Amateur Hour

Steph

The light under the kitchen door indicated that Guy was waiting for her, but Steph had to drop her bags, and make a beeline for the nearest restroom, first. When she came back out, her bags were gone. She found the kitchen empty, but her computer bag was on the table, by her usual seat, and her handbag was hanging on the back of her chair.

Evidently, Guy had taken it upon himself, to haul her overnight bag, up the stairs. Next to his own chair was the new, white ring binder, containing Kayla’s spreadsheets. Steph sat down, and pulled it toward her.

The organization of the data was impressive, she had to admit. When Kayla wasn’t plundering other people’s computers, she could be very useful. Steph had damning evidence, of the former, having set up the camera of her ‘Vista’ computer (with its updated OS), to take photos, at intervals.

She’d been able to see the photos, using remote access software, and she had Kayla, dead to rights. The pictures weren’t high quality, but there was no doubt of the subject’s identity.

“You’re not the only one, who knows a trick, or two,” she muttered, to the absent Kayla, as she flipped through the first pages of the notebook.

The question was, what, if anything, should she do about it? Steph had scanned her system, remotely, and nothing had been touched. Was Kayla actually up to something, or was she just nosy?

She heard the door close, upstairs, and heard Guy’s eager gallop, down.

“God, am I glad to see you!” he exclaimed.

“I should tip you, for taking my bag up. I was just going to leave it down here, until morning.”

“Happy to do it. I looked in, on Galen, too. He fell asleep, with a book. Have you eaten?”

“I got a burger, on the way.”

“Want something, to drink?”

“Why are you fussing, weirdo? How much caffeine have you had?”

“Too much,” he admitted, pouring another cup of coffee, for himself, and one for her, as well. “This pot’s decaf. What do you think of that?” he indicated the notebook, in front of her.

“She did a pretty sexy job, from the looks of it. Where is she, now?”

“Sent her to Ted, to help with his pile of work. Don’t worry,” he said, seeing her frown. “I read her caution label, to him.”

“Caution label? Has she done something, since I left?”

“Not really. I just gave him the speech about her being probationary. You know.”

He was lying, she could tell. Had Kayla’s data entry job impressed him, so much, that he was willing to cover, for her, whatever she’d done? Steph thought of her own concealed photo evidence, and decided to let it go, for now. Guy had other fish, to fry.

“You’ve heard nothing else, out of Ted?”

“Actually, he’s updated me, twice. He wants to send me in — get this — as a teacher.” His eyes gleamed, with amusement.

“Bold choice, with your grammar.” Where had that come from, she wondered. Guy looked a little as if she’d slapped him.

“Maybe.”

“I’m sorry, Guy. That was mean.”

“My Spanish grammar is perfect. That’s what I’d be teaching, supposedly.”

An uncomfortable silence fell, between them.

“I think I might be a little jealous,” Steph said. “I’m frustrated, with the diaries, and you get to go and do something more adventurous. Without me.”

“I can’t do anything, without you. You know that. If you want, we can call Ted, right now, and have him send you in, instead. I trust you, to find Franklin.”

“No, you need to go. I get it.”

“And I get that you don’t want to be stuck here, minding the store, and trying to figure out who Jess Greene was related to.”

“You finished the diaries.”

“I did. You’ve got a puzzle, on your hands. We know there were no faculty Greenes, from our time there. I can see why you’re frustrated. The records I swiped, aren’t that current. But, Ted has everything, now. He can tell you who enrolled her, and paid her bills. Maybe the cousin has the same surname as her stepfather. I already asked Ted, for a copy of what Kayla grinds out, for him.”

“Thanks, vato. And, for what it’s worth, I love the way you talk.”

“I know that. You’re just tired. What made you decide to come all the way back, tonight?”

“Atlanta cops might or might not be looking to arrest me, for assault,” she replied.

“Whose ass did you have to kick?” Guy asked, leaning closer.

“I didn’t kick his ass, but he might be dusting off his resume.” She went on to tell him about Mr. Menace, in the donut shop.

“What an idiot,” Guy laughed, at the end. “I bet Julio’s trainers taught him ten ways to protect his balls, but he never thought about his throat.”

Steph raised her right fist, to blow on her knuckles, and grinned. “Mashed my eclair, though. I was really looking forward to eating that.”

“How much did it cost? If Julio knows where we are, we might as well bill him, for it.”

“I like the way you think.”

“So, he thinks he owns Atlanta? We’ll do him the professional courtesy of not operating there. Otherwise, screw him.”

*******

Janice

After dinner, they retired to the living room. It was getting late, nearly nine, but Janice hated the thought of going home. Nina seemed to sense that, and proposed that they watch something soothing, on TV.

Each of them had taken a couch, so that she could stretch out, and Janice had fallen asleep, in minutes. Some time later, she was awakened by the vibrating buzz of her phone, on the coffee table.

“What is it?” she asked Liam, trying to keep her voice down.

“Do you want me to come and pick you up?”

“Not really. Nina’s asleep.”

“Should I lock up, then?”

“Suit yourself.”

She hung up, and glanced at Nina, who hadn’t stirred. Raven had managed to jump up and wedge herself behind Nina’s bent knees, with her head resting on the arm of the sofa. They looked comfortable, enough.

Now that she was awake, Janice doubted that she’d go back to sleep, anytime, soon. She could probably slip out, and see herself home. She should, since she had to work, tomorrow.

Nina did stir, a little, when Janice opened the front door, and set the lock. She closed the door, very softly, and double checked the knob. Definitely locked. Good.

It wasn’t a long walk, home, but it was unnerving. The streetlights were bright, and the sidewalk was well lighted, but many of the houses she passed had a lurking quality, where they lay, back from the sidewalk, in shadow.

She rode an emotional roller coaster, all the way home. Her mood sinking, when she passed the brooding, empty dwellings, and rising, when she reached those with some glow, within, even when it was just the light from someone’s TV.

Her own front porch light was still on, and the door unlocked. Liam appeared startled, when she opened it. He was seated on the couch, with two familiar looking sheaves of paper, on the coffee table, and one in his hands, when she came in.

“I offered to pick you up,” he said, dropping the papers he had been reading, onto his lap.

“I didn’t want you to wake Nina.”

“Pet your dog, before he comes unglued,” Liam advised.

Spike had been all over her, since the moment she’d walked in, of course, sniffing, and wagging his stump of a tail. She’d worn a dress, today, and he knew better than to jump up, on her bare legs, but Spike’s restraint had limits.

“It’s the president of my fan club!” she exclaimed, to the dog, and taking a knee, to give him his due attention. “Yes, Raven says ‘hi’, and so does Nina.” After a few more words of nonsense, she finally kissed the top of his head, and stood up, again.

Spike followed her to the couch, and hopped up to occupy the ample space she left between herself and Liam, when she sat down.

“Any more news, from Ted?” she asked.

“He’s sending Guy in. Saguaro has an opening for a Spanish teacher.”

Of course, they did. The universe, it appeared, was still on Liam’s side.

“That’s… convenient.”

“It’s downright scary,” Liam acknowledged. “The opening has been there, for a couple of weeks. Of course, a teacher from a sister school would be preferable to an outside hire. He’d have already been cleared and vetted, presumably.”

“Timing. Who can argue with it?”

“I know everything seems to be going my way, right now, and nothing is going yours. We’d both be laughing about it, if this wasn’t so horrible.” He held up the copy of the third journal. “I had no idea, Honey.”

“That’s kind of the point. You had no idea.”

“I’ve been blind, to how much this was hurting you, and I downplayed the importance of justice for a girl who can’t have anything else. I’ll find a way, to make it up to you, and to her, Jan.”

He blinked hard, and rubbed at his eyes, as if they were tired, but, she knew better. Her own heart began to soften.

“All I wanted, was for you to understand it. Not just academically, but in a real way. I think you finally do. I know, when we find out why it happened, it’s not going to make me feel better. But, I still need to know.”

“I’ll be there, for you,” he promised.

******

Guy

“I still can’t believe they make dye to give you grey hair,” Guy said, examining the effects in the mirror. Steph had done a good job, limiting her attentions to his sideburns, and a couple of thin streaks, placed so randomly that they almost had to be genuine.

“You’ve aged well, vato,” she teased. “Let’s see what kind of mustache, looks best.” She opened one of her cases, to display an array of faux facial hair. Guy regarded the assortment of sideburns, goatees, mustaches, and even one rather heavy beard, with a mixture of alarm and amusement.

“Uh, Steve?”

“Hmm?”

“You ever use this stuff?”

“Only for non-speaking roles. My voice gives me away.”

“Your figure gives you away.”

“Sweet of you, to notice, but I can pad myself out, to look like a chubby man, from a distance.”

“How about that one?” He pointed to a thick, handlebar number, on the top.

“Too high maintenance. You’d have to keep it waxed, and that’s risky when it’s on your face. You could dislodge it. I think this,” she pulled out a rather sparse looking specimen, and this.” The beard she selected looked equally thin to Guy, and he said as much.

“Trust me. Don’t curl your lip. Don’t make any faces, at all, in fact. Just relax.”

Guy obliged her. “You’re taping it?”

“Shh!” Steph admonished. “It’s the easiest and cleanest way, to do it.” She scrubbed at his skin, with an alcohol soaked pad, to remove any oils, and let it dry, before applying the double sided tape. She took great pains, with the hair, making minute adjustments, in places, until she was at last satisfied.

“You’re a total snack, if I do say so, myself. Have a look.”

She stepped from in front of him, so that he could see himself, in the mirror.

“Damn,” he marveled, at the transformation. “How much can I move my face?”

“As much as you want. Just don’t scratch at anything.”

“I’m gonna have to stop shaving. A total snack, huh?” he teased.

“Put this on,” she held out his tie, “and we’ll get your picture. She needs to get started, on the badge.”

‘She’ being Kayla, of course, who had turned her attention, for the time being, to generating fake creds, for Guy. It was now midnight, and his flight to Tucson was booked for 7 a.m. He doubted he’d get much, if any sleep, between now and then, though Steve was tyrannically withholding the caffeine.

She posed him against the blank wall, behind the reception desk, in the lobby, and took several shots.

“Why so many?” he asked, when she was finished.

“Ted’s the director. I’m just hair and makeup. He knows what he’s looking for, when it comes to the badge. I’m only worried that I’ve made you a little too dashing, for a high school full of hormonal girls. Or guys, for that matter.”

“Grown women only, need apply,” he smiled.

“Let’s get you out of your borrowed feathers, for now, and pack them.”

She showed him how to remove the appliances, from the tape, and packed them into a smaller case, along with a roll of the same tape, alcohol, a tiny comb, and pads.

“Always swab your skin, first, and let it dry, completely. You may need lotion, when you take the hair off, at night. I pray you aren’t allergic, to the tape.”

“Clean, dry skin. Got it. Lotion, at night, so it doesn’t get irritated.”

“Put a sticky note, on your mirror, to remind you to put your face on. If you forget, you’ll have to forget it, for the duration. No tragedy, but the hair does help your baby face look older.” She closed the small case, and handed it to him. “I’d put this, in your bag, right now, so it doesn’t get left behind. I’ll email the pics to Ted.”

“And, then you’ll call it a night. You’re worn out, Steve.”

“You’re the one who should rest. You’ve got an early day. I’ll stay, on call.”

“Let’s both go up. One of us will hear a phone.”

She looked doubtful.

“What? You think I’m going to leave, without saying goodbye?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you, if I were asleep.”

“I promise, I won’t. Send your email, and come on up.”

*******

Steph

She settled into her chair, pushing aside the mirror, and her various makeup tools, to open her laptop. The ‘high’ was beginning to fade, and she questioned the rule they had established regarding keeping the work downstairs. She felt a little lonely, and there was still the matter of putting her cases and tools away, when she was finished.

It didn’t take long, to send the photos, and she was contemplating the rest of the job, putting it off, really, when the phone rang.

“Hi, Ted.”

“I’m glad I caught you, before you went to bed. I had to tell you — you did a great job, with Guy’s disguise.” Ted laughed. “I didn’t recognize him, at first.”

“It was probably overkill. No one at Saguaro Springs has ever laid eyes, on him.”

“We don’t know that, for sure. Besides, he needed to look older. Take your credit, Stephanie. You deserve it.”

“Well, thanks. I like to play around, with that stuff. My kid always looks good, on Halloween. What I’m wondering, is how you’re going to gin up a badge.”

“I still had mine, from New Canaan. Kayla thinks she can strip my picture and name off, and substitute Guy’s, well enough to pass, if the scrutiny isn’t too close. That’ll get him in the door. They’ll issue their own badge, after that.”

“Smart. Her idea?”

“Yeah. For a diploma, I ripped off one of Gordon’s, for her to alter. That’s a little easier, than a badge. Guy is now a graduate of Cornell University. Congratulate him, won’t you?”

“Who’s writing his resume?”

“I finished it, an hour ago, and emailed it to Liam and Janice, so they’ll be ready to vouch, for him.”

“Sounds like you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I am,” he admitted. “It’s all very creative.”

“I suppose Kayla won’t have time, to collect much data, then.”

“You want specifics, on Jess Greene. Guy told me.”

“I want specifics on her parents, actually. Anything you have, even if it doesn’t seem important. I’m sorry, to press, but…”

“I doubt there’s much, but you’ll have it all, by the time Kayla leaves. She does put together a mean spreadsheet.”

“So I’ve heard. I don’t want a spreadsheet. Make her use a copier, for the love of God, and send full documents.”

“If you want full docs, that’s what you’ll get. Are you all right?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t take my irritation out, on you.”

“It’s late. You had a long trip, with a fast turnaround, then you smacked it out of the park, with Guy’s makeover. You’re entitled to be a little cranky. Get some rest.”

“I will. Thanks, Ted.”

“Bye, for now.”

“Bye.”

***

Only the strategically placed night lights were on, upstairs. It was a classic Guy move, to insinuate that she should be in bed, like everyone else. He was right. Everything had been squeezed out of the prolonged day, and out of Steph, as well.

In her half bathroom, she brushed her teeth, relieved her bladder, and slipped on her nightshirt. Of course, the moment she lay down, her brain went into overdrive.

Jess Greene didn’t fit Janice’s theory that the abducted children were ‘scions’. There were prominent Greene’s, of course, but Jess didn’t seem to be associated with any of them. Her stepfather, on the other hand, might be from an old family.

Theoretically, it wouldn’t matter, if your stepchild was a screwup. unless she was a bad influence on your son. That might need to be addressed. Especially, if it was your adult son, whom you could not ship off, to boarding school.

Yet, that didn’t track, either. There was no law against romantic relationships, between step-siblings. Not in Florida, at least. They could even marry. Nor was there enough difference (supposedly) in their ages, to make statutory rape a thing, if there had been any physical involvement.

What evidence did they have? They had notebook/journals, that read like an ongoing letter, to her boyfriend, whom she sometimes referenced as ‘DJ’. The one who had given Jess the ring, which Steph had turned over, to Julio. What had happened to it? Ted had never mentioned it, again. Did Julio still have it, or had it gone to Gordon? She’d have to tell Ted to keep an eye open, for it.

The custom of exchanging class rings was antiquated. Almost no one did that, anymore. Had it been an exchange, or just a gift, from the boyfriend/stepbrother?

Steph sat up. Liam and Ted had found a girl’s class ring. It hadn’t been from the same school, as the one Guy had found, on Jess. It had seemed like a weird coincidence, that Starkey could have found such and item with Gordon, ostensibly ripped from his killer’s neck.

Steph hadn’t associated the ring, with Jess, because Ted’s own prime suspect was his cousin, David, who was Ted’s age — too old to have been Jess’s lover. David been the last person to have seen Gordon, alive, if Starkey could be believed.

The math, as they say, was not mathing. The ring on Jess had belonged to a member of a graduating class four years ahead of hers. The date on the ring found on Gordon would have been right, but…

Steph flung her blanket and sheet off. She needed… Coffee, first, but, mostly, she needed to talk to Ted.

***

At the door to the stairwell, she stumbled over Mango, who had taken to following her around, when he wasn’t walking, three quarters of a step in front of her.

“Dammit, Mango! You trying to kill me?” She was talking to his backside, however, as he was already trotting down the stairs. The coffee took an eternity, to brew, and the first cup was almost strong enough to melt her spoon, but at least it was fresh.

“Stephanie — I thought you were going to bed, an hour ago.”

“So did I. Ted, what do you know about your cousin? The one who was the last to see Gordon, before Starkey got there?”

“That’s a dead end. He has an alibi. He was on a cruise, with his wife.”

“Really…”

“Someone lied to the guard, at the gate, and Staunton never saw the visitor.”

“Doesn’t the guard typically ask, for ID?”

“Typically. They’re the same lax firm that services New Canaan, though. The guard swears up and down that the name on the driver’s license was correct, and that the man looked like the photo. Fake ID, I guess. Or the guard is lying, to keep his job.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I don’t think so,” Steph amended.

“Because?”

“Because, Jess refers to her boyfriend, sometimes as, ‘DJ’. I think that could be short, for David Junior. I would bet, almost anything, that your cousin has a son, named after him, about twenty-one, twenty-two years old.”

There was a pause, on the other end of the line.

“Let’s go with your theory. Why would my cousin’s son kill Gordon? Jess’s death was an accident.”

“According to Gordon. Don’t tell me, you believe him?”

“Given that Franklin Riley, at least, is still alive, I do. Gordon wouldn’t make money on dead kids, Stephanie.”

“So, you’re not interested in following it up?”

“I didn’t say that! I’m just not so interested in ruining someone else’s life, for Gordon’s sake. If this person killed Gordon, to avenge Jess, wouldn’t you rather pin a medal, on him, than send him to prison? Would Jess thank you, for that?”

“Not knowing who he is only makes my job harder.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.”

If there was one response in the universe that set her teeth on edge, and made her want to slap someone, it was this one.

“That’s not a feeling. It’s a fact. Here’s a feeling: I’m sorry that a seventeen year-old girl will never go to college, never have a career, or a family, or anything else, because she died in your father’s hellhole of a school.”

“I can’t do anything for her,” Ted grated. “Unless, it’s to find the person who actually broke her neck, or caused it to happen.”

“And, I can’t find that out, until I know more about her transfer. Whoever DJ is, he might know why his father, her stepfather, made that arrangement.”

“What makes you think it was the stepfather?”

“I got the mother’s name, from Janice. Anya Greene. I had time, this afternoon, to look into her, before I was run out of Atlanta, and — ”

“You were run out of Atlanta?”

“That’s not important. Anya Greene is an obscure nobody, from the looks of it. My searches didn’t turn up any more on that name than it does, on my own. I found a photographer, a pet groomer with a Facebook presence, and a self-published mystery writer. I think Jess’s mother married the money, and that it’s old money. Kids from old money families; those were Gordon’s targets, for his special program.”

There was a pause, one long enough that Steph almost spoke his name, to ask if he was still on the line. Then she heard an exasperated exhale.

“It’s an easy thing, to check, to see if David is married to Anya Greene. I’ll—”

“Is David’s last name Eldridge?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll do it, then. That’s all I needed to know, really. I should have simply asked that, and not bothered you, with… theories.” Steph took a moment, forcing herself to calm down. “It’s not that I want to send someone to prison, for killing Gordon. I want to see the right person pay, for killing Jess. That’s what I can do, for her.”

“That’s what I want, too. I’m not your enemy, Steph.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Steph blew out a breath. “I don’t usually get invested, in cases. This is the first time I’ve felt much, other than disgust, for the offending party.”

“You were Jess’s age, not many years ago. You still remember it. Now, you’re an adult, with your own child, and you can’t bear to see children abused.”

“That’s about the size of it.”

“Can you see that you might be burning a little too hot, and too fast? That you could burn yourself right out? Even Kayla had a short nap, before dinner. She’d gone six hours, straight, for Guy, then another four, for me.”

“Wonder Woman,” Steph sneered.

“Not at all. It’s just what you said — she was processing data. She wasn’t invested in it. My point is, you need rest. Maybe even a couple of days, off.”

“Yeah. Have you met Guy? He needs more supervision, than my kid.”

“Take a short break, from Jess, then. Get some emotional distance.”

“Can’t. I was responsible, for at least one time she was punished.” She went on to explain the incident that had made Jess late, for one of Ted’s classes.

The necessity of having to explain anything from the diaries was annoying. Why had none of the men involved, wanted to take the trouble, to read them, for themselves? It was first person evidence, from beyond the grave, and nothing was more reliable, or significant. The situation beggared her belief.

“That wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t even mine. Sending her to Starkey’s office, was policy. His policy. It got her a few days suspension. It didn’t get her killed.”

“Unless, it was the final straw, for the people controlling her life.”