Read Online Murder at the High School Reunion by Steve Demaree - Free Book Online Page A

Calvert, Miss Rose Ellen Calvert?”
    “That’s right, and you are…?”
    “I’m Lt. Dekker. This is Sgt. Murdock. We’re with the
Hilldale Police Department.”
    “Are you collecting for the policeman’s ball or
something?”
    I wanted to tell her I collect only for the Cy Dekker
fund, but I refrained, and gave her a simple “no.”
    “Have I done something wrong, Lieutenant?”
    “I don’t know. Do you have a book overdue at the
library?”
    “I happen to work at the library. I would never have
an overdue book.”
    “I know that, about your working at the library, I
mean. We stopped by there first and found out that this is your day off.”
    “But I still don’t understand why you want to see me.”
    “It’s about the high school reunion.”
    “Oh, I see. Does this have to do with Jimmy Conkwright
and Betty Gail Spencer?”
    “Why do you ask?”
    “Well, everyone knows that they’ve been missing since
that night. Did you find them? Are they dead? I mean they left drunk. Were they
in a wreck? Of course, if they were, it looks like someone would have found
Jimmy’s car by now, unless they crashed into the river. Is that what happened?”
    “I’m afraid not, Miss Calvert. May we step in for a
few minutes? I want to see what you can tell me about that night.”
    “Sure, I’m sorry. Where are my manners?”
    I wondered why the woman guessed that we were there
about Conkwright and Mrs. Spencer, and why she guessed that Conkwright’s car
had crashed into the river. It was possible that only one person knew where
Conkwright’s car is. Could it be that that one person is Rose Ellen Calvert?
    Just inside the front door, past a small coat closet,
was the living room. The librarian motioned for us to have a seat. I waited
until she too had sat down before I questioned her anymore.
    “Miss Calvert, we’re trying to put together all that
happened that night. I’d like for you to tell us everything that happened,
beginning with when you arrived at the school.”
    “You act as if they were murdered. They weren’t
murdered were they? Where did you find them, anyway?”
    “We’ll get to that in a moment. Now, just start at the
beginning, as if you were giving a book report.”
    She smiled, nervously, and then began.
    “Well, I arrived at the school just before 5:00. For a while I thought I would have to drive out there in the storm, but it quit
raining at my house a little after 4:30. Evidently it quit at the school just
before I got there. I saw all kinds of leaves and downed tree branches as I
drove out. Luckily, there was nothing blocking the road. When I got there, the
janitor was there. He let me in. A couple of people were coming to help me set
up.
    “The festivities began with a tour of our old school.
Someone suggested that we walk down the halls where we once walked, relive old
memories, and go in some our of old classrooms, if that was allowed.”
    “And did you do that?”
    “We did. Only about half of the group showed up for
that, but that was fine with me. Some of the guys started bragging about some
of the things they did in high school, and some of the ex-cheerleaders started
talking about what fun it was to be a cheerleader, and when we went into one of
our old classrooms, someone said, ‘Let’s find our old seats,’ so we did. Some
people remembered where they sat, others guessed. The guys sat down and
slouched like they used to do, and one by one we started reliving memories,
telling stories about each teacher or someone in the class. Most of the others
liked doing that better than I did.
    “I excused myself at 6:30. The janitor was up there to keep an eye on things, and he said he would lock up. When I left, he was
leaning against a wall halfway down the hall, so as not to disturb us. See, we
were to begin with dinner at 7:00. The dinner was being catered, and I wanted
to be downstairs when the caterer arrived. She arrived on time, and went about
her job.”
    I made a note that