Chapter 07
Martha Van Rensselaer Hall
Cornell University
Week 04

On the way up to Ithaca the team decided who would go where. Sending Blake to talk to her academic advisor was a natural fit.

Blake tapped on the frame of the open door. "Dr. Hamilton?"

A professorial type, right down to the glasses and bow tie, looked up from a cluttered desk. "Dr Blake I presume?" He stood and offered his hand. Blake nodded and accepted. "It's a pleasure. Please." He indicated the seat across from him. "I admit I had to look you up. Forensic Linguistics at Georgetown, yes?" Blake nodded again. "Well what can I do for a linguist?"

"Unfortunately I'm wearing my other hat today. FBI." She held up her badge. "We're looking to the disappearance of Laura Patterson."

Dr. Hamilton sagged. "Oh, it's such a shame. It's terrible, what happened. One minute she was a part of our community and the next she was gone. Everyone's been in shock. Anything any of us can do to help…"

"Thank you. I'm afraid I have to start at the beginning, I've never even heard of human ecology as a discipline, and yet this seems to be a huge department."

"Human Ecology is a proud tradition here at Cornell. We have one of the largest programs in the country and the only one in the Ivy League, we have for over a hundred years now."

"Really? Wow, that's impressive. What exactly is Human Ecology, what do you do here?"

"Our mission is to explore the complex relationship between human beings and their natural, social, and constructed environments. We're a multidisciplinary department; we include nutrition research, textile research and design, industrial design, architecture, child psychology and development, education, and public policy, and that's looking at the topic in broad terms."

"What was Laura's research in?"

"Laura was researching the effects of the transition of women as a class into the job market on child development, specifically how having all adults in the family working affected children as they developed through adolescence and transitioned into adulthood. It was a comprehensive project, taking into account effects on nutrition and physical health, psychological development, educational outcomes and the ability to form attachments and family bonds later in life."

Blake blinked at him. "Seriously? I thought we settled that back in the '70's."

Hamilton chuckled. "Oh no, we just started this mass sociological experiment back in the '70's. No one has ever done quantifiable research on the subject; we all just assumed that everything was fine. But now that we have at least two generations and forty years of data to work with she was determined to settle the question once and for all."

"Did she have any rivals? Any enemies?"

"Other than everyone?" He shook his head. "No, while her choice of work and the results she was getting were less than popular she didn't have any personal enemies or rivals. Everyone liked her, she was a joy to work with, organized, even tempered, friendly, as well balanced as a top. No we were thrilled to have her in the department."

"Was she closed to anyone here? Any particular friends, boyfriend?"

He thought for a moment. "No, not that I noticed."

"No close relationships, was she close to her family at all?"

"Yes and no, she was close to her father I believe but there was some kind of a problem with the family. She never went home, not in all the time I knew her but he came out two or three times a year. I recall speaking with him one time; he said he didn't understand why someone as bright as his daughter chose our discipline."

"Her intelligence stood out?"

"Honestly I would have expected a woman with her abilities to be in the hard sciences. I tried talking to her about it when she first started her graduate work but she was convinced that this was the home for her. She was passionate about her work, she could go on about it for hours if you let her. I can tell you he was very generous, she turned down a chance to be a teaching assistant. She said other people needed the money more than she did, she'd rather devote herself to the research."

"Her father came out but not her stepmother?"

"No, she wasn't close to her stepmother at all."

"Did she ever talk about her father's work?"

"No, she just said he was in high tech venture capital, never anything more."

"Does the name Dr. Spencer Reid mean anything to you?"

"No, I can't say that I've heard of him. Is he with a university?"

"He's a guest lecturer at Georgetown. She never mentioned the name, never talked about his work…"

"No, not at all. Is he involved in all this?"

"We believe so."

"Hmmm…No, I'm sorry, I have nothing."

"Can we get access to her research, her notes, office?"

"Of course, anything you need."

"Can you think of anything else that stood out in any way?"

"Well, there was one odd thing…"

"Yes?"

"I'll let you in on our old open secret. This department's been around for a hundred years, and we've always covered these same topics, but this has only been the College of Human Ecology since 1969."

"What was it before that?"

"The Department of Home Economics."

Blake blinked. "Really? Home Economics?"

Hamilton nodded. "Laura was petitioning the college to use the old name on her degree. I doubt that she would have been successful but she was determined to take the effort as far as she could. When I asked why she said she specifically wanted to be a Home Economics professor, she said that homes matter and that the name should never have been changed. She never explained further."

"Huh. Well, thank you Dr."

"You know, everything I've read has said that after this much time the chances are slim, is there any hope of her returning to us at all?"

"I'm sorry, I can't discuss the investigation."

"But your eyes are giving me at least a sliver of hope. Thank you."