Adventures In Murder Chasing (Funeral Crashing #3) (14 page)

I frowned at her and looked back at Tim, "So, nobody else?"

"Well, I only knew one of his other friends. He'd stop by sometimes. His name was Pete. Pete Andreau, I think. You can ask him if you want to keep worrying about if Nico was murdered, but take my advice and let it go," Tim said. "It's not good to hold that sort of stuff in. Nico is gone and it's sad, but it was an accident."

I nodded and tried to look like I might follow his advice. The wheels in my brain were still turning. I had one more thing to ask and I had to make it not look obvious.

"Are you a psych major?" Ethan asked Tim, as I was thinking.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Tim said.

"Lucky guess," Ethan said.

"You're just good at it," I covered for Ethan's sarcasm and then felt I had my in, ironically, so I asked something I had been thinking about, "So, did you get all A's for the semester then? Because your roommate died?"

Tim looked at me and frowned, "No. That's an urban legend."

"So, it's not true?" I asked. "Colleges really don't do that?"

It would have been an easy motive for murder, after all. Who didn't wish for all A's? It would make life way easier if you just got them and didn't have to do anything for them. Well, besides commit murder of course.

"No. I wish it were. That would definitely have helped me with my statistics class, but no," Tim said and then continued. "I did get my own room for the rest of the year probably, but that's about it and that's mostly because I doubt anybody else would want to live here. But no, no straight A's."

I nodded. I wondered if there was a way to check that for sure - the all A's thing. I mean, Tim sounded sincere, but just in case he was lying to me. Grades might be a good reason for murder after all. Still, Tim and his girlfriend Christine did get a love nest out of the whole thing. That was kind of convenient too. Was that worth murdering someone for? Hmm, I guess it just depended on how much you wanted that alone time with your significant other.

My stomach gurgled. Okay, it was time to go and meet Suzie and Kyle for lunch. I was totally starving. We were done with Tim and Christine for now anyway. I took one last look around the room and tried to take one last good look at the murderous bookshelf. It mostly looked like a really big, heavy bookshelf. It would definitely not be fun to have it fall on you. My stomach growled again. Murder investigating made me hungry.

Suzie and Kyle were already eating lunch by the time we met up with them. I saw them talking to a girl with short light brown hair and freckles while we were in line. I wondered if she had anything to do with the case.

By the time I paid for my pizza, though, the girl was gone and Suzie and Kyle seemed totally oblivious to the world, except for each other. Kyle was holding Suzie's hand and she was saying something to him and he was looking at her like she was the only person in the world. Wow, they were a great couple. I grabbed Ethan's free hand and held it. He smiled at me. I looked back at Ariel and Troy. She wasn't holding his hand. In fact, I got the distinct impression that she was checking out a buff guy in a workout tank top and shorts. I would have hit Ariel if it wouldn't be obvious. Troy was a great guy. He was hot and he was an amazing artist. I hoped Ariel didn't mess it up.

"Hey guys," I said, as we walked up to Kyle and Suzie's table, feeling almost guilty at interrupting.

"Hey," Suzie said first, recovering more quickly than Kyle from having their private moment shattered.

We all sat down around Kyle and Suzie and started eating lunch.

"So, who was that girl you were talking to?" I asked. My pizza was calling to me, but I was curious.

"Oh. Dana?" Suzie said. "She's someone I used to know as a kid. She lived next door to my grandma. Weird running into her. Small world."

"We asked her about Nico too," Kyle said.

"Did she know him?" Ethan asked.

"She did know of Nico and of course, what happened to him. She said it was a horrible accident and really sad," Suzie said. "But she didn't think it was murder or anything."

I nodded. That wasn't all that helpful. Still, I felt upbeat. Maybe they had more to tell us.

"So, did you guys learn anything else?" I asked, taking a bite of my pizza.

Wow, it was good. I was surprised. College cafeteria pizza was way better than high school cafeteria pizza. That was good to know.

"Not from Dana," Suzie said. "Sorry."

"But we did do a lot of research," Kyle said, suddenly all business, although he was still holding Suzie's hand, "Besides learning the history of Landale College, taking the campus tour and getting a lay of the land, and checking out a few of the residence halls..."

"We found out that nobody else thinks Nico was murdered either," Suzie finished for Kyle. "Freak accident was pretty much the general response. Some people hadn't even heard about it. Nobody was scared. Dana said that the biggest thing being done was that the school was securing all similar bookshelves across campus, so that something like that never happened again."

"Yeah, we heard they were doing that," Ethan said.

"We also went down to the college newspaper to ask for the reporter that covered the story," Kyle said.

"We told her that we were writing about Nico for our high school newspaper. His alma matter," Suzie said. "And that we wanted to know the real story behind his death."

Kyle continued, "She wasn't there and we had to leave a message, but she called us about fifteen minutes ago. She said that it was open and shut. Nobody was looking into anything. As far as she's concerned, Tim came home and found his roommate Nico dead because a bookshelf fell on him. Accident."

"So nobody thinks Nico was murdered?" Troy was incredulous.

"No," Suzie said. She shrugged. She didn't seem so sure anymore either.

"Maybe it was just a freak accident," Ethan offered and then gave me a guilty look.

"Yeah," Ariel added. "It sounds like the bookshelf just fell. That thing was huge."

I tried not to give Ariel a dirty look. She wasn't the only one that was questioning whether Nico was murdered or not. It was just easier to get mad at her especially since I wasn't even sure why she had come along on our trip. Then again it was probably to keep an eye on Troy. The problem was that she didn't seem all that interested in keeping her eyes on him.

I didn't say anything, though. I wasn't sure what to think. Was everyone else right? Were we following another wrong hunch? Was Nico's death just a freak accident? Was it like Gabe's death? Something that just happened? I felt like I wanted to be sure. I mean, it was just so weird and we were here after all. We might as well do a thorough investigation. I still wanted to talk to Nico's ex-girlfriend. She sounded like she might be a little nutty. The question was, was she crazy enough to commit murder? I wanted to know before I gave the case up as a wash. Part of my brain reminded me that I also had Antonio's girlfriend and Nico's friend Pete Andreau on my list of people to talk to while we were at Landale. Still, we were now halfway through our day at Landale College and we were going to have to either multitask or prioritize. I couldn't talk to them all myself. It was time to delegate. I thought about it. All I knew was that Nico's crazy ex was at the top of my list.

"Did you guys find anything out?" Kyle interrupted my thoughts.

Troy, Ariel, and Ethan looked at me. I quickly told the story of our morning to Suzie and Kyle. Ariel kept interrupting me to add comments, but I tried not to get even more annoyed with her. Besides the fact that she kept texting, Ariel was actually being way better than I expected. That was huge and I had to remember that.

"Oh, one more thing," Suzie said after we had finished our story.

"It might not be related," Kyle warned.

"But it's still something that's been going on around the campus," Suzie said. "There's been a bunch of burglaries."

"What kind of burglaries?" I asked.

Kyle answered, "Mostly just people's backpacks or purses being taken when they set them down and don't pay attention to them. Like a few people left their backpacks on a table at the library and then came back to find them gone."

"I don't see how that would be related," I said.

"Still," Suzie said. "There's been about ten thefts in the last month. Maybe someone was trying to rob Nico and then they killed him to cover it up or maybe he interrupted them or something."

"Were any of the thefts reported dorm room or apartment break-ins?" I asked, perking up. Maybe this was a lead. Maybe I didn't need to hinge my case solely on a crazy ex-girlfriend.

"No, not those," Kyle shook his head. "So far the only reported thefts were on campus in public places. Well, the ones we heard about at least. Campus police have warnings posted all over the place telling you to watch your stuff."

"I'm sure people have had their dorm rooms and apartments broken into, though," Suzie said.

"But it doesn't sound like the two are related," I said. "Right?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," Suzie said. "But Nico could have been robbed, right? Maybe the stuff snatchers decided to step it up a notch, but then it all went wrong."

"Maybe," I said, but it didn't sit quite right with me.

Nothing had been taken or at least nobody had reported a theft. If a burglar had broken into Nico's room and killed him, wouldn't it make sense to finish the job and steal something? Or maybe they had gotten scared because they accidentally killed him. I'd have to keep it on the list of ideas. Right now that was the best lead we had. Everyone else had already assumed an accident was the cause of Nico's death. Who knew, maybe the real truth was that he had interrupted a burglary. It was a possibility, right? Or was it just a freak accident? No, I still wanted to talk to at least one more person before I gave up.

"So, what's next on our agenda?" Ethan asked in between bites of his sandwich.

Everyone turned to look at me. I mulled it over for a second. That was exactly what I was trying to figure out. At least everyone was still game to investigate. That cheered me up.

"Well, I think we split up," I said. "We still have a lot of people to interview and a lot of information to retrieve and we only have a few hours left. So, Kyle and Suzie, I'd like you to find out more about the robberies. Get a list of them if you can. Also, if you could find out if there is an all A's clause that would be great. Like if your roommate dies, do you really get all A's? If not, do you get anything beneficial? Ariel and Troy, why don't you pay a visit to Nico's friend, Pete, and see if he has anything to say. Ethan, I'd like you to go and talk to Antonio's girlfriend. See if you can find out if she was with him the night Nico died, like Antonio said."

"So, wait, what are you going to do then?" Ethan asked.

"I'm going to go and pay a visit to Marissa Dayton," I said.

"The psycho ex?" Ethan asked. "Over my dead body."

I gave Ethan a look. Did he really need to use that phrasing? I didn't want him to jinx himself or something.

"What's the big deal?" I asked.

"It could be dangerous," Ethan said.

"I'll be fine," I said.

"You and I could go and see both of them," Ethan offered. "Marissa and Antonio's girlfriend."

"We might not have time. We have to find out where these people are and then go talk to them," I said. "Plus I want to give us some time to regroup and see if we have to follow up any more leads before we head home."

"It's still dangerous. We should go in pairs," Ethan said. "Maybe Ariel could go with you?"

"No!" Ariel and I both said at the same time.

I had almost forgotten that everyone else was there, but I was glad that Ariel and I were on the same page. I wasn't ready to be one on one with her just yet. What if the friendship thing came up again? That was scarier than anybody's psycho ex-girlfriend.

"Don't you trust her?" Troy asked Ethan, breaking into the conversation.

"Of course," Ethan said immediately.

"Then let her go," Troy said.

"It's not about trusting her," Ethan said. "She's been in danger before."

"Just be careful," Troy said to me.

"I'd feel much better if someone else was going to see the psycho ex alone," Ethan said. "Unless you want to take someone with you..."

"I want to talk to her," I said. "I feel like if a girl talks to her, she might be more forthcoming, you know? And I think it's best I go alone. I think it's more likely she'll open up to me."

"Ariel can do it," Ethan said.

"Uh, why do you keep offering me up?" Ariel asked. "No thank you. I'll stick with Troy."

I noticed that Kyle and Suzie were super quiet. I glanced at them. They were totally uncomfortable and trying to focus on eating their lunch instead of participating in the conversation. I didn't blame them. Ethan was being overprotective. I understood why, but still. It was the middle of the day. I'd be fine.

"I want to be the one to talk to her," I said. "Come on, Ethan."