Page 18 of M for Murder

Joel nodded. ‘Interesting. Isn’t he the same professor that Scott Jagger had his last lecture with?’

‘I believe so.’

‘I’d like to speak with him.’

‘That’s not a problem. I’ll arrange it.’

‘Thank you.’

Leaning back in his chair, Edwards let out a frustrated sigh. His eyes met Joel’s. ‘So, what do you think, Agent Hickok? Do you think Emma Keeley is dead?’

Joel glanced briefly at Angell and then back at the Dean. Slowly he nodded. ‘To be perfectly honest, yes, sir, I think she probably is.’

Mindy Tyson was the kind of girl that Rebecca would have described as fluffy. Not beautiful, but certainly cute enough to get a guy’s attention with her wide eyes, button nose and long blonde hair. She came in a small package, probably not much taller than five foot, but what she lacked in height she made up for in flesh. Chubby cheeks, large hips and generous breasts.

Blonde and pretty, and definitely fluffy.

The room that she shared on campus with Emma Keeley was simply furnished with two beds, two desks, and a closet, and Rebecca was immediately struck by how different the two sides seemed to be, appearing to reflect each of the girls’ personalities.

Everything on the left-hand side of the room was pink. The bedclothes were floral, the cushions frilly and a large brown teddy bear sat on the pumped-up pillow. On the wall above the bed was a picture of a muscular guy wearing a thong.

Hickok nudged Rebecca when he saw it and grinned.

‘Oh, nice picture. Bet you’ve got a poster like this on your bedroom wall, eh, Angell?’

Rebecca ignored his remark, having already come to the conclusion that Joel Hickok was prepared to stoop to any level to get a laugh, and she turned to look at the other side of the room.

In complete contrast, there were no frills, no bears and nothing was pink. The bedding was plain navy blue and a shelf running the length of the bed was cluttered with books, some fiction, some non-fiction. On the end of the shelf sat a thin blue vase containing five long-stemmed red tulips. Though both beds had a picture above them, this one was not of a naked man, but instead an expensive looking print of a group of ballerinas.

Rebecca guessed that the left-hand side of the room must belong to Mindy and the right-hand side to Emma. Her suspicions were confirmed a few moments later when Mindy Tyson crossed the room and sat herself down on the edge of the pink bed. She clutched one of the frilly cushions and stared up at the two of them through large hazel eyes.

‘So, do you think Emma’s okay?’ she asked, her voice nervous.

‘We’re not sure at the moment,’ Rebecca answered quickly, getting in before Hickok. She knew he was blunt and would probably upset the girl.

She needn’t have worried. Hickok, apparently not hearing Mindy’s question, was already over on Emma’s side of the room, rooting through the top drawer of her desk.

Mindy’s bottom lip wobbled, and she looked uncomfortable.

‘You know, Emma doesn’t like people going through her things.’

Hickok glanced over his shoulder. ‘Yeah? Well I’m sure she won’t mind on this occasion.’

Without giving her the opportunity to object, he turned back to the drawer and continued pulling out textbooks, an unused writing set, a random joker playing card, and odd items of make-up.

Rebecca found that, even though she hadn’t seen a picture of Emma Keeley yet, she was beginning to get a mental image of how she would look. The books indicated that she was studious; the make-up all seemed dark – black eye pencil and mascara, blood-red lipstick – the kind of colours you needed to have a perfect complexion to wear. Taking into account the difference in taste between Mindy and Emma, she pictured her to be tall and willowy, with dark hair and impeccable taste.

She watched as Hickok pulled a small blue velvet jewellery box from the drawer. He opened it and held up the dainty silver bracelet that was inside.

‘Gift?’ he asked Mindy.

‘Her dad bought it for her birthday last week.’ Mindy sniffed and hugged her cushion tighter.

Finally Hickok finished his search. Finding nothing of any relevance, he put everything back and closed the drawer, then turned to give Mindy his full attention.

‘So, the last time you saw Emma was on Thursday?’

‘That’s right,’ the girl answered.