by Laina Turner
“Like what?” Shelley asked, not seeming concerned about what I might be about to say which gave me a little more confidence about saying it.
“She said that President Stoddard was misappropriating funds. And those were her exact words,” I said and then paused to see her reaction.
Shelley looked at me and I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. But the fact that she didn’t immediately deny it made me think there might be at least some truth to it, which honestly made me a little sad. I liked President Stoddard and didn’t want to think of him as being a criminal.
“Was she telling the truth?” I asked when I finally couldn’t take the suspense anymore.
Shelley sighed. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”
“But you suspect, don’t you?” Her “I don’t knows” were mired in confusion like something had happened to maybe make it look like he’d done something inappropriate, but she wasn’t sure and she didn’t know what to think.
She slowly nodded. “I don’t do the books; those go over to the accounting department. I do preliminary things for the president to get things ready to send to the accounting department. Recently, it seemed as if things weren’t always adding up.”
“What did he say about it? Or did you ask him?”
“Of course I asked. He blew me off and said not to worry about it. Took the file back and turned it into accounting himself. I never heard another thing about it.”
“Do you think he could have been doing something wrong? Like embezzling something?”
Shelley paused once again, not denying which was what I would’ve expected. There could be many other plausible explanations.
“Like I said, I don’t know exactly what was happening. I just know that things didn’t add up. I also know he was very financially dependent on Candy. She used that to control him and he hated it,” Shelley said, her sentence ending in a bit of a bitter note as if she was mad on the president’s behalf. Though she’d worked for him very closely for the last two years, so it made sense for her to be somewhat protective.
“What do you mean? Do we pay our president as bad as we pay faculty?” I said with a laugh.
“No. He’s paid very well. But Bethany gets a large chunk of his paycheck for spousal and child support. If it wasn’t for Candy’s money, he would have to live on campus.” She grimaced.
I twisted my face up in a frown. That would be a horrible state of affairs. I completely agreed in supporting the children, but people also needed to live. That seemed like a lose-lose arrangement. “So, you think he could’ve been embezzling funds to pad his lifestyle?”
“I’m saying it’s a possibility,” she said slowly, and I could tell she didn’t want to be saying it out loud.
“Bethany seemed very sure of it. Why would he even tell her if that was what he was doing?”
“He may have left Bethany for Candy, but they talked every day. And it wasn’t just about the kids.”
That was interesting. Was there more reason than for the kids that caused his ex-wife to move when he did?
“Bethany said he probably faked his own kidnapping to take heat off his money mismanagement. You think there’s any truth that?”
At this, Shelley vehemently shook her head. The reaction I’d been expecting since mentioning Bethany’s comment about misappropriating funds.
“Not at all. He might put Candy or Bethany through a fake kidnapping, but he’d never do that to his kids. He loves those kids more than anything.”
I looked at my phone and saw it was almost time for my next class, so I stood up. I was kind of anxious to get out of there and think about what she’d told me.
“Sorry I can be more help, but thanks for the cupcake and the coffee.”
“You’re welcome. Have a good rest your day.”
“You too.”
I walked out of Shelley’s office now more confused than ever. I needed to do some investigating to see if there was anything to this money thing. The best way to do that was talk to someone in accounting and see if there was truth to Bethany’s allegations and I knew just the person. I needed to talk to Robert.
Chapter 22
I let my last class go ten minutes early so I could make it across campus to the building where all the business offices were. Unlike professors, the people in the business office worked a strict eight to five, and it was already quarter to five. I stepped up my walking speed because I really wanted to talk to Robert and not have to wait until eight o’clock tomorrow morning. That would be torture.
I’d made it almost all the way to the business office when I saw Don in the courtyard talking to one of the other security officers. He saw me and stopped his conversation before jogging over. I only had a couple minutes left to catch Robert before he was gone for the day, but it wouldn’t be that easy to push Don off without him getting suspicious. I didn’t exactly tell him what I was on my way to do.
“Hey. Fancy seeing you here.” He gave me a peck on the cheek.
“I do work here.” I laughed.
“Where you headed?”
Of course, he would ask me the one question I didn’t want him to ask.
“I’m headed to the business office.”
“For what?”
While his questions were completely normal, I couldn’t help but be aggravated he was asking as I glanced again at my phone and realized I only had one minute to go.
“I need to talk to Robert for a second.”
Don glanced watch. “Yeah, it’s five o’clock; he’s probably gone already. You know how those in business are. Punching a clock.”
I sighed and told myself I would have to connect with him in the morning.
“Is there a problem? You seem disappointed. Big business office emergency?”
“Not really.”
I didn’t want to worry to Don, but I didn’t want to tell him the truth either knowing what that truth would bring.
“What’s going on, Olivia?” Don picked up on the fact there was something I wasn’t being entirely forthcoming about.
“I think President Stoddard may have been embezzling money. I wanted to ask Robert a few questions.”
The vein in Don’s forehead throbbed. It was a sure sign he was angry, but he wasn’t saying anything to me yet.
“What makes you think that, Olivia?” he asked, using my name again; another sign he was trying to control his anger and give me another lecture. I had to give him credit; if I were him, I would feel the same way.
“I talked to his ex-wife and she thinks he staged this himself to take the heat off the fact he was misappropriating funds. I went and asked Shelley, but she said she didn’t know.”
“You have got to be kidding me, Olivia. Didn’t Detective Rodriguez tell you to stay out of it?”
I cocked my head to the side to replay the conversation he’d had. “He said several things, but I don’t think he ever told me to stay out of it.”
“Olivia, don’t split hairs with me. I know you want to help, but you getting involved could muddle the information.”
“I’m just asking questions. And honestly, Bethany just volunteered it. I didn’t even have to ask.”
“You shouldn’t even be talking to her.”
“Take me to dinner and then come with me in the morning talk to Robert when he gets in at eight?” I said sweetly. As much as I could tell he wanted to be mad, I could see a smile starting to break across his face.
“Fine. But you’re paying.”
Chapter 23
Don and I had agreed to meet at Mama Rosa’s at six o’clock. The restaurant was fine Italian dining in a place that I normally wasn’t enough on the A-list to get into in Spencer, Ohio. However, Mama Rosa, the owner and head chef, was the mother of a college buddy of Don’s and he had a standing reservation at any time. Something that I had become accustomed to in the year of our friendship. The food was truly amazing.
I got there about ten minutes early and was ushered to our table where
there was a basket of cheesy garlic bread and a glass of Merlot waiting for me.
“May I presume Don will be meeting you, Madame?” Trevor, the head waiter, who now recognized me and made me feel very special, said with a twinkle in his eye. I had told him several times to call me Olivia, not Madame, but he continued to call me that anyway. I couldn’t deny it made me smile every time.
“Yes. So how much bread I eat before he gets here is our secret. Got it?”
Trevor made the motion of zipping his lips and throwing away the key and headed to check the needs of one of his other tables. I scrolled through the email on my phone and was excited to see Robert had responded to the one I’d sent about an hour ago asking if he would be in tomorrow morning because I needed to talk to him. He said he would be in at eight and he would bring the donuts if I got the coffee. I fired off a quick response that I would do that and would see him at eight and just as I hit send, Don walked through the door.
He’d taken the time to go home and shower as I could see his hair was still a little damp. My, he looked handsome in well-worn jeans and a black button-down shirt. A casual outfit yet he looked like a million bucks. He saw me, walked over, and then kissed me on the cheek before sitting down.
“I see Trevor already took care of you,” he said, nodding to my wine and the breadbasket.
He opened the napkin on the breadbasket to see how much was in there and I slapped his hand playfully.
“Don’t you go counting the pieces of bread,” I scolded good-naturedly and he started laughing.
“Never.”
Trevor must’ve seen him come in because he was immediately at our table with another glass of Merlot. “The usual for you two?”
Don and I looked at each other and nodded. We’d tried many different things on the menu together, but we always came back to our favorite which was one of the several things we had in common.
“Two eggplant Parmesan with extra cheese and a side of grilled asparagus?” Trevor asked us. We both nodded.
“So how was your day?” I asked him, grabbing my second piece of bread out of the basket and setting on the plate in front of me. I really had to watch myself around bread, especially when it was smothered in cheese.
“Oh, you know. The usual. Got a call from the freshman dorm that people were smoking marijuana, which was the most exciting thing of the day.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I know. But I’m not gonna encourage you by giving you information about the case.”
“Did you get to talk to Detective Rodriguez?” I asked, ignoring what he just said.
“About what your theory that he might’ve been embezzling money?” He took a sip of his wine to wash down his bite of bread.
“Yes.”
“No, I called him but got voicemail.”
Nice to know that even though Don was annoyed at my nosiness, he was still willing to help me.
“Do you think there’s any validity to it? The money thing?”
“I don’t know. I never really heard of anything like that come up.”
Don paused as Trevor came up to our table and sat down two delicious steaming plates eggplant Parmesan.
“Anything else I can get you two?” Trevor asked as he grated fresh Parmesan on top of both of our plates in a big pile. I would need to do an extra yoga class for that helping, but I didn’t care.
Don and I shook our heads and Trevor walked away. We were both silent as we cut into our meal and I rolled my eyes in delight. I hadn’t even liked eggplant until Don had got me to try a bite of his eggplant Parmesan here a few months ago. I didn’t know what Mama Rosa did to this vegetable, but it was the most delicious thing. I tried to re-create it at home one time and ended up throwing the entire thing in the trash.
“Do you think you’ll be heading back to Columbus anytime soon to work on that cold case?” I asked, changing the subject.
Don shook his head. “No. Some cases just linger for years. We can only hope that at some point new information comes to light and we can solve it so the families can get closure”
All of a sudden, I noticed a very familiar blonde walking. It was Colleen with Vice Provost Thomas.
“Olivia, what are you staring at? Did someone at the other table get your favorite tiramisu?”
“No. It’s Candy’s sister with the Vice Provost.”
Don subtly turned a little in his chair, pretending to point out something out the window so he could see behind him. And then he turned back to face me. I could tell he found it as strange as I did.
“Are you sure that Candy’s sister Colleen?”
“Yeah. Look at her, she looks just like Candy. Plus, I met her, remember?”
Don sat there for a minute, not picking up his fork again and I could tell he was thinking.
“Do you think Vice Provost Thomas is having an affair with Candy’s sister?” I asked.
Don looked at me. “You have a vivid imagination. While I have no idea why the two of them would be at this restaurant together, Vice Provost Thomas is not cheating on his wife. You’ve got cheating on the brain.”
“Then why would they be here? Why would he be out with an attractive woman twenty years his junior if it wasn’t for that?” I didn’t mean to be suspicious but come on. This was a fancy Italian restaurant and not one a couple would normally come to just to catch up. Something was going on here.
Chapter 24
I looked in the mirror and for the fourth time, undid the bun I was trying to make look presentable. It wasn’t quite working out.
I decided if the fifth time wasn’t the charm, then I would just throw it in a ponytail and say the heck with trying to fashion a messy bun, which was proving to be more messy than bun. I pulled my hands through my hair, twisting it around and then with my right hand grabbed the bobby pins and strategically stuck them around it on the top of my head. I looked in the mirror and at least this time it wasn’t off-center. I shook my head from side to side to make sure it felt like it was gonna hold and figured good enough. I still grabbed a ponytail holder and put it around my wrist for later in case I had a bun malfunction even though I knew it wasn’t good to wear rubber bands on your wrist. Because my hair was thick, my rubber bands were extra-large and weren’t that tight on my wrist anyway. I walked into my bedroom from the bathroom and looked one last time in my full-length mirror. I had a brand-new pair of denim trousers on with a plain white button-down. Casual, but still appropriate for school. Though we had a fairly lax dress code this year thanks to the new committee who decided such things. Most of my colleagues, the male ones anyways, lived in blue jeans. I didn’t mind wearing dresses and heels to school every day and enjoyed dressing up. Though to be honest, my students didn’t pay attention. I could probably show up in pajamas, which most of the students in my morning classes did and they wouldn’t even notice. Something touched my ankle and I looked down to see my cat, Harry. He looked up at me like he wanted something.
I knelt to pet him. “What do you want, Harry? I’ve got to go to work.” He rubbed against my hand as I pet him, clearly indicating that more attention was what he wanted. “I’ll be home and I’ll pet you then.” I gave him one last scratch under the chin and stood up. I walked out of my bathroom and into the kitchen, grabbing the pot of coffee and pouring it in my thirty-two ounce to-go cup. My purse and computer bag waited for me on the table by the front door and I grabbed them on my way out. I got into my car and headed off to school, thinking I had just enough time to put my stuff in my office, go to the cafeteria and grab coffee and meet Robert at eight a.m. Thirty minutes later, I walked into the cafeteria, annoyed I was about five minutes behind schedule because I got stopped by train. I honestly didn’t even realize trains still ran on those tracks. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw one and of course this morning when I was anxious to get here, one came by. I poured our coffees from the coffee station and since I couldn’t remember how Robert took his, I put a couple creamers and
sugars in my front pocket grabbed the cups and headed back across the room to leave.
“Olivia! Olivia!” I heard Polly’s voice and turned to see her coming up behind me. She must have come in the door on the opposite end.
“Are you on your way to meet Robert?” she asked breathlessly from walking so quickly across the cafeteria.
I nodded. I’d called her last night and told her what I’d found out. I tried to call Chloe and catch her up too, being my partner in crime and all, but hadn’t been able to reach her. “Yup, taking him this coffee now. In fact, I’m a couple minutes behind.”
“Then I’ll let you go, but call me right after,” she insisted.
“I will.”
Polly headed back to the coffee station and I headed out the door and a few minutes later, I was walking in the door of the business office. Since people in the business office worked a more regular schedule than us professors, the place already buzzed and Robert was in his office checking email.
He looked up when I knocked on his door jamb. “Hey, Olivia.”
I walked over and sat his coffee in front of them. “I couldn’t remember how you took it so here’s some cream and sugar.” I reached in my pocket and pulled out the condiments.
“Good thing you weren’t bringing me ketchup packets. Carrying those in your pocket be dangerous.”
I laughed and shut the door before taking a seat in front of his desk.
His eyebrows raised. “This must be serious if you want the door shut.”
“It is kind of. Maybe not so much serious, but not something I don’t want to be overheard asking about.”
“Is everything okay? Are you alright?” Robert asked, concern evident in his voice.
“Oh, yes, I’m fine has nothing to do with me.”
“That’s a relief. So, what can I do for you?” He took the lid off his coffee and started to add sugar. “Oh, by the way, here are the donuts.” He reached over the corner of his desk and slid a box between us.