Murder in the Arboretum (Cold Creek Book 2)

by Christa Nardi

  Chapter 4

  I grabbed my jacket and bag and we walked to the parking lot behind the building where I park. Brett tipped his imaginary hat after seeing me into the car with a teasing kiss. His car was parked in a visitor lot.

  As I had done several times over the past few months, I thought about how my life had changed so quickly since the beginning of fall semester when I met Brett. For the first part of my career I had worked at a facility in Pennsylvania for troubled youth. I discovered my then husband intimately involved with an intern and decided a change was in order. That was a little over four years and a divorce ago. That was when I came to Cold Creek. Unfortunately, as most divorced or single forty-something women can attest, there is a definite shortage of available men.

  My life excitement had been the occasional boring date with Cold Creek’s only dentist, Wayne, or dinners with Kim. I’d even ventured on a few not-so-great dates courtesy of a dot-com dating site. Otherwise, my activities were limited to runs through the park with my Sheltie, Charlie. Things had definitely changed for the better.

  I arrived home and let Charlie out before Brett pulled in. I smiled as he walked in, holding a to-go box from the Pizzeria in the center of town. In Cold Creek, the options for dining were pretty much limited to the Pizzeria, the Chinese restaurant, the Grill and a few fast food staples.

  It was a good thing he’d brought dinner. I hadn’t had the chance to do any grocery shopping yet and we had eaten in most of the weekend. As a result, the cupboards and fridge were depleted. We needed to do some grocery shopping sooner rather than later. Brett smiled as I looked at the box.

  While he got the lasagna out, I got the dishes and set the table. We ate without much conversation over dinner other than a comment about the need to get some groceries. After taking Charlie for a walk, we had just settled down on the sofa to watch some television when Brett’s phone rang.

  I watched Brett’s face become more serious, and caught bits and pieces. It mostly was limited to “Yeah”, “Un huh”, “Okay, I’ll give them a call.” Then Brett hung up and cringed. He smiled weakly and filled me in. They had identified the body and notified next of kin.

  Justin Blake was 25 years old. Justin’s parents were notified and understandably very upset. Apparently they became agitated with the Chief. He told them he’d called in the State Police and effectively passed the buck to Brett.

  In the meantime, there was nothing new the Chief was sharing on the cause of death. Nothing yet warranted State Police involvement, but Brett was going to North Shore to talk with the Blakes the next day. At least he could check on his other case at the same time.

  Brett went back to the kitchen to call the parents and set up a time to talk to them. It was still early, about 8 PM, when he got another call. Then he had to go to the police station. He also said he was going to call Dr. Wellburn and see if he could get him to move a little faster on the cause of death.

  Along with that, he muttered something about our rather older family physician who doubled as the coroner only on the very rare occasions needed. Brett didn’t hold him in high esteem. But then, Dr. Wellburn’s experience with a possible murder investigation was limited to the one in the fall.

  That left Charlie and me staring at the television. I am a curious person by nature. I sometimes irritate people with the questions I ask and my need to get to the bottom of something or solve the problem.

  With Brett gone, I decided to go online to see what I could find out about Justin Blake. I didn’t expect much, but I’m always surprised by what comes up when a name is put into a search engine. In Justin’s case, there wasn’t much other than the usual ad offering to give me a complete background check for a price.

  He was tagged in a Facebook photo and I was able to pull that up. Amazing how so many people don’t realize just how public social networking is. Justin was one of four guys. They each saluted the photographer with a beer and a smile. I guessed it was either from a party or at a bar, but there was no caption.

  Looking at the picture of the four having a good time, I sighed. He was a clean-cut young man whenever this picture had been taken. Now he was dead. Charlie responded to my mood of despair and set her head in my lap.

  I had been watching television for a while when Brett came back and the news was about to come on. He grabbed two glasses of wine from the kitchen, kissed me tenderly, and sat down. He shared whatever he reasonably could. He still didn’t know the cause of death or much of anything else. Brett still felt stonewalled by the Chief.

  The news report didn’t add much to what we already knew. They disclosed Justin’s name and showed a picture of him. He looked so young in that picture, as he had in the Facebook photo. They also showed the Arboretum. Outside the crime scene tape, some flowers and other items had been left. I assumed students had done that.

  I shared my thoughts with Brett. In return, he shared that when he stopped at the College he talked to one of the officers. Random students dropped off flowers or stuffed animals after the initial announcement this afternoon. The officer designated a single place after the first one or two. Justin Blake wasn’t a student and wasn’t from Cold Creek, so students might or might not continue to leave flowers now that he’d been identified.

  Brett asked for my take on Johnson and Davidson. I described my brief interactions with them and how traumatized they both seemed. We discussed their apparent reactions of dismay and Nick’s shock, then settled in to watch the sports updates.

  Shaking off the day’s turn of events, Brett put his arms around me and teased my lips with his tongue. We both needed the distraction and one kiss led to another. Turning off the television, we made our way to bed and eventually sleep.

  Chapter 5

  Up early, Brett and I ate breakfast and took off in different directions. He left to meet with Justin Blake’s parents and to check on his other case in the North Shore area. I went to work. Because it was Tuesday, this section of Intro would last longer, but still followed the same format. I played it all out in my head as I drove to the College and parked my car.

  I walked toward the Humanities Building and looked over in the direction of the Arboretum. Campus security and a couple of police officers still huddled there. Students congregated as well to bring gifts or just stare at a crime scene. Even with all my psychology background, I didn’t quite grasp the attraction of a crime scene to people not otherwise involved.

  Some of my favorite fictional detectives likely would suggest the murderer was there, returning to the scene of the crime. That, of course, assumed it was murder. As I looked over the crowd, I saw students, Cold Creek police, and one Cold Creek College security officer. I recognized Officers Hirsch and Matthews right away. They seemed to have it well under control.

  A person of habit, I went through my usual routine of stacking what I needed for the class. I waited for the computer to come on. Then I quickly scanned my email. Nothing jumped out at me. With everything I needed in hand, I grabbed a coffee at Georg’s and went to class. Two and a half hours later, class was over. I got a few laughs, as well as a few eye rolls this time. These responses occurred when I suggested that maybe they could apply what they learned about memory to studying for their exams.

  Back in my office, I got everything ready for my section of Research Design. This was a smaller class, pretty much limited to psychology majors. That done, I walked down to the departmental office to check my mail. I also wanted to see how Terra and Ali were doing and what they knew. Jack Holloway was talking to Jim Grant, our Department Head, when I walked up.

  Jack worked with some of the preschools in the area. I watched him once with a few preschoolers who visited one of his classes. He was much more vibrant and animated with them than with any of us. He sported long silver hair pulled back mostly into a ponytail, jeans and t-shirt. Jack was the only other experimental psychologist besides Max. Instead of rats, Jack studied early childhood development. Jack did research but he wasn’t driven the way Max
was.

  Jack sighed and nodded to Jim, “Yeah, and Justin was so young.” He shook his head. Jack’s comment and tone sounded like he might have known Justin, but he didn’t elaborate. Jack was one of the quieter faculty members. He didn’t engage in much conversation unless it had to do with toddlers or young children.

  I joined the conversation with, “Jim, Jack, hi. I guess you’re talking about Justin Blake?” They both nodded, and taking a deep breath, I continued, “Pretty sad.”

  Neither one said anything else. Jack shook his head and went off in the direction of his office. Jim ducked into his as quickly as he could to avoid further conversation. Dealing with conflict was not Jim’s strong suit. At this point in his career, he was waiting his time to retirement.

  There wasn’t much else to do, so I went over to Terra’s desk. “How are you doing today, Terra? Joe share any information with you?”

  “No more than your detective shared with you,” Terra teased back. She looked at Ali who chuckled.

  Ali and Terra were mostly responsible for fiscal matters like purchases and budget. They were also responsible for all the administrative aspects for Jim and the rest of us in the department. If you needed anything from a pen to a new workstation, Terra or Ali took care of it. Both were thirty something, Ali a few years older than Terra. Terra was a bit more social than Ali, but together they kept us functional. More important, they were both good-hearted.

  “Anything noteworthy happening?” I asked. I was curious about the looks passing between them. Besides, I wanted to put off going back to my office and quizzes.

  Terra chuckled this time and looked toward Ali. Ali smiled and shrugged her shoulders. The two had a give-and-take relationship when it came to teasing and jokes. I suspected it was a means of diffusing some of the stress. Terra looked around and offered, “It’s just that Max came by earlier. He’s quite sure that with another dead body on campus, it’s only a matter of time before Cold Creek College closes down.”

  Terra countered with, “I told him the publicity would mean Cold Creek College was on everyone’s radar across the state and nation.” She and Ali both laughed.

  Shaking my head, I turned and went back to my office and to my email. I hit the delete button with glee when I could and answered the ones I needed to take care of quickly. I was working when Kim stopped by. I still needed to get materials together for my afternoon class, but that would wait.

  “Hey, Sher, do you know anything more? Mitch was right. This is all anyone talks about and the stories get wilder all the time! But so far, I don’t know that anyone has asked for counseling or indicated a need to talk. Anyone come by your office?” Kim rattled this all off in her usual rapid-fire style, her green eyes sparkling.

  “Afraid I don’t know any more than you do, Kim,” I answered. “And no, no one has come by. Students were talking about it, kind of hush-hush, at the start of class today. I sure hope they figure out what the facts are pretty soon. Then we could at least do rumor control!”

  “That would be good, I have already heard multiple versions of how he died, some with very graphic detail,” she shuddered. “Having a good imagination is great, but it belongs in creative writing.”

  She hesitated and then said, “Do you have a few minutes? To talk about something unrelated, Sher? Like my social life or lack thereof?” She sighed and I waved my hand to the empty chair. Over the years, Kim and I had provided each other with support. Being single, in your 40s, and living in a small town can be lonely to say the least.

  As Kim closed my door and sat down, I asked, “So what’s up, Kim?”

  “Okay, I know this hasn’t worked in the past, but I decided to try another one of the Internet dating sites. I mean, really, Sher, I am just not interested in Wayne. He‘s about the only man in this town who is single and into women. He is into women, right?” She chuckled and I nodded my head in response.

  Wayne is the dentist in town. I dated him for a while. He could only talk about his practice and dental work. Boring and unrelenting described him to a “T”. He hadn’t reacted well when I broke it off or when I started seeing Brett.

  “And we both know people who met and married someone they met through one of those sites. So, I signed up for a new one and they sent me matches. One of them looks interesting. We have been emailing and he seems pretty normal. He’s an investment analyst and recently transferred to Richmond. The company he works for is MJ Insurance and Related Products. He glossed over the divorce part, said it was an amicable divorce. Not sure I buy that any divorce is truly amicable for both people.” Her expression changed to one of dismay on this last comment.

  She paused and waited for me to respond. We had both tried the Internet dating thing a couple years ago. When the time came to meet someone, we always had each other’s back.

  “So, where are you planning on meeting him?” I asked. Cold Creek is situated between Richmond and Richmond, with some small towns scattered between. Closest to us were North Shore and Alta Vista.

  “I’m going to suggest North Shore, I think. Maybe for this coming weekend or the next one. He lives just this side of Richmond. What do you think?” she asked. She clearly wanted to meet this guy in a hurry.

  “Let me check with Brett, okay. Do you want to try for a double date or for us to be at the same restaurant?” In the past, I would have gone to the restaurant myself. I would have been handy if needed. It wasn’t often needed but a safety net seemed a good idea.

  Kim nodded and looked relieved. “Thanks, Sher. A double date might be a little awkward on the first date, but maybe after that. You never can tell, Garrett might help spice up my life a little like Brett did for you.”

  Kim seemed optimistic and I certainly didn’t want to rain on her parade. As she stood up, there was a knock on the door. She opened the door. Mitch walked in with a shake of his head. He seemed more resigned than yesterday, yet also a bit irritated.

  “Why is it that people make life so much more difficult than it has to be? Why can’t they just wait until we know the facts?” His voice reflected despair more than anger. He shook his head again and sat down. “So how are you two doing?”

  “Doing okay, Mitch. Kim and I were just talking about the same thing. It would be helpful to know what the facts are so we could at least do rumor control.”

  The three of us continued to grouse about the situation. The big concern centered on the potential for fear and rumors to get out of control. We couldn’t solve the problem and we each had work to do.

  After they both left, it occurred to me that Brett might have some of that solution. He might have learned something from the Blakes. I sure didn’t envy him the task of talking to Justin’s parents. I thought about what it must be like to talk to them so soon after they were notified their son was dead.

  Needing to move and restore my energy, I ventured down to Georg’s for my usual sandwich. I thought about going to the Arboretum to eat and relax. I often ate my lunch there and captured some peace from the quiet and natural beauty. Then I remembered it was a crime scene.

  Instead of the Arboretum, I found a vacant bench facing into the quad. The Humanities Building was located to the east of the Administration Building and to the west of the Student Union Complex. The Arboretum was off to the west of the Administration Building.

  My seat allowed me to engage in my favorite pastime of people watching. I could see a police officer and campus security at the College entrance to the Arboretum. It was the same security guard as earlier, but I didn’t recognize the police officer this time. There was a small crowd at the entrance. I expected there was a crowd at the Town Hall entrance at the other side of the Arboretum as well.

  I thought of yesterday and Mr. Johnson, Nick, and Justin Blake, and I was dismayed. As I sat and chilled out a bit, I focused on the students while I enjoyed the pleasant spring weather. I glanced over at the Administration Building. From where I sat I couldn’t quite see the edge of the creek that flowed through the Arb
oretum and by the Administration Building. I noticed some students at the corner of the building though. Sooner than I hoped, my phone beeped to alert me that I had 15 minutes before my Research Design class.

  Chapter 6

  Back at my office, I collected everything I needed and stopped at Georg’s for a fresh cup of coffee on the way to my classroom. This classroom was more like a conference room than a classroom. Surprisingly, the students were all seated when I arrived. The conversation died down as I walked in.

  I got the computer turned on, my presentation loaded, and my handouts given out in record time. Today, the topic was hypothesis generation. I had several topics that I usually used to arouse discussion. Most of them focused on the fact that often the explanations people provided for everyday occurrences were often testable hypotheses.

  “Good afternoon. Did you all have a chance to read the chapter in the text? Did you think about the activities and questions at the end of the chapter?” I asked. As usual, I noted that some of the students avoided eye contact and most likely hadn’t completed the assignment.

  A couple of students came up with some examples. We discussed how each explanation or hypothesis would have to be tested to determine if the evidence supported it. A sophomore, Ava asked, “So, Dr. Hendley, there are lots of rumors going around about why that person was dead in the Arboretum. Are those the same as a hypothesis?”

  “Well …” I hesitated and then continued. “Right now, I don’t think we know how that person died, so one hypothesis could be murder. One could be an accident. One could be suicide. One could be natural causes. Testing all of those hypotheses with the evidence is what the police and medical examiner are doing now.”

  Taking a deep breath, I added, “I know this is difficult, and I know that there will be a lot of stories and rumors about Justin Blake. About how he died or why he died. Unfortunately, at this point, we don’t have the data to test any of these hypotheses.”