BLONDE DECEPTION - The Logan Files Read online

  BLONDE

  DECEPTION

  A Logan

  File Mystery

  By

  MW HUFFMAN

  Blond Deception©2012 By MW Huffman

  All Rights Reserved

  Thank you once again Susan, my dear wife for once again reading, editing and staying up late to edit just one more chapter.

  OTHER BOOKS BY MW HUFFMAN

  THE BRINK

  CLOSE PROXIMITY

  BLACKSTAR

  CHIMERA

  WORLDS END

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 1 - The Alphabet Murders

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 2 - Frost Bite

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 3 - Dead Aim

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 4 - What Goes Around

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 5 - Nothing to Lose

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 6 - Shadow Man

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 7 – The Club

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 8 – Shakespeare Murders

  Angie Bartoni Case File # 9 – One Too Many

  Angie Bartoni Case File #10 – Weak Link

  Angie Bartoni Case File #11 – Vanishing Act

  Angie Bartoni Case File #12 - Revenge

  The Logan Files - Blond Deception

  The Logan Files - Innocence and Avarice

  The Logan Files - The Deal Breaker

  Norris Files - Silver2

  Norris Files – Insurrection

  Sins of the Fathers

  The Second Civil War–BOOK I-A Nation Divided

  The Second Civil War–Book II-A Nation at War

  The Second Civil War–Book III–A Nation Healing

  THE END–BOOK I of The Event Series

  THE BEGINNING–BOOK II of The Event Series

  THE REVELATION–BOOK III of The Event Series

  Project BlueBolt – BOOK I – American Gulags

  Project BlueBolt – BOOK II - The Gulag Journal

  Project BlueBolt – BOOK III – American Uprising

  The Unfinished

  CHAPTER ONE

  Dr. Ryan looked forlornly at the large stack of term papers on his desk. It was going to take at least a week to wade through them and it was already Tuesday. He was sure that the majority were written with little thought or preparation. Students always procrastinated until it was almost time to turn them in before they even started doing the necessary research.

  In the last three years it had gotten even worse. Students were waiting until a few days before the end of the semester to even begin their papers. That might work for some classes, but not for his. Law was all about being prepared, not procrastination.

  Terry Ryan was in his seventh year of teaching and was highly regarded in the department and would become the new program director now that his good friend, Dr. Liker was retiring. At the age of thirty-five he was pleased with his progress. He had been late in deciding exactly what he wanted to do in life but now he was established and had found his niche in life.

  The car accident that claimed his wife's life wasn’t quite as painful now but it was something that would never truly leave. She had been pregnant and the doctors were not able to save either his wife or his unborn son. The drunk driver who slammed into them head-on had escaped almost unscratched. How was it possible? Beverly had been wearing a seat belt but it didn’t help, his big jacked up truck climbed right on the hood and landed on the top of her car. She was crushed under the tons of steel, almost taking her head off. It took several hours to extract her from the mangled car. Terry shook his head and collected his thoughts. It was no good dwelling on it. The ‘why’ would never really be answered.

  Terry had not dated or even though about it much since then. He was attractive, with light brown hair, brown eyes, and broad shoulders. He didn’t consider himself good looking but he was certainly not a dog by any means. He knew several of the other single female professors had flirted with him but he just wasn’t ready yet for any kind of a long term relationship. Some of the female students had made a run at him as well, but he simply wasn’t interested. Dating a student was nothing more than a disaster waiting to happen.

  His office was like that of many other professors at the end of the semester. It was cluttered with books, term papers, and all of the other junk that had piled up over the course of the semester. His office was his sanctuary where he could escape and clear his head when the need arose.

  He reached into the small refrigerator he kept behind his desk and pulled out a Diet Coke. He was considering changing to caffeine free on the advice of his doctor, but he needed the small jolt the caffeine gave him. He opened his desk drawer and took out a Snickers bar. This was going to be his lunch today.

  He simply had to get started on the term papers. He picked up the first paper and took a deep sigh before opening it. He rubbed his eyes, looked at the stack of papers once more and then got down to work.

  He had just finished his third term paper when he heard a light tapping on his door.

  “Come,” he yelled.

  A strikingly tall girl cautiously opened the door and stuck her head in. She had blond hair and large ice blue eyes. She was definitely a looker. Ryan took his foot off his desk and looked at her.

  “Dr. Ryan. I’m Sharon Lewis, in your 10:00 o’clock business law class. I need to talk to you about my grade,” she stammered.

  “Yes. You sit in the third row, forth from the left side. That is, when you manage to come to class,” he said.

  “Uh, yes. How did you know that? There are, like 125 people in that class,” she replied wide eyed.

  “Well, for one thing, my assistant takes class attendance and then she tells me who was there and who was not, before entering the data in the grade sheet. I see who is missing almost every class. After a while a pattern starts to emerge and it isn’t long before I start connecting the face with the data,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Gosh, I didn’t think you even noticed,” she replied.

  “I notice more than you think. You chew gum like there is no tomorrow, that is, when you do get to class,” he told her.

  She immediately stopped chewing the gum that was in her mouth. She just looked at him with a startled expression. It was true. She almost always was chewing gum.

  Terry took out his 10:00 o’clock seating chart and looked up her attendance.

  “So Ms. Lewis, what do you need to see me about? I have a lot of papers to grade and I want to finish sometime this week.”

  “Well. Ah, I don’t know what to say or how to start really,” she replied.

  “Let me guess. You are worried about your grade and you want to know if you are going to pass. Then you will give me some excuse why you have not been doing so well along with a really touching reason why you can’t manage to come to class.”

  He paused before continuing “Ms. Lewis, I have heard just about every excuse and they almost always come down to the same thing. Students who don’t do their work on time but find a reason to do other things besides come to class,” he said, tossing the paper he was reading on the pile.

  Sunlight filtered through the room and only the clock on the wall made a sound for several seconds. Sharon sat down in the chair next to his desk and folded her hands in her lap. A good deal of leg was showing from the short skirt she had on.

  “Dr. Ryan, I really do have a reason. Honest. I’m not making anything up. I have had a very rough semester and if you let me explain, I know you will understand,” she said.

  Terry leaned back in his chair and propped his right foot on his desk. He looked at her for several seconds before speaking.

  “Ms. Lewis. I will listen to whatever it is you are going to tell m
e but I seriously, and, I mean seriously doubt, that it will make one bit of difference in the end. Students who wait until the last possible second to try to find a way to raise their grade are especially disturbing to me. I just can’t fathom why someone would do that,” he said.

  “Dr. Ryan. I know you probably think I am going to give you some story I made up but this is the honest truth,” she said, brushing her long blond hair over her ear. “I started off coming to class every day. Just look at your records. I didn’t miss a class until almost a month into the semester. I have a problem. I mean a real personal problem but I want you to understand. I am diagnosed with a bi-polar personality. I get so darned depressed that I actually can’t even get the energy to leave the house. I know that sounds strange but it’s the truth. I can’t help it. I tell myself I have to go to class but something inside of me just won’t let me follow through.”

  She sat there for several seconds and Terry thought to himself, now here is where she starts crying. He hated that part.

  Instead, she swallowed hard and said, “I know it sounds lame. I hate myself for it as well. I have gotten help but it still just isn’t enough.”

  “Help? What kind of help?”

  “I have been to a psychiatrist and she prescribed medicine.”

  “And that doesn’t help?” he asked.

  “Yes. When I have it to take. Look, I work 35 hours a week and by the time I pay for my car, rent and food I just don’t have enough money for the medicine sometimes. I can’t afford it,” she told him.

  “No one has enough money unless you have a budget plan. How much is your medicine?”

  “The last time I got it, a month supply was running $110.00 dollars.”

  “Yikes. That is high. Okay, I take it back. That is a ton of money to a college student,” he said, surprised.

  “That’s just for the one. She actually wants me to take two different pills but they cost even more. I simply can’t afford them,” she said sadly.

  “Let me look at your grades”, he said, removing his foot from the desk and turning to the computer.

  “Okay Sharon, you missed eleven classes. You also missed three case assignments, three quizzes and one brief that you should have written. Did you turn in your semester term paper?”

  “Ah, no. I’m not quite done with it yet,” she said, looking at her hands in her lap.

  Terry turned from the computer and rubbed his hands across his eyes and down his face and then clasping them with his fingers interlocked. He placed his chin on his hands and just looked at her. She was actually quite attractive. She had incredible blue eyes and only a slight amount of make up on. She was wearing a short plaid skirt and white blouse that had the top two buttons undone. Her hair was more golden than blond he decided and it looked very soft.

  “I know. I really messed up,” she said.

  “I would say that is an understatement,” Terry agreed.

  “Is there any way I can get through this class?” she asked.

  “I honestly don’t see how. Even if I let you make up the missed work and gave you until I read this stack of papers,” he said, indicating the pile on his desk, “I don’t think that would pull you up enough to pass. It’s too late to drop now. I think you’re just going to have to face it, you are going to get an F in this class.”

  “I can’t get a F. I just can’t,” she said, running her hands through her hair.

  “Well, actually you can. In fact, I pretty sure you will,” Terry replied.

  “Dr. Ryan. I can do this. I can do the work. It’s just this hang up of mine. Well, not really a hang up. It’s actually a chemical imbalance. I can’t physically do anything about it. I hate it when I get so I can’t even force myself to leave the house. I like your class. Really. I think you are a terrific professor, one of the best I have ever had. It’s just, you know, impossible for me to do it on my own.”

  “Look, Sharon. I understand your problem but honestly, there is nothing I can do about this. I simply can’t give you a grade based on your medical problems. I mean, you have to do the work to get the grade. It would be totally unfair to the other students that do come to class and turn in their assignments on time. I’m sorry for you. Really, I am, but well, there it is,” Terry told her.

  “Can’t I do something? Extra credit? I will make up the work I missed,” she pleaded.

  “You can’t. There is simply not enough time. I have to have grades in by the end of next week and its Tuesday now. There is no way you could get it all done. Not quality work. The kind that you would need to raise your grade to a D.”

  “I don’t want to get just a D. I want to get an A in this class,” she insisted.

  Terry looked at her for a moment, not sure he had heard correctly.

  “Surely you’re joking. An A? That is totally impossible. Even when you did come to class or take a test, your scores were just slightly above a C. How in the world do you even think you could get an A out of this class?” Terry asked in surprise.

  “Because you need to help me find a way,” she said.

  “Help you find a way? I don’t understand, what is that suppose to mean?” he asked.

  “Well, I would do anything to get my grade up,” she said, leaning forward.

  “Hold on. Just what are you saying? Are you…I don’t know, just what are you suggesting?”

  “I’m offering to do anything you want in exchange for an A grade,” she said, looking directly into his eyes.

  The shy little girl was no longer sitting in his office.

  “That’s not going to happen. I’m sorry. You are very attractive but I just won’t let myself get involved with a student for any reason,” he said.

  “I think you had better give it some more thought, Terry,” she said and undid one more button on her blouse

  “It’s Doctor Ryan, and what is that supposed to mean?”

  “Don’t make a big mistake. I will do anything you want. Any fantasy you have ever had. What would you like most in the world?” she asked in a low voice.

  “Look, Ms. Lewis, you have it all wrong. To get an A from me takes work. Classroom work. I am not about to trade in my career for a fling with a student over a grade,” he said, “Now, I want you to leave or I’ll call security, he said, reaching for the phone.

  “That would be a stupid thing to do. You really need to think this through Terry. It could be very bad for you if you don’t see things my way. Just take what I’m offering and this will all go away. If not, well…”

  “Is that a threat? What the hell does that mean exactly?”

  “It means that if you don’t, I will go to the Administration office and tell them that you offered to raise my grade if I had sex with you,” she said, looking him in the eye.

  Her softness had faded and was replaced by a determined look.

  “What the hell are you talking about? I never even mentioned such a thing. You’re the one that brought that up. This is a form of blackmail and that’s against the law. If you came to class you would know that,” Terry said standing up and pushing his chair back.

  “Does it matter? I’ll give them my hurt and frightened little girl story about how you tried to get me to have sex with you. I didn’t want to so I came to them to tell them about how you propositioned me. I can be very convincing. Hell, I can turn on the tears anytime I want. I assure you, it will look real,” she said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.

  Terry stood over her, clinching and unclenching his fists. He felt like knocking her across the room. Nothing like this had ever happened before, and here comes this girl, hell bent on dragging him down.

  “Why don’t you hit me,” she said, taunting him, “A good bruise would look great and add more to my story.”

  “You would really do this, just because you are too lazy to earn a grade? How do you think that will help you in the real world?”

  “I’m sure I’ll manage. As long as there are men and the law is on our side, nothing will
stop me,” she said smugly.

  Terry sat back down and just looked at her. Was this really happening to him? Everything he worked for was hanging on some students made up story. They surely wouldn’t take her word over his. They would back him up and dismiss her story for what it was, a lie. He couldn’t imagine someone being this evil, just to get a grade.

  “Well Doctor? What’s it going to be? You might as well just give me the A. What difference will it really make in the grand scheme of life? Who will care five years from now? I’ll be gone, you’ll still have your nice office and job and no one will ever be the wiser,” she said.

  “You don’t get it, do you? Even if I did give you the A, I would never be able to live with myself. I have to face the fact that some students are just not going to make it and I have to fail them. It goes with the job. But this is different. You are actually telling me you are willing to blackmail me, with a made up story no less.”

  “Well if you want, you can have the sex. Then it wouldn’t be blackmail really. Actually, I would like that better anyway,” she said suggestively.

  “You would have sex just for a grade?” he asked. He was astonished at her attitude.

  “An A grade,” she corrected.

  “Whatever. That’s not the point. Even if I just changed it one letter grade, I would be doing a disservice to the other students,” he told her.

  “I don’t give a shit about the other students. I care about Sharon. They can all take a flying leap. I have big plans for my life once I leave this shit-hole College. As they say, I have places to go and people to see,” she said and laughed.

  Terry shook his head. This was crazy. Hell, she was crazy.

  “So, what is it going to be?” she asked, leaning forward so he could get a good look down her blouse. He struggled to keep eyes directly on her face.

  “I honestly don’t know. I really don’t,” he said.

  “Tell you what,” Sharon said, standing up, “I’ll give you until next Monday to think it over. Just be in your office at noon and I’ll pop in for another chat,” she said and opened the door, “Don’t take any longer than that. I have already scheduled a meeting with Dean Richards for Monday at 2:00 O’clock. I wouldn’t want to keep him waiting.”