BEFORE HE LAPSES

by Blake Pierce

  They met Bethany at her place of employment, a law firm where she was interning as part of her course load at Queen Nash. As the day was winding down to dinnertime, she simply clocked out half an hour early and met with them in one of the small conference rooms in the back of the building.

  “We understand that you were at Clark Manners’s apartment on the night that Christine was killed,” Mackenzie said. “What can you tell us about that night?”

  “It was just getting together to have some fun. We had a bit to drink—maybe a little too much. We played some card games, watched some reruns of The Office, and that was about it.”

  “So there were no arguments of any kind?” Mackenzie asked.

  “No. But I did see that Christine was starting to get irritated with Clark. Sometimes when he drinks, he tends to go a little overboard, you know? She never said anything that night, but you could tell she was starting to get irritated.”

  “Do you know if it ever caused problems with them in the past?”

  “Not that I know of. I think Christine just sort of dealt with it. I feel pretty sure that she knew their relationship wasn’t this forever sort of thing.”

  “Bethany, did you know a woman named Jo Haley? About your age, also a Queen Nash student?”

  “I did,” she said. “Not quite as well as I knew Christine, but we were on a friendly basis. It was rare that we ever hung out. But if we crossed paths at a bar or something like that, we’d usually end up siting together and chatting.”

  “I assume you know that she was murdered several days ago as well?” Ellington asked.

  “I did. In a very cruel twist of irony, it was actually Christine that broke the news to me.”

  “Do you know how she found out?” Mackenzie asked.

  “No clue. I think they shared some of the same classes. Oh, and they had the same academic advisor, too.”

  “Academic advisor?” Ellington asked. “Is that just some fancy way of saying guidance counselor?”

  “More or less,” Bethany said.

  “And you’re certain Jo and Christine had the same one?” Mackenzie asked.

  “That’s what Christine said. She mentioned it when she told me Jo had been killed. She said it felt a little too close to home.” Bethany paused here, perhaps understanding the eerie precognitive weight of the comment for the first time.

  “Would you happen to have the name of this advisor?” Mackenzie asked.

  Bethany thought for a moment and then shook her head. “Sorry. No. She mentioned it when we were talking about Jo, but I don’t remember it.”

  No big deal, Mackenzie thought. A quick call to the university will get that information for us.

  “Is there anything else about either Jo or Christine you might be able to tell us?” Mackenzie asked. “Anything that might give anyone reason to want them dead?”

  “Nothing at all,” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense. Christine was very focused and drama free. It was all about school and trying to get an early start on her career. I didn’t know Jo enough to really make a judgment there, though.”

  “Well, thank you for your time,” Mackenzie said.

  As they left the office and Bethany readied to leave for the day, Mackenzie tried to imagine these two dead women crossing paths in the hallways and concourses of the university. Maybe they passed by one another as one left their advisor’s office while the other was walking toward an appointment. The idea of it was a little creepy but she knew far too well that things like this tended to happen quite often in murder cases where there was more than one victim.

  “University offices are still closed for the holiday break,” Ellington pointed out as they got back into the car. “Pretty sure they reopen tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, but I’d assume there’s some sort of employee directory on the website. Based on some of the books I saw in Christine’s apartment and some political literature in her bedroom, I think it’s safe to assume she’s a political science major. We could narrow it down that way.”

  Before Ellington was able to tell her what a good idea this was, Mackenzie was already on her cell phone. She opened up her web browser and started scrolling. She was able to find a directory, but, as she had assumed, there were no direct or personal numbers; they were all numbers to the advisors’ offices. Still, she located the two different advisors that were assigned specifically to the political science department and left messages for each one, asking them to call her back as soon as they got the message.

  As soon as she was done with that, she scrolled a bit more, this time through her contacts list.

  “What now?” Ellington asked.

  “There are only two of them,” she said. “Might as well see if we can get some sort of a background check running on them—see if there are some red flags.”

  Ellington nodded, smiling at her quick train of thought. He listened to her as she placed the information request. Mackenzie could feel his eyes flitting over to her every now and then, a caring and watchful sort of stare.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  She knew what he meant, that he was veering away from the case and asking about the baby. She shrugged, seeing no point in lying to him. “All of the books say that the nausea should be coming to an end soon, but I’m not believing it. I felt it a few times today. And, if I’m being honest, I’m pretty tired.”

  “So maybe you need to go back home,” he said. “I hate to sound like that domineering husband type, but…well, I’d really rather you or my baby not get hurt.”

  “I know. But this is a series of murders on a college campus. I doubt it’s going to get dangerous. It’s probably just a testosterone-laced guy that gets his rocks off on killing women.”

  “Fair enough,” Ellington said. “But will you be honest with me and tell me if you start to feel weak or just out of sorts?”

  “Yes. I will.”

  He eyed her suspiciously, yet playfully, as if he wasn’t sure if he should trust her. He then reached out and took her hand as he headed back toward the center of town to find a hotel for the night.

  ***

  They’d barely had enough time to settle into their room when Mackenzie’s phone rang. Ignoring the unfamiliar number, she answered it right away. She could feel the ticking clock McGrath had placed on them, ticking away second by second. She knew that if this thing wasn’t solved by the time classes started next week—in just five days, in fact—it would be increasingly harder to wrap up with all of the students back in the area.

  “This is Agent White,” she said, answering the call.

  “Agent White, this is Charles McMahon, an academic advisor over at Queen Nash University. I’m returning a message you left for me.”

  “Great, and thanks for the promptness. Are you at the college right now?”

  “No. I have a bit of a heavy workload right now, so I had all of my voicemail from the office rerouted to my personal phone.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, I was wondering if you might be able to answer a few questions about a recent murder.”

  “I assume it’s about Jo Haley?”

  “No, actually. There’s been another murder, two days ago. Another Queen Nash student. A young woman named Christine Lynch.”

  “That’s terrible,” he said, sounding genuinely shocked. “Is it…well, with two women in such a short amount of time…do you think it’s a trend? A serial?”

  “We don’t know quite yet,” Mackenzie said. “We were hoping you might be able to fill in the pieces. I saw on the college website that there are only two academic advisors for the political science department, and that you’re one of them. I also happen to know that both Jo Haley and Christine Lynch shared the same advisor. Would that happen to be you?”

  There was a tense nervous chuckle from McMahon’s end of the phone. “No. And actually, this is one of the primary reasons I have such a heavy workload right now. The other academic advisor within our department, William Holland, quit his job about
three days before winter break. I got the majority of his students…and I’ll likely be handling that load until they find a replacement. We have an assistant that is helping where I need it, but I’ve been swamped.”

  “Do you have any idea why Holland quit?”

  “Well, there were rumblings that he had gotten involved with a student. As far as I know, there was never any evidence to support this, so I thought it was just a rumor. But when he just simply quit like that, out of nowhere, it made me wonder.”

  Yeah, that makes me wonder, too, Mackenzie thought.

  “As far as you know, did he ever do anything else that might have been shady? Was he the type of man where news like this shocked you?”

  “I can’t answer with any certainty. I mean…I knew him only because we worked together. But I didn’t know him much outside of work.”

  “So I’m going to assume you have no idea where he might live?”

  “Sorry, no.”

  “While I have you on…Mr. McMahon, when was the last time you spoke with either Jo or Christine?”

  “I never did. I was assigned them both when I was handed Holland’s students, but the most I ever communicated with them was a mass email that was sent to all of the affected students.” He paused here and added: “You know, given the nature of all that’s happened, I could probably get Holland’s address for you. I just need to make a few calls.”

  “I appreciate that,” Mackenzie said. “But there’s no need. I can get that information as well. But thank you very much for your time.”

  With that, she ended the call. Ellington, sitting on the edge of the bed with one shoe off and the other on, had been listening the entire time.

  “Who is Holland?” he asked.

  “William Holland.” She filled Ellington in on all she had learned via her brief conversation with McMahon. As she did, she also sat down on the edge of the bed. She didn’t realize just how tired she truly was until her feet were off of the floor.

  “I’ll make a call to get his information,” he said. “If he works at the college, the chances are pretty good he lives around here somewhere.”

  “And if he is our guy,” Mackenzie said, “my calling and leaving a message has probably freaked him out.”

  “Then I guess we need to act fast, then.”

  She nodded and realized that she had once again placed her hand on her stomach. It was almost habitual now, like someone chewing on their nails or nervously popping their knuckles.

  There’s life in there, she thought. And that life, if the books are right, is feeling the same emotions I’m feeling. It’s sensing my anxiousness, my happiness, my fears…

  As she listened to Ellington hunting down a physical address for William Holland, Mackenzie wondered for the first time if she had made a mistake in keeping the pregnancy from McGrath. Maybe she was taking a huge risk by remaining an active agent, out in the field.

  Once this case is over, I’ll tell him, she thought. I’ll focus on the baby and my mew life, and—

  Her thoughts had apparently snagged her full attention, because Ellington was looking at her now, as if waiting for a response.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was somewhere else there for a minute.”

  He smiled and said, “That’s okay. I got an address for one William Holland. He lives here in town, in Northwood. You feel up for a visit?”

  Honestly, she didn’t. The day had not been overly grueling but coming into a case directly off of a trip to Iceland and not sleeping much in the past thirty-six hours, it was all starting to catch up to her. She also knew that the growing baby inside of her was sucking some of her energy away and the thought of that actually made her smile.

  Besides, even if the guy was capable of questioning or taking into custody, it probably wouldn’t take that long. So she put on her best go-get-’em face and stood back up.

  “Yeah, let’s go pay him a visit.”

  Ellington stepped in front of her, making sure they were looking eye to eye. “You sure? You look tired. You even told me less than half an hour ago that you felt a little wiped out.”

  “It’s okay. I’m good.”

  He kissed her on the forehead and nodded. “Okay, then. I’m going to take you on your word.” With another smile, he reached down and caressed her stomach before heading for the door.

  He’s worried about me, she thought. And he’s already so in love with this child that it’s overwhelming. He’s going to be such a good father…

  But before she could latch on to that thought, they were out the door and headed for the car. They moved with such speed and purpose that it served as a reminder that she would not be able to truly focus on thoughts about their future together until this case was solved.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  It was shortly after seven p.m. when Ellington parked their car in front of William Holland’s house. It was a small house tucked away on the outer edges of a nice little subdivision, the sort of house that looked more like a misplaced cottage than anything else. A single car was parked in the paved driveway and several lights were on inside the house.

  Ellington knocked on the door in an almost assertive way. He was not being rude about it by any means, but he was making it clear to Mackenzie that while he was worried about her health, he would be taking the lead in just about every facet of the case: driving, knocking on doors, and so on.

  The door was answered by a well-groomed man who looked to be in his late forties. He wore a pair of trendy eyeglasses and was dressed in a blazer and khakis. Based on the smell wafting out of the door from behind him, he was enjoying Chinese takeout for dinner.

  “William Holland?” Ellington asked.

  “Yeah. And who are you?”

  They both showed their badges at the same time, Mackenzie taking a single step forward as they did. “Agents White and Ellington, FBI. We understand that you left your job at Queen Nash recently.”

  “I did,” Holland said with some uncertainty. “But I’m confused. Why would that warrant a visit from the FBI?”

  “Can we come in, Mr. Holland?” Ellington asked.

  Holland took a moment to think before conceding. “Sure, yeah, come on in. But I don’t…I mean, what is this about?”

  They entered the doorway without answering. When Holland closed the door behind them, Mackenzie took note. He’d shut it slowly and firmly. He was either nervous or scared—or, more likely, both.

  “We’re here in town investigating two murders,” Ellington finally answered. “Both Queen Nash students, both females, and, as we’ve learned today, both advised by you.”

  They’d entered Holland’s living room by then and Holland wasted no time in plopping down into a small lounge chair. He looked up to them as if he truly did not understand what they were telling him.

  “Hold on…you’re saying two?”

  “Yes,” Mackenzie said. “Did you not know?”

  “I knew about Jo Haley. And the only reason I knew that was because we’re notified by the provost whenever a student that we work with passes away. Who is the other one?”

  “Christine Lynch,” Mackenzie said, studying his face for a reaction. There was a flicker of recognition there, but very little. “Do you recognize the name?”

  “Yes. But I…I can’t recall the face. I had over sixty students, you know.”

  “That’s another thing,” Ellington said. “The had of it all. We hear that you quit your job shortly before winter break. Did that have anything to do with the rumors that you were seeing one of your students?”

  “Ah, Jesus,” Holland said. He leaned back in his chair and removed his glasses. He massaged the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Yes, I’m dating a student. I knew word was getting around and what that might do to both my career and her academic career. So I quit my job.”

  “Just like that?” Mackenzie asked.

  “No, not just like that,” Holland snapped. “We’d been sneaking around for months and I’ve fallen in love with
her. She feels the same. So we talked long and hard about it, trying to figure out what to do. But during that time, it somehow became public knowledge. And that sort of made the decision for us. But…what does any of this have to do with the murders?”

  “We’re hoping nothing,” Ellington said. “But you have to see this the way we see it. We have two murdered students and the only firm link between the two of them is that they share you as an academic advisor. Add to that the fact that you’re having a fairly open relationship with a student…”

  “So you think I’m a suspect? You think I killed those girls?”

  Saying the words out loud seemed to make him sick. He placed his glasses back on and sat up in the chair, hunched over.

  “We’re not sure what we think right now,” Mackenzie said. “That’s why we’re here to speak with you.”

  “Mr. Holland,” Ellington said, “you just told us that you could not really place Christine Lynch’s face. How about Jo Haley?”

  “Yes…I knew her rather well, actually. She was a friend of the woman I’m currently seeing.”

  “So Jo Haley knew about the relationship?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t think that Melissa—that’s my girlfriend—would tell her. We tried our best to remain very discreet.”

  Mackenzie took a moment to think. The fact that his girlfriend had known one of the victims—and that the victim could have potentially known about the taboo relationship—certainly painted Holland in a worse light. It made her wonder why he would so voluntarily offer up all of this information without much of a fight.

  “Forgive me for asking,” Mackenzie said, “but was this girlfriend of yours—this Melissa—the first student you’ve ever been involved with?”

  A knot of frustration worked its way across Holland’s face and he got to his feet in a sudden flash of movement. “Hey, fuck you! I can’t…”

  “Sit back down right now,” Ellington said, stepping directly into Holland’s path.