Murder in the Arboretum (Cold Creek Book 2)

by Christa Nardi

  I didn’t know much else. Brett asked a lot of questions but I couldn’t answer most of them. Every so often I glanced over in their direction. Kim and Garrett were engaged in conversation and both looked animated. Their posture looked relaxed, more so than I’d expect for a first date. So far it looked good.

  On cue, as soon as our plates were clear, the waiter provided dessert menus along with a favorable description of each of the choices. Brett signaled it was my choice with a knowing smile. My comfort food of choice was always chocolate and there was a molten chocolate cake on the menu. A real no-brainer. We ordered one to share.

  Brett shifted the conversation back to us. “So the plan for tomorrow is for me to try to get Chief Pfeiffe to make some decision regarding Blake’s murder. I need to file a report and determine if I remain involved. So far, there is nothing to indicate a need for State Police involvement.”

  I nodded, knowing that the likely decision would mean he was not staying in Cold Creek.

  He continued, “I’m real glad that you and Kim got Cohn involved on Johnson’s behalf. There is no hard evidence against him, but he’s surely not doing much on his own behalf. Finding out that the person he assaulted previously was a drug dealer could make a circumstantial but flimsy case if it turns out Blake also was a drug dealer.”

  I asked him to explain how the Chief would determine if Justin was a dealer now that he was dead. After all, they couldn’t catch him in the act.

  Brett shrugged and explained that Justin didn’t have a record. Because Justin came from money, that didn’t necessarily mean he was an upstanding citizen. He added that if they arrested someone with drugs and that person fingered Justin as the source, the conclusion would be that he was dealing. I nodded my understanding though that would be a bit flimsy for my mind.

  He continued, “Let’s talk about this weekend.” This was his weekend with his daughter. “Tomorrow I’ll check by your office before I take off. I’m hoping to leave by 2 or 3 o’clock. I need to stop back up here on my other case and I want to get to Richmond about the time that Madison gets out of school.”

  He patted my hand and took a deep breath before he added, “We need to figure out a good time for you and Madison to meet each other. Any thoughts on that?”

  I felt panic seeping in. His expression was serious and I realized he was probably as scared as I was. Wanting me to meet his daughter moved our relationship up a notch to a more serious level. Scary. And his question clearly asked if I was okay with that.

  “Wow! Thoughts? Brett, I’d love to meet Madison.” I squeezed his hand. “How to arrange that, however … You know your daughter best,” I added. I was definitely flustered and hadn’t thought this far ahead.

  He started to speak and then his expression changed. He looked amused and said, “I think you’re up. Kim just headed for the ladies’ room. And some time, please explain why ladies always have to go in pairs. If guys went in pairs …” He chuckled and shook his head.

  I went to meet Kim, glad of a diversion. At least for the moment, the panic attack that threatened could be tapped down. I’d have plenty of time to deal with a Madison meeting, at least I hoped I would.

  In short order, I was back at the table. A fresh cup of coffee and our molten chocolate cake waited for me. Brett raised his eyebrows. Kim liked Garrett and had invited him to be her escort for the College awards dinner. We discussed the likelihood the dinner itself might explain her motivation for the date tonight.

  We finished eating and made our way home. Thankfully, any further discussion of meeting Madison was upstaged by our earlier plans for “dessert.” I thought and hoped it would surface again. I needed to be better prepared when it did though.

  Chapter 12

  The next morning was harder than usual with Brett leaving for the weekend with Madison. We said good-byes as we left the house. Even Charlie seemed to sense that something was different.

  Once I was in my office, I tried to get in the groove of my daily routine. I collected everything for my class and off I went. As I made my way down the stairs, Kim reminded me of our appointment with Mr. Cohn at 11. I nodded and kept going.

  Usually, I enjoy teaching, but I was probably just as anxious for class to be over as the students. Too many thoughts raced through my head to worry about the lecture. I was thankful it was a lecture that I had given many times before. I reminded students about the boxes and stressed how important their thoughts and comments could be. Dirk came up to talk to me after class.

  “Dr. Hendley, is Mr. Johnson okay? Is there anything I can do to help him? Can you help him? He wouldn’t hurt anybody,” he said. He seemed more distressed than the other students did. For most of them, apparently the murder had quickly become old news. “He looked real sad yesterday at the courthouse.”

  “Dirk, the best help would be if the police received any information that could help them figure out why Justin Blake was in the Arboretum. That could help them find someone else to consider as a suspect.”

  Dirk looked away and then nodded before he walked away. I realized from his comments he must have been at the arraignment. I wondered if he knew why Justin was in the Arboretum.

  I hadn’t noticed it before, but it occurred to me that Brendon wasn’t in class. No way to know if the tension between Dirk and Brendon had resolved itself. I rationalized he was probably sick and gathered my stuff. I grabbed another coffee and then went back to my office. Terra came in and chatted about Ali’s date with Hirsch. She seemed as excited about it as Ali.

  Max stopped by briefly to complain about Todd Flatts, our newest and temporary faculty member. He joined the faculty in January right after he graduated. He was by far the youngest of the faculty. When he first arrived on campus, he complained that some faculty assumed he was a student.

  Todd related very well with students and I understood why it would be hard to pick him out as faculty rather than a student. There was no dress code at the College and though most faculty went with business casual, his standard was jeans and a polo shirt. Max felt Todd was too young. Underneath it all, I thought he was afraid of being up-staged by the man.

  I managed to get through most of the email and pulled together some articles to read over the weekend. Around mid-morning I realized I hadn’t heard from Brett yet. I continued to work and before long, it was time to meet with Kim and Mr. Cohn.

  We met in a small conference room across from Georg’s Café. Kim was her usual exuberant self as she made introductions. Mr. Cohn wasn’t quite what I expected. He was distinguished looking with touches of silver showing in his brown hair. He was dressed in a suit and tie, a bit more formal than the usual Cold Creek College attire. With the suit, outwardly he looked the part of criminal lawyer. What surprised me were the laugh lines, the spark of interest when he looked at Kim, and a lack of tension. He might be dressed in a suit, but he came across as a person who was interested in the case, interested in people, and not as a stuffed shirt.

  As the meeting went on, I noted he didn’t wear a wedding band and he leaned in a bit toward Kim when he or she spoke. It seemed he might be interested in Kim. I again wondered if they’d ever met after he agreed to represent her in the fall.

  Mr. Cohn started out explaining, “I met with Mr. Johnson and I represented him at the arraignment. When I met with him initially, he was surprised anyone thought to contact an attorney on his behalf. He seemed to come to life a little at that. Seeing some people he knew yesterday seemed to light a spark too, especially when his boss came over and told him he would hold Clive’s job until this mess was straightened out.”

  He shook his head as he continued. “You were right when you told me he was not fighting this or helping himself in any way. He seems resigned to be in this spot. I don’t know how much of that is just that he has been in the system before, feels powerless, or what. He says he didn’t do it and I believe him.”

  “I have to agree about his feeling resigned to the situation. That morning he just stood
there looking lost and dismayed. He didn’t argue or add anything to deflect attention to anyone else,” I interjected, sharing my impressions from that morning.

  “Mr. Cohn, I don’t even know Mr. Johnson all that well. I talked to him a few times about plants, but that’s it,” Kim said. “I called you because Chief Pfeiffe will try to pin this on him because he’s convenient, just like with me last fall. I doubt there is any real effort being made to find another suspect.” Her tone communicated her contempt for Cold Creek’s Chief of Police.

  “Please call me Marty. I am doing everything I can but, at this point, I’m afraid that is limited. I don’t have any leads. On the other hand, the prosecution’s case is flimsy. What I hope you two can help me with is identifying some character witnesses to offset his prior arrest. I’ve already interviewed his boss and some of the Horticulture faculty. There were a couple of other people who stopped me yesterday as well.” Marty took out his pad and looked at us expectantly.

  “Have you talked to Nick? He’s the student who worked with Clive that morning. Also one of my students, Dirk Muldoon might be a good person to talk to. And Dirk knows some other students that Clive has helped. I got the impression from Dirk that Clive is a big support for the students here on scholarship.” I watched as Marty wrote down the information I gave him.

  “I talked to Dirk a bit yesterday and I have his contact information,” Marty said with a nod.

  When he looked up, I continued, “Joe Janis with the newspaper is another person who was upset with the Chief’s decision to arrest Clive. He probably would be willing to talk to you. He mentioned Clive’s involvement in a drug prevention program at the high school.”

  Marty’s expression was a bit skeptical about Joe, so I related my conversation with him. He noted, “And if it ends up Justin is a drug dealer, his involvement in what otherwise would be a community service could act against him.”

  Since neither of us knew Clive, we weren’t much help beyond that. We explained about the comment boxes and Marty asked if we had checked them yet. I told him we planned to empty the boxes before we left campus that day. Kim and I figured we’d go through whatever notes there were over the weekend.

  He looked at both of us, but his gaze lingered on Kim as he thanked us. He was about to go when I asked him, “Have you tried going at this from Justin Blake’s end? Who knew him?” I wasn’t sure if I should tell Marty about Jack or not.

  Marty leaned back a bit before he answered. “I do have someone looking into that but, honestly, what we find out could end up hurting more than helping. I think the prosecution is checking that angle more aggressively in order to build their case. I hope the information you get from students doesn’t have the same effect.”

  Kim reacted to his comments with wide eyes and a groan. He continued, “Their case is still based on conjecture and past history, totally circumstantial.”

  As he said this he started to reach over to her and held himself in check. His eyes softened some though and surprisingly, Kim responded by calming down.

  I mentioned that I was a bit surprised that he took the case. He explained that his nephew, Hymie, was a student at Cold Creek. Hymie had mentioned concern about Mr. Johnson being railroaded even before Kim called him.

  Marty went on to explain that he often took a pro bono case when he felt it was in the best interest of justice. The looks he kept giving Kim made me wonder just what his nephew had told him about Kim.

  He left after that and Kim and I chatted for a while. She focused mostly on how frustrated she was. I asked her then if she met Marty before, and she said no. She went on to say that he wasn’t as stuffy and old as she had expected. She looked thoughtful and I decided not to push it.

  We chatted a little more about her date with Garrett. The one downside she reported was that he kept bringing up the murder. Then again, that was understandable as it was certainly newsworthy. She said she enjoyed his company and commented that at least now she had a date for the awards dinner. As we left the conference room I stopped at Georg’s to get a sandwich and coffee.

  In my office, I graded quizzes. Early afternoon, Brett called. He apologized for not stopping, but he needed to get to a meeting and then he was off to Richmond. I told him about the meeting with Marty. He agreed that the case against Clive was circumstantial at best.

  He also said that he established with the Chief and his boss that the case at this point did not seem to warrant State Police involvement. Brett sounded dismayed and I certainly felt that way. He said he’d call later and we disconnected. I sure hoped that he could find some reason to head to the North Shore area during the next week. I’d gotten kind of used to having him around.

  As I realized that, I flashed to his question about meeting Madison. Four years after my divorce, I still wasn’t sure I was ready to move into a serious relationship with all the commitments and baggage. But I sure didn’t want this one to end either. It seemed like it was quickly going to be time to make a decision.

  I taught my seminar and then Kim, Mitch and I met up to replace the old message boxes with new ones. Fortunately, Ali and Terra had made more message boxes earlier in the day so that we could swap out the boxes in all the buildings.

  Back at my office, Kim and I opened up the boxes we had retrieved. There were a few notes in each box and we put them all in one envelope. A quick glance indicated some concerns with what was happening on campus and the need for more security. Some looked to be doodling. There looked to be about twenty or so notes in all, most folded up. We taped the boxes back up and left them on the table in my office.

  As we finished up I put the envelope with the notes in my book bag. Kim volunteered to cook dinner on Saturday and the game plan was to sort through the notes then.

  On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store, grabbed some steaks and other things for a dinner that didn’t come in a box. I took Charlie for a walk and fixed myself dinner. What with all the excitement and Brett in Cold Creek all week, it seemed rather odd to be on my own. It also seemed too quiet.

  I watched television, read a bit, and was set to go to bed, when Brett called. He talked about his plans with Madison for the weekend. Back at his house in Appomattox, he related that they were planning on going for a long bike ride, some shopping, and possibly a movie. Madison was more excited about the bike ride and the shopping than the movie.

  Brett didn’t have much to add about the case. I told him what I had learned. He mentioned that maybe he could swing by Cold Creek on Sunday after taking Madison home. That was not the most direct route, but I sure wouldn’t complain.

  I thought about reading through the notes, but decided to make it an early night. Charlie didn’t complain.

  Chapter 13

  After a restful night, I woke up Saturday morning with a lot of energy and the need to feel like I accomplished something just for myself. I let Charlie out and fixed myself breakfast. I realized that with Brett back in Appomattox with Madison, my weekend was truly my own.

  As I looked around the house, I also realized I needed to attend to the more mundane tasks like cleaning, vacuuming, laundry, and grocery shopping for more than one night’s meal. Brett and I were pretty good at cleaning up the immediate mess or dishes. Dust seemed to increase of its own accord.

  I started with the kitchen and focused on what I needed to replenish in the way of staples like coffee, paper plates and such. I managed to generate a pretty good list. I put dishes and pans away, cleaned off the counters and table, watered the plants, and cleaned out Charlie’s water and food bowls. I managed to corral her in the living room long enough to mop the floor. It smelled and looked much better.

  Motivated, I moved to the living room and the master bedroom. The one problem with a Sheltie like Charlie was that she shed even when she stood still. I vacuumed, dusted, changed sheets, and put away clothes, as I went. Two loads of laundry later, I stopped short of my home office. That would have to wait.

  I grabbed a cup of cof
fee and sat down to rest. Charlie put her head in my lap as if on cue. She looked at me with her big brown eyes pleading and her tail wagging. She reminded me that I had neglected her some this week and she never got a good long run. I stood up and Charlie obviously knew she’d made her point as she bounded and jumped around me. I changed into jeans and a sweatshirt, and off we went.

  It was a beautiful spring day outside. The air was still a bit crisp, but the sun made it tolerable. I initially headed for the park and our usual run, but it occurred to me that I hadn’t been to the Arboretum since Justin’s body had been found. And I’d never been there on a weekend day. I wondered who, if anyone, walked or ran the paths through the Arboretum on a Saturday. So instead of the park I drove to the College and parked in my usual spot.

  As Charlie and I walked toward the quad, a couple of students came over to meet Charlie. She was thrilled and ate up the attention until they moved on. There were some groups playing ball in the quad. I spotted some coeds grabbing some sun on blankets and others reading in the shade of the trees. I skirted around the ball players with Charlie in tow and headed for the Arboretum. The crime scene tape was gone and without hesitation I started us down the black path.

  I could see the Virginia bluebells already coming out and some of the other spring bloomers. Soon along the Arboretum paths would be combinations of bluebells, anemones, lady slippers, and azaleas. Surprising how deadly some of these beautiful plants are and I kept a good watch over Charlie to be sure she didn’t eat any. I stopped to look at some buds and tried to identify them before starting to jog again. I could hear some voices up ahead and assumed others were enjoying the flora and spring weather as well.