by J A Whiting
Alison looked down at her cup. “I miss Grace. I guess sometimes you don’t realize how much you care about someone until they’re gone, until it’s too late. I wish we could go back in time. I would have gone to her apartment with her after yoga. Or better yet, I would have made her come to my place that night.” Alison tipped her head to the side. “I wish I had some kind of feeling, some premonition or something, some kind of warning that Grace was in danger that night. People should be able to pick up on things like that. So we can keep each other safe.”
Claire gave the young woman a sad smile. “Was Grace worried about anyone? Was she concerned about anyone? Did she express any worry about her safety?”
Alison shook her head. “She didn’t tell me she was afraid of anyone.”
“Did Grace mention anyone new she might have been interested in?”
Alison was about to answer in the negative, but said, “There were a couple of guys in her master’s program she thought were nice. I think she would have dated one of them if the opportunity came up.”
“Do you know their names?”
“Sorry. Grace didn’t tell me their names. She only said she’d worked in a group with them and she liked them.” Alison turned her coffee cup in her hands. “Do you think Grace knew her killer?”
“I’m not sure,” Claire replied.
“I think she did.”
“If you had to make a suspect list,” Claire said, “who would you put on it?”
Alison grunted. “Harry. Martin. Heck, I’d even put Jenny on it.” She shook her head. “Maybe there was even some student in the master’s program who was jealous of Grace and decided to get rid of her.”
A cold wave of anxiety filled Claire’s stomach.
12
Claire and Nicole met in the hospital cafeteria with four of Grace’s colleagues who were in her master’s cohort. Claire thanked them for giving their time to talk to her and Nicole.
“Of course, we’d talk to you.” Bonnie Low was in her mid-thirties with short auburn hair and brown eyes. “We’re all stunned over what happened to Grace.”
Sandy Garrett nodded. She was in her late-twenties, had shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes. “It was such a shock to all of us. I couldn’t think straight for a few days. I’m feeling suspicious and nervous whenever I have to walk alone somewhere.”
“Matt and I were in a study group with Grace. She was the best. Hardworking, smart, really nice. She was great to be around.” Ben Place was in his mid-twenties, had handsome features, brown hair and brown eyes. He had to clear his throat after talking about the dead woman.
Matt, tall and thin and in his early thirties had dark blond hair and bright blue eyes. “Grace would do anything to help you. I was having trouble with some math problems and she sat with me and explained everything so clearly that I understood what I was doing wrong. She was so patient and thorough. She would have made a terrific college professor. Grace had an interest in teaching nursing one day. This whole thing is messed up. Who could have done this to her?”
“Was the study group you were in with Grace ongoing?” Nicole asked. “Had you been with Grace recently?”
“Yeah,” Matt said. “We met the night before Grace died.”
“Did she seem her usual self?”
“I thought so.” Matt looked to Ben for confirmation.
“I didn’t notice anything off with her. She seemed the same as always,” Ben said. “It was a good meeting, very productive. We made a lot of progress on the chapter we were studying.”
“Did Grace ever seem nervous or out-of-sorts recently? Did she seem worried about anything? Did she complain about anything happening in her life?” Claire asked the students.
“No. I didn’t notice anything,” Bonnie said. “She was the usual cheerful Grace.”
“She was the same as always,” Sandy reported. “Grace loved her studies. Her enthusiasm was infectious.”
“Did Grace talk about her apartment? Her roommate?”
“She told me she was going to get a different apartment,” Bonnie said. “Grace felt that her roommate had changed. The woman was sort of short-tempered and not as friendly as she used to be.”
“Did Grace say why she thought there was a change in her roommate?”
“She didn’t. I think it was just time for a change. Maybe they had grown apart?” Bonnie suggested.
“It can be hard to share a space with someone,” Sandy said. “One person might be neat, the other might be a slob. One might be a partier, the other one might like things quiet and peaceful. You really can’t be sure until you’re living with each other. Little things can get overblown. Relationships can deteriorate over nitpicky things.”
“Had any of you met Grace’s roommate?”
The four people shook their heads.
“Grace had recently broken up with her long-term boyfriend,” Nicole said. “Had any of you met him?”
Again, three answered in the negative. Bonnie Low said she’d met Harry briefly.
“Did Grace talk about her boyfriend or the breakup with any of you?” Claire questioned.
“She told us she broke up with him. She didn’t give us many details,” Ben remarked. “She didn’t seem like she wanted to talk about it so we didn’t ask.”
“Did she seem upset by the breakup?” Claire questioned.
“Maybe a little sad, but not upset,” Matt said.
Ben added, “Grace almost seemed relieved that it was over.”
Bonnie said, “She told me over lunch one day that she thought he wasn’t the right guy for her. I guess he was kind of rigid in his thinking. He was rule-based and domineering. That’s what she said. She wasn’t angry about it. Grace decided things weren’t as she wished they could be. She’d talked to her boyfriend about her feelings, but she came to the realization that he would never change. Grace wanted a different life than the one she’d have if she stayed with him.”
“Were you and Grace close?” Nicole asked Bonnie.
“We were becoming friends. If she … if she lived, I think we would have been good friends.” Bonnie’s face almost crumpled, but she collected herself and held it together.
“Were there any students Grace didn’t get along with?”
The four people at the table looked surprised by the question.
“Grace got along with everybody,” Ben said. “She was nice to everyone.”
“Was there someone who maybe didn’t like Grace all that much?” Nicole asked a more specific question.
“Not that I know of,” Matt said.
“Was there someone who might have been jealous of her?” Claire asked.
Sandy tilted her head in thought. “There’s a woman in her early forties in the program. Bella Smith. She seemed a little resentful of Grace.”
“How so? What makes you think so?”
“A few minor comments she made. Bella seemed to think Grace had it easy and didn’t have to work as hard as she did. Bella has a couple of kids, her husband passed away two years ago. She did seem resentful of Grace sometimes. Grace offered to help her with a lab report one day. Bella seemed insulted. She snapped at Grace telling her she could manage it on her own just fine.”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, now that you bring it up, I don’t think Bella liked Grace at all. I’d see her giving Grace the side-eye once in a while. Bella seemed to clam up whenever Grace was around. She avoided being in any study group with Grace.”
After fifteen minutes more of discussion, Claire and Nicole thanked the students for talking with them. Nicole was headed back to the chocolate shop and Claire decided to go to the bank before she returned to the store.
As she was starting away from the hospital buildings, someone called to Claire and she turned around to see Bonnie Low hurrying towards her.
“Sorry to stop you,” Bonnie said. “Have you got a minute?”
“Sure.” A wave of tension moved through Claire’s body.
“Listen. There’s some
thing I didn’t want to bring up with everyone around.” Bonnie rubbed at her temple.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing really, but I thought maybe I should say something anyway.”
Claire waited for the woman to speak.
“Grace and I went out for dinner sometimes after our classes were over. We got along great. We had so much to talk about.” Bonnie let out a sigh. “What happened to her is so disturbing. It’s really thrown me. Anyway, one night when we were out, Grace got a text message from her roommate’s boyfriend. He wanted to meet Grace somewhere. She was horrified. She told me the guy had come on to her more than once. Grace didn’t know how he got her number, but I bet he went through his girlfriend’s contacts and got Grace’s number that way.”
Bonnie shook her head and went on. “Grace told me he was a creep, a pest. She tried to talk to her roommate about him, but Jenny blew her off and wouldn’t hear anything against the guy. Jenny told Grace she was a flirt and if she didn’t encourage her boyfriend, he wouldn’t behave the way he did around her. Jenny completely blamed Grace. She said her boyfriend was just a victim of Grace’s charm. Isn’t that ridiculous? Grace felt really bad about it, she was really hurt. She and Jenny had been friends since they were little.”
Claire thanked Bonnie for the information and promised to pass it along to law enforcement. She continued down the walkway until Ben Place caught up with her and asked if he could tell her something.
Claire was thinking she and Nicole should have spoken with the four people in Grace’s cohort separately since some of them had held back about a few details, obviously uncomfortable about sharing some things in front of the others.
“Grace and I went out for a drink one night after our lab,” Ben told her. “We liked each other. There was an attraction between us. This was after she broke up with her boyfriend. I wouldn’t get involved with anyone who seeing someone else. It wasn’t a date or anything. We were friends. I think we both wanted to hang out together and see if anything developed.”
“Did something happen?” Claire could feel a sense of turmoil coming off of Ben.
“Yeah, it did.” Stress lines formed on the man’s forehead. “Grace’s boyfriend came into the bar. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so angry. He stormed over to us. We were sitting at a tall table, talking. I don’t know if the guy was drunk or high or what. He ranted at Grace, called her some disgusting names. I stood up. I was worried the guy would do something to her. He took a swing at me. He missed. Grace yelled, and before a scuffle could break out, restaurant security came over and escorted her boyfriend out the place. She and I were both pretty unsettled by the whole thing. Grace kept apologizing. I told her there was no need.”
“Do you think Harry Parker followed Grace to the restaurant?” Claire asked the man’s opinion.
“I sure do. He was a darned stalker. Grace wouldn’t report it to the police. She thought it best to let it blow over. I didn’t agree, but it wasn’t my place to call the police if it wasn’t what she wanted.” Ben shrugged his shoulders. “In light of Grace’s death, I wish I had called the police.”
“Do you think Harry Parker could be Grace’s killer?”
“It would be quite an accusation to make. Really? I have no idea. I just wanted to be sure to bring it up. Will you pass it on to the detective in charge of the case?”
“I will, but he’ll want to speak with you himself.”
“I’m fine with that. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything or not, but I decided to go ahead and tell you. The police can decide if it’s important information or not. I’m not qualified to make that judgment. I just keep wondering if he’s the one who killed Grace. I had to speak up.”
13
Thirty-two-year old Dr. Martin Gray was tall and slim with muscular shoulders and a trim waist from working out on a regular basis. Well-dressed with dark brown hair and brown eyes, high cheekbones, and symmetrical features Claire could see how women would be attracted to the man.
“Please come in.” Martin welcomed Claire and Ian into his large, beautifully-appointed office in a building in downtown Boston. Remembering that Martin drove a Porsche, and by his clothing and the way his office was decorated, it was clear that this was a man who loved the finer things.
They sat in comfortable chairs around a coffee table where a carafe of water, crystal glasses, and shortbread cookies were set on a silver tray.
“You have a lovely office,” Claire said while pouring water into a glass.
Martin thanked her. “My practice is doing very well. I’m grateful for my good fortune. Of course, I’ve worked very hard to get where I am in life. I’m now looking to expand my business and invest in some real estate.”
“You’re obviously a smart person who takes his work seriously.” Claire sipped the water.
Martin smiled at Claire. “You do consulting work for the police?”
Claire explained her association with the police department, but told the man that she was also a lawyer and had invested recently in a business with a partner.
Martin beamed at her. “Very impressive.”
Ian, holding a small notebook in his hand, cleared his throat and asked, “We’d like to talk to you about your trip to New Hampshire with Jenny Harrington.”
“Such a tragedy about Grace Dylan.” Martin looked somber. “She was a wonderful person, ambitious, intelligent, beautiful, forward-thinking. She had everything going for her. A terrible waste of a life.”
Ian nodded in agreement. “That’s what we’ve heard from the people who knew Grace. You and Jenny went to New Hampshire on a short vacation?”
“Yes, that, but it was primarily a business trip for me. I have some opportunities in the state and I needed to attend a few meetings. The weather was supposed to be beautiful for those three days so I invited Jenny to accompany me.”
“May we ask what sort of business opportunities you’re pursuing?” Ian questioned.
Martin had a look on his face like he didn’t think it was any of law enforcement’s business, but he said, “Expansion of my dental practice.”
“And when did you and Jenny leave for New Hampshire?”
“Three days before Grace died.”
“Did you do some sightseeing while you there?”
“We did. We did a walking tour of Portsmouth. We went to some breweries. We visited the USS Albacore Museum and toured the old submarine. We took a drive over to Maine, too.”
“When did you get back to Boston?”
“We returned on the morning after Grace was killed. When I dropped Jenny off at her place, there were police officers everywhere. We had no idea it had to do with Grace.”
“Did you go to the building with Jenny to see what the trouble was?” Claire asked.
“No, I didn’t think it was necessary. The officers looked calm. It didn’t seem like they were in the middle of an emergency.”
“How did you find out what happened?”
“Jenny texted me about it. Of course, she was quite upset.”
“Did you return to the building to be with Jenny?” Ian asked.
“That wasn’t possible. I had patients lined up for the entire day and I was already a little late. I had to get to the office. I couldn’t abandon my clients.”
But you abandoned Jenny, Claire thought. Martin came across like someone whose own interests were the only ones of any importance. She couldn’t imagine how shocked and upset Jenny was to arrive home to learn what happened to Grace and to have an army of investigators swarming her apartment.
“The apartment must have been off limits for a while with law enforcement gathering information,” Claire said. “Did Jenny stay with you?”
Martin looked surprised by the question. “Oh, no. We aren’t there yet in our relationship. She stayed with a friend.”
“Have you been dating Jenny long?” Ian asked
“We’ve dated for only a few months. We aren’t exclusive with one another. We
’re both free to date other people. I don’t know where I’ll be in another year. I can’t make a commitment to anyone at this point in my life. Jenny understands that. I’ve been up front about this with everyone I’ve dated.”
Claire didn’t think Jenny understood that at all and thought she’d be quite taken aback to hear what Martin had just said.
“Do you feel you know Jenny well?”
Martin’s eyebrows went up. “Well? I’d say no. We go out together about once a week, sometimes twice. As I said, it’s only been a few months. It takes time to get to know someone, and even after many years does anyone really know you?”
“How did you and Jenny meet?”
“At a bar here in the city.” Martin looked pleased with himself.
“Are you seeing other woman while dating Jenny?” Claire asked.
Martin held Claire’s eyes a few seconds longer than was necessary as a suggestive smile lifted his lips. “Occasionally. Jenny and I are both free to do so. I don’t hide this from anyone.”
“How were Grace and Jenny getting along?” Ian asked. “Had Jenny told you of any troubles between them?”
“No, she didn’t. Jenny and Grace were friends for many years. They got along very well.”
“Had you met Grace’s boyfriend, Harry Parker?”
Martin nodded. “Yes. The four of us went out for drinks several times.”
“How did you like Harry?”
“Seems like a nice guy. He’s a pharmacist. I understand he works a lot of hours.” Martin leaned forward slightly. “He and Grace had broken up. Did you know that?”
Ian gave a nod. “Yes, we did. Do you get the impression the parting was an amicable one?”
“I don’t know for sure. From what I heard from Jenny, I think Harry was upset initially, but then he came to accept it and thought it might be for the best.”
Ian wrote in his notebook. “Do you know much about Jenny’s job? Is she under a lot of pressure there? Is she stressed by it?”
“Somewhat. Jenny can be high-strung. She gets anxious easily. She can be demanding and doesn’t forgive easily. I’m not criticizing her. I’m just noting her personality quirks. We all have them. I think Jenny might do better in a lower-key job, but she doesn’t ask my opinion on that.” Martin smiled.