Page 50 of Bad Man on Campus

“Pending the investigation, you’re suspended from the team, Kace. No practice, no games.”

Boom.

I barely contain the explosion of hurt inside me, but I do, because I tell myself it’s temporary. The investigation will turn up noting and I’ll be back.

Church clears his throat and turns the floor over to the detective, but he doesn’t look happy. I know how he feels.

“Were you driving the car?” the detective asks right off the bat.

“Yes.” That’s all I say. He asks a lot of other questions, different variations on the same one, but I refuse to say anymore. No way am I telling them Glory drove the car. After ten minutes he stands.

“Okay, we’re finished here,” the detective says. He turns to me as he reaches the door.

“I’m sending someone to Glory Rose’s dorm to question her right now. They’re going to charge her with leaving the scene of an accident. They can’t charge her with drunk driving because they don’t have evidence.” He pauses for effect and I don’t move a muscle, my chest is still, I’m not breathing, I don’t even know if my heart is beating.

“Now the only question is,” he continues conversationally, “whether or not we charge you. We won’t need to if you tell us now what happened.” I force a breath in and out, gather my wits and everything my dad taught me about police interrogations.

“My father was a police officer,” I say, trying to calm myself, or at least appear calm on the outside, as my mind buzzes and my heart pounds back to life, knowing if they talk to Glory she’ll tell them everything. I need to call her right away, but there’s only one way I can do that. I stand.

“So, I know I don’t need to talk to you right now. I’ve been telling the truth all along and if it’s my word against the word of someone who wasn’t there, you don’t have enough to arrest me. Gossip and the vindictive accusations of some crazy chick aren’t enough for an arrest.”

The detective stares at me as he compresses his lips, but I’m right and he knows it.

“I’ll be leaving now.” I nod at Church and Coach, turn and walk from the room, past the two officers who don’t make a move. It was overkill to bring them in for a traffic violation and I know this has more to do with notoriety than justice. The detective is drooling to make a high-profile arrest and get his photo splashed on the news. No one stops me as I walk out the door, shoving it closed behind me.

As soon as I hear it click, I take off at a run and whip my phone from my pocket, my thundering heart and an excess of adrenaline urging me to act fast. Not bothering with a text, I call Glory Rose and hope the detective was bluffing or that she’s not in her room.

The phone rings and I force my mind to slow down enough to think where she is, what she would be doing right now and I take a deep breath as the phone goes to voicemail. Slipping it back in my pocket, I slam through the front door of the building and head toward the fieldhouse where I remember the dance team is practicing right now.

Running full out through the locker room where the football team is preparing to take the practice field, I head out the back door. I hear Brick call after me, but I don’t stop. When I spot her, the blond curls bouncing in the afternoon sun as she kicks her long legs high, I slow down. Scanning the area, I see there are no police in sight, not anyone who could be plain clothes. There’s the coach, the dancers and Glory’s charges, the two little mascots, watching and tumbling in the grass.

On Thursdays she works a couple of hours at the day care and then takes Beau and Belle, the Perini twins with her to practice where Mrs. Perini picks them up. She says she does it for the extra money, but I know it was her idea and she’s already growing attached to them. She’s somehow convinced her coach that it’s alright because they’re the team’s junior mascots now.

Walking normally, getting my labored breathing under control, I head for where the coach watches, yelling, “Five, six, seven, eight…”

As I stand at the older woman’s side, she gives me a sidelong glance and I smile and nod. It doesn’t take long before she calls for a break and turns to me.

“Any reason you’re interrupting our practice—besides that you’re madly in love with Glory Rose?”

I laugh and shake my head. “Isn’t that a good enough reason? What happened to romance?”

She hoots and Glory trots over to me, holding Beau and Belle by the hand to stop them from rushing me.

“Kace! I want a ride.”

“Kace, pick me up.”

“Well aren’t you a sight,” Glory says, her bright smile beaming like the sunshine.

“Okay, I’m outta here,” the coach says as she heads for the water station. I pull Glory aside as I haul Belle up in one arm and swing her brother with the other as he squeals.

“Official business,” I say, though It doesn’t feel as dire as it did a minute ago, not now that I’m here with her. But I force myself back to the grave business of the police, skipping over the news of my suspension from the team, and get to their threat to talk to Glory.

Leaning in, I whisper in her ear, “The police are investigating the accident and they said they’re coming to talk to you. They suspect you were driving.” Watching her face go from sunshine to shock as it falls, every muscle changing from grinning to collapse, like she doesn’t know how to feel.

I put Belle back on the ground and tell the kids to show me their cartwheels which they are thrilled to do. Putting an arm around Glory, we watch the kids. In a low voice, I say, “Don’t admit to anything Glory. Do not tell them you were driving the car. It won’t help. Right now, that would only lead them to file a charge against me for false reporting.” She nods.

“I hate this, Kace. There must be something I can do.” I shake my head.