As David's car pulled up in front of the address Kurt had given Jessica the previous night, she thought she saw a blurred face looking out the window — a face quickly covered by a falling curtain that had been pulled aside.
David double parked right in front of the front walk, as the curbside parking was taken up by several cars of various makes and models — probably the other members of the glee club. "You should find a better place to park," Jessica said.
"Nah, I'll just drop you off."
"I won't be that long."
"That's okay, I'll just go to the Lima Bean, get some coffee. You can call me when you're done."
Under normal circumstances, Jessica wouldn't have pressed. Under normal circumstances, she would've just agreed, gotten out of the car, and let David drive away while she took care of business. But once more, some instinct in her told her it was vitally important to instead say, in a tone of wide-eyed innocence, "Don't be silly. This seems like a perfectly nice home, and you know these people already. You'd be much more comfortable waiting for me here. You could go into the kitchen or the dining room if you wanted some peace and quiet."
David's trapped look confirmed a lot of Jessica's concerns. "I, um... It's no problem..."
"Besides, now that I think about it, I actually have no idea how long we'll be. This way, if it looks like I'll be a while, I can just send you home and have Kurt drive me back." She touched David's arm in a friendly manner, vaguely guilty at the way she was pushing, but if she was going to figure out what was going on, this was a necessary step. "I hate to be such a nagging aunt, but there's no harm in being a little sociable."
Indeed, she felt like she'd done a lot already to get David out of his shell. That summer in Cabot Cove, he would've been perfectly content wandering the beaches and trails by himself and spending the rest of the time in his room — the opposite of his outgoing and gregarious brother. But she felt like she needed to get a little color and enthusiasm into his life. So she made sure he attended picnics and cookouts other activities already organized for the kids of Cabot Cove. He even went out on Ethan's boat for an afternoon. By the Fourth of July, he made a couple of new friends, and went with them to a "perfect spot" to watch the fireworks. Jessica considered it a great victory.
That was probably one reason there was a definite bead of sweat running down David's brow. As an educator with a big extended family, she'd learned how to tell how far she could push the envelope with people. This instinct had come in handy many times before in her life, and at the moment, she sensed that she was near the limit of what David would take. If he didn't answer soon, she'd have to give up for the time being. But...
"Okay." He said it with a long, deep sigh, but he said it. "Fine. Looks like there's a space down the block there."
"There you go," Jessica said with a tinge of relief, patting him on the shoulder.
It was a painful step, but one she felt to her bones would be important. As it turned out, she was very right.
In a few minutes, she and David were going up the Hummel front walk, the latter distinctly three steps behind. She pretended not to notice, jogging up to the door and ringing the doorbell. After a few moments, the door opened, revealing a tall balding man.
"Hello, I'm Jessica Fletcher. Is Kurt home?"
"But what about the mattress commercial?!" an outraged female voice screeched from somewhere inside the house. It sounded like Rachel.
"Forget the damn mattress commercial!" a voice that was most definitely Kurt's responded. "If we don't find the real— if we don't help Mr. Schuester, how long do you think the glee club will last? What do you think Coach Sylvester is telling Figgins right now?"
A chorus of teenage voices joined him in chaotic agreement. The man turned back to Jessica. "Oh, everyone's here," he said with a wry half-grin. "I'm Burt Hummel, Kurt's dad." He paused. "Um... You're J.B. Fletcher, right? The mystery writer?"
"Yes?"
"Um... I just wanted to say... Thank you. Y'see, Kurt's mom... my wife... was very sick for a long time. She was always a big fan of your books, and they were one of the only things that got her mind off... off things while she was in the hospital." Burt Hummel rubbed the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly. "Kurt still has all of her old books — your books. He rereads them at least once a year. But I just wanted you to know how much you've meant to this family."
This was one of those moments that Jessica would remember for the rest of her life. "I'm truly very touched, Mr. Hummel. I very much appreciate that I was able to help you and your family through difficult times in my own way."
"Every little bit helped. Seriously." He paused, his eyes flickering over Jessica's shoulder; she heard footsteps walk up behind her.
"Hi... I'm Ka— Uh... David," a nervous voice rumbled. "Karofsky. I... Um... I'm her nephew. Her ride."
Burt nodded absently. "You look familiar..."
"Uh, yeah, I go to McKinley High too."
"I see. Are you part of this big scheme of Kurt's?"
"Not... really."
Burt laughed. "I have no idea what's going on, so I'm in the same boat. Why don't you join me in the den? I have the game on, and we can forget about whatever this is all about for a while." He waved vaguely towards his left, nearly hitting his son in the face when he suddenly appeared. "Oops, sorry."
"No problem." Kurt quickly interposed himself in front of his father. "Mrs. Fletcher! Glad you could make it..." Kurt's eyes widened as he saw David; Jessica suddenly realized that the tumult inside had also ceased entirely. She could just about see at this angle curious faces peeking out at this scene from an archway inside the house. Yes, this move was certainly proving... educational. "Oh... Um..."
"Oh, don't worry about him," Jessica said. "He won't be in the way. He's going to join your father in the den, aren't you, David?"
Whatever indecision he had evaporated instantly. "Yeah! Um... Lead the way, Mr. Hummel!"
"Great! C'mon." He stepped aside and allowed Jessica and David entry; Jessica noted that Kurt moved so that she was between the two boys. "Do you want a Coke?" Burt Hummel said as he and David disappeared around the corner.
Jessica turned and looked through the archway as Kurt closed the door behind her. Yes, the entire glee club was in the living room, stuffed onto couches and sitting on pillows on the floor. They were also staring at her — or more specifically, at the space where she was standing.
"That was Karofsky," one of the boys, a very tall one whose name escaped her at the moment, said, an edge of some sort in his tone.
"Forget him," Kurt said dismissively, striding forward. "With Mrs. Fletcher here, we can finally get down to business."
First, a round of introductions to refresh Jessica's memory: the tall boy's name was Finn, and also present were Rachel, Puck, Mercedes, Tina, Brittany, Santana, Artie, Mike, Matt, and Quinn. This last girl, Jessica noted, had a slight but distinct curve to her belly, and Finn, who was sitting next to her, had a very protective arm around her shoulder. It was an irrelevant detail, of course, but one her mind automatically noted and filed away.
Kurt tapped the shoulder of Puck, who was sitting in an easy chair; the latter reluctantly got up. Jessica sat gratefully. "Everyone's in, Mrs. Fletcher," Kurt said. "What do you want us to do?"
All eyes and ears were trained on her. Jessica took a deep breath. "All right, rule number one: do not do anything without me knowing about it. Understood?" There were nods. "Rule number two: nobody knows what you're doing. Nobody. If we're going to be effective, we'll have to be clandestine. Report everything you discover to the rest of us, and don't take unnecessary risks. Are we clear?"
"Yeah," Mike said. "We are." The others nodded again.
"Good. Now, the best way for all of you to help is information. I'm a stranger here, but you know the lay of the land and the players involved. Think about who you know who might have information we need. Play to your strengths, and I think all of you will be able to contribute."
"My friend Derek's dad is a cop," Matt said. The others looked somewhat startled, as if they hadn't expected him to speak. But that was silly; they had to hear his voice all the time, being part of the glee club. "He's pretty well liked at the precinct. I think Derek can pump him for information."
"As long as your friend and his father won't be in any trouble, that's an excellent start. Obviously, whatever we get from him will most likely be limited, but it may be important."
"Hey!" Artie said, snapping his fingers. "Kurt, you said Jacob ben Israel was at Mrs. Fletcher's talk, didn't you?"
"Yeah..." His eyes widened. "Oh!"
"Who's that?" Jessica asked.
"Kid with big hair." Artie gestured a sphere around his head, triggering Jessica's memory. "He's a wannabe tabloid reporter. Always filming people and stuff. I think I can get a look at his footage."
"How?" Mercedes asked.
"By promising him an exclusive once we figure this out. He'll keep his mouth shut until then, or he gets nothing. That okay with you, Mrs. Fletcher?"
Jessica nodded slowly. "That could be promising. Please, look into it. The more we know about the day Mr. Tomlin died, the better."
"We can work the McKinley rumor mill," Quinn said. Brittany and Santana nodded in agreement. "We're cheerleaders; we're totally plugged in. If anyone knows any dirt about Mr. Tomlin, we'll find out."
"Yes, that is a key part of this: motive. Do any of you know off the top of your heads any reason someone would want Mr. Tomlin dead?" All the teenagers present shook their heads in the negative after varying pauses for thought.
"I could look into my sources."
Santana raised an eyebrow at Puck. "And what kind of 'sources' do you have?"
"Hey, you meet all kinds in juvie," Puck said with a much too casual shrug. "I'll poke around and see if there's anything out there."
"Do you have any ideas, Mrs. Fletcher?" Kurt asked.
She paused; this was a tricky one. On one hand, she didn't want to prejudice the group's thinking or risk them doing something that would tip off the people she had in mind. On the other hand, gathering information would be incomplete at best and impossible at worst if they didn't have some kind of focus.
In the end, she decided she had to take the risk. "A couple. Do you know a Ms. Witten? She teaches chemistry."
"Yeah," Mike said, "I have a class with her."
"I'm in the same class," Finn said. "Why?"
Kurt's eyes widened. "You think she—?"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Just because I mention someone doesn't mean they have anything whatsoever to do with the murder. But... she had a very... animated discussion with Mr. Tomlin the morning he died."
Finn and Mike looked at each other. "I think we can try to look into it," the latter said.
"I want to hear any suggestions you have. And that is not a suggestion," Jessica added significantly. "Now, I remember some of you are athletes; do you know Coach Tanaka?"
Several of the young men glanced at each other, startled. "Yeah," Mike said. "He's our football coach."
"Well, I don't know if this has anything to do with anything, but he was very upset that morning. He demanded that Principal Figgins talk to him about something, but I have no idea what. It could be a coincidence, but..."
"Might be tough to find out," Puck mused. "Coach isn't exactly a talkative guy with us."
"But he's engaged to Ms. Pillsbury," Artie pointed out. "And she's friends with Mr. Schue." There was a stir from somewhere in the room, but Jessica couldn't determine where. "Maybe we can find out that way."
"Why don't I handle Mr. Schuester?" Jessica said. "I'm a stranger, and an adult, so he might open up more to me. Same with Principal Figgins."
Now that caused a big stir. "You think Figgins is a suspect?" Tina asked in hushed awe.
"At this point, we shouldn't be counting anyone out as a suspect. Do any of you know anything about Mr. Tomlin's personal life?"
There were once again shakes of heads. "He's married..." Rachel began.
"Yes, he mentioned his wife to me."
"... But I don't know anything about her. Or anything else about him, for that matter." Rachel shrugged. "He's not in the arts, so I didn't bother to do my usual research on him."
Jessica had no idea how to respond to that, so she said, "Well, anything anyone can dig up is important, so I'll assign that to the rest of you. The best thing you can do for me and Mr. Schuester is to keep your eyes, ears, and most importantly, your minds open. Don't suspect anyone, but don't dismiss anyone either. Now, I want to hear from all of you. Do you have any ideas or suggestions?"
And they did — lots of them. Most were the kind that a group of sixteen year olds raised on police procedural dramas would come up with, but there were a few that were well thought out and insightful. Kurt especially was an eager contributor — natural, given what she now knew of his history and interests (although that enthusiasm to finally be part of a mystery he only used to read about made Jessica think that he could actually be more trouble than any of the others).
As in the classroom, Jessica made sure to create an easy atmosphere of give-and-take, suggestions and counter-suggestions, a collaborative environment in which her ideas and opinions held only a little more force than anyone else's. By the time they were finished, maybe an hour later, she actually felt better about this whole crazy idea. At the least, she was less nervous about these kids overstepping their boundaries and getting into trouble.
Not that "less" was anywhere near "not," of course.
Soon, with assignments in hand and plans at the ready, the discussion broke up, and the participants drifted off to home. One of the last to leave was Finn; he paused as he passed Jessica.
"Um... Mrs. Fletcher?"
"Yes?"
"You... uh, you came here with Karofsky?"
"Yes. I'm an old friend of the family."
"Oh." He coughed and shuffled his feet. Jessica waited patiently for him to make a decision. Finally, he said, "Do you, uh... Do you know what he's doing at school?"
Jessica raised her eyebrows. "What he's doing at school?"
"I hate to be some kind of snitch," Finn burst out. He looked around; those remaining were busy in their own little discussions, but he lowered his voice anyway. "He, uh... He and I... haven't been getting along very good."
"Oh?" she said encouragingly.
"A few weeks back, he... um... He Slushied me."
Jessica's brow furrowed. "Pardon?"
"He... threw a frozen drink in my face. And Quinn's."
Jessica gasped. "David did that? Why?!"
"Well," Finn began, wincing, "he said it was kind of payback for something that happened in fifth grade. But ever since then, he's been doing even more crap like that. He Slushied Puck a while later. And a few days ago, he and his buddy Azimio cornered me in the locker room and kinda... threatened me." Jessica's shocked expression caused him to hurry on. "It wasn't that bad! I mean, maybe 'threaten' was a bad word. They just made fun of me, and said they'd make more fun of me later. I just... I just wanted someone to know what he's done, and... I'm kinda afraid he's gonna do more."
"That's... I'm so sorry, Finn. I have no idea what could've gotten into that boy! It certainly doesn't sound like the David I know! I'll take care of it, don't you worry."
"Mrs. Fletcher?" The two broke off as Kurt approached. "Finn? Everything okay?"
"Oh, yeah, everything's great," Finn said abruptly. "I should go. I'll talk to you later, Kurt, Mrs. Fletcher." He hurried away, towards a waiting Quinn. Jessica and Kurt watched, the latter with a faraway expression that the former definitely noticed. She rose, about to ask Kurt where his father's den was, but he spoke first.
"Uh, could I ask you a question?"
"Certainly."
"I couldn't help but overhear a little of what you were talking about," Kurt said in a sheepish tone. "And I was wondering..."
"Did he do something to you too?" Jessica asked in horror.
"No! Not yet..." Kurt bit his lip as they both winced. "But I've heard about everything, and I wanted to ask... You said that didn't sound like Karofsky... David... to you. What... What is he like to you?"
Jessica searched the young man's face, and found genuine curiosity. So she gathered her thoughts, then began, "Well, I always think of him as quiet, bright, a little shy..."
Kurt's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
"Yes, really. I've known him his entire life, and he was always very sensitive and eager to please." Which, Jessica realized, could explain quite a bit. Not enough, though; she felt certain there was something else going on, some kind of core from which this blight had spread, but she had no idea what it was. Yet. "A little slow to try new experiences, but once he found one he'd like, he'd immerse himself in it. He's much the same way with people, too." She shook her head. "There's so much more I could say, I don't know where to begin. But believe me, I will have a talk with him about this. I'll make sure he doesn't bully the glee club again."
Kurt breathed a sigh of relief. "I'd— we'd really appreciate that. Like I said before, we aren't exactly the most popular kids in school, and every little bit helps." He paused. "You know, some of what you said kind of makes sense. I mean, he just seemed to suddenly do all this stuff fairly recently; I don't remember hearing anything about him in his freshman year. Why... why do you think he's changed?"
Jessica had absolutely no answer for that. Fortunately, she didn't get an opportunity to say so; Mr. Hummel emerged, David trailing behind him. "You guys done?" he asked his son.
"Oh, yeah, we're done." The sound of the door shutting behind Artie emphasized the point.
"Then I'm ready to go," Jessica said to David, rising from her seat.
"Oh. Okay, great."
"How was the game?"
David blinked. "Oh... fine. It was, um, nice to meet you, Mr. Hummel."
Burt Hummel nodded. "Take care." He didn't notice Kurt's widening eyes.
Jessica's instincts warred with each other on the stroll back to the car, but she quickly came to the conclusion that it was too soon to confront David with what she knew of his behavior. Maybe after she knew a little more about where it all came from. As much as she hated it, it was probably better for longer term success that she hold back for now — watch and listen, just as she'd exhorted the glee club to do.
The drive home was silent, at least on David's part. So was dinner; Jessica filled in enough conversation that she didn't think Debra or Paul noticed. It was only after dinner, mostly on impulse, that she gently cornered David in the upstairs hall.
"David, I could use your help. I need reliable transportation if I'm going to be looking into what happened to Mr. Tomlin, and with your parents working..."
"You need me to be your chauffeur some more."
Jessica nodded. "Just until everything is cleared up."
"Well... I have hockey practice and stuff..."
"I'll ask one of the glee club members to give me a lift if you're busy. But when you're not, it would be convenient to know that you're available."
David nodded slowly. "Okay." He started to pass Jessica, but she stopped him with a touch of his arm.
"David... You do know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
He stared at her, but his eyes were hidden in a shadow thrown by the hall light, much to her chagrin. "Yeah," he said, his voice mildly strained. "Yeah, I know. Good night, Aunt Jessica."
"Good night." She watched him tromp towards his room. She sighed as she heard the door slam behind him.
