File M for Murder

by Miranda James

  Kanesha made more notes. There was silence for a few moments while she wrote. She looked up at Laura. “Clear and concise, like your father.” The ghost of a grin hovered around her lips, then disappeared.

  Diesel chose that moment to meow rather loudly, and Laura and I both smiled. Kanesha glanced down at the cat, her expression bland.

  “You were working on your notes,” Kanesha said, prompting Laura.

  “I meant to, but I couldn’t seem to focus.” Laura frowned. “I just stared at the wall for a long time. Eventually I needed to go to the bathroom. I remember going down the hall to the ladies’ room near the stairs. And I obviously made it back to my office, but I’m afraid that’s where my memories of the morning end. Until I woke up, that is.”

  “How long would you say you sat in your office before you went to the bathroom? Kanesha drained her water glass as she waited for an answer.

  Laura thought about it for a moment. “Probably thirty minutes, at least. I seem to remember checking my watch at one point, and it was about eight forty-five. I think.”

  “Good.” Kanesha nodded. She turned to me. “What time did you arrive on the scene?”

  I had been thinking about that and trying to remember. The morning’s events seemed oddly distant now, but I forced myself to concentrate. “Sean called me about nine to say he couldn’t get Laura to answer her cell phone, so I decided to see if she was in her office. I ran, along with Diesel, from my office to Laura’s, and it took only four or five minutes, maybe. So I’d say I found Laura in her office, with Magda Johnston kneeling over her, between nine-ten and nine-fifteen.”

  Kanesha made more notes as she resumed questioning Laura. “What you’ve told me so far is from your visual memory.” She waited for Laura to nod in the affirmative before she continued. “But there are other kinds of memories, auditory memories, or scent ones. Think about it for a moment. Did you hear anything or smell anything in the moments before you were struck?”

  Laura stared at the deputy for a long moment. “That’s really strange,” she said finally. “There was an odd smell. But what was it?” She had a look of deep concentration.

  Neither Kanesha nor I said anything. Diesel, however, chose that moment to warble. “No comments from the peanut gallery,” Kanesha said in a low voice.

  Laura didn’t appear to have heard either the cat or the deputy. Suddenly she smiled. “Motor oil. That was what I smelled. Motor oil.”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Motor oil, I thought. How very strange. Was Laura’s attacker a mechanic? This certainly bore more thought. Who among the people associated with Connor might be around motor oil?

  “That’s an unusual scent,” Kanesha commented. “Does it bring anyone you might know to mind?”

  Laura shook her head slowly. “Not that I can think of. That really is weird, isn’t it? Motor oil.”

  “At some point, you might remember something else.” Kanesha tapped her notebook with the pen. “Can you think of any reason why someone would attack you?”

  Laura glanced at me, her expression one of mute appeal. “Damitra Vane has accosted Laura at least twice that I know of,” I said. “I wouldn’t put it past her to attack my daughter physically.”

  Kanesha faced me. “Miss Vane was at the sheriff’s department when the attack took place.” She turned back to Laura. “Who else?”

  Once again Laura’s eyes sought mine. I took a seat at the table, and Kanesha’s eyes narrowed as they focused on me. “The attacker might have been after something in Laura’s possession.” My stomach knotted as I spoke. This wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  “Like what?” Kanesha frowned at me.

  “This.” Laura had the thumb drive in her hand, extended in Kanesha’s direction. Her hand trembled slightly.

  “Place it on the table.” Kanesha stared hard at Laura as she did as the deputy asked. “What is it?”

  “It was Connor’s,” Laura said. She paused for a deep breath. “He backed up all the files on his laptop on it. Have you found his laptop?”

  “No, we haven’t. How long have you had this?” Kanesha’s tone was harsh.

  “Since yesterday. Connor asked me to keep it for him.” Laura focused on the table as she lied to the deputy. “He was kind of paranoid about anything happening to it.”

  I frowned at my daughter. What did she think she was doing? Taking the thumb drive from the scene was bad enough. Now she was compounding the act by lying about it.

  “Could I have a paper towel to wrap this in?” Kanesha directed her request to me, and I hastened to comply. She took the paper towel and wrapped the thumb drive in it, then tucked it into one of her pockets.

  “Thank you,” she said to Laura. “I wish I’d had it sooner, but I reckon you weren’t in too good a condition to think about it before now.”

  Laura smiled faintly. “No, I wasn’t.” She still wouldn’t look at me.

  What should I do? I wondered. Rat out my daughter and tell Kanesha the truth? How would Laura react if I did such a thing? I was annoyed with her for putting me in this position, but I decided that, for the moment, I’d have to go along with her.

  “Have you looked at the files on this thing?” Kanesha patted her pocket.

  “No, I haven’t.” Laura placed subtle emphasis on the pronoun, and I wasn’t certain whether Kanesha picked up on it. “Was Connor murdered?”

  Her blunt question startled me, but Kanesha didn’t appear bothered by it. “We have reason to believe he didn’t die naturally, and I’m currently treating this as a murder inquiry.”

  I waited to hear further details, but I should have known better. Kanesha wouldn’t tell us one jot more of information than she wanted us to have. I had thought all along that Lawton had been murdered, and now I was even more worried for my daughter’s safety than before. I started to ask Kanesha about protection for Laura, but she forestalled me with another question.

  “Did Mr. Lawton have any enemies that you’re aware of?”

  Laura appeared to be tiring rapidly. She rubbed her forehead and closed her eyes as she answered. “Not enemies per se, but he definitely had people angry with him.”

  “Like who?” Kanesha had her pen and notebook poised to write.

  I decided to answer for Laura. The sooner this ended, the better. She needed rest. “Ralph Johnston for one. He was upset with Lawton yesterday over the way Lawton was behaving during the workshopping session. He even threatened to go to the president of the college to try to have Lawton’s contract cancelled.”

  Kanesha frowned at me, whether in irritation over my answering instead of Laura I didn’t know. “What happened during this workshopping session? And what is it?”

  Laura answered before I could continue. “The actors read their parts so the director—Connor, in this case, and he was also the playwright—can hear how it sounds onstage.” She shrugged. “Connor was up to his usual behavior—histrionics, yelling at the student actors, at me, you name it. He wasn’t happy with anyone, least of all himself.” She finally looked at me. “Dad, could I have some more tea?”

  “Of course, sweetheart.” I jumped up to make the tea for her.

  “I’ll need a list of everyone who was at this session yesterday,” Kanesha said.

  “I’ll have to look at my class roll for all the names,” Laura said. “I haven’t learned everyone’s surnames yet.” She paused. “I don’t seriously think any of the students are involved. They barely knew him.”

  “Maybe,” Kanesha said. “But they’ll all need to be interviewed. Who else disliked him?”

  “Damitra Vane.” Laura grimaced. “She probably didn’t dislike him. She’d go on and on about how much she loved him and he loved her. But Connor didn’t, and didn’t want to be involved with her. But she wouldn’t leave him alone.”

  I set Laura’s mug of tea in front of her, and she slipped her hands around it with a faint smile of thanks for me. After a moment she lifted it and had a few sips of the tea. Her face re
gained a bit of color.

  “What about you?” Kanesha slipped the question in so smoothly that at first I wasn’t sure I’d heard it.

  “Me?” Laura paled slightly. “I didn’t dislike him. He annoyed the heck out of me, sure, but I was used to him. I didn’t let him bother me.”

  “You were engaged to him at one time, I believe.”

  I wondered where she got that information. After brief reflection I decided Damitra Vane must have told her.

  “Yes, I was. But I ended it a few months ago.” Laura drank more tea.

  “He got you the job here, didn’t he?” Kanesha leaned forward in her chair, her gaze intent on my daughter.

  Laura shrugged. “Yes, he did. He knew I was between gigs, plus he knew my dad lived here. He could be kind, you know.” She blinked away sudden tears.

  “Were you still in love with him?” Kanesha’s tone had gained an edge.

  Laura’s reply was sharp and short. “No.”

  “So you had no motive to harm him?” Kanesha sounded harsh.

  “No, I didn’t.” Laura’s eyes flashed as she responded. “He drove me nuts sometimes, but I’d never harm him permanently.” She stood. “I’m not feeling very well. I want to go lie down.”

  “Thank you, Miss Harris.” Kanesha set her notebook on the table. “That’s all for now. I will probably have more questions for you later.”

  Through all of this Diesel had remained silent—so silent, in fact, that I’d forgotten he was there. Now, however, he made his presence known. He meowed loudly as Laura bade the deputy good-bye and followed her out of the room. Her pace was slow, but steady. She appeared tired but able to make her way upstairs on her own. Diesel stayed with her.

  Kanesha reclaimed my attention. “Now I have a few questions for you, Mr. Harris.”

  “Sure, go ahead.” I braced myself. What should I do if she asked me about that dang thumb drive? I was going to have quite a talk with my daughter, and soon.

  “Tell me about this morning,” Kanesha said. “How you came to find your daughter and what you saw.”

  I drew my lightly scrambled wits together and focused on what the deputy wanted. I spent the next several minutes taking her through the events of the morning from my perspective.

  When I finished, her first question focused on Laura’s olfactory memory. “Did you smell motor oil?”

  “Not that I recall. I think if I’d smelled anything like that on Magda Johnston, though, I’d remember it.”

  Kanesha stood. “I think that’s it for now.”

  As I escorted her out of the kitchen, I brought up the subject I’d been concerned about ever since I found Laura unconscious this morning. “I’m worried that whoever attacked Laura will try again.” We stopped at the front door.

  “You have every right to be.” Kanesha looked grim. “We don’t know yet what the attacker was after. It could have been random, but I don’t think it was. Until we know for sure why your daughter was assaulted, you do need to be concerned for her safety. I’ll talk to the police department to see if there’s anything they can do to keep an eye on her. In the meantime, keep her home as much as possible, and if she has to go out, make sure she doesn’t go alone.”

  “Thank you, Deputy,” I said as I opened the door. “Anything you can do to keep her safe, I’d appreciate it.”

  “That’s my job.” Kanesha stopped on the doorstep and fixed me with her laser stare. “Just one more thing, Mr. Harris. I know your daughter’s lying to me about something. And I don’t like that, not one little bit.”

  She turned and headed down the sidewalk toward her vehicle.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  I felt an icy prickle on the back of my neck at Kanesha’s words. Should I have told her the truth?

  I almost called out to her, but another thought struck me. Laura would be very hurt if I went behind her back and talked to the deputy, and I didn’t want that.

  Laura’s reasons for lying to Kanesha eluded me at the moment, unless she did it in a misguided attempt to protect me. She didn’t realize, however, that her failure to tell the truth would simply make things far worse when Kanesha figured it out. And she would; I was sure of that.

  I closed the door, then headed upstairs to check on Laura. Her door was ajar, and I paused at the threshold and called her name softly. When there was no response, I stuck my head inside far enough to see the bed.

  Laura appeared to be asleep, lying on her side, her breathing even, one arm curled around Diesel. The cat spooned with her, his head under her chin. I watched for a moment. Diesel blinked at me a couple of times, as if to tell me he had everything under control and to go away. I smiled and withdrew, pulling the door almost shut.

  Back downstairs, the house quiet around me, I began to feel restless. Yielding to impulse, I grabbed my keys and headed for the garage. I hadn’t talked to Helen Louise Brady for several days, and I had a sudden hankering to see her. We hadn’t been able to reschedule the dinner we’d planned the night of Laura’s cocktail party. I also thought it would be nice to have something from her bakery for dessert tonight. An image of her gâteau au chocolat flashed in my mind, and I was practically licking my lips as I backed the car out of the garage and pointed it toward the town square.

  I found a spot on the square across from the bakery and parked. The afternoon sun blazed, and I shaded my eyes as I waited to cross the street. When I stepped under the bakery’s awning, I paused to peer in through the window. At mid-afternoon there were only three tables occupied, and I didn’t see Helen Louise anywhere.

  As I entered, I hoped she was in the kitchen and not out for a while. I had to admit to myself that I came here more to see her than to buy a cake. I inhaled the delicious scents of freshly baked pastries and butter and various flavors all mingled together as I wandered over to the display cases. I could probably gain a couple of pounds from sniffing in here. I bent to have a closer look at a plate of éclairs.

  “Charlie, my dear, what a pleasant surprise.”

  I turned to my left to see Helen Louise beaming at me from behind the counter. I moved closer and smiled.

  “But where’s Diesel?” Helen Louise, rake-thin and nearly six feet tall, frowned as she peered over the counter around me. “Isn’t he with you? I hope he’s not ill.”

  “He’s fine,” I said. “I left him at home with Laura, napping.”

  “Well, I suppose it’s okay this one time, but you know the only reason I allow you in here is because you usually bring that gorgeous kitty with you.” Helen Louise chuckled.

  I sighed heavily, going along with the joke. “Yes, I know, and here I thought you were beginning to like me for myself and not mon chat très beau.”

  Helen Louise laughed at my sally. She had spent several years in Paris, studying her art, and ever since she came back to Athena she tended to sprinkle her conversations with the occasional word or phrase of French. My accent was not that good, but I think the effort amused her.

  “Do you have time for a chat? How about some coffee and an éclair?”

  “You read my mind.” I smiled. “My mouth will overrule my waistline and say yes to the éclair.”

  “Have a seat, and I’ll be with you in a moment.” Helen Louise gestured toward our usual table, in the corner near the cash register.

  Sitting at the table without Diesel at my feet was odd. I was so used to having him with me almost all the time that I felt like part of me was missing. Helen Louise returned then, bearing a tray with two cups of coffee and two éclairs. She deftly served them before sitting next to me.

  She clasped my hand for a moment and gave it a squeeze. “I heard about the death of Laura’s friend at the college. How awful for her.”

  “Yes, it was terrible. She was the one who found him.” I added two small scoops of sugar to my coffee.

  Helen Louise grimaced. “I hadn’t heard that. Poor Laura. Is there anything I can do?”

  “Not at the moment,” I said. “She’s doing okay, all
things considered. But unfortunately, there’s more.”

  Helen Louise sipped at her coffee and nibbled her éclair as I related the events of the day. Had the attack on Laura happened only this morning?

  “What was the person after?” Helen Louise’s eyes blazed. “I’d love to get a hold of whoever did it.”

  “You’ll have to get in line.” I smiled briefly. “We think the person was after a thumb drive that belonged to Connor.” I told her the rest of it, the real version, not Laura’s made-up one. I trusted Helen Louise implicitly, and I valued her perspective on things. She had been a lawyer before chucking it over in order to follow her dream of opening her own French-style bakery.

  “Kanesha may string you both up before she’s done with you.” Helen Louise frowned. “I wish Laura hadn’t been so impulsive and taken that blasted thing to begin with. This isn’t going to look good when Kanesha finds out the truth.”

  “I know.” I sighed. “Laura is usually so levelheaded, but I suppose the shock of finding Lawton like that knocked her so off balance that she didn’t think clearly about the implications.”

  “No, she probably didn’t. Did she have strong feelings for him?”

  “They were engaged briefly,” I said. “A fact I didn’t know until recently. Laura swore up and down she wasn’t in love with him any longer. In fact, she seems to be infatuated with a young man in the Theater Department, Frank Salisbury. Do you know him?”

  Helen Louise nodded. Of course she knew him—she knew practically everyone in Athena. “He’s a fine young man. His mother, a widow, goes to my church, and Frank often attends with her.”

  “I’m glad to hear that, because Laura seems serious about him, even though they’ve only known each other a couple of weeks.” I shook my head. “And he seems just as besotted with her. I don’t know what will happen when the time comes for Laura to go back to Los Angeles.” I had two more bites of my éclair and wanted to sigh from sheer pleasure.

  “They’ll work it out, never fear.” Helen Louise chuckled. “Who knows? Laura might decide to chuck Hollywood and settle down here with Frank.”