The Promise by Patrick Hurley

anyone.”
     
    Nothing was said for several seconds, finally Justin spoke; “No, I don’t think she would do that. She loves her father and her friends too much. I don’t think she would put all of us through the pain of wondering what happened to her.”
     
    Gallagher, listening carefully jumped in, “She loves her father and friends and her mother, too, right?”
     
    Justin looked blankly at the detective, “No, sir, she doesn’t love her mother. She and her mother have never gotten along. She feels the same way about her mother as her mother feels about her, they both wish the other was dead.”
     
    Gallagher looked over at his boss and whistled softly. Parker looked at Justin Shaw, “Well, that’s not the impression we got from Mrs. Taylor.”
     
    The young man shook his head, “Impressions can be deceiving, sir. That lady is not who you think she is!”
     
    Chief Parker responded, “We are done here for now, Justin. You can go. Please keep what you told us to yourself. Thank you. We’ll be in touch.”
     
    The young man rose from his chair, smiled wanly and said good-bye. As he walked out the door the two men just stood there not sure what they had just heard was real.
     
    Gallagher spoke first, “I don’t believe what he said about Mrs. Taylor. I don’t see that in her. Justin Shaw doesn’t strike me as someone deep enough to understand people all that well.“
     
    The Chief nodded, “Took the words right out of my mouth.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Twelve--something Evil
     
                  On Saturday afternoon, as Elie rested in her dorm room, surveying the way she and Verna had decorated it, she felt a little better about her undercover assignment.
     
    Verna was nothing like her sleazy brother and even though Elie couldn’t truly be best friends with her, she did feel that her roommate was a good person and someone she could co-exist with as she investigated the Taylor mystery. Lying on her bed, she thumbed through the latest Cosmopolitan she had purchased that morning. 
     
    Thinking sarcastically to herself, “Great stuff! I always wanted to know if I had more than one G-spot!”
     
    Shaking her head, she smiled as she realized how silly police work could be sometimes. Here she was, an adult woman, pretending to be a teenage girl. As she got off her bed to change her top into something more casual, a lightweight v-necked sweater, she heard a knock on the door.
     
    Quickly slipping the sweater on, Elie opened it and was more than a little stunned to see the assistant headmaster, Dr. Oden, standing there.
     
    “Yes?” She hesitantly responded.
     
    Dr. Oden stood there smiling smugly, “How are you, Ms. Kelly? Are your accommodations all right here?”
     
    Elie thought this was a bit odd. “ The girls had a chaperone, Miss Neville, who took care of their logistical needs. What was he doing here?”
     
    “Yes, everything is fine, Dr. Oden. Is Miss Neville off today?”
     
    Oden responded coyly, “Could be. Or maybe I just wanted to personally make certain you were comfortable. We make an effort to do that with our newer students. Is everything okay?”
     
    Elie warily looked at him. Why was he  standing there gazing at her. “ Was he coming on to her? “
     
    If so, he was taking a huge risk. He could be fired immediately for any brazen attempt to seduce a girl who was underage. As he kept staring at her and smiling, she couldn’t comprehend his warped confidence.
     
    Maybe she was reading him wrong. She hoped she was. “Oh, I’m not that special, Dr. Oden. I’m just one of the gang.  But, thank you for your interest. Have a nice day.”
     
    As she moved to gently close the door, the assistant headmaster muscled the door back open and let himself into the room.
     
    “No need to dismiss me, Ms. Kelly. It’s