Marcie's Murder (45 page)

“Uh,” Morley frowned.

The class clapped their encouragement, as Karen knew they would. There wasn’t a student in the world that didn’t enjoy seeing their teachers put on the spot now and
then
.

“So we’re gonna start by separating the
m
.
” Karen turn
ed
back to the class. “How about it, Professor Morris? Would you mind
playing along with us for the fun of it? Maybe you could
step out of the room for a few minutes
.
”

Morris chuckled. “Sure. Why not?” He walk
ed
toward the door at the front of the classroom.

“Hold on a sec.” Karen snapped her fingers at one of the male students in the back
row
, a tall, muscular-looking kid with short blond hair and red cheeks. “You, there. What’s your name?”

“Adamson,” the kid replied.

“All right, Adamson. How about you play the role of a uniformed police officer for us
?
Your job is to stay with this
here
person of interest
.
”
S
he waved airily at Morris
.
“
K
eep him on site until we call for you to bring him into the interrogation room.
Sorry, i
nterview room.
Meaning in here.
Okay?”

“Sure.” Adamson stood up and shuffled over to Morris.
He was at least four inches taller than his teacher.
“Should I handcuff him?”

“Maybe later,” Karen said over the laughter of the class.

When Morris and Adamson
closed
the door behind them, Karen beckoned
to
Morley. “C’mon over here, Doc. We’ll do this right.” She looked at Rachel Meese and the redhead next to her. “Think you two could give us your table for a few minutes?”

“All right,” said Rachel,
closing her notebook and
standing up.

Karen looked at the redhead. “What’s your name, darlin’?”

“Brenda McCoy.”

“
Brenda, do you m
ind if you and Rachel just stand there against the wall
while we do this?”

“Not at all.”

Karen
gave the two students a moment to gather up their things and move over to the wall, then she
dragged one of the chairs around to the front of the table
and gestured to Morley. “Have a seat, Doc.”

“Lawyer up!” one of the male students chirped from the back.

Morley smiled bravely as the class laughed. She sat down in the seat facing the class
as Karen sat down across from her.

“Anybody who wants to move closer,” Karen said over her shoulder, “feel free. Since this is a practical demonstration, you’ll want to make sure you can see
and hear
.”

She waited a few moments as movement started behind her. In her peripheral vision
as she kept her eyes on Morley’s face
,
she saw Hank drape his haunch over the corner of the table next to her. Branham and Muncy slid up the wall to stand next to Rachel and Brenda. A few other students also moved closer.

“Now, Doc,” Karen began, “we had a brief interview a couple days ago, that right?”

“Yes.” Morley frowned. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with—”

“Relax, it’s just a demo. Get into the role, have some fun with it. If I’m not mistaken, you have law enforcement experience, isn’t that
so
?”

Morley hesitated. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“
What kind of experience was that
?
”

“
I was
with the Arlington PD
. I
made
sergeant there
.”

“What made you leave the
j
ob and get into the academic world?
Too much s
tress?”

“No! I love teaching. It was a golden opportunity, the pay was double what I was making, and are you actually taking notes of what I’m saying?”

Hank looked up, feigning surprise. “Of course I am.” He wagged his pen in the air. “Isn’t it supposed to be a practical demonstration, Dr. Morley?”

“Oh, for crying out loud.”

“Doc, try to stay on point,” Karen snapped. “Did you know Marcie Askew?”

“No. Yes. I knew her by sight, of course. But we weren’t friends or anything.”

“Ever socialize with her? Have a drink with her in town or anything like that?”

“No, of course not.”

“Were you aware of any relationships she might have had with anyone here on campus?”

“Relationships?” Morley folded her arms across her chest. “What do you mean?”

“C’mon, Doc,” Karen scoffed, “you know what a relationship is. You’ve probably had a few, yourself. Did Marcie Askew have a relationship with anyone here
on
campus?”

“Not that I know of. I didn’t know her well
.
I told you that already.”

“So you’re saying you don’t know anyone here who was having a sexual relationship with the victim?”

Morley stared at her. The classroom was silent. “No.”

“Were you aware,” Hank interjected, “that she was having an affair with your colleague, David Morris?”

Several students gasped.
One of the male students laughed.
Morley glare
d up
at Hank. “What kind of a question is that?”

“Answer it,” Hank said. “Did you know that Marcie Askew and David Morris were having an affair?”

“I don’t find this at all appropriate.”

“What would you say,” Karen said, “if I told you we have eyewitnesses who swear they saw Morris and the deceased meeting up in bars late at night going as far back as last March, sucking beer in the corner and gnawing on each other’s tongue?”

“Oh really,” Cynthia Witherspoon protested,
speaking up for the first time.
“I’m all for case studies but I think you’re carrying this too far. I agree with Dr. Morley
. This i
s not at all appropriate. Please move to a hypothetical case study and leave faculty out of it.”

Detective Muncy
cleared his throat. “I’d like to hear
her
answer the question.”

“Go ahead,” Karen prompted Morley, “answer the question. Did you know Dave Morris was banging the wife of the
c
hief of
p
olice?”

Morley opened her mouth, closed it again, and looked at Wi
therspoon.

“
This is hardly
necessary
or appropriate
, Detective
,
” Witherspoon
said to
Muncy.
“
As vice-president of Academic Affairs
,
I think I should call the
s
heriff and voice my concern.”

“
Call the
s
heriff if you want
,” Muncy said
uncomfortably
,
“but I need to hear Professor Morley answer the question.”

“It’s absurd,” Morley said.
“The idea that David was involved with Marcie Askew.”

“And yet we’ve got witnesses,” Karen said blandly, leaning back in her chair.

“They’re deluded, or lying.”

“What about someone else on campus?” Hank pressed, leaning forward. “Has Dave Morris been having an affair with anyone else
here
?
We heard there was
someone on staff
he was
involved
with.
”

In the silence that followed, Erica Brogan’s sharp intake of breath
from the back of the classroom
was heard by everyone.

Karen glanced over her shoulder. “Sounds like a yes from your friend back there, Doc. How about it?
Were you and Morris getting it on?
”

“I don’t have to answer that question, or any other question, so I’m not saying anything else,” Morley said
, standing up
. “
T
here’s nothing more to talk about
,
and this class
is
over.”

“Should we treat you as a suspect, Dr. Morley?” Hank asked.

“No
!
This is ridiculous.”

“Did you
find out
that Morris was
screwing
Marcie
Askew?
” Karen pressed.
“
Did you get
jealous
and
arrange to meet
her
at Gerry’s
B
ar to tell her to stay away from your man? Did things get out of hand? Did you kill her without meaning to?”

“No, no, NO!” Morley was shouting.

Karen
waited a beat
.
“Were you and Morris
involved
?”

“Yes!” Morley screamed, losing her cool. “All right! Fine! Yes! But I didn’t know he was having an affair with her, too! Although it figures, given his overblown ego. He thinks he has a divine right to screw everything in a skirt. Son of a
bitch
!”

“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Karen soothed.

“Jane?” Witherspoon stepped forward. “
I think this should end right now
.”

Hank stood up and touched her lightly on the elbow. “Please take a seat, Mrs. Witherspoon.”

Karen jumped to her feet and clapped her hands together. “Great! Okay, now it’s time to bring in the other person of interest, don’t you think?”

“Sure,” Hank said.

Branham walked past Brenda and Rachel
. He
opened
the classroom
door
. He beckoned
and
Morris walked in, Adamson right behind him. Morris looked around, a little puzzled by the supercharged silence in the classroom.

Karen stepped forward.
“How’d it go, Officer Adamson
?
He give you any trouble?”

“Nope
.
” Adamson
pushed
out his lower lip.

“Did
he
say anything while y’all were waiting?”

“Yep. We talked about an assignment that’s due in his class next week. I asked him a few questions about it.”

There were a few nervous titters.

“Anything about today’s class?”
Karen
asked. “
The
presentation
or the case study we’re running right now?”

“
Nope.”

“Go sit
up
there,” Karen said to Morley,
pointing at
the chair
at the front of the classroom
. “Morris, come and sit down here. Hurry up, let’s not drag our ass, huh?”

Karen
shooed Morley away and got Morris seated. She stayed beside him, on his side of the table, star
ing
down at him.

“So, Dave, we’ve been asking your co-worker there, Jane Morley, a few questions about the recent murder of Marcie Askew.
Now it’s your turn. D
id you know Marcie Askew?”

“Don’t say anything!” Rachel Meese suddenly shouted. “They know about you and her!”

“Ah, Christ
,” Karen
muttered
.

“Be quiet right now,” Detective Muncy ordered,
stepping in front of Rachel and leveling
a finger at her, “or I’ll have you charged with obstruction of justice.” He turned back to the class. “That goes for the rest of you, as well.”

“What is this?” Morris asked mildly. “Seems kind of odd for a case study.”

Karen looked at Muncy.
“You want to do this?”

“
Yes.
” Muncy
sat down across
the table
from Morris as Karen walked over to
stand next to
Rachel Meese.

“Professor Morris,” Muncy began, “I ne
ed you to understand that we’re done with
the case study
thing
.
I’m going
to ask you real questions
about
the homicide of Marcie Askew. Are you willing to answer those questions now of your own free will?”