Formula for Murder

Formula for Murder Read Free Page B

Book: Formula for Murder Read Free
Author: JUDITH MEHL
Tags: Mystery
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the scene.
    She stepped back but remained within hearing distance. Santora arrived shortly after and made note of the information the detective requested.
    President Ludlow physically pulled himself away from the sordid details Detective Burrows was outlining. Almost white eyebrows highlighted his concentrated gaze as he turned back to Kat with a grimace. “Oh, Miss Everitt, could you please meet the new public relations man, Nick Donnelly, for me in front of Heritage Hall? I was supposed to meet him earlier but he was running late. He should be there by now.”
    She nodded and he, Dr. Santora, and one of the detective’s men left for the registrar’s office to get student addresses.
    John motioned that he had her name on the list of people who would be questioned later. She took her leave quietly, cursing her lack of an umbrella and the necessity of meeting a man whose need here she questioned.
    Kat drove the short distance to Heritage Hall, which housed the administration offices. Its lighted steeple served as a beacon throughout the town in rain or shine and she admired it again as she headed that way.
    Donnelly, on the other hand, wasn’t in an admiring mood as he sprinted through the rain from the stout front doors back towards his British racing green Austin Healy in the empty lot. Kat noticed his long, powerful stride, which contrasted sharply with the hunched shoulders and intermittent sneezing. Her sedate sedan pulled in as he neared. In the pause following his third sneeze he reached for her passenger door, and threw himself into the seat on the fourth. A little miffed at his audacious behavior, Kat said rather haughtily, “Excuse me?”
    “I’ve been here almost an hour. My poor car is leaking, stalled, and I’m soaked and tired. You sure don’t look like Thomas but at this point I’ll take any port in a storm.”
    “And how am I supposed to know if you’re really this what’s his name the president is expecting?”
    Through his chattering teeth he said, “Sorry, I’m Nick Donnelly.” And in more slurred tones added, “I’d show you my ID but it’s probably soaked like the rest of me. Couldn’t you just help me find the president or my apartment?”
    “I’m Katharine Everitt,” she said and extended her hand.
    “Katharine” he repeated as his large hand engulfed hers firmly, if damply. The warm look in his eyes ended abruptly with another sneeze.
    Realizing he was indeed wet, Kat acquiesced, “Where to?”
    “I don’t know. Don’t you? Thomas said he’d have a place for me until I could find my own.”
    “Great. Well, let’s head back to the science building and see if he’s still there.”
    He dashed through the rain, his slightly long hair flying in the breeze, adding to his rugged looks. He retrieved his suitcases and tossed them into her trunk. She again admired his rangy body, attired in snug black jeans and a sadly-soaked turtleneck. He was half asleep so she ducked inside once back at the building. The deputy at the scene said the president had left.
    “Where’s the coroner?”
    “Been and gone. Doesn’t take long to record the temperature and humidity.”
    “Rats. I wanted to hear what he had to say.”
    “It was murder.”
    “Gee thanks, I knew that much.”
    She left a message with him for President Ludlow in case he returned.
    Kat checked with the security office for a key for Donnelly, but they were unaware of the president’s housing plans. Although it looked like Nick might be willing to sleep through the night in her car it didn’t seem the best of alternatives, so she left a message on the president’s phone. She headed home with Nick, who could wait till morning to hear more details about the murder.
    The day’s rain turned to mist. She shivered, disquieted. Nick slid sideways slightly as he drifted into a deep sleep.
    Her comfort momentarily returned when she left the towns of the valley behind and began to immerse herself in the ambiance of the rolling

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