|
Chapter 127 — A new twist in the investigation
"Colin... he took the desk set out the staff room?" Mason repeated slowly.
"Exactly," the old man confirmed.
"Mr. Damon, can you proclaim it in the court? Are you sure that it was Colin?"
"I'm sure," he pursed his lips. "About the court... well, if it would need I can proclaim."
"Thank you," Mason warmly shakes his hand. "You even can not imagine how it's important to me."
Damon threw up his hands.
"I can not imagine why Colin would pile up this nonsense. You were good buddies."
"I thought the same," Mason said. "Did he contact you lately?"
The old man shook his head. "I have not seen him since the day just before the accident."
Mason said goodbye to Damon and returned to the car with Charlie. Before climbing in Mason turns back to his former school to cast last look. And it suddenly dawned on him. It subconsciously bothered him since he came here!
The school looked too small. Second floor was very low. How Colin managed so badly damaged falling from nine-ten foots height? It seemed almost impossible!
"Mason, are you going?" He was called by the younger brother.
"Now," the Mason said, and sat behind the wheel. He was really needed to think about everything.
* * *
CC Capwell met them as they come in the house. He barely looked at Mason and turned to Charlie.
"Young man, you badly behaved when leaving my house without permission. Go in your room."
Charlie lowered his head and quietly went up to his room.
"Why you were so late?" the patriarch asked his oldest son.
Mason did not answer and walked into the living room. Mary rose to meet him.
"Are you okay?" She asked quietly hugging him.
"Yes, of course. Is Cruz here?"
"He and Eden are in the belvedere. Where you were?"
"I did drive to The Great Valley School."
"And what is up?"
"Coming soon to explain."
Cruz and Eden coming in the living room — Rose said them about Mason's arrival — and Mason briefly told them the last events of the last hours.
"Mason, it's wonderful!" Eden excited. "If the caretaker testifies that Colin stole the desk set--"
"... it's does not remove suspicions from me."
"Do not remove but the balance will swing in your direction!"
"It's true," Mason admitted. "But it is unlikely to solve the riddle. But there is something else. The school building burned down but--"
"Burned down?" Cruz asked.
"Yeah and it did not seem for long time. Do you think if someone would want to get rid of evidence?"
"It is unlikely that there could be something important, but somehow did not seem to match."
"Maybe. But I'm talking about other--"
When Mason told the story about his discovery about the height, Eden Cruz looked at each other, and Mary looked at her husband.
"You have the explanation," she surely said.
"Some considerations," Mason putting his arm around her shoulders.
"And what is exactly?" Cruz asked.
Mason nodded toward the living room. He fast closed the door and all four sat down at the lighted fireplace.
"Let's tell us," Eden hurried him. "What's the idea that you hit upon?"
"Since the very beginning... since Colin's blaming I'd too stuck into the past and could not get beyond my memories. The conversation with Old Demon helped me to take a sober look at the situation.
"You and sobriety? It's impossible," Eden sarcastically said.
Mason did not respond to her sting.
"I thought that Colin did fall when I saw his face in the window of the dormitory. But in fact I saw him lying on the ground much later. I think it was at least half-hour or even forty minutes. I think he fell later."
"Why?"
"The height. Cruz, there is so low that if he's hanging out the dormitory's window he could just jump off the ground. Well, may be he can broke his leg."
"Actually he could get worse injuries," Cruz shook his head.
"Theoretically he could but I do not think so."
"Then what do you think was happened?" Eden looked at him skeptically too.
"I think Colin makes up some complicated scheme," Mason slowly answered without looking at them. "I was assigned the role of a whipping boy in both senses. It's Colin who told the teacher that I had seen with the desk set in hands just before it's missing and it's Colin who actually took the desk set."
"Maybe he's needed it for something?"
"He did not need to blame me, nobody miss it still for hundred years. No, he wanted to make me the thief."
"Or isolate for a time," Cruz added.
"May be," Mason agreed. "In the evening for some reason he climbed up the roof or one of upper floors and fell down."
"And what's about the face in the window?"
"I'm not sure what it was Colin. At first I thought it was a ghost — a former student of the school."
"Mason, you know, all the time I can not understand..." Mary suddenly began. "From the very beginning I have the impression that someone want to accuse you in Colin's accident. The key that you found on the floor, the accusation in stealing... Someone thought about it all. Someone wanted to make it look like it really was. And the impression that it's person is Colin. But he could not make up his own fall; he would not want to become disabled."
Mason turned to her and so closely looked into the face that Mary blushed.
"You ought to write detective books." he said in not clear tone. "Do you want to try?"
"Maybe I'll try," Mary sneered.
"Detective books are good thing, but Mary is right," Eden said. "The first rule investigation: cui proudest?"
"I already long ago have the impression that there is an unknown person who we know nothing," Cruz looked at each one.
"Yes, I remember you saying something about it. In this case it turns out that Colin himself was the victim of someone else's plot. But whose?"
"It is unlikely one of your classmate's. This does not come up with little boys," Cruz said. "Take it higher. Teachers? School masters? The school principal?"
"Any of them? Mason, remember: Sophia said that they did not want to give you to her," Mary said.
"I do not think it could be one of the adults," Mason shook his head.
"Why not? It's was so terrible school!" Eden said indignantly. "And so terrible the principal!"
"The principal may not accept me or Colin, or simply exclude us. He did not need to take such a risk by making up the accident and blaming me."
"It's must be someone who was close to Colin," Mary said. "For whom Colin would take such a risk? For whom he sold your friendship?"
Everybody turned all eyes ay her again, and Mary smiled.
"No, you exactly need to write detectives," Eden strictly said.
"No, we must save the detective for us," Mason hugged her from behind and kiss in the ear. "You read my mind," he whispered slyly and then turned serious: "I remember little of the time but I can imagine only one candidate. The high school freshman who was very interested in Colin."
"Ross McDermott," Cruz nodded. "I'm trying to look up his background, but it's not easy. It seems he's out of the country for a long time."
"Focus on him. If we need someone of seniors, it's either Ross or teachers and rest of school staff. Colin was flattered that one of big guys was interested in friendship with him. Ross was the only big boy who paid attention to him."
"And to you also?"
Mason shook his head.
"He did not even try."
"I got it," Cruz nodded. "By the way my attempts to find your classmates and teachers met with complete lack of documents of The Great Valley School. Only saved docs are in the police archive. It looks like someone is trying to cover tracks."
"And it's not Colin," Mason slowly said.
"We can not guarantee this," Eden did not agree.
Mason looked at her and said nothing. He did not know if he wants to see Colin as a mastermind or as a victim. He knew only that his soul still felt a long-standing painful betrayal. No because current charges, Mason was ready to meet it head on but meanness of the boy who he considered as a close friend.
|
|