“Now!” hissed Fina.
Ruby and Fina ambushed Professor Bathurst from behind opposite hedges as he bounded up the steps to the lecture hall. It seemed drastic, but Ruby had pointed out Bathurst would surely do anything to avoid them, especially after Vera’s murder and the assault in the quad.
“Professor Bathurst,” said Ruby as she approached him. He turned his head to the right, towards her. Then he turned his head to the left, as Fina approached him.
Aha, thought Fina. No escape.
“Ah, good morning Miss Dove, Miss Aubrey-Havelock. I’m afraid I’ll have to dash as I’m late to lecture.”
“Professor Bathurst, I’m sure you’ll want to hear us out before the police arrive.” As per usual, Ruby’s flair for the dramatic had its effect.
Bathurst stood very still in a wide stance.
“We wanted to let you know the police have found the missing documents.”
He gave them a smile. A forced smile. “Well, that’s splendid. Hopefully they can solve the murder now.” He gulped. Fina watched his Adam’s apple glide down his throat.
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you where they found those documents,” said Ruby.
“I’m afraid I’m in the dark, Miss Dove,” he said, licking his lips and patting down his hair.
“I’m afraid you’re not. The secret room in the chemistry laboratory?”
He blinked. His arms dropped to his sides.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
“Do you remember the day you showed us around the laboratory? You gave keys to each of a few senior students. I was one of them. At one particular moment, I remember you hesitated. And then you became excited. I think you wanted to show off to us a bit. You told us there was a secret storeroom. You called it a water closet, oddly enough. At the time, I was quite puzzled. I asked you why it was there, and you said it was something the builders added after they had finished the room. It was a bit of unused space, so they decided to make it into an additional large closet. Then, when Fina and I went poking around in the closet, she discovered a combination padlock behind an oil painting. At first, I tried your office number, but then I thought back to the water closet remark. And I tried the molecular combination of water. Presto.”
“So what?” He stood up and loomed over Ruby, which was no small feat given her height – especially in heels.
“So what this means is we found the documents, including items Vera most likely stole, in that room. Your … relationship with Vera is going to make this situation rather awkward for you when the police arrive.”
The blustering, aggressive body posture vanished.
“Why are you telling me this? Why not let the police tell me?”
“Because in spite of how you treated me, Professor Bathurst, I believe you deserve a little time to think about how to defend yourself,” said Ruby, quietly.
As they turned to leave the befuddled professor behind them, Ruby added, “And, because if I need a favour, I’m sure I can count on you.”
They glided down the steps in triumph. Ruby said, “Let’s see the other professor now.”
Fina paused as they climbed up the steps to the hall where Professor Marlston’s rooms were located. “Do you think she’ll tell us anything?” she asked Ruby.
“No, but I’m hoping that talking to her will reveal something – I have a feeling she might say something which will at least make my little grey cells activate.”
As they entered the hall, Fina noticed the leaves on the Virginia creeper were beginning to shrivel. The daylight no longer provided a warm glow but rather the anaemic filtered light of an approaching winter. She shivered and pulled up her collar.
As Fina prepared to knock on Professor Marlston’s door, she halted. Voices from inside suggested she was busy with another student or professor.
Looking up and down the corridor, Ruby put her ear to the door and signalled to Fina to do the same.
“I’m not sure there’s much to be done at this point,” they heard Victoria say.
“Do you think I ought to tell the police?”
The second voice was James.
There was a distinct pause. “I cannot see what relevance it has now. If you tell them, it will only draw suspicion to you,” said Victoria.
“But surely they wouldn’t think it was enough of a reason for murder.”
Another pause.
“You came to me for advice, and I say you keep this to yourself. I’ll do the same,” said Victoria.
The shuffling of papers and feet indicated they should move away from the door.
James exited, head down, looking more than ever like a forlorn puppy with his hair hanging over his eyes.
“James!” said Fina in an overly casual voice.
He spun round, nearly dropping his briefcase as he was wont to do.
“Were you talking to Marlston about the term paper for our French history course?”
He blinked. Then he recovered.
“Oh, ah, yes. I wanted to talk to her about possibly pursuing a theme of France-New Zealand relationships.”
“I see. Is there a relationship?”
“Oh yes. The two countries were quite close in the Great War,” he said, rubbing his forehead as if he could predict historical events rather than the future.
Fina had to admit she had underestimated James. Perhaps there was more to him than met the eye?
Ruby tried another tack. “I’m so sorry about Vera. I know you were fond of her.”
Tears welled up. He wiped them away quickly.
“Yes, I am rather upset,” he said, edging away as if this provided a convenient excuse for him to leave the interrogation. “Good to see you both,” he mumbled. He scurried off, but not before he dropped his briefcase again.
“That man will make an excellent absent-minded professor,” said Fina. Then she turned and whispered, even though the corridor was empty: “What do you think that was all about? Was James asking if he ought to reveal his infatuation with Vera?”
“It could be,” said Ruby, “though he’s also infatuated with Gayatri. It does seem the most plausible explanation…”
Footsteps interrupted their conversation. Victoria’s head popped out of the open doorway.
“May I help you two? Fina – are you here to talk about the class?”
“We came to see if you were all right. After last night. And we’d like to talk to you about the murders, to be honest,” said Fina. She could sense Ruby’s body tightening next to her. But surely the direct route would be the best. After all, Victoria was someone who was rather blunt herself.
Though her eyes narrowed, Victoria said, “Come in, both of you.”
They entered Professor Marlston’s room. It was packed with books, floor to ceiling. They were arranged by height on each shelf. Victoria had an impressive collection of tomes, even for a professor. One lonesome spider plant sat in the corner. Fina saw an open box of papers, arranged in alphabetical order. Unlike the other offices, where one could easily become asthmatic just by breathing, nary a speck of dust could be seen by the naked eye.
Fina peered at the professor more closely. Her curly blonde hair was tidy and her eyes did not hold the tell-tale signs of sleeplessness. But she walked stiffly, as if last night’s altercation had left its marks. Plus, her face was more puffy than usual, with little broken capillaries beginning to emerge on her nose. Was she hitting the bottle more regularly? It might have nothing to do with the murders, Fina thought. The politics of the university would be enough to drive anyone to drink.
There was only one truly personal item in the room. Next to the spider plant sat a large framed photograph of a small child and a woman sitting in a rowing boat. From the dress and hairstyles, it looked to be perhaps fifteen to twenty years old.
Fina tried her hand at small talk to soften her up. “Is that you in the photograph – when you were a child?”
Victoria craned to look over her shoulder.
“Yes, that’s me and my mother. We were boating on the River Mersey.”
Turning back, Victoria cleared her throat as if to signal it was time to get down to business. So much for small talk. “In answer to your questions, I’m perfectly well, thank you. It was an unpleasant incident, based on vile prejudices that are not, unfortunately, so very uncommon in this cloistered community.” She raised a well-groomed eyebrow at the pair and waited.
Fina repressed the urge to giggle. So that’s what the professor thought of herself and Ruby. Well, if it induced her to open up to them, in a rush of fellow-feeling, then so much the better.
“I’m so glad to hear you’re not hurt,” said Ruby, maintaining her composure with some effort. “Do you mind if we ask a few questions?”
“Of course not. How can I help you?” Victoria squared off a stack of papers on her desk.
“We were wondering first if you think the theft of Mr Gasthorpe’s papers is somehow tied to these murders,” said Fina as her opening gambit.
“Papers? What papers?”
“Surely you must know. They were stolen from his rooms the day after the murder. Jack Devenish has been very worried about it, I believe.”
Victoria leaned back and then leaned forward to continue squaring off the already perfectly aligned stack of paper. “No, I don’t believe I know about this.”
“No doubt the police will tell you about it in time,” said Ruby.
“No doubt,” replied Victoria. “But given everything that happened the other night, as well as the murders, I’m not getting involved with the police over some thefts which have nothing to do with me.” Was she afraid her relationship with Grace might land her in hot water if the police got to know about it, wondered Fina? Or was there something specifically in those papers she wanted to keep hush hush?
The door opened, saving Victoria from having to answer anything further.
“Vicky. Oh,” said Grace, waltzing in as if it were her own office. She wore a chartreuse blouse and black trousers. Seeing Fina and Ruby, she halted and awkwardly backed out of the room like a crab. “I see you’re engaged – I’ll come back later.”
“No, no, Miss Yingxia,” said Ruby, rising out of her seat. “We were just leaving.”
The pair said their goodbyes and walked out, but Ruby stopped in the corridor and winked at Fina. She had that look on her face which meant she was about to put a plan into action. Fina caught her breath. Perhaps this would be the moment when, with one skewering question or icily logical deduction, Ruby broke the case wide open.
Through the open doorway, Ruby called out to the two women in the office: “Does either of you wear eyeglasses, or have trouble with your eyes?”