Fatal Footsteps

by Brenda Donelan

  Later that afternoon, Marlee dragged herself back to the dorm, crawled into bed, and slept for hours until Jasmine woke her. “Don’t you have a night class tonight?”

  “Oh, shit! I do, and I almost missed it,” she said as she rushed from the dorm, still clad in her sweats and pajama combo with her hair sticking out on one side. The only stop she made was at the vending machine for a candy bar and a can of pop. She made it to class only five minutes late, which was fine because the professor was blathering on about his weekend. Boring!

  Professor Warren was a trim man with a gray beard and mustache. He reminded her of Sean Connery in looks only. His demeanor was much more like a dictator or a prison warden. Professor Warren used the Socratic Method in his teaching, so he frequently called on students to answer questions. Marlee hated it, but had to admit that it kept her awake and made her read the assigned chapters before class. Usually. Tonight’s class was an exception, and she prayed the professor would not call on her. Luck was on her side, as he chose to grill the football players sitting in the back row. Unfortunately, the only seats open in the classroom when she got there were in the front row. Now Professor Warren stood toe-to-toe with her as he lectured about criminal law. Marlee was sitting at her desk, and her only two choices for viewing were to look down at her notes or up at the front of the professor’s pants. The choice was clear. She stared at her notes until her eyes were bleary, and she began to slip into a continuation of her nap.

  When her head hit the desk, Professor Warren jumped backward with the speed of a jack rabbit. Marlee did a quick save by acting as if she dropped her pen and was just picking it up from the floor when she hit the desk. For the rest of the class, Marlee stared at Professor Warren’s zippered brown slacks with the front pleats.

  “Barry from the police department called you while you were in class,” Jasmine announced as Marlee trudged through the door, too tired to close it behind her.

  “What did he want?”

  “He wants your body,” Jasmine joked as she finished cooking ramen noodles in the hot pot.

  “Shut up. What did he really want?” Marlee grumbled, not in the mood for jokes.

  “He didn’t say. He and Doug are on stake out again tonight, so he said he’d either call back or stop by. Say, does Doug ever talk?” Jasmine asked as she dished up two bowls of ramen.

  “Not so far. Why?” Marlee asked, realizing she had yet to hear Doug’s voice.

  “I think he’s hot!” Jasmine confessed. “He’s so sexy. I’d like to see him in his uniform. Or out of it.”

  “Get control of yourself, Jazz. We’re in the middle of a death investigation and a fire investigation. We don’t have time for your love life,” Marlee chastised. “Besides he’s old and bald. I bet he’s at least thirty!”

  “I think we have time for all those things. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt you to concentrate on your love life too. I know Barry likes you,” Jasmine said.

  “Barry’s okay, but I don’t have any attraction to him. He’s just a nice guy. And sometimes he’s not even all that nice,” Marlee said. She hadn’t told Jasmine about kissing Barry on campus the other day because it would just propel her into thinking Marlee and Barry were meant to be.

  “Maybe you should give him a chance. Wouldn’t it be fun if you were dating Barry, and I was seeing Doug? We could go on double dates,” Jasmine said with a giggle as she blushed.

  “Their idea of a double date would probably be a stakeout, and I bet they’d expect us to bring the snacks. No thanks. Although I would like to go on a stakeout,” Marlee said. “Just not as a date with Barry.” She slurped up the last of her ramen noodles, hungry for something else.

  A rustling caused Marlee and Jasmine to look up from their makeshift table as they sat on the floor. Standing in the open doorway were Barry and Doug.

  There’s nothing that could separate me from my dog. Nothing!

  Chapter 14

  “Oh, shit!” Marlee exclaimed, eyes as wide as saucers as her mind raced to think of an explanation for the conversation Barry and Doug just overheard. Jasmine was even more shocked than Marlee and looked as if she might pass out.

  “You think I’m hot?” Doug asked Jasmine, a smile crossing his face. Not only was this the first time Doug had spoken, but it was also the first time he showed emotion of any kind. Up until tonight, Marlee had wondered if he was a robot.

  Jasmine blushed a deep shade of red, which of course, was adorable on her. “Um, I might have said something like that.” She looked at Doug, blushed even more, and then looked away with the hint of a smile.

  “How about we go for a little walk around the dorm, and you tell me more about how you think I’m hot,” Doug suggested, holding out his arm.

  “Okay,” Jasmine said suggestively as she took hold of the rugged cop’s arm and left the room. “So tell me about yourself, Doug.” Low tones of talking along with bursts of Jasmine’s giggles were audible and then faded away.

  “Barry, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for...” Marlee was without words, which was rare. She wanted to tell him that he wasn’t supposed to overhear her conversation with Jasmine, but that would hardly make him feel better. She also wanted to make it clear why she wasn’t attracted to him, but that would surely make Barry feel worse. She let the sentence hang in mid-air until Barry broke the silence.

  “Marlee, you really don’t have to worry about it. Seriously. I didn’t have any attraction to you either, but when you planted a kiss on me, I started to think about you in a different way. Since then I’ve realized that I was just flattered with the attention. You’re clearly not girlfriend material. No hard feelings?” Barry asked, sincerely not upset with Marlee’s lack of interest in him and not realizing what a land mine he had just stepped in.

  “What do you mean you’re not attracted to me? Are you gay?” Marlee was incredulous. Not that she was a man-magnet, but she assumed a guy like Barry would be thrilled to go out with her. He was the male version of a Plain Jane and not all that bright. On a scale of 1 to 10, he was barely a 5, while she considered herself a solid 7.

  “No, I’m not gay! Just because a guy isn’t into you doesn’t mean he’s gay. Jeez, you have some ego!” Now Barry had adopted an attitude and was showing it.

  She needed to walk a tightrope to get herself out of this mess. “No, of course you’re not gay. I was just joking. At least we’re in agreement that we’re not meant to be a couple. That takes a lot of pressure off, and now we can focus on finding Tim.”

  Barry took a deep breath, no doubt trying to figure out what Marlee meant. He must have come to the conclusion that all was good, because he launched into cop mode. “That’s what we came over here to talk to you about: Tim.”

  “What is it? Did you find him?” Marlee asked.

  “No, but we found his dog,” Barry said, lowering his tone to a level that Marlee knew suggested bad news.

  “Where? Is Rufus okay?” Marlee asked, tears already welling in her eyes.

  “The dog was found on the outskirts of town, not too far from the truck stop. He had a broken neck and was left in a ditch,” Barry said.

  “Somebody killed Tim’s dog?” Marlee could not believe her ears. “Why would anyone break a dog’s neck?”

  “We don’t have any other information yet. The dog was dead when a farmer called it in,” Barry reported.

  “Any sign of Tim? Do you think someone killed him too?” Marlee was beside herself with worry as she thought about Tim and his dog dragged out to the edge of town and killed.

  “No, we didn’t find any sign of Tim. Firefighters didn’t find any bodies in Stairway to Hell when they searched today. There was nothing to suggest Tim was anywhere near the dog. In fact, we suspect Rufus ran away when the fire started. As soon as someone opened the door, he probably bolted and ran. Then somebody found Rufus and killed him,” Barry said, emotion creeped into his voice, suggesting he had a soft spot for dogs.

  “What kind of pond scum would hurt a dog?”
Marlee asked. “That’s just disgusting. I think they should be arrested.”

  “Agreed, but the killing of a dog isn’t going to take precedence over anything else, especially when we have a missing person and an unexplained house fire,” Barry said.

  Jasmine’s giggles reappeared, and soon she and Doug were arm-in-arm back at the room. Since she was in such a good mood, Marlee figured Doug hadn’t dropped any of the bad news on her. “I showed Doug all around the dorm,” Jasmine said with a little laugh.

  “Including the laundry room?” Marlee snarked, knowing that’s where people went to make out when they couldn’t stay in their dorm room. Plus, the RAs never went down there, so it was a good hiding spot when those in the female wing of the dorm had male friends over for a visit.

  Choosing to ignore Marlee’s remark, Jasmine pulled Doug into the room and pushed him down on her chair and snuggled up into his lap. Marlee was appalled. Jasmine barely knew this guy, who, although he seemed harmless enough, was still virtually a stranger to them.

  Realizing that Jasmine really didn’t care to hear anything about Tim while Doug was in the room, Marlee kept mum until the cops left. They were gone exactly thirty seconds when Marlee said, “Rufus was found dead on the edge of town. The cops still don’t know where Tim is yet. But maybe you don’t care anymore now that you have a boyfriend.”

  “Jealous?” Jasmine spat back, not appreciating Marlee’s bitterness.

  Marlee was contrite, realizing that her roommate was capable of having more than one area of interest at one time. “Sorry, Jazz, but you seem more interested in your love life than finding out about Tim.”

  “Of course I care about Tim. And I can’t believe Rufus was found dead. Who did it?” Jasmine, who had already forgiven Marlee’s brashness, sat on the edge of the chair.

  “The cops think Rufus ran out of the house as soon as someone opened the door after the fire started. They don’t have a theory on who broke his neck or why,” Marlee said, knowing in her heart that there was a special place in hell for people who hurt cats and dogs.

  “Well, the good thing is we know Tim didn’t burn in the fire. Do the cops have any clue as to where he might be?” Jasmine asked.

  “Nope. No ideas at all.” Marlee was perplexed. Tim was a hometown boy and had lived here all his life. No doubt, he had friends and relatives who might have taken him in if he showed up on their doorsteps. “I wonder if he’s staying with a relative or a high school classmate.”

  “But they would know Tim’s house burnt down and that the police were looking for him, wouldn’t they?” Jasmine queried.

  “The fire has been on the news, but I don’t recall hearing anything about Tim’s disappearance,” Marlee said. “Maybe the cops are keeping that secret.”

  “Why? Because they think Tim set the fire?” Jasmine asked, confused as to where the conversation was headed. “They don’t suspect him, do they?”

  “No! I mean, I don’t think so. Barry never said anything at all about Tim being a suspect.” Now that she thought about it, it seemed odd that Tim’s name had never come up as a potential arsonist.

  “I don’t think Tim started his own house on fire and killed his own dog. That’s too ridiculous to even consider. I mean, what would be his motive for doing either of those things?” Jasmine asked.

  “Tim didn’t have a motive. I can’t believe he would set his own home on fire and leave his roommates to die. The only way it’s possible that he set the fire is by accident. And then he left the house, maybe because he was still delirious from his fall down the stairs. There’s no way in hell I believe he killed his own dog. You saw him with Rufus. He loved that dog. Even Adam said so. Besides, even if he did kill his dog, why would Tim take Rufus to the outskirts of town and kill him there?” Marlee asked.

  Shaking her head back and forth and shrugging at the same time, Jasmine picked up her shower caddy and went to the restroom shared by that wing of the first floor. When she came back, freshly washed and with minty-fresh breath, she had a smile on her face.

  “Out with it! I can tell you’re dying to tell me all about Doug,” Marlee said with a grin, no longer irritated or jealous of her roommate.

  “First of all, he said to tell you that he’s only twenty-eight, and he shaves his head on purpose. He’s so nice. We walked around and talked. He asked me all kinds of questions about myself. Most guys just want to talk about themselves, so that was really cool. And we like the same kind of music. I think I might be in love!” Jasmine gushed as she continued on with Doug’s many attributes.

  “Don’t start the wedding planning yet. You just met a few hours ago, and you’ve only had one conversation,” Marlee warned, afraid her roommate was going to fall head over heels with the cop.

  “I won’t, but if we get married, do you want to be my maid of honor?” Jasmine asked with a straight face. After seeing Marlee’s shocked expression, she broke out into a fit of laughter. “Puh-leez!”

  “Whew, I was afraid you were going to pick out your wedding dress tomorrow,” Marlee said with relief.

  “Hey, I don’t fall for every guy that shows me a little bit of attention,” Jasmine said with a huff.

  “If you say so,” Marlee said with a wink and a grin, which prompted Jasmine to burst into a fit of laughter.

  I don’t have many friends. The people I allow into my life tend to stick around for a long time. Unless they betray me.

  Chapter 15

  Vomiting was not an option. Marlee sat behind the hard wooden desk in the second row of her western civilizations class and tried not to fall on the floor. She wasn’t feeling up to par when she left the dorm that morning, but chalked it up to lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and spending too much time out in the cold. It was midway through the boring history lecture when she realized she might have a stomach bug.

  The journey back to the dorm took forever, even though it was usually a ten-minute walk. She barely made it through class without getting sick, but was not so lucky on her walk home. Water gushed from the sides of her mouth, a sure sign she was going to puke. As she passed the administration building, she stuck her head in the leafless brown bushes and barfed until she saw stars.

  “Whoa! Looks like you partied too hard last night,” said Paul, the guy she had been crushing on for weeks. He looked sexy as ever with his pegged acid-wash jeans and a lined jean jacket.

  She stood upright and wiped her mouth, trying to pull off an air of nonchalance. “Yeah, it was a huge party last night.” Marlee attempted a smile as she walked away. She would rather be known as someone who drank too much at a party than a person who was about to shit her pants from the bug she had contracted.

  Once she got back to the dorm, Marlee was surprised to find Jasmine in a similar state. “What the hell happened? Who gave us the flu?” Jasmine asked.

  “I don’t know, but when I find out, I’m going to punch them,” Marlee said, after her third trip to the bathroom. “I’m not even going to attempt getting into bed again in case I have to rush back to the bathroom. I’ll just lay here in my beach chair.”

  “What about me? I can’t go back up to my bed either, and I don’t want to lay on the bare floor,” Jasmine whined, looking forlorn and even more helpless than Marlee felt.

  “Take your blankets from your bed and make a cushion out of them on the floor. It won’t be so bad,” Marlee said, trying to get in a comfortable position.

  The remainder of the day and through the night was spent drinking 7-Up, making frequent trips to the bathroom, and avoiding everyone in the dorm. By the next morning, both roommates were feeling somewhat better. Neither had vomited in the past few hours, and the body aches had subsided.

  “I don’t think I should go to class,” Jasmine said in a faint whisper, as she lay on her pile of blankets on the floor. “I’m just too weak.”

  “Me too,” Marlee agreed. “I wouldn’t want to give the flu to someone else, so it’s probably best not to go to classes today.”


  The roommates spent the day in their pajamas, eating food they asked Kristie from next door to retrieve for them from the cafeteria and talking about Tim’s disappearance. “Even if Tim was out of his head from the fall, he would’ve come to his senses by now, wouldn’t he?” Jasmine asked as she chowed down on a thick slice of banana bread slathered with margarine.

  “Either that or whomever he’s staying with would have taken him to the emergency room,” Marlee added. She slurped chicken noodle soup straight from the plastic take-out container, not bothering with a spoon.

  “Unless…,” Jasmine let the thought hang in the air without continuing her thought.

  “Let’s not even think about Tim being dead. I think he’s alive and well and at a friend or relative’s house trying to recover from his head injury. The police keep checking the hospital, so we know he’s not there,” Marlee said.

  “But are they checking any other hospitals other than the one here in town?” Jasmine asked.

  “Why would Tim be in a hospital out of town? That doesn’t make any sense,” Marlee chastised.

  “None of this makes any sense,” Jasmine snapped.

  “You know, you might be right,” Marlee said as she thought more about the situation. “If Tim was walking and was out of his head, someone might have picked him up and driven him to a hospital in another town.”

  “Or maybe Tim was kidnapped,” Jasmine said.

  Marlee broke out into a laugh. “Why would Tim be kidnapped? He wasn’t well-off, so I doubt there would be any money to pay ransom. He was just a regular broke college student. And who would want to kidnap him?” She shook her head as she continued to laugh at the prospect.

  “I thought we were just throwing out ideas. I didn’t know I was going to be judged by the high court,” Jasmine huffed.

  “You’re right. No judgment. We should just list all possible ideas, no matter how outlandish,” Marlee said in an attempt to placate her roommate. “I know some of my ideas are out there too. Let’s go through every possible scenario we can think of.”