The Volcano That Changed The World (16 page)

He want
ed to shake some sense into her to have her grow a backbone. But instead, he forced himself to gently say, “It’s important that Dean Miller know. After that I will do anything I can to help you.” The last part was a lie.

Shadron
calmed a bit, her eyes fixed on him. “Are you sure? Anything?”

Again, h
e tried to sound reassuring even though he knew his manipulative nature was writing checks that his elitism couldn’t cash. “Absolutely. Everything within reason. Just as we discussed, I promise.”

He stood and walked around his desk, bent down and took her hand. He
gently stroked it with his other hand.

She steadied
herself for what she needed to do. “Okay, I think I’m ready,” she said tentatively.

“Then let’s go.” Bolton helped her up.
He wanted to get this over with.

They
left Bolton’s office and walked down the hall to Dean Miller’s office, Shadron following closely behind Bolton like a little lost puppy. Bolton had seen the dean in his office earlier and was sure he would still be there. The dean seemed to be spending more and more time in his office these days.

T
apping on the office door, Bolton heard the dean say, “Enter.” He opened the door and guided Shadron ahead of him.

“Dean, do you have a moment?”
Bolton asked.

“Yes, Sam. What is it?”
Miller put down the article he was reading.

“This is Shadron Taylor and she has something to tell you
,” Sam said by way of introduction.

Bolton
and Shadron took seats across from Dean Miller, separated by his desk.

Shadron remained silent
, looking down at her hands folded and lying in her lap.

Again, Bolton
felt like shaking her, but he sat quietly waiting.

“
Well, Ms. Taylor, what do you want to tell me?” asked Miller finally, eyeing the girl inquiringly.

Bolton
, watching Shadron, decided she needed help. He quickly blurted out, “Shadron is pregnant.”

Dean Miller
was stunned, not knowing how to respond, his mind filled with questions. Why was he being told this? Why was Bolton here with this woman? He waited for Bolton to add more.

Shadron be
gan crying.

Miller
turned to Shadron and asked, “My dear, this doesn’t sound like a joyous occasion for you. But why are you coming to me with this information?”

Shadron
just continued to whimper.

Bolton
adjusted his position in his chair as he became more annoyed with her. This was not how they practiced. She was supposed to be more of a participant.

Not to be deterred, Bolton
continued. “Shadron came to me about an hour ago. She is in one of my classes. She told me,” he paused for effect, “that Mark Malloy is the father.” He forced a stern look, while on the inside he smiled with joy.

Dean Miller
looked at Bolton, astonished, and slumped back in his chair as if he had been slapped across the face. His initial reaction was one of disbelief. He turned to focus on Shadron. He wanted to hear it directly from her. Leaning forward, he asked, “Ms. Taylor, is this true?”

The flow of tears increa
sed to the point where she couldn’t speak. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded her head.

Once again, Miller
sagged in his chair, the weight of the world on his shoulders, or so it seemed.

The
n he wondered; had she been raped. “Were you having an affair with Professor Malloy?”

Again Shadron nodded her head, fighting to hold back more tears.

“So the sex was consensual?”

She looked at Dean Miller, a confused expression on her face.

“Did you willingly have sex with Professor Malloy?”

Slowly she nodded her head and began crying again.

“Ms. Taylor, I have to ask this. Are you willing to be tested so there is medical proof of your pregnancy?”

Shadron looked at Bolton who nodded once. With a weak voice, she said, “I’ve missed my period and have already tested myself several times. I’m certain I’m pregnant.”

“Because of the seriousness of your accusation, we need independent proof. Are you willing to be tested to verify your pregnancy?”

“Yes,” she managed as Bolton patted her on the shoulder.

“Thank you,” Dean Miller said. “I need to follow up on this. How can I contact you?”

Bolton responded, “I can provide you her contact information later. For now, we just wanted to make you aware of this unfortunate situation and the jeopardy in which Malloy has placed this department.”
He practically spat out Malloy’s name as he helped Shadron out of her chair.

Before leaving, Bolton turned and said, “I will help manage this problem to minimize the impact to the department.”

By then, Miller was lost in thought and not paying attention.

Once the two left his office, Dean Miller sat silently at his desk, not moving. He found this allegation difficult to believe. It was very serious indeed. And if true, Mark would be forced to leave the university. It would end his career; tenure would be out of the question. But was it true—an affair with a student? Bolton seemed convinced of the story’s validity, but then, he would. For Mark’s promotion, Bolton would no longer need a second “no” vote, which he had failed to secure.

At least this wasn’t a c
riminal case, a rape case. Miller had reluctantly asked the poor girl about consensual sex because he knew that would be the first thing that his boss, the Dean of the Faculty, would need to know.

Although
skeptical about the whole situation, Miller knew he needed to inform his boss. Those were the rules. But in fairness to Mark, he wanted to speak with him first.

Miller
looked at his watch; it was nearly five p.m. in Tallahassee, around midnight in Crete. Now would be a good time to catch Mark at his hotel, even if it meant waking him. He checked his emails for Mark’s most recent contact information. He found it. As he placed the call, he felt the beginnings of a migraine. These severe headaches were a recent development with which he was still learning to cope.

Mark was sound asleep when the phone next to his bed rang. It took him a moment or two to determine where he was and what was happening. Turning on the light, he checked his watch. Why would anyone be calling at midnight? he thought. Shaking his head to help clear it, he answered the phone.

“Hello
,” he said groggily.

“
Hi, Mark, this is Dean Miller.” Mark’s heart skipped a beat. If Dean Miller was calling at this time, it must be bad news. Or maybe there was news related to the attempted-murder investigation, but that call would come from Carter, wouldn’t it?

Now
fully awake and alert, he asked, “What is it, Dean?” He lay in bed propped up on one elbow. “Have there been any new developments in my being locked in the ice core freezer?”

Dean Miller took a deep breath. He
felt very uncomfortable with what he was about to say. “No, Mark, I haven’t received any news about Detective Carter’s investigation, but there’s been another, rather startling development.”

He hesitated
, and then asked, “Do you know a student by the name Shadron Taylor?”

Mark responded slowly, wondering what she had to do with anything. Why call him at this hour to ask him that question?
“Yes, I do. She’s the sister of Shannon Taylor, the football star. Both were in one of my classes last semester. Why do you ask?” Now he feared a car accident or something equally bad may have occurred.

Without pausing, Dean Miller blurted out,
“She’s pregnant.”

A hush hung in the air.

Mark could tell by the way Miller made the statement that this was not a happy situation. He filled the gap. “Oh no, poor girl…but why are you calling me at midnight to tell me this? I don’t understand.”

Dean Miller sat silently for a moment
, pondering how to answer the question. He was struck at the lightness of Mark’s response, suggesting he had no idea about the message he just delivered or the one he was about to deliver.

There was no gentle way to put it.
“Mark, she claims you’re the father.”

“What?” Mark shouted
as he bolted up to a sitting position on the bed.

It took him a moment to work his way throug
h the confusion. “But that’s not true. That’s a barefaced lie!” He almost yelled the last statement.

“
You know, Mark, I tend not to believe her either, but it’s your word against hers. She did say that it was, ahem, consensual,” Dean Miller said sympathetically, “so there won’t be any criminal charges. Still, I’m sorry, but I will have to raise this to higher levels within the university. It will take time, but this accusation will have to be resolved higher up the chain.”

“I understand,” Mark said numbly.

“Have you done anything with her that could be interpreted by others as compromising?” Miller queried.

“What do you mean?”
Mark asked.

“For instance
, did you ever go to dinner with her? Just the two of you? I’m interested in any evidence that could be construed as a more personal relationship.”

“Absolutely not!
Has someone suggested that?” Mark demanded, his anger and voice level rising again.

Trying to calm him down, Miller replied.
“No, no, it was just an example. I’m just trying to determine what circumstantial evidence may be facing us.”

After thinking a moment, Mark said, “The only thing I’
ve ever done with her is give her course help during my normal office hours, and I always kept my door open. That’s my policy. I have never met with her or any other student privately.”

Ma
rk continued as if adding an exclamation point. “There is no evidence of us being together, circumstantial or otherwise. Absolutely none!”

Dean Miller wanted to prepare Mark for the inevitable.
“Okay, Mark, I’m inclined to believe you, but there’s another thing. You need to be prepared if and when this goes public.”

Mark’s patience
was wearing thin. “Just how do I do that? I’m not even there to defend myself. Plus, even if I deny it, like you said, it’s my word against hers. The way the media likes to sell sensationalism, do you really think I will receive fair consideration from the press?”

Although he didn’t say it, Mark
knew the press would have a field day with the fact that he was a white male professor and she was a young, naïve, African American female student. They would have difficulty determining what to lead with, the male predator authority figure or the racial angle. He was screwed no matter what he did, no matter that he was innocent.

“What about the university?” Mark asked. “Will they give my case fair consideration?”

“I believe so. I will do all I can to ensure that they do.”

Dean Miller’s words did not convince Mark.
The university would want this messy situation cleaned up as soon as possible. Proving a negative, that he was not the father, would be difficult, and the university would likely take the easy route and just fire him, making the problem go away.

“I know this is
difficult. But there’s one more thing you should know,” Dean Miller said.

“
What’s that?” Mark asked fearing more bad news.

“She had an escort when she came to my office.
It was—”

“
Shannon, her brother?” Mark interrupted, feeling he somehow had let his favorite student down, even though he had done nothing wrong.

“No, it was Sam Bolton.”

“What! Are you kidding me?” Mark asked, incredulous. “Dean, he probably made the whole thing up!”

Miller explained
, “He claims that she came to him with this information. His involvement cannot be a good thing. Also, she has agreed to be tested to confirm that she’s pregnant. I will make sure that the test is conducted.”

Mark was silent so Miller continued, “
I’ll keep you informed as things develop at this end. Because of the deliberative nature of the school administration in legal matters, I can’t imagine that this will be resolved before you return at the end of the summer. Until this is resolved, however, the administration may place you on administrative leave.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you may not be able to teach until a resolution is reached.”

The
dean’s words were like a dagger to his heart. He finally was beginning to comprehend the implications of this accusation. His initial reaction was shock and outrage followed by a desire to establish the truth—his innocence. He had not considered the potential consequences…until now.