Murder in the Theater (Cold Creek Book 4)

by Christa Nardi

  “Once suicide was ruled out, the Police Chief was concerned, based solely on the location mind you, of a possible hate crime with the assumption of homophobia as the motive. Although Virginia’s hate crime law doesn’t specify sexual orientation as protected under the law, he was concerned with the possible flack.”

  “Oh my gosh! That was Max’s theory! So stereotypical. Wait, what do you mean it isn’t covered?”

  “Virginia law only considers motivation based on bias against race, religious conviction, color, or national origin as hate crimes. It’s the same in many states. The Chief was covering his backside though the conservative politicians wouldn’t care about a hate crime based on sexual orientation. A moot point now as that’s been ruled out as the motive.”

  Retorts to such a law popped into my head, but I refrained. Although I had many more questions about the murder and Marty’s nephew, out of deference to Marty I opted to hold them until later. He stared blankly and then put his head in his hands. He was not in a good place.

  “Marty, can I call Kim and have her come over? She’s worried about you. I think she’d want to be here for you.”

  He nodded without looking up. With a quick glance between the two I ducked into the kitchen to call Kim. I didn’t hear either man say a word while I called her. I didn’t tell her much other than to come over, just Marty needed her.

  I brought the bottle of wine, a glass for Kim, and a plate of cheese and crackers back with me. Food and drink provided a distraction for a few minutes, especially when Charlie and Brett both reached for the plate at the same time and it sailed into the air, food flying everywhere. Even Marty cracked a fleeting smile and helped clean up the mess along with Brett, Charlie, and me.

  Kim arrived and I asked Brett to help me clean up in the kitchen so she and Marty could talk. Charlie needed to be fed and Brett volunteered to take her out in the backyard. They were still out in the yard when Kim came into the kitchen.

  “Sher, is it okay if we leave Marty’s car here? I’m going to take him home.”

  I nodded. “As long as he’s not blocking either of our cars, no problem.”

  She gave me a hug and I followed her. I hugged Marty and they left. Brett came in with Charlie as they drove off. He looked spent and we didn’t discuss the case anymore. He complimented me on dinner and had a bowl of the fruit salad. Beyond that he didn’t say a word.

  Questions bounced in my head, but it was obvious he needed his space and sleep. I cleaned up the kitchen and put everything away. My mind reeled with the tension and the flack that would come with a student arrested for the murder.

  CHAPTER 5

  I was lucky to grab the last of the Cold Creek Gazettes in the office. The arrest of a Cold Creek College student for murder was the headline. I’d read the article online already but wanted it handy. Needless to say, this was all anyone talked about. In Georg’s Café, in the halls, everyone, everywhere. Sooner or later, Joe would be on campus to interview people and generally make a pest of himself.

  Some, like Max, already speculated sexual orientation was the motivation based solely on the theater location. Others were aghast a Cold Creek College student could kill someone with no mention of the victim or the motive.

  My office phone rang as I unlocked the door even though I was at work earlier than usual. It was Tonya, the administrative assistant for the new Chancellor, Ryder Colbert. Tonya relayed his request I keep his office informed of any news on the murder and the student who was arrested. Parents had already begun to call to question decisions on admission. After all, there had to be a flaw in the process if a murderer was admitted.

  I shook my head and wondered why Colbert would think I would know more than he would when the murder investigation was in Altavista. Compared to me, he had much higher level political connections. I suggested Tonya bookmark the story and request alerts, then assured her I would keep the Chancellor’s office appraised of our efforts to contain any concerns.

  I no sooner ended the call and Grant marched into my office to find out what the crisis team was doing. All I could say was I’d get back to him. This wasn’t the kind of crisis we planned for or envisioned. I emailed Kim and Mitch so we could brainstorm. Both arrived at my office within minutes.

  Kim looked better than the day before, but not great. She sat down with a shake of her head.

  “For the next day or so at least, there won’t be much else anyone will be talking about.” Mitch sat in the last chair not filled with papers as he stated the obvious.

  “Grant’s not the only one who wants us to do something. The Chancellor’s office called this morning.”

  Mitch sat up and leaned toward me. I related my conversation with Colbert’s assistant. As I did, I flashed back to the previous Chancellor and my assignment to create a training module on sexual harassment. We discussed the possible issues of this very different situation.

  “The crisis plan says we set up sites for students seeking counseling or support, but was intended for suicide prevention or for a major incident on campus, like a shooting. I know the big wigs and parents see this as a crisis. It’s obviously a crisis for those directly involved, it’s just not the kind of crisis our plans are for.” Kim shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

  “Having plans only makes people feel good,” responded Mitch with his usual skepticism. He continued, “We probably have to play it by ear. It may all blow over in a day or two, especially if they decide they arrested the wrong person. I guess we need to come up with a plan in the meantime to keep everyone happy. It will make them feel like we are doing something.” Mitch’s voice relayed his obvious resignation and dismay.

  “You’re right, Mitch. So we stress safe practices and prompt students and faculty to travel in pairs?”

  Kim nodded her head at my suggestion, as simple and ineffective as it was.

  “I’ll pull up the flyer on safety and security and send it out.” We had developed flyers to communicate information for various crisis situations. Although the safety one was intended for an on-campus shooting, it was the closest fit for this situation.

  Kim nodded agreement. Mitch shrugged and teased, “So is your friend Brett going to be around?”

  I nodded and smiled, but with mixed emotions. Kim tensed up. At Mitch’s raised brows, she explained Marty’s nephew was the student arrested for the murder. I added Brett was part of the investigation.

  “Somehow, Sheridan, I knew you’d end up in the middle of this mess. Now, you too, Kim.”

  Mitch looked from Kim to me and exhaled. When he spoke again, his tone was thoughtful and subdued.

  “Sticky situation when you mix jobs with friendships and family. Marty’s not Isaac’s attorney is he? He’s too close to the situation.”

  “Isaac called him right away so he was there from the start. He can’t not be part of it now. But he realized he was too close and not able to think logically about the case. He asked Zachery Mendelson to be first chair and handle most of the defense. Marty’ll stay on as second chair. His sister doesn’t quite get it though and is on his case. She hasn’t seen the toll this is taking on Marty.” Kim shook her head and gazed at the floor. I squeezed her clenched hands.

  Mitch nodded. “Good choice. Mendelson’s a good attorney.”

  Silence fell and not a comfortable one. I kicked them both out, sent the safety in numbers information sheet via email, and notified Grant as well as Tonya in the Chancellor’s office we had taken action. Armed with a fresh cup of coffee, I went to my senior seminar.

  The seminar was in a small room, with cushiony chairs arranged like a parlor. It was one of my favorite rooms, very comfortable. It was a small class, all seniors and they were all abuzz when I walked in. They got quiet as I sat down.

  “Good afternoon.” I asked. It occurred to me their comments could help gauge how students were dealing with the situation. “What’s all the conversation about?”

  “We were talking about the student arrested for mur
der. It’s hard to imagine a fellow student as a killer,” Wesley offered.

  Chandler nodded agreement. With only 1500 students on campus, the student community was small. Because they were all seniors and psychology majors while Isaac was a sophomore and in Fine Arts, he probably wouldn’t have been in any of their classes. Even if they didn’t know Isaac personally, they likely had seen him in the common areas like the quad, student union, or rec center. Or they might have seen him perform in a Fine Arts production.

  “Dr. Hendley, are you involved again?” Chandler asked.

  I smiled at the “again” and answered, “I don’t know any more than you do at this point. This happened in Altavista, so the police up there will handle it.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and added, “Drs. Pennzel, Pilsner and I will be available to any students who are feeling anxious or need some support. You’ll find an email with suggestions for safety in your inbox.”

  It was the same refrain each time anything happened on campus. A few of them nodded. They didn’t seem distressed, more curious than anything else. I waited a few seconds and said, “I think the topic for today is generating research questions.”

  We discussed the differing approaches and the associated hypotheses. The hour went by quickly. I caught snippets of conversation as I left the room. The students wasted no time returning to their discussion of the student arrested for murder. The tone again was more of surprise than fear.

  Back in my office, I checked the alerts. The story was updated now to include information on William – Will – Thompson. Married, with two children, he was a civil servant with the town of Altavista on the Planning Commission and, as indicated on the website, the Chair and Director of the Community Theater. No mention of visitation or memorial or other family members or where he was from before Altavista. It was rather stark for someone actively involved in the community.

  An easy escape from the tasks I chose to avoid, I googled Isaac’s name. Like Thompson, he had a website but understandably for his age a shorter list of credits. He performed in one musical, “Oklahoma” at the Altavista Community Theater last year. His other performances were also musicals in high school. A part in “A Christmas Carol” was a deviation from this pattern.

  A band, “The Dynamites,” was mentioned, accompanied by a picture of four males with one female. They all looked around the same age and they were all smiling or laughing. No costumes, the five wore faded jeans with frayed slits and tee-shirts. His current status showed him as a sophomore in Fine Arts at Cold Creek College. Administration would not be happy about that information posted on his website.

  In his professional photos, his dark hair hit his collar, but wasn’t unruly. His smile was infectious and his eyes twinkled. His broad shoulders suggested he used the rec center or belonged to a gym somewhere. Overall, he had a wholesome look about him – the young man you’d want a daughter to bring home, not a murderer.

  I contemplated flipping back to Thompson’s site or checking on other social networks for either of them. Unfortunately, my work ethic kicked in and I attacked the papers and quizzes. As the semester winded down, each week the stack grew.

  CHAPTER 6

  “Sheridan, do you have a few minutes?” Kim still looked tense and her voice was low, almost a whisper. I waved her into my office, closed the door, and waited.

  “I… I need your help. Marty asked me to help him with Isaac’s case, help him interview some of the theater people in Altavista tomorrow. You know, find out what I can from actors and others like you did with Zoe’s case. He seems to think I know how to do that from hanging out with you. I don’t want to disappoint him.”

  My expression must have clued her to my conflicting reactions. She raised her hand before she continued.

  “We both understand it’d be awkward for you to help Marty with Brett on the case. So I need some tips and guidance, and you don’t have to get involved.”

  She nodded her head and sat back, her speech finished. She pressed her lips together to restrain her smile.

  I wondered how long she’d worked on the last part. Kim was my closest friend and had to know taking a backseat in a mystery was not going to happen. I opened my mouth to respond and tried not to laugh.

  “Kim, first of all, you’re a good therapist and understand as well as I do how to get people to open up to you.”

  I shrugged my shoulders and added, “That’s all I do. I’ll see what Brett has to say. Any way I can help and still keep peace…”

  She relaxed a bit and her lips twitched as she contained her excitement or at least tried to. “So, where do I start? What do I need to do first?”

  “Brett hasn’t shared anything about the case. How did Thompson die? What is the evidence against Isaac? What do they think was the motive? Who else had a motive?” I rattled off questions as they popped into my head.

  Kim jumped out of her chair. “I’m on it. Newspapers and social media should have some of the information. Marty can fill in the rest. At least I’ll feel like I’m doing something to help and prepare for those interviews. Thanks, Sher.”

  I grabbed her arm as she tried to dash out the door.

  “How is Marty doing?”

  Her shoulders slumped.

  “He was exhausted, physically and emotionally. His sister badgers him as if it’s his fault Isaac was arrested. I finally turned his phone off last night once he’d fallen asleep. He met with Mendelson this morning and asked me to help with the interviews. I haven’t heard anything else from him but maybe I can come up with something on my own. He hasn’t said much. I think he’s in shock.”

  With that she turned and left. Her straight back and marching step echoed her determination. I exhaled and considered how to broach this with Brett.

  Brett was at the house when I got home. He didn’t seem as tense as the night before and his jaw relaxed as he cooked dinner. Charlie sat at his feet in hopes of dropped crumbs or, better yet, a bite of the meat. We fell into the rhythm of the activity, avoiding any conversation about the murder.

  “Did you find out any more about the holiday plans? Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away.”

  “Nope. I’ll try to call Victoria tonight. We’d agreed Maddie would alternate holidays between us, but you know how that goes.”

  He sighed and asked, “Anything exciting happen on campus today?”

  “Not really. As you might expect, lots of conversation about Isaac – mostly the disbelief a Cold Creek College student was arrested for murder.”

  Brett nodded and raised one eyebrow. “Did you see Kim or Marty?”

  I smiled and nodded.

  “Of course I saw Kim. I work with her. Kim, Mitch, and I had to come up with a plan even though all the action is in Altavista. But no, I didn’t see Marty. Did you?”

  He shook his head, his eyes gray and dark.

  “I like Marty. I respect him. It makes this whole thing worse. Bad enough Thompson was young, and his wife and children… Then to have the prime suspect Marty’s nephew was too much.”

  I nodded and waited, not sure when would be the right time to bring up my involvement.

  “Remember when we met? Adam’s murder?”

  Brett smiled, dimples popped, and his eyes twinkled. Then his brows knitted together and his jaw clenched. “Of course I remember. What does that have to do with this case, Sher?”

  “That was your case too, right?” I paused and waited for his nod before I continued. “Kim was your major suspect and my close friend. I asked questions and made connections that helped?”

  Brett leaned back and tilted his head, his jaw set. “I’m thinking I am not going to be happy with where this is going, but go ahead.”

  I took a deep breath and worked at keeping a calm voice. “Marty asked Kim to find out what she could about Isaac and Thompson. Kim asked me for help, like to coach her. That’s not really going to work. It’s not my style.”

  Now it was Brett’s term to draw a deep breath. “No, that’s
not your style. And both Kim and Marty know that as well as I do. Kim, even more.”

  “So… Are you okay with this? I’ll only be asking questions, trying to show Isaac is innocent. You know, I’ll talk to his friends, people at the theater. See what they know.” I nodded my head and smiled. My hope was he would buy into my plan.

  “And what are you going to do with the information you and Kim gather?” His eyes narrowed as he leaned forward.

  Stupid, I’m not. He was asking where my loyalties lay, with him or with Marty. Without hesitation, I answered, “Both you and Marty. The connections I uncover would be important regardless of the outcome.”

  He nodded. “You’ll have to be sure Marty understands that. And you need to understand I won’t be able to add anything to your information.”

  After a pause, he nodded and his lips twitched. “This arrangement may work.”

  “What do you mean?” He’d given in a little too easily and I was about to find out why.

  “Today, I got a list of Isaac’s classes and tried to talk to faculty.”

  He raked his hand through his curly hair. Before he said another word, I knew he hadn’t gotten very far. He’d started with the faculty in the Fine Arts Department and Isaac’s advisor. No one was particularly talkative or forthcoming one way or the other. He described them as defensive.

  Some of the faculty blatantly embraced an alternative lifestyle. Brett wasn’t sure if that explained their defensiveness or not. Although it was originally feared the murder had homophobia at the root, there was nothing to corroborate that theory. There was no indication either Thompson or Isaac was gay.

  He handed me the list he’d put together. As I looked at the list, the name Julien Gorganz jumped out at me. He was also on the Board for the Community Theater and could be the “Jule” who responded to Thompson’s blog.

  “What are you nodding your head at, Sher?”

  “Did you talk with this Julien Gorganz?”