Seams in Reality Read online

  "But only very special people can get this scholarship," Tonya said. "It's my job to make sure you meet the criteria. Answer the questions, and be truthful. If I catch you lying to me, you'll get nothing at all. Honesty and integrity are at the top of the list. I will not tolerate any sort of cheating."

  "OK. I suppose I don't have anything to hide. My parents are Percival and Beth Kenworthy. My dad runs a coffee shop and my mom is a hair stylist. I don't have any brothers or sisters."

  "I already know the basic facts about you. Tell me things that aren't in the public record."

  Andrew drew back. "You did a background check on me?"

  "Yes."

  He glanced at Charley. She didn't appear surprised and was looking at him with open curiosity. She was clearly involved in the conspiracy. He wondered if getting the lead role in the play was also part of the secret agenda. At the time, many had expressed shock about a mere freshman receiving such an honor.

  Andrew faced Tonya. "I suppose I had a normal enough childhood. Little league baseball and that sort of thing."

  "Did you have a lot of friends?" she said.

  "Well, uh..."

  "Be truthful."

  "Not a lot," he said after a pause. "I guess the other kids thought I was weird."

  "Why?" She leaned forward.

  "I always talked about knights, dragons, and spaceships. I kind of lived in my own made-up world."

  "I understand. It's like the real world just isn't interesting enough. You have to create your own."

  Andrew nodded. "Exactly." He had never heard anybody express the problem so clearly.

  "And when you were lost in your own fantasies, what did it feel like?"

  "I was in control. I could have the life I wanted. I just had to imagine it, and I was there."

  "A strong imagination is very useful," Tonya said, "but so is remembering what's real."

  She took a dollar coin from her desk and began to flip it across the backs of her fingers. Her dexterity impressed Andrew, and he wondered if she could perform magic tricks. The props in her office suggested she could.

  Her wooden desk was big and looked very heavy. Loose papers cluttered the broad surface which had a few spots where the varnish had worn off. A dusty desk lamp had a green glass cover. A laptop computer was shoved out of the way in preference for an old-fashioned typewriter. Andrew had never seen a real typewriter outside of a museum, and he wondered how often Tonya actually typed on it. It seemed kind of useless to him. It was like a text editor with no delete key.

  "Did you get into trouble often?" she said. "Were you a problem child?"

  "I don't think so," he said, "but you'll have to ask my mom."

  "Which reminds me. I want to know about her father, your grandfather."

  "Why?"

  "Just tell me what you know," Tonya said.

  Andrew studied her and tried to guess her motives. She was moderately attractive even for a woman in her fifties. Her round face was nicely proportioned.

  "I don't know much," he said. "I never met him. He died the day I was born. Mom told me he was very, very smart, but that's all."

  "A shame," Tonya said. "You would've enjoyed spending time with him. I actually met him."

  He stared in disbelief. "You're kidding."

  "No. Gustav made a very strong impression on me. That's one big reason we're talking now."

  "How did you know him?"

  "We were professional colleagues," she said. "His death was a great loss."

  "He was a professor like you?"

  "Not quite. Your mother never talks about him?"

  "No," Andrew said. "It's like she's embarrassed."

  Tonya frowned.

  He glanced at Charley again. He had the feeling of being in a play where everybody but him had a copy of the script. He had no idea whether he should be afraid or not. Tonya seemed nice enough, but she was obviously keeping important facts from him. She knew more about his grandfather than he did for one thing. Her intense, unwavering stare unsettled him.

  "I'm still not sure of what kind of person you are," she said. "I have your background information, but facts and dates don't really capture a person's essence. Maybe you should tell me a little story about yourself in your own words. Describe a formative event in your life."

  "This interview is getting very personal," Andrew said, "and it's making me uncomfortable."

  "The scholarship is worth a lot of money. I don't want to waste it on a failing student."

  He sighed with annoyance. The scholarship would make his life a lot easier and take a huge burden off his parents. He had to play along.

  "I grew up in a small town," Andrew said. "There wasn't much to do especially at night. The teenagers liked to steal beers and drink them under the bleachers of the high school football field. I tried it because I wanted to be one of the cool kids, but I never had much fun. I don't enjoy alcohol.

  "I was under the bleachers on a Friday night when a stranger wandered over. He was dirty and smelled terrible. He told us he was a hitchhiker from out of town. He wanted a little money for food, but the other kids pushed him around instead. They started really hurting him. I didn't have to get involved, but I couldn't just stand there and watch, so I jumped into the middle of it. The hitchhiker escaped, and I got beat up instead."

  "Did you tell any of the adults what happened?" Tonya said.

  "No. I didn't want to cause any trouble. I never went back to the bleachers though. The cool kids had showed me their true selves, and I wasn't interested in being one of them anymore."

  She smiled.

  Charley gave Andrew a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Nice."

  "Is that it?" he said. "Do I get the scholarship?"

  Tonya chuckled. "Not nearly. You have to take a written test next."

  "Are you serious?" He looked at her in dismay. "What kind of test?"

  She rummaged through her desk drawers until she came up with a deck of cards. She gave him the deck along with a notepad and a few sharp pencils.

  "The instructions are specific," she said, "so pay attention. This is a closed book test. You are only allowed to use what's in your skull. Read each card in order and write down your best answer. Place the cards face down after you've read them. Do not skip ahead or back up. Do not peek at later questions or review earlier ones. Do not rewrite an answer. Take exactly one shot at every question and move on. Understand?"

  Andrew nodded. "I think so."

  "Good. You have a half-hour. Charley, let's let the man work in peace."

  Tonya and Charlie left the office and closed the door. Except for a rattle from the ventilation system, the room was very quiet.

  Andrew turned over the top card on the deck. The first question read, "What is the purpose of life?"

  He blew air through his lips. How the hell am I supposed to answer that? he thought. The deck of questions was thick, and he didn't have a ton of time, so he decided to just write the first thing that popped into his head.

  He jotted down, "To learn and grow. To make each new generation better than the last." He nodded with satisfaction. It sounded good at least.

  The second question read, "Marian is a single, pregnant woman with no job or money. The father refuses to marry or support her in any way. She can't raise the baby on her own, so she has an abortion. When he finds out, he beats her severely for killing his offspring. Who is at fault?"

  Andrew shook his head. These questions are crazy.

  He wrote, "Both people made mistakes, but the father committed a crime. He should go to jail."

  He turned over the card. The next question read, "Comment on moral objectivism."

  Andrew stared at the card. He had no idea what the phrase meant, and he didn't want to make a random guess. The scholarship was too important. He looked around the office, hoping for inspiration, but he saw nothing useful.

  He remembered he had a phone which had an internet browser. He just had to type the phrase, and he would have t
he answer in seconds. He could write something brilliant and look like a genius.

  Andrew put his hand in his pocket and felt his phone. He hated cheating. If he won the scholarship dishonestly, Tonya might never know, but he would.

  After taking a long moment to think about it, he wrote, "I don't know what that means."

  He went to the next question which read, "What is the name of the pregnant woman from two questions back?"

  Andrew struggled to recall that trivial fact. He hadn't paid much attention to the name, and now it was forgotten. Mary? Marilyn? Marina? The answer was two cards back, and he just needed a quick peek. Again, Tonya would never know.

  He closed his eyes. He had to decide how much integrity he had. He could tell the temptation to cheat would dog him throughout the test, and if he gave into it once, he might as well do it every time. There was no middle ground that would let him feel like a real winner.

  Tonya wanted honesty, he thought. I'll give it to her.

  Andrew wrote, "Maybe it was Mary, but I don't really remember."

  He continued through the deck at a quick but careful pace. He kept one eye on a clock on the wall, and the hands seemed to move faster than normal. He was able to answer only half the questions, and some of his responses were just educated guesses.

  When the half-hour was up, the office door opened. Tonya and Charley walked in. Tonya picked up the notepad and started skimming Andrew's answers.

  "I didn't cheat," he said.

  "I know," she replied without taking her eyes off the notepad.

  "How do you know?"

  "We were watching through a hidden camera."

  His face grew warm. He looked around the office but didn't see any camera.

  "You won't find it," Tonya said calmly.

  Andrew felt betrayed. While he had wrestled with his conscience, she had watched like a scientist observing a laboratory rat.

  "You invaded my privacy!" he said.

  "How?" Tonya said. "This is my office, not your bedroom."

  He turned to Charley. "You saw me, too?"

  She nodded. "You did great. You showed real integrity." She gave him a thumbs-up, but it didn't make him feel better.

  "Is that it?" Andrew said angrily. "Am I done?"

  "For now," Tonya said. "I need to examine these answers carefully. Let's get together again tomorrow night after the show. I'll make dinner for you at my house. I'll tell you then whether you get the scholarship or not."

  "Where do you live?"

  "Charley will show you. You're both invited."

  He wanted to make a snappy retort, but Tonya was still holding that scholarship over his head. Demonstrating a bad attitude wouldn't help him get it.

  He settled for, "OK, but no more tricks."

  She snorted with amusement. "Good bye. I'll see you tomorrow."

  "Hey, wait a sec. What about the ghost of Willy Loman? You never told me what that thing was?"

  "Tomorrow." Tonya waved towards the office door.

  Andrew frowned. "And why do you have a surveillance camera in your office?"

  "Go!"

  "I'll walk you out," Charley said.

  She took his hand and gave it a gentle tug. The physical contact surprised him, but he didn't mind. He allowed himself to be led away.

  They walked back through the empty hallways of the basement. He realized he was even more confused and anxious than before.

  Charley smiled. "I'm really glad you passed the test." She sounded very relieved, as if she had been afraid before.

  "What would've happened if I had failed?" he said.

  She glanced at him. "Bad things. There is a lot more at stake than you know. If people like us can't be trusted..."

  "What do you mean by 'us'? What's really going on? I thought this was just about a scholarship."

  She shook her head. "Just be glad you passed, and that's all I can say for now."

  They arrived at the main stage. The crew was gone, and the stage was dark except for a single bulb on a stand. Andrew went to the dressing room to change back into his regular clothes.

  "I'll see you tomorrow," Charley said, "and don't be late again!" She walked off.

  * * *

  Andrew walked outside the next day. A chilly breeze made him shiver, and he zipped up his jacket. He looked up at a sky full of gray clouds and searched in vain for the sun.

  Theosophical University was located in the suburbs west of Chicago. It was October, and the first stirrings of winter were in the air. He wasn't looking forward to the infamous Chicago winter. He had grown up in Southern Illinois, and that small difference in latitude made a big difference in temperature. It was typically ten to fifteen degrees warmer back home. It could be raining there but snowing in Chicago. The proximity to Lake Michigan added humidity which made the air feel even colder.

  Andrew hurried along a concrete path. The campus had just ten buildings, but they were big and well separated by grassy fields. Getting to his next class on time required a quick trot with a heavy backpack weighing him down. He usually arrived out of breath.

  He passed a big sculpture on his left. It was made of plates of stainless steel which looped in big arcs. Students sometimes used the sculpture as a bench even though it had sharp edges, but nobody was there now.

  Andrew came around a corner and almost ran into two men in blue business suits. They were big guys with stern expressions.

  "Sorry," Andrew said as he tried to walk past them.

  One man grabbed Andrew's arm. "Are you Mr. Kenworthy?"

  Andrew looked back. The man's suit had nice, sharp creases. Gray eyes stared from a puffy face. Andrew caught a glimpse of a gun in a holster under his jacket.

  "Sure," Andrew said nervously. "Why?"

  "We're from the FBI. Come with us."

  The men bracketed Andrew and held him by both arms as he was marched across campus. Andrew tried to act brave, but he was actually terrified. He had never been arrested in his life, and now the FBI wanted to talk to him, but he couldn't imagine why. He hadn't broken any laws he knew about.

  "What did I do?" Andrew said timidly.

  "Quiet," one federal agent growled.

  They entered the West Parking Lot and walked over to a brown van. After checking carefully in all directions, one agent knocked on the door. It opened, and Andrew saw two more agents standing inside. He was shoved through the doorway. The door closed with a loud bang which made him jump.

  Charley was also there, and her brown eyes were wide with fear. She was huddled in a back corner on a bench with her arms wrapped around her chest. He sat next to her and shielded her with his body a little.

  "What's going on?" Andrew said.

  One of the agents took out his wallet and flashed an FBI badge. "I'm Special Agent Lees. It has come to our attention that you're having dinner with Tonya Akin tonight."

  "How do you know that?"

  "We bugged her office."

  Andrew gulped. Is Tonya a criminal? I knew there was something odd about her.

  Lees had a full head of neatly trimmed, brown hair. He was wearing dark sunglasses even though the van had no windows in back and was dimly lit. The low roof forced him into a partial crouch, but he still looked menacing. His jacket was pulled back to reveal a big gun.

  "Both of you are going to that dinner tonight," he said, "and you won't say a word about this investigation. Your job is to plant bugs and search for evidence."

  "Why?" Charley said in a quavering voice. "What did Tonya do?"

  "We're not sure if she's guilty of anything, but her husband, Frank, certainly is. He's the mastermind behind the Black Magus Society."

  "The what?"

  "Professional stage magicians who use magic tricks to commit crimes," Lees said. "They've performed robberies all across the Midwest, netting millions of dollars. Each heist was brilliant in its own unique way."

  "Was anybody hurt?"

  "Not yet, but there is always a first time. Regardless, we be
lieve Frank Akin is responsible for at least twenty felonies, but we don't have enough hard evidence to nail him. You kids will help us fix that. While you're at it, figure out if Tonya is part of the conspiracy, but don't be obvious about it. We don't want them to know they're in trouble."

  "She's innocent," Charley said in an almost hysterical tone. "She's my friend. She would never commit a crime."

  He raised his eyebrows. "The smartest criminals always seem innocent to their friends. Never trust appearances. This van will be parked near the Akin residence tonight. Before you go into the house, stop by and I'll give you the bugs. We'll be right outside the whole time in case you get into trouble. Got it?"

  Andrew and Charley nodded.

  Lees opened the van door. "Go, and don't talk about this with anybody!"

  The two students got out as quickly as they could, stumbling a couple of times in their haste. They stayed close together as they jogged away from the van. They didn't slow down until they were back at the stainless steel sculpture, half-way across campus. Andrew's heart was pounding.

  "Let's sit and talk," he panted.

  Charley nodded. They sat together on the sculpture, and she surprised him by leaning against him. He tentatively put his arm around her to comfort her. Her red fuzzy sweater felt very soft.

  "What are we going to do?" Andrew said.

  "We have no choice. We have to go through with it."

  "But we're not detectives. The FBI can't lean on us like that. We're not even old enough to drink. It's not right."

  "You tell them that," she said.

  He sighed and looked at the grass. The color had already started to change due to the cool weather.

  Other students were walking quickly on the paths as they hurried to their classes. They were wearing warm clothes and jackets. Andrew wondered if any of their lives were as strange as his had suddenly become.

  "Do you know anything about this?" he asked.

  "Maybe," Charley said softly. "Tonya called it the White Magus Society, not Black Magus. She told me they were heroes, not criminals. They secretly fight crime."

  "With stage magic?"

  "And their wits. She's training me to be a magician. I was going to join the Society when I graduate."

  "I'm a little confused," Andrew said. "How do you fight crime with tricks?"