Conduct Unbecoming by Tom Fowler

Author:Tom Fowler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Widening Gyre Media

We continued down the Marcy Russell rabbit hole.

T.J. managed to sweet talk someone pulling later hours on a Friday at the University of Baltimore into sending us Marcy’s transcript and some newspaper articles she wrote which had never been digitized. Despite their age, they painted a picture similar to the one we already had. Even then, Marcy knew she wanted to be a teacher and wrote from this perspective. She went after courses, curricula, and even professors she felt weren’t upholding the university’s standards.

“It’s kind of surprising she lasted anywhere,” T.J. observed.

“True,” I said. “This line of thinking would often lead to someone wearing out her welcome.”

“And her blog was under her own name?”

“First only, but yes. How many Marcys could there have been at Sterner? Either the administration didn’t know about her blog or didn’t care.”

“Maybe they found out late in the game.”

I nodded. “Maybe. Ellicott established his position over time. It seems like they had a lot of overlap even though we don’t have anything suggesting they knew each other.”

Before T.J. could answer, the door opened. Rachel Heaton walked in and closed up shop behind herself. “I hope you don’t mind me coming by,” she said. “I guess I’m lucky you’re still here. Your address is on the card, and I didn’t want to discuss this over the phone.”

“No problem,” I said. I briefly introduced Rachel and T.J. as the former took a seat in one of my guest chairs.

“I suppose news travels slowly at Sterner,” Rachel said. “Some at least. The kind the administration might not want anyone to know.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Perhaps you knew this already, but I just learned Principal Hinson fired Edgar Russell. He used the morals clause because of Marcy’s . . . circumstances when she died.”

“We knew. The police recently arrested Edgar, in fact.”

“What?” She paled. “Impossible. There’s no way she would have an affair, and he wouldn’t kill her even if she did.”

“The other family hired us,” I said. “Considering what’s happened today, however, we’re going to try and get Edgar Russell off the hook.”

“Good for you,” Rachel said. “When you came to my office, you told me you needed a way into the school.”

“Do you have one?”

She nodded. “But not for you.” Her cool eyes flicked to T.J. “I have the budget and authorization to hire a secretary, a position which has been vacant for some time. Perhaps it’s time I filled it.”

“I’m in,” T.J. offered.

“What would it entail?” I wanted to know.

“T.J. would work for me. I could probably hold off on the official paperwork for a day or two to make things less complicated. She would have the same access to the school any other secretary does.”

“Is everything on the same network?”

“The PTA isn’t segregated,” Rachel said.

“That could make things easier,” T.J. said. “I could poke around and see if Hinson is trying to hide anything.”

“You could.” Rachel nodded. “I will say that I have some actual work you could do, also, and you would need to so no one got suspicious.

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