The Professor's Predicament Read online

  THE PROFESSOR'S PREDICAMENT

  By

  Dianne Harman

  (A Midwest Cozy Mystery - Book 4)

  Copyright (c) 2018 Dianne Harman

  www.dianneharman.com

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1724367679

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First of all, many thanks to you, my loyal readers, for taking the time to read this book. I've told my readers before how much I enjoy writing, but having them write me and tell me how much they like my books is still the best part of being an author!

  This is book number four in the popular Midwest Cozy Mystery Series featuring Kat Denham, whose pen name is Sexy Cissy. If you like it, you might enjoy the books in my other cozy mystery series, Cedar Bay, Liz Lucas, High Desert, Northwest, and Jack Trout. If you're in the mood for suspense, I have two series, Coyote and Slade Kelly, both of which are suspense thrillers. I read books in a lot of different genres, and I assume that a lot of you do too, so maybe you'd like a change of pace from my cozy mystery books.

  Because of you, all of my books have received Amazon's prestigious "bestseller" gold banner, as well as being listed as Hot New Releases. I feel so lucky to be an author whose books have received this type of recognition from Amazon. Again, thank you!

  As always, thanks to Vivek Rajan, and my husband, Tom. Also many thanks to Connie and Melissa, whose thoughts and comments are always appreciated.

  I can't forget my loyal dog Kelly, who often is right next to my feet while I'm writing. If it wasn't for her reminding me that I need to get out of my writing chair occasionally, I'd probably have major health issues! Thanks, Kelly!

  Free Paperbacks

  I'm giving away FREE Paperbacks. Find out more at www.dianneharman.com/freepaperback.html

  Table of Contents

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  EPILOGUE - SIX MONTHS LATER

  RECIPES

  ABOUT DIANNE

  PROLOGUE

  It had been a long day full of classes, meetings with her professors, and studying at the library, and a yawn escaped from Courtney Adams' mouth as she headed home. She tugged her sweater tightly closed and rubbed her hands together to warm her fingers. She was well into the fall semester of her sophomore year at the university, and the evenings had grown dark and cool in the small Midwest college town of Lindsay, Kansas.

  Her cramped apartment was just off the college campus, quite a distance from the library where she spent so much of her time. It was a long trek every morning and evening with a backpack full of books that grew heavier and heavier with every step she took.

  She trudged on towards the dusty red brick apartment building where she lived with a number of other students who appreciated the low rent, proximity to campus, and fun gatherings on the weekends. But tonight the area was eerily quiet and few of her fellow students were out and about.

  They're all inside their warm apartments, probably studying. I'll be doing the same in just a few minutes, she thought, quickening her pace.

  She rounded the corner of the building and headed toward the back stairway, which consisted of a set of steep iron stairs that took her up to the fourth floor. This is one of those days I wish this building had an elevator. I am really tired, and I don't want to walk up these steps. I feel like I'm carrying bricks in my backpack instead of books.

  Although Courtney thought walking up the steep stairs every evening was brutal, what was lurking in the shadows of the fourth-floor landing, and silently waiting for her arrival, was deadly.

  CHAPTER 1

  Courtney Adams couldn't remember a time when she hadn't wanted to be an author. It was quite the talk of the small Kansas town when her mother had taken her to the library when she was only three years old so she could get her own library card. She didn't remember much about her early childhood, but that memory was seared forever on her brain.

  The librarian had looked at her mother, Angelica Adams, as if she was crazy. She remembered the librarian saying, "Angelica, I thought you said you wanted a library card for Courtney. You know the earliest we grant cards to children is when they're six years old, and the only ones who can get them that early are the ones who have learned how to read."

  "Yes, I'm well aware of that," Angelica said, "and that's exactly why we're here to get Courtney a library card. She's read every children's book we have in our home. She needs more books."

  "Wait a minute, Angelica. Are you telling me that Courtney can read a book, and she's only three years old?"

  Angelica smiled wearily. "Yes, Lucy, that's exactly what I'm telling you. I don't know how it happened, but Courtney learned to read on her own, and she wants more books to read. She's read the ones we have at home several times. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'd appreciate it if you'd give her a library card."

  With a bewildered look, Lucy completed the paperwork and issued a library card to the youngest person to ever receive one in the fifty-something year history of the town's small but well-stocked library.

  The library card was Courtney's prized possession. It was the key to the door of the other worlds she occupied in her imagination. Dr. Seuss, Beverly Cleary, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Dragon in the Sock Drawer, and the Red Pyramid were just the start of the thousands of books read by the young girl as she grew up. Her wise and supportive mother never tried to channel her reading, and the adult books she graduated to at a young age were responsible for giving her a vocabulary well beyond her years.

  It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Courtney would choose a career which involved something to do with books. When she was in high school she started reading books by Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele. That's when she told Angelica she'd definitely decided to become an author.

  Angelica was a single mother and had raised Courtney without any help, financial or otherwise. For Angelica, there had been no alternative to bringing up her daughter alone, because when she'd told Courtney's biological father she was pregnant, he'd skipped town, and she'd never seen him again. To her knowledge, no one else had either.

  Angelica didn't have anyone she could talk to about Courtney's choice of a career, and she wasn't sure whether she should encourage it or not. In her mind, writers were kind of like artists, in the sense they generally starved. She knew it was pretty rare for either of those types of careers to support the lifestyle Angelica would like to see Courtney have, much less even pay enough to support a bare bones lifestyle for her. She wanted her daughter to enjoy the luxuries she hadn't been able to provide for her, and to never have to experience the financial pressures Angelica knew so well.

  When Courtney and the quarterback of the football team, Dylan Roberts, became serious, Angelica felt that Courtney's dream of becoming a writer was
probably going to become a reality. The reason being, if she married Dylan, as wealthy as his family was, whether or not Courtney made any money from writing would never be a problem. She would be very well taken care of in the manner to which her mother had hoped she would.

  Even though Courtney and Dylan planned on getting married after college, Courtney was still resolute in her decision to become an author. She set her sights on becoming the best one she could be. In the end, Angelica had no choice but to go along with it, because losing her daughter over it wasn't worth it. The young lovebirds began to make plans, and the first was getting accepted at the university on the other side of the state in Lindsay, Kansas. Fortunately, the English Department there had an excellent reputation, and with Courtney's grades, getting admitted to the school was not a problem.

  She was granted a scholarship, although it didn't pay for much beyond tuition and a small amount for living expenses. Angelica had been thrifty over the years and was proud to be able to augment the scholarship so Courtney could take the first step towards achieving her dream.

  Seeing Courtney and Dylan pack his car with the clothes, books, and personal items she was taking to college, caused Angelica to hide her heartbreak behind a happy mask. For the first time, the realization that Courtney was leaving home, probably forever, became a reality and Angelica felt alone, more alone than she'd ever felt, even when Courtney's father had abandoned her.

  Angelica looked forward to Courtney's daily calls and texts, updating her about her courses, professors, homework, and what she and Dylan were doing. From Courtney's long detailed accounts, Angelica felt very close to her absent daughter, almost like she was personally present and sharing in Courtney's day-to-day college experience. When her freshman year was over, Courtney had stayed at school for the summer, taking two courses, and working at the library to supplement her allowance.

  A few weeks after Courtney began her sophomore year, Angelica noticed some changes that caused her to worry. The once regular texts and phone calls became few and far between, and when they did speak or text, Courtney spent a lot of time talking about one of her English courses and how much she enjoyed it.

  There was a subtle shift in their conversations from how much Courtney enjoyed the course to how her professor thought she was very talented. The excitement was audible in her breathless recounting of how he'd told her he knew a lot of publishers and was sure he could get her a contract with a top publishing company for the novel she planned to write. Courtney was thrilled and talked about nothing else.

  Angelica was less than delighted. Dylan had called her when he'd come back home for his father's fiftieth birthday party and told her he was worried about Courtney. He said that for the first time there seemed to be a distance developing between them and he was concerned about some of the talk he'd heard on campus about one of Courtney's professors. He told Angelica that the professor was known for choosing a young female each semester to help him with "special assignments," and he was worried that the professor had bestowed the honor on Courtney for the current semester.

  He'd asked Angelica if Courtney had mentioned anything about it to her. Angelica had told him no, but as soon as the call ended, she went into the bathroom and threw up. Now Angelica knew exactly what had caused the change in Courtney over the last few weeks, and she was pretty sure that Courtney was the professor's newest special assignment.

  Angelica hadn't been blind to the hints of a physical relationship between Dylan and Courtney, but to her, that was far different than her daughter having an affair with a professor who was old enough to be her father.

  The more Angelica thought about what the professor was probably doing to a very gullible young girl, her precious daughter, the madder she got. She decided she'd confront the professor and tell him if he didn't stop seeing Courtney outside of class immediately, she would go to the head of the English Department and report him for misconduct. She was sure there must be rules against professors having relationships with students. The threat of disciplinary action would hopefully be sufficient to end the matter once and for all.

  Having made up her mind, the next day she knocked on the manager's door at the gas company where she'd worked for twenty years.

  "The door's open, come in," the grey-haired man said. "Oh, it's you, Angelica. What can I do for you?"

  Angelica wrung her hands and repeated the lines she'd rehearsed in her head numerous times before she said, "Mr. Tobin, I need to take a few days off. I have a personal matter that needs to be taken care of, and I have plenty of vacation days left. I'd like to go as soon as possible," she said.

  She knew her boss was a fair man, but it wasn't often she had cause to be in his office, and it was making her nervous. She waited for his response with a shaky smile.

  Benjamin Tobin adjusted his glasses and said, "Angelica, as good an employee as you are, under normal circumstances that would be fine." The way he phrased it gave Angelica a hint of what was to follow. "Unfortunately, I just got a call from my boss in Kansas City, and he notified me that a special audit is going to be conducted here starting tomorrow. He told me to put a hold on any employees' vacations until it was finished. I'm sorry, it shouldn't take more than a week. I hope that will work for you."

  Angelica's breathing slowed down. There, that wasn't so bad after all, she thought. "I'm sure it will," she said aloud. "I don't think the problem will go away, but one week shouldn't make much of a difference. I'll go over to Human Resources and put in a request to take five days of vacation beginning a week from Monday."

  "Thanks for being understanding, Angelica. Sorry I couldn't accommodate you any sooner."

  "I'm sure it's not a problem, Mr. Tobin," she said as she closed the door behind her.

  Later, she'd look back on her conversation with Mr. Tobin and always wonder if Courtney would still be alive if the audit had been scheduled for a different time.

  CHAPTER 2

  Kat Denham woke up before the alarm went off and rolled over to snuggle up against her still sleeping husband, district attorney Blaine Evans. She gazed at him in the pale morning light that filtered in through their bedroom curtains, feeling as she often did, that she should pinch herself to make sure that this second chance at happiness was real.

  Although they were both in their fifties, their midlife love affair had made her feel like a giddy young teenager from the start, and she couldn't be more content to settle into this phase of her life as Blaine's wife. The newly married couple had recently endured a trying and dramatic few weeks, and they were ready to have their lives get back to normal.

  As if sensing her gaze, Blaine opened one eye and then the other with a slow and groggy flutter of his eyelids and smiled at Kat.

  "Good morning, beautiful," he said, pulling her closer and kissing her gently on the forehead.

  "Good morning," Kat responded. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

  Just then the alarm clock buzzed. Blaine swung his legs over the side of the bed and stretched his arms up over his head.

  He avoided answering her, yawned, and said, "Your timing was perfect, Kat." He switched off the alarm, stood up, and headed toward the bathroom.

  "What's on your schedule for today?" Kat asked, as she climbed out of bed, pulled up the sheets and duvet, and arranged an array of floral and striped decorative pillows across the top of their blue bedspread.

  "I'm meeting with Ryan this morning to go over a number of cases we have scheduled in the coming weeks. Thankfully none of them are as dramatic as the Lawrence case and what happened to Judge Dickerson," he called back, as he reached for his toothbrush.

  "I'm glad to hear that," Kat said, joining him in the bathroom and looking at him in the mirror.

  Blaine's gaze met hers. "You know, Kat, I can never thank you enough for all of your help. There's no way I could have cleared my name as a possible suspect in the murder of Judge Dickerson while I was tied up in court. You're really wonderful, have I ever told you that?"

  "U
mmm, maybe once or twice," she said with a grin.

  Blaine's reputation as the district attorney of Lindsay, Kansas, a small university town, had been put on the line after Judge Dickerson, a crotchety man with a penchant for internet porn, was murdered in his courthouse office. Reporters had insinuated that Blaine might be a suspect in the judge's murder after Judge Dickerson was overheard yelling at Blaine and Ryan Walsh, Blaine's deputy district attorney, in the judge's chambers, on the afternoon prior to the judge being murdered that evening.

  Blaine couldn't do anything to set the record straight at the time because when Judge Dickerson had called Ryan and Blaine into his chambers, the judge had told them he was taking Ryan off the murder case that was being tried before him. Then he'd told them that since Blaine was the district attorney, it was up to him to try the case, a case for which he was ill-prepared.

  Ryan had been doing all the work on the case for months, and Blaine knew very little about the details of it. It looked like the defendant would be found guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison. The victim, a young coed, had been sexually abused and murdered, so the case was very high-profile in the small college town, but when the judge conducting the case was murdered, it made it even more so.

  Kat looked back at him, her tummy doing a mini-flip. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, you know that, don't you?"

  "Yes, but I certainly hope that doesn't mean you ever have to stare down the barrel of a gun again," Blaine said. "I'm just glad you weren't hurt, and I'm relieved that Judge Dickerson's murderer was caught before anyone else was hurt or worse."

  Kat reached for her robe which was hanging on the back of the door and pulled it over her nightgown. "Well, since you were able to convince the judge and jury that Cameron Baker was the person who killed Krysta Lawrence," she said, "I guess all's well that ends well. It's over and we can put it behind us. On to new things. Are you hungry? I'm going to head downstairs, let the dogs out, and get breakfast started."