Chapter 14

Friday

I wake up to the alarm and I wake my two bedmates. We enjoy a fun shower with lots of play and giggles, but no sex. When we arrive in the main room for breakfast the Room Service people have almost finished serving the twelve meals set over two tables of six. Dad, Rob, Sharon, Lia, Mai, and I sit at one while Nadia, Kira, Makha, Mayu, Belle, and Liz sit at the other. I’m not happy because the table isn’t big enough when we need to be close enough to discuss business etc., which is every morning.

I look up from my plate to say, “Sharon, first order of business today. I want most of these tables replaced with a set of wide curved tables we can set up as an almost complete circle that will seat about twenty-five for a meal with people seated on both sides of it. The table should break up into a number of curved sections we can place around the room when we don’t need them all.” She smiles while she makes a note of this need.

Rob smiles, “Things should be a bit hectic today because the work teams will be finishing all of the doors and door-frames while also doing two of the bedrooms on the spa side. Tomorrow they’ll do an office and two bedrooms on that side. The floor and ceiling are thick concrete. With the main room completed they only need to do every other room to have armor between each room. That leaves the glass exterior walls, and a work team will do the spa today then start working their way around both ways from there. They hope to finish it all by Sunday night. You said fast, so they’re doing fast.” His big grin tells me it’s all top quality work because the better quality makes his job easier and us all safer.

I smile. I recognise fast weekend work is a higher cost, but the peace of mind is well worth it. I ask, “Rob, how good will the glass be?”

“As you know we can’t stop everything. What they’re putting in is a special quad layer system of glass with composites. Each plate is a multilayer unit of hardened glass and resin composites compressed into a single plate. Four layers of that set up like a four level piece of double glazing. All of it in a special metal and composite frame that’s bullet proof. For some reason the best performance size is just right to go floor to ceiling in here with panels ten feet wide, I think you’d call that three metres. It’s very expensive, but this will allow you time to take cover because it’ll stop three or four rounds from a fifty caliber sniper rifle, depending upon the range. At one hundred yards the first three rounds are stopped, but the fourth goes through. At a thousand yards it stops four while the fifth makes it. Something to do with each of the multiple layers having to be beaten individually. I figure that gives lots of time to get to safety. The windows will be alarmed to feed to the monitoring station. Sometime today the new lounge furniture will turn up. That’s as armored as the walls. Just duck behind a lounge chair or pull it over you and they can’t hurt you. The back and base are armor plate, but not a heavy weight. So you can easily tip it over someone as protection.”

I smile, “Thank whoever sorted this out so quick for me as all that’s just what I want. I take it the monitoring room will be done soon.”

“Yeah, that needs some extra equipment plus wiring. All the sensors, alarms, and wires for them, and more, are going in while they do the walls and windows. But we need to do some work on the building to feed the roof and stairwells. It all should be finished by the end of next week, at the latest.” I smile as that’s all faster than I thought possible.

I turn to look at Sharon. She says, “I’ve arranged a meeting with the owner of the property near the state park for Sunday. I’m planning to stop by in the morning and to go from there to a nice picnic lunch in the park. If you don’t insist on trying to develop the property too much I think he’ll sell. It’s been in his family for generations, but he’s now broke and some developers are putting pressure on the county to get the land for major work while he wants it to remain as forest.”

I nod while I think about what can be done with the land. I decide to check Google Maps to have a good look at the terrain later. I look up, “Sharon, get together with Jerry, Mai, Dee, Kira, and Nadia. I want all of the school students transferred to my high school. So you need to contact their old schools to get transcripts. Contact the school about enrolment, I’ll pay for it. That should make Rob’s job a bit easier. We’ve got the legal OKs for Liz and Belle, so they can now travel with me to make that a bit easier. Tomorrow we’ll go shopping to get more necklaces and clothes. Rob, with all new staff applicants I want the first sheet of their CV faxed off to the speed dial number on my fax, the one labelled as ’Security Check.’ Our friend from yesterday will send a fax back with an OK or not. They must be cleared before you consider making an offer of work, pending my final approval. Understand?” He nods. “Your old friend likes the team we’re putting together and he’s asked if he can borrow it at times, if needed. I told him I’ve no problem in principle, but he needs to convince you and me we should loan them out. The main decision there will be yours, not mine, and only after we’ve full info.” He looks shocked at first, then he smiles as he nods again.

We’ve nothing else to discuss so we finish breakfast then we get ready for the day. I make a point of giving each of my girls a cuddle and a kiss before they go to finish dressing. I go to the office to check my email. I deal with a few items before making sure everything is tidied up and locked away because we’ll have strangers about during the day.

The trip to school is very nice with me sitting in the back fondling a breast in each hand while sitting between Liz and Belle. When we get to school as we get out Leslie kisses each of us and pats all of our butts. The fun earns us a lot of stares from the other students, and a stunned look from Mr Walker when he sees me with Belle. At the front door we meet Kath and Debbie. We stun a lot more students by each of us taking turns to kiss the other two before the three younger girls move off as a group while Kath and I go to our first class of the day together.

Wonder of wonders, the morning goes well without any trouble from anyone. Lunch is nice with our large group chatting away like old friends. Then back to class as normal.

No More Games

The school has a member of staff whose title is ’School Monitor.’ He’s responsible for walking the halls and grounds to stop bad behaviour and he runs the detention classes. I’m surprised when he comes for me in the middle of fourth period to take me out of class. He says nothing while he leads me to the principal’s office. When we enter the office I turn on the pocket Dictaphone I’ve got in my shirt pocket, this is a little recorder that can record up to two hours of talk or conversation. I use it to make verbal notes about thoughts during the day, most are business notes. I turn it on now because I don’t like the way this is shaping up.

In the office Principal Walker is sitting behind his desk. He points at a chair in front of the desk and he tells me to sit down. I can see a large bag of white powder sitting on his desk. I stop and I stand still for a moment while I think, then I swap the chair for another from in the room and I sit down on the new chair. This earns me a glare for not giving him instant obedience, I think, but I don’t wish to risk picking up any contamination from the chair if the bag contains what I think it may: illicit drugs.

Walker says, “Acting on information from two students Mister Hills and I searched your locker and found this bag of drugs. This is a serious offence. As per the school’s Zero Tolerance on Drugs policy you’re suspended for three weeks while I put this matter and your behaviour before the school board.”

I’m calm when I look at him and ask, “Any evidence that’s anything more than sugar?” No response from Walker. “When are the police due?” No response. I pull my cell phone out, turn it on, and hit the speed dial for Randy’s unlisted cell number. When he answers I say, “Randy, Al Adams. I’m at school in the principal’s office. There’s a big bag of white substance on the desk and I’m being accused of bringing drugs into the school. I’ve not been asked any questions, just accused and given a sentence. It appears the police aren’t being involved, nor is there any evidence to prove they’re drugs. I need you here right now, and please organise for the police drug squad and scene of crime people to attend too. I want the powder tested and fingerprints taken off the bag and other places. Oh, you better see if they can bring a sniffer dog or two as well, to see if we can find who did bring the drugs in.” Hanging up I turn to Walker, “I don’t use or approve of drugs. I didn’t bring any here. In fact, although I’ve been assigned a locker I’ve never been near it and I don’t even know where it is. The size of that bag looks to be about a kilogram, and should it be illicit drugs it constitutes a felony as a supplier. You should have called the police in to conduct the investigation when you found it instead of removing it and destroying evidence.” I stop Walker from interrupting by simply talking over him, several times.

From the expression on Mr Hills’ face I can see he wanted to leave it in place and call the police, so this trying to keep the police out is a game by Walker. Also, the expression on Walker’s face is pure poison.

Walker says, “How dare you call for a lawyer and the police. This is a school matter. You’re expelled for extreme disobedience.”

“Mister Walker, I don’t know what your problem is or what you’ve got against me, but you’ve been on my back since I arrived. I’ve done nothing to no one, yet you call me in here to suspend me without any evidence of wrong doing by me. You compound that by not trying to involve my father before suspending me. You also violate federal and state laws on drugs while you seek to expel me without due cause or discussion with my father or the school board. Well, you’ve picked on the wrong person this time. I don’t take that sort of crap off anyone, and I’m emotionally strong enough to stand up for myself and my rights. You want a fight? Well you’ve got one! A fight I know you can’t win. The only question is how much damage your vendetta can cause me before your career is totally ruined.” This gets a lot more bluster from him while he tries to regain his dignity and take back control of the meeting.

While he’s blustering some more I notice Mr Hills glance out the window when we hear some car tyres screech to a halt. He half grins. A minute later there’s some hurried footsteps in the hall, followed by a knock, then the secretary is showing in four men who are waving open folders with badges and police identification in them.

Smiling at them I say, “Good afternoon, officers. I’ve been accused of bringing illicit drugs into the school. Can you please confirm if this bag contains any illicit drugs?”

One officer pulls out a small knife and he slices the side of the bag near one corner. After licking a finger he touches the substance and puts a little on the tip of his tongue. His eyes go wide and he says, “Damn, that’s top line cocaine, almost pure. That’s major dealer level stuff, not the street crap. Possession of this much coke is a major felony.” Walker smiles at me because he thinks he’s got me cold.

I nod, “Thank you. Now we need only wait for the other officers to arrive to do a proper investigation while we hope Mister Walker hasn’t destroyed all of the evidence on you. This bag was in the locker assigned to me, but I’ve not been near the locker. I’m not used to having a school locker so I carry everything for the day in my bag. We need to check the bag of drugs and the locker for fingerprints. We need to check the school security cameras for any activity in that area during the day. And we also need to have the sniffer dogs check me, my school bag, and a few other places in the school for traces. Mister Walker was acting on information from two students, so he should be able to help you by telling you who told him I had drugs and how they knew it. That should help you find out who’s trying to set me up for expulsion by bringing the drugs in here.” Just then Randy Manning arrives, so I go through a round of introductions before I brief him on the events to date.

Police Investigation

Mr Hills leaves with one of the police officers to stand watch over my locker while the secretary takes another to check out the security camera recordings and one stays with me and the cocaine. The fourth has Mr Walker take him to another office so they can use it to interview people, starting with Mr Walker.

A few minutes later two dog handlers arrive with their dogs. I’m taken out of the office and the dog sniffs me over, giving a negative reading. He’s taken into the office and he gives a positive reading to the bag, the desk, and the chair I was first told to sit on. Interesting, as that shows one of the people who recently sat there is contaminated by drugs.

Using the information about the chair the police are able to get the names of the informants off Walker. No surprise, it’s two of the football team friends of Williams. Neither is in class and no one’s seen them since third period, except Walker. Sniffer dogs and extra police are sent to their home addresses while the two dogs here do a check of all the lockers plus the cars in the car park. Three lockers are found to contain small amounts of street level cocaine. The drugs are confiscated and the locker owners are spoken to. Since it’s only user level amounts the police choose not to take any further action while Mr Hills has to processes the paperwork for three week suspensions for the students involved. They aren’t happy.

The cameras for the hall with my locker were disconnected during lunch, and no one noticed. Also the car park tapes have been erased.

Mr Laws, the school board chairman, turns up, and he isn’t happy with events. He was called in by Randy. He takes over the supervision of the situation because Mr Walker is now part of the police investigation.

I take time to call Dad, leaving him a voice mail about things and how I’m handling them. I ask him to call me when he can. After that I just sit back while I wait to see what the police can find out.

The scene of crime people arrive and they find lots of fingerprints on the bag as well as my locker. They take fingerprints from Walker, Hills, and me. Walker’s prints show on the bag with a lot of others while Hills’ prints are on the locker with a few others, but mine don’t show anywhere. I’m soon ruled out as a suspect because there’s evidence I never handled the bag or the locker. If I’d done it while wearing gloves I’d have smeared the other prints and the existence of some clear prints shows neither item was wiped clean.

The officers checking out the informants report back: one is clean while the other has traces of drugs on his clothes. Fingerprints for both are taken, but they don’t match any of those found on the bag or locker. A warrant is obtained for the house of the boy with the positive response. No drugs are found there, but his parents aren’t happy with the search of their house by some police officers with sniffer dogs.

The fingerprint checks at this point are simple quick checks of a few points by a field technician done on-site to rule out suspects. More comprehensive examinations and comparisons will be done back at their lab then checked against the police and FBI databases at that time as well.

School Board Investigation

While this is going on I tell Randy and Mr Laws the events of the last two weeks and I play my tape of the start of this mess. Mr Laws is very surprised about the testing because the board accepted my enrolment based on my results transcript and the recommendation of the alumni I know. He wonders why Mr Walker felt he needed to waste time and resources doing tests to prove I know what the transcripts say I do.