Raining Men and Corpses: A Fun Cozy Mystery (A Raina Sun Mystery Book 1) (15 page)

Cora glanced at the clock on her desk. “I’m going to be late for class. There’s nothing else I can tell you.”

Raina followed Cora out and made small talk about summer classes as she walked beside the girl. There were no classes the week before school starts. Cora gripped her backpack and looked as if she was deep in thought as she trudged down the stairs.

Once outside, Raina said, “I’ll be in touch with my friend’s contact info. I’m sure she would be able to help you with the paperwork for your nephew.”

Cora twisted the hem of her shirt on a finger, staring at her shoes. “There’s nothing I can say that’ll… make things worse for him.”

“Not at this point.”

Cora took a deep breath and looked up. “Andrew.”

“Why was Holden interested in Andrew?”

Cora shook her head.

“What kind of things did you hear?”

“Just normal stuff. Like where he last worked. Makes no sense to me.” Cora shrugged. “The Dean is his wife’s godfather.”

Raina thanked the girl for her time and headed back to her car. Did Holden think Andrew could be a threat to his position? Or was he worried Andrew might be helping the Dean investigate the missing grant funds? It made no sense to her either.

R
aina peered
into the Venus Café through a front window. The low hum of steady conversations was as lulling as the delectable baked goods on display. The aromatic coffee wafting outside through the cracks in the door already dulled her caffeine headache.

Eden stared out the side window with a chin propped on one hand. The other hand swirled the spoon in the mug in front of her. Po Po was nowhere in sight.

Not that Raina had expected her grandma to show up for lunch when she’d received the text half an hour ago. She limped over and sat across from her friend. “Let me guess. Po Po had a last minute appointment. And she forgot her cell phone, so you had to stay to let me know.”

“That’s about sums it up.” Eden took a sip of her coffee. “But you forgot the ‘you girls have fun without me’ part.”

Raina grimaced. “Sounds just like the blind dates she used to set up for me.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Eden’s lips. “I ordered your usual.”

“Thanks.”

Raina pretended to study the nearest painted Venus on the wall while sneaking sideways glances at Eden. Her friend returned to gazing out the window. It wasn’t until Brenda slid an iced coffee in front of Raina that she realized she’d been staring at a berry branch strategically placed at chest level across the naked nymph. These painted ladies had a sizzling love life compared to her frostbitten one. Go figure.

She cleared her throat. “Sol is threatening to press charges against me.”

Brenda slid two plates on the table. “Do you want dessert later? We’re starting our seasonal menu early this year. Pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes and homemade pumpkin caramel ice cream.”

Eden glanced at her tuna sandwich with gooey cheese dipping out the sides. She made a face and shook her head.

Raina drizzled balsamic vinaigrette in into her Fiji apple salad. “Sure. The cupcake sounds good.”

They ate in silence for several minutes. Raina picked at her salad, pushing the spinach around. Eden ate with gusto, licking the cheese off her fingers.

Raina leaned back on her chair. “Well?”

“I think he’s using it as a ploy to get you to talk to him.”

Brenda returned with the pumpkin cheesecake cupcake. A whiff of nutmeg hit Raina's nose and she managed to grin in anticipation. Eden brightened as she eyed the gleaming drop of creamy cheesecake on top of the cake.

“My day is bad enough without skipping dessert,” Eden muttered.

Before she could open her mouth to ask, Brenda smirked and revealed another plate with a cupcake hidden behind her back.

Eden flipped her silky hair behind a shoulder. “I can't have Raina feel bad about eating dessert in front of me.”

“Tell yourself what lies you need, girl.” Brenda sashayed to another table.

Eden raised an eyebrow and inhaled her cupcake. “You need to talk to Sol.”

“He’s in a holding cell. Matthew wouldn’t let me see him. I could talk to him tomorrow when they have to release him. I’m sure he won’t be charged with anything,” Raina said.

“Let me call Joanna Hopper. She might be able to help us.” Eden got up and strolled over to the fireplace with her cell phone glued to her ear.

Raina pulled out Holden’s tablet. It asked for a lock code. She held her breath and tapped in her birthday. The lock screen disappeared. She jammed her iced coffee in her mouth with shaking hands. Why did Holden use her birthday for his safe and tablet? If he cared so much about her, then why did he disappear after a two-word text saying “We’re done.”

She was more confused now about their relationship than when he was alive. At least she knew where she stood a few days ago, but now the current was shifting too rapidly for her to know top from bottom.

Eden slipped into her chair. “When did you get a tablet?”

Raina stuffed the tablet back into her purse. “What did Officer Hopper have to say?”

“Joanna is on the late shift tonight. We can stop by around eleven.” Eden twisted her napkin. “I don’t know what to say when I see him.”

Raina could think of plenty of things to say, none of which was flattering. “Maybe I should just talk to Sol one on one.” While they weren’t arguing anymore, she still wasn’t sure she could completely trust Eden’s motives.

During the short drive to campus, Raina replayed her lunch with Eden. How could her friend let a greasy person like Sol touch her without cringing? Story or no story. Yuck. But that was her friend’s business. However, Eden crossed a line when she decided to tell Officer Hopper about her relationship with Holden. She could try to justify it all she wanted, but she still told a confidence that wasn’t hers to tell. Raina didn’t know what to do about it at the moment.

Her bruised knee ached, but she managed to scurry under one tree canopy to the next. When she opened the main door of the history building, a cool blast of air lifted the strands of curls around her face. Raina waved to two other graduate students talking next to the receptionist desk, but Gail was nowhere in sight.

She hastened down the hallway toward the conference room. The fundraiser meeting would start in a few minutes, and she wanted to gauge the mood of the staff. Her steps slowed when she passed Olivia’s office. The wide open door beckoned her. Only a person with the willpower of a saint could resist. And she was no saint.

Raina whipped her head left and right, scanned the hallway, and ducked into the office. She pushed the door partially closed to block the view into the room from the hallway. Closing the door completely would have been too suspicious. A glance at the desk clock showed she had ten minutes before the meeting started. She had to hurry before someone noticed the door.

The filing cabinet behind the desk was locked. The drawers on the desk didn’t reveal much. A Sierra Club newsletter, a coupon for a downtown beauty parlor, and a slip of paper with ‘N.M. 752-2900’ on it. Could this be Natalie’s phone number? She pocketed the paper. In the last drawer, she found a key that might fit the locked cabinet.

Her thumping heart kept pace with the ticking clock. Four minutes had passed. Someone eventually would notice the partially closed door. The serenity of the Lake Tahoe poster on the wall mocked the tension in her body.

Raina inserted the key into the filing cabinet. Bingo! She fingercombed through the files as she read the names on the tabs. A blank tab was wedged between the thick files of “Undergrad Requirements” and “Welcome Week.” She pulled out the file and rifled through the contents. Why would Olivia have a file on Andrew Rollinger? Resume, job application, and newspaper clippings. Nothing out of the ordinary, except there weren’t any files of the other staff in the locked cabinet.

Heels clicked outside in the hallway, each step louder than the one before. Raina’s hands turned clammy and a bead of sweat rolled down her back. In one swift move, she shoved the file back in and locked the cabinet. She pocketed the key and rifled noisily through the files in the inbox of the desk.

“Now where did she put the list?” Raina sighed, hoping her pretense at frustration sounded natural.

Someone tapped on the door. The door swung open. Gail frowned, her unplucked eyebrows in a tight V across her forehead. “Hello?”

Raina gestured at the piles of folders on the inbox tray. “Hey, Gail. Any idea where Olivia put the confirmed donor’s list? I gave it to her before she went on leave. I saw her tuck it in one of these folders.”

Raina sighed again. Was that too trite? She concentrated on slowing down her breathing. “I can’t find anything in this mess.”

Gail glared at the desk. “Hurricane Kline probably took it with her. Come on, we have to go. We’re late for the meeting as it is.” She turned and strolled down the hall.

Raina sagged with relief but trotted after the secretary, babying her right knee. The Ace bandage was visible below her shorts. She was surprised Gail didn’t make a comment about it.

“How are you holding up?” Raina asked.

“The Admin staff always end up picking up all the pieces,” Gail said. “Olivia is setting me up to fail. She took everything home. The donors list. The vendors list. The decorations list. Everything. What sane person would take that stuff home?”

Raina’s shoulders relaxed. She nodded and smiled with sympathy like a puppet on cue, tuning out Gail’s list of complaints. In the past year, she’d learned the secretary’s monologues didn’t require any participation on her part.

At the entrance of the conference room, Gail paused and straightened her shoulders. “Thanks, Raina. I knew I could count on you.”

Raina gave Gail a sideways glance. What had she just agreed to?

Gail sailed into the conference room and slid into the mesh chair opposite Andrew and Lori. The group had shrunk. It made the conference room appear even larger and colder than last week. The space between Andrew and Lori could have fit another person. Andrew’s shoulders appeared even droopier than the last time. His chin dipped close to his chest. Lori gave Raina a tight smiled when she sat down.

Raina wondered if she’d just walked in on an argument. She sighed. No snacks and an hour of sitting across from a couple shooting snide remarks and dark looks at each other wasn’t her idea of a good time.

Gail glanced at the clock on the wall. “Olivia took all the files for the fundraiser home with her. Raina volunteered to drop by and see if she could get them back before the end of the week.”

Raina gave herself a mental head slap. So that was what she’d agreed to. At least it would give her an excuse to snoop around Olivia’s house again.

“Want me to come with you?” Lori asked. “I might be able to help since she likes me.”

“Tomorrow morning? Nine o’clock?” Raina asked. “I have a shift at the computer lab after this meeting.” Perfect. Someone to distract Olivia while Raina snooped under the guise of a diarrhea attack. No one would dare question how much time she was taking in the bathroom.

Lori nodded. “Sure. Meet you at her house.”

“Is the lodge in the arboretum available for the event?” Gail asked.

“Is it possible to turn this into something simpler? A buffet, perhaps? It’ll be less work for everyone,” Raina said.

Gail grimaced. “I wish, but the Dean has already approved Olivia’s plans. The Titanic has left the dock; we’re just steering at this point.” She looked at Lori.

Lori cleared her throat and spoke about the rental options.

Andrew watched his wife from the corner of his eyes, fiddling with the sleeve on his coffee cup. When he pulled the cup out for the fourth time, Lori shot him an angry look.

Raina wanted to snicker. Somebody was in the doghouse.

Gail looked down at her notebook and made a couple of marks. “Thanks, Raina. I’m glad you’re going to take care of those details. Moving on. Andrew, did you call the campus printers for the pricing on the flyers and posters?”

The smile slid off Raina’s face. What did she volunteer to do again? There was an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. No more nodding and smiling. At the rate she was agreeing to things, she’d end up planning the entire fundraiser.

A
s late as it was
, the police station had its own mute hum of activity from the rolling wheels of the janitor’s cart somewhere down the hall to the whirling overhead fan. A bench lined one wall in the waiting area behind her. A snoring, slack-jawed man lay at one end. The lights were dimmed, as if to discourage miscreants from committing any crime until morning.

Raina shook the bag of cake pops she’d made for the visit. “I call them Chocolate Dirt.”

Donna's eyes lit up at the sight of the gummy worms wrapped around the chocolate coating. “My boys would love these. Mind if I take a couple of them home?”

“Sure. Take as many as you want.”

The front desk clerk grabbed a half dozen of the cake pops from the bag.

Raina suppressed the urge to grin. “Is Officer Hopper free? She’s expecting me.”

“Let's see.” Donna spoke into her phone and hung up. “She's out back in the warehouse.” She lifted the hinged counter top. “Said you can wait at her desk.”

Raina followed Donna to the unoccupied office space behind the front counter. All the desks looked the same: overflowing inbox trays, battered filing cabinets, and thick folders. There wasn’t much in the way of personal items other than the nonstandard issued coffee mug or desk lamp.

Donna gestured toward a desk in the far corner and went back to the front desk.

Raina took a deep breath when she sat. She’d no idea what to say to Officer Hopper. At least Matthew was at home. If she was lucky, he wouldn’t even find out about her visit.

Her gaze drifted to Donna’s back and the bitten cake pop in one hand. The desk clerk didn’t have a malicious bone in her body, but she did like talking about her food. All it would take was one mention of the cake pop at the water cooler. Well, she’d worry about Matthew later. He’d understand once she explained her suspicion. She just needed Sol to confirm what she’d seen in the photos of Holden’s safe.

Officer Hopper strolled through an archway in the opposite corner of the room and sat behind her desk with steeple fingers in front of her. She didn’t wear her usual scowl, but why should she? She knew she had the upper hand at the moment.

Raina shifted in her chair, wishing she’d taken a lesson on groveling. The steely gaze of the woman was unnerving. “I need to talk to Sol Cardenas. Can you please ask if he’s willing to see me?”

Officer Hopper raised an eyebrow. “If I had my way, you’d be in the holding cell next to him. You could talk to him all you want then.”

Raina’s mouth went dry. “I’m sorry.” She’d no idea what she was apologizing for, but it seemed like a safe comment.

Officer Hopper blinked and a slow smile spread across her face. “How about I put you in the next holding cell? Just until morning.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s only six more hours until the morning shift. Matthew wouldn’t even know you’ve been here.”

Raina wiped her hands on her shorts. She didn’t trust the woman. “No, thanks.” She stood. “I’ll try to catch Matthew at his home.”

The smile disappeared from Officer Hopper’s face. For a fraction of a second, Raina got a glimpse of the nice woman she’d met at the crime scene behind the stiff façade in front of her. With those round cheeks and blonde curls, Joanna Hopper could have her choice in men. Instead, she had her sights on the same emotionally unavailable one that Raina did.