Murder at the High School Reunion by Steve Demaree

office when I was thare, and seen
Walter wudden in there, so I went on down to use the facilities. I ran into
Walter in thare. He was in one stall. I was in another. We come out at the same
time, seen who each other was, and patted each other on the back. He was so
glad to see me. It’d been a few weeks since we seen each other. Anyway, we
walked outa the restroom, passed the others, who was about to go stompin’ off
somewhere, and went into Walter’s office. The two of us set thare a while
talkin’, and I got to itchin’ to see the old home place again, so we git up and
walked through the school. Walter checked with some lady afore we took off to
make sure everthang was okay.”
    “Would you know Jimmy Conkwright if you saw him?”
    “I’m not shore. I ’spect so. If so, I never laid eyes
on him that night, but I heered he was thare.”
    “What about Betty Gail Spencer?”
    “I never seen her neither, but I knowed her. I thank
Duck’s right. The last time I seen her she seemed like a different person.”
    “In what way?”
    “Kinda wild like.”
    “How many times did you see Duck Spencer after you got
to the school?”
    “Jist once that I can recollect. He stopped by, leaned
in the office and told me he didn’t need a ride home. He smiled as he said it.
I said, ‘Are you shore?’ and he said, ‘Oh, yeah, as long as the truck starts.’
It weren’t long after that that I up and left. I really enjoyed spendin’ some
time with my friend Walter. He made me promise that I’d git back to see him
sometime soon.”
    “Did you see anyone out in the hall while you were at
the school?”
    “I didn’t pay no ’tention to that, but yeah, I guess I
seen some of ’em. They were all hepped up to find Duck’s woman.”
    “When you saw them, were they alone or with someone?”
    “Is there somethin’ you’re not tellin’ me,
Lieutenant?”
    “Answer my question and I’ll answer yours.”
    “Same answer. Some of ’em was by theirselves.”
    “Mr. Spickard, Betty Gail Spencer was murdered at the
school that night.”
    “You don’t say. Well, I’d say your man is that good
for nothin’ Jimmy Conkwright. You probably won’t need to look no farther.”
    “I think we will.”
    “Oh, why’s that? Did he buy hisself one a them
alibis?”
    “You might say that. See, he was murdered, too.”
    “You don’t say. Well, that’s the best news I heered in
a long time. When you find out who done it, maybe we can have a parade for the
guy.”
    “It looks like I’m going to have to look a little
longer to find someone who’s grieving about poor Jimmy Conkwright.”
    “No, Lieutenant, I think you’re gonna hafta look a lot
longer. I never met nobody who didn’t hate his guts.”
    “What about Betty Gail Spencer? Did people hate her
guts, too?”
    “I don’t know ’bout her, but I’d say that most
people’d jist say that all she needed was a good butt whippin’. Duck woulda
never done that, though. He worshiped the ground she walked on. Course, he was
mighty put out with her that night. Too bad she got mixed up with that good for
nothin’ Conkwright agin, ’though unless she’d seen him somewhere and Duck
didn’t know nothin’ about it, she got messed up afore she seen that good for
nothin’ agin. I don’t know what got into her.”
    “Mr. Spickard, does the name Jennifer Garner mean
anything to you.”
    “Nope. Is she s’posed to live out this way
somewheres?”
    “I’m not sure. Her name just came up in our
investigation.”
    “Well, lack I told you afore, I pretty much keep to
myself. Sometimes, the only time I see someone is when I go to town to pick up
things I need. Course I do see Duck once a month or so. He comes by to check on
me, make shore I’s doin’ all right. Sometimes he picks up what I need, saves me
a trip. Other than him, not too many people live out this way. I like it like
that.”
    I thanked Earl Spickard for his time, and he told me
to come back anytime and we’d