Chapter 10
"As you can hear from the ambient sound around me, and I notice, with some relief, the Icelandic group next door have either checked or passed out, I may not need the earplugs which I received today, Diane, although I may put them to use as a precautionary measure. I ordered hot milk from room service. Here's hoping that does the job, and I can catch some quality sack time."
The gang all sat around Abed's bed at the motel, staring at him in disbelief. Detective Butcher, perhaps feeling slightly apart from things, was hovering near the doorway, nudging his chair backward and then forward with his biceps.
Shirley refocused and was having just about enough of this nonsense. She stomped over to Abed as he sat upright in his bed, his old fashioned pajama hat comically askew on his head as he took a long sip of warm milk.
"You're a lunatic, Abed. You can't just accept earplugs from this mysterious Diane and continue to record your thoughts for her. Why, we established earlier today that Frankie didn't send her. It's very obvious that Diane is up to no good."
Abed sighed in satisfaction and then shifted to the side as he placed his milk down on the end table. Shirley instinctively placed a coaster underneath it, and there was a twinkle in Abed's eye and for a brief moment she wondered if it was gratitude until she remembered he was still enacting Twin Peaks.
"Shirley, Shirley, Shirley, I appreciate your concern, but remember Diane, or whomever Diane represents, also sent me a warning note along with wads of cash. My mysterious benefactor likely knew I would be enticed."
"Right, so this person was luring you into a trap of somesort." She arched a brow and waited.
"And why would they do that, Shirley? The person knows my connection to you. You and Detective Butcher were already working the case, and this case bears some striking similarities with past happenings at Greendale, which we do not need to rehash at this point because we trust everyone remembers." He paused and then glanced around the room at all of their friends who were looking very concerned and then added, "I've been working on not recapping as much. You're welcome, Jeff."
Jeff placed his hands in his jean pockets and slowly walked over to the bed, taking a moment to share a look of concern with Shirley. He then uncharacteristically sat on the edge, not taking full advantage of his height which he normally did for authoritative effect. Shirley knew in that moment that things were going badly.
Jeff cracked a sly smile and then said, "Abed, yes, while your recaps are sometimes distracting, perhaps we could use a summary. I confess I'm feeling somewhat lost, and you know how I don't like to admit stuff like that."
Abed and Jeff shared several beats of silence, and Shirley could have sworn Abed's mouth twitched slightly and that Jeff was trying to hold back some emotion. She turned discreetly to see Annie and Britta leaning forward in rapt attention and she frowned and then turned back.
Now snapping into mode, Abed sat up straighter and said, "Bumbles, or as some called him Randy, was murdered on the campus steps, Detective Butcher and Shirley investigated and Detective Butcher interviewed what we now know was the real Dean. Within a few days, however, the Dean was replaced with a doppledeaner. Audrey noticed the switch and was promptly kidnapped to get her out of the way, but of course we all pieced things together. Detective Butcher also noticed the switch but for some reason didn't say anything right away, which then didn't necessitate him being kidnapped. I was shot which we then found out was by paint. Someone told me to come here and record musings for a remote assistant we now know is unlikely to exist. This same person provided me with funds and sent Audrey to me."
A hush fell over the room as everyone took in the recap, reminding themselves that, while a lot of Abed nonsense was going on, things were dire indeed. Abed watched all of their reactions and then stared pointedly at Detective Butcher, who was still near the door.
"Why is that?"' He tilted his head and waited.
Detective Butcher frowned, seemingly puzzled by Abed's question. "Why is what?"
Leaning forward, his eyes piercing in that way they did when he was on the scent of a plot, Abed clarified, "Why didn't you say anything about the fake dean?"
Shirley had just about enough of the nonsense when it came to Abed's suspicions of Devon. First he more than insinuated Devon was faking paralysis, compared him to Pierce, and now this. She shot him a glare and said, "Abed, Devon's already explained things to me. He told me about it during the storm, and it was perfectly understandable. He didn't want the Dean to catch on that he noticed. He was waiting to talk to us all about it, but then things got crazy with Audrey fainting, the kidnapping, and you being shot. There was no opportunity until he and I were alone at the mansion." She tried her best to suppress the thoughts of them in the living room with all the wetness, illuminated only by the soft romantic glow of the lantern.
"Right. Exactly." Devon smiled at her appreciatively but it was an odd very slight smile, and he seemed uncomfortable. She wondered if he was remembering their huddling for warmth as well, and she inwardly chastised herself for recalling it too.
She turned back to Abed and said sweetly, "There. Completely explained."
"But how did the criminals know that he wouldn't tell? Why didn't they kidnap him?"
Completely sidestepping the question, which Shirley noted, Devon wheeled his chair closer and asked, "Criminals? As in plural?" His eyes were piercing, and she knew he was on the hunt.
Abed nodded vigorously and said, "It makes sense. There are multiple kidnappings involved, afterall. And a fake dean. Trust me, I don't think that guy has the brains to pull off all of this anyway."
"So who's the murderer then?" Devon began inching his wheelchair further toward the bed, and Shirley stepped back to allow him complete access. He finally made it to right in front of Abed, to Jeff's right, and awaited the answer.
Abed tilted his head again and stared at Devon for several odd beats before he said, "I don't know. There are a few possibilities, really. I'm going to talk to Bob tomorrow."
"Bob?"
"Custodian Bob. Audrey says he has the answers."
"What did you ever mean about the sideburns? I"ve been meaning to ask you that. As I told you, he was freshly shaved."
"The sideburns were a red herring. It just reminded me of Starburns, who disappeared after he supposedly blew himself up. There was no body. Of course, in this case, there is a body."
Abed shifted his eyes and then suddenly became quiet.
Jeff leaned forward and asked, "What is it buddy?"
Abed squeaked, "Was there a body?"
"Of course there was a body." Jeff squinted and turned toward Shirley and said, "I think he needs to sleep."
Abed leaned forward and asked, "Shirley, did you see the body? Like actually see it?"
Shirley frowned, her mind confused a bit about the back and forth. She bit her lip in thought, reflecting on the crime scene and how she instinctively flinched when she saw the bloody body on the library steps. It had been a chaotic scene with the crime tape left behind by the police who had left by the time she and Devon had been called over to investigate privately by the school. She had left it in Devon's capable hands to deal with the nasty details while she went to work on labeling and categorizing the various forensic clues, plus grabbing as many potential witnesses as she could from amongst the throng of students gawking at the scene.
She paused only briefly to remember Devon's capable hands before she inwardly chastised herself once again and said aloud, "I saw it, I'm sure."
"How close did you get?"
"Not very, but Devon even though I know you had to wait until the body was lifted off the steps to examine it because of your wheelchair, you accompanied it to the morgue and you saw…"
It was then that the lights flickered, and went out, plunging them all in total darkness for the second time in this caper. Shirley reached and located Devon's wheelchair amongst the ensuing murmurs of her friends and Abed's squeaking in what she assumed was delight. She grabbed the handles and leaned down to whisper, "I've got you. I'm here."
"Thanks, Bennett."
She inched the wheelchair toward the door, intent on saving them. From what she didn't know, but she had a crawling sensation moving up and down her spine that she could no longer ignore. It had been there intermittently throughout the case, but had grown stronger over the past few minutes as Abed had been engaging with his silly questions. All she knew was that she trusted Devon, and she felt the instinct to protect him.
Abed was always looking for villains anyway, and clearly Devon hadn't murdered anyone. Why, he didn't even have the use of his legs.
She located the door and pushed it open to reveal a darkened patio and continued to wheel Devon down the concrete path to the parking lot. All she knew was that they needed to escape amongst the sound of popping gunfire all around the motel.
X
X
Somehow they made it to Devon's van, and she started the ignition. She couldn't remember how they had gotten in so quickly with Devon's chair and all, but he had been muttering something about the amazement of her superhuman strength when she was full of adrenaline before she turned to him and swatted his shoulder. He shirked back and seemed both delighted and chastised.
Good.
"Bennett, have you been working out? Like more than me?"
"I've got this, Devon! We need to get the hell out of here. But I suppose I should disengage your driving mechanism here, see I'll just…." She stared down at the pedals, realizing the driving mechanism, the one Devon used because he no longer had the use of his legs, was already disengaged.
X
X
It was about fifteen minutes later, and they were back on campus. She had parked in the lot in the back of the library and was staring at the dash. Devon had been clearing his throat for the past couple minutes, but she didn't want to look at him.
"Bennett, come on, let's just talk about it. What's wrong?"
She finally lifted her gaze and then slowly turned to face him. His baby blues were sparkling in the darkness, the light from a parking lot post floating into the car. She didn't know where to begin exactly, for so many thoughts were going through her mind. Things she had ignored up until now. Things she had pushed into the back of her mind.
She managed, "I don't know if I want to ask."
"Ask me what?" His eyes shot toward the driving mechanism and then back. It was lightning quick, but she knew he knew it that moment exactly what she was getting at.
"Devon, I like to think we have a partnership. That we can be honest with each other. Is that not correct?"
He let out a long sigh and then leaned his head back on the headrest, his eyes closing. It seemed like an eternity, and she didn't like where her mind had gone.
"I'm sorry. I've tried, but well, there are things going on."
"Clearly. There was gunfire back there."
He groaned, "Oh come on, we both know that was likely paintball."
She felt the smirk of her lips and sensed he was about to laugh as well. They had a shared humor, and she could only imagine that he was finding this whole situation with Abed and the paintball game highly interesting and amusing at the same time. She of course had told him all about the Greendale paintball wars, and although it was one of those things that you had to be there to really understand it, he had always listened to her with a twinkle in his eye. She supposed now he was in the middle of a game of paintball and that perhaps he was starting to really get the absurdity and thrill of it.
Thrill. Her body suddenly shuddered and he gripped her hand. She didn't object, but more closed her eyes and remembered her thought from the motel less than a half hour ago, after Abed had said those things about the body and implied something about Devon.
Abed was always looking for villains anyway, and clearly Devon hadn't murdered anyone. Why, he didn't even have the use of his legs.
She opened her eyes and regarded him. He was clearly nervous,now sitting up fully and his brow perspiring just so in the pale light of the moon. She took her hand away, and she could tell he was both disappointed and fearful. She had faced many tragic things in her life, from the abandonment of her father when she was ten which led her to becoming a bully, to her nana's beatings that she still didn't like to think about, and to her husband cheating on her with a stripper. She could handle suffering, she could even make something from it if she tried, but at the moment she felt her stomach sinking. This might be the thing even Shirley Bennett couldn't come back from. Against all her restraint, she had fallen in love with this incredible man. A man who had now betrayed her and perhaps was even a murderer.
She said, "Devon, I have to ask you something."
"You don't."
"Do you have the use of your legs?"