Murder Misread (27 page)

“
That’s why we’re here!”
Anne told Cindy. “I wanted to show her that you weren’t
involved!”

“
And how the hell do you
expect me to prove that?” Cindy sat tall in her corner, her eyes
flicking from Anne to Maggie and back.

“
How the hell can any of
us prove it?” Anne retorted. “Hines is after me too, Cindy. Looked
over all my insurance, talked to all my neighbors.”

“
I know, I’m sorry,
Anne.”

“
Hines is even checking on
Charlie and me,” Maggie put in. “And we alibi each
other.”

“
Not all that well,”
snapped Cindy. “What about that letter you mailed? You and Charlie
claim it only took a few minutes out of each other’s sight. But add
a few more minutes and you’re as likely as anyone.”

“
True. You like Charlie
for it, then?” asked Maggie.

Cindy froze for an instant
before she said, “What difference does it make if you were really
with him?”

“
I know it wasn’t Charlie.
But you and he have a feud going. I’m interested in
why.”

“
So. We’re back to dumping
on Cindy!” She shifted restlessly on the railing.

“
We’re not trying to do
that!” Anne broke in impatiently. “Maggie, don’t play games. Tell
her we don’t think she did it!”

Maggie took her foot from
the railing and turned to face Anne. “I’m telling her the truth,
Anne. If you two know something that clears her, you sure haven’t
told me. Besides, there’s a question that bothers me about
Cindy.”

“
What’s that?” asked
Anne.

“
Yesterday she got back
from lunch around twelve-thirty. You met her coming in,
right?”

“
Yes.” Anne blew out a
puff of smoke. “Unlocking the office door.”

“
What’s this leading up
to?” Cindy demanded.

“
It’s leading up to the
fact that you told Anne you’d been at a meeting. But you told Hines
you had lunch alone.”

“
I was alone. Quiet spot
in the grove.”

“
Oh, for God’s sake!” Anne
strode to the end of the porch and hurled the cigarette past Cindy
onto the gravel. “We’ll never get anywhere if we don’t level with
each other! Nobody’s asking you to tell Hines, Cindy. But tell
Maggie so we can get past this and think about Tal!”

“
Anne, I’m sorry.
But—”

Anne turned on her.
“Cindy, I need to know who killed Tal. That’s top priority right
now. So let’s quit this game and move on.” She looked back at
Maggie. “Cindy was at a meeting. Gamblers Anonymous.”

“
Damn you!” Cindy stared
at her pink sneakers.

“
Gamblers Anonymous.”
Maggie looked at Cindy thoughtfully. “I see. You can’t tell Hines
who else was there.”

“
That’s it.” Cindy tossed
back her curls and looked defiantly from Anne to Maggie. “You tell
Hines I was at the GA meeting and he’ll come hassling me for names.
I can’t do that to them.”

“
And Charlie knows you’re
in GA, and that’s why he won’t talk,” said Maggie. “The gallant
type.” She took a deep breath and glanced at Anne. “How did you
know about Cindy?”

“
Tal,” said Anne. She
moved around the swing and sat on it, half twisted to face them. “A
little while after he became chairman he found out. Tried to
help.”

Maggie looked at Cindy.
“Did he help?” Her earlier hostility was gone.

“
He helped a lot,” Cindy
said. “I was just then figuring out that I wasn’t getting anywhere
except deeper in debt. You know, it’s so funny, you can go for
years thinking all you need is one more win, and you hardly notice
all you’re losing while you wait for it. Losing just makes you more
sure your luck will turn. But I was finally noticing that the
family was getting hurt while I waited for lightning to strike. Tal
steered me to GA. Best present anyone ever gave me.”

Maggie gazed out at the
lake. “So Tal knew for years.”

“
Yes. Even helped me work
out a plan to pay my debts. I’ll be even in a couple more years.
Maybe get a new car then.” She stretched an arm back and fluttered
her fingers at the Toyota.

“
Who knows about this
besides Anne and Charlie?” asked Maggie.

“
Nobody, now.”

“
Your family?”

“
No. They just think the
university doesn’t pay very well. Well, God knows that’s true
too.”

“
Does Bernie Reinalter
know?”

“
God, no!” Cindy’s
turquoise lids squeezed closed in apprehension. “Mr. Model Manager
finds out and my job’s on the line.”

“
Why? You’ve got the
gambling under control now, right?” Maggie said. “You’re almost out
of debt. Wouldn’t he be more understanding?”

“
You don’t know
Bernie.”

“
True. I don’t.” Maggie
hesitated, then glanced at Anne. “Well, Anne’s right. I can’t see
any point in broadcasting this. But I would like to know if you’ve
had any thoughts about other people in the department.”

“
Given up on your
Cindy-the-blackmailer theory?” Cindy asked.

Maggie spread her hands
innocently. “Hey, look, if you tell us, then we’ll know it’s not
worth money to you.”

“
God, you academics are so
logical.” Cindy adjusted her pink headband with both manicured
hands. “Okay, what are your questions?”

“
Do you know anything
about Nora Peterson’s brother?”

“
Brother? Nothing.
Unless—” Cindy frowned.

“
Want to sit on the swing
so Anne doesn’t have to twist around?”

“
Sure.” Cindy joined Anne
on the swing. Maggie perched on the porch rail a few feet in front
of them, her long legs in the faded jeans stretched out before her.
The crinkly navy blue shirt stirred in the occasional breeze. It
reminded Anne of a dark bird ruffling its wings. Maggie said, “So
you know something about Nora’s brother?”

Cindy leaned back in the
swing, pink sneakers pushing off gently to match Anne’s rhythm.
“Funny. When you mentioned a brother I remembered a phone call last
year, not long after that student made a scene in her office. I
picked up the phone and it turned out the button for her extension
was pushed in.”

“
That must happen from
time to time,” said Maggie, bland-faced.

“
Not as
often as it would if
you
had my job,” Cindy shot back.

Maggie grinned. “Yeah,
you’ve got me spotted. I’m the epitome of snoopiness. So tell us
about this call.”

“
She was talking to
someone she called Dick. Said she’d arranged things, he was to get
over to Campus Security in the administration building at
two-thirty. He grumbled when she said he’d need a haircut, but she
snapped at him, said this was the last time she’d bail him out. The
she said, ‘Shhh,’ and I figured it was time to get off the
line.”

“
We should have talked to
you first,” Maggie said. “Yeah, this Dick she was talking to was
her brother, and he’s now a campus cop. Calls himself Pete
Dixon.”

“
Dixon.” Cindy leaned
forward abruptly, making Anne’s end of the swing wag back and
forth. “That’s the guy who came by yesterday, right? He’s her
brother? Why is his name different?”

“
There are reasons she
wants to keep it quiet. He’s got enemies and wants to stay
low-profile for a while.”

“
So he changes his name
and comes to the boonies where he has to get haircuts. I
see.”

“
Yes. And Nora gets him a
job where he’s protected.”

Anne frowned. Something
didn’t fit here. “One thing I don’t understand. How could Nora bail
him out with a job in Campus Security? Completely separate
operation. How could she know Walensky would hire him?”

Cindy peered across at her
from under those sooty lashes. “Oh, Walensky’s willing to do
favors,” she said.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Well, I don’t know if
this is a regular thing. But a guy I know—all right, he’s in GA.
Walensky caught him borrowing from one of the fraternities, their
petty cash box. Walensky smiled, told the guy he didn’t want to
ruin his life, maybe they could make arrangements.”

“
Blackmail?” Anne asked,
shocked. “You mean he had to pay off Walensky?”

“
He said it was a
reasonable amount, one-time. And now he knows a cop is
watching.”

Maggie said, “Sort of an
informal fine-plus-probation.”

Cindy nodded. “Yeah, look
on the bright side. Keeps everyone’s record clear. Also helps
Walensky’s pocket, and his information network.”

“
Nora would probably have
to pay more than a little for this kind of favor. And Dixon
himself—” Maggie stood up, began pacing again in long circles like
a hawk’s. “Anne, did Tal say anything recently about Nora? Or
Walensky?”

“
Let me think.” Anne
leaned back in the swing, closed her eyes. There had been
something… what? At breakfast Tuesday. A few days ago, an eternity
ago. “He didn’t say anything specific,” she said. “Just that he
hardly knew the department anymore. All these projects that Bernie
and Nora had, it wasn’t like the old days. That was the
gist.”

“
He mentioned Bernie and
Nora?”

“
That’s all I remember
now.”

“
Nothing about
Walensky?”

“
Not then. But he was
always complaining about Walensky, ever since he botched the
investigation of that little boy who was hit by the car. The
Hammond kid.”

“
Well—God, this raises
some lousy possibilities. Do you suppose Walensky recognized the
driver, and slowed the investigation on purpose? If Walensky—”
Maggie swung to a halt in front of them, gazing out at the lake,
her brow furrowed. “Anne, did Tal ever mention Dixon? Or Nora’s
brother?”

“
No. Just the scene in the
office.” Anne pulled a Gauloise from the pack and held it a moment,
rolling it in her fingers, frowning at its neat gray lettering. “Do
you suppose Tal found out who Dixon was? He saw him last year.
Maybe he recognized him. Maybe he started asking
questions.”

“
He didn’t ask me,” said
Cindy.

“
Would he ask you?”
Maggie’s gaze shifted from the lake to Cindy.

“
He might. He often did,
questions about the department. You two aren’t the only ones who
think I know a lot.” She shook her curly mane. “God, I wish I did
know as much as you guys think!”

“
So do I.” Maggie started
pacing again, hands thrust deep into her jeans pockets, shoulders
hunched. “Hines ought to know all this. Cindy, do you think Tal
would try blackmail?”

Anne snapped upright,
making the swing lurch, shouting even before she was conscious of
her rage. “What kind of idiot question is that?”

“
Anne, I’m sorry.” Maggie
paused again, her compassionate eyes bluer than the sky.

Anne didn’t want
compassion. “It’s a stupid question!”

“
It’s one Hines will
ask.”

“
Doesn’t
mean
we’ve
got to! Waste of time.” Anne was still holding the cigarette,
had mashed it in her anger. She rolled it smooth in her fingers and
lit it. Her hands were shaking. “Maggie, the whole point of asking
around ourselves is to save time. Avoid blind alleys. You push this
direction and it’s over.”

“
Anyhow,” Cindy said, “I
know Tal is no blackmailer. Think what he could have done to
me!”

“
Right!” barked
Anne.

Maggie’s hands flew to
shoulder level, palms out in a gesture of surrender. “Okay. I quit,
I quit! Cindy, what can you tell us about Bart
Bickford?”

“
Big Bart? He wants to get
a grant for a new creativity study.”

Anne’s heart was still
pounding. She watched the smoke twisting up from the end of the
Gauloise. Calm down, she told herself. Questions have to be asked.
Listen to the answers.

“
Everybody wants to get a
grant,” Maggie observed. “Is Bart close to getting one?”

“
Yes, I’d think so. Tal
thought so. Bart got money for the pilot last year, and he says
it’s working out. So, if nothing goes wrong—well, you can ask him
for details.”

“
I will,” said Maggie. She
gazed out at the lake again and added, “Why was he in that St.
Louis hospital so long?”

Cindy gave her a long,
cold look. “You’ve been in my files. I thought so.”

Maggie
shrugged.

Cindy said, “He was being
treated for depression. Suicide attempts, the whole
bit.”

“
I see.” Maggie swung over
to the railing to perch again. “I suppose it’s a problem to have
that on your record if you’re working with kids.”

“
I don’t know if it’s a
problem or not. But I know Bart is scared stiff that someone will
find out. The vita he uses only goes back to the year after he got
out.”

“
Well, it’s definitely a
problem then. If he worries, it’s a problem.”