The Slaying Of The Swan
Chapter 3, Guess who comes clean.
After the police chief left Professor Gobles class room he got lost. So many turns, hallways, and stairs led the chief to a dead end. What he found at the dead end was Mr. Darren. The chief overheard someone talking in a classroom at the end of the hall. When he went to see who belonged to the voice he thought he recognized, it was Mr. Darren. The chief observed him embracing one of his students, and kissing her. Should I interrupt this love fest, he thought.
The chief cleared his throat as he stood in the doorway. Shocked by being caught, the dance student, April turned away. Mr. Darren hesitated but then walked toward the chief. A million thoughts and excuses ran through Mr. Darren’s head as he walked towards him. I wonder what explanation he is going have? Is he consoling a grieving student? With her soft giggling that she did it’s doubtful.
Mr. Darren escorted the chief out into the hallway and asked him if he was lost. The chief told him that he actually was but as long as he found him, he wanted to ask him a few more questions. Again feeling hesitant, Mr. Darren walked with the chief down the hall and asked if he found a suspect yet. The chief stopped and looked back down at the end of the hall towards April. He told Mr. Darren that everyone is a suspect including his girlfriend. At a loss for words but because he knew that he was caught, Mr. Darren admitted that him and April are an item.
He admitted that he was favoring April for the part in their big event of the season, but he didn’t kill Tabatha. Mr. Darren explained that April has two plus years of experience over Tabatha and deserves that lead in “Swan Lake”. Not knowing much about dance, the chief understood the experience thing but that doesn’t explain the murder. Who wanted Tabatha dead and why? The chief asked Mr. Darren if he ever saw Tabatha outside of school like he seems to do with April. His response was a quick no with a glance towards April. The chief told Mr. Darren that he has a witness that says otherwise.
Mr. Darren stood quiet and unsure of what to do. He looked at the chief and then glanced back down the hallway. April stood there and waited for the okay to leave. The chief told him that he could to talk to April for a few minutes while he re-thought his answer. Mr. Darren stopped the chief from walking toward April. He asked the chief if he confesses to the murder, does April need to be brought into the picture at all. The chief was shocked by and unsure of that question. He asked Mr. Darren if he was admitting to killing Miss Tabatha? Mr. Darren said yes and that he wanted a lawyer. He said yes? Mr. Darren killed Tabatha? But why?
April watched while the chief pulled out his handcuffs and Mr. Darren turned around. She ran down the hallway and asked the chief what he was doing. The chief put the cuffs on Mr. Darren as he told her that her boyfriend just confessed to killing Tabatha. Shocked, April asked him if that was true. Mr. Darren looked at her, winked, and said that she doesn’t have to worry about anything, and that she has a good future ahead of her. April started to cry as the chief took the dance teacher by the arm and headed down the hallway. Did Mr. Darren really kill Tabatha or is he covering up for someone?
While the chief and Mr. Darren made their way towards the university lobby, lingering students started to whisper. What is going on Mr. Darren? One of them asked. Mr. Darren looked toward the floor as he walked towards the entrance. He knew that his career as a teacher was over now. He was also afraid that if April killed Tabatha that her young career would be over. Before they walked out the front door, Professor Goble walked out of the reception office. He saw Mr. Darren in handcuffs and rushed over to him and the chief. This is an outrage he yelled as he blocked the door. The chief asked the professor to move and told him that Mr. Darren confessed to murder.
Now with a few students and staff gathering around, Mr. Darren told the professor that he will be okay but he wants his lawyer. Professor Goble told the chief that Mr. Darren was innocent. The chief told him that because Mr. Darren confessed, he has to take him down to the station. The professor then blurted out that he killed Tabatha. The chief and Mr. Darren looked at Professor Goble. Mr. Darren told his friend and colleague that he doesn’t have to take the heat for him. The professor looked at Mr. Darren and told him no, that it’s true. He killed her. He knew how tough Tabatha had been on him and making sure that she succeeded in her career. The threats that she was making that would jeopardize his teaching career if he didn’t do everything she wanted.
Wow, is this really happening? Did Professor Goble really kill Tabatha? Why else did he do it? While the chief called for back up, the professor confessed his love to Mr. Darren. He told him that he has been in love with him for the past three years now and that respects what he does. Some of the students already figured it out long ago but some of the staff didn’t know anything about it. Mr. Darren nodded his head and told him that he knew but he didn’t feel the same way. Professor Goble said that that was okay, he just enjoyed the time that they did spend together on a platonic level.
The chief wasn’t too surprised by the professors admission to killing Tabatha. After all, he was very defensive during the questioning about Mr. Darren’s relationships. As for the whole reasoning of personal threats given by the victim to Mr. Darren’s teaching career, the chief didn’t see that coming. The victim got a little bossy, selfish, and controlling. I guess what ex-boyfriend Reggy said about how mean Tabatha could be was true. The swan was getting a little arrogant for her own good.
The End
I hoped you enjoyed this story and the way it was written. If you did please let me know. Or do you prefer it written with actual dialog?
That was not what I expected.
Great short story !