and, “Yeah.”
“So what happened then?” Nick asked.
“Well, Coach and the kid drove away.”
“What did you do?”
“I was just standing there when Max turned around. He saw me and knew I had seen what had happened. So he said something like, ‘The kid’s mother called and asked if someone could take him home.’”
Nick shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, that explained it. He had the mother’s permission.”
“Yeah,” said Zach. “That’s what I thought, too. So I felt better and didn’t think anything more about it. At least, not until this afternoon. That’s when I was out at the mall and that’s where I saw Coach with this same kid. They were walking to the parking lot, toward the coach’s car.”
“Anybody else with them?” Nick asked.
“Nope. No one else.”
It was then that Nick asked Zach the obvious question. “So, do you think there’s something weird going on with the coach and the kid?”
Zach’s reply was, “Yeah, I do.”
“And so do I,” said Baker, breaking into the conversation. “And it’s not just because of what Zach is telling you. For over a year I’ve heard some stories—rumors—about this guy at work.”
“You mean the coach?”
“Yes,” said Baker. “Those stories have all been, well, let’s say, hinting at his being interested in boys. Seems like most of his free time is spent with younger males. There’s even a rumor going around now that he has a fondness for skinny-dipping with young men. One of my co-workers said that he had heard that Herb... that this coach has a pool at his house and invites guys over in order to swim that way.” Zach’s father seemed uncomfortable as he said, “I mean, you know, naked. So when Zach told me about what he had observed, I immediately thought of what I’d heard.”
Nick followed up with Zach. “Have you seen any kind of unusual stuff going on between the coach and the kid? I mean like touching… or more”
Zach shook his head. “I gotta be honest and say I haven’t seen anything like that. But my gut feeling is that this guy has something special goin’ on with the kid.”
Still feeling frustrated, Nick looked toward Zach’s dad. “So, Mr. B, where do I come into this? I mean, I don’t understand what I can do.”
“Zach thinks you can get some information about this kid and the coach.”
“You mean, like find out if there is actually something going on?”
“Yes,” was Baker’s answer. “I think you could, Nick. Like I said, that’s what Zach came up with when we were talking about this earlier today. And I agree.”
Nick thought for a moment and then shook his head. “I don’t know, Mr. B. If you think the kid is in danger or something, then you need to go to the police. Or, at least, go to the kid’s parents. Even if you don’t have anything specific, at least you ought to tell someone about what’s going on.”
“Well,” Baker, taking a deep breath, said, “It’s a little more complicated than that, Nick.”
“Complicated?” Nick asked. “What’s so complicated about just talking with someone? Don’t you feel obligated? I mean, to the boy?” Nick’s assertive response was a bit surprising to both the father and son. Even to Nick himself.
Mr. Baker replied, “It’s not that easy, Nick. You see, the coach—his name is Herb Clarkson—is my boss.”
Suddenly, Nick saw how this additional information revealed the delicacy of the situation.
Baker continued. “So, I have to be really careful in handling this thing because if I come to the wrong conclusion and act on it, well, it could blow up in my face.”
“You mean, affect your job?”
“Well, yeah,” Zach interjected with a nod of affirmation. He might as well have added the word, ‘duh!’
Mr. Baker then clarified the delicacy of the situation. “Nick, this is a very sticky thing for me. If I don’t say anything and there is something going on with Herb and this boy then I’ll feel terrible. On the other hand, if I say something about this to the authorities, even to the parents, and it’s not true—or if we can’t prove anything—then my relationship with my boss is, well, it will be impacted. And that could put my job in jeopardy.”
“Yeah,” said Nick, “I can see how it would. But what can I do? I mean, specifically, what do you want from me?”
Zach broke in with, “Dude, are you kidding? You’re good at this. I mean, look at what you’ve done. You’ve solved two murders in just two years. Murders that the cops couldn’t solve. Or chose not to. And you did that before you were twenty years old. Obviously, you seem to know what to do or what to look for. So, why not you?” He then added, “Plus, you know volleyball and….well, with your background….” Zach left this sentence hanging in the air, but Nick knew what he was thinking. Finally, with a pleading look on his face, Zach said, “I just thought you’d kinda be a perfect person to bring in on this. You know?”
Nick’s eyes looked upward toward one of the parking lot lights that illuminated the area. He was thinking, trying to bring all the information he had been given together, to make sense of it.
Mr. Baker was next to speak. “Look, Nick, I’m asking you to help with this situation because I have to find out what’s happening or not happening in order to know how to respond appropriately. But I need to find out fast.”
‘Fast’ was given a timeline by Mr. Baker: two weeks. In those fourteen days Baker was asking Nick to come up with evidence needed to either convict or clear Herb Clarkson of inappropriate interaction with a minor. It really didn’t matter to Baker what the outcome was, he just needed it to be convincing enough that he would know what to do. That is, either do nothing if Clarkson was innocent of improper behavior or, if there was enough proof to show that he was in some way abusing an underage boy, then go to the authorities. The fee to be paid to Nick, suggested by Baker, was a base of five hundred dollars plus one hundred dollars a day for up to two weeks and any appropriate expenses.
“And I’m going to add an incentive bonus,” Baker had said. “I’ll give you another five hundred dollars if you can get the information I need by next Monday.”
Next Monday! That’s only seven days away, thought Nick. “Why by next Monday, Mr. B?”
That question was answered when Baker explained that the president of M/X Technologies was stepping down and next Monday the M/X board would be naming someone to take that position. He went on to say that Herb Clarkson, a highly respected engineer, headed up the Division of Product Development and Implementation, one of two vice-presidential positions in the company. It seemed that the present president, Jeremy Wilcox, son of one of the founders, favored Clarkson and had been grooming him for the top position for the last year. Therefore, it was assumed by most employees that Clarkson would be named the new president by the start of next week—next Monday.
“If Clarkson does turn out to be involved with this kid,” Baker said, “it will reflect very negatively on my company. But as bad as that would be in his present position, it will be even worse if he is the newly named president. That’s why I hope you can get what I need by next Monday. It’s as much for M/X Technologies as it is for me.”
To Nick’s question of how Baker thought the investigation would best be done, Zach spoke up. He told Nick that next week was the camp’s last week of classes. “The classes meet Monday through Thursday, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. The staff is made up of volunteers like me. What I thought is that I could bow out and then you could step into my shoes.”
“You