Murder Is Collegiate

by Diane Weiner

  Emily abruptly began clearing the table, signaling Henry to begin loading the dishwasher. They both insisted Susan and Mike relax and enjoy being the guests. Susan turned on the TV, and now that Sarah’s parents had been notified, the news featured a brief story on her “suicide.” She thought about Sarah’s poor parents. Not only were they dealing with the loss of their daughter, now the media was announcing it was Sarah’s own doing.

  “Susan, are you ready to go?” Emily called.

  Susan grabbed her purse. She and Emily drove to the college and entered the adjunct’s room. It felt like déjà vu. Weren’t they just rifling through Martha’s office not long ago?

  “This is her desk, and that’s her bookcase. She has one of the drawers in the filing cabinet too.” Emily searched through the desk while Susan found Sarah’s files.

  “Susan, look at this. It’s a check made out to Sarah. Look at the signature.”

  “Peter Taglieri. And that’s some hunk of change he gave her.”

  “It’s dated a week ago, and Sarah hadn’t cashed it. Do you think it was another attempt to get her to spy on me, like Noah said?”

  “She didn’t cash it. I’m sure she didn’t agree to his offer.”

  Joe Sommers walked into the room. “Hey, what are you two up to?”

  “We’re just cleaning out Sarah’s desk,” said Emily. “I’d like to send Sarah’s belongings to her parents.”

  “Poor girl. I spoke to her just the other day. Her dissertation was really coming along.” He leaned over Emily’s shoulder. “Anything interesting in there?”

  “Just what you’d expect. Here’s a framed picture of her with her parents. I’m sure that will mean something to them.”

  Bridgette came in and headed toward her own desk. She sniffled and patted her eyes with a tissue. She avoided eye contact with Joe.

  “Bridgette, I’m sorry about Sarah,” said Emily. “I know you were friends.”

  “Yes, but I wasn’t a very good one. I should have known she was planning on killing herself. I can’t believe it. She was a bit off her game the past few days, but suicide? I wish she’d have confided in me. Maybe I could have helped.”

  “Don’t blame yourself,” said Joe. “All of us who knew her could say the same. She must have had some deep issues.” He put his arm around her, and she pulled away.

  “If so, she kept them well hidden,” said Bridgette.

  “You know,” said Susan, “the police are presuming it was suicide, but they’ve hardly begun their investigation.”

  Joe said, “What else would it be? An accident? Surely no one murdered her.”

  Bridgette blew her nose. “I just came in to get my laptop. Let me know when you hear about funeral arrangements.”

  Chapter 33

  Emily fished her keys out of her purse. “Let’s hurry home. The guys are expecting us to go snowshoeing.”

  Susan was hoping they’d forget about it. Maybe she could talk them into popcorn and a Netflix movie instead. On the way, her phone rang.

  “Lynette, is everything okay?”

  “Audrey called. She and Richard are engaged. Thought you’d want to know. She said she hadn’t yet talked to you.”

  “She’s probably afraid to. She knows how I feel about Richard. Anyway, George called me. He feels the same as I do. And get this. Richard took out a life insurance policy on Audrey! How classic. Audrey knows about the policy and still is going ahead with this.”

  “I definitely smell trouble. We should stall her. Tell her to have the wedding after Jason and I go to China to pick up our daughter.”

  “Have you gotten a match yet?”

  “Not yet but hopefully any day now.”

  “Well, we’re almost back at Emily’s. We’re going snowshoeing this afternoon.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding. You… snowshoeing, Mom? Remember when we took that hot yoga class together and it took three of us to untangle you?”

  “I know, I know. I’m working on an alternate plan. Talk to you soon.”

  When Emily’s cabin came into view, Susan spotted a police car parked in the driveway. Oh no. What is it this time? I hope they’re here just to follow up on the fire. Please, God. Don’t let it be another murder.

  The first person they saw was Kurt Olav. He had Kiki and Buzz by their collars. The officer slapped handcuffs on them.

  “Mike, what’s going on?” asked Susan.

  Henry stepped forward. “We got another threat. A note nailed to our door warning us to leave things alone. Kurt here caught Kiki and Buzz red-handed nailing it to the front door.”

  “I happened to be out walking Prancer, and I saw those two going toward the cabin, hammer in hand. I knew they meant trouble, so I called the police, and I nabbed them by the scruff of their necks. Well, it was more like the scruff of their jackets.”

  The officer led Kiki and Buzz into the squad car. Buzz yelled, “You were warned. Just because we’re out of the picture, don’t think you’re safe.”

  “Kurt, you’ve proven to be quite the hero,” said Susan. “You happened to be outside to notice someone breaking into the barn, you were on hand when the barn caught fire, and now today.”

  Emily said, “We sure got lucky having him as a neighbor. Kind of makes up for having Kiki and Buzz on our other side.”

  Kurt took Prancer home, while the others went inside. Henry had started a fire in the fireplace. He poked the logs and said, “Ready for some snowshoeing?”

  Susan rubbed her hands together over the fire. “You know, it’s a shame to leave this cozy fire. And I saw some of Emily’s homemade gingerbread cookies on the kitchen counter this morning. How about we stay in and watch a movie.”

  Mike said, “I thought you wanted an adventure? Back home you couldn’t wait to try cross-country skiing, ice skating…”

  Emily interrupted him. “I think a movie is a great idea. I’ll make some hot chocolate while you guys find a movie on Netflix.” She went into the kitchen.

  Henry added a log to the fireplace and flipped through the movie choices. “Comedy, drama, or action adventure?”

  “How about a good mystery,” suggested Susan. Mike shot her a look.

  Susan and Mike snuggled on the sofa under the afghan. Henry and Emily sat in front of the fire on oversized cushions, Chester between them. While the movie played, the police called Henry’s cell phone.

  “The police said Kiki and Buzz admitted to making the other threats and to spray-painting the barn. Setting it on fire too.”

  “Really? That’s great. At least we don’t have to worry about them anymore,” said Emily.

  After the movie, Emily said, “How about some dinner?”

  I’m stuffed to the gills with popcorn and gingerbread, but there’s always room for Emily’s cooking, thought Susan.

  She and Mike chopped vegetables for the salad while Emily stir-fried chicken and vegetables in a wok. Henry set the table.

  “I wish you’d both move here after Mike retires,” said Emily. “It’s so nice to have good friends around.”

  “You have Kurt,” said Mike. “And Kiki and Buzz when they get out of jail.”

  “We’ll see what the laws are around here. Those two might just end up with a fine and some community service,” said Henry. “They can put them to work cleaning barns or shoveling manure from the fields. That’ll send them running back to the city so fast they won’t care about selling to Peter Taglieri.”

  Emily’s phone vibrated on the counter. “It’s Coralee. I hope everything is okay.” She walked into the living room.

  Susan said, “I hope Kurt was able to reconcile with his daughter. Emily said she went back to Minnesota.”

  “Kurt won’t tell us anything,” said Henry. “He’s a man of few words. We didn’t even know he had a daughter or an ex-wife for that matter.”

  Emily returned and said, “You’re not going to believe this. The police found the murder weapon. They found a pipe hidden in Peter Taglieri’s trailer w
ith blood on it. The blood matched Martha’s.”

  “What made them get a warrant for Taglieri’s trailer?” asked Henry.

  “Coralee overheard two officers talking about it over dinner at the inn. They received an anonymous call. That paired with the grave… I guess that was enough for them to take notice.”

  “I hope they called Martha’s sister. She’ll be relieved to know the killer is in jail,” said Susan. “I wonder if they’ll be able to tie him into Ashley’s murder. He didn’t live here back then, but who knows? Maybe he had friends in the area and came for visits.”

  “The police will figure it out,” said Mike. “Noah is no longer a suspect, and Emily’s friend’s murder is solved. Meanwhile, we need to be getting back to New York in a few days. The permits office won’t wait on me forever. They’ve been more than flexible since my heart attack, and I don’t want to feel like I’m taking advantage of them.”

  “And I guess I’ll have to do something about Audrey. What a mess. The mother who adopted me, the one I call Mom, never would have fallen for Richard’s nonsense. I miss her.”

  Emily put on a pot of coffee and cleared the table. “How about a game of gin rummy?”

  “Okay, Emily, but I’m warning you. Mike always wins.”

  The fire died down, and after a few hours absorbed in playing cards, Susan fell into bed and slept solidly all night through.

  Chapter 34

  The next morning, Susan and Emily went for a walk while the men cleared the breakfast dishes. Gray clouds hung low, threatening snow. Susan wrapped her scarf around her neck more tightly.

  “So how’s your doctor-to-be Evan doing?” Emily asked. “I heard you talking to him on the phone while I was making breakfast.”

  “I’m so proud of him. He scored a 270 on his step one medical board exam. He should be able to get into the very best residency programs, according to Henry.”

  “That’s wonderful. Has he chosen a specialty yet?”

  “He’s doing his first rotation. He says he’ll decide after he gets nearer to finishing his third year. I hope he picks one on the east coast, preferably New York. St. Louis is far enough away. We hardly see him now.”

  “I hear you. I know I’m missing something by not having children.”

  “Why didn’t you? You and Henry have always had solid careers. If you wanted to keep working full time, you could have hired a nanny or worked from home.”

  Snow fell in flurries, which rapidly became bigger, icy flakes. Susan nearly slipped on the newly wet road.

  “I couldn’t handle having a baby after seeing what we went through with my little sister. I still can’t talk about it all these years later. It destroyed my mother’s marriage, and I think it caused her to become the airhead she is today. It’s snowing harder. Let’s turn around.”

  Susan pulled up the collar on the new wool jacket she’d bought during her visit. She buttoned the top, and the gold button came right off into her hand. She looked down at it. I’ve seen one like this recently. Where?

  “Susan, I’ll sew that back on for you at home. They attach buttons so flimsily sometimes.”

  It’s like the button I found when I fell snowshoeing, near the barn, Susan thought.

  When they got to the end of the driveway, Emily checked the mailbox. “In all the excitement yesterday I forgot to get the mail.” She sorted through the pile. “What’s this? The return address says Sarah Kimberly.” She pulled off her glove and tore it open.

  Susan hung over her shoulder. “What is it?”

  “It’s a small key. Does it look like it’s from a safety deposit box?”

  “No, it’s not the right size. And it’s too small to be a door key.” Susan took the key in her hand and examined it more closely. “It looks like it goes to a padlock.”

  “Did you see any padlocks when we were at Sarah’s apartment?”

  “No. I would have noticed. And I didn’t see any in the TA office either.”

  They hustled into the house and showed it to Henry and Mike. Henry said, “It could be a lock she used on a bike or maybe a locker.”

  “They don’t have lockers at the college?” said Mike.

  Emily’s phone vibrated. “It’s from the school.”

  She said, “Bridgette. What’s wrong? You sound upset.”

  “Something isn’t right. I know in my heart Sarah didn’t kill herself. Last night I remembered her mumbling something about Ashley Young and professor shortly before she died. She ran out of the office and said she’d explain later.”

  “Did she say anything else?”

  “No, but I got to thinking. I wondered if Ashley had any of the professors who are here now. I asked Gerald Reynolds. He’s been here since then, and he hangs around Morgan’s office a lot so I’ve gotten to know him. He told me Ashley was one of Joe Sommers’s students. Said Joe took over for some pregnant lady in the middle of the semester and his wife was glad they didn’t dump the extra class on her.”

  “Gerald has dementia. Are you sure he was making sense?”

  “I know sometimes he doesn’t, but he was sharp as a tack during our conversation. I don’t know if it means anything. Should I tell the police?”

  “Yes, I think you should,” said Emily. “It may be nothing, but it could be important. Let me know what they say.”

  Emily relayed the conversation to the others. Susan reminded Emily that Joe said he didn’t know who took over and he didn’t know Ashley. “Why would he lie?”

  Before Emily could answer, Henry said, “Eureka! They do have lockers at school. In the fitness center. Did Sarah ever mention going to the gym?”

  Emily thought for a moment. “Yes! I once saw her in leggings and a sweatshirt. She said she was heading to spinning class at the gym.”

  “Emily, let’s go over to the gym and find that locker before it starts storming worse.”

  “They’re forecasting a blizzard. You should both stay put.”

  “We’ll be quick.” She gave Henry a kiss. “Love ya.”

  Chapter 35

  The two-story, state-of-the-art fitness center was a fairly new addition to the campus. It met the needs of almost any exercise aficionado, with an Olympic-size pool, an indoor track, rows of weight machines, racquetball courts, and a myriad of group exercise classes. Susan saw a sign advertising hot yoga, and she cringed.

  “We at least should have worn gym clothes. It’s bad enough we’re old, but dressed in street clothes we stick out like sore thumbs,” said Susan.

  “No one cares. Besides, the gym is almost deserted. Guess everyone is worried about the Nor’easter they’re predicting. Come on, the woman’s locker room is over there.”

  Susan and Emily entered the locker room. One student was changing out of her workout clothing and soon left, leaving the entire area empty. There were three walls full of lockers, with changing benches in the center and showers off to the side. A door led directly to the pool area.

  “Gyms have come a long way since I went to college,” said Emily. “My school had a basketball court and a big empty room with varnished wood flooring where we could workout using our own videos. I still have my Sweatin’ to the Oldies and Jane Fonda videos. Don’t have a VCR anymore, but I couldn’t just throw them out.”

  “I love Richard Simmons,” said Susan. “And that Jane Fonda looks terrific for her age. Why don’t you start with that wall, and I’ll start with this one. Some lockers have combination locks at least. Narrows it down a little anyway.”

  Methodically they tried lock after lock, keeping an eye on the door. If anyone walked in and saw two women trying to open locker after locker, surely they’d call the police. The clinking of the locks against the metal became a rhythm of its own.

  “This girl didn’t even use a lock,” said Susan. “She left these expensive Nikes sitting here for anyone to steal.” Nikes, she thought. Joe Sommers wore Nikes when we saw him and Bridgette hiking. There was a sneaker print by Emily’s barn… It didn’t belong t
o Noah.

  “I’m on the last row of this wall. I hope we’re on the right track. Just because Henry says it could be a key to a gym locker, doesn’t mean it is.”

  Joe Sommers. His coat was missing a button. Think hard, Susan. Yes, it looked a lot like the button I found by the barn when I fell off the snowshoes.

  “Susan, I found it! Look. The key opened this locker.”

  Susan ran over to where Emily was. Emily pulled out a gym bag with Sarah’s initials on it. She unzipped the bag. “A bathing suit, shampoo, flip-flops… just what you’d expect.”

  “Try the outside zippered part.”

  “Here. Photos.”

  “Let me see.” Susan examined the top one. “It’s a photo of a metal pipe, and there’s blood on it! Detective Wooster said there were lead particles in Martha’s hair.”

  “But they already found the pipe in Peter Taglieri’s trailer.”

  “Sarah took a picture showing it in the trunk of a car, but she also was clever enough to take a picture of the license plate. The police can track this down easily. Sarah must have figured out who murdered Martha. Do you think it’s Taglieri’s plate?”

  “No, he has that stupid vanity plate that says TNY House. I’m sure you noticed it.”

  “That’s right, I do remember. Now, look at this other photo. It’s a wall shrine to Ashley Young! Like you see on Law and Order or those serial-killer movies. See, there are newspaper articles about her death, the investigation, even one about your writing a true-crime book about the case. And several pictures of Ashley.”

  “Whose house do you think it is?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure the police can find it. Let’s go show this to them.”

  Emily and Susan ran out of the gym. The snow was falling much more heavily than before. Emily had to scrape the snow off her windshield before they could pull away.

  “Look, Susan. I have two text messages. I guess the service wasn’t working inside the locker room.”

  “What do they say? Are they from Henry?”

  Emily’s face turned white. “Oh. My God. They’re from Sarah! She says, Faked death, hiding out. Help. The second text says to meet her at the covered bridge. It’s not far from here.”