Murder is Academic (24 page)

Chapter 21

After Guy left I decided I needed to get back on campus for the meeting scheduled to discuss administrative changes. I stopped by the student center cafeteria to see if there were any rumors buzzing. To be honest, I was a lot more interested in what Der was finding out about the hydrologist named LeBeau than I was about campus shuffling of administrators.

The usual crew with Dewar in the lead was exchanging misinformation over coffee when I entered the cafeteria. I invited myself to join them.

“So Rudolf said to the President Evans, ‘I’ll need a lot more money than that to become Dean.’ I guess Evans was astonished at Rudolf’s attitude and told him he would have to think about it for a bit and get back to him. I don’t know yet what Evans’ decision will be,” Dewar said.

“Where did you get that tasty little piece of information?” I asked Dewar.

“I have my sources.”

I was certain he was about to go on with the dubious information he obtained from his “sources” when Beth entered the cafeteria, and I waved her over to the group.

“How goes things?” I patted the chair next to mine. “I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to talk with you. Did you get your proposal in to Rachel? Any word back from her yet?”

I could tell Dewar was not happy attention turned from him to Beth.

“Oh, sorry, but some of you probably don’t know Beth Stanford.” I made introductions. Most of the group expressed their sympathies to Beth, and she graciously accepted their condolences. Dewar interrupted.

“As I was saying…” He was settling in once more to pontificate on information he heard or created regarding administrative changes. I interrupted him.

“Beth was planning to do her dissertation research at the BFS and was discussing her work with Dean Wagoneer. The Dean suggested Beth develop a proposal both to accomplish her research and to temporarily serve as head of the station. So what says our new vice president to your proposal?” I turned my attention to Beth.

The group was now fully focused on Beth, much to Dewar’s chagrin.

At first she seemed reluctant to talk, but I could tell she had gotten some good news from Rachel.

“Go on. Tell us. “Unless, of course, it’s to be a secret.”

“No secret. It will be announced this afternoon at the campus meeting. I’ve been named as interim head of the BFS until the college decides whether a nation-wide search will occur for the position or a change of leadership for the station is recommended.”

“Wonderful. You can continue with your work, complete your dissertation and then apply for the permanent position. Congratulations, Beth.”

Some of the members of the group smiled at her, some even added their voice to the congratulations I offered, others inquired after Beth’s research and her background in her doctoral program at Syracuse.

“Well, let’s not put the cart before the horse.” Dewar’s voice inserted itself into the middle of the conversations around the table. “Don’t forget. Rudolf Pruitt was given the leadership of the station by our former president. I doubt whether Evans would wish to go against the dying wishes of President Talbot.”

Dewar looked rather pleased at his analysis of the situation, especially as it seemed to dampen the spirits of everyone around the table and took the delight right out of Beth’s eyes. I, for one, thought another murder on campus, Dewar’s, and by my own chubby hand, would add significantly to faculty morale. Before I could set my thoughts to words or action, Brian Forbes of chemistry laid a restraining hand on my shoulder.

“But, Edmond, you just told us Rudolf was a shoe-in for Dean. How could he possibly do both jobs? The deanship pays much more. Which do you think Rudolf would go for? Besides, what do you care for the dying wishes of our past president? You were no fan of his.” Brian swiped with a napkin at his lips, but I caught the grin on his face when he finished speaking.

Now this I liked. Dissension among the guys and, for once, I didn’t have to carry the ball.

Dewar’s smile faded, and his face turned red. I could tell he was marshaling his forces for a quick and decisive intellectual come-back, when Beth interrupted him.

“Thanks for the support, Laura, but frankly, I’d just like to take this one step at a time. First, I need to finish my dissertation research to complete my degree. When that’s done, I’ll consider any job openings that will advance my career. Will was here for a long time, and I got my undergraduate degree from this place. I have very fond memories of my studies here, but I think it might be best for me both personally and professionally to move on to another college or university.”

“Now that’s one smart little lady.” Dewar gave his usual condescending smirk.

“I’ll bet that’s a first for you, Edmond,” Brian said.

“What do you mean?”

“Agreeing with a woman’s line of reasoning
and
calling her intelligent.”

The group seemed to find Brian’s retort mildly amusing. Dewar departed announcing “pressing important business.” The group turned its attention once more to speculations about the administrative changes to be announced at this afternoon’s meeting.

Beth tapped me on the knee and whispered she needed to leave for the lake and asked me if I had time to ride out there with her, promising to be back in time for the afternoon’s meeting.

“Sure.” I was eager for some private time with her. We grabbed coffee to go. In the car, I again congratulated her on her new appointment and expressed my understanding of her need to look beyond Upstate College for her future.

“Beth, I hope you don’t mind my asking, but something strange has come up in the Thomas Talbot murder that concerns Will.”

I told her about the papers we obtained listing Will as one of the original investors in the condominium complex on the lake.

“Detective Pasquis paid me a visit last night and told me. I was shocked. There is no way Will could have found the money to invest in that project. I know it’s not mentioned in his will because I saw a copy of it when he had it drawn up soon after we married. I told Pasquis it wasn’t possible, and I think he agrees.”

“I thought as much. Faculty just don’t have the money for that kind of investment. I wasn’t surprised Talbot was an investor though. When it gets around the campus, it’ll be a juicy bit of gossip for Dewar and his friends. It’ll confirm what most people on campus thought of Talbot. The board of trustees will have a fit. I’ll bet they’ll make life hell for poor Bunny.”

“That would be rotten of them. Thomas is gone, but that’s no reason to hold Bunny responsible for his actions. But I suppose when all of this becomes public the trustees will want someone to blame. With Talbot inconveniently dead, there will be no one to publicly flog.” Beth clucked her tongue in disgust.

“So how’s the research going?” I asked.

“Oh, just great. My project includes taking water samples so we’re back on track with the monitoring system, and the state and federal officials should be out at the station sometime later this month to help with the work in preparation for the environmental report on the proposed boat ramp. I’m looking at nonindigenous species in the lake and tracking down the manner of their arrival. Some of those species, such as zebra mussels can be very destructive and can wipe out indigenous species with devastating effects. Boats coming in from other bodies of water can bring species to the lake.”

“Could that mean the public boat ramp is doomed? I mean, if it brings in species alien to this lake.” I could foresee in the future a battle between the environmentalists and the tourism industry.

“Not necessarily. There are measures that can be taken such as a hot water wash of all boats entering and exiting the lake. That would pretty much destroy the zebra mussel, if we’re diligent.”

I could tell Beth was happy at how things were unfolding for her.

“There’s only one cloud on my horizon.” Her face showed momentary concern.

“What’s that?”

“The water samples aren’t showing up as clean as I would like. There’s been a slight shift in water purity the last week or so. It’s not really significant, but the samples are more consistently unacceptable than they have been. Donald and I are now tracking down the locations of the most problematic samples. It could be a number of factors such as the larger number of boats on the lake, the greater number of swimmers, additional run-off from farmlands because of the rain, any number of things.”

“We’re not talking about closing the lake to swimming or other uses, are we?”

She hesitated before answering. “No. It’s just that I like to keep an eye on water changes over time so that I have a picture of the body of water I’m working with. Each lake is unique, so a good researcher likes to build up a lake’s individual profile. I expect the water samples over the past number of years will reveal the effects of increased use of the lake by swimmers and boaters and the impact of housing construction should also show itself in the water samples. We want to make certain that these factors don’t get out of hand, that’s all.

“Until I take a closer look at the lake’s history in the water samples collected by Donald and Will since the Biological Field Station opened up, I won’t really know. But tracking this down will take some time, time away from my own research.” Beth pulled into the BFS drive.

“Can’t Donald do that while you concentrate on your dissertation research?”

“I suppose so. I mean, of course he could. But I hate to put the entire burden on him especially when I’ve been appointed interim director. I should be the one responsible for solving this problem, if it is a problem and not just a temporary anomaly.”

“I’m certain Donald would be more than happy to accomplish the work. It keeps his hand in and would give him a sense of accomplishment to be able to account for the unusual water samples.”

Beth’s face brightened.

“You know, you’re right. After all, he’s been doing this work for years now. No reason why a change in boss should make him feel I don’t have confidence in his work. Thanks, Laura, you just solved my problem and made it a lot easier to begin my own work without feeling guilty.”

She parked the car, and Donald stepped out of the building to meet us.

“I was thinking, Donald. How would you feel about taking responsibility for collecting and testing daily water samples as you did with Will? That’ll free my time for field work with the students and my own dissertation studies.”

Donald seemed pleased at her suggestion.

“Thanks, Mrs. Stanford, for your faith in me. I surely can handle this project alone. I’ll get on testing those samples we collected this morning right now.”

“Also, Donald, and I don’t want to overburden you, but I would like your input on why our more recent samples indicate higher concentrations of fecal coliforms, E.coli. Giardia lambia, and the like. I also noticed a rise in nitrate and phosphorus over what was reported in the past. You know this lake far better than I do. I’d appreciate your take on this one.”

While I was certainly no expert in water testing, I had done enough camping and hiking to recognize the terms E. coli and Giardia and know them to be nasty little critters when it came to drinking water contaminants.

Donald smiled and nodded at Beth’s remarks, then turned to go to the lab.

“That went well. He’s a real fan of yours now,” I said.

We walked around the buildings and took the path leading to the lake.

“Guy and I were wondering why Will wasn’t more eager to get faculty from outside the area here to accomplish their research. It would make a great showcase for the college, too. Should you decide you might want to stay here, promoting the field station as a model facility to attract additional researchers might be appealing to a new president and to the Board of Trustees.”

“You are a wonder. Always playing the right political angles. I’ll give it some thought. Right now, I need to pick up some papers from my office here and get us back to campus in time for this afternoon’s meeting.”

We turned back toward the building, leaving the sound of waves gently lapping the shoreline.

“I’ll just run up and grab what I need.” She left me by the car and headed into the building where her office and the labs were housed. When she returned she had a puzzled look on her face.

“What’s up?”

“Geez, I really scared the you-know-what out of poor Donald, I guess. He was in the lab working, and I decided to stop in just to tell him I was leaving. I guess he didn’t hear me coming. He about jumped off the lab stool when I tapped him on the shoulder. He looked almost, I don’t know, guilty, when he turned toward me. I wonder if Donald is doing some of his own work on college time. Frankly, I couldn’t care less as long as he finishes the college’s work, and he keeps water samples for the college clearly differentiated from any of his own.”

“What work could he be doing on his own?”

“Oh, I don’t know. He’s a real great technician when it comes to water resources, and I think he’s worked for private labs here and there. He might be moonlighting. The pay here isn’t exactly wonderful, you know. I’ll ask him about it next chance I get, just to clear the air.”

Beth closed the door on her side of the car, and we drove out of the drive. As we turned to enter the highway, I could see Donald Hall watching us out of the laboratory windows.

*

The afternoon’s campus-wide meeting was entirely uneventful. Everyone seemed to know beforehand the changes that were taking place in the administrative line-up. The only surprise, actually a relief for most of us, was the news an associate dean from one of our sister campuses would be brought in to serve temporarily as Rachel’s replacement. Did that mean that Rudolf was seriously being considered to head the BFS? That wasn’t made clear, but, for the time being, Rudolf would remain where he was, the chair of his department. While this meant the college wouldn’t have to be burdened with Rudolf in the dean’s position, it did mean that all of us would be subjected to Rudolf’s overbearing manner in our daily encounters with him while he privately licked his wounds of rejection. I couldn’t decide if I was happy or about to be miserable at this turn of events, but I assumed I would find out very soon.