Angie looked uncomfortable and I intentionally shifted the conversation. “Willie, how’s senior year?”
“It’s good. I’m applying for scholarships and such. I want to study engineering, not sure where.” He glanced at the others and his mom and then back to Brett. “Mr. Brett, can I talk to you for a few minutes?”
Melina almost popped out of her chair, only her husband, Vince, stopped her. He whispered, “Let him be.”
Brett smiled. “Sure thing, let’s check out the cars in the parking lot.”
The others noticed them leave and Maddie asked, “Where are they going?”
“To check out the cars in the parking lot.”
Maddie looked at Nedra and smiled. “Is Willie getting a car? Can he drive us places?”
Melina and Vince put the lid on that idea. Unfortunately, it brought up the inevitable “When can I learn to drive? Start to drive? Get a car?” directed at all the remaining adults from the three 15-year-olds at the table. All of us gave vague answers and they all decided to talk about something else and ignore us.
“Sheridan, do you know anything about the situation in Cold Creek? I haven’t talked to Marty in a while. Meant to call him, but, well…”
I smiled. “Eric, yes, Brett and I have been down to visit this past week and that’s where we were today. When you get around to calling him, congratulate him. He proposed to Kim at lunch today.”
“It’s about time. I’ll definitely give him a call later.”
Brett and Willie rejoined us with some kind of fist bumping thing and the conversation died. Tired, I signaled our waiter for the check. It was time for the party to end. To test out my ability to drive, I drove us home and we decided I could drive myself to work in the morning.
Once Maddie was asleep, Brett shared his conversation with Willie. Willie knew about Fabry’s visit and agreed that was all anyone was talking about. He told Brett he’d heard rumors and caught parts of conversations in the bathroom. Brett now had a few more possible leads on students who might be involved. Before going to sleep, he got a call from Fabry. As usual, I only heard bits and pieces.
I arched my eyebrows and stared at him as he disconnected. In return, he leaned over and gave me a kiss.
“Skinner connected Celeste and Jarvit, implied more than business. He heard an argument between Jarvit and Landry the week before the murder. He couldn’t make out the words, but definite voices raised and then something breaking and then Landry storming out.”
“Could he be fabricating it?”
“Sally confirmed and Fabry…” Brett chuckled. “…let her know how disappointed he was that she hadn’t shared that.”
I shook my head. “What else did Fabry find out from Skinner?”
“Skinner, by his description, was the errand boy. Go here and pick this up. Deliver this to this person. He was the ‘set-up’ guy for the open houses. As far as he knew the one Kim went to was cancelled, so he hadn’t gone and turned on lights or the aromatic thing to make the house look and smell more inviting.”
“Who cancelled it and why?”
“Now, the ‘why’ makes sense. Landry’s death. Sally said she wasn’t told to make any changes to the website, but she recalled a mention of no open houses. Therein was the miscommunication.”
“Hmm. That means Jarvit and Celeste may have been trying to sort out the silent partner and joint ownership stuff and used that house as a private place.”
“That’s one explanation. Fabry made appointments with both of them for tomorrow morning. At Tally’s office.”
I nodded. “Skinner know anything else? Do you have a picture of him?”
“Hmm… yeah, here.”
He handed me his phone. Skinner looked older than I remembered him. What struck me wasn’t his overall appearance.
“See that purple thing in the background? Is that a skateboard? And he’s wearing black boots. Skinner knocked me over.”
Taking his phone, Brett enlarged the image and nodded. “He is wearing black boots and that is a purple skateboard with a motor. Guess we have another question for Mr. Skinner. He denied any knowledge of drugs. He’s on parole and gets drug tested same as Caleb. He couldn’t really admit to any knowledge. After his comment to Sally about being disappointed, Fabry asked her if she knew or believed that Jarvit might be high some days.”
“What did she say?”
“She hesitated. Then she conceded there were times when he was ‘off’ or seemed more wired and angrier than others. It could just be his personality and other stuff or it could be drugs or both. Guess we’ll find out more tomorrow. I’ll be leaving early. Are you sure you’ll be okay to drive tomorrow?”
“Yup. I don’t use my left foot when I drive so the hard part is still getting in and out of the car.”
He took me in his arms and eventually we went to sleep.
CHAPTER 28
A little worried about the drive, I gave myself plenty of time getting ready and on the road. For a change, I was arriving early instead of ‘just in time.’ The best news was that I didn’t run into Dr. Addison. The bad news was the scooter made it impossible for me to open the front door and scoot in. One of the custodians spotted me and let me in. Thankfully, the main office was unlocked and the main admin, Ms. Sinclair, was there. An older woman, I’d had minimal interaction with her in the past year.
“Morning, Ms. Sinclair. How are you?”
“Morning yourself. You here to get the key to your office?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” I glanced at my mailbox and it was empty. “Dr. Addison said he would leave it in my mailbox…”
“And I told him that was silly. If he left it in your mailbox whoever broke in could just take the key and finish whatever they were doing.” She walked around her desk and handed me a key.
“Here you go. It’s been locked in my drawer and no one knew that. You be careful now. The young people today, they just don’t have any respect.”
“Thank you, Ms. Sinclair. I guess I better get going.” I didn’t think my office being trashed was the work of students, yet it was certainly a possibility. One that was easier to swallow than that it was another faculty member.
The halls were quiet with only a few stray students. I easily scooted to my office and the key worked. Then I faced the inevitable realization that I hadn’t finished putting everything away on Friday. I set aside what I needed for my two first classes and then attacked the pile that still needed to be sorted and refiled. With about thirty minutes before class, I looked up as my door opened, expecting it to be Leah. It was Austin Antos.
“Who are you, really? What are you doing here?”
“Good morning to you, too, Dr. Antos. You already know my name. I’m a temporary replacement for Shelley deMiranda, a faculty member in psychology. She’s on extended family medical leave. But I think you already know that.”
“How were you involved in a murder then? You undercover or what? Do you even know anything about psychology?”
“I’m a licensed psychologist, Dr. Antos. I was ‘involved’ in the murder Leah mentioned due to family interests. I’m not sure why that should matter to you.”
“I think you’re the reason I’m being asked questions. You stay out of my business, you hear?”
“Dr. Antos, I don’t understand….”
He turned and slammed my door as he stomped off. I slumped over, drained from not losing my cool or blurting out anything. Obviously, this was not his win people over look. Just as obviously, the questionable background check was an issue for him. Contemplating what that could mean, I jumped when Leah walked in.
“Sheridan, are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I shook myself. “No problem. Lost in thought. How was your weekend?”
“It was good. Uneventful, but good. And yours?”
“Same, and the ankle is doing better. We’ll see what the doctor says tomorrow.”
“Need any copies made? I’m on my way to
the office.”
“Thanks. I have everything here for today, thankfully. The rest of the week? That’s another story.”
She laughed as she walked away. I gathered up my stuff and went to class early, avoiding the rush in the hallway.
The next time Leah stopped in was after her classes. I’d cleaned up and sorted and filed everything and I felt good about my office and job, temporary as it might be. From her grimace as she looked around and closed my door, Leah did not share that feeling.
“Leah, what’s wrong? Sit down.”
“Austin Antos. He just stopped me in the hall. He doesn’t even teach on that hall. Asked me if I knew what you were up to and told me it was not in my best health to talk to you. That you were trying to ruin him and making up lies about him. I heard something like that from Kiera between classes as well.” She whispered and kept looking back at the door.
I shrugged. “Odd. He came in here this morning – that’s what had me spaced out earlier. Something about being asked a lot of questions and blaming me. He’s giving me way too much credit for anything that’s happening to him.”
“Something is definitely going on with him, and he’s angry. What do you make of it?”
“The only real reason most people would be angry about being asked questions would be if they were hiding something. Any idea what he could be hiding?”
She leaned back and shook her head. “No clue. They supposedly do background checks, but I don’t know that they really look at them. To hear him talk, he was a successful business man, found it too stressful, and jumped at the chance to teach in a small college when he saw the position post. A transition in his career he called it.”
“I assume he had the same or more of the interview process I had? How many applicants were there?”
“Well… As a small private college, we don’t get a lot of applicants. He had to give a lecture and meet with everyone associated with the business program, I think. It was over the summer so not many people were around.”
“And the position needed to be filled quickly… Is it possible they skipped the background check? And now someone is questioning it?”
Her eyes popped open and her mouth dropped. “Oh! That would be awful! I wonder if a student complained.”
“Or another faculty member in business? I only met the man for the first time a week ago, and business isn’t my area. I certainly wouldn’t have an opinion on his qualifications. Personality? Oh, yeah. Especially after today.”
She nodded. I glanced at the clock. “Last class and then home.” I gathered up my stuff and opened the door slowly. I nodded the all clear and Leah left. An hour later, I returned to my office and opening the door found a note.
“Rumors in the lounge…Austin not who he claims. Call me. Leah” and her phone number. I put the note in my backpack and scooted myself to my car, half expecting to find it damaged. Cars and my being involved in a murder didn’t seem to be a good match. This time I was pleasantly surprised. Doors were still all locked and closed and the tires still had air in them. And, it started right up.
CHAPTER 29
A s soon as the dishes were cleared from dinner, Maddie ducked back into her room. I shared the note with Brett and called Leah.
“Hi, Leah, Sheridan here. Is this a good time?”
“Hi, Sheridan. Just playing with my dog, Trouble. You won’t believe what I found out.”
I chuckled at the dog’s name. “Tell me.”
“It’s all anyone could talk about. Austin mispresented himself on his vita. It was all a bunch of lies.”
“Like what?”
“First off, he doesn’t have a doctorate. He had that he’d graduated from a prestigious business school in California. Only he didn’t. He got his undergraduate degree from some small liberal arts school in Maryland.”
“Do you remember what school that was?”
“Presidio, I think. And all those businesses he said he built up – his experience in finance? They were all fictitious companies.”
“Wow.”
“Anyway, Kiera was very upset as were some of the other ladies. Dr. Addison and a police officer pulled Austin out of class. I heard he was escorted to his car. Dr. Addison will take over his classes until he can find somebody else.”
We chatted for a little longer, while unbeknownst to her, I was bouncing up and down and madly writing notes to Brett. I disconnected and blurted out, “Isn’t that where Jarvit, Landry, Cabot, and Shane Buchanan all went? Could he know all of them?”
Brett’s hand raked through his hair and he was silent. Then he tapped his fingers on the table, while I not so patiently waited.
“It’s possible. We were able to make a clear connection between Cabot and Shane. Like Mrs. Chantilly told you, Cabot moved in with Blake Buchanan in high school. In ninth grade, after his parents were killed in a car accident. No apparent extended family and Blake officially took over guardianship to keep him out of the foster care system.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Both Shane and Cabot were admitted to Presidio College. Shane didn’t stay long. He convinced Blake to set him up with the horse farm when it was obvious he was going to fail out. Cabot, however, obtained scholarships and awards. Star student. Went on to get a graduate degree in business from George Washington U and established himself in investments and securities. Cabot is squeaky clean, bonded, and cleared through the Securities and Exchange Commission. They monitor his activity closely.”
“Did you ever get the search warrant for his office?”
“Nope. Once the background check and SEC report came through, we were told to back off until we had something besides dinner with old friends.”
I shrugged. “That sounds reasonable. The package wasn’t being delivered to his house. Wait, did you find anything else on dear sweet Dr. Antos?” I’d already described my earlier interactions with Antos to Brett.
He chuckled. “Leah was quite correct, he got the job fraudulently. No one at Millicent had looked beyond his winning ways and a fake diploma. You’ll be happy to know, I made Fabry go get a copy of his application packet and compared it to what we’d already found. More stuff will likely come up, now that we have fingerprints. Dr. Addison was shocked. He talked about how personable Antos was and how he even hand-delivered his transcript. Only the seal on the transcript was fake – not even a good replica of the school he said it was from. But everything looked official and no one checked.”
“He used someone good for his papers then.”
“That’s an understatement. And his references were all fake as well. His business ventures all lies. It was all too neat to be spur of the moment. Antos was too ready to step in and Fabry is suspicious and cynical at heart. He went and checked the records of the faculty member who died. The man had been in bad health for a few years and it was ruled as natural causes. Fabry was disappointed to say the least.”
I shook my head. “I can’t imagine how Dr. Addison or Antos dealt with being found out. And Dr. Addison was afraid I would put the college in a compromising position. What happened with the meetings this morning? Jarvit and Celeste?”
“Not much with Jarvit. He lawyered up and the lawyer pretty much told Jarvit not to answer any questions Fabry asked unless it was a known fact to anyone. Like the date. Like confirming the Thursday night dinner and the Friday morning breakfast. Like that he knew both Connor and Celeste Landry and Cabot. Fabry worked on him for about an hour trying to wear him down or get him to blurt out something. According to Fabry, his demeanor softened when asked about Celeste. Nothing.”
“And Celeste’s interview?”
“I did that one and Fabry’s correct. She’s a looker. Ash blonde hair, blue eyes, and obviously works out. She’s not your typical drug addict. She looks healthy, albeit due to make up. Dresses well and takes care in her appearance. I’m not an expert on designer fashion. Clothes looked expensive to me. No surprise, though, she comes from a good family and never lacked for th
e best.”
He took a sip of coffee. “She was cooperative yet restrained. Mourning. Landry didn’t have a will. Her explanation of how she and Jarvit ended up at the house was business and trying to sort out businesses. She wasn’t aware the open house had been cancelled until he showed up. Then again, she admitted no one had an appointment and walk-ins like Kim were very rare.”
“Did you find out anything more about Jarvit or Skinner or the drugs?”
“She’s not stupid. She denied any knowledge of drugs. Indicated she had little to do with the businesses, usually just ‘arm candy’ at meetings or meet-and-greet with potential buyers. She knew what to say about LLC and that it was thriving. The only mis-step was when I asked about her relationship with Jarvit and whether it was all business. Then she faltered. She recovered quickly and explained their relationship as her way to make Landry jealous and nothing serious. When I asked her if Jarvits was knew that, her mouth dropped.”
“Did Fabry ask Jarvit that question?”
“He asked generally and the attorney conceded that Jarvit and Celeste knew each other through Landry and were business partners.”
Brett’s phone rang and he scowled – my cue to go check on Maddie and her homework. She was doing well and singing along with a you-tube video. She removed the head phones long enough to tell me “One of the songs for the winter holiday concert. Auditions for solos tomorrow.” She put her headphones back on and I went back to the kitchen. Brett had two wine glasses out and was uncorking a bottle of pinot grigio.
“What’s the occasion?” His knitted brows told me this was not a celebration.
“Victoria. After all these months …” His voice was low and he shook his head.
Victoria was his ex-wife and Maddie’s mother. She and Roger had moved to Europe before we got married, leaving Maddie in sole custody of Brett. The first year, there was some contact every few months. And then it was longer between contacts.
“What did she want?” I whispered and kept my eye on the hall.
Old Friends and New, Another Murder Page 12