Cliff

Chapter 10 -- The Constable Investigates

Steriotypical Lawman. Fat, belly hanging over his leather belt. Fully rigged in leather, wears the cowboy hat, has the moustache, and mostly has the attitude. Not very bright, finished high school and whatever passes for law enforcement credentuallying necessary for a village. Thinks he knows how to get along with people. Stays out of the way, generally. Lazy, generally. Luckaly, Goose Cove has very, very little crime. "Now you boys behave" is about as serious as it gets. The Constable does not become involved in issues involving alcohol or domestic conflict. Has the standard ideas about men and women and life in general. Drives a patrol car with a lot of lights. Manages to scare the town council into keeping him and it up to date bi-annually with suggestions of crime from the big cities coming to Goose Cove. Has learned to keep his thoughts about men, women, and indians to himself. Is very careful around Mrs. Templeton, who knew him when he was young, struggling with the most basic courses in high school, desparately playing sports to pass and later graduate.

The Constable's patrol car drifted to a slow halt in front of the library. After a pause, the Constable got out and went inside. He wished Mrs. Templeton good morning and she wished him the same. But, uncomfortable as it was, he had to ask her some questions.

"I know you told me everything you saw this morning earlier, Mrs. Templeton, but I have to tell the coroner something, and I can't make up my mind whether the boy jumped, or fell off the cliff."

"I don't think I can help you with that, Leroy. I couldn't tell that just from seeing his body. I only saw him after he hit the rocks. Why would he kill himself on purpose?"

There's no evidence that he did. It's just one of the possibilities. It's more likely he fell accidently. I've heard he was drinking. You know anything about that?

"He wasn't drinking with me, if that's what you mean," she said wryly. "I don't think he drank much at all, actually." Mrs. Templeton thought that it was her civic duty to speak respectfully to the constable and to take him seriously if at all possible. She often felt ludicrous doing it. He had grown from a rather slow idiotic child to a fully grown silly ass in only 25 short years.

The Constable plowed on. "You saw him from time to time, didn't you. You know, around town."

"It's a small village. I see most people from time to time. I didn't have much to do with him particularly, he was a student working at the research station. He didn't come here often. The only place I saw him was at the Coffee House. He had a girlfriend, I think the're called, whom I also know very slightly, named Sally. They were usually together at the Coffee House. They both seem to be very nice people, and a whole lot more concerned with each other than with me or my library."

"But did he ever seem to be depressed, or down about anything when you saw him."

"That's ridiculous, Constable. I wouldn't be able to see that. I saw two people in love, and about as undepressed as you can get in this village. They were serious young people, but certainly not depressed."

"Well, it was a foggy night. I expect he fell over the cliff accidently in the fog. Probably had a couple too many. These college kids will."

Mrs. Templeton was quite firm. "Constable, I realize you have to tell the court something, but that boy didn't kill himself, he was in love with that girl, and I would be very much surprized to find that he was drinking and stepped off the edge accidently. He didn't strike me as a particularly careless young man. I don't suppose he could have been pushed?"

"If he was pushed, then someone pushed him. I can't say that without any indication or evidence. I'd end up accusing somebody, and that would mean real trouble. Who would push him, anyway, if he was as nice and innocent as you say?"

"I'm sure I don't know, Constable, but it is the third possibility."

"Mrs. Templeton, did you find any keys when you came across Bob's body this morning?"

"No, I didn't. I certainly didn't look for any, either. Why, are there some keys missing?"

"I didn't find any on the body. I need to get into his apartment, without damage if possible."

"I'd ask Sally if I were you. She might very well have a key to Bob's apartment."

"Thanks, I'll do that," the Constable seemed grateful.

Mrs. Templeton wondered where Bob's keys were, too, even though she had no desire to enter his apartment. People generally do have keys. Especially people who lock their apartment doors. .LINEBREAK

At 4:30 Sally returned to her rented room. She hadn't done much useful that day, only pretending to follow any sort of routine. She wasn't the type who could compartmentalize her life, leaving the troubling parts off while more routine tasks were done. Whatever she did, all of her did it all the time. This ability to concentrate and focus her energy made her a vary good researcher.

She hadn't been home long when the Constable pulled up outside her door.

"You've been pretty busy," he said, "I haven't been able to catch up with you today."

"I've been writing Bob's friends and family."

"Yeah, his family asked the local funeral home to send all his posessions back to Kansas. I came to ask you if you have the key to his apartment."

"Yes, I do. I used it to get inside this morning."

"What were you doing in his apartment?"

"Officer, Bob and I were good friends. I have my own key to his appartment."

"Mr. Smith gave you a key to his apartment?", the Constable seemed quite dubious of that, but was willing to accept it provisionally. "I'll have to ask you to give the key to me. I can't get into the apartment without it, and I need to check around in there. Then it will have to be returned to the landlord, and to the school."

"Wait a minute. Why don't you use Bob's key?"

"There was no key found on the body." The constable was pretty sure this was a suspicious circumstance, but it was not clear to him what it meant. Since there were only two people there, and one of them was him, the other one had to be the suspicious character. "Did Bob give you his key?"

"Yes, months ago. And it wasn't his only key, of course. He had his own key? Where is it?"

"Hasn't turned up. We don't really need it, if I can have yours."

Sally put on her scientest voice. "Constable, lets go through this one more time, very slowly. Bob locked his apartment when he left it yesterday evening. He was coming to see me later that evening. His door was locked when I got there this morning. Now you say you didn't find his key when you went through his pockets. So how did Bob plan to get back inside his apartment without his key?"

"Easy. He didn't plan to get back in. He wasn't coming back."

"Officer, the question is: 'Where is Bob's key?'."

"I don't know," the Constable replied, "Anyway, he didn't go to see you. He went down to the cliff. And fell off, or stepped off.

"Or was pushed!"

Possibly, but I lean towards the less dramatic solutions. Word is going around that he had been drinking. Do you know anything about his drinking habits? Were you and he drinking?

"I have told you he wasn't with me. He didn't drink much at all. We're both pretty serious students, difficult as that may be for the locals to believe. Who is saying Bob was drunk?"

"Let's just say that I heard it. Never mind who said it. We're just checking up on it. Was he drunk Sunday evening?"

Once again, Officer, no! He didn't drink anything alcoholic on Sunday at all. He very seldom does, and not while school is in session."

"Not even just a teensy weensy bit?"

Sally knew that she was being teased, and tried very hard to keep her voice level as she responded.

"No, Constable. That means no."

The Constable got up to go, "Well, I would love to stay and talk to you all evening, but I've got to go back to work."

Sally was so furious with this that she didn't trust herself to say anything. Silently, she gave him Bob's key and he let himself out.