Killing Time
Page 19
Nealy that he needs to focus the search on finding who is obsessed or possessed by the moon. I can assure you it is no one from our tribe. We keep close eyes on their activities, so we feel certain it originates elsewhere. It is not necessarily a Native American. It could be someone from any of those countries that the name associates with moon."
Nealy took over and said, "Jack, I told Greg that we would never have been able to put those moon facts together. None of us had any idea what the names meant or where they originated. His interpretation has been invaluable to us. It gives us a number of new avenues to approach in our search."
Grubbs sat up and said, "I knew Loren's parents well and always thought they were German. If you recall, his name was Manfred and hers was Greta."
Tsois answered, "He could have been German. There were a lot of Turks that immigrated to Germany after World War I. The globe is a small spot nowadays remember. People move around with ease from nation to nation. We even have some Kickapoo's living among our tribe. It's very common. Run names through Google and look at the name association and origin. We find it leads us to many factors of our investigations." Tsois stood and asked if there was anything he could answer for either of them. They both said no. Tsois shook their hands and after their many thanks, took his leave.
When they were alone in the office, Nealy shut the door and said, "Sit, Jack. I want to have a man to man talk with you."
When Jack was back in his chair, Nealy looked across the desk at him, sucked a breath in and said, "Tell me of your relationship with Loren, Jack. Don't give me the Good Samaritan crock. I want the truth."
"Crap, Nealy. You know how to put one on the spot about their life. What makes you think there's something other than wanting to help a young man who has difficulties?"
"I work in the County offices, Jack. When legal documents are filed I know about them. It's rare when someone creates a Will and Trust that has an employee as the beneficiary of the estate. I need to know, Jack. It won't leave this office, but since its public record, remember that everyone else has access to it if they want."
"Okay, Nealy. Okay. You knew that Amy and I were great friends with Manfred and Greta. We were both childless so we partied, ate, traveled and spent lots of time together. About six months after Amy died; Manfred was in St. Louis for a week. I had been in a depressed mood, broke off our association and pretty much stayed home alone. If you recall, even you were concerned about my mental state."
"Yeah, you were a bundle of crap for a while back then. I remember talking with you about getting back to work."
"Okay, so you remember. Well, one evening I was heating a can of soup when Greta walked in with a bottle of wine and a glass full in her hand. She said something like; you're no fun anymore, Jack. So I brought some wine. Sit down and have a drink with me. I could tell the glass she had in her hand wasn't her first. So, I got a glass and the corkscrew and brought them to the table. I pulled the lead wrapping off the bottle and started to pull the cork when she said, 'You really know how to screw, Jack." I laughed and pulled the cork with a loud pop that had her laugh and say; 'And you know how to end a screw too!" I forced a laugh at her joke as I poured my glass half-full.
"I touched my glass to hers and took a sip. It was an excellent Burgundy, an expensive bottle. When I was topping her glass off, she said, 'I need to use the bathroom.' She stood, staggered slightly and headed for the hallway. I was stirring my soup when she came back. Naked! She stood beside me and said, 'Show me that you can do more than a cork, Jack.' Remember, Nealy, Amy had been dead for almost seven months and I hadn't been out much. Greta was a gorgeous woman with a body to match. What was I to do except demonstrate to her that I could do more than a cork. It went on for about four months each time Manfred left town. At the end, she had come to me and said that it was over. That she was pregnant and had to stop. I didn't argue with her because I was not way too happy stabbing Manfred in the back. After Loren was born and was a year-old, she came over one day and said, 'I want you to meet me at UT Southwestern Tuesday at noon. We're going to have you and Loren tested. I can't live any longer without knowing which of you is actually Loren's father."
Nealy had been quiet but now he asked, "Did you meet her and have a DNA test?"
"I did. I was going to Dallas anyway to buy my new refrigeration equipment. You remember when I remodeled. Turns out that Loren was my son. That's why I've always treated him as a hidden son. I was angry when the grandparents took him away after the accident. I wanted to confess at that time and show them the DNA report but chose not to expose their daughter as an adulterer. They were nice and caring people who didn't deserve to be hurt.. I was the one who encouraged Loren to return to Jericho. As I had no heir, I wanted him to have the business when I'm gone. That's the story, Nealy. Not a pleasant one but one I'm happy with as I age."
"Jack, I think you've done the right thing, especially with Loren. The fact that you let him go to keep from exposing Greta was an admirable act. You've done a great job with him. Thanks for finally telling me the truth."
"I feel better now that someone knows and will understand my feelings toward Loren. If you're still around when I'm gone, you can tell the World about it. His grandparents are both dead and it doesn't matter any longer. It's just that I don't want him to know while I'm still around."
Jack stood, to leave. Nealy hugged him before letting him leave.
A week passed with nothing new developed. Nealy come into the restaurant and cornered Jack. "Jack, let's go outside and talk for a minute." Grubbs caught Loren and told him he would be outside by the shed if needed. He and Nealy leaned against the side of the shed and Nealy said, "I followed the advice of Tsois and researched every name associated with this case and those victims, including Cynthia. He was right on about the moon theory. I learned that Bulan is Indonesian for moon. I went back to the Superintendent of schools and questioned him again about Vernon Bulan. I threatened a subpoena if he didn't open up. He reluctantly told me that Bulan lost a full scholarship for his advanced degree over his poor evaluation that resulted from the lab incidents.
"I learned that Bulan was sanctioned not because of the lab evacuations, but because he provided the formula that the boys used to make the chemical bombs knowing their history of mischief. That formula wasn't part of the curriculum and was a rogue action on Bulan's part. Bulan appealed but the Board, in a closed session, upheld the evaluation, and in fact, suspended Bulan for a month without pay. That never came out for the public to see or know about."
"For God's sake, why do they keep such things from the taxpayers? We should all know about a rogue teacher."
"Jack, I don't disagree but the Superintendent led me to believe it was because the Board didn't want to risk a lawsuit from Bulan. He, according to all I could garner, was a vindictive son-of-a-bitch. After I left the Superintendent I went to his home to talk to him. I got no response for two days. I had the Judge issue a search warrant and we opened the house. It was a furnished rental. Everything was in place except none of his personal items were found. It seems that he has left Jericho with no forwarding address. When we analyzed his background, it was obvious that he was capable of obtaining chloroform, using his science knowledge to destroy evidence, and to easily suffocate the victims."
"What now, Nealy? Where do you go from here?"
Nealy was shaking his head when he responded with, "I issued a Be on the Lookout order and have had no responses to the order as of now. We're running checks on the airlines out of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Amarillo but we aren't expecting good news as the responses come in. We're up shit creek without a paddle if he left the country. While questioning the Superintendent I learned that Bulan is fluent in five languages, so he could be anywhere. I need to ask you to speak with Loren and see if he may have a hint of where he may have gone. Will you do that?"
"Of course I will. Loren won't hide anything he knows. Stay here and let me go ask him." Jack turned, went back inside the restaurant a
nd went directly to the kitchen.
He stopped Loren at the freezer and asked, "Loren, do you know where your teacher friend Vernon Bulan went this summer?"
"No, Jack. I didn't know he was gone. I haven't seen him since the last week of school. He came in the night of graduation with two other teachers. Remember? They sat at the table closest to the Wurlitzer and listened to the music for almost an hour. They didn't eat, just drank beer."
"Yeah, I recall them now. Who were the other teachers?"
"Jess Marcum the track coach and Phil Newton the math teacher. They were pretty close friends."
Jack went back to where Nealy still leaned against the shed and gave him the names. Nealy shook his head and said, "I've already had long sessions with both of them. They both said they were surprised to learn that he had left town. He didn't give them any hint that he was preparing to leave. They are a dead end."
Weeks passed without any new information or leads of where Bulan had ended his flight. Grubbs had Loren move into his house with him by convincing Loren that he had room to spare. He pointed out that Loren didn't need to pay rent when Grubbs had wasted space. Nealy continued to pursue Bulan but with waning results. Cynthia Meyers had finally convinced