“The tutor made it easy for them to discount her, though. She later offered to sell her documented evidence online so she could pay her tuition bills. She said she told the NCAA she completed assignments for students from all sports. But she said she only completed courses or took exams for football players and men’s basketball players. The University came back and pinned it all on her, saying she was the one who initiated everything.
“The bottom line is, even if she did it independently, without direction from the University, the athletes cheated. They let someone else do their work for them, and that’s against the rules. Despite that, to this day, neither the NCAA nor the University of Missouri has made a move against any student-athletes.
“We are going to the FBI voluntarily. I can ask that they keep your identity confidential, but that doesn’t mean that they will. At the very least, you’ll be seen as a cooperating witness and not a bad actor. I doubt that you’ll rise to the level of a confidential informant, to be honest. You don’t have enough ongoing information for them to classify you as such,” Maddie explained.
“Then I’m not sure we should come forward,” Dad said.
“Let’s do this: we’ll go to the meeting and tell them what you’re worried about. If they don’t want to give you assurances, we’ll walk. I’m betting they will,” she said.
Our pizza came, and I realized I might have ordered too much. When the waitress said humongous, she meant it. There were twenty-eight slices. We would be taking some home.
“The FBI is not an organization with which to play fast and loose with facts. It’s against the law to lie to them. People have been convicted of just that. They don’t even have to get you on any actual underlying crimes,” Maddie said, making both Dad and me even more hesitant.
Maddie smiled at us.
“You’re bringing them information. They aren’t in the business of locking people up for no reason. I might be a little jaded because my clients usually have a reason to worry about an FBI interview. You’ll be fine if you listen to me and stick to the facts. If you don’t know, tell them that.
“From what I understand, you both have been questioned by the police before. It shouldn’t be any more worrisome than that,” she assured us.
“Except for the accidentally lying and then going to jail part,” I mumbled.
“Yes. That would be bad,” Maddie agreed.
I hated lawyers who thought they had a sense of humor.
◊◊◊
Chapter 7 – Hiding From Your Stalker? Friday December 9
I rolled out of bed at nine, put on a pair of shorts, and wandered down to the kitchen. Intent on eating some leftover pizza, I threw three slices onto a cookie sheet and put them in the oven. I didn’t like how the microwave made the crust soggy on a thin-crust pizza.
While I waited, I put on some hot water for tea.
Adrienne and Tyler came strolling in. Tyler sniffed the air when she smelled my pizza warming up. Instead of letting them eat all my pizza, I decided I would put two more slices into the oven to warm up for them.
They both looked at me and grinned like they had a secret. I raised an eyebrow in response.
“What are you two up to?” I asked.
“The cleaning girl is here,” Adrienne said.
If I hadn’t been hungry, I might have bolted. Right on cue, the vision that had haunted my dreams the last few nights walked in. I might have crumbled if Teresa wasn’t made up and wearing the porn version of a maid’s outfit. The skirt was so short you caught a glimpse of her panties, such as they were; she made a point to show me that she was wearing a thong. The smell of Teresa’s perfume—the same fragrance that was on my sheets—mingled with the yummy smell of pizza. Her appearance showed she was pushing the boundaries and made the big brain engage.
As I took her in, she was doing the same with me. I probably should have worn a shirt, but everyone in the house had seen me in less, so I hadn’t bothered.
I glanced over at Tyler and Adrienne, and they were trying not to laugh at me. They seemed to sense that I was about to ignore her.
“Hi, I’m Teresa.”
“David” was my one-word response.
Adrienne had seen me in action and knew I could chat-up a girl. She’d never seen nervous David before. When I was younger, I could talk to all of my brother’s girlfriends without getting tongue-tied. Back then, if you got me with someone my age, I was a stammering fool. I reasoned I didn’t have a chance with my brother’s older girlfriends.
I thought I’d gotten past this; it had been a few years since I’d acted shy. Even though I knew better, Teresa got my motor running.
“Where did you get the outfit?” Adrienne asked.
“A little specialty shop that carries items like this.”
I imagined Brook in that little getup. Adrienne was doing the same for Tyler.
“We should go shopping,” she suggested to her girlfriend.
“Think again,” Tyler smirked.
Thankfully, the timer on the oven buzzed to break the spell. I darted over and started to pull the pizza out and put it on plates.
