Murder in the Dorm (16 page)

“Okay, what about this article you’re doing?”

“As I said, it’s just a retrospective. My editor heard about Giacomo’s situation and thought it was worth a follow-up.”

Dingwall wanted to know if Charlie would allow him to mention his interest in the case and to make a few references to the Barrett Wilson case and Charlie’s role in it. Charlie had no objections but did ask to see the piece before its publication. Dingwall had nothing new beyond the drying up of Giacomo’s money and asked if Charlie had learned anything of interest.

“All I’ve got is an odd coincidence. But this has to stay strictly between us until there’s more information available. Do I have your word on that?”

“You do. I couldn’t do my job if I’m not trustworthy.”

“Okay, it’s just that Giacomo’s new problems coincide with the very sudden departure of someone I spoke to about the case several times and who knows a woman I thought might have some connection to Kelsey and McDermott’s scam. I won’t give you any names because it’s merely a temporal coincidence, but it just struck me as a strange one. I’m trying to learn more, and when I do, I’ll let you know.”

“That’s interesting, Professor. And I’m not in a big rush; a few days won’t matter, so I’ll wait to hear from you or contact you if I learn something new.”

By then both had finished their lunches and they left the bistro. Charlie returned to his office. There were no messages. It then occurred to him that talking to Baynes might be worth a shot. He dug up Baynes’ number and called.

“Charlie, hello. I thought you’d be at the Club at lunch.”

“I had an appointment. It had to do with the Kelsey-McDermott case. I thought perhaps we could meet later for coffee?”

“Definitely, but look, why don’t we just walk down to the Club now. I wouldn’t mind some coffee. Meet you there in about ten minutes.”

Charlie hung up and walked down to the Club. Baynes arrived just as Charlie was ordering coffee and pastries for two.

Once seated, Charlie filled Baynes in on Sommers’ departure and the odd coincidence with Giacomo’s money problems.

“I’m having trouble getting my head around Sommers being involved. Have you talked to the police?”

“I really don’t have enough. Did you ever have any problems with Sommers when you were dean?”

“No. She was very efficient and reliable and she was also popular with the students. We got on very well. That’s why what you’ve told me is so hard to grasp.”

“What about her family? Could there have been something that drove her to seek out a large amount of money?”

“Her mother’s dead and her father is in a senior’s home, but he was a civil servant and is well cared for financially. She doesn’t have brothers or sisters. The only thing that sticks out about Sommers is the business about her promotion.”

“Oh, what was that?”

“It happened two academic years ago. She didn’t get promoted to full professor. As you know, that’s a major step and it’s not uncommon for people to get it only on the second or even third try. What was odd was that she withdrew her application rather than let it ride for the next year as everyone else does.”

“Was there a particular reason she didn’t get it?”

“Pretty much the usual. Her work was fine, her letters were good, but her publication record wasn’t.”

“Do you think she really expected the promotion? She would have understood about her research, surely.”

“That was the year she was voted best instructor by the students. She no doubt thought that, with the good support she did in fact get, would be enough. I think she’s one of those academics who naively think that promotion is all about teaching.”

“Sounds like she applied herself rather than being put up for promotion?”

“She did apply herself. I’m sure it was that student vote that prompted her to, but her application wasn’t out of line. She’d been an Associate Professor for several years and was doing well. It was just the publications.”

Charlie and Baynes talked a bit more but Charlie was distracted. They left the Club and he walked back to his office thinking hard. Could Sommers have been so put off by the promotion business that she turned her talents to computer crime? She’d have had little trouble finding accomplices among the grad students, specifically McDermott and Kelsey.

Back in his office, Charlie read for a while. Eventually he thought about going home but his mind kept returning to Sommers’ quick departure. He wondered if there was anyone in the administration who might enlighten him about the reason for he leaving. He ran through the names of those he knew well enough to ask but didn’t come up with a likely bet. He admitted to himself that despite the coincidence with Giacomo’s money problems, he really didn’t see Sommers as the mysterious third party. The main thing was that he simply couldn’t credit the idea that she’d make a deal with someone to kill McDermott. One thing for sure, he wasn’t going to change his mind about not bugging DeVries. He wanted to keep whatever credibility he still had with her.

Once home Charlie felt at odds and did not feel like a quiet evening that would only invite more pondering about the case.

“I’m at sixes and sevens on this Giacomo business and tonight I really don’t feel like brooding about it. Let’s go out for dinner, and let’s go somewhere we haven’t tried for a while. When we get back I’ll open a bottle of that viognier you like so much. That should put me in the mood to read my mystery and forget about the real one.”

Kate was always ready to dine out and raised no objections, asking only for a few minutes to put on something more suitable for exploring Kingsford’s culinary scene.

Chapter 26

The Fourteenth Thursday

Charlie slept till after eight. After breakfasting and showering, he checked his email and found only routine messages. He got dressed and went to have a second cup of coffee. Kate had just straggled into the kitchen and he waited while she had some coffee. He then told her he was going to his office. He wanted to get started on another paper.

The department was deserted except for Jodie, who was doing something with student records. Charlie went to his office. A little after ten he had a call from Dingwall.

“Professor Douglas. I’m afraid my editor has dropped the retrospective piece on Giacomo. It turns out that the public defender that’s now representing Giacomo pointed out to him that if he tried to cut a new deal with the prosecutor he’d be worse off. I spoke to Giacomo early this morning. It was all supposedly hypothetical so as not to be incriminating, but the gist is that he was going to claim he’d made a deal with someone who offered to tell him who ripped him off, pay for his sons’ education, and pay for a first-rate lawyer, if he did in McDermott. Trouble is, he doesn’t have a name. The public defender pointed out that the new story weakens his claim that he shot McDermott out of anger and that trying to implicate a nameless instigator is hopeless. So Giacomo’s sticking to the original story, so no retrospective. My editor thinks the fact that the money stopped isn’t enough because we have no solid evidence it was even being paid.”

“So Giacomo really has no idea who put him onto McDermott?”

“Not a clue. If he did, the new story might fly.”

“Okay, let’s leave it at this, if I learn something interesting, I’ll contact you and you’ll do the same for me?”

“You got it.”

Charlie was disappointed that Dingwall was dropping the story, but he appreciated the editor’s point. Charlie dealt with some correspondence, went through his email, and started thinking about the new paper. Before long it was time for lunch. He got through lunch without paying much attention to what was going on around him, distracted by wondering about Sommers. On his way back to his office Charlie concluded there were two possibilities: One was that Sommers got ticked off about chances for promotion, quit, and was off for a break or a new job. The other was that Sommers was involved in the scam and took off with the money. He had to meet with Berger again to see if he could shake her apparent surprise about Sommers’ departure. Charlie sent Berger an email suggesting a drink that afternoon or lunch the next day, then got back to mapping out his new paper.

After a while Charlie checked his email and found nothing from Berger. He decided to call her at Raymond, Teller before it got any later and got a surprise.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Berger is no longer with Raymond, Teller.”

The receptionist wouldn’t give Charlie a phone number or say any more than she had so he thanked her and hung up. The phone book gave a number for a K. Berger but there was no answer after a dozen rings and clearly no voice-mail. The address the book gave wasn’t that far and Charlie decided to check it out. Not feeling like working on his paper, he went to his car and drove to Berger’s address. It turned out to be a rather nice apartment house in a neighborhood that clearly was being upgraded. There was no answer when Charlie rang the bell. He tried the superintendent. The woman who answered was pleasant but uncooperative, unwilling to give out any information about tenants. Charlie asked if he could speak to her face to face and she reluctantly buzzed him in, saying she’d meet him in the lobby.

“Thank you for speaking with me. I’m professor Douglas, at Meredith, and it’s quite important I get hold of Ms. Berger. She’s asked me to write a letter on her behalf and I need some information. When I called her workplace I was told she’s no longer with Raymond, Teller and when I tried her phone there was no answer. I do need to contact her. All I’d like to know from you is if she’s away and will be back or she’s moved.”

“Yes, I see. Well, I suppose in this case it can’t hurt to tell you she moved, but that’s all I can say.”

“Thank you. Would it be possible for me to leave a note for her that you could forward?”

The super looked at Charlie for a bit and then asked if he had some identification showing his connection with Meredith. Charlie quickly showed her his staff card. She paused another moment and then spoke.

“I’m sorry, sir; I really shouldn’t say anything more, but in this case I think I can tell you that we don’t have a forwarding address. I’ve no idea how to contact Ms. Berger.”

“Thank you again. I guess I’ll have to wait till she contacts me. I apologize for bothering you and putting you in a difficult position.”

With that, Charlie left and drove home. Over a glass of pinot noir he told Kate what he’d been up to and how Berger had compounded Sommers’ disappearance. He voiced his concern that they might have gone off together or at least for the same reason.

“I don’t know what to say, Charlie. You can’t call DeVries about this; Berger and Sommers are certainly of age and can take off if they like and there’s nothing connecting either of them to the scam or Kelsey or McDermott’s deaths.”

“I see that. It’s just that I can’t think of what to do next.”

“You know, Charlie, one thing is that while the amount you think was scammed in total is serious money, I don’t see both Berger and Sommers taking off somewhere with it and being set for life. If it were ten million or more, it’d be different, but it doesn’t seem to me even a couple of million would be enough to set both of them up somewhere abroad. If it were just one of them, I’d think, okay, she’s got enough to start a new life and find a new way of making money. Do you see what I mean?”

“I do, and I think you’re right.”

“Okay, let’s look at this more objectively. Forget your feelings or intuitions and just answer my questions straightforwardly. Do you think there’s any chance that Sommers took off for reasons of her own and wasn’t involved in the scam?”

“I’d say yes.”

“Fine; so possibly she left for her own reasons. Now, what about Berger? Does her taking off establish she’s the third party?”

“No; it’s not enough by itself.”

“So what you have is two departures and little or nothing to connect them.”

“I guess so. It’s just that it all seems too coincidental. Sommers disappears, Giacomo’s money dries up, Berger moves and leaves Raymond, Teller.”

“Okay, I think you have some priorities. You were more suspicious of Berger than you are of Sommers now, so I think you should focus on finding Berger first. If Raymond, Teller won’t help and the landlady can’t, you need to think of some other way of tracking her down. As for Sommers, do you have her email?”

“Well, I do—or did—it’s her Meredith one, so probably not much use. And Berger’s is a Raymond, Teller address, so it’s useless. But you’re right; I need to be more methodical about this. What I’ll do is ask people. Baynes may be of help.”

“Good; that’s a start. As for Sommers’ email, why don’t you send a message to her Meredith address; she might have arranged for emails to be forwarded. You won’t know if you don’t try.”

“You’re right again. I’ll do that.”

“Now, let’s get something to eat. Oh. The pinot noir seems to have mostly vanished, like Sommers and Berger. What about half a second bottle?”

“Done. You do whatever you need to do and I’ll fire off an email.”

With that, Charlie went to his laptop and quickly typed a short email to Sommers, asking how she was and where. He sent it and almost immediately received an error message saying the recipient was unknown. As Charlie had assumed, Sommers no longer had a Meredith email address. He went for the pinot noir.