The Perpetual Motion Club (24 page)

“I doubt they'd be impressed with something that doesn't work without the RFID chip,” Elsa said. “Forget it, let’s just watch the movie.”

Which Jason did, but Elsa didn’t. She spent the entire slap stick comedy stone-faced. She didn’t laugh once, not even during the hilarious kick-to-the-groin scene or when the leading lady’s breasts blew up so large they popped. It was as if she didn’t even notice the fabulous cinematic experience before her.

***

The next day, Sunday, Elsa got up as soon as she heard her mother moving around. No one else was up, yet. Perfect.

“Mom,” she said, entering the kitchen.

“Elsa,” her mother answered.

“I have an idea about Jason’s case.”

“I told you to stay out of it. This boy’s life is in my hands. Did he tell you something?”

“I think there might be something they’ve overlooked.”

“Did Jason say something to you?”

“Yes.”

Lainie dropped her coffee cup to the saucer. “What?”

“I don’t know if it’s anything but they had been arguing over him using iHigh.”

“Yes everyone knows that. Is that what he talked to you about?”

“Do you have access to the autopsy report?”

“Of course, why? Are you a sleuth now?”

“Did he have ear buds?”

“Yes. One.”

“One only?”

“Yes, one only.”

“Nevermind then. It’s not—”

“Was that it? That iHigh crap that you kids do?”

“I don’t think so. iHigh isn’t that strong unless it’s in stereo. Unless there are two signals slightly out of sync.”

“I’m sure you’re right. Are you going to church today?”

“No, I’ve got some work.”

“When is that stupid project going to be finished?”

“I don’t know. Soon, I hope, if I can keep Jason’s friends working.”

“Well, I think you should just accept the fact that—”

“No! I won’t,” Elsa pursed her lips together in staunch determination. After several pointed moments she ran downstairs to wait for her parents to leave. Finally they left and soon after that Jason rose. She made him some coffee and sat with him just as she had sat with her mother.

“So, tell me Jason. I’m getting closer to a surefire way for my mom to win your case, but I need one thing.”

“What?” Jason said glumly. He was not happy with Elsa constantly bringing up his case. He knew he was done for. He’d lost his glorious future in one quick stroke of a murderer’s hand. Why did this girl continue to bother him about it? Couldn’t she just be happy with the last few weeks of his freedom that he was devoting to her dumbass project?

“I need to see the shack. Can you show me where it is?”

“Isn’t it in the police report?”

“I don’t have access to that.”

“Doesn’t your mother?”

“Maybe, but she’s not sharing it with me if she does.”

“I thought you were working with her.”

“She doesn’t believe me on this hunch. I have to do it without her.”

“Are you going to tell anybody where it is if I tell you?”

“Of course not,” she lied.

His jaw worked side to side as he considered whether or not to trust Elsa. His mind finally decided favorably. “It’s half a mile from the Walk Right,” he said. “On the east side of the river. Follow the riverbank and when you see a clump of roses, it’s behind that. You’ll have to crawl through them. We usually kept a tunnel open, but it’s been a while. Watch out for the thorns.

Without waiting another second, Elsa jumped up, grabbed her raincoat, and headed for the door. At the door was her mother’s garden box. She pulled out a pair of nippers before leaving the house.

Within an hour she’d made it on her bike to the Walk Right Inn. She locked it to the stand and slid down to the bank. It was raining by now and the going was slippery but she didn’t care. She was sure she knew what happened and only had to find one piece of evidence to prove it.

The roses were all gone, the entire shack was tied with yellow police tape. It was not hard to break in, though, the door handle was gone and there was no way to padlock it closed. She tentatively pushed it open.

A raucous cry arose and a fluttering object flew against her face. She fell backwards with a cry and sat stunned for several moments until she realized it was just a dove. She pulled herself up, brushed the mud off the back of her slicker, and stepped inside the shack.

The single room was lit by the sun coming through cracks in the walls and the broken windows. The air stank of mold and dust. Broken pots lay on the floor. In the center of the room stood a rusted out coal burning stove. A laminated table, defoliating from years of summer humidity, sat on the far side of the room.

She tried to not touch anything or leave her footprints. If she found something she’d have to pretend like she was never there, or she’d queer this whole thing.

In the end, the trouble she took to ensure no one knew she was there didn’t matter. In less than half an hour after she entered the shack, the wailing of a siren indicated the police had left motion detectors behind at the crime scene and she was now caught in them.

“Miss,” the policeman said at the doorway. “I’m afraid you’re compromising the scene of a crime. You’ll need to come with me.”

Elsa jumped at the voice even though she was expecting it. She rose from the dust and kept her eyes on the room as she exited with the cop. She hadn’t even had time to overturn a pot to see what was underneath.

***

“So the thing is, if Jeremy had been listening to channel44, considering the condition he was in, there’s a good chance he did it by accident. He was trying to impress the anti-Rifs. He didn’t know they didn’t have a hazing. Everyone just assumes they do that. He was crazy high, not just feeling good. His mind was not functioning right. He could very well have cut his own jugular and then crawled out to the river where he was found. Nobody else knew about this shack before this happened except him and Jason. If you can find that other earbud, you’ll be able to see where it’s tuned to.”

“Wouldn’t the original have to be tuned to channel44?”

“No, it’s turbo charged. Not only out of sync but the signal comes from an alternate section of the band. Channel44 puts out a mono signal which matches the regular iHigh station which changes all the time because it’s . . . ”

“Illegal.”

“It’s wicked strong. Obviously.”

“Well, the story is far-fetched. We have a prime suspect. I doubt the detectives will be interested in your idea, but we’ll pass on the information.”

She couldn’t believe she was getting the brush off. This was Jason’s only chance. “You’re not even going to take me seriously? I mean, you could be convicting an innocent man.”

“I said, we’ll pass on your idea to the detectives in charge. You needn’t worry your pretty little head about this criminal.”

“He’s not a criminal.”

“Oh, sorry, correct that, this basketball hero.”

Elsa understood now. They were jealous of Jason’s status. They knew who he was. This was a setup. Just like in the movies.

“Can I go home, now? I really don’t want my mom to figure out what I did. She’ll kill me.”

“Too late, young lady,” Lainie was just entering the station.

It would be two days before she’d speak to her daughter again. And no, she had no interest in Elsa’s ideas concerning a second earbud, the anti-rids, or channel44.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The day for Jason’s trial came, spelling disaster for Elsa. She had let him down. If he didn't get the chair he'd at least go to jail for the rest of his life. With dismay, she noted that he dressed neatly and repentantly. He was trying so hard, but she had failed him. She went along to the inquiry to offer her support and watched the proceedings with trepidation.

Jason answered stoutly and honestly all the questions about the confrontation with this brother. He said if he could relive that day, he would. He loved his brother and certainly never meant what he said. He would always regret the words. He’d been living in hell ever since then.

Jason’s lawyer, Lainie Webb, asked why he had not told the police about the shack. It became clear from the answer that Jason should probably not be living with his father, but that was no excuse for murder.

The prosecutor paraded ten witnesses that all provided testimony as to Jason’s vow to kill his younger brother.

A social worker described the living hell that was Jason’s and Jeremy’s life under their father. And yes, battered children often wind up battering each other and even killing each other eventually. It’s a sad cyclical thing, the social worker said.

Jason admitted the knife was his and that he had no idea how his brother had gotten it.

School records showed Jason to be academically deficient, indicating a low IQ. No one brought up the fact that he was a star basketball player and that he’d never felt the need to do homework while he was perfecting his natural talent.

“Do you have any more witnesses?” the judge asked Lainie, just as she was shuffling through her papers.

“I’m sorry?” Lainie said.

“Any more witnesses?” the judge repeated, he looked at Lainie over his reading glasses, his eyebrows raised, his eyes dark, his lips frowning.

Elsa could not believe the inadequacy of Jason’s defense. How could Lainie give up so easily? How had poor Jason wound up with such a pitiful lawyer?

Lainie shook her head, dropped a sheet of paper onto the floor, stood to pick it up. The prosecutor leaned over in his seat and retrieved it for her.

“Uh, thank you,” Lainie said. “Um, actually, yes, I do have one more uh, little detail to, er, bring to the court’s attention.”

Elsa’s eyes darted around the room. She turned to see who else could possibly help Lainie help Jason. A slight pinprick of hope entered her heart.

The judge rolled his eyes, held open his hands, urging Lainie to get on with it.

“If it please your honor, I’d like to call Detective Joseph Dantzen.”

The judge closed his eyes, shook his head, all thoughts of a quick nine holes fled. He said, “Court calls Detective Joseph Dantzen.”

The detective was led into the court and took his place on the stand, swearing to tell nothing but the truth. He sat and upon questioning described how he had followd a hunch, revisited the crime scene, and underneath an overturned flower pot found an ear bud tuned to channel44. Apparently Jeremy had died an accidental death. His wound had been self-inflicted. He had been trying to get into the Anti-Rifs and thought the act of defiance would do it.

Elsa looked on with a tear forming in her eye. Could it be that her mother knew that Elsa wasn’t a total loser?

Lainie requested and received the exact perfect outcome: Jason was innocent. His home was broken, though, irreparably. He would be living with Coach from now on.

As Lainie led Jason up the aisle to the doors leading out of the courtroom, she turned to her daughter and winked. Elsa could not help it, she broke down and cried.

***

Now a real disaster for Elsa began. Jason was saved, and she was glad for that, but once Jason left the Webb household, he and his friends would no longer be helping with her science project. They’d made progress in the two weeks of his stay, but they hadn’t completed the seven models. In addition, the booklet to take the viewers through the panorama had to be put together and printed. Having only two days left before the fair, she’d never get it done by herself.

She would try anyway. Wouldn’t that be what Jason would do, having heard all those pep talks from zealous coaches about not being a quitter? In the hallway as he was leaving on Thursday she stopped him. “Will you come by tonight?” she asked.

Jason’s arm slung lazily over the shoulder of Deanna Taye, captain of the volleyball team. She had come by to help him move out of the Webb household. She wore red lipstick with matching nails and a cute short skirt. She was tall and thin, perfect for Jason.

“Sure,” Jason said and then kissed Deanna on the lips before spinning her around and sauntering off.

Elsa watched at the doorway, knowing just what that “Sure” meant. That “Sure” was the sum total of her relationship with Jason Bridges. After all this, she still wasn’t worth more than a one word conversation to him. Did she really think she’d enlighten him? Get him to understand, if not be fascinated, with her life? Would he never see the light? She resigned herself to her fate: a Jasonless life and no project for the science competition.

Elsa could easily have fallen back into the hate/love pattern she’d found herself in before he’d been arrested. But Elsa had seen a lot of life between then and now. She’d lost respect for Gerry Martin, her special relationship with her mother, and the admiration of her geometry teacher. She’d seen Jason for what he was and found him lacking spiritually. She couldn’t hate him. She didn’t pity him. She was still infatuated but she had no time for a broken heart. She still had her project to finish.

Yes, she was angry that Jason abandoned her. Yes, she would now fail, but she couldn’t hate him. He was crippled. Consigned to live the life of a movie star. Poor thing.

At seven p.m., after dinner and the dish washer, the doorbell rang.