Smoke Stack

by Andrew Gruse

  Zack’s face turned white. His mouth dropped open, and he slowly touched the picture. “Oh my God, Jules, that’s the car,” he said softly as if it hurt to say it.

  “What? What car?”

  “The car outside the high school,” Zack said but saw Julie’s lack of recognition. “Bumblebee!”

  Julie looked confused, then frightened. She looked at the picture. “No, Bumblebee is yellow. This is orange.”

  “It was also smoky, and my eyes burned and watered like crazy. That was the car,” Zack said.

  The couple stared at each other in silence.

  “What do we do?”

  Zack picked up the laptop, moved his finger on the touchpad, it came to life, but it was locked. “He was coming back, wherever he went, so I am betting he didn’t go downstate.” He shut the laptop and slid it into his own backpack.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Borrowing his computer,” Zack said. “Every kid over the age of five nowadays does almost everything on their computer or smartphone. We need information.”

  “What do we tell Mrs. Willows?”

  Zack took a deep breath and stared at Julie. “Right now? Well, we certainly don’t tell her that there is a good chance her grandson’s car was burned and buried under the rubble of the high school catastrophe. We tell her we will follow up with his friends and girlfriend and anyone else he may have talked to yesterday morning.”

  Julie didn’t like the plan, and her face showed it.

  “Look, Jules, we investigate. That’s what we do. And we find Orbison.”

  Julie frowned. “Ok. It’s just that,” she trailed off.

  “Keep emotions out of it,” Zack said but didn’t even believe his own words. He remembered the man in the Johnston house and squeezed Julie’s hand. “I’m sorry, honey, I know it’s tough. Sometimes this job sucks. But we have a job to do and have to separate our emotions from the job. Ok?”

  Julie nodded. He could see she wasn’t in love with his reasoning. “Ok, what do we do?”

  “Look around,” Zack said. “Do you see anything that seems odd or out of place?”

  “What are you saying?” She looked into his eyes. “What do you see?”

  “Look at this room, Jules,” Zack said. They looked in silence. It was clean and organized. Posters covered the walls. Mostly of boy-bands and football players with several pictures on his desk. One of his parents, one of Derek and his grandmother, one with Derek and a girl Zack assumed girlfriend and four of Derek and an older man. “What do you think?”

  “Looks normal to me,” she said.

  Zack searched the drawers and glanced briefly at a circular garbage bin. Even that seemed neat. He picked it up and noticed it was full of papers and envelopes, like most garbage cans beneath a desk. “To you, it probably would.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Zack leafed through it. Most were junk mail. Predatory credit card companies already preying upon the unsuspecting and unwise college-bound students. Near the bottom, though, were several pieces of crumpled up paper. He grabbed them, straightened one, and read the first two sentences. All but one were different drafts of the same message. Zack figured Derek was unhappy with his prose and tried again and again.

  The last letter was thicker stock, an official letter from the state university, signed by the incoming college football coach. Zack read it, looked at Julie, and put that and the other notes in the backpack.

  “What is it? You have something?” Julie asked.

  He looked at her and frowned. “Yeah, I do. Come on, let’s go.”

  They left the room and re-entered the living room where the grandmother waited. Her eyes were bloodshot and tired. After his last case dealing with the killed college girls, Zack wondered why Julie wanted to have children.

  “Did you find anything that will help find him?” Mrs. Willows asked.

  Zack didn’t want to answer that. He knew the odds. Julie was more positive. “We’ll find him, Mrs. Willows. Zack is very good at what he does,” she said.

  “Mrs. Willows, has he gotten any bad news lately, or has anything happened that seemed to upset him? Girlfriend trouble or flunked a test, anything at all?”

  She thought and shook her head. “He hadn’t said anything to me.”

  “There’s one picture of him on the desk with a girl. Is that his girlfriend?”

  “Yes, that’s Brittany Danielson. He’s dated her all through high school.”

  “There are a few pictures of him on the desk with an older guy. Who is that?”

  Mrs. Willows smiled. “That’s Coach Tim Weber. Derek really liked Coach Weber, and the coach seemed fond of Derek. They won state last year.”

  “Really? How neat,” Julie said.

  “Coach Weber tutored Derek sometimes after school. Derek talked about him all the time.”

  Julie smiled while Zack nodded. “Do you have any pictures of Derek recently we could borrow, Mrs. Willows?” Julie asked.

  Mrs. Willows didn’t hesitate to hand them two pictures from his Senior photoshoot. “Do you think that will help you find him?”

  “Every little thing will help,” Julie said.

  Zack then spoke. “We better go, Mrs. Willows. Thank you.”

  The two sat inside the car, and Zack started the engine.

  “You got us out of there quick. What’s wrong?”

  “What isn’t?”

  “Zachary!” Julie rose her voice to make him stop and look at her. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

  Zack sighed. “Derek kept secrets from his grandmother.” He checked his blind spot and drove away from the house. “Derek wasn’t going to state to play football. His scholarship just got pulled,” he said. He looked at Julie at the stop sign. “Read what I put in the backpack. And I’ll bet you a week in the Caribbean that Brittany Danielson was his quote-unquote girlfriend.”

  “What are you thinking?” Julie pulled the papers out of the backpack to read.

  “A lot. We have to get this computer to Michelle, and let’s find out why the scholarship got pulled.”

  CHAPTER 7

  Zack parked outside the college football stadium after they found a place that shipped overnight on a Sunday. Cost a fortune, but costs incurred usually were recouped in the bill to the client. Zack didn’t care about billing, though. Neither did Julie. An internet search said the head coach’s office was above the stadium near the press booth and VIP suites. On a Sunday, Zack and Julie knew it was a longshot. But when they saw football players on the field, their hopes remained.

  The campus was active despite being a Sunday. Spring break hadn’t arrived yet, but the weather was gorgeous, and many students were outside enjoying the weather. They heard cheers from a nearby baseball game and concurrent softball game. A typical weekend on a busy university campus.

  “Is this what college was like?” Zack asked as they walked towards the stadium.

  Julie looked around. “Pretty much.”

  “I bet you were a hot number in college,” Zack said.

  She smiled and held his hand. “I still am. When I wanted to, I could get guys to write term papers for me, do my homework, you name it.”

  Zack smiled. “So being able to manipulate people to get what you want comes naturally to you, huh?”

  Julie chuckled as they searched for an entrance. “Some are easier than others.”

  Zack and Julie walked around the stadium to the north end. They found the main entrance and walked down a long corridor to an elevator. The elevator took them to the top of the large, recently renovated press box.

  “Did you ever play high school football?” Julie asked on the ride up in the elevator.

  “No. School was too small. Basketball was the big one for us.”

  “You never talk about it. I’m surprised it hasn’t come up in the four years we’ve been together.”

  “You want to hear about my glory days?” Zack asked as the door opened, and they walked out.


  “I’d love to.”

  Zack looked at her, pulled her close, and kissed her suddenly. “These are my glory days, honey.”

  She smiled. “Aww, you’re so sweet.” She kissed him back. “You may get lucky later.”

  They walked towards the office and looked down over the vast stadium. 80,000 new seats all the color of the school, a new press box with VIP suites, and the new artificial field. Groups of athletes drilled on both ends and in the middle.

  “This stadium is gorgeous,” Julie said.

  Zack nodded. “It’s too bad the team still sucks.”

  “Be nice,” Julie said as they reached the door of the Head Coach. “None of your rigged system conspiracy talk.”

  Zack knocked three times. “Who, me?”

  She shook her head at him when they heard a gruff voice yell, “come in, it’s open.” They walked inside and smiled.

  Behind a large wood desk littered with papers, pens, coffee mugs, and a laptop computer stood a large man, about six feet tall but heavy. The man looked about sixty years old and had wire-rimmed glasses at the tip of his nose as he read papers on a clipboard at arm’s length from his eyes. The walls were filled with pictures of teams and players from other schools he coached, autographed photos of NFL players and NFL coaches and two shelves had signed footballs and trophies lined atop them.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Coach Hadley?”

  “Speaking.” He lowered the clipboard.

  “Coach, my name is Zack Stack, this is Julie Fletcher. Do you have a minute to answer a few questions?”

  The coach stared at him with a quizzical look on his face. “About what?”

  “Derek Willows,” Zack said.

  “That name sounds familiar. Who is he?”

  “Well, sir, he’s a quarterback and a senior at Clyde High. You sent him a letter a week or so back, rescinding the scholarship offer,” Zack said.

  “OOOHHH, him, now I remember,” Coach Hadley said. “Now I know who you’re talking about. What about him?”

  “Well, I was hoping you could tell us why you pulled the scholarship?”

  “Simple, we don’t need him, and he doesn’t fit what we’re looking for.”

  Zack and Julie looked at each other and nodded. That made sense. “Why offer him the scholarship in the first place?”

  Coach Hadley exhaled and sat down. “Who are you two, and why are you asking about him?”

  Julie stepped closer to the desk. “Coach Hadley, Derek is missing. We were hired to find him by his grandmother. We found the letter rescinding the scholarship in a trash can under his desk. No one in any way, shape, or form thinks the university is responsible. But we are looking for answers that may help us find him.”

  “Oh my,” the coach said. “I’m terribly sorry. I hope he’s found, and everything is all right.”

  “So do we,” Julie said.

  Coach Hadley lowered his head. Julie and Zack remained quiet. They both knew it was better to let a person speak without prompt in situations like this. Sort of like the next one to talk loses.

  “Ok,” the coach said with a deep breath. He collected his thoughts. “I already have four quarterbacks on the roster and have one incoming from Texas that fits the mold a lot better.”

  “What do you mean, fits the mold?” Julie asked.

  The coach sighed. “This is a Div 1 power conference. Our average lineman is six-foot-five inches tall. I need a quarterback who stands taller than five-foot-eight, in shoes. Derek is a good football player, but he’s not a D1 player. I had no use for him, and I needed his scholarship to get the Texas kid here. Recruiting is tough when you aren’t an SEC school, know what I mean?”

  Zack smiled and said, “like the system is rigged against you, almost.”

  Coach Hadley smiled. “I never said that.”

  “Ok, I understand why you pulled it, and I don’t mean to be rude, but why offer him a scholarship in the first place?” Julie asked.

  Coach Hadley exhaled, half exasperated and half irritated. “The only reason he was offered one in the first place was that I hired his high school coach after their season ended. Coach Weber is a good offensive mind, and he would have been an asset to my staff. So, to get him to take the job on my staff, he wanted a favor, and that favor was to give Willows a scholarship.”

  “You said would have? He didn’t take the job?”

  “Oh, he did,” Hadley remarked with ire in his voice, “but then the sonofabitch reneged and stayed at Clyde. I heard he even turned down a small D3 coaching job out west. I mean, who the hell would do that? How’s that for Goddamned gratitude?” Hadley shook his head in disgust. “Anyway, after Weber reneged, I realized I didn’t want to burn a scholarship on a kid that at best would be a backup special teams player on my practice squad, so I pulled it. Anything else?”

  “He was probably devastated,” Julie said. “Coming here is the talk of the town.”

  “That’s the breaks sometimes, and I knew I should never have offered him the scholarship in the first place.” The coach shook his head. “His stats were impressive, but then I saw him. He’s probably only five-seven. He may have other talents, but seeing over tall linemen is not one of them.” The coach stared at them. “Look, I hope you find Derek, and he’s ok, and if you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to call me.” He handed Julie his business card. “We offer kids scholarships all the time and sometimes take them back because of injury, a better kid comes along, maybe the kid gets in trouble in the off-season, all kinds of reasons. It’s never fun to have to do that, but I have a job here. That job is to win. To do that, I have to get the best kids I can. Tough decisions have to be made, but I do explain that to the kids at the start. I hope that wasn’t the cause of this,” he said. “Again, I’m very sorry.”

  “Thank you, Coach,” Zack said. “Good luck with your season.”

  They turned to leave, but at the door, Zack stopped, “Coach, quick question: how do you compete with the SEC schools for recruiting? I mean, how do they keep getting all the top recruits year after year after year?”

  Hadley smiled and shook his head. “Must be the warmer weather.”

  Zack smiled. “Good luck, Coach. Thanks for the time.” They left.

  They walked down the stairs instead of taking the elevator to the ground level.

  “You couldn’t let it go, could you?” Julie asked Zack.

  Zack smiled. “Warm weather?” He laughed. They exited the facility. “If they find Derek’s car, remind me to have Orb check the seat. If Derek is only five-seven, the seat will be forward. If it’s back, we have another question to answer.”

  Julie typed the question into her phone. She learned Zack said to remind him of things often. Sometimes, too many to remember. “Ok, what now?”

  They stepped outside the stadium and looked around at the nearby campus. A group of young kids walked past as if on the way to a party or back from one. Zack and Julie looked at each other.

  “Orb said some kids came down here. Maybe Derek did, and he’s here somewhere.”

  Julie handed him one of the pictures of Derek. “We split up. Say an hour meet right back here?” Zack nodded, kissed her, and walked towards the campus as she went a different direction.

  CHAPTER 8

  Zack waited back at the spot an hour later. He scanned the area that mid-afternoon and was about to call Jules’ phone when she appeared. She saw him, smiled, and put an extra charge in her walk. She finally reached him and gave him a kiss.

  “How did you make out?” She asked.

  He handed her the picture of Derek. “Believe it or not, I found a group of students from Clyde. They all knew Derek.”

  “Really? So some did come down here,” Julie said.

  “Yeah, it gets better. One of the kids named Abraham is friends with Derek. Played football with him. The center. Nice kid,” Zack said. “He said they were coming down to watch spring practice anyway this weekend since neither of t
hem played a spring sport this year. Derek was supposed to meet them at eleven.”

  The two walked to their car, but Julie stopped. “We have a timeline.”

  “Yep. Abraham called him but got no answer. He sent Derek a text saying they couldn’t wait and for Derek to pick up Brittany and meet them there. That never happened.”

  Julie spoke as they walked again. “He’s still in Clyde unless he ran away.”

  “You saw the postmark on the letter. Derek knew about losing the scholarship for four days before Saturday,” Zack said.

  “Yeah, but maybe he met with whoever and realized it couldn’t get fixed then decided to bolt town,” Julie reasoned. “Maybe he couldn’t deal with having to tell anyone he lost it.” They reached the car. “Did Abe have anything else to say?”

  Zack leaned against the car by the passenger door. “I asked if Derek said who he was meeting. I’ll give you three guesses and one smoking gun.”

  “Coach Weber?”

  Zack nodded. “Abe said he thought Coach Weber, which isn’t ironclad, but it’s a start. Did your foray produce anything?”

  Julie pressed her body against his. “I got invited to two frat parties, one sorority party, and one smartass asked me if I was Derek’s mom. And one group of good looking young men told me I had the finest body on campus.”

  Zack said and put his arms around her. “So, except for one jerk, you still have it.”

  She kissed him. “You better stay on your toes.”

  Zack laughed and opened her door. “Those boys wouldn’t know what to do with you. But I am curious to see what that sorority party is all about. Can you bring a guest?”

  She rolled her eyes, got in the car, leaned over to open his door. He sat inside and looked at her. “No. Girls only.”

  “At least take pictures.” Zack started the car. “Let’s get back to Clyde and talk to Brittany Danielson.”

  * * * *

  Brittany Danielson sat alone on the screened front porch of the white Cape Cod she lived with her parents. The knock on the door startled her, but the sight of two strangers startled her even more, particularly late in the afternoon on a Sunday.