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Mark Stevens
When Britt and Devon returned to Brian Poteet's office that afternoon, they discovered Brian on the telephone. He motioned for them to take a seat. Ending his telephone conversation, he turned to them with a wide grin.
"If only my people who are on payroll took their job as seriously as the two of you." Then the grin disappeared and he said, "Seriously, guys, I really appreciate your willingness to help the police department."
Brian cast his eyes to a note in front of him. "Charlie Rogers should be here any moment. Also, Travis Jordan is dropping by later to talk with us."
Britt assured the officer that they were eager to help with his case, adding, "I just hate that today is Saturday. You can't accomplish a damned thing on the weekend."
"While it's true that most things are shut down this time of the week, sometimes you'd be surprised at what turns up when you least expect it."
There was a knock at the door, and suddenly Charlie Rogers, a teacher from Madison Elementary, was standing inside the office. Brian hurried around his desk to greet the man.
"Mr. Rogers, I appreciate you taking the time to come in and talk to me. Please, won't you have a seat?" Brian indicated the empty chair before his desk.
Rogers looked at Britt and Devon, a question plainly on his face. He sat down and remained silent.
Brian explained to the man the reason why they were in his office. "Are you okay with answering a few questions with them present, Mr. Rogers?"
The elementary teacher shook his head. "No problem for me."
Brian was slow to speak. Finally he asked, "Mr. Rogers, how well did you know Susan Abbott?"
"Not real well," he answered.
"Well enough to ask her out?"
"We went out a few times," Rogers admitted. "We went to the Fox Den one time, I believe. Another time we went to a movie."
When the teacher didn't continue, Brian asked him, "Just the two times, Mr. Rogers?"
"We went to dinner and a movie once," Rogers remembered.
"Anything else you might remember?"
The teacher shook his head. "That's it."
"Mr. Rogers, can you think of anyone that might want Miss Abbott dead?"
"Certainly not. She was a sweet lady."
"Thank you. And thanks for coming in and talking with me. "
"Are we finished here?"
"For now, yes. Thanks again for your cooperation."
As the teacher stood to his feet, Brian said, "Oh, one last thing, Mr. Rogers. Where were you between five and seven o'clock this morning?"
"In my bed sleeping," Rogers answered. "And yes, I was alone," he added.
"That's good... In a bad sort of way," Brian replied.
"How do you mean?"
"Well, I guess it was good you were alone, but it leaves you without a solid alibi," Brian pointed out.
Charlie Rogers shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't murder Susan, Officer."
"That's good to hear. Oh, one last thing. You'll need to hang around until this is settled."
Rogers gave another shrug. "Where would I go? My job is here," he reminded.
The man gave Britt and Devon a nod and left the office.
Brian walked around his desk and closed the office door. Turning around to face Britt and Devon, he said, "Well?"
"Other than having a rock solid alibi, his story sounded plausible," Britt remarked.
"He did seem sincere about Susan," Devon spoke up.
"I suppose like everyone else connected with this case, he bears watching," Britt decided.
"Exactly," Brian agreed as he leaned over the desk and answered his telephone. "Send him in," he said ending his conversation. "Travis Jordan is here."
Brian opened the door and greeted the elementary school principal.
"Travis, thanks for coming by this afternoon," he greeted. "I'm sure you know these fellows," he said indicating Britt and Devon.
"Britt. Devon." The man gave them each a nod.
Brian asked the man to take a seat. He explained that Britt and Devon were acting as consultants in the Abbott case, adding, "You don't have a problem with them being here, do you?"
"Of course not," Travis assured him.
Brian organized some questions in his mind before voicing them out loud. The man, however, had been Susan Abbott's boss. He finally chose to cut to the chase.
"Tell me, Travis, to your knowledge did Miss Abbott have any enemies?"
Travis shook his head. "Not that I was aware of," he answered. "Obviously, she must have had," he added.
"Unfortunately I have to agree with you, Travis. Tell me something. I know it's still early in the school year; however, were you satisfied with the woman as a teacher?"
"Considering this was only her second year to teach, she was getting a handle on it," the principal answered.
"A handle? Please explain."
Travis leaned forward in his chair. "It's like this, Brian. In college an elementary major is sometimes misled about the classroom. You see, until a student actually goes out and student teaches, he or she doesn't always have a clue what a classroom in the real world is like. In college it's easy to think the students are well mannered and eager to learn. Most of the time that is simply not the case."
"And in Miss Abbott's case?"
"As I said, she was getting there."
"If this was the end of the school year now, would you offer her a job for next year?"
Travis scratched his chin. "That's kind of hard to say, Brian." The principal appeared lost in his thoughts for a moment. Finally he said, "I would probably rehire her."
"It sounds like I hear a `but' somewhere in your response, Travis."
"I'll explain it this way," the principal continued. "As a teacher, Miss Abbott was coming around. I think in time she would have made a very good teacher. I guess what concerned me the most was her personal life."
Brian leaned over his desk. "Her personal life?"
"She was young," Travis admitted. "She never seemed to be without the company of a man," he finished.
"Was there a problem with that?"
"Depends on how you look at it, I suppose. I talked with her a couple of times in my office. I explained to her that Porterville is a small town and that, fair or not, teachers are put on display. I suggested to her that she might try and curtail some of her public actions."
Without thinking, Britt said, "Like having a drink at a local bar, Travis?" Then realizing he had spoken out loud, he added, "Sorry, Brian. I spoke out of turn."
"It's a good point, however," Brian decided. He looked at Travis and asked, "Was that the topic of one of your meetings?"
"I did mention that to her," Travis admitted.
"I'm assuming you contacted her previous school before hiring her," Brian continued. "How did that go?"
"They told me they didn't rehire her because of budget reasons," Travis answered.
"Was that the only reason?"
"Actually, a previous school is supposed to only say yes, they would, or no, they wouldn't rehire a teacher," Travis explained.
"True," Brian said with a nod. "However, you and I both know that's not always the case."
"It was in Susan Abbott's case," Travis declared.
Brian was quiet for a moment and then he said, "One last thing, Travis. Where were you this morning between five and seven o'clock? Sorry, but I have to ask."
"I know. I was in bed sleeping. With my wife," he added.
Brian stood to his feet. "I think we're finished, Travis. I really do appreciate you taking the time to come in this afternoon. I'm sure you have lots of things you need to do before Monday morning."
"I need to find a substitute to take over her class," Travis said.
"Will you hire a new teacher?" Britt asked.
"I haven't met with the school board yet," Travis answered. "I don't know whether we'll hire a new teacher or a longterm sub for the rest of the year. I haven't been able to reach all of the board members yet. I'm going to try and to have an emergency meeting Monday."
"Good luck, Travis," Brian said walking with the principal to the door.
Brian closed the door. "I just had a thought," he said with a grin.
Britt shook his head. "Something tells me we might not like what Brian's about to say," he told Devon.
"How would you like to teach fourth grade, Britt?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You heard Travis say he needs a sub for Abbott's class. What better way for you to find out about her coworkers than being in the middle of them for a few days."
"Define a `few days', Brian."
"I'm sure it would only be temporary," Brian assured him. "Travis would certainly appreciate the help, I'm sure."
Britt stood to his feet. "Do you have anyone else coming in this afternoon, Brian?"
"We're finished."
"I think Devon and I'll head over to the hospital. Diane told us she would know something this afternoon."
"Great. I have some paperwork to fill out here, and then I'm going to try and enjoy a little of the weekend...what's left of it. Besides, I don't think we'll uncover anything more today. I'll catch you two later on."
"Do you have a date with Alice?" Devon asked.
Brian's face turned red. "I do," he admitted. "Devon, you have my word. I am not going to do anything to hurt your sister."
Devon gave the officer a grin. "I know that. Besides, if you did, I would have to hurt you."
"And we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Britt grinned.
As they were walking to the car, Britt heard someone calling his name. He turned around and discovered Justin Reynolds approaching him from behind.
"Have the two of you been bad?" Justin asked giving them a grin.
"How are you feeling, Justin?" Britt greeted.
"I had a whopper of a headache this morning," the young man admitted. "It's better now," he added. "Oh, and thanks for driving me back to the motel last night."
"Glad to do it," Devon assured him. "You, my friend, were not in any condition to get behind the wheel."
"Sometimes I get carried away when I'm out like that," Justin admitted. "Again, thanks. If you guys would like to try it again sometime, I'll promise to behave myself."
"It's a date," Britt said. "Sorry, but we've got to run," he added.
"Say, I heard some teacher was murdered last night."
"I guess news travels fast," Britt remarked.
"How did you find out about it?" Devon asked.
"I was in Ralph's Coffee Shop earlier. His customers were buzzing about it," Justin explained.
They had reached the car by now. Britt turned to Justin and said, "Seriously, we'll go out with you again real soon. Sorry, but we've gotta run. Catch you later, Justin."
"Well, okay. Again, thanks for the taxi ride last night. Later, guys."
While Britt was driving them to the hospital, Devon commented, "I guess we know for certain where our young friend was this morning between five and seven."
"Sleeping one off?" Britt gave his lover a grin.
At the hospital they stopped at the information desk and asked for directions on finding Diane Baxter. The volunteer gave them a warm smile and pointed them in the right direction. Moments later they discovered Diane standing in the hallway.
"Hey, guys," she greeted. She asked about their day.
"It's been busy," Britt assured her.
"We've sat in on several interviews," Devon spoke up.
"Anything interesting turn up?" she asked.
"Not much with us," Britt answered. "How about you?"
"Are you up to viewing the body?"
She led them inside a chilly room.
"It's colder in here than outside," Devon remarked rubbing his arms.
"It has to be. For obvious reasons," Diane explained.
They came to an object covered with a white sheet. Diane pulled the cloth back.
"Oh, shit," Devon groaned. Then, "Sorry, Diane. Just caught me off guard."
"It's okay," she said giving him a smile. "It takes some getting used to. This job, I mean."
"Tell us, Diane, what did your autopsy show?" Britt asked.
"Just what I thought it would," she answered. She pointed to the woman's chest and said, "You can see where something entered her body here. Judging by the amount of blood at the scene, I don't think she died immediately."
Britt was surprised. "Are you certain?"
"I would say she lived half an hour or so after she was stabbed."
"Which would make it about what time?"
"Sometime between six and six-thirty," she decided.
"Nothing else turned up in the autopsy?" Britt asked.
Diane shook her head. "Not a thing. The woman was healthy in all aspects. Exactly what I would expect to find for a twenty-five year old woman."
Britt studied Devon's face. The man was beginning to turn a little green. "Are you alright?"
Devon gave him a nod and remained silent.
Britt smiled at Diane and said, "Thanks for filling us in, Diane. I think I'd better get this guy out of here. I'm not sure I could carry him, should he pass out."
"As I said, this takes some getting used to. Which you will," Diane quickly assured Devon.
The two men left the hospital and headed home. Having been gone most of the day, they were more than ready to spend the rest of it relaxing.
When Britt pulled into the driveway, he was surprised to discover Brian's car parked near the entrance of the McKenzie mansion.
"He did say he had a date with Alice," Britt remarked.
"Kind of early for a date," Devon commented.
"Get over it, Big Brother," Britt teased.
They hurried inside the mansion, and hearing voices coming from the drawing room, they walked through the wide doorway.
"Hey, guys," Brian greeted.
"Here for your date?" Devon asked.
Brian shook his head. "Official business...well, sort of," he added.
"Something new turn up?" Britt took a seat in one of the high backed chairs in the room.
"Right after you two left, I had a visitor. Joe Thomas came to see me."
Devon also took a seat. "Did he have anything interesting to say?"
Brian nodded. "He certainly did. Claims that Susan Abbott had been trying to convince him she was his daughter."
"What the hell?" Britt could hardly believe his ears.
"The time we saw them at the restaurant? He said that was the reason they were having dinner that evening."
"We saw the man coming out of her house the evening Britt and I went out," Devon reminded.
"Mr. Thomas also told me about that visit as well. The woman had told him she had proof that he was her father. She asked that he come by her house, and she'd show it to him."
"Did she? Show proof, I mean?" Britt asked.
"He said she had documents that she thought would prove to him she was his daughter. He told her there was no way he could be her father. He said he told her the papers were fraudulent, and that he would prove they were fake. He said she wanted him to give her some money.
"You don't say?" Britt looked surprised. "I wonder why she thought he had money to give her."
"Beats me," Brian answered.
"One last thing," Devon said. "Did Mr. Thomas say where he was this morning between five and seven?"
Brian shrugged his shoulders. "Sleeping," he answered.
"He was alone?" Britt questioned.
"Of course," Brian said.
"What's next?" Britt asked.
Brian had been sitting beside Alice. He stood to his feet. "I don't know about you two, but I'm going home and clean up. Then," he smiled at Alice, "I have a date with a beautiful lady. The two of you can do whatever you damn well please." He leaned down and gave Alice a kiss.
Britt looked at Devon and asked, "Do we have any plans this evening?"
"I'm good with staying in, having a drink or two, maybe even watching a movie," Devon suggested.
"That's good by me." Britt stood to his feet. "I'm hitting the shower. You two kids have fun tonight. And please...don't stay out too late. It's hard to live with your brother when you're not in the house, Alice."
"Hey, don't make me the bad guy," Devon said standing to his feet.
"But you are the bad guy," Britt teased.
"I'll show you bad," Devon declared chasing his lover up the stairs.