Murder at Cold Creek College

by Christa Nardi

  He laughed, looked away, and then back at me. “Yes, I suppose it is. And I assume there will be a lot of talk going on. Please do keep me posted if you happen to find out anything I should know. But please, do not try to play detective.”

  “Like I said, trying to make sense of it. I’m a psychologist. Studying behavior and relationships is what I do.” I almost felt guilty about not telling him that I also wanted to make sure neither Ali nor Kim was arrested for this murder. I did find our interactions today a bit more tense than yesterday. That made me a little less comfortable sharing information.

  “Okay. This drawing answers most of the questions I have. I notice there are a number of these, like the lines from Adam to Priscilla, Mandy, and Terra that are marked ‘neutral’. How come?”

  “I don’t know of a positive or a negative relationship, so I left them ‘neutral’.” I shrugged. “And I don’t know who the ‘husbands’ or ‘students’ would be. And I suspect there are more relationships that I haven’t heard about.”

  “Hmm. Sheridan, I have to go talk with a number of these people. I hope it’s alright if I come back and bounce some ideas off of you? Perhaps for lunch?”

  He raked his hand through his curly hair. I was beginning to think that was a behavior that indicated his fatigue or despair. If so, it was awfully early in the day for that kind of emotion. I nodded and he was gone. I felt like I’d been through a wringer, and I wasn’t sure why. I had to admit, as tense as the interaction had been, he was still one nice looking man.

  I spent most of the morning trying to work, but found myself checking in with Terra or Ali or Kim to find out what was happening, and what they had heard. Joe was still around and trying to get people to talk to him, but so far he’d steered clear of me.

  Terra told me that McMann had been in with Ali for a long time, and neither had looked happy when he left. She also said Ali wouldn’t talk about it. I continued to walk around the area, and checked on who was in and who wasn’t. I told myself that I was checking to see how they were doing, but if I were honest, I wanted to see how everyone was reacting. Jim wasn’t in his office, but Terra said he was on campus somewhere and checking in regularly given the current situation and focus on the department. Katie hadn’t come in today.

  Priscilla and Mandy were both in. They both looked nervous, and not particularly talkative. Priscilla alternately clenched and unclenched her hands. I wasn’t even sure she was aware she was doing it. Doug shook his head, rolled his eyes and threw up his hands.

  I didn’t bother checking with Max, but he came by to complain about being interrupted by the rude detective. He also complained that the students working with him were upset and not able to get their work done. I obviously didn’t have any solutions and didn’t understand how important his research was.

  I checked in with Kim a couple of times and each time she was more nervous and concerned that she was a ‘person of interest’ than the previous one. Joe’s presumed list of people of interest seemed to come up everywhere. And so far it was a short list of Ali and Kim.

  Late in the morning, Joe stopped by my office to get my reaction to Adam’s murder. I told him I thought it was unfortunate, sad that his life had ended violently. I got the impression he had a litany of questions aimed to get me, or whomever he was talking to, to say something sensational that would make his story.

  I didn’t give him a chance. I asked him if he knew who the next of kin would be and if he had heard any more about the crime itself. He didn’t know who was listed as the emergency contact. He didn’t know how Adam had been killed or the estimated time of death. He didn’t know if they had retrieved a murder weapon. He also didn’t know why the State police were involved.

  The more questions I asked he couldn’t answer, the more frustrated he got. It wasn’t an intentional tactic on my part, but the end result was a good one. Joe didn’t hang around very long and nothing I said was going in the paper.

  I finally went back to work. Adam’s murder aside, classes would start next week. Someone would have to cover all of his classes, and that would likely mean additional class prep for one or more of us. If I was lucky, I could use the same lecture, class activities, and assignments for both sections of each course. Otherwise, I tailored the content to meet the level of individual sections. I was about to start on the next task when McMann was at my door once again.

  He looked tired and his attempt at a smile was pretty feeble. He asked if I was still able to join him for lunch. He said he wanted to get my perspective on some of the information he had gathered thus far. I agreed and we were back in Georg’s Café once again. He asked what I had been working on, and I gave a brief description. This seemed his version of small talk today. After he finished his sandwich and refilled both of our coffees, he sighed.

  “Okay, what can you tell me about Ali? Has she ever talked to you about Adam?” he asked. He looked befuddled for some reason.

  “Not really. If anyone ever mentioned Adam, she pretty much avoided taking part in the talk, and usually went back to her office. I honestly don’t remember her ever saying anything about him, good or bad. Other than that, she is generally pretty quiet and stays to herself. If the conversation is about theatre or sports, however, she usually joins in. She’s an avid tennis player. Does that help?” I asked, not quite sure what he was looking for and not willing to share the rumors I’d heard about her involvement with Adam.

  “Okay. It means she isn’t stonewalling me, but apparently is stonewalling all of you about Adam as well. I’m assuming from your drawing and the negative on that line that you know they dated and it didn’t end well. I thought maybe she wasn’t keen on complaining about him because he was dead, but it sounds like that is her response all the time,” he mused.

  “Did you ask her directly?” I asked, quite sure that he must have. It would be hard to avoid a direct question.

  “I did. Quite directly. She told me that she was not able to discuss Adam or her relationship to him in the past, and provided me with the name and number for her attorney. Each question I asked her, she gave me the same response.” He shook his head, not able to get a handle on this.

  I also suspected he was checking to see my reaction to her response. It certainly wasn’t typical police practice to reveal the contents of an interview of one possible suspect with another unless the intent was a fishing expedition. And her response did seem odd.

  “Well, I can’t help you. I never asked her directly, but she has never responded to a comment or question about Adam that I am aware of. Guess you will have to call her attorney,” I answered, a little confused myself. What would have transpired in their relationship that would have involved legal counsel? Or had she gotten legal counsel this morning in anticipation of being a suspect? Ali was definitely a planner and sometimes on the pessimistic side in terms of anticipating future events. If she obtained legal counsel this morning, that was probably not going to be seen positively. On the other hand, it might be a good idea for her to be on the offensive.

  “You said she was into sports and tennis. Did she play golf, too?” he asked.

  I couldn’t imagine what that had to do with anything, but answered, “No. Around here to play golf you have to be a member of the country club. That pretty much excludes faculty and staff. Well, except for Adam, at least.”

  We chatted a little more. He didn’t ask any more about Ali and didn’t ask about Kim. Mostly McMann tried to validate his impressions. He mentioned that Doug had verified the office switch with me. Doug also told him that I was professional but assertive in telling Adam to buzz off. It was also clear that McMann’s opinion of Max hadn’t improved with his most recent interaction. I chuckled as he recounted his trying to get Max to answer questions instead of ranting about his research.

  He asked me what Joe was asking people and that opened the door for me to repeat the questions I had asked Joe, but this time of him. He somewhat reluctantly acknowledged that the cause of death was blu
nt force trauma to the head, but he said he couldn’t tell me what had caused the blunt force. He explained the time of death was still being determined. He asked if Chief Pfeiffe or any of the Cold Creek police had been by to talk to the faculty or staff. They hadn’t, which seemed odd, and I told him that.

  When I asked why the State police were involved, he sighed again and leaned back in the chair. Ultimately, he explained ‘someone’ requested the assistance of the State police in the investigation, and the ‘someone’ was not with the local or university police. He was following orders, but his being here was apparently not well received by all. I asked who the ‘someone’ was, but he politely shook his head. I asked him if I was still a suspect, half joking, half serious. He smiled and seemed to relax a bit before teasingly telling me that for the time being I was in the clear.

  We chatted amicably while we finished our coffees. I found myself looking forward to his occasional smile. I noticed he didn’t wear a wedding band about the same time I realized that I liked him. He was easy to talk to and I reminded myself that being easy to talk to was probably an important trait in a detective. Much as I might like him and appreciate his good looks, I needed to be careful what I shared with him. I could tell he was doing a pretty good job of breaking down my defenses. We went back upstairs, his professional demeanor and my defenses back in place.

  I started back to work and Terra came in and shut my door. She was worried still about Ali. Joe apparently told her that Ali was seriously being looked at in the murder. She also was concerned that ever since McMann talked to her, Ali had holed up in her office. She hadn’t even gone out for lunch.

  There wasn’t anything I could say to reassure her, other than that hopefully the person responsible would be identified sooner rather than later. I truly did empathize with her. I was equally as worried about both Ali and Kim. On the other hand, Ali’s behavior was looking more suspicious all the time. I didn’t mention Ali’s comment to McMann about her lawyer.

  Terra groaned and then asked me what I thought of McMann. I told her I thought he was very thorough and she made a crack about the rising color in my face. She also said Joe told her he saw us in Georg’s having lunch and that it looked more social than business. Obviously, he saw the end of the lunch rather than the beginning. She teased me some more and then went back to her own office.

  I chuckled to myself at the wonders of the small town. I remembered that after someone saw Wayne and I having dinner at Perky’s Restaurant and then at the Steak House, it was pretty much assumed we would be getting married. If two meals meant an engagement, then McMann and I were at least an item, if lunches counted. I chuckled again as I realized I didn’t even know his first name! Shaking my head, I went back to work.

  About an hour or so later, I saw Mandy in the hallway. She continued toward my office, obviously following office numbers. Mandy is slim and petite and no one would guess that she had two kids to look at her. I only wished I could blame my few extra pounds around the waist on a pregnancy. The size 10s were getting a bit snug and that meant it was time to watch the diet and get more exercise.

  “Hi Sheridan. You really are hidden back here, aren’t you?” Mandy asked when she reached my door. Her office was more central and nearer to Adam’s.

  “Yeah, I kind of like being out of the way. It usually is pretty quiet back here, though I am handy if Jim needs anything,” I answered. In effect, when Jim ventured out of his office, I was the first faculty member he saw. Being convenient is not always a good thing. Sometimes I wondered if that was Doug’s ulterior motive in switching offices and Adam’s tormenting me was a convenient excuse.

  “Do you have a few minutes?” she asked. “I’m getting creeped out by this whole thing. Adam murdered, that detective asking everyone questions, and the reporter asking more questions. Now there’s someone from Cold Creek police in the main office. He’ll probably be around asking questions now, too. I know there were some issues with Adam, but he was a good teacher and a good colleague.”

  “Have a seat. It is certainly not our typical week before classes start. Hopefully everything will settle down by next week,” I offered by way of reassurance. “Anything in particular bothering you, Mandy?” Even after being out of clinical work for four years, when people were distressed, I shifted to therapist mode.

  Sighing she said, “I don’t want to offend Terra, but I don’t think Joe should be asking us all questions. I told him to go ask the detective and closed my door on him. I don’t want to be part of his story, but I am afraid Terra will be offended.”

  “That’s certainly your right. You probably don’t have much choice about talking to McMann or the Cold Creek police, but you don’t have to talk to Joe. And I wouldn’t worry about Terra. I suspect there are lots of times when Joe has been refused. But don’t hold his behavior against her either. He is, after all, doing his job,” I said.

  Mandy and I talked for a few more minutes. She immediately insisted that Adam was a very good teacher and colleague. I wasn’t sure if she was saying this because she thought the opposite or if she refused to see the down side to situations or people. She didn’t say anything that indicated a direct interaction.

  The conversation seemed awkward because we don’t usually socialize with each other. In an effort to get her to relax some, I asked about her two boys and her husband. Other than that her husband was outraged that a murder happened on campus, she said everything was fine. She said she was all set and she was looking forward to the semester starting. She made a comment about all the students being enthused and excited to learn. Then she described how she looked forward to the start of the semester and the students all dressed nicely, to impress.

  I wondered about and envied her optimism and idealism. Our students are good students, strong, and quite capable, but they weren’t always interested in what we were offering. These days, all the social networking, gaming, and such made it hard to keep their interest sometimes. I applauded her organization and made noises about needing to get back to work.

  She took the hint. I realized she hadn’t said much about Adam other than proclaiming him a good teacher and colleague. I again concluded that she probably had managed to avoid his attentions by being pregnant and having little ones. Of course, she may have been protesting a little too much, but I doubted it.

  Mandy no sooner left, and Mitch came in and sat down. He rolled his eyes and made a comment about the status of the zoo. We talked for a while, and Mitch volunteered his opinion that Ali and Kim would probably warrant a bit of attention from McMann and local police. He also commented that he saw the Cold Creek policeman, Officer Hirsch, in the office and then going into Ali’s office. His comments made me think that he might know more about what happened with Ali, but he didn’t volunteer any specific information. I told him I couldn’t imagine Ali or Kim killing anyone, and he agreed.

  He said something about a weight being used to kill Adam, but said he didn’t know if that was true or an assumption because Adam had been found in the weight room. It certainly would be the logical conclusion. He also talked a little about Chief Pfeiffe. He played golf with Barney on occasion. Mitch said he was generally a good man, but that investigating a murder was definitely not something he was prepared for. Chief Pfeiffe, like Mitch and Jim Grant, was in his 60s and looking to retirement. Mitch said he would feel the Chief out and see if he could get an idea of the direction the investigation was headed.

  Unlike most of the faculty, Mitch and I discussed some of the issues that would have to be addressed with the students. Having an act of violence on campus would, at least initially, mean that students might be a little fearful. Being questioned by various police would inevitably add to their anxiety.

  We discussed providing some basic safety precautions to all students. This would include always traveling in pairs, trying to stay in well-lit areas, and being alert to individuals who looked like they didn’t quite belong. Now, all of these applied more if the killer was a strang
er to the campus. We would also let students know that they might be asked questions, and they needed to help out the police as much as possible. That and we would be letting them know they didn’t have to talk to the press.

  Then there were the students who would be more directly affected. Specifically, since Adam worked with only psychology majors, most of them had him for one or more classes. He also was one of the faculty members more likely to be their thesis advisor if they elected to go that route.

  Ultimately, of the 50 or so juniors or seniors who declared psychology as their major, at least some of them would be upset because it was Adam, and not because the death was violent. Mitch said he would let Jim, Ali, and Terra know that we would be available for any students who needed to talk to someone. Usually, Kim would have been our third musketeer, but with her involvement with Adam, that was not going to happen.

  I wondered aloud how popular the rec center would be for the immediate time, but Mitch poo-hooed me and argued that people who worked out would get past it in order to keep working out. His argument was that working out was pretty addictive and they’d need their exercise ‘fix’. It occurred to me that Kim probably fell into that category. I would have to ask her when she would be going back.

  As usual, Mitch mused about how being a faculty member was a pretty good job, given that your whole job centered on topics you were interested in anyway, and you had some flexibility in your hours. Of course, immediately after that, he complained about the new on-line system and talked about maybe retiring in a year or two. This was a frequent theme with him when it came to technology, and I teased him about it. He laughed and then left me to try to get back to work.

  I checked in on Kim again and she was actually quite calm. More impressive, she was working on getting her courses set up. When she explained that Jim told her she would likely be picking up Adam’s section of abnormal, I understood her current activity level.