by Ali Franklin
The man in the back room hollered for Ryan to return to her post. She did, puzzled about the scene in the alley. She glanced through the little window that separated the front and back rooms of the kitchen. From there, she could see across the main counter and into most of the large room where the clients were eating. That’s when she spotted Chase Arrington sitting at a back table.
Ryan ducked beneath the window opening. Chase was here, and it wasn’t to help serve lunch to the homeless. He’d been talking with a seriously shady guy. Should she go out and talk with him? Pretend she didn’t see him? What?
Ryan decided her shift was over. She thanked the man she’d been washing dishes with and asked him to tell Father Paul she’d had to leave. Then she hustled out the back door.
She walked through the alley and turned the corner. Almost immediately, she heard someone calling her name. She looked up and made an effort to seem surprised.
“Chase! Imagine running into you here.”
“Yes, the shelter is one of my parish’s pet projects. I like to come down and help out once in a while.” He held his head high as if daring her to challenge his statement.
Ryan thought fast. “I’m just on my way in. Are you coming or going?”
He peeked over his shoulder toward the front door, then at his watch. “Going. In fact, I’d better run. It was good to see you.” He turned and walked toward his car, whistling.
Ryan saw him glance over his shoulder twice more before he got to his car. She wondered if he was more worried about seeing shiny-suit guy or Father Paul. She took a deep breath. Then she walked to Helen’s car and headed back to campus.
Ryan was on auto-pilot for the rest of the afternoon. There were so many puzzle pieces floating through her mind, and she’d had so little sleep, that she found it impossible to concentrate. She was glad when Helen called out that it was time to go home.
Ryan swung by Nicki’s office in the SUB and the friends drove home without saying much. At the house, Ryan declined her hostess’ offer of a home-cooked meal. Her head was pounding and she was becoming frustrated at her inability to make sense of these crimes. She fell asleep early in the evening, still dressed and on top of the covers.
Chapter 17
Ryan woke Wednesday morning no more enlightened than she’d been the day before. She needed to let it all go for a while. She had a busy day at work and a rehearsal in the afternoon. That was enough to think about. Besides, as everyone kept telling her, these murders weren’t hers to solve. Jack and Gus were good detectives; they’d take care of it.
Ryan forced herself into a good mood at breakfast. She felt guilty about shutting Nicki out the night before and tried to make up for it by being extra perky. She joked around and made coffee while Nicki cooked omelets. By the time they left for work, everything seemed back to normal. They got to campus and promised to call each other later in the day.
Ryan’s morning was taken up with administrative responsibilities and a committee meeting, so she didn’t have much time to think about the case. When it did cross her mind, a headache threatened. She realized she was in a better mood overall when she wasn’t thinking about the puzzle.
At eleven o’clock, Helen knocked on her door frame. “Dean McCabe, Detective Lipinski is here to see you.”
So much for her better frame of mind.
“Thanks, Helen. Please ask him to come in.”
The detective came in and shook her hand. “I just have a few more questions to ask if you don’t mind, Ms. McCabe.”
She invited him to sit and he did, pulling out his notebook and pen.
“Ms. McCabe, I’d like you to tell me again everything you know about the motives your committee members had to kill Veronica Arrington.”
“Veronica? What about Emma?”
“Do you have information about why someone would have killed Ms. Sullivan?”
“Nothing other than what I’ve already told you. I think she might have had an idea about who killed Veronica. If the murderer found that out, he would have had a reason to kill Emma as well.”
The detective leaned forward. “So we’re back to the question of who killed Veronica.” He paused. “Ms. McCabe, I feel like you’re holding back on me. And when people hold back on me, I tend to think they’ve got something to hide.” He narrowed his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Ryan stood and walked to the window. She couldn’t stand the distrust in his stare. She turned to face him and leaned against the windowsill. “I’ve told you everything I know. Veronica had angered a lot of people. She went back on her promise to pay for the gym at the orphanage. She threatened to ruin Emma’s restaurant. She threatened Danielle’s daughter’s admission to Cedar Hill. She even threatened to raise a stink about me being a lesbian.”
The detective’s eyebrows rose a fraction at her last statement. “Would that be trouble for you?”
“Not in the least. Everyone at Haverwood knows I’m gay.”
“That doesn’t mean she couldn’t have made trouble for you about it.”
Ryan crossed her arms. “I’ve been through this before, Detective. My being gay doesn’t have anything to do with how I do my job. It’s not a motive.” She turned and looked out the window while he scribbled in his notebook. He spoke again.
“I still can’t get past the fact that the poison was found in your chili. Why do you think the killer put it in yours?”
Ryan felt a knot forming in her stomach. She didn’t reply. He spoke again.
“Ms. McCabe, do you think the killer was trying to point the finger at you?”
The knot got bigger as he continued.
“If someone tried to frame you for the murder, they must have known you had a motive. What else did you and Veronica fight about?”
“Veronica and I didn’t fight, except for—” Ryan was about to tell him how she’d stood up to Veronica on behalf of the other committee members, but the pain in her stomach was starting to burn.
She walked to her desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a business card. Then she walked to the door of her office and turned to face Gus. “Detective, I don’t have anything else to say to you without my lawyer. If you want to talk again, you’ll have to call him and arrange for a meeting.” She held out the card.
Lipinski lowered his head and exhaled. Then he stood but didn’t turn to face her. “I apologize if I’ve offended you.” He took a few steps toward the window.
“I’ve been a cop for a lot of years. And I’ve seen a lot of bad things.” He turned to face her. “Do you know why I moved here?”
She shook her head.
“I was in St. Louis. We were searching for a serial killer who was taking little girls. He was doing terrible things to them and killing them.”
Ryan leaned back against the door, frowning.
Lipinski rubbed his ear while he talked. “There was this guy, he lived in the same building as one of the little girls who’d been taken. I kept feeling like he was holding out on me. I kept feeling it in my gut, you know?” He laid his fist against his stomach.
“Anyway, I kept interviewing him and interviewing him, but he never had anything new to say. I finally gave up on him.” Lipinski moved back to the chair. He sat and bent forward, cradling his head in his hands. “Two more girls died before I went back and talked to him again. Then he told me the one thing that blew the case wide open.”
Ryan heard his voice falter. She walked back to her desk and sat. “I’m sorry. That must have been a difficult case.”
He looked up, his jaw clenched. “If I had just asked the right question, those last two girls might still be alive.”
She didn’t say anything.
He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry if I come off too strong, but I never want anyone else to die if I can prevent it.”
Ryan waited until the detective had composed himself. She said, “I may know something else.”
His eyes widened. “Please tell me, whatever it is.”
&
nbsp; “I saw Chase Arrington talking with a loan shark yesterday at the homeless shelter. It looked like the loan shark was threatening him.”
“Did Chase see you? What did he say about it?”
“I didn’t tell him I saw anything. But I can’t figure out why he would do business with a loan shark. He has money. Besides, he can’t be connected with Veronica’s death. Chase has an alibi.”
Lipinski nodded as he wrote in his notebook. “Thank you for telling me about it. I’ll check it out. But it does seem unlikely that it’s connected with Veronica’s death. Like you said, he has an alibi.”
“Does he have an alibi for Emma’s death?” asked Ryan.
The detective narrowed his eyes at her. “What makes you think he’s connected with Emma’s death?”
“Well, they were having an affair. Chase told me himself.”
The detective stood and put his notebook in his blazer pocket. “I appreciate the thought, but Mr. Arrington is no longer a suspect.”
“Does that mean he has an alibi for both murderers?”
He looked at her. “It means he is no longer a suspect.” He thanked her and left the office.
Ryan stood and walked back to the window. So Father Paul and Danielle—and Ryan—were the last suspects standing. But none of them made sense as murderers.
Gus said Chase had been cleared. That meant there was a chance they would clear Father Paul, Danielle, and Ryan as well. Maybe they would find some other link between Veronica and Emma, a link that proved the murders weren’t connected to the committee at all.
One thing was for sure: Gus Lipinski wasn’t taking anything for granted in his investigation. He was committed to finding out who killed Veronica and Emma before someone else got hurt.
Ryan realized the ache in her stomach had been replaced with pangs of hunger. She walked to her desk and dialed a four-digit extension.
“Teddy, would you like to meet me for lunch at the SUB?”
“Oh, you have perfect timing. Let’s make it the faculty dining room. Ten minutes?”
“Ten minutes.”
Twenty minutes later, Teddy blew into the faculty dining room in a whirl of orange and turquoise silk.
“Ryan, you would not believe the row we’re having about the lighting for the first act.”
With a smile, Ryan leaned back in her chair and let Teddy tell her about the problem. As usual, Teddy had placed a graduate student in charge of the lighting design. This usually meant she had an experienced designer and technician who took her direction and provided what she asked for. But this year was different. This year’s lighting guru, Eddie Simkins, was a big fan of laser light shows. And he wanted to incorporate them into the musical.
Ryan didn’t want to disagree, but she thought a laser light show during a couple of the scenes might be a good idea. But the decision was strictly up to Teddy, and Ryan respected her best friend’s vision for her show.
“I’ll tell you what,” said Ryan. “Why don’t you come to my rehearsal this afternoon? We can run the first act with and without the lasers, and you can decide which one you like best.”
Teddy frowned. “I’m supposed to work with the costumers this afternoon. I have the most divine idea about Jade’s prom dress.”
“How about Friday?” asked Ryan. Teddy frowned again.
“Look,” said Ryan. “I think you should give Eddie’s idea a shot. He’s a grad student working to create something unique for his portfolio. Then, whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”
As Teddy agreed, Ryan remembered another decision she needed the director to make.
“I want to talk to you about Kelly and Evie,” said Ryan.
They were interrupted by a waiter asking for their orders. They both asked for a salad and iced tea. The waiter disappeared.
“Before we talk about Kelly and Evie, what are you doing Friday night?”
“I have rehearsal until five, which you know. I don’t have anything planned after that.”
“Marvelous. Summer and I are having a cookout, and we want you to come.”
Ryan frowned. Teddy and Summer tended to hold their cookouts at the last minute, and Ryan couldn’t remember the last time she’d had an invitation as formal as this one.
“Something tells me this is more than a cookout.”
“Nicki and Becky are coming, and we’ve invited a few other friends.”
Ryan clenched her jaw rather than saying the first thing that came to mind. Fortunately, the waiter came back right then with their drinks.
Ryan busied herself putting sugar in her tea. “I’ll be there. But I need to talk to you about Kelly and Evie. Kelly is doing an amazing job as Jade in rehearsals. I’d like to put her into the main rehearsal and see what you think of her.”
Teddy’s face darkened just a shade. “I know Evie is a bit more difficult to work with, but the parts have been cast, Ryan.”
Ryan tried to make her voice sound light. She didn’t like disagreeing with Teddy about anything, least of all Teddy’s own show.
“I had to kick Evie out of understudy rehearsal this week. She wouldn’t shut up and kept making cracks about Kelly’s portrayal of Jade. But when I heard the two of them singing at the same time, I realized Kelly is just better.”
“Evie had the better audition,” said Teddy. “That’s part of what we’re teaching the students. The most talented person doesn’t always get the part. That’s why preparing for auditions is so important.”
Ryan felt color creeping into her cheeks. “It’s also true that if you are a jerk to the rest of the cast, you might get cut from the show.”
The waiter brought their salads, and the women stopped talking for a few minutes as they ate. Finally, Teddy broke the silence.
“I’m excited about Friday night. Summer’s going to do some fish and vegetables in those aluminum-foil packets. We’ll have chicken, too, and whatever dessert I can come up with.
“Who are these ‘other people’ who will be there?” asked Ryan, dreading the answer.
“There’s a couple that Summer met at the bank, Wendy and Cynthia. One of them is on the bankers’ board with Summer. The other one is a teacher, I think.”
Ryan felt herself relaxing a little. “Are they married?”
“I don’t know, but they are a couple.”
Ryan reached for a roll from the breadbasket. Maybe the cookout wouldn’t be so bad. Teddy went on.
“They’re bringing a friend, a woman named Felicia. She’s single.”
Ryan pulled open the roll. “I see.”
“Sweetie, it’s not really a setup. It’s just some friends bringing another friend.”
“I get it. It’s no problem.” Ryan buttered the bread.
“You might like her,” said Teddy. “I understand she’s a musician.”
Ryan didn’t answer, so Teddy went on.
“And you’ll get to know Becky. You’ve never met her, ri—?”
A CRACK interrupted her question. Teddy and Ryan looked down toward the sound. Ryan had dropped her knife so hard that it had broken her bread plate. A waiter came running over.
“I’m so sorry, Dean McCabe. Some of these plates are pretty old. I’ll get you a new one.” He took the broken plate and practically ran toward the kitchen.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” asked Teddy. “Did you cut yourself?”
“I’m fine. I guess I didn’t realize how heavy that knife was.”
Teddy watched her friend wipe the butter from her hand. One corner of her mouth lifted just a little.
“Listen,” said Teddy. “Just think of Friday as an open invitation. Come if you want. No pressure.”
Ryan took a deep breath. “I’ll be there. I’d like to meet Summer’s new friends.”
“Fabulous. Now let’s talk about Jade.” The women spent the next ten minutes debating the best way to handle their prima donna. They decided to tell Evie that her attitude and actions wouldn’t be tolerated at Haverwood, just like they wouldn�
�t be tolerated if she ever made it to Broadway. Evie needed to make an effort to get along with the rest of the cast and the crew. If she didn’t, they had a replacement ready and waiting to take her part.
“That should take care of Evie’s bad attitude,” said Ryan. “But it still leaves Kelly without a major role. I hate that for her.”
“We always have one matinee where the understudies get to play the leads. We could schedule one more night for them.”
Ryan leaned forward. “If we start the run a day earlier, the leads wouldn’t miss out on the number of shows they get to do. We’d just add one so the understudies get one more.”
“Sounds great to me. And it’s one more chance for people to see the show.”
“Teddy, thank you. I’ll tell everyone at rehearsal this afternoon. They’ll be so excited.”
The women finished their lunch talking about the set design. Fortunately, the graduate student in charge of that team hadn’t developed any wild ideas about the sets. She was having a hard enough time figuring out how to manage the prom scene Teddy envisioned, complete with a moving dance floor.
All in all, preparations for the musical were going well. They were going to have a great show. The women said goodbye and returned to their offices at opposite ends of the campus, both humming the finale.
Ryan was halfway to Glaser Hall when her phone buzzed. She opened the case and smiled when she saw it was a text from Nicki. Then she frowned.
Becky is picking me up for
dinner tonight. I’ll drop my
keys at your office so you
can drive yourself home.
I’ll be home by 9:00.
Ryan typed her response:
k
She stuffed the phone in a pocket and walked faster. Once in the office, she grabbed her workout bag from the closet and went into the reception area.
“Helen, do I have any appointments this afternoon?”
“You have a committee meeting at two and rehearsal starting at three.”
“Good. I’m going to the gym.”
