Murder Misread by P.M. Carlson Read Free Book Online Page A

waiting for Tal,”
said Maggie, “and I heard Dorrie here calling for help. So I ran
out of Plato’s to see what I could do. She said there was a man
hurt on the gorge trail.”
    Dorrie nodded mutely. Anne
studied her a moment, then asked gently, “What did you
see?”
    Charlie looked
apprehensively at the Campus Security men. They weren’t supposed to
be talking about it. But the guards had edged closer to Hines and
Nora, avidly listening themselves.
    “ I was coming down the
trail…,” Dorrie began, tugging nervously at her honey-brown
hair.
    “ From College Ave.,” said
Maggie.
    “ Yes. And I saw this
jacket lying there. And at first I didn’t know what it was, you
know? And then I saw his head. And all the blood. And I screamed,
and, well, I just ran back to get help.”
    Anne’s inquiring eyes
turned to Maggie.
    “ I brought her into
Plato’s to call the ambulance and the police,” Maggie said.
“Charlie and the others helped her.”
    “ Maggie ran on ahead,”
Charlie explained.
    “ I know a little CPR,”
said Maggie. “But when I saw him it was clear that it was too late.
So I tried to keep people away until the cops came.”
    Anne nodded, looking down
at the brown toes of her shoes. Then she raised her eyes to Maggie,
and for the first time there was a catch in her voice. “He was
shot?”
    “ Yes,” said Maggie
gently.
    Anne looked back at her
shoes.
    Dorrie said in a wondering
tone, “I guess I heard it. I was just starting down the trail and I
thought it was a car backfiring.” Her eyes were wide behind her
square-framed glasses. “God, I never thought—”
    “ You told the detectives
about the backfire?” Maggie asked.
    “ I don’t remember what I
told them. I was so confused.”
    “ Well, that’s normal. But
be sure you tell them first chance you get.” Maggie gave the girl’s
shoulders a squeeze.
    Charlie noticed that his
fist was hitting into his palm again. He felt so damn angry and
frustrated. He wished Hines would let them go, so he could think.
He thrust his fists back into his pockets and looked at the
detective, who was conferring now with a gangly man in a pinstripe
suit. Hines took a couple of notes, then came over to where his
witnesses were gathered. “Mrs. Chandler?” he said gently. “Could
you answer a few questions now?”
    Anne squared her
shoulders, her face a mask. A tough woman, Charlie thought. She’d
always seemed a little frightening. “I’m ready,” she said
brusquely.
    Hines led her a few steps
down the path. Dorrie said quietly, “God, I never thought about him
having a wife, you know?”
    Maggie nodded but didn’t
answer. She was watching Anne intently, her lower lip caught behind
her teeth. Reluctantly, Charlie followed her gaze. Hines towered
over the squat little woman but she seemed to be the dominant one
as she answered his murmured questions. Then, suddenly, her calm
was shattered. “No!” she exclaimed, her voice indignant.
    “ But you see, he was
holding it—”
    “ Doesn’t matter!” Anne was
still agitated but as confident as ever. “It just won’t work. He
had no reason for suicide. None!” She was fumbling in her pocket,
pulled out a cigarette. Hines lit it for her, bending over her like
a lion tending a cub.
    “ I had to ask, Mrs.
Chandler,” he said. “Because he was holding the gun.”
    Anne shook her head
stubbornly.
    “ Excuse me,” Maggie
called.
    Hines looked around with a
frown. “Just a minute.”
    “ No, you see, there’s a
problem,” Maggie insisted. “The gun was in his right
hand.”
    Hines continued to frown,
but Anne exclaimed, “There! You see?”
    “ See what?” Hines
asked.
    “ Is she right? Was the gun
in his right hand?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ Well, Tal’s
left-handed.”
    Hines snatched out his
notebook eagerly. “You’re sure? Well, of course you’re sure.” He
wrote it down. “Now, Mrs. Chandler, I’ll have someone drive you
home, and—”
    “ Look, Sergeant Hines, I
want to do