Murder at Cold Creek College

by Christa Nardi

  “Hi, Kim,” I said as I answered my cell. I moved back into the kitchen as I answered and Charlie followed me.

  “Hi, Sheridan. You okay? You sound funny,” she said.

  “Charlie got spooked and that kind of spooked me. No big deal. Some animal must have been in the yard is all,” I answered. Still in the dark, I looked out the window toward the now lit front porch, but couldn’t see anything. Most of the drive was also lit up, and my car was still there.

  “Charlie spooked? That is odd. Did you see what it was?” she asked.

  “Nope, but she’s settled down now. So it must be gone, whatever it was. How’d the rest of your day go?” I asked, if for no other reason than to change the subject.

  “It went well. I feel better now I have at least had all the classes once,” she answered. She continued, “I came by this afternoon for a couple of reasons. First, I heard Max made a big stink and now Jim has dumped responsibility for sexual harassment on your lap. That’s crappy. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

  “Yup, Max opened his mouth and now I get to do more work. Funny, he never seemed concerned before, but now he is going to save the students and the College in one fell swoop,” I answered in disgust. I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into the real reasons behind the sudden interest with Kim given her relationship with Adam.

  “Yeah, well, there have always been stories about Adam and students. I wouldn’t doubt he stepped over the line, but I doubt it was as often as Max makes it out to be,” she said with some resignation. Obviously, this was not news to her.

  “Agreed. I think Max has blown it way out of proportion. And to make it worse, he apparently managed to get the message to upper administration. Now I get to meet with the Chancellor tomorrow,” I added with a sigh.

  “What? That is crazy Sher!” she replied.

  I agreed, and asked, “So what was the second reason?” I suspected it was about Brett, but figured I’d let her lead into it.

  “I wanted to let you know Katie was at the Steak House last night. She saw you and the detective. She came to tell me because we were friends. She thought you might be telling him all sorts of things about me. Right. When I said I doubted it, Sher, she actually told me she was pretty sure you were a lesbian. In her mind, what other reason would there be for you to be dining with him. Can you believe that?” she said, now quite excited and speaking quickly.

  “What?” was all I could say.

  “I asked her what gave her that idea, and she basically said that for you not to be taken in by Adam, you had to be a lesbian. I set her straight, and told her, no, you were smarter than the rest of us,” she continued. Kim chuckled.

  “That is plain craziness,” I responded. Even though I’m a psychologist the explanations people come up with to explain the behaviors of others still surprise me.

  Kim and I talked for a few more minutes, and we made plans to have dinner on Wednesday. I told her I would probably need therapy after the Chancellor and any run-ins I had with Katie or Max.

  I went back to the computer and did a cursory search for training modules on sexual harassment and bookmarked them. That way if the Chancellor asked me what I had gotten done since talking to Jim, I could say I had at least identified some possible modules.

  Past my earlier paranoia, Charlie and I watched the news in the living room. Before heading for bed, I let her out the back with some apprehension, but no problems. I checked the door several times, and shut off the light out of habit. Then I decided to leave it on. I re-checked the front door and left that light on as well. Thankfully, neither light shone into my bedroom.

  Chapter 12

  The next morning went downhill fast when I went to leave for work and had four flat tires. I called for a tow, the police, and Kim in rapid succession. The police arrived first. They introduced themselves and shook their head. The two of them determined all four tires had been slashed, and wrote up the report. Officer Joseph shrugged and said it was probably some kids. Officer Ramiro nodded and shook his head some more.

  I told them I thought someone or something had been out in the yard or drive last night. He agreed it was probably the person or persons who did this. His partner nodded again. I asked if they had any other reports in the neighborhood. If it was done by kids and my car was random, there would have been other reports. They said no other reports. They didn’t seem concerned, but I certainly was.

  As they were getting back in their car, Kim pulled up. Behind her was the tow truck. I signed for the car, the tow, and four new tires, and Kim and I were on our way. With luck, we’d get to Cold Creek in time for my 8 o’clock class. I told Kim what the police said about kids, and she asked me the same question I asked the police about other complaints. I could tell from her expression she wasn’t too sure she bought their explanation any more than I did.

  She no sooner had the car in park and I ran to my office, grabbed a coffee, and then ran to my class. I went through the video clip activity and then the discussion. The topic linked psychology with everyday occurrences, including eye witness testimony and advertising. Before I knew it the hour was up, and I definitely needed another cup of coffee.

  When I got back to my office, there was a note on my door that John’s Tire Service had called. I quickly called them back and approved the tires they recommended and provided my credit card information. I turned on my computer and checked email. Unfortunately, the first thing I saw was a reminder. My calendar showed the appointment with the Chancellor and I groaned. I drank my coffee, read my email, and got everything set for research design in the afternoon. Before I knew it, it was time to head over to the Administration building.

  It was a nice enough day, not too hot and not too cold. The fountains were flowing and gave a picturesque quality to the quad. The arboretum and its quiet and calm called to me, but would probably have to wait until afternoon. I made my way across the walk and into the administration building. Right inside was the rotunda. Like many old buildings, the rotunda had a high domed ceiling with winding stairs on either side.

  There were several bronzed busts of men I assumed had something to do with the history of Cold Creek, the founding fathers, or the trustees. There were also some portraits. I recognized the picture of the Chancellor, and assumed the others on the wall were prior Chancellors. With a sigh and filled with dread, I took the closest set of stairs and on the first landing, ran into Misty.

  “Hi, how are you? What brings you over here?” she asked.

  “Oh, got a summons from Chancellor Oakland,” I said, as if this was a common place occurrence. Unfortunately, her face indicated this was definitely not usual. She raised her eyebrows and her smile disappeared pretty quickly.

  “Uh, that’s … umm. His office is on the third floor. Take a left at the top of the stairs,” she faltered as she tried for a response.

  “Thanks, Misty,” I said, still trying for nonchalance, and I trudged up the stairs. When the stairs curved, I could see her still standing there and looking in my direction. Her reaction did nothing for my sense of wellbeing. I took a deep breath and turned to the left. Up ahead were glass double door and a lavish reception area. It occurred to me the leather sofas in this reception area were probably much more expensive and comfortable than the sofa in my living room.

  Entering through the doors, I addressed the woman sitting at the desk, “Hi, I’m Sheridan Hendley. I believe the Chancellor is expecting me.”

  “Yes, Dr. Hendley. Please be seated,” she answered without so much as looking at me. She continued to focus on her computer screen, though she didn’t appear to be typing. She definitely was not going to get the Miss Congeniality award. She was older, probably in her 60s, and judging from her expression, she enjoyed sucking lots of lemons.

  I took a seat and waited. I imagined this was probably a ploy on the Chancellor’s part to assert his position of power. I likened it to the stories of police leaving suspects in a room for a while twiddling their thumbs to
increase their anxiety.

  About 10 minutes later, the woman stood, and said, “Dr. Hendley, please follow me.” I hadn’t heard a phone or even the chime from a text, but I followed. We went to the door, she knocked and opened the door, then signaled for me to enter. She then asked the Chancellor if he needed anything, and he asked her to bring us each a cold bottle of water. I guessed I looked thirsty. She left.

  “Dr. Hendley, welcome. I’m Kenneth Oakland. Please have a seat.” He indicated the seat in front of his desk and I sat. He was a large man and reminded me of a football linebacker. He wore his public relations smile. His mouth was curved upward, but the emotion didn’t quite reach his eyes or the rest of his face. He was nice looking, but in a rough sort of way. He still had his suit jacket on which ensured a formal presentation.

  I am not a short person, nor am I a very tall person. At about 5 foot 8, I can generally sit comfortably in a chair without having to fold my legs under the chair. The chair I sat in was lower than usual and a bit uncomfortably so. I also noted the Chancellor sat higher than me. It occurred to me his furniture was intended to be a show of power.

  “Nice to meet you, sir,” I said. I tried to keep my facial expression neutral. As I surmised what the chair situation was, I smirked.

  “So I see from your personnel file you have been here at Cold Creek for four years now. Looks like you received a teaching award your second year. And you’re involved with a fair number of service activities.” He paused while the woman from the reception handed us each a bottle of water. “That will be all, Janice. Thank you and hold my calls, please,” were his directions to her.

  I opened my bottle and took a sip, just to do something. He did likewise, before continuing, “It’s not in the file here, but I understand you often are the go-to person for Jim Grant.” It was a statement but sounded like a question. I shrugged, not sure how to respond.

  He continued, “I spoke with Jim about the investigation of Dr. Millberg’s murder and some rumors that have come to our attention. Did he mention this to you yet?”

  “Yes, he did, sir,” I replied. Now we were getting to the meat of this, the sexual harassment. Or was he looking for dirt on Jim, I wondered. That had been a pretty pointed statement about his passing off things to me.

  “Good. I’m glad to hear that. I understand he also assigned you to … I have it here… Detective McMann of the State Police. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, sir, that is correct,” I answered struggling to keep my face as blank as possible. This was something I had learned to do at the treatment center. I hadn’t needed to do it for a few years. The last thing I needed to do was to start blushing here.

  “Did he ever tell you how the State police became involved in a local matter?” he asked. “I’ve been curious,” he added and shrugged.

  “No, sir. I asked him, as I was curious as well. He declined to answer,” I said.

  “Oh, okay. Has he indicated who he suspects or discussed the case with you at all?” he asked, leaning forward a bit in his chair. With him sitting a bit above me, his leaning forward seemed almost threatening instead of interested.

  “No, sir, he hasn’t. He asked who people were and I took him around to the departmental faculty members and staff. I have tried to be helpful in putting him in contact with the people he needed to talk to. That is what Jim asked me to do,” I answered.

  “So, no pillow talk about the case, huh?” he asked looking like the cat who ate the canary. I wasn’t sure if I became flushed from embarrassment or anger, but I suspect that was the reaction he was looking for. He appeared quite satisfied.

  “There has been no ‘pillow talk’, SIR, and I resent the implication,” I spit out.

  “Oh, hit a nerve did I? I heard the two of you were an ‘item.’ I was hoping he had confided in you. Guess I have to look further,” he sneered. He cased me over, and then added, “Maybe you’re right, no pillow talk. I’ll have to check with some of the other female faculty.” He smiled and waited for a reaction.

  “I guess you do, sir,” I answered and shrugged. He looked a bit deflated and stared at me. I stared right back and he broke eye contact first. I sensed another murder at Cold Creek in the future. I was going to kill Max or the Chancellor. And if I didn’t, I suspected Brett would.

  “That’s all Dr. Hendley. Please tell Grant to keep me posted on the sexual harassment issue,” he said, and turned his chair so his back was to me.

  I got up, placed my water bottle on his desk and left. I didn’t say a word to Janice, I walked right past her. I about ran down the stairs and the stress of it all hit me. I could feel my eyes tearing up and stumbled on a step. I saw a ladies room and decided to duck in there to get myself together. I was splashing cold water on my face when Misty walked in.

  “Are you alright?” she asked, sounding genuinely concerned. I wondered if she had kept an eye out for my retreat.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” I answered, not sure I was particularly convincing. Taking a deep breath, I asked her, “What do you think of the Chancellor?”

  “For real? I think he’s scary. He’s on a big power trip and everything is a control issue. I don’t know what you did to get in his sights, but I’d be real careful if I were you.” She looked outright serious and patted my arm. It made me wonder about his character and how far up sexual harassment went. Or at least general harassment.

  “Thanks, Misty. I’ll keep that in mind. In the meantime, I have to go teach a class,” I smiled, gave her a quick hug, and left. I walked back to the building and reminded myself to stand up straight and walk purposefully so as not to look as vulnerable as I truly felt.

  I stopped at Georg’s and got another coffee and then went to my office. I made it a point to give a pleasant ‘hello’ and smile to everyone I saw. It was particularly hard to maintain a friendly demeanor when I tried to pass Max, murderous thoughts on my mind.

  “Sheridan, this schedule is making me crazy! I can’t get my research done!” was Max’s rant.

  “Max, I am sure you will get it done, and I don’t want to take up any of your time talking. Besides, I have to teach soon,” I said as I continued on my way. His mouth dropped at my brush off, but there was no way I could hold a civil conversation with him right then. I had about an hour, but I was going to need that to regroup.

  I thought about stopping by Mitch’s office to see if he was in, but I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the meeting enough to discuss it with anyone. I was pretty sure it wasn’t the sexual harassment issue. That had been a ruse. I wondered if the pressure on Jim had also been a ruse. From what Mitch said, inappropriate student-faculty involvement had happened before. Back in the day, it had been fairly common and that was the impetus to sexual harassment policies. The one comment about Jim had been pretty pointed, but it seemed like a set up. He put out the bait, but I didn’t bite.

  The more I thought about it, the conversation got more intense when it came to the investigation. It seemed to me that if he wanted to pressure someone for information, he should be talking to Chief Pfeiffe not me. Now Chief Pfeiffe hadn’t impressed me as being particularly on top of things, and if the meager information Hirsch was collecting was all he had, well, that wouldn’t be much. But the demeaning digs about ‘pillow talk’ and the implication Brett probably was having that ‘pillow talk’ with someone else if not me were as insidious and blatantly sexist as Adam’s womanizing. If this was all about concern for Cold Creek and the trustees, they needed to get a more tactful person in the Chancellor’s office. I wondered to whom I could complain. Then realized that would likely mean I’d need to find another job.

  Coffee finished, I chalked my interaction with the Chancellor up to a domineering and overbearing personality, and vowed to avoid him at all costs or have someone there as a witness. I walked to class with a sense of purpose and tried to think positive thoughts. They weren’t too thrilled when the first thing I did was collect homework. I was definitely short a few. They also weren’t too
thrilled when I told them the text was in. I sat in the classroom for a few minutes after they left. Then I went and got a sandwich since I hadn’t eaten yet. I hoped eating would help to restore my energy.

  Back in my office, I ate my sandwich while I checked email, and looked over what I needed for the Thursday classes. Having figured that out, I put together the stuff for Friday, and started working on Monday. It was a never ending process, and I needed to get a few days ahead. My only interruption was the tire place to tell me my car was ready. I assured them I would be there before they closed.

  In the afternoon, Kim came by and we drove over to the Grill. She talked about her classes. She already had a sense the section that should have been Adam’s was going to be the most difficult. She commented that it was mostly female students, while her other two sections were more evenly males and females. I joked with her that it was her being female that was the difference. We both suspected Adam had been the draw for the coeds who signed up for his section. Maybe they would be happy with Flatts, once he arrived. Once at the Grill, Zoe seated us, and took our orders.

  “So, Sheridan, tell me about the other night? How did it go?” Kim wanted to know.

  I felt the heat rising to my face and knew Kim noticed it by her chuckle. I smiled and answered, “It was great. We’re going out again tomorrow night I think. By then the gossips will have us married for sure.”

  Kim looked at me half amused, half questioning, and I continued, “Katie may have made remarks about ‘sleeping with the enemy’, but the Chancellor actually asked about ‘pillow talk’!” I then related my appointment with the Chancellor and his intimidation tactics.