dominic countered. “Won’t that make a difference?”

“Not if the plea already went down,” Justin said.

“Yeah, well he probably threatened Dixon with the knife. How else would he have gotten him up on a chair? Dumb that he left the weapon in his car.”

“That’s where he keeps it, I guess. Jax is a dangerous place, bro’. I got protection myself.”

Rex listened to the debate between Justin and Dominic, glad that he was not the one to have to mete out punishment.

“I just can’t see it. I mean, Four-Eyes?” Mike shook his head in disbelief. “Involuntary manslaughter. Whoa. And then he went ballistic, throwing incendiary bombs all over campus. I wonder if Klepto will be expelled.”

“The video is fuzzy,” Rex told Mike. “Unless the police can enhance it in some way, it will be hard to prove who was selling to the informant, in spite of his new testimony.”

“Klepto will wriggle out of any charges,” Justin put in. “He’s manipulative and controlling. He managed to convince Dix that the dealer in the video was R.J.”

“Klepto was jealous of R.J.” Rex added, “I’m not sure R.J. knows the good news yet.”

“You deserve to deliver it to him. You made it all happen. You are way cool, Mr. Graves.”

“Why, thank you, Kris. I think I will, unless someone has beaten me to the punch. And thanks for the sendoff party.” Rex dabbed at his mouth with a paper napkin. “I’ll see you back here,” he told Campbell. “Make sure you’re all packed and ready to go. We’ll be leaving the Siesta Inn first thing in the morning.”

He phoned Tony at the construction site and told him he was headed over there right now.

“R.J. knocks off at three-thirty,” the project manager informed him. “His dad called me with the news. Looks like I’m going to lose a good worker.”

“Does R.J. know yet?”

“Nah. I thought I’d wait until the end of his shift. Don’t want him falling off the building in his excitement. It’s a long way down, as you know.” Tony guffawed.

“Aye, make sure he stays safe until I get there. I’d like to tell him myself.”

“Be my guest. He’d never believe it from me anyhow. He’d think I was pulling his leg.”

With a warm feeling of anticipation, Rex closed his phone and climbed into the SUV. He made good time in spite of Friday afternoon traffic. As he arrived, the crew was descending the gleaming bronze tower in the outdoor elevators. R.J. was among the first to reach the gate, paycheck in hand.

“Hey,” he said when he saw Rex. “What brings you back here?”

“Ms. Johnson returned this.”

R.J. stared at the hoodie for a long time as he turned it around in hands that were dry and cracked with gray concrete dust. “What did she say?”

“That she was sorry.”

R.J. nodded. His throat made a low choking sound.

“For what it’s worth, I know for a fact you had nothing to do with Dixon’s death.”

“Do you know who did it?”

“Aye. I guess no one has told you yet. You won’t be happy.”

“My dad?”

“Why would you think that?”

“He came to visit last weekend. He was real mad at Dix Clark.”

“No, it wasna your dad. Have you spoken with him yet?”

“Why?”

“First I better tell you about your friend Andy Palmer.”

R.J. stared at him with a mixture of curiosity and dread. “What about him?”

“It was Andy who murdered Dixon Clark.”

“Four-Eyes? No way, man!”

“Are you still in touch with him?”

“He calls from time to time to let me know what’s new on campus.”

“Did he tell you about Mr. Cormack and Bethany?”

“Yeah, and about Clark’s suicide, right after it happened. He sounded a bit hyper. Now I know why.”

“The Clarks set up a college fund in their son’s name and want to give it to you.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Rex smiled all the way to his ears and shook his head. “They realize Dixon was misguidedly instrumental in your arrest and they want to make amends, provided you continue to keep off the drugs. The dean of students is agreeable to your resuming your studies.”

“Binkley actually said that?”

“Yes, we had a long conversation on the phone.”

“If I go back to Hilliard, I’ll talk to freshmen about how drugs can trash your life,” R.J. promised. “Oh, wow, I can really go back?”

“Monday.”

R.J. pulled off his hard hat and hurled it with exuberance into the air. “But why did Andy do it?” he asked, catching the hat adroitly in his left hand.

“He felt he owed it to you for always protecting him.”

“Dumbass. Is he in jail?”

Rex told R.J. where the boy was being held until his arraignment. “He’s also facing charges of destruction of university property.”

“I saw about the riot on the news. His family doesn’t have any money. They live in a trailer. Shit.” R.J. stared morosely at the ground before perking up again. “I’ll go visit him right now.”

Rex held out his hand. “I wish you all the best at Hilliard.”

R.J. grabbed it. “Thanks for everything. Are you headed back home?”

“I’m going to the Keys with Campbell first. But I’ll be back at some point.”

“Be sure to look me up.”

“Will do.”

Rex walked away with a sense of satisfaction. R.J. was a good lad at heart and deserved his second chance. Rex only hoped he himself would get a second chance with Helen.