Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
They’d been in the coffee shop for fifteen minutes, and so far there was no sign of Tyler.
“You sure he said he’d be here?” Dan asked.
Gary nodded. “However, he didn’t sound happy about the idea. Maybe he changed his mind.”
Dan kept his gaze fixed on the door, his stomach clenching.
Then why hasn’t he called it off?
At that moment it opened, and Tyler walked in, scanning the interior. He spotted them and headed in their direction.
Gary had nailed it. Tyler appeared uncomfortable, no trace of a smile.
We need to get him to unbend a little. Dan was certain Tyler had knowledge they needed to possess.
“Hey.” Tyler stood beside their table, and the close proximity revealed the waves of discomfort rolling from him.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Gary inquired.
“No, I’m good, thanks. And I don’t have much time, so we’d better keep this short.”
Yet more resistance, more barriers locking into place, cutting them off from whatever Tyler was hiding.
Dan patted the empty chair next to his. “Sit here.”
Tyler flopped into the seat, his jaw set. Before Dan could get a word in, he burst out, “Look, I’m not sure why you want to talk to me again. I told you all I could remember about Leo.”
This was not going to be easy.
Dan spoke in a low voice. “We’re here to ask if you know of any link between Leo and a Dr. Samantha Phillips.”
Tyler frowned. “That name sounds familiar. Wasn’t she in the news recently? A car crash?”
“That was her.”
“Yeah, that was awful. Sorry. I hadn’t heard of her till I saw the news report.”
Every one of Dan’s senses was screaming. Why are you lying to us?
He flashed Gary a glance, and he nodded. Using his gift was the only way they were going to learn the truth.
Dan touched Tyler’s arm. “There’s something you’re not telling us, isn’t there?”
And there it was, not much, just a little spark that spoke to Dan.
Oh, I see.
Tyler stiffened. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Dan’s smile was warm. “It’s okay to want to protect someone, but we need to know.”
Tyler stared at him, a slight pallor stealing over his face. “Who… who did you say you are?”
Dan removed his card from his wallet and handed it over. Tyler gazed at it, his brow furrowed. His Adam’s apple bobbed sharply, but he squared his shoulders and met Dan’s gaze.
“You’re a psychic? But I thought you were with the police.”
“I am. I’m working with them to solve cold cases. Right now that means Leo’s case. And you know something that can help us.” He squeezed Tyler’s arm once more. “Don’t you?”
It wasn’t a question.
Tyler gaped at him, and then a shudder rippled through him.
“Okay, yeah, I know who she is.”
“Tell us what you know.” Dan gave him an encouraging glance.
Tyler took a moment to take a deep breath. “It wasn’t until after you’d interviewed me that I remembered something about Leo. You asked me what his mood was like before he died, and I said he was kinda buzzing, but I didn’t know why?”
Dan nodded. “That wasn’t the truth, was it?”
Tyler blinked. “You knew that? Well, when I got back to work, I started thinking about Leo. I guess I felt guilty because I’d meant to do something at the time when he first told me, but then nothing came of it. And then I forgot about it, which was really bad. I didn’t think about it for so long.”
“Think about what?” Gary demanded.
Dan flashed him another look. They had to tread lightly on this one.
“In your own time,” Dan assured Tyler.
He breathed a little easier. “Back in May of 2015, me, Leo, a bunch of us, went to a debate held at the university. What was the title again? Oh yeah. ‘Eugenics—A Force for Good or Evil?’ Well, taking part in the debate were Dr. Phillips and a Professor Martin. It got pretty lively at some points, and it was an interesting debate, but when it was over, Leo had this big shit-eating grin that I found a little weird. I mean, it seemed like an odd reaction.” He paused.
“Look, if I tell you what I know, it can’t go any further. You have to promise me that.”
“We can’t do that.” Gary’s tone was gentler, and Dan gave him a nod.
Better.
“I guess that’s going to have to be good enough.” Tyler laced his hands on the table, staring at them.
May, 2015
The cafeteria was buzzing with noise as students filled every available space, eating and talking.
Many of them had been at the debate, so Tyler guessed they had a lot to talk about.
Judging by the raised voices that rebounded off the cafeteria walls, not all of the opinions being expressed were popular with some of his fellow students.
“Things are looking up.” Leo’s voice held a gleeful tone, but for some reason it made Tyler shiver. It wasn’t the sort of glee that spoke of happiness or joy; there was a slyness to it, something that made his skin crawl.
What are you up to, Leo?
He wasn’t going to ask questions. He wouldn’t need to: Leo rarely kept his thoughts to himself.
Tyler took another bite of his burger. “I thought that was pretty good. I mean, whichever way you look at it, the theory of eugenics is immoral. ‘Racial improvement’? ‘Planned breeding’? Hard to believe that kind of thinking was actually popular. Did these people really believe they could perfect human beings and eliminate so-called social ills through genetics and heredity? But Dr. Phillips was right when she said we’re heading down that road again by allowing parental choice about the genetic makeup of their children.
What was it she said, exactly?” He reached into his bag and removed his notepad, looking through it for the quote he’d scribbled down.
“Yeah, that was it. ‘This can only lead to the creation of a genetic “overclass” with unfair advantages over those whose parents can’t afford to endow their children with the right biological dispositions and traits.’”
“You want to know what I found interesting?” Leo asked.
Not really, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.
Tyler had made his mind up. When this semester ended, he was going to look for another roommate.
Two years of Leo was more than enough. He wasn’t a slob—no way would Tyler have put up with that—but he didn’t pay his way, and there was something about him at times that grated, like nails on a chalkboard.
Leo leaned back after stuffing the last of his fries into his mouth.
“Remember when Professor Martin talked about one of his daughters? He said she was born with Turner syndrome—it only affects about one in two-thousand baby girls, and it means they can be infertile—and that if eugenicists had their way, she wouldn’t be allowed to ‘breed’ just so they could eliminate that gene.
He said only one of his daughters had it, and that he and his wife had discussed ways to make sure she led a healthy and relatively normal life.
” Leo grinned. “I found that very interesting, especially after what I saw in Florida.”
Tyler frowned. “You’re not making any sense.
Why would you find it interesting that his daughter is afflicted with a syndrome that might reduce her life expectancy?
That must have been devastating news for the professor and his wife.
” He scowled. “That’s pretty sick, even for you.
And what on earth does it have to do with Florida? ”
Leo’s eyes glinted. “Because if Professor Martin is such a happily married man with a wife and kiddies, what was he doing in a gay bar in Fort Lauderdale?”
It took Tyler a moment for Leo’s words to connect.
“Are you talking about spring break? When we were there?”
Leo nodded. “I saw him—twice—in the same bar. You know, the one where they had that foam party.” He rolled his eyes. “You have to remember that, especially after what happened.”
Tyler wasn’t likely to forget it.
“Not everyone who goes to a gay bar is gay,” Tyler reminded him. “You’re not gay, and you went to one, remember?”
“And someone who isn’t gay doesn’t go all the way to Florida to hang out in gay bars where he won’t run into anyone who knows him.” That grin again. “Unfortunate for him that I happened to be there.”
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
“What did Leo mean when he said things were looking up?” Dan asked.
“I wasn’t sure. He didn’t mention the debate again after that, so I forgot about it.
Besides, I initially thought he’d made a mistake.
Professor Martin didn’t come across as a closet gay—well, I didn’t think so, at any rate.
But Leo insisted it was him, and he seemed so certain.
A few days after that, Leo said something about having an idea that could turn out to be really lucrative.
Then I found him browsing websites, looking at motorcycles, really expensive ones.
I made some joke about him having to wipe his drool off the screen.
He was so into them. I wanted to laugh because if there was ever a guy who was unlikely to have the money to buy one of those babies, it was Leo. ”
“Was that the vacation where some of you came down with some bug or other when you got back to Boston?” Gary asked.
“Yeah, that was the one. Last time I ever went to a foam party, I can tell you.”
“Why didn’t you mention this when we interviewed you?” Dan asked.
“Because like I said, it was only after you left that I remembered it. Look, when Leo started talking about making a lot of money, I thought it was one of his schemes to make a buck, all right? I didn’t connect it to Professor Martin.
He isn’t one of my teachers, and that debate had been the first time I’d ever seen him.
Then after I spoke with you, I read an article in a scientific journal, all about the work Dr. Phillips and Professor Martin were doing, and how it was nearing completion.
I guess seeing that brought it all back to me.
” Tyler shuddered. “But then I thought about the timing of it all, and it started to eat away at me. Because if Leo was right, he couldn’t have been the only one to see the professor.
And someone else might have the same idea. ”
“What idea?” Gary frowned.
Tyler looked from Gary to Dan. “I’m gay, okay?
And it suddenly hit me what Leo might have had in mind.
I wouldn’t have put it past him to try his hand at a little blackmail.
You know the kind of thing. ‘Pay up or I tell the world you’re gay.
’” Tyler’s eyes were like flint. “No one should be outed if they don’t want to be.
But then he couldn’t have blackmailed Professor Martin, could he?
He didn’t have wads of extra cash, and nothing emerged around campus about the professor being gay.
” His face fell. “That’s when I had the idea that maybe Leo hadn’t been the only one to see him—if it really was him in that gay bar.
And if seeing that article made me suddenly think of the professor, then maybe it did the same thing for another student.
” He pushed out an unhappy sigh. “I didn’t want Professor Martin outed or blackmailed.
He seemed like a really nice guy. So… I called him. ”
“Why?” Dan asked.
“To give him a heads-up, I suppose. To warn him his secret life wasn’t as secret as he thought it was. As it turned out, he wasn’t there. Dr. Phillips answered, and she told me he’d had a heart attack the previous week, but that he’d be back soon.”
Dan caught his breath. “You told Dr. Phillips what you suspected.”
Tyler nodded. “I knew from the article that they’d been working together for quite some time, and they clearly got on really well—that much was obvious from the debate.
So yeah, I told her what I knew. It didn’t feel as if I was outing him.
I was acting out of concern, and if he was gay, I figured she’d know that.
So I basically poured it all out over the phone.
I even told her about Leo being killed, and how we all got sick.
I’m not sure why I shared that. I was so nervous.
” His brow furrowed. “Funny thing was, she took interest in that part. Asked me what was wrong with all of us, so I described it to her.” He bit his lip.
“I tend to overshare.” His face flushed.
Gary leaned forward. “When did this conversation take place?”
Tyler thought for a moment. “Wednesday, the morning of the twenty-sixth.”
Gary glanced at Dan, and a shiver trickled down Dan’s spine.
The twenty-sixth—the same day Samantha Phillips went missing.