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 46
I had driven slowly back to the hospital. It was part of my ritual. Ever since my apprentice days with Bobby Sorrells I had followed his advice: project the new evidence onto the current landscape. In other words, do my best to see how the new facts have changed my view of the world, at least the subject case.
No doubt, Alex Williams thought he was the father. Hell, at five o’clock this afternoon he was in Birmingham being virtually assaulted with questions about little Nathan’s illegitimacy. To reinforce his belief, he had paid Natalie (and her family) $100,000 to keep quiet. Further, he had attempted to have her abort the baby. Conclusion: someone (Paige and Natalie and no doubt Adam Parker) was blackmailing Alex. When I parked in the furthest parking spot from the ER I acknowledged I really didn’t have documented and verified evidence on much of anything. I walked inside and found Paige sitting alone watching TV in the far corner of the waiting room.
“How’s Natalie?” I asked.
“Some better. Blood pressuring is coming down.”
“Nathan was asleep in Amy’s arms. She’s in hog heaven.” I said, hesitating before asking the inevitable question.
“Thanks for going. I shouldn’t have been so forgetful.”
“Totally understandable. I’m thankful you were there to take care of Natalie. She’ll be thankful too.” I said, still standing. “Do you think we could go to the cafeteria and talk. Over some coffee?” Always directing, like any good detective.
“Sure, these chairs are awful.” Paige said standing up and grabbing her purse from the next chair.
The cafeteria was almost empty. I ordered us coffee and a Danish and we sat down at the table the furthest from the entrance, my back to the wall.
“Paige, I hope you know that I like you and Natalie very much. That’s why we need to have this conversation.” I took a sip of my coffee and watched her eyes. They had the deer-in-the-headlights look.
“Okay.” That’s all she said and only glanced up at me.
“I know Adam Parker is listed as Nathan’s father. I saw it on his birth certificate.” Life is too short to beat around the bush. Paige would either engage or escape.
“We were hoping to keep that a secret until after the election, one the asshole Alex loses.”
“Whatever you tell me, I respect the truth. I am not your judge. But, I have a job to do.”
“I’m kind of glad you found out. I’ve really needed someone other than Natalie to talk to.” Paige said.
“For some reason I cannot see Adam Parker and Natalie Goble having an affair. Am I correct?” I said this, asked this, knowing full well that stranger things had happened. I had seen photos of Adam. Not a bad looking man, but, thirty or so years older than the young and attractive Natalie.
Paige giggled a little. “You’re correct. Little Nathan wasn’t made the traditional way. It was by artificial insemination. It was Adam’s idea.”
“I really would like the full story if you’re okay with sharing.” Kindness, respect, gentleness. Honey always gets more than vinegar.
“After Natalie and I became Adam’s number one cheerleaders, he started opening up to us. He no doubt trusted us. He shared how he had lost a daughter. At first, neither of us would hardly entertain the idea.” Paige took a bite of her Danish and two sips of coffee. After a long pause she said. “I have to confess and I’m very ashamed. Alex and I also had an affair. At first, we kept it secret from Natalie. He was playing both of us. Once Natalie discovered the truth things got competitive. It was wrong. Looking back, it was sick. Both of us lost our way so to speak. We both were supposed to be on birth control pills. Alex’s requirement. Unknown to him we both got off them and tried, or at least wanted, to get pregnant. This was throughout last fall. We schemed that whoever got pregnant by Alex would have our ticket punched.” Paige laughed. “In more ways than one. We felt he would be bound to his child and therefore to us. He’s wealthy you know. Now, I suspect you’ve figured it out. Alex couldn’t get either one of us pregnant. And, Natalie was the first one, the only one of us, to get pregnant artificially.”
“I assume it was Adam’s sperm?” What a question. I felt dirty, like I was exposing myself to the sweet, not so innocent Paige.
“Absolutely. Part of what he wanted was more selfish than the typical parent. Adam wanted a child, so he could continue his research. He shared how his wife had indoctrinated Marissa with religion. He didn’t want that for this child.”
“You and Natalie kept the secret from Alex; told him she was pregnant with his child?” It was obvious, but I had to ask.
“Right. Terribly mean of us.” Paige said.
“Let me ask you something else.” I heard Bobby whispering in my ear. ‘There’s more to this story. There always is.’ “Did anyone other than the three of you know about your scheme, about Alex not being the father?”
“I can’t answer that for sure. Maybe. After it was confirmed that Natalie was pregnant, artificially, we both, at separate times, received anonymous calls. From a man. Neither of us knew him.”
This was getting weird. I had to know. “What did he say?”
“That he knew about our scheme and that we needed to talk with him, that he could make us or break us. He left a number for us to call.” Paige pushed back her Danish and asked me silently if I wanted more coffee. She got up, taking her empty cup with her.
I tried to replay the scene in my mind. I would have called the phone number. I couldn’t have ignored it. Paige returned.
“Natalie and I concluded that the man had to be bluffing. We had been extra careful. Only me and her and Adam, and the fertility clinic in Atlanta would have known. Adam, for sure, wouldn’t have said a thing.” Paige said adding three Sweet-n-Lows to her steaming cup.
“Do you still have the phone number?” I had to ask but knew that, even if she gave it to me, that it would take a miracle to discover its owner or user.
“I do. You can have it if you want.”
I was about to ask Paige if she had ever talked with her mother or if Natalie talked with Sandra about any of this, but Camilla walked in. Natalie was being admitted as an inpatient, and she was being transported to ICU. Paige smiled and nodded at Camilla and left the cafeteria.
The Pencil Driven Life 