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 42
It had been a long three weeks. I hated waiting, and it seemed all I had done was sit around and twiddle my thumbs, helpless. Sitting, pondering, and worrying about Natalie who had been in the hospital for over a week with high blood pressure and a baby refusing to make its first appearance. And, contemplating what would be learned at Jake Stone’s preliminary hearing which was set for this afternoon.
The Tuesday after the Nissan van was seized Mark had asked me to meet with him and Marshall County District Attorney Charles Abbott to discuss Jake Stone. Mark believed I might be helpful in persuading Abbott to arrest Stone. After watching Dean Naylor’s video, reading Dr. Culbert’s affidavit describing his ordeal and belief Stone had been one of his callers, and my detailed account of the tan-colored van, DA Abbott had asked Mark and me to go with him to see Judge Broadside for consultation. That meeting had ended with Abbott’s decision to have Mark arrest Jake Stone. That was twenty days ago and today is the deadline for Stone’s preliminary hearing and a formal finding of probable cause to justify the arrest. Otherwise, the Sheriff is required to release him from jail.
Natalie’s condition is known as preeclampsia, a condition that can be fatal if not properly treated. It had taken her doctor and the hospital all week to get her high blood pressure under control and to lower both the swelling in her hands and feet, and the protein level in her urine. This condition had delayed the birth of her baby, which was now nearly two weeks past due. If her stability continued, the plan was for a Cesarean section to be performed later today.
At 1:30 p.m., Mark and I again met with DA Abbott, just minutes before the start of Stone’s preliminary hearing. Abbott reviewed with us the Department of Forensic Sciences report on the Nissan van. The report had arrived just this morning and Abbott was confident Judge Broadside would find probably cause against Jake Stone. A few minutes before two o’clock the three of us walked down the hall to the Courtroom.
Abbott first called Dean Naylor to authenticate the Snead College video recording. He was then dismissed, and I was called to identify the persons being shown on the Courtroom’s big screen TV. I could only testify as to Adam Parker and Lawton Hawks, and had to deny knowledge of the third man shown. I was however able to make a strong case the tan-colored van had been owned at the time by Jake Stone. Mark then testified the VIN of the van seized during execution of the search warrant was the same as that on the title Sam at Sand Mountain Transmission had provided and Abbott had offered into evidence. The technician from Forensic Sciences confirmed receiving and inspecting a 1985 Nissan Quest van with the same VIN number. All this set the stage for Dr. Karen Alford’s testimony.
What I heard produced mixed feelings. I was sad for Marissa but was once again impressed with the perfectionism of Adam Parker. Abbott, through Alford, a scientist with the Department, offered one small paper receipt. It was no doubt from Adam. Alford described that it was found under the carpet in the back of the van, along the edge next to the driver’s side seat. From Mark’s photos, I had seen the only two seats remaining in the van were the front two. The rear seats had been removed at some point. Judge Broadside interrupted the testimony and had Abbot replay the portion of the video tape that clearly showed Adam returning to Snead College carrying a Zaxbys bag. Alford testified she found an unusual amount of Adam’s DNA on the front side of the receipt. In her professional opinion, Adam had simply licked the receipt right before hiding it under the van’s carpet.
Abbott went on to ask Alford a hypothetical question: would Adam have been conscious enough and physically able enough after being injected with a large dose of Cyanide poisoning to manage and manipulate himself and the receipt, all while dying? Stone’s attorney, Trevor Nixon, Dalton’s partner, who Stone had hired, did not object. He already knew that DA Abbott had the autopsy report that had been prepared after Adam’s body was exhumed.
Although Judge Broadside would not allow Abbott to offer Dr. Culbert’s affidavit, he still found probable cause in the case of the State of Alabama vs. Jake Tyler Stone. Finally, some official headway had been made towards resolving the mysterious death of Adam Parker.
After the hearing, I drove to Marshall Medical Center South and found Camilla and Emily, along with Sandra Goble, and Paige and Peyton Todd waiting on news from the delivery room. The hope was high, even given the circumstances of the baby’s father, that Natalie would soon deliver a healthy baby boy. After her sonogram over six months ago Natalie had accepted the fact the male Williams dynasty would have two chances to continue, Reece and his eagerly awaited step-brother.
The delivery went perfect and Nathan Goble made his debut. At 7:30 p.m., I walked to the cafeteria and saw Peyton and Paige eating a late dinner. Paige saw me and motioned for me to join them. I had never spoken with her mother, but she smiled, and I took that as a mother’s approval.
Paige asked me if Natalie and Nathan would be returning to Hickory Hollow after they were discharged from Marshall Medical. I told her they were welcome, but the decision was ultimately up to Natalie. Peyton had asked me about the status of Jake when Sandra Goble came in and told Paige Natalie wanted to see her. The two of them left Peyton and me in the cafeteria.
“Steven keeps me updated on the Adam Parker investigation.” I was surprised by her statement and felt emboldened.
“Don’t be offended but I have to ask you about your relationship with Steven. I suspect he has told you that Joe and I, Joe works for me, have invested a lot of time trying to determine if you and Steven were having an affair.”
“No doubt it would have looked like that, probably still does. But, that’s not what happened. We became friends back last fall. It was weird that we both sided through Facebook with Adam Parker. One thing led to another and before we knew it we were doing a little investigating on our own. You know I’m Kurt Prescott’s executive assistant. He’s rather intriguing in many ways.”
“How so?” I wanted her to keep talking. I wanted to know more about Prescott.
“I can’t afford to lose my job. Can you keep this confidential?”
“I can.” I said.
“Kurt doesn’t know that I know but he made a large transfer out of one of Roger Williams accounts. I’ve seen the authorization form and it’s not Roger’s handwriting. This was several months ago.”
“Who was the money sent to? The transfer?” I asked.
A bank over in Georgia, Smyrna Georgia. I can’t remember the person’s name. A woman I think.” Peyton said.
“I’m curious. How did you learn this? In other words, what would make you look at bank transfers, whether a customer made them, or a bank officer made them?” I asked.
“Normally, I wouldn’t have been interested, but one day I heard Kurt talking on the phone. He was on his cell phone and it was after closing. He was in the Bank’s kitchen and thought everyone had gone except me and thought I had gone downstairs for the daily balance report. All I heard was, ‘I can backdate the transfer before the statements run.’ The word ‘backdate’ got my attention because that is a no-no of no-no’s in the banking industry. I have access to the wire transfers report. The next day there was a million dollars transferred from one of Roger Williams’ accounts. I went to accounting and located the physical authorization form. Written authorization is required for all outgoing wires. There was no doubt the signature didn’t match Roger Williams. I’m not saying it was way off, but I had seen his signature enough to know that he didn’t make a ‘W’ like I was seeing on the form.”
Peyton got a call a few minutes later and had to leave. She said it would be okay to call her if I had any more questions.
I walked back up to the third floor to see Natalie again before heading to Hickory Hollow. During the drive home, Camilla knew I was preoccupied and seemed a little pissed. I was smart enough to know it was in my personal and best interest to set aside the latest twist in the Adam Parker investigation.
The Pencil-Driven Life 