Mystery at Lincoln High

By Charles Derrick

A new year is beginning at Lincoln High School and first on the scene are the custodians who must prepare everything for opening day. The staff is divided between long time senior members and a younger crew. Bill is the newest custodian, who must adjust to the many personalities of the veterans, as he learns the history and duties of the job. To the others, Bill appears too serious, preferring to read rather than mingle with the other custodians. Sarge is the manager of the group and tries to be a bridge between his staff and the headmaster. In addition to their daily work schedules, the men find time for periods of recreation during breaks. Big Jim is the oldest, and tells many stories about happenings at Lincoln High. He isn't talking, but rumor has it that the school is haunted. What lurks in the corridors of Lincoln High? Can a multi-cultural staff of custodians supervised by a pompous headmaster work together to unravel the mystery? Read Mystery at Lincoln High and learn the answer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Derrick
• Release date: Mar 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215922200

Book preview

Preface

For many years I have heard my inner spirit urging me to write and create stories.  I had many life experiences from which to choose my topic.  It is from these life experiences that I created Mystery at Lincoln High.   My wife of forty-six years has been my typist, my encourager, and my comrade and has supported me throughout the many challenges of writing.  I give thanks to Fran for being my support and keeping me from giving up.  She spent many evenings alone while I worked as a custodian in several different school systems.  Over the years we spent many vacations cruising in the Caribbean Ocean.

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PART I

Introduction

Istill remember the blustery fall day when I started at Lincoln High as the junior man on the three-to-eleven evening shift.  Other schools in the system had lost personnel; yet for reasons unknown to anyone, it was decided to add another man to the staff at Lincoln High.  I was glad to have a job and the reality of the situation did not sink in right away.  The men who had worked there the longest felt that someone should have been transferred from one of the other schools in the district.  This was a constant shadow over all of the crew.  Each of us believed that we were fortunate enough to be employed.  If it came to a cut, who would go and who would stay was always a question without an easy answer.  Our seemingly straightforward jobs began to take on a complexity from day one.  It was best to put your mind in neutral while performing your job.  As each day and then each week and month went by, the men worked toward the goal of finishing the school year.  The uninformed didn't know it, but this was when the hard work would begin, without the students and teachers getting in the way.

Each individual had his own way of doing things.  Sometimes we all did not appear to be working toward the same goal.  Our work situation was what one might think of as survival of the fittest, but there always seemed to be someone who did not fit into any group.  Placing individuals into what seemed to be obvious jobs did not always get the desired results.  No matter what the situation, some guys always got bogged down.

I was to find out the small differences between each of my workmates over the course of the year.  Each person did not willingly give up anything about themselves.  The little things that made each individual what he is, was not to be determined by one or two conversations.  They were gradually disclosed over the course of the year.

While all of the events in this story are fictitious, many of the situations could have actually happened at this very time in schools across the country.  It is up to the reader to sort out which might be real and which might be fiction.  Situations developed on the evening shift that cannot be explained.  These situations were not spoken about to the superiors who did not see them.  To some of the men this was hard to accept; but to the older crew, it was to be expected that sooner or later something would happen.  This is where the story begins to unfold.  To some readers this might seem to be a rather odd adventure, while other readers will be waiting to see what happens next.  It is to both of these groups and others that this story has to be told.

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1

Bill's First Day

His first day started out like so many other new jobs; although Bill was new to the school, he had many years of working as a school custodian in another city. He really didn't have to be shown the basics. One of the things that made Lincoln High a little more interesting were the nicknames that had been given to various parts of the building.  The school had taken on its own set of names similar to a city. There was Uptown, Downtown, Backside, Eastside, Westside, and the unusual name of Siberia.

Bill's assigned area was the front office of the headmaster and his immediate staff.  This area was also called Downtown, as well as some other choice names.  The area consisted of a double-wide hall on the inside of the building.  All offices in this area had their own bathrooms with showers.  The showers had been used very little over the years and were now being used as storage areas.  The shower feature was always listed as a little perk when a new headmaster was needed.  Since the building was over one hundred years old, the duties of the headmaster position as well as every other job in the building had been changed several times.  The oddest thing about this section of the building was how immaculate and waxed the hall area was.  It did not seem to warrant the amount of attention that it had been given.  This assembly like area had been designed with the idea that it would be used someday or sometime as a shelter for two hundred people.  It was structured with a very high ceiling that contained a contraption that Bill had never seen the likes of before.

One day, as he stood in that area, his thoughts were interrupted by a shrill voice.

Yo, you be the new guy? asked a small wiry man.

Yeah, that's me, alright. Bill responded.

They calls me Big Jim the man continued.  I see you’re looking around our hallway, a bit

"It does seem a bit unique.  Never seen anything like it before,"

Yeah, it sure is a beaut.  I’ve only seen it down a couple of times.  A regular marvel of engineering, it is, Big Jim said, feeling somewhat proud at his knowledge of the area.

What is that thing, anyway? Bill finally asked.

You've never seen something like this before? Big Jim was bursting at the seams, and wanted so badly to tell Bill everything that he knew about the collapsible second floor.

No, can't say as I have, said Bill.

Well, let me tell you about it.

I'm listening.

To start off, there's only two of these that were ever built.  This is the only one that’s still around.  It’s what is called a 'double-your-space floor,’ or another word for it is 'something that just don't work and most likely never will.’  The whole idea was to get as many survivors together as possible in one place during a disaster, so that they could tell each other how miserable they were, Big Jim explained.  You see these four wheels mounted on the wall? Big Jim continued.

Yeah, Bill said.   By this time, he was beginning to feel that he should not have said anything to Jim.

Let me tell you, this is where the custodial staff comes in.  We are supposed to turn those wheels in unison.  You probably thought this was electric.  Not by any means, this here is all mechanical.  It’s made to be operated by human beings working together as a unit.  Everyone needs to work together.  Ain't that something?  This is all steel grate, and them posts lock into place to hold it up.  Those hinges on the wall are what holds it in place when it's not in use.  The space over the offices is used to store enough food and water and cots for two hundred lost souls.

That’s very interesting, said Bill somewhat cautiously.  He felt that he did not want to encourage Big Jim to go on, but there was no stopping him at this point.

I'm glad to have someone who is interested in the school to talk to, Jim raced on.  See that mural on the wall?  Those gentlemen are the founding fathers of this town.  They look down on us every day to see that we are doing our jobs. That's why this here area is kept so clean and neat with such a shine on the floor.  It's the likes of that you can see your reflection in.

Oh, yeah, Bill said.  By this time, he was seriously looking to get out of this conversation.  Finally, another person entered the area. Bill looked over at the new individual and thought, at last there is an opening at the end of this tunnel.

Hi, said the rescuer.   Another newbie, come on down and check in.  You will find out about this floor in good time.  Just keep it looking the same as it does now, and everybody will be happy.

Big Jim would not let Bill go without getting in the last word.  It was obvious that Big Jim thought of himself as the boss, or at least he was taking that position temporarily.  The rescuer had disappeared through a door that was down the hall a little bit.  It was apparent that this would be Bill and Big Jim's destination, if they could get there.

So, where is the rest of the crew? Bill asked Big Jim somewhat casually.  He wanted to get on with things and not encourage another prolonged conversation.  They’re in the locker room checking in.  It's just down the hall and around the corner, Big Jim explained.  They were proceeding through a door with the word STORAGE marked in bold print.   "We have it marked STORAGE to keep the brass out," said Big Jim, answering the unasked question.

Next, we walked down a flight of stairs to another door with the word MACHINERY painted on it.  This door opened into what the men called Headquarters for the staff of eight men.  This was the largest custodial crew in the school system.  Now it was time for the men to introduce themselves.

This here's the new guy, Big Jim announced.  A chorus of Hi’s and Yo’s followed, while one or two just nodded.

You can call me Bill.

Big Jim had wanted to introduce Bill because It made him feel important; but, for now, he had lost the show.   I was going to introduce you to everybody. Big Jim seemed annoyed that his little show had been upstaged.

It's no big deal, said one of the men in an Irish brogue.  My name is Bob Mulligan, but they call me Stew.  You know, like in Mulligan Stew.  This last little bit of knowledge was not known by everyone, and it always provoked a laugh from anyone new.

It was the rescuer who spoke next.  "Hi, I'm the one they