Chapter Eight: "Collegiate Support"

The city's college campus wasn't large, but I asked the cabbie to drop me off at the bus stop closest to it anyway. It was nearly six o'clock by the time the bus pulled up and Ami got off. As soon as she saw me, she smiled. I hoped it would always be this way. I was happy to see her as well and greeted her with an exuberant hug and a quick kiss.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you all day!"

Once again she hugged me and then grasped my hands. Even with her working at the agency, I didn't see her often enough to satisfy me. It was just going to get worse if I accepted Doyle's invitation.

"Chasing my tail, I think," I told her, my previous worry returning full force. I hated to burden her with the news, but I needed a good dose of her positivity as well as a second opinion.

"I can tell something's wrong. What is it?"

I shook my head in disbelief. This was a rarity, although it still happened from time to time.

"I was wrong."

"Okay," Ami chuckled. "I'll be sure to contact The Daily Herald so they can change tomorrow's headline."

"Wow," she said after I didn't respond to her attempt at humor. "I thought that was pretty clever. Something is really wrong, isn't there? Tell me."

I had hoped the bus would be on time this evening, but she was running late. Her class had already started.

"Maybe another time. I'll try to catch you tomorrow. You need to get to class. You're late."

"Oh poo. I don't care about that. You're far more important. Come, sit down and tell me what's wrong."

All over the campus were wooden benches placed beneath shade trees and beside flowering bushes. She led me to the closest one.

"I went to see the Solowskys," I began. "Father, mother, and youngest son. You'd like the mother, but the rest of them? Money has rotted their brains. Then I visited a bookie, found out that Hank Jr. owes more than I thought, and to at least two of them. I then ventured to the murder scene and got to know the neighbor – a sweet little old lady who said she heard and saw everything."

"That's great! So, you have an eye witness! What's so awful about that?"

I wished that was all there was to it, but I had to continue. "Come to find out, she's as nutty as a fruitcake. The District Attorney will have her testimony thrown out of court before you can say, Jack Robinson."

"Oh," Ami looked as downtrodden as I felt. "That is rather disappointing."

"Oh, it gets worse!" I told her with fake cheerfulness. "You know that stuff Chief Dunn gave us that makes blood show up?"

"Yes. Luminol. Go on."

"I acted out the crime scene, found a hidden slug, and treated the carpet. And you know what I saw?"

"I'm too afraid to guess." Deep concern was written on her face. I wanted to ease her worry, but I couldn't. Maybe I shouldn't have shared all this with her, but I needed to talk to someone before I approached Mr. Quinn.

"Nothing," I admitted flatly.

Now, she was just confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means there was nothing else there! The illuminating stuff revealed a few droplets but that was all!"

Ami leaned back against the bench and stared out into the parking lot. "So. This means the police are going to go forward with their investigation in proving Ashley Tanner is guilty of murder."

"There's no other evidence to prove otherwise. Even Hank Jr.'s parents think she did it." I leaned forward and rested my head in my hands.

"Are you certain that sweet little old lady has nothing else to offer? How certain are you that she can't manage to testify?"

"She has cats, Ami. Many, many cats." I thought that would be enough of an explanation, but seeing Ami still looked confused, I decided to continue. "She calls them her babies and she forgot twice while I was there that Hank Jr. had been murdered. However, she did manage to hear three shots and I did find another bullet in Hank's apartment."

"There! You see? She was helpful after all!"

"And she did show me where Hank hid the key to his door." I had shared that, thinking it was another positive thing. However, Ami once again looked worried instead of pleased.

"What? What did I say?" Now, I was the one who was puzzled.

"She knew how to get into Hank Jr.'s apartment? Ben, if the police interview her and find out she had access to his door, they could possibly link her with the murder and investigate her as a new suspect."

"No," I disagreed. "No way. She had no motive! I mean, her only complaint was that Hank's parties were sometimes too loud, that Ashley and Hank argued too much, and that she had to console Ashley sometimes…" A realization began to sink in, though I'll admit a bit slowly. Even for me.

"If this older woman…"

"Mrs. Josephine Newman," I supplied the name.

"If Mrs. Newman was close to Ashley, maybe considered her like a granddaughter or something, she'd have plenty of motive. Did Mrs. Newman dislike Hank Jr.?"

Bad news just comes in waves once it starts, doesn't it? "Immensely," I confessed to Ami. "She called him a spoiled rotten thief."

"That's not good. The police can definitely use that against her. This is awful!"

"Not any more awful than Ashley Tanner being charged for murder and going to prison."

Ami looked at me in a sorrowful way and reached for my hand. "You're right. Oh, Ben, what are we going to do?"

I wasn't about to let this crime be pinned on a crazy old woman or a younger one for that matter. I still didn't believe either of them was guilty. I was just going to have to do everything I could to prove it!

"I'm not giving up yet. Mr. Doyle believes in his niece and he's the guru of defense attorneys. I must've missed something!

While we both sat and contemplated, I heard the distant campus clock chime the quarter-hour. "You need to go to class, Ami. Really. We can talk more about this later."

"Try not to worry," she told me before planting a tender kiss on my cheek. "I know you will anyway, but at least try."

"I'll try," I promised. "Now go, before the professor locks you out."

"That won't happen," Ami said with a flash of a smile. "Once I explain that I'm helping my boyfriend investigate a murder case, she'll be thrilled!"

"Only if I solve it," I added with little enthusiasm.

"You will, Ben!" Ami yelled as she ran off across the grass. "You will! Have faith!"

I grumbled, stretched my legs out, my arms up, and clasped my hands behind my head. "Easy for you to say."