Read Online The Hayloft. A 1950s Mystery by Alan Cook - Free Book Online

pants underneath. I would have preferred white.
    When the cheerleaders took a break, I walked over to Natalie, who had seen me and was a few steps away from the others. I said, “Shake hands with me, so it will look like we’re meeting for the first time. She smiled her winning smile and pumped my hand. She was a good actress, and even though her smile was put on, it still affected me.
    “Which one is Ruth?” I asked.
    “Ruth is the redhead with freckles.”
    I picked her out instantly. She was a big girl, built like a brick shithouse. I’m not sure where that expression came from, but it meant she was stacked in all the right places.
    Natalie called Ruth over to us and said, “Ruth, this is Gary. He’s new here. He’s writing a story for the Carter Press.”
    “About what?” Ruth asked.
    “A general story about the school and its history, athletic program, cheerleaders,” I said, trying to make it as broad as possible.
    “Did Ed ask you to do this?”
    “Ed?”
    “Ed Drucquer. He’s in charge of all the school news written for the Carter Press.”
    “Do you work with Ed?”
    “I’m on his staff.”
    How was I going to get out of this one? “I talked to him a little. We’ll talk some more.”
    “Why do you want to talk to me, in particular?”
    It was time for the truth. “Because you knew Ralph Harrison.”
    She looked at me, stone-faced.
    “I heard about Ralph’s accident when I was at Atherton. It was big news. I’d like to know more of the details.”
    “It was all in the papers.”
    This was going nowhere. “May I talk to you, say, after practice?”
    “I have to take the school bus home.” Her voice was too high-pitched for her body.
    “Why don’t I drive you home? Where do you live?”
    Ruth looked apprehensive.
    Natalie, who had been lurking nearby, said, “Gary’s a good guy. Sylvia told me all about him. And he’s really interested in anything to do with Ralph.”
    Ruth finally nodded and said, “Okay.”
    Sylvia’s seal of approval carried a lot of weight. “Great,” I said. “I’ll be over watching the football practice.” Actually, I wouldn’t have minded watching the cheerleaders—and especially Natalie practice, but I couldn’t be too obvious about it.
    ***
    Ruth didn’t say much as we walked toward the parking lot together and I wondered whether I was going to have to pry words out of her. Compared to the voluble Natalie and Sylvia, she was about as talkative as a Greek statue.
    But when she saw the car I was driving, she exclaimed, “That’s Ralph’s car.”
    I had forgotten about that. Major error. She shrunk away from me, as though I were a car thief. Or worse.
    “I’m Ralph’s cousin,” I blurted out. “I should have told you before. I’m staying with his parents and they let me use the car.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    She looked as if she might fly away. “I should have. I thought…you might not want to talk to me. I’m sorry.”
    Ruth was still on the verge of bugging out. I opened her door and then went around to the driver’s side, trying to exude confidence I didn’t feel. I climbed in and waited. Finally, she got into the car, but she didn’t look happy about it. I started the engine, shifted into first gear, and drove out to Main Street. I stopped, not knowing which way to turn.
    “Turn left,” she said after a few seconds. That was opposite from the direction to the farm.
    Ruth smoothed her cheerleader skirt down over her knees as I tried to figure out what to say next. She finally said, “Ralph steered with the spinner.”
    I didn’t use the spinner knob that Ralph had installed on the steering wheel.
    She said, “You aren’t really writing a story for the Carter Press, are you?”
    “No,” I admitted. “But I am interested in Ralph.”
    “What do you want to know?”
    “I understand you and Ralph were going together.”
    “We were going steady.”
    “Uh, how were you getting along?” That was awkward, but I