Amateur Hour

Janice

“February 12: Got another suspension, today. Can’t believe it came, from Mr. Billie, of all people! It wasn’t even my fault. It was all thanks to that rat, Steph Howard. I was late, for class, literally running late, and I had the bad luck to run, right into her!

How much time does it take, to write a fucking demerit? Answer: too much time. I was late to class, for the third day, in a row.

I don’t mind the suspension, so much. It’s just all day study hall, for a week, in the library. It’s boring, but not too terrible. What I mind is having to listen to one of His lectures.

They always start with how he’s taken a ‘personal interest in my welfare’, because I’m technically his cousin, even if it’s only by marriage. Cousin! I’ve never been so sick of a word!

Unless, it’s ‘brother’. You’re no more my brother, than he’s my cousin. What is it with the men in your family, and exaggeration, anyway?

I’m sorry. You’ll never read this, but I’m sorry. You’re the only real friend I have in the world, and to be fair, my Mom’s just as bad, with the ‘brother’ shit, as your father. I don’t even want to think what it would have been like, if I hadn’t said, ‘hell no’ to your Dad adopting me.

I’ll only accept his name, when you give it, to me.”

Janice leaned back and rubbed her eyes, wondering what the hell she had just read. Jess Greene had been related to someone, in New Canaan? Ted? No, that couldn’t be the case. Could it?

She drew a deep breath, and leaned in, to read the passage, again. It certainly didn’t sound like the type of ‘lecture’ Ted would ever give a student. If anything, Ted had been invested in keeping his identity hidden, from everyone. It made no sense, that he’d reveal it, to a student.

Who, then, was this cousin, by marriage? Who had Jess Greene been? It occurred to her, that she could find out. She had the ability to pull any file she wanted, now, for any reason.

Jess’s file would still be in Liam’s office. It would have been too soon to relegate it to archives.

***

He glanced up, from his own work, when she entered, long enough to smile, and say, “Hey, Babe,” before returning to it.

“Hi, Sweetie,” she replied. She pulled open the appropriate file drawer, and began to search. After three tries, she muttered, ”It’s not here.”

“What’s not there?”

“Jess Greene’s student file,” she replied, “It’s —”

When she turned to face him, he was waving a folder, in the air.

“Sorry, about that,” he said. “I was looking at all the latest ‘missings’. The ones Guy and I didn’t rip off, anyway.” The memory still amused him, she could see.

“Find anything?”

“Nothing very useful. They’re all listed as transfers, even Jess Greene, and Rob Miller. There was no change, to that status, though one is deceased, and the other went… elsewhere. I don’t know if the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, or if ‘transferred’ is some kind of a code word, for something worse. If only I had a clue, about where they were allegedly transferred to…”

“But, you’re still sifting?”

“Hoping something will leap out.”

“You’re done, with Jess, though?” she glanced at the file he’d handed her.

“I think so. You got something, out of the journals?”

“A mystery cousin, on staff.”

“No way! Jan, that’s amazing!”

“Don’t get too excited. There aren’t, and weren’t any Greenes on staff. But, her mother remarried, and supposedly this is a cousin, by marriage. Let’s pray I come up, with a name match, for the mother, and a faculty member.”

“Fingers crossed,” he said. “How are you holding up?”

Janice put away a small jab of irritation. Liam had more or less abdicated any responsibility, for the journals. She had to remind herself, that she was the logical candidate, for dealing with them.

She dodged the question, about her welfare, and described her progress, instead.

“It’s hard to reconcile. The girls I’ve spoken to, from her dorm, describe her as likable, if quiet. From what I’ve read, in her own words, she was deeply hurt, and betrayed. Evidently, she wasn’t one, to lash out, given that the other girls liked her. That changed, somewhat, toward the end. When the drugging started, I imagine.”

She didn’t elaborate, further. She didn’t want to describe, to Liam, how, toward the end, Jess had been paranoid, and anger-prone. On the day she died, Jess hadn’t a casual friend, to bless herself with. As far as Janice was concerned, if Liam wanted to know that, he could damned well read her journals.

“You’re getting that look,” he said.

“What look?”

“The one that says you resent me, for breathing.”

“I can’t resent you, for being what you are. I suppose one of us has to stay grounded, if the other is going to be digging in emotional muck.”

“We could switch it up,” he suggested. “I’ve been staring at these files so long, I almost have them memorized. Maybe a fresh set of eyes would see what I’m missing. I have to be missing something…” he mused.

“I’m almost finished. I can cope, and I may have a lead, now. Besides, it’s time for High Tea,” she joked. “I’m probably just hungry and grumpy.”

*******

Guy

He had to admit, Kayla’s work was impressive. Guy couldn’t comprehend half of it, but it was detailed, and thorough.

“I need a legend to read this,” he grumbled, while Kayla set the table.

“I know. You can see, now, why I didn’t try to puzzle it out, while I was typing it all in.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s great work. I don’t blame you, because I can’t make heads or tails of it. I get some of your shorthand. ‘Xfer’, is obviously ‘transfer’. Is this abbreviation yours?” He pointed to a notation that read: ‘SgSp’.

“No. That’s the way it was noted, in the records.”

“It’s got to be a reference to a location. Another school, would be my guess. I recognize the student ID numbers, for what they are, but why do some of them have a separate number, tacked onto the end?”

“I have no idea. Again, that’s straight out of the records.”

Kayla’s tone was patient, and she seemed as interested in her results, as he was.

“You haven’t gotten to the best part, though,” she said. “It was so crazy, I couldn’t help but notice it.”

“Show me.”

Kayla reached across him, and flipped to the section, regarding the teachers and other staff.

“Everything in black, is the salary paid, by the school. The entries in green, are bonuses. See how some of them are the same amount? It’s like they performed extra work, and got a consistent rate for it, depending on what it was. Lots of two hundred-dollar sums. What’s wild is, the bonuses aren’t just among the faculty. The medical personnel were raking it in, too. It even trickled down, to the kitchen staff.”

“I can explain that. Kitchen staff were being paid off to drug students, and certain teachers, as well.”

“That’s despicable.”

“You have no idea. Janice Miles was a victim.”

“I liked her, from the short time I was there.”

“It’s hard, not to. Anything else stand out?”

“There was something wonky, with the enrollments. Money going both ways, plus, some parents paid extra money.”

“For Gordon Eldridge’s special program, I’m sure.”

“But, some paid an additional fee, after that, and it was huge.”

Guy flipped to the next section, and scanned it. She wasn’t kidding. This third fee was in excess of a hundred thousand dollars, but it varied, as to how much in excess.

“The figures in red — those are amounts the school refunded?”

“Looks that way.”

“Kayla, it kills me to say it, but this is brilliant work.”

Kayla grinned. It was the first time he’d ever seen her look pleased, without also looking disdainful.

“Told you, I make data my bitch.”

“You might want to watch that.”

“Relax, I’m not going to curse, in front of the kid.”

“I meant the computer stuff. You don’t want to get chained to one.”

“You’ve never met a geek before, have you, Ramirez? Not all investigators want to go poking around in dusty corners.”

“Then, why were you?”

“It wasn’t my idea. You and Steph are about disguises and fake ID’s. I respect that. Someone has to do legwork. I’m about screen names, VPN’s, Tor, and the dark web. I hack, for fun.”

“Why weren’t you doing that, for Julio?”

“Look at me, Ramirez. I’m twenty years old. Julio doesn’t want anyone under twenty-five, on the computer side. ‘Lack of full brain development,’ he says. He thinks anyone under twenty-five is a loose canon. Maybe he has a point. I don’t know. I can tell you, he doesn’t have much sense of humor. I tweaked his laptop, once, to call him ‘Julia’. Drove him crazy, for a week, before he finally broke down and had someone fix it.”

Guy snickered. “So… What? He promised you a job doing what you like to do, if you’d work for him, for several years, first?”

“Essentially. He hinted at it. He didn’t promise anything.”

“That sounds like Julio.” He paused, for a moment. “You know we can’t afford to pay you what you might be worth, right?”

“Not now, no. And, to be honest, I’m not as experienced as Julio’s men — and, they’re all men, by the way. I have some skills, but I’m still learning, too. On my own, because they don’t exactly teach you all the neat stuff, in school.”

Guy studied her. He still didn’t trust her.

“Why did you try to break into my machine?” he asked, surprising himself.

“Because, I like a Mac, and I can’t resist trying to break into a computer. Any computer. It was sitting there, all impudent, like you, and I just had to try. So I could gloat, to myself. You set it up, to alert your phone, didn’t you? I never thought you’d think of that.”

He’d never seen someone so honest, about having been busted. Her attitude was that of someone who had lost a game, but was a genuine good sport.

“You should know, there’s nothing of any interest, to anyone, on that machine.”

“It’s not about that. It’s about defeating the password, and the person who set it.”

“I really don’t know what to make of you, Chica.”

“You could make use of me, like you did, today. I enjoyed that little job. It’s not hacking, but it’s serious organization. Kind of like a gym workout isn’t the Olympics, but it’s satisfying, and keeps you sharp.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“I wouldn’t either. You have only my word, that there’s no conflict, of interest.” She paused. “I haven’t earned your trust, as Steph has. I haven’t earned hers, as you have. That’s where we’re at.”

“You spied on me, for Julio, and you attempted to break into my computer.”

“I don’t work for Julio, anymore. I quit, the day Steph offered me an interview. As for the computer — it’s like a kink, just not a sexual one.”

“If Steph so much as hints she wants you gone, you’re history.”

“This thing you two have, I don’t get it, but, okay.”

“You don’t get that she’s my partner, and my best friend?”

“Oh, I get that. I’m a big fan of friendship. Romance, not so much.”

“Romance.”

“Please, Ramirez. I don’t eat avocados, either, but I know one, when I see it.”

*******

Ted

The first thing he did, upon discovering an owner’s manual, in the top drawer of the first cabinet he opened, was to reset the codes, on all of the cabinets. Using Nina’s due date, made him feel moderately clever.

Luckily, Gordon had been an organized megalomaniac. Each of the first four cabinets contained information, pertaining to an individual school.

The obvious place, to start, was with New Canaan, and the list that Liam had compiled for him, of missing students. He was ill prepared for the number of times he would be sidetracked, while focusing, or trying to focus, on each individual student.

His initial progress was slowed by the fact that he didn’t understand Gordon’s codes and shorthands. They were consistent, but inexplicable. It reminded him of the way this house had been run, and still ran, to a degree.

There were rules, and exceptions to the rules. Codes that everyone understood, except for the outsider. If ever there was an outsider, to the way Gordon’s mind had functioned, it was Ted.

It took him a good hour to figure out that ‘X’, for example, was ‘transfer’. It was a code applied to all the students on his list, but it finally gelled for him, when he looked at Franklin Riley’s record. It had been applied twice, to Franklin; once, at each end.

Beside the first ‘X’ was a clearly written notation: Jackson Meriwether Academy.

“Eureka…” Ted muttered to himself. That was one code, solved. What, then, was ‘X-SgSp’, at the other end? He gazed at the filing cabinets, blinking rapidly, as his mind worked. It couldn’t be that simple.

He nearly tripped over a wastebasket, in his haste to get to the cabinet, next to the one he had been working out of. When he seized the second drawer, and yanked, nothing happened.

“Dumbass,” he chided himself, digging for the card key. He’d forgotten to disable the timer that relocked the drawers. In a moment, he had it open, and was thumbing through the R’s.

There it was. ‘Riley, Franklin’ — in the Saguaro Springs cabinet. He was dialing Guy’s number, before he was even back to his chair.

***

Guy picked up, on the fourth ring, just before the call would have gone to voicemail.

“Ted — to what do I owe the pleasure?” Guy joked, on the other end. “You usually call Steph.”

“That’s because she lets her phone ring longer, before it goes to voicemail, smartass,” he replied, cheerfully.

“I didn’t know it was doing that, until yesterday,” the younger man said. “Sorry about that.”

“Never mind. I’m going to make your day, anyway. I’ve found Franklin Riley.” Before Guy could say anything, Ted went on to explain how.

“Color me, impressed.”

“Well, I have the home field advantage, now.”

“He hasn’t been transferred anywhere else, then.”

“I… Well, I don’t know. I haven’t actually opened the file, yet. I was so stoked, to call you. Hold on.” Ted opened the folder, and found the relevant page. “Looks like he’s still there. No note that he’s been transferred out, anyway.”

“Are there any other notes, on that page?”

“There are, but nothing I can really understand. I just cracked ‘transfer’ and the type of shorthand used for Ridgeview schools, two minutes ago. Why?”

“I’m just wondering.”

“What is it, Guy? You’re not as thrilled, as I expected you to be. Spit it out.”

There was a hesitant pause.

“Next to the Saguaro Springs notation, is there an extra number, tacked onto the student ID number?”

“Ah… Yeah. There’s a ten. It’s in yellow ink.”

“Not red? Or green?”

“Yellow,” he insisted. “For God’s sake, Guy — What are you not saying?”

He heard Guy draw a deep breath, and release it.

“It’s only an ugly suspicion.” He filled Ted in, then, about Kayla’s work on the records he had taken, directly from the files in the old wing, and his own efforts to decipher them.

“We found some payment anomalies. In some cases, parents payed twice — double tuitions. I’m guessing the second tuition is for the transfer into the Saguaro Springs program.”

“That sounds logical. Predatory, as hell, but, logical. So, do they all have additional numbers, at the end of their ID numbers?”

“Only the ones whose parents, or guardians, paid a third fee. It’s a really big fee, Ted. More than a hundred K, each. Those are the ones, with extra numbers.”

“How many of those, have you seen?”

“I’ve seen one through seven. All were in red ink, except number seven. Originally, it was in green. The financials for that one show a reversal, a refund, of half the big sum. Someone drew a line through the green number, and rewrote it, in black. It’s like somebody, somewhere, called something off.”

“No yellow, though.”

“Only red, green, and amended to black. It could be nothing. I mean, going into New Canaan, Steph and I thought the worst. That students were being killed, for who knows what reason.”

“So did I.”

“We never found a single freshly dug grave, though. We found Jess Greene, but waiting for the local wildlife to dispose of a body, isn’t foolproof, or efficient, as any kind of a method.”

“Well, take it, from me: Gordon was efficient. Which means that what you found, in the records isn’t nothing.”

“I’d trade my car, for the chance to go to Saguaro Springs, and find that kid.”

“I’ll send you, I promise. Forget Hermes, for now. I think they’ll keep. That goes for Stephanie, too. She — where is she, by the way?”

“Atlanta. She’s due back, tomorrow, around noon. She needed her car.”

“Of course. I forgot she didn’t have one. Anyway, by noon, tomorrow, I should know more about Saguaro. Maybe I can figure out a way to slide one or both of you in, as contractors, or something. Can you sit tight, until then?”

“I don’t have much choice. I’m responsible for Galen. I can’t just go tearing off to… Where’s the place, again? New Mexico?”

“Arizona. Outside of Tucson, I think. I’ll have to double check that. Something tells me I’m in, for an all-nighter.”

“Maybe I can help,” a new voice spoke.

It was a female voice, but not Stephanie’s.

“Mr. Billie?” she, whomever she was, continued. “I’m Kayla Sawyer, the firm’s new associate. I’m the one who worked up the spreadsheets, for Mr. Ramirez.”

“Mr. Ramirez?” Guy laughed. “Since when?”

“I might be able to help you crunch some of your data, if you like,” she continued, addressing Ted, and ignoring Guy.

“Guy?”

“She’s got mad skills, Ted, but…”

“It’s no imposition, if that’s what either of you are worried about.”

“What if I borrowed her from you, Guy, and paid her, directly?” Ted proposed, seeing a win, for all parties. “It’s not an investigation, strictly speaking, so licensing wouldn’t apply. It would take some financial pressure off you, and the young lady would be compensated.”

“That’s satisfactory, to me,” Kayla said. “A data analyst earns about fifty dollars an hour, at the top end.”

“Geez, Kayla,” Guy objected. “Skin the man, alive.”

“I’m worth it,” she replied, with offhand confidence.

“Since it’s likely to be an overnight job, I’ll give you a hundred,” Ted replied.

“Ay, Dios Mio!” Guy groaned.

“Supply the coffee, and I’m in,” Kayla said.

“Bottomless cup, guaranteed. If you’ll give me your number, I’ll text the address.”

***

Ted wasn’t surprised, when Guy called thirty minutes later.

“She’s got mad skills, but… what?” he answered, by way of a greeting.

“She’s still probationary,” Guy replied. “Try not to let her too close to anything, personal. I think she’s okay, with this particular case, since Julio is defanged, and Gordon’s dead. But, she tends to be snoopy.”

“Got it. Thanks, for the heads up.”

“If she doesn’t behave, let me know, so I can have her shit packed, and waiting by the door.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary. Maybe you should back off, on the caffeine, Guy.”

“Maybe. Talk to you later, Ted.”

“Later.”