Voice Mail Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

scowling and sitting on the edge of a chair in front of the secretary’s small desk. “All I know is what I hear from Jane Marie.” She clutched her belongings and beamed at the secretary who in turn glanced up at her boss with a shrug.
    “Right,” he declared, “Scandal Central, here. Just figured that the police had probably contacted you and asked you who ‘dun it?”
    “No, sorry,” replied Pamela. “All I know about it is what Jane Marie has informed me. She says the police found his body in a motel and that he’d been stabbed seven times.”
    “That’s more than I’d heard,” said Marks, his head tipped to Jane Marie quizzically. “Do they have any suspects?”
    “Not that I know of,” Jane Marie said.
    “Boy,” continued Marks, his jowls shaking, “What a mess. Sad. Really sad.”
    “Yes,” agreed Pamela. “I didn’t know him, but, of course, the students are all very upset.”
    “I’d met him a few times,” offered Marks, tapping a pencil on the desk. “Seemed like a nice fellow. And, of course, his wife. In that wheel chair. Very sympathetic.”
    “Yes,” agreed Jane Marie. “I think she has multiple sclerosis or something similar.”
    “Oh no,” said Pamela, “I hadn’t heard that. I guess I just never paid any attention.”
    “I believe I met them at one of the Dean’s functions a few years back—when he first came here. It was a few years ago, wasn’t it, JM?” asked Marks.
    “Yes, sir,” replied Jane Marie, “He’s only been here three years, but the team started its winning streak almost as soon as he got here. I mean it’s been amazing what he did over there.”
    “You met him?” asked Pamela.
    “I did,” nodded Marks. “Very friendly. Very solicitous of the wife. She was charming—and energetic, despite being in the chair. Didn’t seem to affect her personality at all. A nice couple.”
    “How horrible for her,” offered Pamela.
    “Yes,” said Jane Marie. “And their daughters.”
    “They have children?” asked Pamela.
    “I believe so. Two daughters. One is still in high school, but the other one is enrolled here—I think she’s a junior,” said Jane Marie.
    “What could possibly be the motive to kill such a man?” wondered Pamela, shaking her head.
    “Right,” nodded Marks. “Doesn’t seem a likely victim for murder. No one could be upset with him for his coaching. I mean, with the team on this long-term winning streak. If there’s any problem in the family, I don’t see it.”
    “Must be something else,” said Pamela.
    “Must be,” agreed Jane Marie. “They did find him in a motel.” She gave an audible sigh.
    “What did you get from the secretary?” asked Marks, looking over his shoulder at Jane Marie.
    “She was upset, as you can imagine,” she explained. “She was trying to keep things going over there—get the team members enrolled in courses they needed to be in—and had forgotten to register for. You know, the typical thing. But, I could tell she was really upset. “
    “Of course, she’d be upset,” Pamela noted, “I’d be upset if you were murdered Mitchell.”
    Marks chuckled and smiled. “Thanks, Pamela. I guess.”
    “You know what I mean,” Pamela added, flustered and blushing.
    “Yes, yes. I know. You say that the police are questioning everyone in the Athletic Department?” he pressed the secretary.
    “That’s what Rosemary said,” repeated Jane Marie. “I didn’t get the impression that they had any specific suspicions though, only that they were trying to figure out who might have had a motive or if anyone knew why Coach Croft was in the motel in the first place.”
    “I can venture a guess as to why he was in the motel,” said Marks, glancing from one woman to the other.
    “You can?” replied Pamela, meeting his challenge.
    “Come on, you two,” said Marks, eyeballs rolling. “What’s the main reason someone goes to a motel when they have a perfectly good home to go