by Ella White
“Yeah, they didn’t take anything else,” Vickie confirmed, making sure her wallet, driver’s license and all credit cards were all present and accounted for. As she took stock of all her belongings, she pulled out a folded piece of paper. “What is this?”
“Something new?” Susan glimpsed over to look at the paper. “What is it?”
Vickie unfolded it and scanned its contents. “It’s a list.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that. It looks like it’s been ripped out of a notebook.”
“A list of what?”
“Names and subjects,” Vickie responded. “Anna Murray, history. George Foster, chemistry… Lilli Graves, literature!”
“Lilli’s on the list?”
“Yes! It must mean something!”
“I can look into it when we get back to the station,” Susan suggested. “Where did the list come from?”
“Lilli must have put it in my bag when we were shoved into each other.” Vickie recalled the conversation she had with Lilli moments before her murder. “She was trying to tell me something. Maybe that’s why she was killed.”
“Did she say what it was?”
“No… She was stabbed just as we had begun talking.”
Susan frowned. “It’ll still be worth looking into.”
“Hey, chief? Thanks for bailing me out back there.”
“Bailing you out? I just presented the facts to the officers on the case.”
“I guess, but you clearly went out of your way to keep me out of jail,” Vickie replied. “You jumped through hoops to talk to the commissioner to make sure I got to go home tonight.”
“The commissioner is a friend of my father’s who is also in the force. It wasn’t hard to call in a favor.” Susan let out a sound that was an odd mix between a sigh and a groan. “Even so, that’s the problem with the police force. Once you get to the higher ups, it becomes more about politics and bureaucracy than it is about protecting people and bringing criminals to justice.”
“Does that kind of thing happen often?”
“You saw it with the two officers who arrested you. They were more interested in getting you to confess to the crime than actually looking at the evidence that could prove your innocence,” the chief explained. “Things need to be done properly, not just on an officer’s whim.”
“That bothers you a lot, doesn’t it?”
“In a way you can’t even imagine.”
“In any case, I’m still really grateful you helped me.”
“I owed you one for your help with the Anthony Lee murder. Now we’re even.”
Susan flashed one of her rare small smiles, which Vickie felt very fortunate to finally get to see.
“How did you know I was under arrest anyway?”
“My brother John is on the Eugene police force, although he’s in the burglary department, not homicide. A while back, I told him about how you helped with the Anthony Lee murder. He saw your name on the suspect list when you were brought in, and he called me to see if you were one and the same.”
“Well, that’s a lucky coincidence. You’ll have to introduce us sometime, so I can thank him properly.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
“You mentioned before that your father is a friend of the commissioner?”
Susan nodded. “Nearly my whole family is in the force; it’s kind of a family thing.”
“Well, lucky for me it is,” Vickie said shaking her head.
Chief Miles grinned again at this comment, this time a little more proudly.
Vickie watched the countryside fly by as they took the freeway back to Carriage Cove. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for Lilli’s murder, and the bland grey clothes the police had given her didn’t help her feel any better. Lilli had been reaching out to her for help, and Vickie had just brushed her off. If she had just listened from the start, she might have been able to stop all of this from happening in the first place!
She kept looking at the list in her hand, wondering if there was anything she could do. What was Lilli so worried about? What was so important that would have necessitated her death?
It was late at night when Chief Miles dropped Vickie off at her house. She was quite surprised by all the time that had passed between when she had left for Eugene that morning to when she finally arrived home, and she realized just how exhausted she was. Thomas and Rachel hadn’t returned yet, so Vickie just helped herself to some leftovers in the fridge, making sure she fed Tyler before she tossed the clothing provided by the Eugene Police Department in the trash.
She showered, washing away as many of her worries as she could, and went straight to bed, though it was much earlier than when she normally would go to sleep. Tyler curled up on her pillow above her head, and they both fell asleep. Her husband and daughter found her passed out from exhaustion when they finally made it back home. Deciding to not disturb her, Thomas and Rachel headed out the door to the living room.
Chapter 2
Vickie was much more relaxed when she woke the next morning. She awakened to a face full of Russian Blue cat fur, but that was a small price to pay for how rested she felt. Tyler meowed in protest as she moved, but allowed her to get up. She quickly showered, brushed her teeth and dressed. Thomas was awake and out of bed by the time she was done, and she headed to the living room to meet him.
To Vickie’s surprise, Rachel was sleeping on the couch beneath a pile of blankets and pillows. Her mouth was open, and she snored just a tiny bit. Tyler, who had left the bedroom in search of someone else to cuddle with, kneaded the blankets and curled up on top. Vickie chuckled at the mound consisting of her daughter and cat. She proceeded to the kitchen, where she found her husband eating some bacon and toast for breakfast.
“Morning, Vickie,” he said after he swallowed. “How are you?”
“Doing well, thanks.” She walked over and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Is there any toast for me?”
Thomas smiled and waved a hand to the plate of already toasted bread with butter and jam set to the side. Vickie helped herself to some food as Thomas carefully watched her. She swallowed and looked back.
“You want to know about yesterday?”
“I know what happened. Chief Miles explained the whole thing to Rachel and me,” he replied. “I really want to know how you’re doing.”
Vickie took a swig of juice. “I’m all right. What’s Rachel doing sleeping on the couch?”
“After she heard about the police taking you in, she jumped at the chance to help you,” Thomas explained. “She wanted to go to the Eugene Police Station herself, but Chief Miles assured us she was going to prove you innocent. Rachel wanted to make sure you were doing okay, so she decided to sleep here last night.”
“Why didn’t she stay in her old bedroom?”
“So I wouldn’t miss you when you woke up.” Vickie turned to see her daughter enter the kitchen, Tyler in tow. “If I stayed in my room, you could’ve gone off to the café without me.”
“Sorry about that.” Vickie smiled at her before glancing at her watch. “Speaking of the café, I need to get down there for opening. I missed everything yesterday.”
“Are you sure you want to go today?” Thomas asked her. “Maybe you should take the day off, rest a little? It must have been really stressful being in police custody.”
“It was. Now I know what it feels like to be a murder suspect,” Vickie concurred. “But frankly, I think I need some normalcy right now.”
“If you want.” Thomas was not convinced. “I need to get to the bank. Call me if anything comes up?”
“I will. Don’t worry.”
Thomas made his way out of the kitchen while Rachel grabbed some toast to munch on. Vickie poured some cat food for Tyler, and he lapped up his breakfast as if he had never been fed before. Rachel giggled.
“You’d think we were starving him or something.”
“He’ll get more to eat at the cafe.” Vickie br
ought out the cat carrier and bribed Tyler into it using the remainder of his food. After closing the door she turned back to her daughter. “I need to get to the café. Can I ask you to do a favor for me?”
“Sure. What is it?”
Vickie pulled out the notebook paper she found the previous day. “Lilli put this in my purse just before she died. It’s a list of people and subjects. Could you look into them for me while I’m at the shop?”
Rachel gingerly took the paper and read it, her face a little sad. “Yeah… Yeah, I can do that.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Vickie picked up the carrier. “Chief Miles said she would look into it too, but it’s nice to do our own research.”
“I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
Vickie rushed to the Sip and Read Café so she could open it in time. As she came in through the back entrance, she discovered that her employees were there, but they didn’t seem to be as ready for the day as they normally were. They all just stared at each other. Vickie let Tyler out of the carrier as she glanced out the front glass doors, and she realized why her whole team was so frazzled.
In front of the café, blocking the entire entrance and many of the outside tables, was a large group of men and women ranging in age from early twenties to the late sixties. She recognized Amber, the young hippie, and Amy, the bookstore owner, both of whom were part of Vickie’s Mystery Book Club. In fact, everyone there was a member of the club! Considering the club had eighteen members, not including Vickie herself, there were a lot of people blocking the entryway.
Still, Vickie unlocked the front doors at precisely 7 a.m., and let the group in. A few of the people went straight for the counter to order their food and drinks, but nearly the entire book club walked up to Vickie, all speaking at once. Vickie couldn’t make out a word they were saying. She gathered the group together and went to one of the larger tables off to the side so any other customers wouldn’t be blocked from reaching the front counter.
Once they were settled, Vickie held up her hands. “Okay, okay! Everyone calm down! One question at a time please!”
“What was it like at Eugene’s police station?” Amy questioned, ignoring Vickie’s requests. “Was it anything like our station?”
“It was substantially bigger,” Vickie responded. “And the officers there were certainly more rude—Wait, how did you learn about that?”
She didn’t get an answer before a young man spoke up. “Is it true Lilli was stabbed in the heart?”
“No, it was her stomach.” Vickie’s head snapped around. “Where did you hear that?”
“Did you meet the commissioner?” Amber jumped in. “Was he as morose as Chief Miles?”
Vickie scowled at her. “First, no I didn’t meet him. Second, Chief Miles wasn’t morose. She actually saved me from going to jail. Can someone answer my question please?”
“It’s just so cool you got arrested!” one of the younger members shouted. “What was it like?”
“Did they question you?”
“Did they process your clothes for evidence?”
“Did they show you any forensic evidence?”
“Do they have any other suspects?”
“Have they found the killer yet?”
Clearly, Vickie was not going to learn where everyone got so much information regarding the events of the previous day.
Well, I guess word does spread quickly around here, she thought before speaking out loud. “I wasn’t exactly arrested. They just brought me in for questioning.”
More questions poured out of the crowd, and Vickie answered each of them to the best of her ability. She couldn’t blame them for being curious; she would be too if she was in their position. They loved a good mystery as much as she did. Still, it was annoying to have to talk about this now when she should be working. Thankfully, her assistant Kimberly had taken over, as she always did when needed, and made sure every customer was served promptly.
The Mystery Book Club took up at least an hour of Vickie’s time. Normally she wouldn’t mind talking about a mystery like this, but guilt regarding Lilli’s death was eating away at her. She really wanted to go on with the day without thinking too much about it, at least not until Rachel got back to her about the list.
Vickie’s opportunity for escape came in the form of her cat. He jumped into her lap and began meowing incessantly at the group. This was enough of a distraction, as all the club members, especially the older women, began cooing and petting the cat. Tyler purred so loudly in contentment that he could be heard on the other side of the café. Vickie picked him up off her lap and placed him on the table to let the customers cuddle with him.
Thanks to Tyler’s interruption, Vickie was able to take her normal place at the front counter and serve the customers like on any other day. A few people asked her about Lilli’s murder, but she tried to keep her answers concise and to the point. It was nice to get back to a relatively normal routine. The fact that Lilli wasn’t there anymore crossed her mind a few times, but this didn’t seem to affect the efficiency of the café at all.
I guess we’ve gotten used to filling in for her, Vickie thought as she rang up the next order. Once the last customer was gone, she frowned deeply. I don’t care what Officer Sanders thinks, I never wanted Lilli to die just to get her out of my shop! How dare she even think that!
“Hey, Vickie?” The café owner turned at Kimberly’s voice. “Is everything okay?”
Vickie gave her a stressed smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just processing everything.”
“With Lilli?” Kimberly said somberly. “I feel bad about it too.”
“Was I ever too hard on her?” Vickie asked suddenly. “I mean, I know I had to lecture her about being on time and getting orders right so many times. Did I stress her out too much and make things worse?”
“You? Be hard on someone?” Kimberly chuckled. “Vickie, you couldn’t be hard on someone if you tried, but even if you had, I think there was something else going on with her. You were a university professor before. Don’t you remember what college was like?”
Vickie smiled sadly. “I guess so.”
“Think about it this way,” Kimberly offered. “Lilli was reaching out to you. She felt like you could help her with whatever was wrong.”
“I guess you’re right,” Vickie agreed. “I just wish I knew more about what it was.”
By this time, Tyler had escaped the attention of the book club, and he returned to the counter and took his usual spot next to the first cash register. He meowed each time a customer left a tip in the tip jar, as if to say thank you, and many of the customers gave him a quick pet as they left. Vickie scratched the spot in front of his tail, causing him to arch his back and purr.
“It’s good to be back here,” she commented to herself.
The appearance of her daughter in the café doorway interrupted her thoughts. Upon entering, Rachel immediately walked over to her mother.
“Hey, Mom. You got a minute?”
“Kim?”
Kimberly was already heading over to them. “Of course, I know the drill,” she smiled.
Vickie and Rachel retreated into Vickie’s office at the back of the coffee shop. The mother sat at her desk while the daughter took the small chair across from her. Rachel dug through her bag and pulled out a sheet of paper with notes written all over it. She placed it on the desk.
“I looked up all the names on the list you gave me.” Rachel smoothed the paper out on the desk. “They’re all names of teaching assistants at Carriage Cove Community College, and Lilli’s one of them.”
“Teaching assistants? All of them?” Vickie looked closely at the list.
“Yup, see here. Looks like Lilli already wrote down everybody’s name and major.” Rachel ran her finger down the list as she read the names.
“Anna Murray, History. George Foster, Chemistry. Elizabeth Santos, Physics. Carrie Walters, Psychology. Joseph Lynch, English. Richard Heller, Spanish. Mary Gillan, Biol
ogy, and Lilli Graves, Literature.”
“I knew Lilli was taking classes there, but I didn’t know she was a TA,” pondered Vickie.
“Did you have a teaching assistant when you taught there?”
“I didn’t in the beginning,” Vickie answered. “But as I stayed on board and did some of my own research, I had a few graduate students. Not many students wanted to help teach literature though.”
“Lilli did,” Rachel reminded her, pointing to the list again. “She clearly had enough interest in it.”
“Maybe that’s why she tried to talk to me?” Vickie wondered out loud. “She knew I had connections at the college, but that still doesn’t explain what she needed to tell me.”
“There must be something about the teaching assistants that she needed to tell someone.”
“The question is, what?”
“I think I know how to find out,” Rachel offered. “I also looked up the classes offered for teaching assistants. There’s one that focuses on student leadership skills and being a better TA. All the names on the list are in that class.”
“We need to speak with these kids,” Vickie concluded. “We’ll try to find out if anything suspicious is going on, look for leads, that sort of thing.”
“Do you think you can ask the school for permission to speak with them?” Rachel asked.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Vickie concurred. “I can call them and see if they’ll let me talk to the students about Lilli.”
“But what if one of them is the killer?” the younger woman inquired. “We’d be letting him or her know we’re investigating Lilli’s murder.”
“True, but it’s a risk we’ll need to take,” Vickie conceded. “It might actually help, in case any of the students acts suspiciously.”
“Good point. Can you call them now?”
“I will, but I want to call Chief Miles first.”
Rachel balked a bit. “What? Why?”
“I told her I would let her know if I learned anything about the list.” Vickie picked up the phone on her desk and began dialing the number for the police station. “It’s the least I can do after she helped me.”
