The Ginseng Conspiracy (A Kay Driscoll Mystery) (20 page)

I was shocked by Phil's tirade, but I just shook my head. Men, I thought. Despite their irrational mood swings, they were uncomplicated after all. Nothing that enchiladas wouldn't cure.

* * * *

Elizabeth arrived at the college an hour earlier than usual. The first thing she did was check on her messages that she had received since last week. After getting herself a cup of coffee and finishing up the sour cherry scone she picked up at Marissa’s on the way to work, she keyed in the three names and dates into her computer:

Ploughman 2007

Carson 2009

Fellman 2008

Nothing came up with Carson and Ploughman, but when Elizabeth searched on Fellman, a name popped up and an obituary:

Daniel H. Fellman, 23, of La Crosse, Wisconsin fell to his death on September 25, 2008 while climbing in the bluffs outside La Crosse.

Daniel was born in La Crosse in 1985, the youngest of George and Lena Fellman's three children. He graduated from Central High School and received his undergraduate degree in Agriculture from the University of Minnesota. He was currently a graduate student at Sudbury Falls College in Sudbury Falls, Wisconsin. An expert climber, Daniel loved to hike and climb the bluffs of Western Wisconsin. He will be missed.

Daniel is survived by...

Elizabeth noted that the date next to Fellman’s name on the sheet of paper was the year he died. So he had been a graduate student here. What professor had he worked under? She decided to pay Alicia, her good friend in Human Resources, a visit to get that information. Her office was only a couple of blocks away.

Elizabeth entered the building and went over to Alicia's office. She knocked on her open office door.

Alicia stopped shuffling some papers on her desk and looked up. “Oh Elizabeth, you're working today.”

Elizabeth looked around Alicia's office. Folders were strewn on the floor and all over her desk. The room was small and without a window. She wondered how Alicia didn't get claustrophobic sitting here all day. “Yes. I had a zillion requests for reference materials waiting for me this morning, but I wanted to stop by anyway, because I need a favor. A big favor.”

“Sure, it's dead here. The H.R. Director is on vacation for two weeks. What can I do for you?”

“I'm trying to find out about a graduate student who was here in 2008. His name was Daniel Fellman. He died in a climbing accident in La Crosse. Could you look in your records and tell me which professor he was working under?”

“Sure, that’ll be easy. I'll find out and get back to you.”

“Would you mind looking up two other names, also? I know I’m asking a lot but all I need to know is if they were associated with the college. If so, they should be in the H.R. Database. Ploughman and Carson.”

“Two students?”

“They might have been at the college in 2007 and 2009.”

“Do you have their first names?”

“No, just their surnames.”

“Any reason why you are looking into these students?”

“Well, let me just say they just came up in conversation over the weekend. How’s that?”

Alicia squinted her eyes. “Elizabeth, you’re talking to me. Are you holding something back?” Pause. Then, “Whatever. I'm bored. I can get on it right away. Although, as you see, I should be cleaning up my desk, instead. But you’ll tell me, right?”

“Look, any information you have in the H.R. records would be great.”

“You know this is all confidential stuff.”

“We’ll keep it between the two of us,” Elizabeth said.

“I’m only doing this because you're a good friend. We should go out for lunch one of these days. It’s been a while.”

“I know.”

“It's always fun to hear about your love life.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Alicia. I owe you one. I better hurry back.”

* * * *

When Elizabeth left, Alicia logged onto the past attendees database. Included in each student's record along with other information was the department they were enrolled in, their date of departure, and status upon leaving. She read from 2007 to 2008, Daniel Fellman was doing research for Professor Laska in the Agriculture department.

After some searching, she found information on both a Mike Carson and a Sandra Ploughman. Mike Carson was also a graduate student from 2007 to 2009. He had worked under Professor Murphy. Alicia remembered Professor Murphy had left the school in 2009. Carson's status upon leaving: deceased. Alicia looked at his emergency contacts and family members to see what his home town was and made a note of it.

Sandra Ploughman was a teaching assistant for Professor Laska in 2007. She was a third year graduate student. Her date of departure was the same year. Status upon leaving: missing. What in the world?

Alicia was so engrossed in her research for Elizabeth that the knock on her office door startled her.

“Come in,” Alicia called out.

A petit, buxom blond wearing lots of eye makeup walked through the doorway.

Connie, a secretary at the police department, wore a short black sequined skirt, a long gray sweater, and short black heeled boots. “Are you ready?” she asked.

Alicia was surprised. “For? Oh, my God, I've totally forgotten our lunch date. Is it that time already? I've been so busy doing this... Connie, would you mind terribly if I, I don't join you? I would like to finish this.”

“How many times have I had to cancel myself because of that Bill Murphy asking me to handle something at the last minute?”

“You're the best. You might be able to help me. You see, I've come up with some astounding news. I was looking through old H.R. records from the college in regards to information on three past graduate students here at the college.

Two of them are deceased. One seems to have vanished into thin air. I was wondering if you had anything over at the Police Department on a Sandra Ploughman, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The other two are Mike Carson, from Eau Claire, and Daniel Fellman, from La Crosse.”

“I'll see what I can do,” Connie said as she wrote down the names. “Let me look through the files. If I find anything, I'll fax it over to you.”

“Thanks, Connie.”

“By the way, those were great costumes you and Jim wore at the Halloween Ball. You guys deserved to win. And you sounded just like Sonny and Cher.”

“Thanks. It was a fun evening. I'm sorry about lunch.”

“Don't worry about it. Another time,” Connie said as she left.

* * * *

Early that afternoon, Alicia received a fax from Connie in regards to Sandra Ploughman:

September 18, 2007. A missing person’s report has been issued for Sandra Ploughman, age 27, a teaching assistant at Sudbury Falls College in Sudbury Falls, Wisconsin. Her roommates report that she didn't come back at the end of a school day on September 16th. She attended classes that morning. No one had seen her since.

Notes included in the fax indicated Ploughman’s parents came several times to the police department and offered a reward for any information as to her whereabouts. The case went unsolved.

* * * *

Elizabeth sat at the reference desk. She had just finished helping a student find a journal when the phone rang. It was Alicia.

“Elizabeth, what time are you done with work today?”

Elizabeth smiled at the student as she left the reference area. “Five o’clock. Why? Did you find out something?”

“I'll come over at four then. I found out information about all three students.”

“So they all were students here?”

“Right. What's the real story on these people?”

Alicia must have found out something interesting. Elizabeth looked around to see if anyone was close by and said in a low voice, “Why, what did you find out?”

“The two men, Daniel Fellman and Mike Carson, are deceased. They died tragically, and a woman, Sandra Ploughman, went missing. All three were graduate students in the Agriculture department. I printed out the records for you.”

Elizabeth knew about Fellman. “Missing? And how did Mike Carson die? How did you find that out?”

“I looked into his contact information, his home town. I searched online on and found an article in the newspaper. He died in a car accident on the way home for spring break. His brakes failed. Sandra Plough—”

“Who did they work for?”

“Two under Professor Laska and one under Professor Murphy.”

Elizabeth glanced around her again and said quietly, “He isn't, by any chance, related to Bill Murphy, is he?”

“He's Bill Murphy's older brother. I went to school with him. Hadn't thought about him in years. By the way, the dates you gave me were the years the students either died or disappeared.”

“This is great information, Alicia. Thank you.”

“I have more. I talked to my friend Connie, you know Connie Rudd, over at the Police Department. She's a secretary there.”

Elizabeth’s blood pressure went up. “You what— What did you call her about?”

“She faxed over a sheet on the missing student.”

Elizabeth picked up a pencil and started fidgeting with it while her heart raced. She hoped Bill Murphy didn't find out. “Alicia, you...you shouldn't have gone to all that trouble. I didn't want you to contact the police department over this.”

“I didn't mind. There's not much else to do. Plus, it was starting to get interesting. I also saw Professor Laska in the hallway. I asked him about the students, if he remembered them.”

“What did he say?”

“He said the names sounded familiar, but he had so many students over the years, he couldn't place them.”

Elizabeth cupped her hand up to the phone. “Not even Fellman? Strange. That wasn't so long ago. Alicia, you shouldn't have done all this.”

“I figured you would want to know. I'll see you at four.”

* * * *

At the police station, Deputy Chief Bill Murphy saw a copy of the fax that Connie sent over to the college. His eyes narrowed as he read it. He hastened over to Connie's desk and demanded, “Connie, who requested this information?”

“Alicia Miller over at the college.”

“Did she say why she wanted it? Did she have the necessary request forms to receive this information?”

Connie swallowed and looking sheepish said, “No...no, she didn't. She's a friend of mine. I wanted to help her out.”

“Connie, you can't give out police information to just anyone. Remember that next time.” Connie squirmed under Murphy's glare. He sighed. “Is there any coffee left?” Connie leapt out of her chair and more or less ran to the coffee pot.

* * * *

That afternoon, in another part of town, another conversation took place.

“We have a problem. I think I may know who our mystery person is.”

“I was beginning to think we were in the clear. We had hoods on,” Dr. Anders said. “On the other hand, I did say eventually that person was going to talk. Who is it?”

“Alicia Miller at the college has been asking questions.”

“We'll deal with the problem.”

* * * *

Alicia left South Hall just after four o’clock to meet with Elizabeth at the library. Most of the classes were over this late in the day. She walked up to the crosswalk. A car slowed down to yield to her, which was typical on campus. Alicia was in the middle of the crosswalk when, all of a sudden, the car accelerated, hitting her on her side. Alicia spun around before hitting the ground. The folder and her purse flew out of her hands. The car sped away.

* * * *

The small E.R. at Sudbury Falls Medical Center was overflowing with activity when Alicia was pushed through the double doors on a gurney. “Code Blue. Code Blue. Room One.” The hallways were congested, and it was difficult to maneuver down the hall. A patient in the first room had just coded. The many responding doctors and nurses were rushing to that curtained room in the hallway.

Alicia's face was pale, except for the abrasions. Her clothing was a torn and bloody mess. “Ms. Miller, I'm Nancy, one of the nurses here. Do you know where you are?”

Alicia's eyes took in her surroundings. “The emergency room.”

They rolled Alicia into a curtained room down the hall. Nancy and another nurse took over helping her out of her clothes. “I'm going to do a brief exam of your injuries,” Nancy said. She methodically looked Alicia over while another nurse looked on. “Her leg is bleeding. Put some pressure on the wound.” Then she looked back at Alicia and said, “Dr. Anders is going to be handling your care. Is there someone we can call for you?”

Alicia gave them her husband's contact information. Soon Dr. Anders came in and examined her. He ordered an IV and x-rays stat and proceeded to suture her leg after numbing the area.

“Ow. I don't know what hurts more, my head or watching you stitch up my leg,” Alicia said in a shaky voice, attempting a joke.

Dr. Anders smiled. “I'll order a pain medication for you.”