Dear Ellie

++Ellie sat at the dining room table staring out through the French doors as a gentle, September breeze filled the room. Autumn’s golden garb was just beginning to clothe the mountains in the distance. She wondered how life ever got so complicated. Her gaze shifted to the note in her left hand. It read in part -

“Dear Ellie,

. . . I never meant for this to happen. I don’t how it all went wrong. I know I’ve caused you so much pain, and I can never make it right. Life has gotten to be too hard too fast. I’m leaving, and I won’t be back.”

Ellie’s mind traveled back to a happier day. She had known Scott Branson since kindergarten, They grew up together in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Mifflin. But it wasn’t until her senior year at West Mifflin High that she really noticed Scott.

It was the way he looked at her after the Friday afternoon pep rally. The Titans first football game with South Allegheny would take place that night, and the air was filled with electricity. Scott’s athleticism won him the starting job at quarterback for the second year in a row. In his junior year, he thoroughly destroyed the competition, and his senior year was to be no different. The rally was dismissed, and Scott winked at Ellie as he walked past her on the way to his locker.

A strange tingle covered Ellie. She never felt like that before, and now these many years later, she never would again. Her life with Scott began as everything she ever hoped for.

They continued to date through the rest of their senior year while Scott led the Titans to a 10-0 record for the second time in as many years. She was the homecoming queen and led the Titan cross-country team to another championship before graduation.

The world seemed perfect to both of them, but now she sat looking out over the lonely landscape from her dining room. She glanced once again at the letter she held in her hand. It was all too much for her to handle. The pain and confusion stirred once more. Then . . .

Her mind regressed again. After graduating from high school, both signed commitments to attend Penn State University – Scott on a football scholarship and Ellie on a cross-country scholarship. Scott was to be groomed to be the starting quarterback within the next two years.

Ellie, she’d just run, and run, and run and was getting nowhere with every step. College-level cross-country was a bigger step than she could take.

But that didn’t stop her. She pledged herself to the Alpha Xi Delta sorority and her popularity continued to climb. Not to be outdone by the love of his life, Scott also decided to consider fraternity life.

Rush week was fast approaching, and both Ellie and Scott were excited. There was to be a welcoming party at the Sigma Nu house on Friday night, and Scott was pumped. He was not yet a member, but he felt it wouldn’t be long until he was. His social standing was as important to him as his college football career.

The days passed slowly. It seemed to Scott that Friday night would never arrive, but finally, it did. He and Ellie walked through the Sigma Nu door to be greeted by many of the ones he believed would soon be his brothers.

They mingled with the other rushes and their dates. They snacked on the finger foods that were continually passed around along with the drinks. They listened to the band and eventually moved to the small dance floor. Scott felt quite at home in the party atmosphere.

“Hey, Scotty, my man. How ya doin’?” Todd Martz called from across the room. Todd knew everybody and everything about his fraternity, and he knew how important it was to Scott to be a part.

“Doing great! Doing great, Todd. Quite a lively place here tonight!”

“Yeah, uh, look Scotty. We know ya want to be part of this fraternity, but of course, we need to test your loyalty.” Ellie continued mingling while Scott was led to a small room off to the side of the main entrance.

The dimly lit room housed only a table and one chair – a chair in which Scott would not sit. It was reserved for Todd. On the corner of the table was a mirror. Todd led Scott over to the mirror and handed him a fresh one-hundred dollar bill.

“Nothin’ but class for Sigma Nu, Scotty – nothin’ but class. We’re gonna play a little game called Lines on My Face. Now, I know you know this is how we play, right Scotty?”

“Not exactly, but I think I have an idea.”

“Yeah, well it’s pretty simple, man. All you have to do is to chase that line on the mirror. You know what I mean by that, Scotty, my man?”

A naïve Scott wasn’t sure. He handed Scott the rolled up one-hundred dollar bill.

“No . . . No this doesn’t work for me.”

“Okay, okay, my man. Go do some more mingling. I have another game we can play, Josh will have to get it set up. Meet me back here in ten. Oh, and Scotty, this is your last chance to prove yourself loyal to the cause of Sigma Nu. Know what I mean?”

Scott stepped out for a breath of fresh air. He breathed deep and had to stop and remind himself that the party lifestyle didn’t mix with his athletic aspirations. Scott re-entered the party and casually walked back to the room beside the entrance. Todd met him there.

On the table, spreading end to end, was a neat, single row of 20 shot glasses. “Now, Scotty, my man. I feel a new Sigma Nu record is gonna be set tonight – if ya know what I mean.”

“Not exactly, Todd. You might have to spell it out for me.”

“Um, yeah. Spell it out. Well, ya see, my man, the old record is 12 shots in 60 seconds. That’s about one every five seconds. Ya only have to do 13 to beat the record, but Scotty, I know you can do more than thirteen, right?”

Scott was getting a little nervous. “No, this doesn’t work for me either. Coach gives us an ETG test every Monday before practice. I can’t risk it.”

“Trust me, my man! By Monday, the alcohol will be all outta your system. You’ll be okay.” Todd held up a glass. “Look how small this glass is. Hardly anything to it.

“Ya are wanting to be a part of this fraternity, aren’t ya?”

“Well sure, but . . .”

Todd cut him off. “Look, all the pledges here have to do this. This just happens to be your night. Believe me, my man, Monday will take care of itself. Josh, get the vodka and let’s go. Get those glasses filled before he changes his mind. Get the other brothers and gather ’round.”

Josh Timmons began filling each glass. By the time all 20 glasses were filled, the rest of the Sigma Nu brothers were gathered around the table to witness the possible new record.

Todd began, “ Okay, guys. We’re ready. Here are the rules, Scotty, my man. Ya have to finish each shot before going on to the next. I’ll count the empties as we go. Josh, here, he’ll keep the time. Ya have 60 seconds to down as many as you can – But, Scotty, I have faith in ya! I think you can do at least 15. What do ya think, Guys?” The room filled with cheers as Todd continued.

“Okay, Scotty. On my signal. Ready?” Scott nodded a big yes. “Ready, Josh?” Josh signaled likewise, “Okay. Ready. Go!”

The contest was under way. Todd began to count. “One . . . two . . . three . . . four. Hey, Josh. What kind of time do we have?”

“Just hit 15 seconds, He’s way ahead of the record.”

Todd continued. Three . . . four . . . five . . . six. How ’bout another time check, Josh?”

“Oh, he’s slowing down. He’s only at 23 seconds.”

The chant began – “Scot-tee, Scot-tee, Scot-tee.”

Scott kept up the pace. He couldn’t believe he was risking his scholarship for a chance to be part of Sigma Nu. Todd counted. “Four . . . five . . . six. Time check!”

“Just ticked 19 seconds. You say he’s at four, Todd?”

“Right. Four . . . five . . . six . . . seven . . . Gimme the time!”

“22 seconds.”

The chant continued as Todd began to count again. “Five . . . six . . . seven . . . eight . . . Time?”

“Approaching 25 seconds.”

Two and a half minutes later Todd finished counting the number of shots Scott put down as he reached for the last glass. “Ten . . . eleven . . . twelve. Oh, Scotty, my man. You tied the record. I was really hoping for something more, but hey, you tied it!” 20 shots later, a collective cheer was raised around the table.

Within minutes Scott fell to the floor convulsing. Finally, his body settled down as he began to make strange gurgling sounds. Seconds after that, Josh noticed he quit breathing. A blanket of panic covered the Sigma Nu brothers.

“Someone call 911! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!”

Todd spoke in a calm voice, “No, we can’t do that. Quick, Josh, help me carry him to the balcony.”

Josh grabbed Scott under his arms while Todd lifted his feet. The other brothers crowded around to shield Scott from the others attending the party. Carefully, they lifted Scott over the upstairs balcony railing and dropped him to the ground below. Todd reached for his cell phone and dialed 911.

“Yes, this is Todd Martz at Sigma Nu Fraternity on Fraternity Row. We just had an accident. A man fell over the balcony railing. I think he may be dead.”

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. They were growing ever louder as the ambulance turned left on Fraternity Row. Todd and Josh stood in the front yard waving down the EMTs. The driver approached them.

“He’s in the backyard! Hurry! Follow me!” Todd shouted.

The men grabbed the stretcher and followed Todd to the back. It was a very curious scene. Todd made sure everyone left the party. As of yet, the news of Scott’s fall was not known, and police, underage drinking, and a murder cover-up don’t go well together. All possible witnesses had to be removed.

Todd shouted again as he turned the corner of the house. “He’s over here!” But then - dead silence. Todd’s heart sank as Officer Hendricks walked toward him. “Mr. Martz, I believe. We meet again. Your parties have seen better days. I’m going to make sure this frat house is closed for good. You might just end up in jail this time - so what’s going on? And you better be straight with me.”

“Well sir, you see there’s no party - just me and Josh.”

Officer Hendricks questioned, “And the deceased who fell from the balcony?”

“Oh, yeah. Scotty Branson. Me and him, we’re like this.” Todd overlapped his index and middle finger in a gesture of unity.

“Do you always allow your closest of close friends to drink themselves to death - and I do mean literally.”

“Look, man, I can’t control what someone else does. He is an adult, ya know. He makes his own choices. I can’t help it if this was a bad one.”

“Okay, okay, just show me the body so the EMTs can get their work done. I’ll talk to you another day.”

“Absolutely, officer, He’s around the side of the house. Follow me!”

Todd’s heart sank even more when he discovered Scott was missing. No body anywhere. “Oh, Mr. Martz, you made a terrible blunder this time. Making a false report to the police is serious business. What do you have to say, Mr. Timmons?”

“Officer, really, he was here just a few minutes ago. I don’t know where he went.”

“You, too. So, you’re suggesting we have a walking dead man among us?”

Josh wasn’t thinking clearly. “All I know, Officer Hendricks, is that he drank too much, staggered to the balcony, and fell over.”

“So you’re admitting you served him alcohol?”

Josh hesitated and glanced Todd’s way. He didn’t know what to say.

Todd picked up the conversation. “No, no, no. You see, Scotty stopped by after he had been out bar hoppin’. He said he hit nearly every bar in town, and ya know how many that is, right?”

“Okay. Look, you two. You’ll be hearing from me again soon, but for now, stay put.”

Hendricks turned to leave when his trained, eagle eye saw something. In an otherwise neatly kept yard lay some small, broken branches. Hendricks looked up. He could see from the tree he now stood beside that something or someone had sheared off several branches and twigs - possibly a body? Maybe.

He continued to piece things together. The tree was too far away from the balcony to break branches if a man simply fell over the railing. On the other hand, if a man was tossed over the edge, it was possible that he could have taken some branches with him. Blood stains were also found on the patio pavement. Hendricks was becoming more curious with each passing piece of evidence.

He noticed there was a path beginning near the blood stains, through the yard and leading to the street; a path of suppressed grass as if a body had been dragged across the lawn.

“Okay, you two come with me. We’re going to talk this out down at the station. It looks like we have a murder on our hands. It looks like we also have a charge of tampering with the evidence. Otherwise, we would have a body. Right, boys?”

“No body, no murder. Ain’t that how it works, Mr. Policeman?”

“It’s Officer to you, Martz. And you’re about to find out how it works. Just be patient.”

“Wait, I ain’t gonna take the wrap for somethin’ someone else done.”

“We’ll talk about it more down at the station. By the way, Martz, how did you ever get accepted at a fine school like this? Your English is terrible.”

Across town, Ellie sat in the emergency room at Mount Nittany Medical Center. Looking at Scott and holding his hand was all she could do. She felt so helpless.

In a twisted sense, she felt responsible for what happened. She alone saw the Sigma Nu brothers attempting to hide Scott as they carried him to the balcony. She was rounding the side of the house when she heard his body meet the ground with a sickening thud. Once the scene had cleared, she pulled her quarterback through the grass to her car at the side of the street. They were off to the hospital without a sound.

Because of the severity of Scott’s injuries, he was hurried to the top of the list. He was placed on a heart monitor. X-rays were taken. His stomach was pumped.

Sometime later the doctor returned with the results of the tests. It wasn’t all good news for Scott, but at least he was alive. No damage was done to the heart nor other internal organs. By Ellie’s quick actions, the medics were able to rid Scott’s body of the overdose of alcohol. He would, however, still be feeling the effects of it in the morning as the body eliminated the last of the poison from his system.

The x-rays illuminated Scott’s biggest problem. The doctor spoke. “Scott, you sustained a broken right shoulder. That’s not good news for a right-handed throwing quarterback. You’re going to need a lot of rehabilitation to get it going for you again.”

The concern showed on Scott’s face. “We have an early practice Monday morning. I will be able to participate, won’t I?”

“Not a chance, Scott. You’ll likely miss the entire season, but with a lot of hard work and extended PT sessions, I think you’ll be fine for next season.

“Now Scott, when you first came here tonight, you really couldn’t speak too well. I need to wrap up my report. Just a few quick questions and you’ll be on your way back to your room. Tell me, how did this accident happen?”

Scott was stunned and at a loss for words. Ellie began, “Oh doctor, it was terrible. We were at a frat party . . . ” Scott glanced hard at Ellie as if to say, “Shut up.”

Ellie had enough. Looking back Scott’s way, she protested, “No Scott, he needs to know. It was part of a hazing ritual at Sigma Nu. They nearly killed him - probably would have if I didn’t see what they were doing. After Scott was more than drunk, they threw him over the second-floor balcony. Doctor, somehow, someway, sometime, this craziness has to stop.”

“So Ellie, are you reporting a crime?”

“I guess I am. They tried to kill him to cover up their own carelessness and bad judgment”

“Are you willing to make that statement to the police, Ellie?”

“I’ve already said it, why not again to the police. Of course, I’m willing!”

“Scott, what do you have to say about this?”

“Doc, I just don’t want any trouble. What’s done is done. It won’t change anything. Just let it go.”

“Scott, is what Ellie says true?”

“Well . . . yeah, but they were just having some fun.”

“At your expense. Scott, I think it was more than just having fun. Your friends at the frat house are no friends at all. I will need to report this to the proper authorities.”

Once again she looked down. She stared at the note she was still holding in her hand.