Death With Dostoevsky

by Katherine Bolger Hyde

  ‘And where did you go then?’

  ‘I went to my dorm and to bed. I’m not one of these night owls who can stay up to all hours. I need my beauty sleep.’ He made an attempt at a jocular grin.

  ‘Can anyone confirm that?’

  Once again Sidney licked his lips. ‘I’m afraid not. I went straight to my room and didn’t run into anyone else.’

  Emily fidgeted, knowing that from here on Colin would be flying without a net. They had no witnesses to confirm that Sidney had been anywhere other than his dorm from eleven o’clock on – except the one student who had seen the two men crossing Eliot Circle over half an hour later, but she would not be able to swear to Sidney’s identity. And the lab work to confirm that the blood on the coverall belonged to Taylor Curzon would take some time.

  If only Emily and Colin had had more time to talk about Sidney’s psychology, his motivation for the crime. She might have been able to give Colin clues about how to approach this next bit, how to hit Sidney where he was most vulnerable to shake him off his guard. She doubted whether Colin had sufficient experience to guide him in the right direction. He would have to trust to his instincts.

  And perhaps to a bit of subterfuge. ‘The thing is, we have a witness who saw you out and about later on. At’ – again, Colin consulted his notes – ‘eleven thirty-five, as near as she could place it. Crossing Eliot Circle toward Vollum. With Daniel.’

  Sidney’s mouth fell open. With painful slowness he closed it and swallowed. ‘More water?’ he croaked.

  ‘Maybe later. Would you like to explain what you were really doing in those missing thirty-five minutes?’

  Sidney’s eyes darted around the room, as if he were searching for answers in the texture of the paint on the walls. ‘I … oh, I remember, when I left Daniel I decided to go looking for Svetlana. Daniel seemed to be in pretty bad shape, but he wouldn’t let me take him to his room. I thought Svetlana might be able to persuade him.’

  ‘And did you find her?’

  ‘No. She was out. Maybe went somewhere with her dad.’

  ‘Mr Goldstein told us he had an early night that night. And the hotel staff where he’s staying confirmed it. No mention of Svetlana being with him.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know where she was, do I? The library, maybe.’ For the first time a hint of annoyance crept into Sidney’s tone. Perhaps this was the initial sign of a crack in his façade.

  ‘Anybody confirm this version of your story? Run into anyone at Svetlana’s dorm?’

  ‘No. Her roommate was out too, or at least didn’t answer the door. I suppose all the other good little girls were asleep.’

  ‘Right. So you didn’t find Svetlana. Then what did you do?’

  ‘I went back to the Paradox. I thought maybe if I couldn’t get Daniel to go to his own room, I could persuade him to come back to mine, where I could keep an eye on him. He didn’t look as if he should be left alone.’

  ‘I see. And he agreed to this?’

  ‘Well, I told him a tiny fib. I said we were going to the library to look for Svetlana.’

  ‘You left the Paradox at eleven and presumably came back for Daniel at eleven-thirty, or thereabouts. Svetlana’s room is in the Old Dorm Block, right across the quad from the Paradox. It took you half an hour to go there and back?’

  Another swallow. ‘No, of course not. But it took me a while to persuade Daniel to come with me. And then we had to move pretty slowly – he was leaning on me with most of his weight. And I’m not all that strong – I lift books, not barbells.’ A deprecatory smile with a hint of pride behind it. Like Cecil in A Room with a View, Sidney no doubt gloried in being ‘a chap who is no good for anything but books.’

  Colin did not look convinced. ‘So Daniel spent the night in your room?’

  ‘Ah – no. After we passed the library entrance, he sort of woke up and demanded to know where we were going. I admitted I was taking him to my dorm, but he shook me off and headed in the opposite direction. I guess he went home to bed.’ A feral grin. ‘Or back to Vollum to commit a murder.’

  All this would be impossible to disprove, and Emily had to admit it was just as plausible as her own theory about how Sidney had committed the crime – in other words, only barely. But she was sure in her bones that Sidney was lying about everything except what he knew others had witnessed – and about the reasons even for that.

  Time for the psychological approach. Emily crossed herself with a prayer for wisdom for Colin – the wisdom of the serpent, to match Sidney’s own.

  Colin leaned back in his chair, as if to suggest the serious part of the interview was over – they were just chatting now. Sidney’s posture relaxed fractionally in response.

  ‘You seem to have been awfully concerned about Daniel’s welfare.’

  A bright smile. ‘Of course. He’s my best friend.’

  Colin raised one eyebrow. ‘Really? That’s not what he says. I believe he referred to you as’ – Colin pretended to consult his notes – ‘a nuisance. And a creepy nuisance, at that.’ He flipped a page. ‘Ah yes, here it is. He said you were a leech.’

  Sidney’s nostrils flared. ‘I don’t believe you. Daniel would never say that.’

  Colin shrugged. ‘Believe what you want. But he said it. Pretty emphatically, as I recall.’

  Sidney’s mouth worked, as if words were fighting each other inside it. His eyes stared past the two policemen at some scene playing out in his own mind. ‘That Judas. After all I’ve done for him. How could he?’

  ‘Just what have you done for him?’

  Sidney’s breath came labored. ‘Stood up for him with Curzon. Even tried to get her to focus on me instead of him. And when that didn’t work …’ A smile of genuine self-satisfaction spread across Sidney’s face. ‘I solved his problem for him. Made it completely go away.’

  ‘What problem?’

  ‘Curzon. I made Curzon go away.’ He sat back in his chair and snapped his fingers. ‘Just like that.’

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Sidney clammed up after that; Colin couldn’t get another word out of him. He simply sat there, his eerie smile fixed on his face like a rigor mortis grin.

  ‘Never mind,’ Colin said to Emily after the uniformed officer had taken Sidney away to a cell. He went docilely, not seeming to notice what was happening to him. ‘That last admission was near enough to a confession to be going on with. We’ll get the full story out of him sooner or later. Meanwhile, I’d love to release Daniel right away, but I’m afraid it will have to wait for morning for all the paperwork. Be tough to get him home tonight, anyway.’

  Emily nodded. ‘Speaking of getting home …’

  Colin clapped his hand to his forehead. ‘Shoot, that’s right! You came with me. Well, I guess we’ll have to brave it. I don’t want you to have to spend the night in a holding cell. I’ve done it once or twice in a pinch – believe me, comfortable they’re not.’

  ‘You know what, I don’t want to make that drive any more than you do. I’ll just get a room in a downtown hotel. Then you’ll only have to drive me a few blocks.’

  Colin’s face brightened. ‘Do you mind? That would be terrific. Only I’m not sure I can get the department to pay for it – you are here sort of unofficially, after all.’

  ‘Don’t worry about that. I can afford it.’ She smiled. ‘I think I’ll go to the Benson, if they have a room open. I’ve always wanted to stay there but never had an excuse before.’

  ‘Perfect. Then I can let Goldstein and Douglas Curzon know they’re free to leave town. As soon as the weather clears, at least.’

  She called ahead, not wanting to risk Colin having to drive to another hotel if the Benson was full. The desk clerk demurred at first, but Colin got on the line and lent his authority to the request and the clerk finally admitted that they could find Emily a room. ‘All we have is a suite on the tenth floor,’ he said. ‘I’m afraid it’s rather pricey.’ He named a figure, and Emily flinched. Her old average-income sensibili
ties were still with her.

  But she reminded herself that she was wealthy now. ‘That will be fine,’ she said. ‘Is it possible to purchase necessities in the hotel? I got trapped downtown unexpectedly – I don’t have any luggage.’

  ‘Of course. The room is stocked with basic toiletries, bathrobes, and a hair dryer, and the hotel shop has anything else you might need.’

  Colin got her to the hotel safely and escorted her to her room, since Douglas’s and Goldstein’s rooms were on the same floor. She was still admiring all the suite’s amenities – including what would have been an impressive view of downtown had she been able to see past the snow – when she heard a soft tap at the door. Assuming it was Colin with a last check-in, she opened the door with a smile, then was startled to see Douglas Curzon standing before her.

  He gave a sheepish smile. ‘Now that you know I’m not a murderer, could I possibly persuade you to have dinner with me? I promise to behave like a perfect gentleman.’

  Emily hesitated, but in truth she had no wish to spend the entire evening alone. The specter of Sidney’s madly fixed smile still haunted her. And now that she thought about it, she was starving – it was well past her normal dinner hour. ‘Will you promise to moderate your wine consumption as well?’

  ‘Certainly. That won’t be difficult now that the stress of being a suspect is past. In fact, callous as it may seem, now that the immediate shock of Taylor’s death is past also, I feel a bit like celebrating. I’m a free man at last.’

  Emily grabbed her purse, and as she closed the door behind her, Douglas added, ‘Oh, and did I tell you? I got my painting back! The police found it for me, of all things. You’ll never guess where.’

  Emily had a sudden inspiration. ‘On the back of the icon in her office?’

  His face fell. ‘How did you know? That’s exactly right. The witch had cut the painting out of its frame and stapled it to the back of her contraband icon. Nothing was sacred to that woman.’

  ‘I’m so glad you got it back. But I’m even more glad that once the police have finished with it, the icon will be returned to where it belongs – in a church somewhere in Russia.’ At least, she hoped that would be its ultimate fate.

  Once they were settled in the restaurant and had placed their orders, Douglas said, ‘Can you tell me anything about this person they’ve arrested?’

  Colin hadn’t said anything about confidentiality. She supposed at this point it couldn’t hurt. ‘He’s another of Taylor’s students. Sidney Sharpe.’

  Light dawned in Douglas’s eyes. ‘Odd-looking sort of chap, dresses more like a stereotypical professor than a student?’

  ‘That’s the one. Did you meet him?’

  ‘Not to say meet, but I did see him exiting Taylor’s office as I was about to enter it. The Friday before the murder.’ He colored deeply. ‘She taunted me with him, in fact. Said I stood no higher in her estimation than he did, in … one particular respect.’

  Emily graciously avoided probing him on that issue. ‘Did you get the impression Sidney had just been … shall we say, proposing himself as a replacement for Daniel?’

  ‘I did indeed. And she had laughed him out of the room.’

  ‘Did you mention this to the police?’

  ‘No. It didn’t seem relevant, since it happened several days before the murder.’

  ‘It does contribute to establishing his motive, though. Colin may want you to add that to your statement before you leave town.’

  Douglas gave a resigned sigh. ‘No rest for the wicked. Oh well, it looks like I may be trapped here for at least another day, anyway, with all this snow.’ He looked meditatively out the window, then asked, ‘Do you suppose that was young Sharpe’s entire motive? That she had rejected him?’

  ‘Not really. I think it was a great deal more complicated than that. Are you familiar with The Brothers Karamazov?’

  ‘I’ve read it. Some years ago at this point.’

  ‘I think Sidney was a sort of Smerdyakov to Daniel’s Ivan.’

  Douglas’s eyebrows rose. ‘Indeed? So you believe he killed Taylor because he thought Daniel wanted him to?’

  ‘Something like that. Only he also tried to frame Daniel for the murder, so clearly his motivation was more convoluted. This afternoon I caught him making a pass at Daniel’s girlfriend. I think on some level he was trying to take over Daniel’s life.’

  Douglas blinked. ‘That sounds … rather mad.’

  ‘I think he is mad. And I’m quite relieved that he is now in custody, where he can’t hurt anyone else.’

  ‘Thanks largely to you, it seems.’ He raised his wine glass toward her. ‘To the smartest and most beautiful lady detective I know.’

  Emily acknowledged both compliments with downcast eyes. ‘And I propose that for the rest of this meal we forgo all further talk of murder.’ She gave him a stern glance. ‘And all personal compliments.’

  He grinned. ‘Agreed.’

  Emily spent the night in luxury that surpassed even that of Windy Corner – soaking in a hot Jacuzzi with a glass of champagne and a box of fine chocolates at her side, dressing in the filmy negligée she’d chosen from the hotel gift shop (which after this she intended to save for her honeymoon), and sinking into a bed that seemed entirely composed of down.

  Before surrendering to sleep, she called Luke. Not only did she want him to know everything that had happened and how much cause he had to be proud of his nephew, but she needed to process the whole course of events by talking it through with someone who had not been directly involved.

  When she finished her recital, he said, ‘You know, I’m actually glad it turned out not to be McClintock. I couldn’t help but feel you were beating a dead horse on that one. I mean, if you’d had a chance to put away the guy who really assaulted you all those years ago, that would have been one thing. But to take it out on somebody who just reminds you of him – you’re better than that, Em. That would have haunted you for a long time.’

  Emily bridled. ‘I would never have tried to pin a murder on an innocent man.’

  ‘I’m not saying you would, and I doubt Colin would have gone along with it anyway. I’m just saying you might have felt that way – you would have blamed yourself for letting your feelings cloud your judgment. And for gloating over your enemy’s downfall. This way, all that doesn’t arise.’

  Luke knew her so well. ‘Yes, it is better this way as far as I’m concerned. It looks like I will have a chance to gloat over Richard’s downfall, though. But for something he really did. Taylor’s accusation of plagiarism was for real. Marguerite and I got the evidence from the student involved, and she’s taking it to the review board. Richard will be out on his ear.’

  ‘Win-win, then. You’ll never have to see him again. You and I can bury those old memories together.’

  ‘Amen to that.’

  Emily awoke late, refreshed and lightened by the knowledge that an innocent young man had been vindicated, largely by her efforts, and would soon be restored to his home and the woman he loved. The fact that a guilty young man would soon meet his well-deserved fate gave her no joy at all.

  She was still wearing the cushy-soft hotel bathrobe and breakfasting on strawberries and a fresh croissant – along with a bit more champagne – when Colin called. ‘Daniel’s being processed out right now, and I’m going to drive him home. I thought you might want to come along, if you’re ready.’

  Emily looked around the beautiful room with a sigh. Her house on Woodstock would seem like Raskolnikov’s garret compared with this. It would be so nice to linger until checkout time. She could always get a cab home.

  But Daniel would be shattered after his time in jail. He would need a friendly face and ear – not those of the policeman who’d arrested him, however much said policeman regretted the mistake – until she could deliver him into Svetlana’s waiting arms. ‘Can you give me half an hour? I’m not decent yet.’

  ‘Sure. It’ll take us that long anyway.’

>   Emily dressed and bagged up her new belongings, then went down to the lobby to check out. At the desk she encountered Saul Goldstein on the same errand.

  ‘Mr Goldstein,’ she said. ‘I trust you’ve heard the good news. Daniel is innocent.’

  Goldstein turned a scowling face toward her. ‘Doesn’t change anything in my view. He may not be a murderer, but he’s still a sickly egghead who’ll never amount to anything. Nowhere near good enough for my Svetlana.’

  She regarded him narrowly. ‘And you are clearly such an excellent judge of character – since you thought the real murderer was worthy of your daughter’s hand.’

  He hmphed and spluttered. ‘Different thing altogether. Villain can pass himself off as plausible, but you don’t get a man out of a scarecrow.’

  ‘If I were you, I would be wary of judging any book by its cover. I think you’ll find that once Daniel gets regular treatment for his epilepsy – which I personally plan to guarantee – he will show all the strength of mind and character even you could wish for. He’ll never be a lawyer, of course, but I believe he has a brilliant academic future ahead of him.’

  Goldstein continued to scowl, refusing to meet her eyes.

  ‘And I also believe – no, I know with absolute certainty – that Svetlana will never be happy if you force her to give him up.’

  He turned toward her, face red. ‘Why don’t you mind your own damn business, lady?’ Then he picked up his bags and stomped out of the lobby. But something in his walk told Emily he was not quite as resolute as he appeared.

  She had just finished checking out when the doorman summoned her to Colin’s car, idling at the curb. The snowfall had ceased in the night, and the temperature was already rising; the streets and sidewalks were covered in slush. But Emily hoped the lawns and trees of the Bede campus would still bear their pristine blanket of white. The storm had been nightmarish, but its aftermath was a lovely dream.

  Emily climbed into the back of the car next to Daniel. He raised a ravaged face to give her a shaky smile. She squeezed his hand.