Murder is Academic Read Online Free PDF

debris floating ahead. “Don’t be misled. It was his way of letting you know how little this counts in his life.”
    By now the sun had swept away all the mist, and it reflected brightly off the surface of the water.
    “Let’s pull into the stump lot and rest. There’re some giant carp worth watching.” I said.
    We steered away from the main river channel and into the backwaters. When the dam had been built at the turn of the nineteenth century, the river spread out to form the lake and to flood the tree-filled area. All that remained of the beech, ash, pines and maples were their broken-off trunks. It was a favorite hangout for local fishermen.
    Der grabbed one of the stumps to hold us steady. Through the clear waters I spied an eighteen inch carp lying on the muddy bottom. Above him, a few bluegills swam in circles, the colors of their flat bodies shining iridescent blues and green in the sunlight.
    Der continued his story. “Our get-together was worth the early hour. Although Pruitt told me he didn’t know who Talbot was meeting with after him on the day of the murder, he was eager to let me in on the topic of his meeting with Talbot. It was about the Biological Field Station the college operates further north on the lake. He said the president was moving it under his supervision.”
    “What?” I turned so suddenly that the canoe tipped to one side, almost wrenching Der’s grasp off the stump.
    “Watch it. Remember the clothes and shoes.”
    “Pruitt’s lying. Talbot would never do that.”
    “Needless to say, Professor Pruitt is very upset at Talbot’s demise. There’s nothing in writing, and it appears no one else knew of his decision. Talbot told Pruitt he decided on the move earlier that day.”
    “Did Pruitt ask him why the sudden change? No, probably not. All Pruitt would care about was that the decision was in his favor.”
    “I guess you don’t care much for Dr. Pruitt.” Der ran his fingers through the water. The carp ignored the ripples, but one bluegill appeared enchanted with Der’s fingertips. I watched with fascination as it moved closer to investigate.
    “No wonder he’s so upset over Talbot’s death. The president was killed before he could make a public announcement about the change in the station,” I said.
    “Convenient. Who didn’t want it known that Pruitt was to supervise the station?” Der continued to wiggle his fingers in the water.
    I didn’t reply to his question immediately, but took my time over it. My answer could point to someone with a motive to kill. “I wonder if the president had time to tell Will Stanford, Director of the Station, he would be reporting to a new supervisor and not directly to the president anymore.”
    “And?”
    “It’s a long standing feud between the two departments as to whether the station should remain housed in biology with Will Stanford or moved under the supervision of Rudolf Pruitt in water resources. Will has been director for years. The president liked him.”
    “What are you saying, Laura? Be more specific about this feud.”
    I turned around in my seat to look at Der just as he snatched his hand out of the water.
    “He bit me! The blasted fish bit my finger.”
    His sudden movement tipped us to one side. I shifted my weight to the other, hoping I could hold us upright, but I wasn’t quick enough. As if in slow motion, I felt the canoe slide away from under us, dumping us into the lake. I gasped at the shock of the chilly water, held tight to my paddle and struggled to stand up on the muddy bottom.
    Der had gotten his balance more quickly than I. Now he was holding his paddle like a weapon and brandishing it at the offending bluegill who skittered away with a flash of its fins. The large carp moved a few feet to the left taking up a new position behind a larger stump. Our efforts to right the canoe while we blamed one another for the mishap seemed to provoke in it only fishy world weariness. Or was that a smirk I detected