By lunchtime, Carla had seen no one. No mentor, no programme administrator, no Max or Albert. She did, however, know a little more about her dead predecessor. Unable to help herself, Carla had made a mental list of the objects on Lauren’s desk but found nothing remarkable. It was the space of someone with too much stuff and not enough time to keep it tidy. The thought depressed Carla. Poor Lauren. With her spirits depleted, Carla needed an atmosphere more invigorating than Lauren’s office, which was encouraging her to brood about the randomness of sudden death. Gathering her courage, she locked the office and headed down the stairs, looking for the coordinator’s room. She found it tucked at the end of the corridor. Like everywhere else she ventured, it was empty. As she turned to leave, she careered into a tall woman dressed in black jeans and a polo shirt.
‘Are you the programme coordinator?’
The woman took a step back. ‘No, I’m damned well not. If you find her, tell her to answer her phone.’
Carla laughed. ‘I wonder if she actually exists.’
The woman snorted. ‘I’m thinking the same about Doctor Carla James.’
Carla froze. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve been ringing her room all morning and can’t get any reply.’
‘My office phone never rang once.’
‘Oh. It’s you. Thank God for that.’ The woman, unabashed, smiled broadly. ‘I’m Erin. Your mentor. Full title, if you care about these things, Doctor Erin Collins. A proper doctor too, none of this academic stuff.’ Again, the wide smile.
Carla held out her hand, unable to resist rising to the bait. ‘You work in the mortuary, I believe.’
‘Who the fuck told you that?’
Carla dropped her hand. ‘A colleague.’
‘Male, I suppose. I’m a state medical examiner. Work in a mortuary, my ass. You carry a spade for a living, I suppose.’
‘Trowel actually.’
Erin started laughing. ‘Don’t mind me. I’ve had one of those mornings. Fancy a coffee?’
Erin took Carla off campus to a Greek coffee shop.
‘Slightly more privacy for us. Slightly.’
‘The campus is a hotbed of gossip, right?’ Unlike Erin, who had perched effortlessly on the bar stools, Carla – a good five inches shorter – found herself wriggling up onto the leather seat. Erin pretended not to notice as she handed her a menu.
‘The coffee’s good, as are the pastries. Or we could have an early lunch.’
‘Coffee and pastries are fine.’
Erin ordered for them both and looked around. ‘OK,’ she said in a mock whisper. ‘First impressions of Jericho.’
‘The town? Pretty, very New England, a little touristy. The fringes look more ordinary, but that’s just the impression I got in the car from the airport.’
‘OK, I meant the college, but you’ve nailed the town. What do you think of our fine institution?’
‘Um,’ Carla bit into a spun sugar confection. ‘Everything feels a little haphazard. I can’t get a feel for who does what.’
Erin snorted. ‘I’ll explain. The way this college is run is that the head of department is accountable for everything. And I mean everything. The rest of you do as you’re told. I’m a little different as I have another job. Two days a week I lecture on campus, teaching a new generation of students the processes of pathology work and trying to persuade them that working alongside the dead can be as interesting – no, strike that – more interesting than dealing with living patients. Working in a morgue, as your colleague charmingly put it. The thing is…’ Erin paused and stirred her coffee. ‘It’s a little traditional here.’
‘That’s pretty much what I was expecting.’
‘This place is all about reputation. Staff are warned that under no circumstances should their behaviour bring the college into disrepute. That’s in relation to their private or professional lives. They’re hot on equality and diversity here, at least in theory, but I sometimes think the toll is on the female staff.’
‘What do you mean?’
Erin glanced over her shoulder and lowered her voice. ‘My advice is to keep your head down. I’ll explain more another time. You like Professor Kantz?’
‘He seems nice.’
‘Well, you should be fine. His wife is the lieutenant at the police precinct – a big cheese – so as well as holding down the job, he does a lot of the childcare. No big deal, but he’s a little, well, absent.’
‘He seemed distracted this morning. Said he had to drive his daughter to work as his wife was busy.’
‘Really? As I said, the majority of childcare falls to him. Nothing dramatic on the criminal front has gone on in the night, take it from me. If there’s a fatality, I’d know about it.’
‘A quiet morning then.’
‘Let’s hope so.’ Erin grinned at her. She clinked cups with Carla. ‘You and I will get on great.’
‘Can I ask you something?’ Carla was beginning to feel invigorated, down as much to the conversation as the coffee.
‘Go for it.’
‘I’ve been given the office of a colleague who died.’
Erin whipped her cup back onto its saucer with a clank. ‘Don’t tell me they put you in Lauren’s room?’
‘You knew her?’
‘Not well. Just to smile at in corridors. I undertook the autopsy after her death, which was a little unusual as I rarely know the cadavers I dissect.’
‘Max Hazen said she drowned.’
‘Yes, I’m afraid so.’ Erin bit into her own pastry and kept her eyes on Carla. ‘She killed herself.’
Carla winced.
‘I’m sorry.’ Erin reached over to touch her arm. ‘I got the bare bones of your story from Albert. I thought I should tell you rather than you finding out in passing. Do you want to talk about your husband at all?’
Carla shrugged. ‘Not really. It was three years ago, although some days it feels like it was only yesterday. Dan was ill for a long time before he took his own life and, in some ways, it was a blessed relief, although I have to be careful who I say that to.’ Carla stopped. ‘You say you got my story from Albert. How does he know?’
‘I told you, people like Albert make sure they know what they need to. It wasn’t prurient gossip if that’s what you were worried about. I had a catch-up with the prof when I was matched with you as a mentor, and he mentioned it. I’d have thought they’d have been a bit more fucking sensitive than putting you in Lauren’s room though.’
‘Max told me it was an accident.’
Erin rolled her eyes. ‘Perhaps he was trying to spare your feelings too. Who goes swimming at ten o’clock at night, especially in the river?’
‘Did she leave a note?’
‘No. Did your husband?’
Carla shook her head. ‘No need.’
‘There you go. As I said, who goes swimming at night? Still, the absence of a note means there was some reasonable doubt. But it was a clear case of drowning. Nothing to suggest foul play.’
‘They’ve left all her stuff in my room. I feel like I’m inhabiting the office of a dead person.’
‘Right.’ Erin wiped her hands on her trousers. ‘That’s what I’m here for. You don’t want a mentor; I saw it on your face when we met and I’m not really the nurturing sort. When it comes to practical stuff though, I’m your gal. Leave it with me.’
‘You sure?’
Erin frowned as her phone rang in her pocket. ‘Give me a moment, would you?’ She took the call and listened in silence. Carla took the opportunity to glance around the cafe, trying to separate the academics from tourists. As in Oxford, it was pretty easy to do – an innocuous pastime, although she wondered what Patricia had meant about the dark side of life here. Nothing here in this cafe to suggest Jericho was anything but a well-heeled campus town.
Erin cut the call and swallowed her coffee in one gulp. ‘I spoke too soon about it being a quiet night – there’s been a death and I’m needed at the scene.’
Carla slid off the chair. ‘Of course. Don’t worry about me. I’ll get back to my office and track down my access pass. I need it all sorted before I start teaching next week.’
‘Finish your coffee first,’ said Erin. ‘I’ll sprint back to the campus and pick up my car. Take your time.’
‘Sounds urgent,’ said Carla, settling back down. ‘I hope it’s nothing too terrible.’