Decker 08 by Faye Kellerman

Author:Faye Kellerman [Kellerman, Faye]
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2010-02-17T08:10:58+00:00

"He's a maintenance engineer for several big downtown law buildings." Terry waited a beat. "That's a fancy title for a handyman."

"It's honest labor," Decker said. "Nothing wrong with that."

"It's better than flipping burgers. He did that for a while, too." Terry bit her nail, then sat down. "You're right. It is honest work. And I know my dad works very hard. I don't mean to disparage him."

"I'm sure you don't," Decker said. "You've just got your own problems, I bet."

"Who doesn't?" She folded slender hands, placed them on the tabletop and kept her eyes on her clasped fingers. "Is the coffee okay?"

Decker took a sip. "Terrific." He spoke gently. "You do know why I'm here, don't you?"

"I'm assuming it's about Chris Whitman. What are you doing? Interviewing everyone in the class?"

"Only certain people," Decker said. "You made the list."

"Lucky me." Her voice was a whisper. She cleared her throat, then spoke louder. "How can I help you?"

"Tell me about Chris."

"There's not much to tell. I know him from school. We're in the same grade."

"Is he in any of your classes?"

"Just orchestra."

"Ah..." Decker took out a notepad. "And what instrument do you play, Terry?"

"I play violin." She waited a beat. "Actually, I play at the violin. I'm terrible."

"Don't be too easy on yourself, young lady," Decker said.

Terry smiled and looked at him, her eyes as warm as melted butter. "I'm just being honest. I'm an excellent student, but I stink at the violin."

"You don't play like Chris, huh?"

"No, not at all."

"He's a remarkable musician," he said. 193

190

"Yes, he is."

"He's also a good-looking guy."

Terry was silent.

"A little distant, even cool in his personality," Decker went on. "But he's well-spoken... articulate. Classy in his own way. From what I understand, Cheryl was a real party girl. So what was the attraction between them?"

She laughed softly. "You're asking me?"

Decker said, "Yeah, you knew Cheryl, didn't you, Terry?"

"We knew each other by name, but we weren't friends." She began to knead her hands again. "Not that we were enemies. We weren't... anything."

Decker said, "What'd you think of her?"

"I didn't," Terry said. "She never crossed my mind."

"I'm sure you've heard rumors."

"I try to avoid gossip." Her voice was soft. "I wasn't friends with Cheryl... or with Chris for that matter. We didn't hang out in the same circles."

"But you were friendlier with Chris than with Cheryl, weren't you?"

She cleared her throat again. "He was my student... one of my students. I'm a tutor... mostly math and science, but sometimes humanities and languages, too. I tutored Chris for a while."

Decker flipped the cover of his notepad. "And when was that?"

"At the beginning of the term. Maybe seven months ago."

"How long did you tutor him?"

"About three months."

Decker looked up. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you stop tutoring him?" Decker clicked his pen. "His grades going into finals weren't exactly spectacular."

Terry squirmed. "I wouldn't know. We didn't talk much after he quit."

"It was his idea to stop the lessons?"

"Mutual." Terry fidgeted. "It wasn't a good match."

"A good match?"

She paused.

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