Her Own Drum

by Ali Franklin

  They heard the doorbell. Summer excused herself to answer it, inviting them to make some drinks while she was gone. Ryan stared at the orange juice and Champagne, willing it to mix itself in a glass and materialize in her hand. It didn't work.

  Summer returned with Maddie. Teddy and Ryan both stood to welcome her.

  "Hey!"

  "Glad you could make it!"

  Summer took Maddie’s drink order ("Water, please") while Teddy and Ryan hugged and fussed over her. Eventually they led her to Teddy's chaise and told her to lie back.

  "Just sit there and relax. Your wish is our command," said Teddy with a flourish. Ryan stood with her hand on Maddie's shoulder for longer than necessary. She realized she didn't want to let go of her. She felt protected and safe when Maddie was around.

  Ryan noticed the detective was still in the clothes she'd been wearing the night before. She asked, "Have you been home yet?"

  "No. I just left the office. I’m not even done with the paperwork." Maddie laid back and allowed herself to sink deeper into the chair. Ryan sat on the cool grass beside her and draped her arm on the cushion next to Maddie's legs. Teddy and Summer smiled at each other and moved toward the house.

  “I can’t believe you came over here instead of going home to sleep,” said Ryan.

  Maddie reached over to caress Ryan’s cheek with a finger. “I wanted to see how you were doing.”

  “I’m okay.” Ryan took Maddie’s hand and kissed it. “Glad you’re here.”

  After a few moments, Ryan asked, “Did you talk to Grace after she was picked up last night?”

  “She insisted on it,” said Maddie. “She wanted to start making deals as soon as she got to the station.”

  “Deals? Does she have something to deal with?”

  “She thought she did. It turns out she had been embezzling money from Hannah’s House and some of their fundraising partners for the last year. She thought we would take it easy on her if she told us where she had stashed the money, but Detective Isaac had already tracked it down.”

  Teddy and Summer came back out, a fresh tray of drinks in hand.

  “You said Grace was embezzling from a nonprofit?” asked Teddy. “I hope there are special jail cells for people who are that evil.”

  Maddie nodded. “She was using the money to buy expensive gifts for Cora, including that huge diamond that was on Cora’s finger when she was found. You know that Tesla she was driving? She paid cash for it about six months ago.”

  Ryan stared. “That lying little….”

  Maddie nodded. “Once Grace realized we knew everything and she didn’t have any information to barter with, she just started talking.” The detective took a sip of her water.

  “But why kill Cora?” Ryan asked.

  “Apparently Grace had been trying to get back together with Cora for the last few months. Cora told Grace she didn’t want to have a relationship with her last Monday when they had lunch. Grace wouldn’t take no for an answer. She followed Cora to Van Zandt Hall, where they fought. Grace snapped and strangled Cora with her own scarf.”

  “Oh….” Summer leaned into Teddy’s shoulder. No one spoke for a long time.

  With a start, Summer straightened. “Maddie, did Grace tell you why she tried to kill Teddy?”

  Maddie shook her head. “You won’t believe it. Grace said she read this mystery novel while she was in jail. In the book, the killer got away because he arranged for a second person to be killed while he was in police custody. The authorities figured he couldn’t have done it from jail. Just like we did with Grace.”

  Maddie looked at Teddy. “If it makes you feel any better, it didn’t have anything to do with you personally. Your house was just a convenient target for a computer genius.”

  The three women fell into silence again.

  Eventually Teddy reached out to refill her drink. “It’s a relief Grace is behind bars, but it still breaks my heart that Cora is gone.”

  Maddie nodded. “We’ll get justice for her now.”

  Later that afternoon, Ryan slipped back into her weekly routine, ready for her life to return to normal. She did her grocery shopping, started the laundry, and tidied her house room by room.

  Today she cleaned the living room last. She took her time, knowing she was likely to have company from the sheriff’s office as the detectives and deputies connected with the case finalized their reports.

  When she finished her chores, she sat at the piano and lifted the lid. She let her fingers drift over the keys, playing pieces she had known for years. As her hands moved through the familiar patterns, her eyes drifted over the lid of the instrument to the collection of framed photos. Her gaze landed on one and her hands stopped. She reached for the photo and rose, taking it over to the window.

  “Hey, Dad.” His infectious smile beamed up at her and she grinned as her fingers caressed his face. She stared out the window, remembering how afraid she had been the night before. She had been that afraid the day her father died. But this time she had helped. This time she had done something. And this time, everything had turned out all right. She looked back down at the little picture.

  “Dad, you would have been proud of me.” A tear dropped to the wooden frame and she wiped it away. “I fought. This time the bad guy didn’t win.”

  She sat back on the piano bench as she returned the picture to its place. Ryan knew her father’s death had not been her fault, but she had been trying to make up for it all these years. Fighting for justice over the last two weeks had been a good start. And last night she had made sure her friend — her real friend — was safe. It was time to let go of the guilt.

  33

  The sound of lighthearted screams drifted from the rec fields to where Ryan and her colleagues sat on the amphitheater lawn. The two-dozen faculty and staff members had brought enough blankets to seat a small army and were enjoying the friendly student softball game in progress. Big jugs of iced tea were lined up at the edge of the blankets and red and blue coolers of ice stood at the ready to alleviate the heat.

  The weather for the Midsummer Festival was perfect — exactly what you would hope for the Fourth of July weekend. High clouds scudded across the sky, blocking just enough of the sun to keep the heat in the mid-eighties. The humidity was at a tolerable 50 percent and the light breeze kept away the mosquitoes. A perfect Texas summer afternoon.

  Ryan looked over at Nicki, who was bent over a grill. The sidewalk between the amphitheater and Henley Pond was strewn with smokers and barbecues, each tended by an entrant in the annual BBQ cookoff. The aroma of ribs, sausages, chicken, and steak made mouths water all the way to the softball field. Each year someone new would step up to claim he or she had the ultimate BBQ recipe, one that would amaze even the most discerning Texas palate, but the title of Haverwood’s Hottest had been claimed by the same master griller for the past two years: the college’s own chief of police.

  The turmoil surrounding Cora’s murder had abated and campus life had returned to normal. No students had withdrawn and the first half of the summer term had progressed without incident. The sheriff’s cyber detectives and campus IT department had coordinated with experts from an international digital security firm to ensure that no personally identifiable data had been transferred from the college’s computers to any offsite repositories. Everyone’s information was safe.

  Ryan yawned and grinned as she watched a skinny young woman hit a home run that almost reached Glaser Hall. She felt someone sit down beside her, clapping.

  “Hey.” Maddie arranged herself on the blanket and pulled up a cooler. “Sorry I’m late. Had to finish some paperwork before I could get away.”

  “Glad you could make it,” said Ryan. She gave the detective a hug.

  “Hey, Maddie,” said Teddy, “It’s been a while. Were you working on that kidnapping case in Hallmark City I read about?”

  “Yeah. The FBI handle kidnappings, but I was the county liaison.”

  “It’s amazing how
quickly you got that girl back to her parents,” said Summer. “Is that normal?”

  “The FBI are pretty good at what they do. In fact, I wouldn’t mind working with them again.”

  “Really?” asked Ryan. “No jurisdictional snafus like you always see on TV?”

  “No, these guys are professionals.” Maddie smiled. “They’re good people. In fact, one of the agents has asked me to work on another case with—”

  “Well, well, well” said a booming male voice behind them, “If it isn’t our intrepid heroes.” They turned to see Oscar Martinez beaming at them, a red Solo cup of iced tea in his hand. “It’s nice to see you ladies relaxing.”

  “Thanks, Oscar,” said Ryan. “Let’s hope we can relax for the rest of the summer. This is about all the excitement I can handle right now.”

  Oscar smiled again and lifted his glass in salute. “I am indebted to you all for your work in maintaining the college’s good name throughout our recent…misfortunes.” The ladies lifted their glasses in return

  “Mr. President, Mr. President,” came a voice from the direction of the grills. Abby Strimple was running toward them, a variety plate of barbecued meats balanced precariously in one hand. She reached the little group, panting.

  “Mr.—” she swallowed as she pulled up next to the little group. “Oscar. I convinced the grillers it was their duty to provide you with the first fruits of their labor today. Here they are.” She held out the paper plate, had bowed, like it was an offering to the gods. Ryan exchanged a glance with Maddie and pressed her lips together in an attempt to maintain what Abby obviously considered to be the gravity of the situation.

  Oscar paused, eyes wide. He reached for the overflowing plate and force a smile to his lips. “Ah…thank you very much, Abby. That really wasn’t necessary.” He bit his lower lip, looking like one of the actors on Saturday Night Live who’s afraid he’s going to burst into laughter.

  Abby half-bowed and backed away, her adoring gaze never leaving Oscar’s face. He looked back to other women and shrugged. “I guess I’ll go share this with my family.” He smiled and walked toward the other end of the blankets.

  As the softball game wrapped up, heaps of delicious food were placed on long tables next to vats of baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and dinner rolls. The students, and employees sat on the ground in little groups enjoying the food and talking about their plans for the rest of the summer. Eventually the food and the conversation ran out and people sat quietly enjoying the sunset. The DJ turned down the music.

  As the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the rec center, a loud POP sounded from the other side of the pond. A huge fountain of red, white, and blue exploded overhead, showering the sky with glittering crystals. The crowd “oohed” and “aahed” on cue.

  Ryan looked over to Maddie, who was engrossed in the lights. Teddy and Summer were both lying on their backs, smiling as each new wonder was displayed. Ryan sighed and gave thanks again for the special people in her life. And once again, she prayed for a quiet summer.

  About the Author

  Ali Franklin grew up in New Mexico, where she spent her childhood riding her bicycle back and forth to the public library, checking out the maximum number of books allowed each week. Today she holds degrees in Communication, Higher Education & Student Affairs, and Organizational Learning & Instructional Technologies and works as an instructional designer.

  Ali has been a member of the faculty, staff, and/or administration of colleges and universities in New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading, playing tennis, cycling, and indulging her Star Trek addiction from her home in Dallas, Texas.

  Connect with Ali

  Visit Ali’s website at www.AliFranklin.com

  Or contact her via email at Ali@AliFranklin.com

  Learn more about Haverwood College

  To find out what’s happening on campus visit www.alifranklin.com

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank-you to Pati Martinez for the amazing cover design and the wonderful map of the Haverwood College campus. Pati can be found at www.krop.com/pamart

  Thanks also to Michelle Booth for the terrific work editing the manuscript (and the encouragement). Michelle can be found at http://michellecbooth.com/

  A special note of thanks to all of the Beta readers and encouragers: The great Dallas/Orlando MasterMind group of Susie, PK, Lori, and Marilyn provided just the right amount of accountability. Sue’s insightful comments really helped this become a more well-told story. Laura and Dana, a special thanks for being the original Beta readers/listeners. You’ve been the biggest fans of this project, and I appreciate you more than I can say.

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2016 | Barbara L Kamm | All Rights Reserved