Meet Me After Class

Chapter 5: Hiding In Plain Sight

"You said you'd be here in fifteen minutes," Adam's not-so-happy face greeted me as soon as I walked into the bookstore.

It was already half-past five, and the place was noticeably empty, my services were clearly not needed. However, I hadn't come to work or offered Adam my usual company. I was there to share the shocking discovery I had made about Mr. Benjamin Scott.

"I went looking for Penny," I explained as I joined him behind the cash register.

Adam handed me a maroon vest that said 'Welcome to Brown's'. I waved it off and gave him a frown.

"I told you I'm off on Mondays and Tuesdays."

He sighed loudly and mirrored my frown. "You look like you've seen a ghost," he told me without even a slight hint of worry. He was actually used to seeing me look like I had seen a ghost. But it didn't bother me much, as I had grown used to it.

"I haven't but I have heard about a possible murder." My palms began to sweat again as my heart raced.

He had told me so many times before about my tendency to exaggerate things. I kind of agreed with him as I started to reflect on my past judgment, but this thing about Mr. Scott couldn't be an exaggeration.

Adam's lopsided smile replaced my anxiety with annoyance.

"I heard it straight from Mr. Scott's mouth. He said, and I quote, 'What do you want me to do with her dead body?' That's definitely a murder right there. He killed someone. A woman!"

He straightened up and raised his brow. "And what else did you hear? And how did this even happen?"

"Melissa told me to go back to the room to ask Mr. Scott about the grading system for the play that I might be collaborating with her on. So off to the room I went, and that's when I heard him mention, clearly and specifically, about the dead body."

"Hmmm... what did you do after?"

"I left! Of course!"

"He didn't notice you leave?"

I shook my head. "No. He was still on his phone when I left. His back was on me. I left as soon as I heard him say he has a shovel."

Adam may not be smiling anymore, but his calm demeanor was undoubtedly telling me he still wasn't convinced; standing there and looking so collected when I just told to him that our teacher might have murdered someone.

"Adam, we have to inform the police," I urged him.

"Wendy, do you have any other evidence aside from what you've heard?"

I shook my head. "No. But does it matter? I heard him! What I heard straight from his mouth should be enough!" His indirect disbelief was starting to grate on my nerves.

He placed his hands on my shoulders, a feeble attempt to calm me down. "He could be talking about something else or who knows what? You just walked in and heard a bit of something. You didn't hear the entire conversation. You need to be sure he's talking about a dead human body."

"He said her. Her. If he meant something else, like an animal, he could have said the body."

"You need to be a hundred percent sure. You can't just go to the police with a small piece of the puzzle." Adam insisted. "You should already know that."

"And what would you have me do? Do you reckon I should have stayed a little longer and listened more?! I was shit-scared, Adam. When you walk in on someone talking about a dead body, the most rational thing you do is run the hell away."