who got the most paper clips. He always needed to win. If he ever lost a vote in the department, the office here turned into a living hell. He lost as often as he won."
"How would he show his anger?"
"With a constant barrage of vicious remarks, sniping at everyone. More than once he's brought a new teacher or secretary to tears with something he said. Evans was good at making enemies. Sure we're competitive, but not to the vicious level Evans was. But that wasn't the worst. You might wonder why I didn't report him to the administration. The answer is simple. They were good friends. Evans used to run to Sylvester to snitch on teachers. You know the type of fighting and bickering that goes on."
"You couldn't report him, and at times he'd be undercutting your authority?" I said.
"Say we were considering a curriculum change that he didn't like. If he thought the vote would go against him, he'd run to that clown Sylvester, to try to get that jerk to be on his side, so Sylvester would force us to do what Evans wanted."
"Did he ever succeed at that?"
"Not really, but he caused enormous headaches because of it. The key, as you probably know, with Sylvester is twofold. One, he can be successfully menaced, as all would be bullies can. And two, whoever talks to him last gets the favorable decision. If Evans was crossed he wouldn't try to solve the problem. He'd just keep braying like the jackass he was. He was fairly good at fighting, but he wasn't any good at politics, and at that I am a master."
"Are you sure it was him snitching?"
He smiled. "I trapped him several times. I gave him information, told him the other faculty knew, but not to discuss it yet. The information was bogus. I'd told no one else. Sylvester invariably called me in to discuss what I told Evans within half a day after I told the little snitch."
"Did you ever confront him?"
"Yes. He denied it all, even after I told him he was the only one that I gave the information to. He outright lied to me.
"He sounds like a miserable person to work with."
"He was. In his defense I must say that I didn't personally dislike him. He could be expansive and friendly. Plus I pride myself on being able to say that I can work with anyone."
I thought a minute, tried another tack. "Did he have any special enemies? Any one person he feuded with most often?"
"You'd have to line up the whole math department, and it wouldn't be a question of which ones were his enemies, but who could come up with the most reasons for disliking him."
"But Sylvester must have thought he was the greatest."
"Presumably. Besides his spy reports, Evans was always down there kissing ass with Sylvester, and Armstrong too, for that matter."
"Wait a second," I said. "This morning Armstrong claimed he never met Evans."
"He's lying. I saw them together at least two or three times."
"Can you remember when this was?"
"It was quite late after the last few department meetings. One time I heard the three of them talking in the inner office. The door wasn't tightly closed. And once I saw the three of them walking out of the office. They were distant from me, but you can't mistake the Blimp."
"The time you heard their voices, are you sure it was them?"
"Oh, yes. We department heads meet with the superintendent at least once a month. He drones on in that endlessly cheerful way, so I'm used to his voice. Sylvester and Evans I would recognize in the normal course of events."
"Could you tell what they were saying?"
He thought a moment. "No, I can't help you there."
After he picked me up, Scott and I spent an hour working out at my place. I live in a farmhouse in the middle of one of the last cornfields in southwestern Cook County. The subdivisions creep closer every year. Soon I'll want to sell. I own the house and two acres around it. I like the quiet. The fields belong to a farmer I've only seen at a distance as he works the land.
Scott and I agree that working out together is one of our biggest turnons.
"How would he show his anger?"
"With a constant barrage of vicious remarks, sniping at everyone. More than once he's brought a new teacher or secretary to tears with something he said. Evans was good at making enemies. Sure we're competitive, but not to the vicious level Evans was. But that wasn't the worst. You might wonder why I didn't report him to the administration. The answer is simple. They were good friends. Evans used to run to Sylvester to snitch on teachers. You know the type of fighting and bickering that goes on."
"You couldn't report him, and at times he'd be undercutting your authority?" I said.
"Say we were considering a curriculum change that he didn't like. If he thought the vote would go against him, he'd run to that clown Sylvester, to try to get that jerk to be on his side, so Sylvester would force us to do what Evans wanted."
"Did he ever succeed at that?"
"Not really, but he caused enormous headaches because of it. The key, as you probably know, with Sylvester is twofold. One, he can be successfully menaced, as all would be bullies can. And two, whoever talks to him last gets the favorable decision. If Evans was crossed he wouldn't try to solve the problem. He'd just keep braying like the jackass he was. He was fairly good at fighting, but he wasn't any good at politics, and at that I am a master."
"Are you sure it was him snitching?"
He smiled. "I trapped him several times. I gave him information, told him the other faculty knew, but not to discuss it yet. The information was bogus. I'd told no one else. Sylvester invariably called me in to discuss what I told Evans within half a day after I told the little snitch."
"Did you ever confront him?"
"Yes. He denied it all, even after I told him he was the only one that I gave the information to. He outright lied to me.
"He sounds like a miserable person to work with."
"He was. In his defense I must say that I didn't personally dislike him. He could be expansive and friendly. Plus I pride myself on being able to say that I can work with anyone."
I thought a minute, tried another tack. "Did he have any special enemies? Any one person he feuded with most often?"
"You'd have to line up the whole math department, and it wouldn't be a question of which ones were his enemies, but who could come up with the most reasons for disliking him."
"But Sylvester must have thought he was the greatest."
"Presumably. Besides his spy reports, Evans was always down there kissing ass with Sylvester, and Armstrong too, for that matter."
"Wait a second," I said. "This morning Armstrong claimed he never met Evans."
"He's lying. I saw them together at least two or three times."
"Can you remember when this was?"
"It was quite late after the last few department meetings. One time I heard the three of them talking in the inner office. The door wasn't tightly closed. And once I saw the three of them walking out of the office. They were distant from me, but you can't mistake the Blimp."
"The time you heard their voices, are you sure it was them?"
"Oh, yes. We department heads meet with the superintendent at least once a month. He drones on in that endlessly cheerful way, so I'm used to his voice. Sylvester and Evans I would recognize in the normal course of events."
"Could you tell what they were saying?"
He thought a moment. "No, I can't help you there."
After he picked me up, Scott and I spent an hour working out at my place. I live in a farmhouse in the middle of one of the last cornfields in southwestern Cook County. The subdivisions creep closer every year. Soon I'll want to sell. I own the house and two acres around it. I like the quiet. The fields belong to a farmer I've only seen at a distance as he works the land.
Scott and I agree that working out together is one of our biggest turnons.
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