Here Comes the Corpse by Zubro Mark Richard

Author:Zubro, Mark Richard [Zubro, Mark Richard]
Language: deu
Format: epub
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2002-08-02T22:00:00+00:00

16

We drove straight to Carl Sandburg University. We arrived just before six. Frank Ranklin had a tiny office near the locker room. Ranklin was a tall, muscular man with hair slightly graying at the temples. He had a deep, sonorous voice. He looked as fit as he did when he was our coach. Back then he worked out for an hour and a half every day. He obviously had not altered his regimen. He sat in his office in black spandex shorts, a gray Carl Sandburg University sweatshirt, white socks, and black-and-silver running shoes. He’d been my coach when our high school had won the state football championship. It had been his first year coaching. Younger teachers sometimes have closer relationships to students. Ranklin was lucky enough to be able to mix closeness with discipline. It didn’t hurt that we won every single game.

Weiser had mentioned Ranklin’s oldest son, Shawn. Besides being an Olympic hopeful, he had several minor athletic-gear endorsement contracts in the offing. The boy had come in eighth in the marathon in the last Olympics. He had every hope of winning a medal in the next.

Coach Ranklin said, “Sorry the wedding didn’t end the way you wanted. The police were around asking questions already.” He pointed to me. “You aren’t going to be a suspect?”

“No. We’re reasonably sure my nephew can provide me with an alibi. He may be able to recognize the killer. If we can figure out who killed these guys, I’ll feel a lot better. We’re trying to uncover more about Ethan’s life. We learned some stuff in St. Louis. We’d like to find out more.”

“Ethan was tremendous. He helped a lot of people. Always went out of his way.”

I asked, “Did you have any inkling about any pornographic activity?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Ranklin said. “At the time I had no notion, but you know how you look back and rearrange what happened in light of new information?”

We nodded.

“I’ve been doing that. He always attended almost every sports event he could. Even those he didn’t coach. You’d hardly think he was married with kids. He didn’t seem to take much time for them. Sometimes he’d bring the little ones to sports events he wasn’t coaching, but even that he didn’t do too often. Dedication and overenthusiasm aren’t crimes. He sure fooled everybody.”

“Do you know if he got pictures of your son?” I asked.

“I sure doubt it. Shawn is a marathon runner. As far as we’ve been able to figure, Ethan wasn’t on any of the trips Shawn took. Shawn doesn’t remember him being there.”

“What about these athletes who are planning to hold the big news conference?” I asked. “Are you going to join them?”

“If I’m there, it would look like the university is involved. As an institution, we want to stay as far away from this as possible. We’re afraid of lawsuits ourselves. Personally, I think the kids have got a legitimate beef.”

I asked, “Did he have any fights here at all? Anybody who might wish him harm?”

“No infighting beyond a few petty jealousies.

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