Murder at Cold Creek College

by Christa Nardi

  “Sher, that is awful. He should be more professional. I don’t know much about him, but someone in his position… That’s not right.” She continued, “Do you know much about him or what brought him to Cold Creek?”

  I shared with her what I had learned on the internet, and then added, “But I don’t know if he has been involved in the horticulture program. That certainly would be his area of expertise. Do you know anyone over there, Kim?”

  “Not really. One of the profs over there asked me out, but it was right after the fallout with Adam and I had sworn off dating. I don’t even know if he is still there. I could check though,” she added.

  “I only hope that if and when I get this sexual harassment training up and running, the first complaints aren’t against our Chancellor.” I shook my head, and continued, “Misty certainly was scared of him. I wouldn’t want to run into him in a dark alley.” I shook my head again.

  “So, anything new on Max?” Kim asked, I think to change the subject. We often got a laugh out of his antics.

  “Nope, not that I know of. I considered killing him, but decided he wasn’t worth the trouble. I have to say Priscilla is being more abrasive and terse than usual. Either that or I’ve seen more of her in the past week than usual.”

  “She’s always pretty abrasive, and generally communicates in her own way how the rest of us are incompetent or at least not as knowledgeable as she is.” Kim continued, “Max at least does it in a way – his frenzied need to get to a better university to do his great research – that’s a little less personal or judgmental. Today, one of the students asked me why Priscilla told him to go talk to Jack about doing a thesis on abnormal psychology and what makes it ‘abnormal’. The student wanted to know why she didn’t send him to me since I’m the one teaching the class.” She shrugged. At some level the politics of the college were often frustrating.

  I chuckled and offered, “At least the student was smart enough to figure it out. Speaking of students, did you offer to pick up any of Adam’s students?”

  “No. Don’t get me wrong. Unlike Max, I am more than happy to take on a few students. When I looked at the list though, none of them jumped out at me. I’ll let Jim assign me some and do my best to help them finish,” she explained.

  “That’s my attitude as well,” I said. “So how are you feeling about the investigation? Are you still concerned you’re a suspect?” I asked. She hadn’t mentioned anything since her meeting with the Chief.

  “I go up and down. Worried Chief Pfeiffe’ll arrest me one minute, pretty sure that he’s given up on me the other. I do have an attorney, Martin Cohn, but I actually haven’t met him. I talked to him on the phone and explained the situation. He said to call if the Chief pulls me in again and told me to send him a check for $10 as retainer. Knowing I have someone to call at least makes me feel a little better.”

  “How’d you find him? Did your divorce attorney recommend him?” I asked.

  “Yeah, seems she was his divorce attorney as well and knows him from some professional group lawyers belong to. Guess they have conferences and meetings like psychologists,” Kim added with a smile.

  As we finished eating, we talked about our plans or non-plans for the upcoming long weekend. There was to be a carnival of sorts in town, and we made plans to check it out. I looked at my watch and prompted Kim that we needed to go get my car. I picked up the check and we drove to the tire place. For under $400 I was on my way home to Charlie.

  Arriving home, I parked as close to the front door as I could. I wished I had a garage I could pull into, instead of one that was used for storing stuff I didn’t know what else to do with. I had left all the lights on and tried to be sure to park so my car would be somewhat in the lighted area. I hoped the lighting would dissuade whoever had vandalized the car, kids or not.

  Charlie and I took a quick walk along the street, staying under the street lights and not venturing too far. Then we settled down for the night. I still thought about the tires and felt like a victim. I couldn’t imagine what I had done to bring this on. I wondered if it had anything to do with Adam’s murder.

  I decided to approach this whole thing like a research study. I put down three headings on a piece of paper – what did I know, what questions did I have, and what were my hypotheses. I then filled in under ‘what I know’ all the facts I had. Adam was murdered, blunt force trauma, w

  Under the questions, I started with the State police involvement, the Chancellor’s agenda, and who of the various people he had been involved with Adam had pissed off the most. My major hypothesis was that it was either a woman he scorned, or the father or husband of a woman he was involved with. Still too many to even test my theory. On the plus side though, it looked like Ali and Kim were in the clear. I sighed and the phone rang. Remembering Brett was going to call, I smiled as I reached for the phone.

  I answered, somewhat disappointed as I looked at caller ID, “Hello Kevin. What’s up?” My brother usually only calls on holidays and birthdays, so his call was unusual. Like Kaylie, he was involved in business and always at meetings. I was surprised his relationships lasted as long as they did. I personally thought his girlfriend was a saint for putting up with him.

  “Kaylie called and said there was a murder at your college. Are you ok?” he asked, sounding genuinely concerned as only big brothers can.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. It made the beginning of the semester even more disruptive than usual is all. Adds to the excitement a bit,” I replied. I didn’t elaborate anymore and hoped the conversation would shift.

  “Uh huh, so what’s this I hear about there may be a new man in your life?” he teased.

  “Ahhh, Kaylie spilled the beans huh? Well, it isn’t anything yet. I mean we had dinner twice. Don’t go renting your tux yet,” I teased back. “Speaking of which, how is Meredith?”

  He laughed and answered, “Probably a bit impatient with me right now. She wants to set a date and I don’t see the rush.” He and Meredith had been living together for about four years, so I had to agree with her. But he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to tie this knot. I was surprised Meredith had hung on this long. My phone buzzed, and I told him I had another call. We disconnected quickly so I could answer Brett’s call.

  “Hi, Brett. How did your day go?”

  “Hi, Sheridan. It went well. It’s sometimes hard to believe how much paperwork is involved, but my paperwork is done and I had several meetings. How about you?” he asked.

  “Well, not one of my better days, I have to say,” I answered. I then related the issues with my slashed tires and all that entailed. He asked the same question about whether tires of neighbors had been slashed Kim and I had asked. He also insisted I check both doors and make sure all the windows were locked while I had him on the phone.

  “Brett, is there any reason I would be in danger? I don’t know anything more than anyone else living in this town about Adam’s murder!” I asked, concerned at his obvious concern.

  “I don’t think so, but better safe than sorry. For sure, if Charlie starts growling again, do not hesitate to call 9-1-1. Better to be safe. Hopefully, we will have this all settled by the weekend, but not all the pieces have come into place yet,” he added. That definitely piqued my interest.

  “Like what?” I asked innocently or at least I tried to sound innocent.

  He chuckled and ignored my question. He then asked, “How about the rest of the day?”

  Well, that led to my telling him about my meeting with Oakland. I explained to him the point of the meeting had little to do with sexual harassment and more about trying to find out about the investigation.

  “See? That’s one of the reasons I can’t share some of this information. Better to be able to honestly say you don’t know. Especially with that expressive and quite appealing, face of yours,” he said.

  “Yeah, well for the record, I didn’t like him at all. He was rude, crude, and intimidating, and not a gentleman!” I said, and then was a little
sorry I had said it.

  After a second, Brett prompted, “Uh, what did he do or say to warrant that description?” His voice was a little more serious.

  “Um, he was demanding. He tried to intimidate me by having my file there. He even has his chair at a different height than the chair on the other side of his desk so he is effectively looking down on you. Oh, and he implied I would know what was going on because of what he heard about our relationship.” To try to move on from that one, I added, “Misty says he scares her too. And I think it’s more than his size.”

  “Let’s back up to before Misty. What exactly did he say about ‘us’? I can tell that frosted you from the change in your tone of voice, Sher. It isn’t only your face that is expressive,” he said.

  “He made a snide remark about ‘pillow talk’ is all. No big deal,” I answered. And in all seriousness, it was only one comment. I wasn’t exactly going to share his implication that Brett must be having said ‘pillow talk’ with someone else if not me.

  “You’re right. That is crude and rude. Even if it were true, it would be none of his business. I’m sorry I put you in that position, Sheridan.” He sounded both angry and apologetic.

  “Hey, no need to apologize. If anyone needs to apologize it’s Max for shooting off his mouth and possibly Katie for shooting off hers about our having dinner.”

  “Well, I am sorry you had a bad day and I wish I could have been there,” he said softly.

  “Talking to you has improved my day,” I answered equally as softly.

  We talked for a few more minutes, and then hung up. He was going to be back in Cold Creek, hopefully by late morning for another meeting with Chief Pfeiffe. At least it looked like they might finally be working together and he had hinted they almost had all the pieces of the puzzle. I went back to my research questions and underlined the statement about the Chancellor.

  I wished I had a better feel for who he was and his motives, not only in relation to Adam’s murder investigation, but in coming to Cold Creek. Adam’s murder aside, I didn’t like the man and didn’t want any further contact with him. No answers in sight, I let Charlie out somewhat nervously. After I checked all the locks, I went to sleep.

  Chapter 13

  I approached my car with trepidation after yesterday’s fiasco, but my car was intact. Breathing a sigh of relief, I drove to campus. I stopped at Georg’s to grab my usual coffee, I ran into Wesley, and cornered him for a few minutes to get his take on how students were doing. I again put out the word for students to come see Mitch or me if they needed to talk. He hedged a bit and indicated he wished he had never said anything to Dr. Bentler. I knew exactly how he felt.

  Reminding myself I never had talked to Mitch yesterday, I walked in the direction of his office, but he wasn’t there. Mitch liked to have all his classes in the afternoon, and often didn’t come in until mid-morning as a result. I stopped in the main office on the way to mine. Both and Ali were there. Jim was among the missing.

  “Hi, Terra, Ali. How is everything going?” I asked.

  “It would be so much better if the police would make an arrest or something. No offense, Terra, but between the press and the police, it is hard to get work done,” Ali offered.

  I suspected it wasn’t the work that was the problem. Jim certainly had been out of sorts the last couple of times I interacted with him, and Ali and Terra had to deal with him more often than I did. Officer Hirsch still hung around, probably making people nervous. Then there was Joe who lurked and hoped to pick up some bit of news.

  Terra groaned before answering. “I know what you mean. By way of warning, Joe is coming back today. He was told to get a follow-up, human interest story on how students and faculty are dealing in the aftermath. I already warned him some people might not be willing to talk to him.”

  “That is probably a good bet. Is Officer Hirsch through with everyone, do you know? I didn’t find him to be particularly thorough or effective, but that would be one less person to dodge.” I was beginning to think the additional questioning was not particularly fruitful, but for some, like Ali and Kim, was more like rubbing salt into a wound.

  Terra looked at Ali and chuckled, and Ali blushed. I looked from one to the other, and then Terra finally explained, “Officer Hirsch was very thorough with Ali here. He even asked her out!” Ahh, so that explained his frequent visits and his questions about her dating status.

  With that, I looked at Ali. She shrugged and commented, “I know, I know, he looks like he’s 12. I tried to tell him I was too old for him. He got all upset and insisted he was only ‘a year or 2 younger’ and that age shouldn’t matter.”

  I chuckled and asked, “Uh, did you ask to see his driver’s license? I don’t mean you’re old, but he sure looks young.”

  “No, and pay no attention to Terra, I declined his invitation. I told him I was flattered and thanked him for the invitation,” Ali explained. She was still smiling, and even if she wasn’t interested in Hirsch, she had been flattered by his interest.

  Times like these, it was good to be able to kid around and break the stress with a little laughter. They bantered back and forth, and then I asked, “So where’s Jim? He said anything about the investigation?”

  They looked at each other, exchanged looks and rolled their eyes. Finally, Terra answered, “I think this has put him over the top. He keeps getting more phone calls from the Chancellor, President Cramer, the Provost, Dean, and, yeah, the press, including Joe. If he wasn’t bald before, he sure is now. I won’t be surprised if he announces his retirement this year, retirement package or not. He seems to think someone’s going to have to take the fall here, not only for the murder, but for tarnishing the reputation of the College. I think he’s afraid the trustees may set it up to be him.”

  “Yeah, he is pretty stressed out. When he comes in, he goes in his office and closes the door. We can hear his voice raised once in a while, and sometimes he comes out and barks for something, but that’s it,” Ali added with a shrug.

  We chatted for a while about who the most likely faculty member would be to replace Jim if he did retire. Mitch had already held the job and there had been some issues with his not following rules. He tended to see rules and policies as suggestions. That only left Doug or Jack as the most senior faculty. Neither seemed likely to volunteer, but then they might be appointed. If Jim retired, it would be one more change to deal with. I made my excuses to get back to work, a bit discouraged.

  “Oh, and you’re probably going to win another job –as he was leaving yesterday he mentioned that somebody was going to have to pack up Adam’s office. I’m betting you’ll get an email, if you haven’t already,” Terra said with a sigh. “One of these days Dr. Hendley, you’re going to have to start saying no.”

  I groaned, ignored her advice, and went to my office. I figured I better check my email before class. No telling what else Jim had decided I was the best person to do. Initially, being told I was the ‘best person’ had been flattering. The flattery had worn off some time ago. Sure enough, I had an email from Jim, and also another one from Janice Wickson. I decided to jump in and read the one from her first. It might make the one from Jim seem less objectionable. It was rather direct, but puzzling:

  ‘Dr. Hendley, Chancellor Oakland asked me to remind you that you should keep him posted on any new developments re the investigation of Dr. Millberg’s demise. He will be expecting updates daily beginning today via my email. Thank you.’

  That seemed a bit strange. First, there was no reason I would have any updates, and second, we certainly hadn’t discussed this in our strained conversation. I half wondered if it was Oakland who wanted the updates or Janice. I decided this was likely one task I could ignore to some extent, but added a reminder to send her an email before I left each day that simply said ‘nothing to report’. That way, if it was from Oakland, he couldn’t get me on insubordination. I was thinking I might need a lawyer. Maybe it was me, and not Jim they were targeting as the fall
guy, or in this case, gal.

  I opened Jim’s email. Sure enough, he directed me to box up and clean out Adam’s office. He indicated Ali would help me with inventory. She would be the one to determine what should remain in the office for its new resident, Todd Flatts.

  I figured I could work on Adam’s office between my classes, and possibly enlist Mitch to help. Visions of ‘gentleman’ magazines flashed through my mind. On the other hand, I assumed the police had already been through his office and removed anything that might incriminate someone in his death.

  In the meantime, I had to go teach. I forwarded Jim’s message to Mitch and asked him to meet me at Adam’s office after my class. I also forwarded it to Ali, with the same message plus a request she bring boxes with her.

  Class went well until the end. As we were discussing some of the studies on eye witness testimony, someone in the class raised their hand and asked if that was why the police were questioning so many students about Adam’s death. I realized that with energies focused first on Adam’s students, and then on the psychology majors, I hadn’t given much thought to the general student population. Certainly, not beyond passing on our availability to provide support to the RAs at the dorms.

  “That’s correct. If you think back to Tuesday and the clip we watched, and on the differences in what each of you paid attention to and recalled, police collect information from multiple people and then focus on the similarities in the information they obtained. They also interview multiple people to see if they can catch someone in an obvious mistruth or to get some information that might turn into a lead.” I paused, and then asked the class in general, “So what are your impressions or thoughts on the investigation?”

  I didn’t expect any of them to answer, but the one who asked the question, Jeff, offered, “I found it interesting to see the local police here, the State police here, and the press, all talking to many of our teachers. Does that mean you are all suspects?”