Murder in the Dorm (14 page)

“Hello. Mind if I join you?”

“Charlie. Yes; please do. I’m just in for a quick bite but you can change that if there’s something new on the case.”

“As a matter of fact, there is. But let me get you a glass of wine.”

After Sommers had been served Charlie gave her an account of his expedition to Giacomo’s neighborhood, what he’d learned, and what DeVries had said that morning.

“I can see why you’re not satisfied. But if the police, or at least homicide is going to close the case and you don’t have any leads, it looks like you’ll have to drop the case. Or do you have some ideas?”

“I do have one, but it’s a little sensitive to discuss with you because…”

“It has to do with Kim Berger.”

“Yes; I’m afraid it does. It’s a bit of a stretch, but when I found out that Giacomo had been playing the market, it occurred to me that he might have had contact with Berger. I doubt very much that he was a long-term investor, and if he was a trader, he might have dealt with her.”

“Possibly, but that doesn’t make for much of a connection.”

“I know. It’s just that I wondered if she might know something about him.”

“Even if she does, Charlie, she wouldn’t be able to discuss him with you.”

“Yeah, that’s the hitch. But you do agree that closing the case is premature?”

“Yes, I do. For one thing, given what you’ve told me, unless this Giacomo person is just crazy I don’t understand how he could have shot McDermott and made his own situation that much worse. I also can’t believe that he thought waving a gun at McDermott would get his money back.”

Charlie began to feel from her tone that Sommers was irritated. So what if Berger had handled Giacomo’s trades? Was that reason enough to think she was the elusive third party? He’d gone too far, too fast again.

“I’m sorry about dragging Berger in again. I suppose I’m just desperate to find something to follow up on. I have a gut feeling that there was a third person involved in what Kelsey and McDermott were doing, but aside from Giacomo being told about McDermott, I can’t substantiate the feeling. When I learned that Giacomo was into trading, I immediately thought of Kim Berger but I think I’ve annoyed you about that and for no good reason. I guess I was just bouncing the idea around and I think your reaction has made me realize that it’s not going to take me anywhere.”

Sommers relaxed and spoke again.

“Charlie, I admire your perseverance and I’ll do this much: the next time I see Kim, and at her instigation rather than mine, I’ll see what I can find out for you about whether she knew Giacomo. I can start by saying that I learned Giacomo was trading stocks and see where that goes.”

“I would very much appreciate that.”

Charlie and Sommers finished their coffee and she left. Charlie, feeling down, went back to the Club table for another coffee and some dessert since he saw a few people still there. Later, in his office, he immersed himself in his paper.

Fridays were busy nights at most restaurants, so Kate had prepared some grilled salmon. Charlie opened a bottle of pinot grigio and over dinner he related his conversation with Sommers.

“Charlie, I think you’re going to have to let this go. You’ve nothing to go on. If Sommers provides something after talking to Berger, fine, but I doubt she will or that it’ll be of much use. You need something to work with. All you have here is the conviction that there was a third person involved in Kelsey and McDermott’s scam and vague suspicions about Kim Berger. That’s it, really, and it’s not enough for you to do anything productive. Think, too, that DeVries knows what she’s doing.”

“I’ve been telling myself all of that. It’s just hard to give up. One thing I thought of was talking to Giacomo.”

“And what do you think he’s going to tell you? From what you’ve said, he found out about McDermott from an anonymous email. Even if he’s willing to bare his soul, he probably doesn’t know anything useful to you.”

“Kate, you’re right. This really is a dead end. I have to drop it. My classes are going well despite the distraction, and my paper should be done in another couple of weeks. There’s also a chance that DeVries might call to have lunch or coffee and tell me more about what’s going on. I think that’s where I have to leave it. I was hopeful about Sommers learning something from Berger, but you’re right that it’s unlikely. If Berger really is the third person, she’s going to get away with it and she’s going to keep the money Kelsey and McDermott scammed.”

That night Charlie’s last waking thought was that his sleuthing career was over with one win, one loss.

Chapter 22

The Fourth Weekend

Saturday morning was cold and bleak and Charlie’s mood matched the weather. He’d finished his second cup of coffee and was sitting staring out a window when Kate meandered into the kitchen. Halfway through her first cup of coffee she watched Charlie for a couple of minutes before speaking.

“You’re down in the mouth about the case, aren’t you?”

“Well, what bothers me most is that it seems so obviously unfinished and yet nothing more is going to be done and I can’t begin to think of anything I might do.”

“Drop it, Charlie. It’s done if the cops say it’s done. Even if you did come up with something now, you’d have a hard time convincing them to take it seriously. I’m sure DeVries appreciated your efforts, and she owes you, but she’s not going to do anything more. I’ll bet that even if you came up with something solid she and her partner would find a way around it. They’re no doubt swamped with cases and as far as they’re concerned, this one is over.”

“You’re right. I have a paper to finish and classes to do. I’ve also let my reading slide for speculating about the case. No, you’re definitely right. I’m putting this out of my mind. I’ll get dressed and when you’re ready we’ll go have another look at that car and then a good lunch, okay?”

“If you want to tromp around a car lot in this weather, fine. I’ll wait in the car with the heat on. But I’m with you on the lunch part.”

Charlie’s visit to the car dealer didn’t last long. When he actually sat in the car he’d been thinking about, he realized that the driver’s visibility was seriously hampered by the car’s design. Clearly the stylists had again won out over the engineers. He wrote it off. Lunch was at the Casa Santini and was excellent. Kate and Charlie lingered over their wine, though he only took sips of one glass because he was driving. The rest of the afternoon passed quietly while they both read. It was eight o’clock when the ringing of the phone disturbed things. It was Sommers.

“Charlie. I have some news, though it’s not good. Are you busy tomorrow? I was thinking about lunch.”

“What sort of news?”

“Well, I had a long talk with Kim Berger this afternoon. It was at her instigation. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow if we can meet.”

“Sure. How about the Eggnest again? I like their all-day brunch. And I’ll bring Kate.”

“Good; I’ll meet you both there at noon or a little after.”

Charlie explained to Kate what was up and she showed willingness to go to lunch and interest in hearing what Sommers had to say.

The rest of the evening was quiet and before falling asleep Charlie admitted that even though Sommers had said the news wasn’t good, his hopes were up.

Sunday was cold, too, but the sun was out. After breakfast Charlie spent a good while dealing with email before getting dressed but he and Kate were looking for a parking spot near the Eggnest by noon. Finding nothing, Charlie dropped Kate at the restaurant to get a table while he looked for a place a little further off. When he reached the Eggnest after a three-block walk Charlie found Sommers just inside the door, clearly having just arrived. He greeted her and both went to a window table Kate had snagged. Sommers took a seat opposite Kate and Charlie sat next to Kate. Some small talk ensued, then they diagnosed the menu, and eventually gave their orders to a server who came to the table and poured them all coffee. When the server left Charlie got right to it.

“Okay, Janice, tell all.”

“Well, I gave some thought to how to approach Kim and it turned out to be unnecessary. She called me and asked me to go for coffee. We met and I knew right away that something was wrong. Her mother died on Thursday. It was unexpected; a heart attack. Now that Kim doesn’t have to continue supporting her mother, she’s going to go for her Ph.D. What she wanted from me was reassurance that I’d still back her application. Her mother didn’t leave her anything, other than release from supporting her, and she had no insurance, but Kim said that she’ll move to a small apartment and stay at Raymond, Teller till classes start. Then she’ll attend Meredith full time, but only if she gets a scholarship or fellowship that will cover the fees. She has some money, but the funeral and burial-plot will cost. She used to wait tables and if she doesn’t get funding she’s sure she can find some evening work that won’t interfere with her classes. I pointed out that with her experience she might be able to carry a heavier course-load and get much of the course work done in the first year. She also asked me if I thought you’d still write for her. That’s how you came into the discussion, and again at her instigation. I told her that you no doubt would write for her. I threw in that you were still working on the Kelsey, McDermott killings but she didn’t take the bait. She just said something about admiring your persistence and got back to her own plans. That’s why I said it wasn’t good news. Not only her mother’s death, but how nothing of interest to you came out of our meeting. Admittedly she was distracted, but she seemed uninterested in the case.”

“Did her mother die at home?”

“What’s that got to do with…? Charlie! You’re hopeless, genuinely hopeless. And no, she died in the hospital. She was taken in on Wednesday night and died early Thursday morning.”

The three were silent for several minutes. Sommers and Kate finished their omelets and talked a little about the weather while Charlie sipped at his coffee. He couldn’t think of what to say next and was a little relieved when Sommers looked at her watch and said she’d better get going because she had a lot to do that afternoon. Charlie thanked her for the news and insisted on buying her lunch. Kate expressed hope they’d meet again soon and Sommers left. Kate and Charlie finished their coffees while the server prepared their bill. Charlie paid the bill and they strolled the three blocks to where he’d parked the car.

Back at home, Charlie sat and brooded. Kate left him alone, knowing better than to try to get him to forget about the case. For his part, Charlie was trying to face what seemed to be the hard truth that his part in investigating the killings was well and truly over and that Kim Berger continued to elude being connected to the case. After a while he admitted to himself that other than the likely innocent coincidence that she worked at Raymond, Teller and McDermott had a trading account there, plus what he’d construed as a suspicious interest in the case on her part, there really was nothing to tie Berger to Kelsey and McDermott. His thoughts then turned to Giacomo and he wondered if it would be possible to talk to the man. But no, that wasn’t likely to happen. Even if it did, it probably would prove unproductive. Charlie had no reason to think he’d get any more out of Giacomo than DeVries and Matson had. No; Kate was right; he really did have to let go of this affair. With that thought, and feeling some internal resolve, Charlie went for a glass of wine, picked up the book he’d been reading, and consigned Kelsey and McDermott to his mental rubbish bin. It would be nearly ten weeks before he’d have occasion to root them out again.

Chapter 23

The Thirteenth Monday

With the Winter term and classes over, and his new paper accepted for publication, Charlie was in a good mood. Over coffee he wondered about going car-shopping again. He still couldn’t decide whether to get a new car or keep his present one another year. It was only three years old and wasn’t giving any trouble. The thing was, he found the styling dated, though he’d never admit it. He decided to skip the car shopping and go into his office and the Club for lunch. Despite there being no classes, there’d be people at the Club table.

The department was quite when Charlie arrived a little after ten. Jodie was in her office but Phoebe’s door was closed and there didn’t seem to be anyone else there. As Charlie passed her office door, Jodie called out to him.

“Professor Douglas? Dean Foxe called and asked that you go to his office as soon as you can.”

“Thanks, Jodie; I’ll go now.”

On his way to the administration building Charlie wondered what Foxe wanted. They’d not had occasion to speak for several months. Their last conversation had been uncomfortable, with Foxe wanting Charlie to endorse someone for membership in a learned society and Charlie demurring. Habakkuk Foxe, burdened by his parents with the name of an ancient Jewish prophet, saw Charlie as soon as he got to the Dean’s office.

“Charlie, how are you keeping?”

“Fine, Dean Foxe. The department secretary said you wanted to see me.”

“Yes. There’s a small problem. Do you recall a former student named Cassidy Emmons?”

“Cassidy? Yes, I remember her; bright woman. She did a couple of courses with me four or five years ago and Kate and I see her occasionally when we lunch at Oliver’s, the bistro where she works part-time.”

“She did three courses with you, and it was six years ago. She’s completed her doctorate since then, but you’ve just stated the problem. It’s about Ms. Emmons’ job. She applied for a position in the Women’s Studies department and came out at the top of the list of applicants. Her appointment was a done deal until last night. The chair of Women’s Studies, Angela Sutherland, doesn’t like the idea of hiring a bartender. She was at that bistro the other night and saw Emmons tending bar.”