Novel Excerpts—The Case of the Perfectionist Professor, Chapter 30

The primary aim of the "Novel Excerpts" blog category is to showcase my creative writing, specifically from the novels I've written. Hopefully, these posts will provide a glimpse into my storytelling style, themes, and narrative skills. It's an opportunity to share my artistic expressions and the worlds I've created through my novels.  

The Case of the Perfectionist Professor, written in 2018, is my sixth novel. I'll post a chapter a day over the next few weeks.

Book Blurb

Late on New Year’s Eve in the small town of Boaz, Alabama, Snead State Community College teacher Adam Parker was found dead slumped over in his car. A preliminary investigation indicated the fifty-year-old biology professor died of a heart attack.  Marissa Booth, Adam’s daughter and Vanderbilt School of Divinity professor, didn’t agree.

Four days later, Marissa hired the local private detective firm of Connor Ford to investigate her father’s death.  She declared local police officer Jake Stone had likely murdered her father.  She pointed Ford to a multi-month Facebook feud between Adam and several local people, including Stone and Boaz City Councilman Lawton Hawks.  The controversy allegedly related to Adam’s research that contended that, in layman’s terms, long-term indoctrination caused actual genetic mutations that directly affected future generation’s ability to reason.

Over the next year, Connor Ford discovered multiple and independent sources of motivation to quiet and possibly murder the controversial professor.  Ford learned that a civil lawsuit and widespread public outcry had effectively run Adam out of Knoxville, where he was a biology professor for over thirteen years.  Ford also learned that Adam had become the number one enemy of Roger Williams, a self-made local businessman, and his son Alex, who is a Republican candidate for governor of Alabama.  Adam had discovered Alex and Glock, Inc., the Austrian-based gun manufacturer, was exploring not only the possibility of setting up a large facility in Boaz but also supplying pistols for Alex’s highly touted and controversial ‘arm the teachers’ proposal.

Connor Ford has his hands full enough with these suspects.  Add in his need to determine whether Lawton Hawks and Jake Stone are friends or foes of Roger and Alex, which accentuate the pressure no normal small-town private detective can handle.  

Will Connor’s discovery there is a link between Dayton, Tennessee, and the 1929 Scopes Monkey trial and a rogue group of CIA operatives bend Connor and his two associates to the breaking point?

Read this mystery/thriller to find out if Adam Parker was murdered and how, and what role the long-standing controversy between science and religion had in destroying the life of a single perfectionist professor.

Chapter 30

 It had been ten days since the Alabama legislature had passed legislation requiring all public-school teachers to, in essence, become security guards.  As it should, the new law had set off a firestorm.  Nearly three-fourths of Alabama’s female teachers had, almost from the beginning, protested.  Less than a third of male teachers had joined them.  This later fact was somewhat perplexing since I knew from reading enough of Parker’s research that there was a negative correlation between education level and a die-hard commitment to guns and the Second Amendment.  In other words, the more educated a person was, the less interested he or she was in the possession and usage of guns, and the more he or she was in favor of reasonable gun regulation.  I figured Parker had a solid explanation for why the clear majority of male public school teachers appeared in favor of the new law requiring them to carry a weapon as they taught their classes.  I hadn’t read Parker on this aspect, but my feelings were that since the gun culture, especially in the South, was so entrenched in the male culture, it is harder for even a reasonably educated man to overcome a near lifelong indoctrination.

The protests were widespread.  The centerpiece was in Montgomery where, now for nine days, progressive citizens from around the State and even from across America, along with thousands of Alabama teachers (and even some from other states) gathered outside the Capital in Montgomery to march and tote signs, and engage in near-unending speech to oppose the legislation that had first originated in the mind of Alex Williams, Alabama congressman and Republican candidate for governor.

Montgomery wasn’t the only place protests were taking place.  The Alabama public school system was in total disarray.  At virtually every elementary, middle, and high school in the State, there were dozens, and often hundreds, of teachers refusing to go to their classrooms.  There was a statewide teacher strike by those opposed to the new legislation.  However, those in favor, were continuing to show up and teach and three times per week comply with the state mandate to become trained in firearm possession and use.  Most were already well-versed in how to shoot the Glock 34 the Alabama legislature had approved three days after passing the core teacher-carry legislation.

Six days ago, after Mark, Blair, and I had watched Dean Naylor’s videotape, I was fully determined to confront Jake Stone.  I was now glad Joe had talked me out of it.  Sometimes a relatively new investigator has much more sense than an old veteran.  He had convinced me that Stone would simply deny everything.  It now seemed Joe’s idea for him to start tailing Stone had produced some fruit.

Joe had called me from his car and asked me to wait for him.  “I think you will like what I’ve just discovered.”

I started to suggest we wait until tomorrow morning since Camilla had gotten off early and her and Natalie had cooked a big dinner.  Joe had sounded excited so, as usual, the case came first.

I was waiting in the conference room when Joe walked in.  He looked like a kid who had just seen a candy store for the first time.  “It’s down Bruce Road, just beyond Horseshoe Creek.  I just returned from Guntersville.”  Joe blurted out even before he sat down.

“Thanks.  You know I like bottom-line reporting, but here I might need a little more context.”

“I mentioned Saturday that I had followed Stone to a place down Bruce Road.  Just beyond Horseshoe Creek he turned left through a new pasture gate and drove his Black Tahoe about a quarter of a mile and into a grove of trees and out of sight.  Yesterday morning early, right before daylight, I got up and drove back out there.  The gate was closed but it wasn’t locked.  I opened it and drove down the pasture road.  About a hundred yards after you enter that grove of trees a new house is being built.  It’s a big one.”  Joe needed a break, so I interrupted.

“You think this is Stone’s?  You think he’s building a new house?  I hope you have more than this.  He might have just been visiting a friend, or maybe Sandra his wife has a wealthy brother.  Have you checked?”  I asked.

“Give me a little credit.  You have taught me better than that.  In Guntersville, I went to the Land Records office.  Guess who bought this eighty-acre tract.”  Joe loved playing the guessing game.

“Somebody or something, like a weird-sounding company.”  I said.

“How did you know?” 

“Let me describe for you the outline of the picture you have inspired my mind to draw as we’ve been talking.  The Stone’s have come into some money.  They are like most people and need to spend it, or at least some of it.  They’ve bought this land and have not titled it in their personal names.  How close am I so far?”  I almost regretted my little speech.  It felt I was bragging and showing off how smart I was.

“Horseshoe Creek, LLC.  That’s who the land is titled to.  Don’t ask.  I already know.  The owners, they’re called members, of the LLC, that stands for limited liability company.”

“I know.”

“Sandra Goble and the Rand Corporation.  That’s who owns the eighty acres.”  Joe said, pushing his notepad away from him towards the center of the table.

“Good work.  No, great work.  So, now we have direct evidence that Roger Williams and Jake Stone are connected.”  I said, thinking more about the unopened package Blair had placed on my desk as she left for the day.

“Caught you.  It’s a rarity.”  Joe said.

“What?  Sorry, I’m not as good at thinking about two things at once as I used to be.  It’s not a direct link but it is still a link.”  I said.

“How do we find out why the Rand Corp would purchase land with Sandra Goble?  Don’t you suspect it, he, Roger, furnished the money?”  Joe asked.

“I suspect you are correct about that.  Based on what we know about Jake Stone, or think we know, it appears this is a payment for services type of thing.” 

“The house that’s being built at Horseshoe Creek dwarfs Sandra and Jake’s house on Tami Street.  From a little more research, I’ve learned that house was built in the late seventies.  Sandra bought it after her and Zach Mohler divorced.  Jake moved in after he and Sandra married.  We know what he makes as a police officer.” 

“Sandra, I’m sure, makes good money as a VP at First State Bank, but, how big a house do you think they’re building?”  I asked.

“I’d say at least five thousand square feet.  It’s long and deep, two stories.  It’s still being framed but if they finish it just average for this area, they’ll have at least half a million in it.  That’s just the house.  I bet the land could have cost half that much.  That’s seven-hundred fifty thousand for the full load.”

“Remember, Natalie has told us that Alex Williams paid her, Sandra and Jake a hundred thousand for silence over Natalie’s pregnancy.”  I said, realizing I needed to get going.  I had promised Camilla I would be home by seven.  Even though it was Monday, and not a Friday, I needed to treat it kind of like a date.

“That’s not a drop in the bucket.  Changing the subject but Blair called me just before I got here and told me to make sure we looked inside the package she left in your office before she left.  She said the idea crossed her mind last week when she was getting bored listening to Adam’s iPad.”

Joe followed me to my office.  I opened the package and saw a bright blue box with a picture of a theater and a long and rich red curtain standing half open.  At the bottom of the box it said, “you can’t watch the play unless you open the curtain.”  I knew without doubt, even before opening the box, what Blair had done. 

The invoice taped to the outside of the clear plastic that wrapped the rather heavy device, what looked like an iPhone on steroids, revealed that Blair has spent nearly three hundred dollars.  Joe got her on his cell phone as I was beginning to flip through the ‘Operator’s Manual’ that was also in the box.

“Talk to the man.  I’ve got you on speaker phone.”  Joe said.

“Connor, I hope you’re not mad.  Marissa has already approved.  When I shared my idea with her she insisted that I place the order.  She wants you to find a way to put it on Jake Stone’s police cruiser.”

At first, I started to reveal who was boss around Connor Ford Investigations.  But, reminded of Pastor Caleb’s sermon a few weeks ago about being less selfish, I instead said, “Why would I be mad?  This is great work by the best assistant a P.I. could ever hope to have.  Thanks Blair for the idea and the initiative you’ve shown.  But, you’re work on this strategy isn’t complete.  You and Joe need to figure out how he will have the opportunity to access Stone’s car.”

“Why the police cruiser?  I was thinking his black Tahoe.”  Joe said.

“I had the same thought but listen here.  When I shared it with Marissa, she said, ‘that’s an easy fix. We’ll put one on both vehicles.’  Blair said.

“I don’t see but one device.”  I said making sure the box I was holding was empty.

“According to UPS tracking, the other Open Curtain should be here tomorrow.”

“Again, great work, but I’ve got to go or the curtains at Hickory Hollow will be closed when I get home.  Camilla and Natalie are waiting dinner on me.”

“You go on boss; Blair and I will figure out a great plan.”

I set the box back down on my desk and grabbed my briefcase.  As I was walking toward the back door I heard Joe ask Blair if he could buy a pizza and drop by.  The last words I heard were Blair saying, “I didn’t think you would ever ask.”

It seems it had been two weeks since I had breakfast with Garrett.  In fact, it had only been five days.  When I walked into Pirates Cove, I could see Garrett’s smiling face over in the corner but I couldn’t make out the woman who was sitting across from him. 

“Good morning Sherlock.  I didn’t think you’d mind Gina joining us.” 

“Not at all.  Nice to see you Gina.”

“You too Connor.”  Gina said taking a sip of her coffee.  I made a mental note to ask Garrett the next time we were alone why Gina wasn’t married.  She was the type woman that grew on you.  That is, every time you saw her you noticed something else that added to her appeal.  Today, it was her perfectly curled lips.  I shouldn’t be noticing this stuff.

“Gina drove up a day early.  We’re heading to First Baptist Church in Bridgeport tomorrow morning.  That’s a long drive even from here, much less from south of Birmingham.”  Garrett said, motioning for Gloria to come take our orders.

I chose a Southwestern Omelet with extra onions and their hottest sauce.  “How’s the research coming?”  I asked looking at Gina.

“I have to admit I’m excited.  Kramer Dickson has joined me.  He was a friend of Adam Parker’s.”  Gina said, then calling Gloria back to change her order to a fruit salad.  That’s not breakfast.

“I feel like I know him.  Adam mentioned him a lot.  That is, in his journals and other writings.  Wasn’t it Dickson who launched Adam’s lifelong obsession with evolutionary psychology?”  I asked.

“You’re correct.  Even if he is as old or older than Dad, he’s still got one of the sharpest minds I’ve ever seen.”  Gina said.

Gloria came by and topped off our coffee.  “You better look at that.”  Garrett said.  Even though I had the volume down on my cell phone, it had dinged loud enough for him, and probably Gina, to hear it.

“Whatever it is can wait.”  I said.

“I hope it’s not that one witness you’ve been wanting to hear from, the anonymous one who has finally gotten the courage to contact you and who now, with your ignoring her, will never reach out again.”  Gina could be mighty persuasive.

“That’s hard to resist.”  I pulled out my phone and noticed it was a text from Blair.  We were scheduled to meet after breakfast, but she was letting me know she wasn’t feeling well and needed to postpone.

“Well, was it the key link as Gina described?”  Garrett asked when I put my phone back in my jacket pocket.

“It was Blair.  She’s been reviewing a court file of a civil lawsuit I had her copy.  We were supposed to meet after breakfast, but she’s kind of under the weather.”  I said.

“Those are public records, right?  The court files.”  Gina asked.

“Yes.  Since I’m among friends I’ll share.  Garrett probably already knows more than I do.”  I said looking over at Gina.

Gloria delivered our food and reached down and straightened Garrett’s tie.  I don’t know why he thought he always had to wear those God-awful green ties.  “Who does it concern?”  He asked.

“Sand Mountain Bank is suing Roger Williams.  He’s the Bank’s biggest investor and I hear he tried to micromanage the operation even though he’s not an officer.”  Kurt Prescott wouldn’t have it and sued the mighty tycoon.”

“Dickson has mentioned a Kurt Prescott from Tennessee.  It appears the two of them were friends, along with Adam.”  Gina said.

“This Prescott is from Tennessee.  It’s my understanding he moved here to restart the Sand Mountain Bank.  His great-grandfather was one of the original founders back in the 1930’s.”

“From what I’ve heard, its growing by leaps and bounds, causing First State Bank to lose deposits.”  Garrett added.

“Sounds like the same guy.”  Gina said pulling out her iPhone and pressing a few keys.  “Let’s see.”  We three sat in silence a minute or so while Gina played with her phone.  Garrett and I enjoyed several bites of our omelets.  Mine was extremely hot.  “Here.  Yep, its the same guy.  Dayton, Tennessee.  He was in banking there also.  From what Dickson has said, Prescott got run out of town.  Something about accusations he was involved with a high school girl.  Dickson said that was a rumor started to shut him up.  He was one of only a few who openly voiced support for Adam over the big controversy at the University of Tennessee and around Knoxville.”

“You might not learn the full story when you meet with Blair to review the court documents.  From what I hear, Prescott wanted to raise the money to buy out Williams.  Apparently, he, Prescott, didn’t know what he was getting into when he let Williams invest in his bank.  If you think Alex Williams is a Christian, gun-toting zealot, you will be surprised by his father.  Like father like son, but son has picked up some diplomatic skills he didn’t learn at the feet of dear old dad.”  Garrett, I wasn’t surprised, knew a lot of scuttlebutt.

“So, exactly what is Kurt Prescott’s position?  You said, he was an Adam Parker supporter in Tennessee.”  I asked, looking at Gina.

“First, he is a zealot of a different sort.  He is fully committed to education.  According to Kramer, who apparently knows him quite well, Kurt continues a decades old hobby of visiting the local high schools and encouraging the students, especially the seniors, to adopt reading as a way of life.  He’s been deeply interested in Adam and Kramer’s science research since it started in Tennessee.  Kurt is fully against teaching creationism in the public school’s science class and is a die-hard fan of gun control.  In fact, he recently contributed to my project.”

“Well, that seems to add a thick layer of drama to what I suspect is already a tense case between two zealots.”  I said, taking the last bite of my omelet.

“It’s funny you bring up Roger Williams.  Last Sunday, Paige, Dad, and I were at First Baptist Albertville.  It was my second trip there but last week they were hosting a national celebrity of sorts, Ken Ham.  He’s the creationist of all creationist.  He’s the one who built the Ark replica in Kentucky and runs the Answers in Genesis organization.  Anyway, Roger was there, along with his wife and three grandchildren.  It seems Roger was the reason Ken Ham was there.  Probably Roger had invited him and paid his way.  Roger may be ignorant about a lot of things but he no doubt is a great business man and a loving grandfather.  He mentioned how blessed he was to have a set of twin girls and a boy.  He kept on and on talking about Ella and Emma, and Reece.  I couldn’t forget their names if I wanted to.  Maybe that was his intent.  Before Roger turned the meeting over to Ken Ham he said that children everywhere Ham goes are fortunate to hear the truth and to learn how the Bible story fully reconciles with science.”

Looking at Garrett while listening to Gina, I could tell he was about to bust a gut to say something.  “From what Gina has shared with me about Adam’s work, this crap is exactly what Adam was afraid of.  I see it as child abuse.”

“It being what Ken Ham is teaching, what Roger says they should be taught?”  I asked.

“Exactly, science in no way agrees with the Bible and vice-versa.  It’s pure indoctrination and needs to stop.  Children should be taught to think critically, not told what to think.”  Garrett said.  It was hard for me to believe these words came from a retired Methodist preacher.

“Both Adam and Kramer fully believed the data would eventually reveal that this teaching and the very environment from where it comes, is literally changing the genetic makeup of those constantly exposed to it.  Of course, I believe it too and that’s why I work virtually full time to stop Alex’s proposed legislation to teach creationism in Alabama’s public schools.  I can’t wait to learn how in the hell, pardon the French, Russell Williams broke away from the cult.”  Gina said.

“What?  Say that again.”  I said wondering what I had heard.  Maybe I wasn’t listening carefully.  It seemed Gina had thrown in an extraneous fact.

“That’s why Russell is the black sheep of the Williams family.  For years now, probably sometime after he moved to Georgia and went to work for Glock, Inc., he shed his faith.  The only reason Roger and Alex put up with him now is he holds the key in convincing the big gun manufacturer to build a facility here in Boaz.”  Gina clarified.

The three of us talked another fifteen minutes or so before Garrett received a call.  He was needed at the hospital.  I was fortunate to have such a good friend, one who deeply cared for others.  I admired how he managed to give support to so many in our community, including those who were at death’s door.