Murder is Academic (26 page)

“But that’s absurd,” Beth said. “No one would believe Will had that kind of money to invest. I didn’t and neither did you, Laura. Talbot couldn’t get away with that story for long.”

“Talbot just needed the story for a short time, maybe a year or so. I think many people would have believed the story, especially those at the college. They weren’t happy with all the privileges Will had at the station, so I would guess they’d like to believe the worst of him. In a year or so, when the dust settled around the condominium issue and with Talbot’s hands free of any involvement in the project, Talbot would have been ready for retirement. He could have left the college with a clean record and parlayed his way onto some very lucrative state and federal boards as a retired college president.”

It would have worked, too, had Talbot remained alive long enough to play it out as he had planned.

Beth slumped down in the deck chair as the truth finally hit her.

“So Talbot met with Will and told him he was being sold out, told him about the papers claiming Will to be an investor in the project, and let him know he would be reporting to Rudolf Pruitt from then on in, at least until the truth about the water reports came out, and Will was fired. Will couldn’t let that happen, could he? So he killed Talbot, hit him over the head with that shovel.” Beth dropped her head into her hands. It was one thing to believe your husband capable of infidelity and quite another to find he was a murderer.

“Then he took his own life. Now it all fits. Will wasn’t enthusiastic about my doing research at the station because he knew I’d find out what he was doing with the water samples.”

I put my arm around Beth’s shoulder and hugged her to me.

“There are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up,” Der said.

Beth’s attention seemed drawn by the waters of the lake which shimmered crystal clear from this vantage point. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was contemplating the same irony as I was—a lake that appeared pristine but held deadly bacteria and other contaminants her husband helped hide from the college and the public.

Finally Beth turned her gaze from the lake to Der and me.

“If ever I had a reason for leaving this place before, this certainly finalizes it. I think I need to look elsewhere for my dissertation location.”

“I know this is hard, but you’ll only be adding to your grief if you leave here. You’ll set yourself back weeks and maybe months in your research. Besides, you need to remember what happened was Will’s doing, not yours. You didn’t know anything about it so you bear no part of the responsibility.” I reached out and tapped her hand. “You can’t turn tail and run. You’re not made like that.”

“No, Laura. You’re not made like that. My given name is Bethany, remember. I’m a really nice girl from a really nice family. The only rebellious thing I ever did was to marry Will.”

“You told me you preferred being called Beth. And, don’t forget, the other rebellious thing you did.”

“What?”

“You went on to graduate school, something totally out of keeping with your parents’ expectations of you. I think that took courage. Now all you have to do is hang in there for a while longer. Besides, Dewar and his crowd expect you to give up, remember?”

Beth looked at me with doubt in her eyes, but the mention of Dewar’s name seemed to put steel in her backbone.

“I’ll think about it.”

Chapter 23

I was insistent Beth stay the night with me, but she was equally adamant she needed and wanted time alone. Despite her temporary doubt about being a strong and courageous young woman, both Der and I were impressed with her fortitude in weathering the shock of her husband’s death as well as this most recent disclosure. While I was never one of Will’s fans, I too was surprised he was capable of murder.

“Just one question bothering me before you leave, Beth,” Der said.

“What’s that?”

“Did you and Donald Hall discuss the water samples? Surely he must have participated in falsifying the data. Your husband couldn’t have kept that from him.”

He was right, and his comment took me by surprise. Why hadn’t I figured that out?

“No. Will’s falsifying those samples seemed too bizarre to mention to anyone but you two. I’m going back to the station now. What do you want me to say to him?”

“I’ll need to talk with Donald as soon as possible. Is he there now?” Der asked.

“He was when I left. I assume he’s still around.”

“I’ll be right behind you in my car then.”

“And so will I,” I said, “as soon as I jot a note to Guy letting him know where I’ve gone.” I ran into the house to gather my purse and keys and left a hasty note to Guy explaining my absence.

By the time I arrived, Beth and Der were in the lab. I entered as Donald was explaining to Beth his discovery the worst recent samples from the lake were taken from the area near the condominiums.

“It’s over with,” said Der, “and we know you played a part in doctoring the data from those water samples to make it look as if the lake was experiencing no problems with the waste water from the condominiums. I think it’s time you told us your role in this scene.”

Donald’s face turned ashen gray, and he slumped back onto the lab stool.

“So?” Der prodded him.

“Of course I helped falsify the data. I would have lost my job if I hadn’t. I was hired here by President Talbot to help Dr. Stanford. Once I settled into the job, both Dr. Stanford and President Talbot explained to me I had to cooperate in making it look as if the condominiums posed no threat to the lake waters. I couldn’t walk away from this job. It would look bad to leave so soon, and Dr. Stanford told me he wouldn’t give me a decent recommendation either. So I did what I had to do. I was trapped here. This whole thing has been a nightmare.”

By this time Donald was almost sobbing. He wiped the tears from his face. “Then I heard President Talbot was killed. I talked with Dr. Stanford about what we should do with the water samples once President Talbot was gone. I was hoping we both could come clean on this because I figured the whole thing was going to blow up anyway with the state and federal government coming in. Dr. Stanford told me to sit tight for a while. Then he committed suicide.” Donald gasped for breath and took in huge gulps of air, then put his head down on the lab table. His shoulders shook.

None of us said anything. As Donald began to calm himself, Der asked, “Did you at any time suspect Dr. Stanford of being involved in President Talbot’s death?”

“Certainly not.” Donald seemed shocked at the idea. “Dr. Stanford was a good man. He wouldn’t do such a thing.”

“He was a good man who engaged in fraud,” Der said. “And he certainly pressured you with respect to the water samples and keeping your mouth shut. Why would you remain so loyal to him?”

Donald looked as if he were going to remain silent in response to Der’s question, but he seemed to have resigned himself to telling the complete truth about his situation.

“He knew I didn’t have a degree, yet he was willing to keep me on in this position. I told the college personnel office when I was hired here that I had a college degree. I don’t. They didn’t check my record or my references, I guess.”

“Good God,” I said, “is there anyone involved in this case who didn’t have some secret to keep hidden?”

“I hope you’re not suggesting Dr. Stanford killed President Talbot. That’s not possible. He wasn’t capable of taking a human life.” Donald appeared adamant about Stanford’s innocence.

“He took his own,” Der said.

Donald shook his head. “I won’t believe that. I just won’t believe that Dr. Stanford had anything to do with President Talbot’s death. He was working here at the lab. I told you that when you questioned me before.”

“You also told me the two of you were working in separate buildings and you didn’t see him from an hour before sunset to after it was quite dark. He had plenty of time to meet Talbot, do him in and dump the body at the construction site, then drive Talbot’s car to the college and get back here. It would be tight, but he could do it,” Der said.

“N-n-n-n-o.” Donald appeared shattered by the thought his mentor was a murderer.

I felt bad for Donald. Without a degree and having lied to the college about having one, it was unlikely they would keep him on staff, to say nothing of what the college and other authorities might do when they found out Donald played along with Stanford’s and Talbot’s fraud with the lake water samples. I doubted Donald would be able to find work easily in the future.

As if reading my thoughts, Donald recovered himself enough to ask, “What will happen to me?”

“I can’t really answer that one right now. We need to tie up the loose ends with respect to Talbot’s death. Then there’s the question of college regulations with respect to your record and Talbot’s and Stanford’s behavior. I can only guess at the number of regulations they violated at the college. Finally, the courts will have to handle the issue of the condominium developers polluting the lake, the cover-up by Talbot and others as well as how to handle clean-up, if necessary, and the installation of an adequate system to handle the waste water. That could take years.”

“Yeah, and I’ll bet the developers get off with only a slap on the wrist while those poor people who bought the condominiums will be paying enormous maintenance bills for the next decade to offset the cost of putting in the right system of wastewater treatment. I’m sure there will be numerous additional lawsuits aimed at the developers for defrauding the buyers. Maybe Bunny will be named also since she sold many of the units. What a mess.” I said.

“We’ll let the courts and the lawyers handle all of that,” Der said. “Meanwhile, Donald, there are some questions which remain unanswered, and I may need you around to supply some information.”

Der walked out the door and down the steps to the parking lot. I rushed after him to stop him before he got into his car.

“What questions do you still have in this case?”

“There’s still something suspicious about those large sums of money coming out of Talbot’s account every month. And I still need to know who the hydrologist is. Certifying a system of waste water treatment to be adequate when it isn’t is a crime. I’ve got a lead on several men by that name living in Montreal. One is married, and I’m trying to talk with his wife. He seems to have disappeared, and I was informed by his wife’s employer she was out of the country on a vacation, but will be returning soon. I can’t rest until this is all cleared up.”

“But you’re convinced Stanford murdered Talbot?”

“I’ve got more motive than I need for ten murders and opportunity. It looks pretty certain. You’re not convinced yet?”

I was silent for a minute. Something was bothering me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It had something to do with Stanford’s suicide. I still couldn’t believe he took his own life. Like Beth and others I also found it difficult to think of him as a murderer. I voiced these concerns again.

Der leaned back onto the fender of his car. “You’re a student of human behavior. You know anyone is capable of murder if the circumstances are right. In Stanford’s case they were. You said yourself he would lose his position and standing in the academic community if the truth about those water samples came out. And with the additional phonied evidence he was an investor in the condominiums, his colleagues would treat him like a pariah. Can you imagine his having to deal with Rudolf Pruitt when the truth came out? Rudolf would probably have been made director of the field station and would have the utter joy of firing Stanford.”

What Der said made sense. His mentioning of Rudolf’s name tickled a memory.

“I did a little research at the county office building and guess what I found?”

Der pushed himself off the car and leaned forward. I had his attention now.

“What?”

“There were quite a number of people associated with the college who bought condominiums on the lake when Bunny was selling them. Want to know some of the names?”

He nodded.

“Rudolf Pruitt was one name. Others included my very own department chair and Edmond Dewar and Orin Dailey.”

“Well, you sure hit it big. All of the people you really admire will have to foot the bill for a new wastewater treatment system for the condos. And you called them ‘those poor condo owners’ just a minute ago. What a hypocrite you are.” Der chuckled as he started the engine of his car.

“I meant the other owners,” I said to myself as he drove off.

I turned to go back into the building to see how Beth was doing. As I entered I heard her assuring Donald she would do all she could for him with respect to his position at the college. She patted him on the shoulder then looked up as I entered the room.

Donald smiled weakly at her and then excused himself saying he needed to go home and get some sleep if she didn’t need him any longer tonight in the lab.

“We’ll leave off for tonight. Be here early tomorrow, and we’ll collect the samples together.”

Donald shuffled out of the room.

“I really feel bad for him even though he lied about his degree and continued to help Will when he knew it was wrong,” Beth said. “I told him I would go to bat for him and help him stay on at the college.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Beth.”

“Why not?”