19. Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Dylan
E lise, Bessey and I stepped into an office with only a desk, three metal chairs, a filing cabinet, and a pegboard for furniture. The man seated behind the desk was bent over a stack of papers and didn’t notice us in the doorway.
When Elise gently cleared her throat, the man looked up and stood. His posture was stiff, a grimace on his face.
“Hello, Elise. How are you? Have a seat.” He pointed to the empty chairs but made no move to sit himself.
Bessey plodded out from behind the two of us to greet Clive who instantly dropped to one knee.
“Hey girl, how’s it going? Have you been a good girl? Yes, you have.” He wrapped his arms around the dog’s neck, and she responded by resting a paw on his back.
They stayed like that for at least a minute before Clive finally pulled back. His cheeks were wet with slobber.
“You miss him, don’t you? I do too.” He gave a cough that mingled with a sob, then caught the dog in another hug.
Beside me, Elise cleared her throat and tipped her head to the fluorescent lights above us. Was she trying to keep from crying? Honestly, she should just let it go already. Holding in this much grief couldn’t be good for her health.
Eventually, Clive stood. He grabbed a tissue off the desk and wiped at his eyes.
“Sorry about that. What can I do for you?”
All three of us sat. Instead of returning to Elise, Bessey stayed beside Clive. He rested a hand on her head, rubbing the spot between her ears.
“I have some questions I wanted to ask you.”
Elise hadn’t brought the notepad to write down Clive’s answers like she’d done with Pete. Why was that?
When he didn’t object, she continued. “What was my dad’s relationship with Greg Hoffmiller like after high school?”
Who in the world was Greg Hoffmiller?
“Not great.” The guy’s hands continued to travel over Bessey’s fur. “They had a falling out during our senior year. Greg got into some kind of trouble and tried using Dave as an alibi. When Dave refused to lie for him, things got ugly. I think the drugs were messing with Greg. You know, making him mean and all mixed up.”
“Makes sense.”
“A detective came by a couple of days ago, asking me questions too, including about Greg and Dave.” Clive’s focus seemed rooted on Bessey, with only occasional glances at Elise.
“Detective Fulsom?”
“I think that was his name. He was kind of nice, but kind of….”
“Not,” Elise filled in.
He nodded.
“I’m sorry. He started out acting friendly with me too, but he later turned out to be a jerk.”
This time, Clive nodded vigorously.
“If I promise not to act like that, can I ask you a few more questions?” Elise waited for him to agree before continuing. “Do you know anything about my dad’s relationship with Tara Freeman?”
“Uh, I’m not sure. She ran with us in college. I heard she was his assistant coach last year.”
He turned to face the dog fully, his brow furrowed. The conversation was making him uncomfortable. Elise gave him a moment before continuing.
“Do you know of any reason someone would have wanted to hurt my dad?”
Clive’s eyes darted to the door. Seconds of awkward silence ticked by, and even though he continued to pet Bessey, his focus stayed rooted on that open doorway. He was going to leave, like Elise said he’d done when he’d been overwhelmed before.
Was it the question that made him want to run out? If so, we really needed him to stay and answer.
“Is that a cockatoo?” I asked, pointing to the black bird with the large crest pinned to the cork board behind Clive.
He grinned. “Very good. That’s a black palm cockatoo, also known as the goliath cockatoo. They’re very rare. I’m surprised you knew what it was.”
“My grandma owned a cockatoo when I was growing up, and I decided to do a project on them when I was twelve. They’re probably my favorite birds.”
“Me too.” The guy turned to fully face me. “I had one for a while, but my wife forced me to get rid of it. Said it was too loud.”
“They can definitely be loud.”
“That’s why birds like that belong in a zoo or in the wild,” said a woman’s voice from the hall. “Hey there, Elise.”
“Oh, hi, Jean.” She turned to the black-haired woman in a plaid shirt and jeans standing in the doorway.
“Who’s this, a boyfriend?” the woman asked.
Elise’s cheeks instantly flared red. Was she embarrassed because she was mortified at the thought of ever dating me, or because she might actually be into the idea?
“This is Dylan Harper. He coaches the Sea Lions’ Cross Country team with me. We aren’t dating; we’re just friends.”
“So you came to get running tips from one of the greats then. I get it.” She entered the room and offered me her hand. “Nice to meet you; name’s Jean. I’m married to this guy over here.” After shaking my hand, she joined Clive behind the desk. “Well hi, Bessey. I should’ve known you’d be here too.”
“So, which crazy running story have you told them this time? Have you guys heard about the time he came from almost a full lap behind to win the mile in the Olympic Qualifier?”
Clive ducked his head.
“I was one of the press covering the qualifiers that day, and I told myself, ‘I gotta meet that man.”’
“Dylan likes cockatoos,” Clive blurted.
Was he anxious to change the subject? Pete could go on for hours about his glory days. We’d all learned not to bring them up if we wanted to be home from practice before it got dark.
“So, you’re a bird guy too, huh?” Jean asked.
“I guess you could say that. My grandma back in Arizona had one, and now, they remind me of her.”
“Well, great. You two should get together and talk birds sometime. I doubt that’s what Elise came here for though. What can we help you with, hon? I was so sorry to hear about your dad.”
At the mention of her dad, Elise’s face went stony. Eventually, she said, “His death has left me with a lot of questions. I was wondering if you two might be able to help me answer some of them.”
“The police have already asked us a whole slew of questions, and I’m afraid our answers weren’t very helpful, but sure. You’re like family to us, and family takes care of family.” Jean rested a hand on Clive’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
Elise chewed her lip before going on. “It looks like my dad was being blackmailed before he was killed,” she said in one quick breath.
Jean’s grip around her husband’s shoulder tightened.
“I’m trying to wrap my head around the idea, even though I hate it. Do you know about anything someone could have used against him like that?”
Clive’s hand dropped away from Bessey. His face was pale and chalky.
“I’m sorry honey, we don’t.” Jean said.
Elise and I exchanged a glance.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“We are very sure.” Jean’s smile looked plastered on and like it was going to crack at any second. She tapped her watch. “You know, I didn’t realize what time it was. Clive has a lot of invoices he needs to get paid, and I have a staff meeting to get ready for. I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to cut this reunion short.”
Elise sat with her mouth slightly open, speechless. Clive looked like he might faint.
“One last question,” I said. “Do either of you know what happened to Kelly Harper?”
“You need to leave now,” Jean said through clenched teeth. Her husband’s lower lip trembled.
Elise scrambled out of the office so fast I had to jog to catch up. Bessey came bolting into the hall to join us. I’d never seen Elise leave her behind before. She must really be rattled.
I caught her arm as she rushed across the crosswalk.
She spun to face me. “What?”
When she saw me point to where her dog had stopped at the store entrance to nibble on the display flowers, she dropped the scowl and hurried to grab Bessey.
“Sorry,” she grumbled when she returned. “I’ve just never…Jean’s always treated me so nicely. She’s been like an aunt to me. I’ve never seen her snap at anyone like that, and she’s especially never done it to me.”
“They’re hiding something,” I said.
“I know. We need to find a way to talk to Clive without Jean there.”