Swope's Ridge by Ace Collins

Author:Ace Collins [Collins, Ace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Ebook
ISBN: 9780310279532
Goodreads: 6658120
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2009-09-28T00:00:00+00:00

41

“NATHANIEL.”

The man looked up from a microscope and grinned. “Lije Evans! Liji-Boy, you’re looking pretty good.”

Lije walked over and shook the hand of a man who’d once lived down the hall from him during his college dorm days. While Lije was not as close with him as he was with McGee, Nathaniel Brooks had been a good friend. They’d played on the same intramural basketball team and often double-dated. Lije couldn’t begin to count their road trips to football and basketball games and the monthly hops over to Hot Springs to watch a movie or to bowl. Smart, athletic, driven, Nate had been at the top of the class.

Getting up off his stool and pushing it under the laboratory table, Brooks said, “Good to see you. Remember when folks used to call us Salt and Pepper?”

“Still haven’t figured that out,” Lije said, jabbing at his friend’s shoulder.

“Don’t suppose it had anything to do with the fact I’m black and you are…how can I say this…pale?”

“Naw. Must’ve been something else.”

Joshing each other had long been at the center of their friendship. A part of it had been simple personality—they were both cutups. Jokes had also masked their rather obvious economic and cultural differences. Lije had come to school in a new car, sporting an expensive wardrobe and a hefty bank account he could tap. Brooks had ridden in from West Memphis on a Trailways bus with everything he owned packed in his grandfather’s old Navy footlocker. Yet for reasons neither fully grasped, they had discovered a special bond that began when they sat next to each other in Dr. Root’s Introduction to Writing their freshman year.

Brooks wrote a short note on a paper beside the microscope, then removed his white coat and draped it over a chair. With a roll of his head he signaled for Lije to come with him into his office.

“We’re looking for a cure for MS,” Brooks said.

“You hitting me up for a donation?” Lije asked.

“Not directly, but it never hurts to make folks aware. My junior and senior students are researching new ways to treat multiple sclerosis. There’s some good work going on here; we just need more funding. These kids might just uncover something that would end a lot of pain and suffering.”

The smile melted from Brooks’ face. “I’m sure it’s been hard for you,” he said.

Brooks didn’t have to say more for Lije to know what he was thinking. “I’ve tried to keep busy. I miss Kaitlyn.”

“Not knowing who did it, that would be the toughest part.”

“Nate, there are no easy parts.”

“Your message was kind of cryptic, Lije. I don’t understand what you’re doing here today.”

“Good. That’s what I wanted.” Lije’s expression was now grim. “I wanted anyone who knew I was at OBU to be confused. As far as the world is concerned, I’m a taxi driver delivering Robert Cathcart to a meeting with the head of your history department.”

Brooks nodded. “But the real reason for making the trip is…”

What had seemed like a good idea when Lije left home now felt wrong.

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