File M for Murder

by Miranda James

  “Thank you,” I said. “That totally slipped my mind.”

  “And no wonder, given what’s been happening.” Sean shook his head. “Has she been able to tell you what the heck she was doing, going off like that this morning?”

  I recounted to Sean what his sister told me about her morning. I had reached the point where Laura regained consciousness when I glanced toward the door and saw Kanesha Berry bearing down on us.

  “Good afternoon, Deputy Berry.” I stood and extended a hand, and Sean did the same when he caught sight of her.

  “Gentlemen.” Kanesha shook our hands in turn, her expression as cool and remote as usual. “How is your daughter?”

  Once again I shared what Dr. Finch told me. “They’re doing the CT scan right now. I’m hoping to be able to take her home before long.”

  “I hope they don’t find any internal injury.” Kanesha motioned to the seats Sean and I were occupying when she arrived. “Please sit. I’d like to talk to you.” She pulled a stand-alone chair over and placed it so that she faced us directly.

  “What can we do for you, Deputy?” Sean sounded wary to me, and I wondered whether he was about to go into lawyer mode. I devoutly hoped Laura wasn’t going to need a lawyer before this was over.

  Kanesha pulled a small notebook out of a pocket and flipped through it until she found the page she wanted. “I have the report from the campus police, and I have personally been to the scene. I’m taking this very seriously, I just want to assure you. I’d like you to tell me, Mr. Harris, what you did and observed.”

  How many times now had I gone through this? I repressed a sigh and gave the deputy the information she requested.

  Kanesha jotted a few things down as I talked. When I finished, she thanked me. “I also need to talk to your daughter as soon as possible.”

  “If they release her, can it wait until I get her home?” I didn’t want Laura to have to be here longer than was necessary. None of us was keen on spending time in a hospital after what my late wife went through.

  “Sure.” Kanesha tapped the notebook with her pen while she regarded me. “You have any idea why someone’d attack your daughter like that? There haven’t been any incidents like that on campus for about ten years, according to the campus police.”

  I frowned. I had to be careful what I said to her, because I didn’t want to cause trouble for Laura. I had to talk to my daughter about that blasted thumb drive and urge her to turn it over to Kanesha.

  Kanesha continued to stare at me, and I realized I had let the silence extend a bit too long. “Surely it must have something to do with the death of Connor Lawton.”

  “Why would you say that?” Kanesha didn’t let up with that laserlike fix on my face.

  “The circumstances of his death are definitely odd,” Sean replied, his tone cool. He was slipping into lawyer mode. “He and my sister were good friends, and she may have been targeted because of that. Do you know where Damitra Vane was this morning? She has expressed considerable hostility to Laura.”

  “The police are checking on Ms. Vane’s whereabouts this morning.” Kanesha focused that gimlet eye on Sean. “Why would Ms. Vane attack your sister? Because she thought Ms. Harris had something to do with Lawton’s death?”

  Sean’s face darkened at that last question, and I wasn’t pleased with it myself.

  “My daughter had nothing to do with that man’s death.” I tried to keep my voice level, but I could feel myself becoming heated as I spoke. “She had the unpleasant experience of finding him, that’s all.”

  Kanesha shifted back to me. “I hope for her sake that’s all it turns out to be.”

  I suddenly felt like a hypocrite, because I knew my daughter was holding back potential evidence from the investigation. Evidently I masked my consternation well, because Kanesha didn’t push me further. Instead, she said, “I’ll need both you and Ms. Harris to come to the sheriff’s department to make your statements and sign them.” She stood. “Also, please call and let me know if Ms. Harris will be going home today. I’d really like to talk to her this afternoon.”

  “Certainly,” I said. I decided to venture a question of my own, even though Kanesha might bite my head off for asking it. “Is it definite yet that Connor Lawton was murdered?”

  A quick glance at her face let me know she was peeved with me. She regarded me coolly for a moment. “Why do you think he was murdered? Are you some kind of expert now that you’ve been involved in three homicides?”

  “No, I don’t think any such thing.” I was trying to hold on to my temper. She probably thought I was baiting her, but that was not my intention. “My daughter found a corpse one day and was attacked the next. I’m concerned for her welfare, and if this turns out to be a murder investigation, I’ll be even more worried.”

  My words hit home—I could see it by a subtle change in Kanesha’s expression.

  “We’re treating Connor Lawton’s death as suspicious,” she said. “That’s really all I can tell you at the moment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I need to move on.” With that she turned and walked away.

  Sean muttered an uncomplimentary word at the chief deputy’s retreating back, and I frowned at him. Kanesha could be deliberately unpleasant, but I didn’t like him displaying such poor manners.

  He had the grace to appear abashed when he caught my frown. “Sorry, Dad. But she really irks me.”

  “Of course she does,” I said. “She seems to love playing bad cop most of the time.” I glanced at my watch. “I wish they’d hurry up and tell us about that scan.”

  “She’s going to be fine, Dad.” Sean spoke with assurance, and I prayed he was right.

  I decided to ask him something that had been preying on my mind for a while now. Doing it would put him in an awkward position, but my concern for Laura propelled me forward. “Son, did Laura ever talk to you much about Connor Lawton? She never mentioned him to me.”

  Sean regarded me with a bland expression. “Yeah, we talked about him a few times, I guess.”

  “Did she ever get really serious about him? He seemed like such a jerk to me, yet she seemed to go out of her way to defend him. Even when he was driving her crazy, too. I’m just trying to figure out why she kept putting up with him.”

  He looked away for a moment, and I sensed he was trying to come to a decision. When he met my gaze again, he nodded. “Yeah, she did get pretty serious. She’ll probably wring my neck when she finds out I told you this, but he asked her to marry him back in May, and she said yes.”

  NINETEEN

  My own daughter engaged, and I didn’t even know about it? My first reaction was hurt. Why hadn’t Laura told me about this? Did she no longer feel comfortable confiding in me?

  Sean must have read my expression because he put a hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Chill, Dad, it’s not what you think. Laura would have told you, but the engagement lasted maybe two weeks. She broke it off.”

  That mollified me somewhat, but there was still the fact that Laura had never mentioned to me—in our several-times-weekly phone conversations—that she’d met anyone who was serious marriage material. I kept that observation to myself, though.

  “I’m sure glad she changed her mind.” I managed to keep my tone light, despite the fact that I was still smarting. “I can’t imagine how I would have dealt with him as a son-in-law.”

  “No chance of that now.”

  “You’re right, of course.” I shook my head.

  “Remember how she was always bringing home those odd kids in her class, the ones who never quite fit in?” Sean smiled.

  “I’d forgotten that. She seemed to have an affinity for any lame duck that came along.” Connor Lawton would have qualified as a lame duck, I supposed, just on a bigger scale.

  “I used to think she ought to be a counselor or a teacher because she was so determined to help those kids fit in.” He laughed. “But then the acting bug bit her in high school, and it was pretty clear what s
he wanted to do.”

  I felt a little better about Laura’s insistent defense of Lawton now. I’d been worried she was still in love with him and would be even more deeply hurt by his death as a consequence.

  “Mr. Harris.” I glanced up to see the person at the ER admissions desk waving at me. I got up and walked over to her.

  “Your daughter’s back in her room if you want to go see her again.” She smiled, and I thanked her.

  I motioned for Sean to join me. “This is her brother. Is it okay for him to go with me?”

  “Of course.” She peeled a visitor badge off a sheet on her desk and handed it to Sean, who stuck it on his shirt.

  Laura was sitting up when Sean and I walked into her room. Her face brightened at the sight of us, and Sean went straight to her. He leaned down and gave her a quick hug. “You always have to find a way to be the center of attention. I thought you might have outgrown that.” He grinned.

  Laura balled up her fist and punched him lightly in the stomach. “Toad.” She grinned back at him.

  “How was the test?” I asked as I moved closer.

  “Not too bad.” Laura shrugged. “I hope they let me go home soon. I’m getting really hungry.”

  “That’s a good sign.” Sean winked at me. “If the monster is hungry, she can’t be hurt all that much.”

  Laura punched him again, and he doubled over and groaned. “Now I need an X-ray,” he said, sounding pitiful.

  “I’m not the only actor in the family.” She paused for a beat. “But I am the only good one.” Laura’s dry tone made me laugh, and Sean straightened up, grinning.

  “You must be feeling better, sweetheart,” I said.

  “I think the pain medication has kicked in.” Laura smiled. “Whatever it was made the headache go away, mostly. I feel a little floaty.”

  “Hold on to that,” Sean said. “Kanesha Berry was here. She wants to question you about what happened.”

  “Right now?” Laura frowned.

  “No, later, after you’re home,” I said. “That is, if the doctor releases you today.”

  “I wish they’d come tell us the results of that scan.” Sean motioned for me to take the chair, then went to stand to one side of the bed, by a large cabinet. “How long does it take?”

  “I have no idea,” I said. “Not long, I hope.” I patted Laura’s hand. “I’m thinking positively. You’ll be going home with Sean and me soon.”

  “That she will.” Dr. Finch walked into the room. She stopped near the bed, and Laura quickly introduced her brother. The doc nodded, then addressed her patient. “I’m pleased to tell you that there was no sign of any internal injuries.”

  I gave a silent but utterly thankful prayer for those results.

  “The nurse will be here in a few minutes with some aftercare instructions, and he’ll go over them with you. Main thing, be sure to follow up with your own doctor. Problems can pop up after the fact, and if you feel that anything is wrong, go to the doctor right away, or come back to the ER.” The doc turned to leave.

  “Thank you, Doctor,” I said, and Laura echoed me.

  With a last, quick smile, Dr. Finch departed.

  Within five minutes the stocky nurse returned. There were the usual papers to be signed, and he went over the doc’s instructions with us.

  He went to find a wheelchair, and soon Sean was wheeling Laura out of the ER toward the entrance. I stayed with Laura while Sean went to retrieve his car.

  “Are you going to feel up to talking to Kanesha?” I asked.

  “I suppose,” Laura said. “Will you be with me?”

  “If Kanesha will let me,” I said. “I’m thinking she probably won’t.”

  Laura sighed. “Figures.”

  “Before you talk to Kanesha, you and I need to discuss a few things.” I spotted Sean approaching. “The sooner the better, I think.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said. “I’m really sorry about all this, Dad.”

  “No need to apologize. We just need to get this sorted out, so you can get on with your job.”

  Laura’s laugh sounded bitter. “If I have one. With no Connor and no new play, I’m not sure what we’ll do.”

  “Ralph Johnston will come up with something.” I helped her out of the wheelchair and into the car. I took the wheelchair back into the ER and left it inside the door, out of the way. The nurse at the admissions desk nodded to acknowledge it.

  I climbed into the backseat with Laura. Sean put the car into gear and drove slowly out of the hospital parking lot. He kept up a sedate pace all the way home.

  “About that thumb drive,” I said in a tone I hope brooked no argument. “What is so all-fired important about it?”

  Laura stared out the window. “For one thing, it has the play on it—at least whatever amount of the play that Connor managed to write.”

  That much I figured. “What else?”

  “Correspondence, of course, and notes.” Laura shrugged as she turned back to gaze at me. “He also kept notes about all sorts of things. At least that’s what he told me. He never let me see what he had on it, or even what he had on his laptop. He was really secretive about it all.”

  “If it turns out he was murdered,” Sean said as he glanced into the rearview mirror, “you think there could be clues of some kind on that drive?”

  “I sure hope so,” Laura said.

  “Why did you feel like you had to take it?” I was still puzzled by Laura’s actions. “Why didn’t you simply give it to Kanesha? As it stands now, it could be deemed inadmissible evidence. What do you think, Sean?”

  “You could be right,” Sean replied. “Criminal law isn’t my forte, but a competent defense attorney could probably get it disallowed.”

  “I didn’t think about any of that.” Laura rubbed her forehead. “I guess I just thought it was important to see whatever is on it. If I turned it over to the deputy right away, I’d probably never get to see it all.”

  “Do you think there’s going to be something really personal—something about you—on the drive?” That made me nervous. Connor had acted more than a bit obsessed with Laura, and who knew what he could have written about her.

  “There could be.” Laura glanced at me, then away. “I guess I should tell you, Dad, Connor asked me to marry him several months ago, and I said yes.” She cut a sideways glance to see my reaction.

  I frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

  “I wasn’t sure you’d approve.” Laura sounded defensive. “But we didn’t stay engaged very long, only a couple of weeks. By then I figured there was no point in telling you about it.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, glad she had finally told me herself. I caught Sean’s glance in the mirror and nodded slightly. I waited a moment, then continued. “You should never be afraid to tell me anything, sweetheart. I’ll always be on your side, no matter what.”

  Laura leaned against me. “I know, and I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about it.”

  “When we get home,” Sean said, “I think we should see what’s on that thumb drive. Then you need to turn it over right away to Deputy Berry.”

  “I agree.” I patted Laura’s hand. “Kanesha’s bright and capable. We can trust her.”

  “Good,” Laura said. “But I still want to know what’s on that drive.” She hesitated. “I just have this feeling that it’s important. Mostly because of what Connor said.”

  “Said? When?” Sean asked.

  “That last phone conversation we had.” Laura sounded sad. “He was half-bombed when he called me, and when he was like that, he’d mutter a lot. Right before he hung up, he said, ‘The play’s the thing.’ Those were the last words I heard him speak.”

  TWENTY

  “We’re home,” Sean announced as he turned the car into the driveway. “That phrase—‘The play’s the thing’—sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?”

  “Hamlet,” Laura and I said in unison. I smiled and deferred to the actor
in the family. Laura supplied the whole quotation. “I’ll have grounds / More relative than this—the play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.”

  “That was Hamlet talking about his uncle, right?” Sean pulled into the garage and shut the motor off.

  “Yes,” Laura said. “Hamlet wanted a way to test his uncle Claudius to see if he was guilty of killing his father, who was also Claudius’s brother.”

  When Laura paused, I added to her comment. “He wrote a play and put in some lines about regicide to see if Claudius reacted.”

  Sean opened Laura’s door and offered her his arm. She accepted the gesture with a smile, and I followed them into the house.

  Diesel met us a few feet inside the kitchen door, and he warbled up a storm at all of us. He went straight to Laura, though, and rubbed himself against her legs. She cooed at him, telling him what a wonderful kitty he was and how much she adored him. He kept talking to her, ignoring Sean and me.

  Sean led his sister to the table and pulled out a chair for her. When Laura sat, Diesel moved in front of her and put both his front paws on her legs. He gazed up into her face and meowed. She scratched his head. “I’m doing okay, sweet kitty.”

  I glanced at the clock and was amazed to note that the time was only seven minutes past noon. The morning seemed a day long because so much had happened.

  “I’ll fix lunch.” Something fast and easy, I decided. “How about tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches?” Strictly comfort food. Sean and Laura had both, as children and as adolescents, asked for the combination whenever they were sick, and comfort seemed a good idea now.

  “Yes, please,” Laura said with a big smile, and Sean nodded. Diesel finally stopped talking and settled down by Laura’s chair. He still hadn’t acknowledged my presence.

  “Sean, why don’t you make Laura some hot tea while I get started?” I went to work preparing our lunch.