Murder at Cold Creek College

by Christa Nardi

  Taking the offensive, I said, “Hi, Terra. I’m feeling a little better and didn’t want to waste any more time getting Adam’s office cleaned out. Ali, can I have the key to his office please?” I paused, and then as if an afterthought, I explained to Ali, “This is Heather Oakland, Chancellor Oakland’s wife. She volunteered to help, so you don’t need to worry. You keep on with the budget.”

  Ali and Terra looked at each other in confusion, and I added, sounding as exasperated as I could, “The keys, Ali, and the clipboard so I can check off the inventory, please.”

  This time it was a statement, not a question, and Ali handed me both items. “Shall I call Officer Hirsch?” she asked.

  “Mmmm… I don’t think so, not unless you want to pursue that romance with him. I suspect he is busy with things other than cleaning out an office. If I find anything I will put it aside for him. I’ll bring this back when we’re done,” I told them as I took the items and turned to go.

  I hoped they figured something was odd and that yes, they should call Hirsch, and not for dinner. I would have described my manner as out of personality. I only hoped they felt that way too. Heather didn’t say a word. She didn’t give a greeting or any type of acknowledgement as we left the main office.

  Heather followed me to Adam’s office. After I unlocked the door and we walked in, I closed the door. It was kind of stuffy, but with the door closed, it was less likely anyone would stop to chat. That at least would limit the possible casualties. Nothing looked any different than when I left yesterday. The trash bin was still there, as were the cartons to put the books in. I waited for direction from Heather. She looked around the office, and from her facial expression it was clear to me she had never been in here. She was looking at each shelf and then the desk with a look of disbelief. So who had trashed the office?

  I wasn’t sure why she was so sure he would leave his blackmail evidence here and not at home. I asked her. I sure hoped the next stop wouldn’t be going through his house.

  “He had too many people coming to his house all the time. Somebody might have found them by accident. Or they might have been looking for something else and found them. If he did the same with others, I doubt he told them about the camera until he was through playing with them”, she answered. Her bitterness was clearly evident. I reassessed the situation and I wondered if maybe she didn’t kill Adam.

  “There weren’t too many other places. He only went to the country club and here. He always said he didn’t do much here. I don’t think students would have been as nosy as some of the women he took home. I suppose he could have a safe deposit box somewhere, but I think this is the best bet.” She paused, and then directed, “You take the desk and I’ll take the cabinet.” That effectively put her between me and the door. I had to think of some way out of this office.

  I sat down at the desk and opened the center drawer. The usual pens, pencils, staples, rubber bands, and a pad of paper were there. I pulled out some loose sheets, apparently printouts of excel files. I went to throw them in the trash bin, and she stopped me. She looked at them. She apparently agreed they weren’t useful and nodded. I assumed that was going to be the way it went. I moved the pad and found another picture, but not of her and not in a compromising position. I put it on the side of the desk. She looked and went back to the cabinet.

  She was pulling everything out. All of the books, DVDs, CDs and checking all the titles. I was tempted to point out that I doubted he labeled the DVD “Heather compromising position” or “Sex with Heather”, but I kept my mouth shut. Middle drawer empty, I started on the right hand side drawers. The first one was empty. Its contents had most likely been on the floor. The second one hadn’t been emptied, and right on top was another box of condoms. At least, he was always prepared. I sighed as I went to toss them. She looked over and nodded.

  There were some tickets from various theatre productions and with her nod, these were trashed as well. A few dried flowers and some birthday cards. I asked her if she wanted to check to see if any were from her or if I could toss them. She took them from me. She withdrew one and put it in her pocket, tears in her eyes. She tossed the rest. I found it strange that this man, who certainly was not a romantic in the classic sense, would keep so many mementos of his various relationships. I guess maybe they were like the souvenirs of serial murderers. Or maybe part of the blackmail evidence.

  Underneath the cards, there was an envelope and it was filled with photos. I cleared my throat and she looked my way. I handed her the envelope. She leaned against the desk and dropped the photos on the floor one by one. I could tell these were not the portrait-type that had been loose in his desk or in his books. You certainly couldn’t date the pictures by the clothes the women weren’t wearing. Somebody would need to gather and destroy these or they would destroy the women pictured in them. And Adam had definitely been busy.

  There was another envelope still in the drawer, and I pulled it out. Instead of pictures, it held several more excel sheets and these had initials, dates, and numbers I guessed were amounts. I easily found the initials HO. I looked for AB and KP but they were not there. Adam apparently only blackmailed the ones who could pay. This, in itself, was probably enough to eliminate Kim and Ali as suspects if the Chief still had them in his sights.

  On the other hand, the initials on here gave a lot of powerful people motives. I couldn’t immediately attach names to the initials, but I bet the country club roster would make it fairly easy. Trying to think positive, it occurred to me that maybe neither Oakland killed Adam. Maybe the Chancellor wanted to save his and his wife’s reputation. That should have made me feel better, but somehow I wasn’t convinced.

  Heather gasped and a photo went into her pocket. There were pictures all over the floor and she looked at the ledger I was holding and asked, “What’s that?”

  I thought about playing dumb, but I never could carry that off. I answered, “I think it is a record of who he was involved with, when, and how much he was blackmailing them for. You can probably tell if it’s accurate.” I pointed to the line with her initials. Tears fell off her cheeks as she took in the largess of the ledger. I found myself feeling sorry for her. At some level she was a victim.

  Wiping the tears from her face, she said, “Keep looking, there is a DVD here somewhere. Probably more than one.”

  I finished with the drawers on the right and moved to the ones on the left. The top drawer had pads of paper. I took each one out, shook it, and stacked them on the desk. The third one down, a DVD or CD fell out. It wasn’t titled, but had a number. We both looked at it, and she pointed to the computer. I powered it up, but pointed out I didn’t have Adam’s password.

  “You probably do think I am that stupid. I don’t blame you. But I know you can sign in as yourself and not Adam and still play the DVD. So do it,” she demanded, her hand going to her pants pocket.

  She was right. I had been hoping she was that stupid. Computer powered up, I selected the “other user” option, and signed in. This would leave a record, but it wasn’t exactly going to help me now. She handed me the DVD and I popped it in. We both waited. I noted the date stamp on the DVD and asked her if it matched one of her dates. She consulted the sheet and shook her head. Within seconds, we established the woman sitting on the bed wasn’t her. It was Katie.

  While I ejected the DVD and looked for something to destroy it with, she pulled out more of the pads of paper. Holding scissors in one hand and the DVD in the other I gave her a questioning look and she nodded. I cut the DVD in half and let the halves fall. She handed me another DVD. Checking the date stamp, she shook her head, but we waited for the show to start. I didn’t recognize this woman, but ejected and destroyed the DVD. We followed the process several times and the drawer was empty.

  The next drawer resulted in a similar process and Heather’s level of agitation was rising. I couldn’t tell if it was what was on the DVDs, that there were so many different women, or that we hadn’t located her DVD yet
. Worse, before she would let me cut them, she had to be sure it wasn’t her even if the date stamp didn’t match. So far, other than Katie and Misty, I hadn’t recognized the women. With her increased agitation, I felt less sorry for her and anxious again about my own safety.

  We went back to checking DVDs as we found them. The first shot was usually of the woman alone, and in most cases dressed or covered with a sheet. I hadn’t noticed Katie or Misty’s initials, and neither could have afforded to pay blackmail, so maybe he liked recording his escapades. I was thinking it was a good thing for Kim she opted to only see him at her place. She had exercised more control and self-preservation, than she thought.

  When we finished going through all the DVDs in the drawer, she looked about to panic. She started pulling books off the shelves and shaking them. If a photo fell out, she’d look at it and then move on. If it was a DVD, she’d throw it at me. At least once I glanced at the time on the monitor and was a little surprised at how quiet it seemed. Even when students should have been between classes and were more likely to be on the floor, it was very quiet. I seriously wondered if Adam had somehow managed to soundproof his office. Around noon, her cell rang.

  “We’re fine. We found some photos and lots of DVDs, but not the one of me,” she said. Since she didn’t have to give an explanation, I assumed it was her husband on the other end.

  “We still have about six shelves of books. He hid the pictures and DVDs in the books,” was her next comment. I looked around, and I was virtually surrounded by books thrown on the floor and peppered with half-DVDs. Even if she hadn’t physically blocked my way to the door, the books were pretty much blocking the way out. To think we had cleared off this floor only yesterday.

  “Yes, I know. We should be done in an hour and we’ll come back over there.” She closed her phone and went back to shaking and tossing books, a little more rushed.

  I sat there and popped in DVDs, ejected them, and cut them. I couldn’t come up with anything that might lessen her agitation, so I didn’t say anything. Nothing in all my training prepared me for this situation. Thankfully, she didn’t say much either. As one of the DVDs came to life, and she checked the date, she gasped. I took that to mean it matched. As the recording started, Heather was standing there in a Victorian style peignoir set. She was actually stunning. I hit the eject and waited. If there was only one DVD, we had found it. I wasn’t sure what the next step was.

  I looked up at her as I pulled the DVD out and handed it to her. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She took the DVD, and picking up the scissors from the desk, cut it into several pieces. She was so vicious in her attack on the DVD, I imagined she was seeing Adam’s face. It made me wonder again if she hadn’t killed him.

  She wiped her face with her sleeve and looked at the ledger. She handed it to me and went back to the bookshelves. There were only three more shelves of books, but there was another date on the ledger for her initials. Two DVDs later, no longer going beyond the dates on the ledger, we found the second date. The DVD played until it was obvious it was her. This time there had been no peignoir. She was beside herself as she cut up the DVD. Her anger at his betrayal was palpable. She definitely was angry enough to kill. I only hoped she didn’t take her anger out on me.

  Taking a deep breath, she said, “Okay. We’re out of here. Kenneth is waiting for us.”

  “Heather, you don’t need me anymore. The DVDs are destroyed,” I offered quietly. I didn’t move and hoped she would let me be.

  “Kenneth said you were to come back to his office. Don’t argue with me or I’ll shoot you right here, now move,” she demanded, no longer teary-eyed and in full angry mode.

  “Okay, but I have to return the key and clipboard to Ali,” I countered.

  “I’m sure if you leave it here, someone will find it. Let’s go,” she said. She waved the gun in my direction. At the same time, she climbed over the books. She walked backward to the door, gun aimed at me. She stepped to the side to let me out from behind the desk.

  I strained to hear if someone, anyone, was out in the hallway, but couldn’t hear a sound. At the door, I looked at her. She had the hand holding the gun in her pocket now, and she nodded toward the door. I opened the door, and didn’t see anyone at all. She came out behind me and we made our way to the stairway.

  Passing the ladies’ room, I asked if we could stop and she pushed me forward. I took that as a no. As we approached the stairway, I heard sounds. She grabbed onto me, spinning me around. I found myself staring at Brett and Chief Pfeiffe with Heather’s gun pointed at me. They had their guns drawn and were pointing them at her.

  If I hadn’t been so close, that might have made me feel better. Unfortunately, she moved so I was pretty much a shield for her. In effect, I had three guns pointing at me. Not a good feeling. Once again, I thought some self-defense training needed to be on my schedule soon. If I had a schedule, that is.

  All at once, I felt myself jerked backward and heard a gun going off. I landed on the floor, and rolled to the side. In a daze, I watched as Officer Hirsch, Brett and the Chief managed to disarm Heather, and get her handcuffed. That accomplished, Brett came over to me and helped me up. I still wasn’t sure who had jerked me out of the way.

  “You had me scared to death! What have you been doing for the last three hours?” he said as he hugged me and kissed me. He paid little heed to anyone who might be watching. I didn’t get a chance to answer before the Chief said into his collar mic, “All clear. Keep everyone out of the building until we clear the front door. Matthews, meet us at the administration building, and be sure the back entrance is covered as well.”

  I looked from the Chief to Brett, and Brett explained, “Terra called the Chief after you called in with the fish story. We were at a loss as to where to look for you. When you showed up with Heather, Terra called again. We evacuated the building as soon as we could without creating a panic. Possible gas leak. Officer Matthews has been watching the administration building since then.” He rubbed my back, and then we walked toward the opposite stairway and out the back. I needed the ladies’ room, but I wasn’t going to say anything.

  At the lower level, Hirsch went out first, and then came back with an “All clear”. The Chief then propelled Heather out the door and into his car. Brett and I followed. Brett indicated we would walk over and meet them there. He kissed me again, and we walked around the building.

  We waited on the side, out of sight, while everyone entered at the front. We didn’t want to run into anyone. We walked to the Administration building at a brisk pace. As we passed the fountains, Brett looked at me and asked, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  I nodded and said, “Other than being in dire need of a bathroom, I am more than alright! Though with my shoulders jerked twice in two days I may also need a good physical therapist or chiropractor!”

  He chuckled and rubbed my shoulders. The heat from his hand almost made me forget about the pain and the need for the bathroom. When we got to the administration building, our first stop was the restroom. Thankfully, there was no sign of Misty this time. I wasn’t sure how I would explain what was going on if she popped into the bathroom.

  Then we walked upstairs. We went through the glass doors and after calling to check with the Chief, Brett knocked on the door and we went in. Chief Pfeiffe, Officer Hirsch, Heather and the Chancellor were waiting for us. I assumed Matthews was still outside.

  “Dr. Hendley, I have already placed Mrs. Oakland under arrest for kidnap and attempted murder based on the behaviors we observed. I am assuming you will be pressing charges. The questions before us now are whether Mr. Oakland was involved in this morning’s activities, and whether he killed Millberg or his wife did.” The Chief looked from me to Heather to Oakland and back to me.

  “Yes, I will be pressing charges. Yes, Mr. Oakland was involved. He was the one who grabbed me this morning and brought me here,” I explained, my anger and indignation coming through.

  “And the m
urder of Dr. Millberg?” the Chief asked.

  “Based on his comments, I would say he did, but in fact, he did not at any point state that explicitly,” I answered honestly. Judging from her anger, and the use of weights, it could have been Heather. After all the DVDs I had seen, even I had reasonable doubt. There were a lot of people who had motive.

  “Thank you, Dr. Hendley,” was the Chief’s response, though I suspected he wished I had said Oakland had confessed.

  Brett stepped forward, and began reading Oakland his Miranda rights. I assumed somebody had read them to Heather when she was arrested for my kidnapping. Brett then identified specific facts. He pointed out that Heather and Oakland were each other’s alibis. He also pointed out that authorities had, through a search of financial records, suspected the blackmail. He then pointed out the blackmail was now a given.

  He then asked Oakland to explain how his wife’s golf club, the murder weapon, ended up at the rec center. Heather gasped. When Oakland responded that obviously his wife must have been taking lessons there, Heather started screaming and rammed into him with her head. She started screaming, “You killed him! You killed Adam!”

  He had not been cuffed yet, and he tried to contain her and hold her. Tears raked his face. Officer Hirsch pulled her off of him. Oakland looked at Heather with something like disbelief as she ranted how she hated him and she would never forgive him for killing Adam. He shook his head. He still obviously did not quite believe her reaction.

  Brett pointed out that prints on the club were a match to both Oakland and Heather, her monogram was on the club, and that golf wasn’t taught at the rec center. I wasn’t quite sure how they had both sets of prints for comparison. Oakland would have had to get fingerprinted and have a background check in order to work on campus, but not Heather.

  The Chief then asked him if he cared to answer the question. Oakland nodded and said he had agreed to meet Adam at the rec center to pay the blackmail. On impulse he grabbed one of his wife’s clubs from the back seat. He didn’t plan on using it at first, but Adam had looked so smug. Adam had asked him if his wife was as hot for Oakland as she was for him. He had used the club to kill Adam in a fit of rage and then returned home. He looked at Heather, and said, “I forgave you. I was willing to do anything to keep you safe. Even killing the scumbag.”