by Laina Turner
“Polly!” Shelley and I said in unison.
“What? You know we’re all thinking it.”
“It’s fine,” Chloe said, waving away any concern we had of our bluntness offending her. “Trust me, it’s not the first time someone asked me that question. It made me quite popular around here for a short time even though Mallory was there, too.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t the one who found the body. That gave you much more street cred,” Mallory joked.
“I’m from Chicago. I never liked practicing law, but I love teaching it. I came out here thinking it was just for a year and I wanted the experience to put on my resume to position me for a full-time job elsewhere, but last week I was offered the job permanently.”
“That’s great!” we chorused and clinked glasses in a cheer.
“Yes, it is. I wish it hadn’t come about the way it did.
“It is unfortunate,” I trailed off. “In any case, welcome to the team. Most of us at this university are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.”
“I would agree from what I’ve seen so far.”
“So, what are we going to do if President Stoddard doesn’t show back up?” Polly asked.
“What can we do?” Shelley asked. “I mean, if he never shows back up, I assume Vice Provost Thomas would take over at least in the interim.”
“I think the bigger question is, where is he?” I said.
Chapter 3
I was in my classroom the next day, working on some syllabus updates when I heard a knock on the door. I looked up to see Don standing in the doorway and flew out of my seat, and across the room, giving him a big hug. We didn’t make it a practice of showing affection on campus, both wanting to keep things professional with our co-workers. But no one was around, and I hadn’t seen him in so long so I couldn’t help it.
“You’re back. I didn’t expect you until later this week. What brought you back early? Not that I mind,” I babbled on, excited to see him.
Don laughed and gave me a squeeze. “I’m happy to see you, too.”
“Did you hear that our esteemed president seems to be missing?” I whispered even though there wasn’t anyone else around to hear me.
“That’s why I came back a few days early,” he said, the laughter fading from his face. “Though I wasn’t making any headway on that cold case. I think the tip we got was a dead end.” His mouth turned down in a frown and I could see the disappointment written on his face.
“I’m sorry.” Even though I was happy to see him I was sorry he had to come back before he had been able to crack the case. He hadn’t told me a lot about it, but I knew it bothered him that it had never been solved.
“Don’t be. Cold cases like that are a long shot. The key is to never give up. Eventually we will find the killer. At least now I get to see you.
“It’s almost lunchtime. Do you have time to grab a bite with me?”
Don shook his head. “I wish I did, but I have to go to a meeting so we can try to get to the bottom of what’s going on with Stoddard. As you can imagine, everyone is freaking out.”
I frowned, thinking about President Stoddard and what the girls and I had talked about last night. “Good luck with that. I know he’s high strung and has some grandiose ideas at times, but this is odd behavior to just disappear. Even for him. His wife seems to think he’s been kidnapped. Do you think something happened to him?”
Don raised his eyebrows. “Candy thinks he’s been kidnapped?”
“That’s what she told Shelley. Supposedly she hasn’t talked to him in a week. Do you think that’s possible?”
“No idea. I should know more after the meeting.”
Don leaned down and gave me a quick kiss goodbye before taking off and I went and sat down at my desk. However, instead of working on revisions to make my class more exciting as I’d planned, I sat there thinking about President Stoddard. Kidnapping seemed a little far-fetched. He was just a university president after all, not President of the United States. Though, I couldn’t see him leaving and not telling his wife. As attached as she was to him by all appearances, he was that attached to her. It really was an unhealthy codependent relationship. At least by my observation, but you never knew what went on behind closed doors so who was I to judge?
I decided to hang it up for the day and take myself out to lunch. I’d asked Polly to come, but she had some committee lunch to attend. That was one thing about the start of the school year I didn’t love. Meetings. Even though it was Friday, it was always Taco Tuesday at Tiny’s Taco Shack so that was where I headed. Yes, I’d stuffed myself there the night before, but I never got sick of tacos. Which, believe me, was a big problem. Tiny’s Tacos didn’t have the most low-calorie options and eating there multiple times a week wasn’t great for the waistline. Though it kept me buying yoga memberships, so I was keeping the economy going, doing my part and all that.
A few minutes later, I pulled into the restaurant. It was only a few minutes from campus, making it a popular student hangout once school started, which was both a positive and a negative. I did enjoy being around the students, but I hated when I was craving chips and salsa and couldn’t get a table. I parked and shut off the car, starting to get out when I noticed a pearl white Cadillac Escalade in the parking lot. This one caught my eye because of the license plate. A vanity plate that said Pres ST1. That was President Stoddard’s Escalade. Was he here at Tiny’s? Did we all think he’d disappeared just to find him munching on tacos?
I wanted to run in but didn’t want to make a spectacle of myself, so I settled for a brisk walk. Instead of stopping at the hostess stand to be seated, I walked far enough into the place to see everyone who was there. It was busy, but not packed. Tiny’s wasn’t that big; all the tables were in a big square room so I could see the entire space. I scanned the room looking for President Stoddard and didn’t see him. While disappointed, it was not a huge surprise. He didn’t miss the kick-off meeting yesterday just to show up for tacos today. So, who was here in his vehicle?
I walked back to the hostess stand when a familiar voice caught my attention and I turned back around. Candy came out of the bathroom walking with another woman I didn’t recognize, but looked a lot like Candy. Same blond hair and facial features. Did she have a sister? I stepped back until I was somewhat behind a big palm tree so they didn’t see me. Although they were so engrossed in their own conversation, I could have been right next to them and it wouldn’t have mattered. Candy didn’t look as distraught as I might have expected, though everyone handled things differently.
I watched as they walked out of the restaurant and into the Escalade. Why was she driving his car? I knew for a fact she had the same exact car that had a vanity plate Pres ST2. It was something we all made fun of at the university. Their matching plates.
Not only did it seem odd she was driving his car—although maybe hers was in the shop or something—but I’d never seen her at Tiny’s Tacos. Her tastes were a little bit more on the sophisticated side as far as I knew. Not to mention her husband was missing and she was eating at a taco joint?
Something seemed off.
Chapter 4
Monday morning, I drove through campus to get to the employee parking lot and was ramped up with excitement. My adrenaline was pumping and not even from the copious amounts of caffeine I’d already had today. I had a caffeine problem and a chips and salsa problem, but we all had our vices. At least mine were legal.
The thing I loved most about being a college professor had to be the first day of school. I’d loved the first day at school since I’d started myself back in kindergarten. It was what in part drew me to this profession. It was a chance for a fresh start. New students, putting a fresh spin on the content, and the possibility of teaching these kids something. That enthusiasm usually waned by week three when I realized most of them didn’t care a lot about psychology other than passing for the required credit, but the couple who were interested and went on to be psychology majors made it
all worth it to me.
I pulled into my usual parking spot, got out, grabbed my purse and book bag, and headed into the building. “Hey, Burt,” I called out to one of my colleagues as I passed him in the hallway on the way to my classroom. He grunted out a reply, which for him was pretty good. Usually he ignored me. He’d been at Spencer University forever, was tenured, and fit the stereotype of uptight, grouchy college professor. But he was a good teacher and students loved him so us faculty tolerated his grumpy behavior.
I got to my room and laid all my stuff out in preparation for class. Since I was an hour early, it left me with more than enough time to meet Polly in the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee and chat. Like we did almost every morning before class. It was our ritual. One we said got us through the day.
I walked across campus to the cafeteria, enjoying the gorgeous early fall day but glad I’d thrown on a sweater this morning. It was still a little chilly but would be eighty by noon, the air smelling like leaves and grass. I loved that smell; even had a candle at home called fresh cut grass. When I passed the building the president’s office was housed in, I wondered once again where he was. I got to the cafeteria and grabbed my coffee, the one free thing the university offered its faculty, and saw Polly sitting in our spot across the room.
“You beat me,” I teased her, not that Polly often ran late. I was usually early, and she rarely beat my earliness.
“Shocking, I know. But because I was early, I have some gossip. Early bird gets the worm and all that.”
“Oh, please do tell.”
“I was in line getting my coffee and overheard Pam talking to Greg about how Candy was having an affair.” She sat back, waiting for my reaction.
Pam and Greg were two of our colleagues and my first thought was how would they have this kind of information? My second was disbelief. For any of her faults, Candy did seem to genuinely love her husband. I sat there for a second, mulling what she’d just said over.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she asked impatiently when I didn’t respond right away.
“You know Pam is a gossip,” I said.
“You don’t think it’s a possibility?”
I frowned and shook my head. “I don’t know. Candy watched him like a hawk and always acts like he’s the best man on the planet and everyone wants him. I guess I can’t see her cheating.”
“Maybe that’s why she’s so paranoid. Ever think of that? Not to mention that’s how they met. So, it’s not a huge stretch.”
Polly did have a point there. Candy had been the other women when Stoddard was married to his first wife, which was why I always felt she was so controlling of him. Once a man cheats, it wasn’t a stretch to think he’d do it again.
“What did Don say?” Polly asked, interrupting my thoughts. “I saw him walking across campus yesterday, so I assume you’ve talked to him?”
“I did.” I smiled, thinking about him. “I talked to him briefly yesterday. He was heading to a meeting about it, but I haven’t talked to him since.”
“Are you happy he’s back? You don’t sound excited.”
“Of course I am. I guess I’m just disappointed that after being gone, now he’s too busy for me,” I joked. We’d had a quick text exchange last night, but we hadn’t been able to make plans to see each other yet due to what was going on.
“If only you had listened to me, you could have been in a relationship with him sooner,” Polly teased. When Don first started working here about a year ago, she’d thought we were a perfect couple and kept pushing me to go out with him once he’d shown interest. However, I’d just come off a long-term relationship that hadn’t ended well and at the time, I wasn’t ready to get into something new. I still wasn’t sure I was even though Don and I had been very close friends for a year now and had casually dated, but we hadn’t put a label on it. It was something we both were comfortable with, but Polly—not so much. She was a hopeless romantic. At least with other people’s relationships.
“For someone who’s been through the wringer with an ex, you sure don’t have any compulsion pushing me into a relationship. What about your own love life?” I asked.
Polly blushed and I stared at her. “You met someone! And you didn’t tell me? Okay, Polly, you’d better spill it.”
“I didn’t want to make a big deal of it until I knew if it was going anywhere,” she said sheepishly.
“And is it?”
“Maybe.”
“Details?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. Give me a couple more dates to see. I don’t want to jinx it. That’s why I didn’t tell you even though I’ve been dying to.”
“Sure, make me tell you everything and then hold back yourself,” I teased. I understood her need to give it some more time, but it was fun harassing her like she did me.
“I should probably head out. Get to class in case any early birds show up,” Polly said.
“Me, too,” I said, looking at my watch. We headed out of the cafeteria and I saw Shelley and Vice Provost Thomas in front of the president’s office building. They both looked angry. Shelley abruptly turned and went back inside while Vice Provost Thomas headed to the parking lot.
What was that all about?
Chapter 5
It was finally the end of the day and I was exhausted. I was in my office wrapping up a few loose ends and getting things ready for tomorrow before leaving, tired but happy. The first day of school was a success in my eyes. My students today seemed like a good bunch and most had actually paid attention to me. Hopefully I’d have the same success the rest of the week.
I was hunched over my desk making some notes until I heard someone call my name. I looked up to see Candy Stoddard.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked, looking nervous. She was impeccably dressed, as always. Her designer dress fit her like a glove, but her face looked troubled. Not that I could blame her since her husband was MIA.
I didn’t do well hiding the shocked look on my face. She’d never once sought me out and I could count on my hand the number of times I’d even talked to her. I was surprised she even knew who I was and had no idea why she would come find me. While she was usually a permanent fixture at President Stoddard’s side, she didn’t mingle with any of us unless she was forced to. She’d made it pretty clear over the years she didn’t want to be at whatever event she was at; that she did it only because she had to. Candy wasn’t a typical university president’s wife I’d experienced before whose main focus was how to best further her husband’s agenda. Over twenty years his junior, she’d been a college student when they’d met, and he was married to his first wife. He hadn’t been at Spencer University then, but when he came here everyone had been whispering about what a scandal it had been even though it had happened years ago. Maybe that was why Candy never seemed to feel comfortable around us.
“Um, sure. Please come in and have a seat.”
She walked in, shutting the door behind her and sat in the chair in front of my desk. She put her purse in her lap, her hands fidgeting with her purse strap. “I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m doing here.”
That was an understatement. “Well, yes.”
“I need your help.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“You figured out who killed David March last fall. Thaddeus went on and on about how smart you were to solve that murder. He said without you, it may not have been solved. I need your help to figure out who kidnapped my husband.”
I couldn’t have been more shocked by her comment that President Stoddard had said I was smart. It wasn’t like we had a lot of conversations either. He was literally big man on campus, and I was just a poor teacher. “You really think he was kidnapped?” I asked hesitantly. I knew the question might seem a little insensitive, but I needed to know if the kidnapping had proof or was just her opinion.
If she was surprised I knew this, she didn’t show it. “It’s not official or anything. I just know he wouldn’t leave me for any other reason
unless he was forced. There’s no other explanation.”
So, she didn’t have proof. Though what if she was right? She was his wife. She should know best, shouldn’t she?
“I don’t really know if I can help. The David March thing was kind of a fluke. I’m not trained at investigating; I got lucky.” David March was a colleague of mine who’d been found murdered on the first day of school last fall. I’d been curious and motivated a little by fear someone was out to get us psychology professors, so stuck my nose into the whole mess which ended up having a good outcome of the killer being caught. But I certainly hadn’t planned on making a habit of it. It really was a case of being in the right place at the right time. I also didn’t relish the pressure of Candy breathing down my neck, wanting me to find her husband. If I couldn’t, I’d feel bad.
“You have to help me,” she said forcefully, eyes flashing with anger before realizing how she sounded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come out that way. Please. I don’t know what to do and the police aren’t being helpful at all.”
I relented a little. The majority of the time I was around her, she was stoic, the perfect picture of calm. No expression at all on her face except maybe a little boredom. Now she looked upset and scared. I felt bad for her and I did want to help.
“I’m not sure what you want me to do,” I found myself saying, opening a door to help her and crossing my fingers I didn’t come to regret the snap decision to help her.
“He left for a conference in Philadelphia last Wednesday and I talked to him Thursday before he headed to the first session and that was the last time we spoke. He was happy and excited. Things were fine. I know he didn’t purposely disappear. Someone did something to him.”
“You want me to go to Philly? I can’t. I’ve got classes.”
She shook her head. “No. The conference is over, and all the people are gone, but I have a list of the attendees.” She reached into her pink Coach purse and pulled out a list, putting it on my desk and leaning forward a little to point at it. “I’ve highlighted the people he knew that he hung around with at those things. I thought maybe you could make a few calls, see what you can find out?”
