…A Dangerous Thing (25 page)

"That's another thing," Tomlin said.
 
"That cop asked
Joynell
all kinds of questions about what was going on between her and Henderson, and he even had the nerve to imply that I might have wanted Henderson out of the way because I was jealous of him.
 
Did you ever hear anything so ridiculous?"

"Yes," Fox put in.
 
"He implied the same thing about me."

"So that's even more reason why you have to pin it on those two," Tomlin said.
 
"You owe it to me and Earl."

"But what if they didn't do anything?"

"You've gotta be kidding!
 
Didn't I just tell you we heard them talking about it?
 
You have to go over to her house tonight and listen in on them.
 
Get the facts and turn them in."

"I can't go sneaking around the dean's house," Burns protested.
 
"That's crazy."

"Not if you catch a murderer," Tomlin pointed out.
 
He spread his hands.
 
"If you're scared, I'll go with you."

"I'm not scared," Burns told him.
 
"I just don't think it's a good idea.
 
We could get in big trouble."

Tomlin nudged him with an elbow.
 
"Only if we get caught," he said.

H
arriet Kathryn Myers Hall was the HGC women's dormitory.
 
Mrs. Myers, HGC class of 1949, had the good fortune to marry well (which in 1949 would not have been considered a politically incorrect thing to do or say), and she had been generous with the money that her oil-rich husband lavished on her.
 
Her most lasting contribution to HGC was the dormitory, built ten years after her graduation, though she had also given occasional gifts of money.

Elaine Tanner appreciated the monetary gifts more than the dorm, since Mrs. Myers had specified that the money be spent on books and periodical subscriptions for the library.

"It's an ugly building, isn't it?" Elaine said as she and Burns went inside.

Burns agreed with her, but he didn't think it was necessary to say so.
 
The building probably wasn't any uglier than any other college dorm in the nation.
 
Dorms weren't known for their architectural greatness.

The front room of the dorm was a large lobby/sitting area, furnished with couches and chairs that had seen better days.
 
One of the couches was covered with a hideous floral pattern that had probably been all the rage when the dormitory was built but which now looked very old-fashioned.
 
The other couches didn't look much better.

This room was the place where the women of HGC could entertain their male friends, who were most definitely not allowed anywhere else in the building.
 
HGC may have been becoming liberal in some of its attitudes, thanks to the influence of Dean Partridge, but it wasn't going to change into Berkeley overnight.
 
Burns didn't doubt that the dean would eventually get around to challenging the old-fashioned rules of dorm life, but she couldn't do everything at once.

To one side of the sitting area was an office with a large window that overlooked the couches.
 
There was always someone on duty in the office to be sure that there were no unauthorized visitors and that nothing untoward was happening between the couples on the couches.

There were several couples sitting around, talking and looking at textbooks.
 
There wasn't even any hand-holding going on that Burns could see.
 
Hartley Gorman College's students knew better than to indulge themselves in public displays of affection, though PDAs were no longer punishable by suspension as they had been in the distant past.

Burns went over to the office and asked if Kristi Albert was a dormitory resident.

"Yes, she is, Dr. Burns," the young woman behind the glass said.
 
"She lives in 304."

"I'd like to talk to her," Burns said.
 
"Would you call and see if she's in?"

She was, and Burns asked if she could come down.
 
After a brief conversation on the phone, the young woman told Burns that Kristi would be down in five minutes.

"Want to sit down?" Burns asked Elaine.

She did, and they went to one of the couches, not the one with the floral pattern, but a plain beige one that sagged badly.

"Do you really think I can be of some help, or did you just ask me to come to spite R. M.?" she asked when they were seated.

"I know you can help," Burns said, and then he saw someone come through the doorway that led to the stairs.
 
It was the young woman he had seen running in tears from Henderson's office, and he knew that she must be Kristi Albert.

Chapter Sixteen

K
risti Albert was short and stout, with her dark hair cut in bangs across her forehead.
 
She wasn't big, Burns thought, but she was big enough to have pushed Henderson through his office window.
 
He hadn't been very big either.

 
She frowned and did not look as if she were eager to talk to Burns, but she walked across the lobby to where he was sitting.

Burns stood up, which these days was probably not something a man was expected to do when a woman entered the room, but he couldn't help himself.
 
He asked her name, and when she confirmed his suspicion that she was Kristi Albert, he introduced her to Elaine.

Elaine, who had been coached by Burns on the way to the dorm, took over the conversation.
 
Even talking to another woman, Kristi was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, and she shot covert glances at the other students in the room, all of whom were overly careful not to look in her direction.

"Is there somewhere we could go that's more private?" Elaine asked her.

"There's Mrs.
Edgely's
office," Kristi said.
 
"She's not here today."

Dorinda
Edgely
was the dorm supervisor, and Burns was glad to hear that she wasn't around.
 
She was a notorious snoop.

"Let's go see if we can use it," Elaine suggested.

Kristi assured them it would be all right.
 
"She always leaves it open.
 
I study in there sometimes."

Sure enough, the office was open.
 
Even the light was on.
 
Burns suspected that
Dorinda
was off shopping but that she had left the light on just in case any HGC administrator should happen to drop by.
 
That way she could explain that she "just happened to step out for a minute."

Burns sat behind the polished wooden desk, while Elaine and Kristi sat on a couch that looked somewhat newer and more comfortable than those in the lobby.
 
Elaine didn't drag things out.
 
She let Kristi know immediately why they were there.

"I know you had some problems with Mr. Henderson," she said.
 
"Why don't you tell me about them."

Kristi cut her eyes over toward Burns.

"He's not going to say anything," Elaine told her.
 
"And he knows about Mr. Henderson."

"He saw me one day," Kristi said, still looking at Burns.
 
"Coming out of Mr. Henderson's office."

"That's right," Elaine agreed.
 
"He told me about that.
 
Why were you there?"

Kristi looked back at Elaine.
 
"I went to talk about a test.
 
I thought I deserved a better grade than I got."

Burns thought that students these days had a lot more courage than those of his own generation, most of whom would never have dared to question their professors' right to give whatever grades they wanted to give.

"What did Mr. Henderson say about the grade?"

"I've talked about this to Dr. Fox," Kristi said.
 
"But I don't want to say anything else.
 
It doesn't seem right, not with Mr. Henderson being . . . passed away."

"I think you should tell me," Elaine said.
 
"It might have something to do with the murder."

Elaine's saying the word like that seemed to shock Kristi.
 
Her face reddened and she looked at the floor.

"There's something else, Kristi," Elaine said.
 
"Someone saw you going to Mr. Henderson's office on the day he died."

Kristi's head snapped up.
 
"Oh, no!
 
I didn't.
 
It wasn't me!"

Elaine looked at Burns.

"I'm afraid it was," he said, taking his cue and trying to make his voice appropriately hard.
 
"You were there just before Mr. Henderson died."

Burns was amazed at his success.
 
Kristi started crying.
 
Elaine opened her purse, brought out a tissue, and handed it to Kristi, who took it and wiped her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she snuffled.
 
"I shouldn't have lied.
 
I did go to Mr. Henderson's office, but I didn't do anything to him.
 
I was just talking to him about the test again."

She twisted the tissue in her hands, not looking at either Elaine or Burns, who was sure she was lying.

"Tell us your version of what happened the first time you went to see him," he said.

Kristi dabbed at her eyes with the wadded tissue.
 
"He—he put his hand on me."

"Where?" Elaine asked.

Kristi didn't answer in words.
 
Instead she moved her left hand to her breast.

"And is that when you ran away?" Burns asked.

"Yes.
 
I told Dr. Fox about it later.
 
He said he'd talk to the dean."
 
Her eyes were dry now, and she looked resentful.
 
"I didn't think he'd tell the whole school."

"He didn't," Burns said.
 
"He just told me.
 
This is murder we're talking about here, Kristi, not just sexual harassment.
 
Dr. Fox thought it might be wiser for someone on the faculty to speak to you before the police found out."

"Oh!
 
You aren't going to tell the police, are you?"

"No," Elaine said, giving Burns a look.
 
"We aren't going to tell the police."

"Not if you tell us the truth," Burns said, not chastened by Elaine's glare.
 
"Now what did you say to Mr. Henderson on the day he was killed?"

Kristi looked at the wall, then at the floor, and finally back at Burns.
 
"Nothing.
 
I didn't even see him."

Burns was skeptical.
 
"Are you sure about that?"

"You can tell us the truth, Kristi," Elaine said.
 
"Nothing you say in here will leave this room."

Kristi didn't look as if she were sure of that.
 
"That's what Dr. Fox said."

Burns stood up.
 
"I think it's time to call Chief Napier," he said.
 
"We're not getting anywhere."

"Wait!" Kristi said.
 
"I'll tell you the whole thing."

"Fine," Burns said.
 
"We're listening."

Clearly embarrassed, Kristi told her story.
 
Knowing that Henderson had an evening class, she had gone to complain again about the grade, and she had gone alone in spite of what had happened previously.
 
But she had a reason.
 
She was planning to threaten Henderson.

"I was going to tell him that if he didn't do the right thing about my grade, I was going to tell his wife what he did to me."

Considering what Samantha Henderson seemed to think about her husband's attractiveness to women, Kristi would probably not have been believed.
 
Burns thought it was more than likely that Samantha would accuse Kristi of trying to seduce Tom.

"You were
going
to tell him," Burns said.
 
"Did you?"

"No.
 
Like I said, I never saw him.
 
I couldn't do it.
 
I started thinking about what he'd done, and how it made me feel, and I couldn't even go inside his office.
 
I just turned around and went back downstairs.
 
I didn't even know what had happened until a lot later."

"Did you see anyone else in his office or in the hallway?" Burns asked.

Kristi thought about it, then shook her head.
 
"I don't remember.
 
I don't think so."

Melling
had seen her, however.
 
There wasn't much question about that.
 
She might have brushed by him in passing and not noticed, thanks to the stress she was feeling.