Read Online Sleeping Beauty by Phillip Margolin - Free Book Online Page B

depressed, not writing, that sort of thing. He missed classes. Then there was an incident with a student….”
    â€œWhat sort of incident?”
    â€œShe claimed he offered to give her an A if she slept with him. During the inquiry the school discovered the discrepancy on his résumé. He was given the choice of resigning or being fired.”
    â€œWhy did you hire him if you knew all this?”
    â€œJoshua came to us more than a year or so after he left New England. He was completely open with us about his problems at Eton. He admitted propositioning the coed. He said he did it when he was drunk and depressed after getting another letter from a lawyer about the advance. We felt that it was worth the risk to have a writer of Joshua’s caliber on our faculty. To our knowledge, he has not betrayed our trust.”
    â€œWhat I’m concerned about is a lot more serious than lying on a résumé.”
    Casey looked confused. “Please be more specific.”
    Terri hesitated. Her evidence was far from overwhelming.
    â€œWill you promise to keep what I tell you between us?”
    â€œAll right, but I’m only agreeing because I need to know if there is any possibility that our students might be affected.”
    â€œI’m taking Joshua’s writing class. We’re supposed to submit something we’re working on. Each week, he’s going to read our submissions, then the class critiques the work.”
    â€œYes?” Casey asked impatiently.
    â€œHe read a very disturbing piece at the first class. It was in the first person. It was about a serial killer and it went into detail about the rape and dismemberment of a girl Ashley’s age and her parents. It was horrible and very graphic.”
    â€œI can see how that would be disturbing but….”
    â€œAnyone who could write something like that has to be sick.”
    â€œJoshua is a novelist, Terri. There’s a book featuring a serial killer on every bestseller list. Do you think those authors are murderers?”
    â€œYou don’t understand. Maxfield knew things that happened in my house when Ashley was attacked that the police never released to the public.”
    Casey’s look was halfway between shock and amusement, as if she was unsure if she was the butt of a practical joke. Terri looked grim.
    â€œYou’re serious?” the dean said.
    Terri told Casey Van Meter about the snack. The dean paid close attention. When Terri was through, Casey shook her head.
    â€œI’m not convinced. How do you know that Joshua was reading something he’d written?”
    â€œI know it wasn’t written by any of the other students. I talked to all of them. And he told me that he’s working on a new book.”
    â€œYes, but….” Casey stopped. She shook her head. “I find this very hard to believe. I know Joshua….”
    â€œYou think you know him. I’ve been reading about the pathology of serial killers. People assume that it would be easy to spot the type of person who could…could kill my husband and attack two helpless teenage girls but you can’t tell just by looking at them. Ann Rule worked side by side with Ted Bundy on the rape hotline in Seattle while she had a contract to write about the murders he was committing as soon as the case was solved. She never suspected that she was a friend of the man who would become the subject of her first bestseller. And think about the usual reaction of neighbors when they learn they’ve been living next door to someone like John Wayne Gacy. They can’t believe that the nice guy they’ve chatted with about mundane things like their lawn or a favorite TV show could be a monster.”
    â€œThat may be true, but I’m sure you’re wrong about Joshua.”
    â€œThere was the incident with the female student at Eton College.”
    â€œHe didn’t murder her, Terri. He made an indecent