The Night Shift (Mystery & Adventure)

by Jack Parker

  "Well, Collin?! We checked Nick's background before he came here and knife throwing lessons certainly weren't mentioned anywhere! So, how did he do it?!"

  "…Lisa?..."

  "What is it?" She didn't mean to sound so bossy and fired up.

  "Look behind you…"

  Groaning, Lisa turned around and tried to see what it was that was making Collin so awe-struck. It only too her a minute to realize what he was hinting at.

  There, leaning right up against the wall, was the sign that read ARBUR WINSLOW STATE FOREST MAP and had to be taken down due to the graffiti on it. As always, there were the random small holes that were scattered all around it. Except this time, those holes had much more meaning.

  "Collin, you don't think…"

  "Oh, yes," he said. "Lisa…Nick was practicing on this sign. He probably tried to see where he usually hit the board from a few feet away. Then when he realized where his "hot spot" was, he waited until he saw Scott was standing right in front of it, and then…"

  "…and then he threw the knife and killed Scott," Lisa coldly said.

  Collin pressed his lips together, closed his eyes and nodded his head. "I think that's it."

  There was a tense and painful silence lingering in the air for a few seconds before Lisa finally asked, "Collin…those loud thumping noises that people were complaining about?..."

  "Yes. Those thumping noises were probably Nick experimenting with the knife and throwing it into the sign."

  Lisa was shocked that they had both come to this conclusion. After a short while, Collin started laughing, much to Lisa's shock. "What's so funny?"

  "I just can't believe it," he said. "NetPub…this stupid sign…the whited out name on the work records…I can't believe this is beating all that forensic stuff."

  "Hey, speaking of the work records…" Lisa said, completely changing the subject.

  "What about'em?"

  "Well, you know how you said Scott signed in because he thought it would just be a normal night?"

  "Yeah."

  "Well, if he DID sign in, then why did Nick take the trouble to white out Scott's name after he killed him?"

  Collin smirked. "He didn't."

  Chapter 16

  Breakthroughor Dead End

  "What do you mean, 'he didn't'?!" Lisa yelled.

  Why does she keep asking me all these questions? Can't she figure anything out for herself? "Lisa, try to think about it like this: after Nick has killed Scott, then he wouldn't want to spend any more time in the woods, right?"

  "Right."

  "He'd just want to hide the knife and get outta there as quick as he could, right?"

  "Right."

  "In fact, erasing Scott's name from the work records would have probably been one of the last things on his mind, right?"

  "Yeah, so you were saying…"

  "Yeah. I was saying the one who erased Scott's name from the records wasn't Nick!"

  "Collin, now you're just beginning to sound really weird. If Nick didn't erase the name from the record, then who did?"

  "There was a time when Sergeant Teneire and I were questioning Randy, and he said something kind of strange…"

  "But you don't deny someone whited out their name on the work records?"

  Again, Randy grunted. "No, someone's name was definitely written down on the work records and it got erased. But I…don't remember whose name it was."

  "How can you not remember?!" Collin yelled.

  "Collin, calm down!" Teneire snapped, instantly shutting him up. "Mr. Kayson…"

  "It wasn't me…"

  "…now don't you think it's kind of odd that Randy would've remembered that he had someone working that night, but he didn't remember who it was?"

  Lisa looked like she didn't know what to say.

  "Wasn't Randy always the first one to get to work in the morning?"

  "Yeah. Well, he's the head of the park. What were you expecting?"

  "Exactly!" Collin yelled, brimming with energy. "So he would've been the first worker to find out Scott had died! He probably would've looked pretty suspicious if he was the first one there, don't you think?"

  "Now you're kind of going out on a limb. Just because he would've been the first one to find out doesn't mean he was the one who did it."

  "But Randy only hired him to work overnight, right? Having the victim be the only one on duty and then being the first to learn he got killed…oh yes, and let's not forget that Randy hated Scott and had just lost you to him. So he even would've had a motive."

  "Collin, do you really?..."

  "Yup. All that would've made Randy look pretty suspicious, and he wouldn't want that, right?"

  "Uh…right?..."

  "Good. So, just to make sure he wouldn't be suspicious or anything like that, he went to the work records and quickly whited out Scott's name from the night before. That way, he'd be able to say that no one was working that night, and no one would be able to say different."

  "Collin, that's…"

  "I'm not finished yet! Now, if everything I've said so far has been right, then that proves that it really was Scott who was working that night. Think about this: if anyone else had been working there the night Scott died, then Randy would've left their name alone on the records, right? Like, let's say Ian was the one who was working that night: if Ian's name was on the records, then Randy wouldn't have bothered to erase it because it would've made Ian look bad, not him."

  Lisa had no idea what she was supposed to say. She simply could not believe that Collin, of all people, was putting together a theory about how Scott died quicker than the police had been able to-all from finding a single picture that was hidden away in her drawer the whole time.

  "Well…now it's my turn to bring up the past," Lisa said.

  "Huh? What do you mean?"

  "Didn't Ian tell you about the fight that he and Nick had a few days before Scott died?"

  Collin tried thinking about it, but it wasn't long before he recalled a conversation that he had had with Ian regarding that fight.

  "I mean, what happened to you guys after the fight?"

  "Aw, we were both suspended from work for the week."

  "Remember now?" Lisa asked somewhat obnoxiously. "Ian and Nick were suspended. Nick of all people wouldn't be here if he didn't have to be."

  Collin hardly seemed taken back by Lisa's argument at all. "Lisa, just because Nick was suspended from working here doesn't mean that he wasn't there that night. In fact, that actually might make perfect sense if he was here when he was suspended."

  "How can you say that?"

  "Here's some of that 'past' right back at ya, Lisa."

  "I remember saying that that stupid mayor Menkino shouldn't be re-elected for another term like he has been for the past, like, thirty bazillion years, and Nick just got all fussy and was like, 'Hey, he's a great mayor!'. And I said, 'He's the worst mayor I've ever seen,' and he's like, 'Oh, yeah?!'. And the next thing I know, he started trying to punch me."

  "Collin, are you REALLY going to take Ian's word for something like that?!" Lisa demanded. "You really need to hear Nick's side of the story on that one."

  "That's what I thought at first, too," Collin countered. "But I don't think I really need to."

  "Why?"

  "Because everyone else who I talked to says it got started over something stupid. You know, Nick never struck me as the kind of guy who'd be interested in politics or anything like that. So, if he purposely started an argument with Ian just for the sheer heck of it and even fired a punch for no reason, then…well, what do you think was going on in his head at the time?"

  "What?!" Lisa yelled. "I don't know! I'm not sure I even understand what you're talking about."

  "Sorry…let me try asking again. What do you think was going through Nick's mind when he threw that punch at Ian that triggered the fight?"

  "Well, I guess…oh, wait a minute! NOW I think I know what you're saying. Are you thinking that he wanted to get in tr
ouble?"

  Collin nodded his head. "You got it. He knew he'd probably get suspended from work for about a week or two…so if anyone came to him and asked if he was at work when Scott died, he'd be able to pull the ol' reliable "Sorry. I was suspended" trick."

  "I don't believe it…" Lisa said.

  "Ha! It's not hard to believe at all. Nick was just trying to create an alibi for himself, so when he got suspended for purposely starting a fight with Ian, he'd have a good reason as to why he wouldn't have been at work when Scott got killed."

  "So…you think that's it?" Lisa asked nervously. "Are you finally done?"

  "I think that's about it. Here's my whole theory: Scott showed Nick the picture he found of him on NetPub and threatened to show it to Randy. And Randy would probably call the cops after getting the picture, considering how he hates having teenagers who drink and all that. So to make sure Randy never saw the picture, Nick decided to purposely start a fight with Ian just so he'd get suspended from working, which should've given him a fairly solid alibi. But before he got suspended, he went to Jess and told her he lost his knife. Being the nice person she is, she gave him her own knife, knowing she'd never need it back. So when Nick learned that Scott was going to be doing a night shift all by himself, he hid in the bushes and started practicing throwing the knife at the Arbur Winslow sign. And I'd be willing to guess that that was the loud thumping that everyone was complaining about. So when Scott went to check out what the noise was…it happened. Nick lands a direct hit and kills Scott right then and there. Nick then runs away and hides the knife under the lifeguard tower, but he doesn't have much to worry about, because it was Jess's knife anyway. So Nick makes his escape, then Randy shows up the next morning and finds that Scott's been killed. And just so he won't look suspicious, Randy erases Scott's name from the work records."

  There was a long, horrible silence that filled the stuffy warehouse for several seconds after Collin's winded theory. After the silence passed, Lisa took a deep breath and said, "I don't know, Collin. That seems awfully farfetched."

  "You got any better ideas? After finding out about the picture in Randy's desk that was never looked at, how Nick would've had a motive and it just doesn't sound like anyone else could have POSSIBLY done it…I don't know, I think I've got a pretty good theory, if you don't mind my saying so."

  "It's fine and all, but…"

  "You don't think it's right."

  "…Yeah, pretty much."

  "All right. I'll prove I'm right. Where's Randy?"

  Lisa's face turned pale when she heard that question. "Collin, you are NOT talking to him about this!"

  "I have to," he insisted. "It's the only way to know if I'm right…wouldn't you like to see me finally stop talking about this?"

  Lisa groaned. "Fine. If it'll get you to shut up about this and stop making a bunch of lousy theories, then sure, whatever. Randy's probably hanging around at headquarters somewhere making sure everyone is keeping everything in order."

  "Isn't that your job?"

  Lisa sighed. "He doesn't think so-not as long as he's here, anyway."

  "Oh, well. Whatever. Let's get out of here. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get outta this sauna."

  * * *

  Lisa slowly opened the door to headquarters and saw Randy standing at the front desk, looking like there was something very puzzling on his mind. He jumped when he heard Lisa call his name.

  "What is it?"

  "Uh…I don't know how to say this…please don't get mad at me, but…Collin and I were just talking, and…we wanted to ask you some questions."

  Randy slammed his fist down on the counter. "Damn it, how many times do I have to tell you I didn't do it?!"

  "Randy, just stop it, all right?!" Lisa scolded. "We're not here to accuse you of anything. You know, we both think you were telling the truth when you said you had nothing to do with it, and we just want you to confirm it."

  Randy was silent for a moment before he said, "You mean that if I go along with this little game of yours, you'll leave me alone?"

  "Yeah…as long as Collin's theory is right."

  With that, Randy became annoyed and furious again. "You mean Mr. Wannabe-Sherlock came up with an idea?! It'll be wrong!"

  "Just listen to it, all right?" Lisa pleaded.

  Randy scowled as Collin nervously walked into headquarters. Never had he been so nervous about telling an explanation as he was now. Taking a deep breath, he stared Randy in the eye and said, "Okay, I want you to be completely honest, all right, Randy? Because if you're honest, I think it'll get you off the hook."

  "Heh. Whatever."

  "All right, I just want to make sure I understand this: you had absolutely nothing to do with Scott getting killed, right?"

  "How many times do I have to answer this stupid question?! I thought you said you'd be done! No, for the zillionth time, Scott dying had nothing to do with me."

  "All right, that's all I wanted to know. But now I think it's time you also confessed."

  Randy's face turned sour, angry, and even a slight shade of crimson. "Confess?! To what?! You said…"

  "I know what I said. I'm not talking about confessing to killing Scott, all right? I meant confessing to whiting out Scott's name on the work records."

  Randy's eyes widened and he looked like he lost his breath for a split second. "What?!"

  "I think you erased Scott's name from the work records the morning after he got killed. So…am I right, or am I wrong?"

  "You stupid twerp! You said this would make me less suspicious! If I admit to that, then you'll think I…"

  "Randy, you're going to have to trust him on this one," Lisa sternly said. "If you erased Scott's name, then this might be your last chance to admit to it without being considered a prime suspect."

  Now it seemed as if Randy was torn between what to say…between what he thought would be best to say and what it would be smartest to say.

  "I can tell from that look on your face that you did," Collin said in a low, almost hateful tone. "Just admit it so you can actually see what I'm driving at."

  "I…" Randy choked, now looking down at the floor with both of his clenched fists resting on the counter. "I did it. I erased Scott's name from the records, just like you said."

  Collin's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open; Lisa looked equally shocked as she slowly covered her mouth with her hand.

  "Everyone knew I hated Scott. Heh…it wouldn't even surprise me if everyone knew about what was going on between me and him after you dumped me," he said coldly as he turned his attention to Lisa. (who seemed unaffected and lacked any sense of guilt) "If people saw that Scott was working here when he died and I was the first one to show up, I thought they'd suspect me for sure. So…I just erased his name from the records. That way, it would've been like Scott was never there and I had nothing to do with it. I thought no one would suspect me if they didn't know Scott was there."

  "Heh. I see that worked out well," Collin sarcastically added.

  "Yeah, no kidding. Those morons at the precinct still tried to get a confession out of me."

  Another awkward silence filled the room before Randy finally asked, "So, let's see you keep your end of the bargain now."

  "Who, me?" Collin asked.

  "Yeah, you. You promised me that people would finally leave me alone if I admitted to erasing Scott's name from the records. Now, let's see you do it."

  "All right. I'm a man of my word, after all. You know, you've actually proven my theory right…and my theory involved proving Nick was the one who killed Scott."

  "Nick?!"

  "Yeah. But before I get into that, I want you to answer one more thing: last year, do you remember having an argument with Scott where you told Lisa to leave? And Scott gave you something in an envelope?"

  "Uh…vaguely. Why?"

  "I take it you never saw what was in that envelope, did you?"

  "Yeah, it was…wait! Wait, I don't think I opened it."


  Collin smiled and crossed his arms. "You have no idea how much you're helping me and yourself here."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I take it you never thought for a second what was in that envelope, did you?"

  "No. I thought it would just be something stupid that Scott was giving me just to piss me off or something."

  "Actually, it was something you probably would've liked to see."

  Randy's eyes narrowed. "Did you see what was in it?"

  "Yup. And it wasn't a letter directed to you or anything like that."

  Randy slammed his fist down on the table. "Stop dragging this stupid conversation out and just tell me where you're going with this!"

  "All right, fine."

  For several minutes, Collin explained the photo in the envelope, how Scott was able to find it, and how it led to Nick's plan to make himself look innocent and everything else that had just been pieced together in just a matter of minutes. The result was all three of them staring at each other in complete quiet, each unsure of what to say.

  Finally, Collin broke the silence. "I'm, uh…gonna go talk to Teneire about everything. We'll see what he has to say."

  "Wait, Collin, what are you hoping is going to happen?"

  "What else? I'm taking that theory to Teneire and I'm gonna wait and see what he thinks of it. With any luck, this will be the big break I've been waiting over a year for. Maybe this'll finally convince Teneire that it was a good idea to let me help out with this investigation after all."

  "Collin, are you sure you want to do that?" Lisa inquired with a lot of uncertainty making itself present in her voice. "You realize that pretty much everything you've concluded has been complete guessing, right? Teneire won't like it if you don't have anything to back up what you're saying."

  "It's okay. I got the picture, I got everything Randy said…I think I'm all set."

  Lisa looked really uneasy. "I don't know, Collin."

  "You'll have to trust me on this one, Lees. Don't worry; I'll still keep working at it if Teneire doesn't like it."

  Lisa took a deep breath. "All right, Collin. If you really want to give it a shot, then I'm not gonna stop you."