Size 14 Is Not Fat Either Part 21

"Oh." The coach looks visibly relieved-even happy-to hear this news. "Because I was thinking, you know, it's hard moving to a new city and starting a new job and all. Maybe he'd want to grab a beer sometime, or something. I don't-"

His phone rings. Coach Andrews answers it. "Andrews," he says. "Oh, great. Here, let me grab a pen."

I sit there while Steven Andrews jots down Lindsay's locker number and combination, trying to understand what I think I've just learned. Because unless I'm mistaken, Coach Andrews is gay.

And seems to want to date my boss.

"Great, thanks so much," the coach says, and hangs up the phone.

"Here you go," he says, sliding the piece of paper he's written toward me. "Just go on down to the women's locker room, and you'll find it. Number six twenty-five."

I take the paper, fold it, and slip it into my pocket in a sort of daze. "Thanks," I say.

"No problem," Coach Andrews says. "Where were we, again?"

"I...I..." I feel my shoulders sag. "I don't know."

"Oh, right, Tom," he says. "Tell him to call me sometime. You know. If he ever wants to hang out."

"Hang out," I echo. "With you."

"Yeah." Coach Andrews must see something in my face that alarms him, since he asks, looking suddenly anxious, "Wait, was that totally inappropriate? Maybe I should just call him myself."

"Maybe," I say faintly, "you should."

"Right." The coach nods. "You're right. I should. I just felt like-well, you know. You seem cool, and maybe you'd...but never mind."

This was, I decided, either the most elaborate attempt ever to draw suspicion away from a murder suspect, or Coach Steven Andrews was, in fact, gay.

Had Kimberly lied to me? It's starting to look like it. Especially when Steven Andrews leans forward and whispers, "Not to sound like a girl or anything, but...I totally have all your alb.u.ms."

I blink at him one last time. Then I say, "Great. I'll just be going now."

"'Bye," he says happily.

And I take my box and leave. Fast.

19.

It's 4 A.M. and my arm's sticking out But there's not a taxi anywhere about.

Should have seen it wasn't meant to be Going home, it's the subway for me.

"Taxi"

Written by Heather Wells

"Call Coach Andrews," I say to Tom, when I get back to the office.

He looks up from his computer-or I should say, my computer. "What?"

"Call Steve Andrews," I say, collapsing into Sarah's chair and tossing my box-empty; someone had already cleaned out Lindsay's locker, just like Tom had said-onto the floor. "I think he has a crush on you."

Tom's hazel eyes goggle. "You are f.u.c.king s.h.i.+tting me."

"Call him," I say, unwinding my scarf, "and see."

"The coach is gay?" Tom looks as stunned as if I'd walked up and slapped him.

"Apparently. Why? Doesn't he set your gaydar off?"

"Every hot guy sets my gaydar off," Tom says. "But that doesn't mean it's actually accurate."

"Well, he asked about you," I say. "Either it's all part of a diabolical scheme to keep us from suspecting him in Lindsay's murder, or he really does have a little crush on you. Call him, so we can find out which it is."

Tom's hand is already reaching for the phone before he stops himself and says, giving me a confused look, "Wait. What does Coach Andrews have to do with Lindsay's murder?"

"Either nothing," I reply, "or everything. Call him."

Tom shakes his head. "Nuh-uh. I'm not doing something this important in front of an audience. Not even an audience of you. I'm doing this from my apartment." He scoots back his (well, really, my) chair, and stands up. "Right now."

"Just let me know what he says," I call, as Tom hurries out the door and toward the elevator. When he's gone, I sit there and wonder just how far Andrews will be willing to take this thing, in the event he isn't actually gay. Would he put out for Tom? All in an effort to throw off investigators? Could a straight guy even do that? Well, probably, if he's bi. But Coach Andrews didn't seem bi.

Of course, he hadn't seemed gay to me, either, until today. He did an excellent job of hiding it. But then, maybe if you're a gay basketball coach, you have to be good at hiding it. I mean, if you want to keep your job.

I'm wondering if President Allington has any idea that his golden boy is a gay boy, just as Gavin McGoren strolls into the office.

"Wa.s.sup?" he says, and throws himself onto the couch across from my-I mean, Tom's-desk.

I stare at him.

"How should I know what's up?" I say. "It's a Snow Day. No one has cla.s.s. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be off in a bar somewhere in SoHo, drinking yourself blind?"

"I would be," Gavin says, "except that boss of yours says I have to see him for"-he digs a much-folded, very grimy disciplinary letter from his back pocket-"follow-up counseling pertaining to an incident involving alcohol."

"Ha," I say happily. "You loser."

"Has anyone ever told you that you don't have a very professional att.i.tude towards your job?" Gavin wants to know.

"Has anyone ever told you that trying to drink twenty-one shots in one night is extremely dangerous, not to mention stupid?"

He gives me a no-duh look. "So how come they haven't caught the guy that iced Lindsay?" he asks.

"Because no one knows who did it." And some of us are driving ourselves crazy trying to figure it out.

"Wow," Gavin says. "That makes me feel so safe and secure in my living environment. My mom wants me to move to Wa.s.ser Hall, where people don't get their heads chopped off."

I stare at him, genuinely shocked. "You're not going to, are you?"

"I don't know," Gavin says, not making eye contact. "It's closer to the film school."

"Oh, my G.o.d." I can't believe this. "You're thinking about it."

"Well, whatevs." Gavin looks uncomfortable. "It's not cool, living in Death Dorm."

"I would imagine it would be very cool," I say. "To a guy who aspires to be the next Quentin Tarantino."

"Eli Roth," he corrects me.

"Whatever," I say. "But by all means, move to Wa.s.ser Hall if you're scared. Here." I lean down and pick up the empty box I'd lugged to the Winer Sports Complex and back again. "Start packing."

"I'm not scared," Gavin says, shoving the box away and sticking his chin out. I notice that the straggly growth on it is getting less straggly and more bushy. "I mean...aren't you?"

"No, I'm not scared," I say. "I'm angry. I want to know who did that to Lindsay, and why. And I want them caught."

"Well," Gavin says, finally looking me in the eye, "do they have any leads?"

"I don't know," I say. "If they do, they aren't telling me. Let me ask you something. Do you think Coach Andrews is gay?"

"Gay?" Gavin lets out a big horse laugh. "No!"

I shake my head. "Why not?"

"Well, because he's a big jock."

"Historically, there have been a few gay athletes, you know," I say.

Gavin snorts. "Sure. Lady golfers."

"No," I say. "Greg Louganis."

He stares at me blankly. "Who's that?"

"Never mind." I sigh. "He could be gay and just not want everyone to know. Because it might freak out the players."

"Gee, ya think?" Gavin asks me sarcastically.

"But you don't think he's gay," I say.

"How would I know?" Gavin asks. "I never met the guy. I just know he's a basketball coach, and they aren't gay. Most of the time."

"Well, have you ever heard anything about Coach Andrews and Lindsay?"

"What, like, romantically?" Gavin wants to know.

"Yeah."

"No," he says. "And, might I add, gross. He's, like, thirty."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Yeah. That's ancient."

Gavin smirks, and says, "Whatever. Besides, I thought Lindsay was all hot-and-heavy with Mark Shepelsky."

"They've cooled off, apparently," I say. "Lately she's been hooking up with a kid named Doug Winer. Do you know him?"

"Not really." He shrugs. "I know his brother, Steve, better."

And the earth suddenly seemed to tilt on its axis.

"What?" I can't believe what I've just heard.

Gavin, startled by my response, stammers, "St-Steve. Yeah. Steve Winer. What, you didn't know-"

"Steve?" I stare at him. "Doug Winer has a brother named Steve? Are you serious?"

"Yeah." Gavin looks at me strangely. "He was in one of my film cla.s.ses last semester. We worked together on a project. It was kind of lame-which makes sense, since Steve's kind of lame. But we hung out some. He's a senior. He lives over at the Tau Phi House."

"He's a Tau Phi, too?" I can't seem to digest any of this.

"Yeah. He's, like, president of the house, or something. Well, he should be, 'cause he's the oldest guy there. The dude's twenty-five, and he's still taking cla.s.ses like Intro to Social Work and s.h.i.+t. Steve wants to be a big-time breadwinner, like Daddy. But he's too stupid and lazy to think of any way to do it except through dealing. So..." Gavin shrugs. "He deals c.o.ke and s.h.i.+t to college party kids, while Dad-and New York College, as far as I can tell-turns a blind eye. I mean, it makes sense the school won't do anything about it, because old man Winer donated the sports complex." He chuckles. "Too bad his own kids are too f.u.c.ked up most of the time to use it."

"So the Winer boys are big-time dealers?" I ask. Suddenly Coach Andrews isn't interesting me half as much as he was earlier.

"I don't know about big-time," Gavin says, with a shrug. "I mean, they both deal, and all, which is fine. But you aren't supposed to sample your own wares. But back when I had cla.s.s with him, Steve was using, all the time. And so he was always asleep-cras.h.i.+ng, you know-when we were supposed to be working on the project. I had to do the whole thing myself, practically. We got an A, of course. But no thanks to Winer."

"So what's he deal?" I ask.

"You name it, the Winer can get it. Though he's got principles. He only sells to people who are ready to experience the alternative planes of reality that drugs can help them achieve. It's like this thing." Gavin rolls his eyes. "Some principles. You know what that guy's hobby used to be when he was a kid? Burying cats up to their necks in dirt in the backyard, then runnin' over their heads with the lawn mower."

"That," I say, wide-eyed, "is disgusting."

"That's not all. Steve'd tie a brick to their tails and throw 'em in the pool. That guy is a maniac. Plus, he's got this thing about money. See, their old man made a pile of money in construction. And he wants his boys to do the same. You know, find their own entrepreneurial fortunes, and s.h.i.+t? So soon as they graduate from college, they're cut off. That's why Steve's trying to keep the gravy train go as long as he can."