Got Your Number

frowned. "No. Because I wasn't interested in receiving the award."
    "So there was nothing personal in the message?"
    "He said that he missed me."
    "But you didn't call him back?"
    "I said that already."
    Warner sat down to her left. "Ms. Beadleman, were you the student that Dr. Seger was accused of having an improper relationship with?"
    She blinked. "Yes...I always assumed."
    "Did you ever hear of him being involved with other students?"
    She shook her head. "All the girls were crazy about him, but Carl was a gentleman around me."
    "Who told you he was a philanderer?"
    "I did," Capistrano said. When all eyes turned in his direction, he shrugged. "Just a hunch. Plus last night at the auction I overheard a couple of coeds talking about his technique outside the classroom."
    "You never said why you were in town, Detective," Jaffey said.
    "You never asked. I followed Ms. Beadleman here from Biloxi. She's involved in a case I'm working on, and a thug named Frank Cape was on her tail."
    "That's why I came to South Bend," she added. "To stay with Dr. Nell Oney for a few days until Cape lost interest."
    "When was the last time you saw this Cape fellow?"
    "Little Rock," she said, then looked to Capistrano, who nodded agreement.
    "Why is he following you?"
    She looked at Capistrano, then back to them and sighed. "Frank Cape is an abusive man. I work for a women's advocacy group, and I helped his ex-wife and daughter relocate. He thinks he can threaten me into telling him where they are."
    "He threatened you?"
    "And my family." Suddenly she stopped and looked at Capistrano. "In Little Rock he said if I didn't tell him where Melissa was, the people I cared about would start dropping like flies."
    "The guy's no honor student," Capistrano offered. "He put my partner in a coma."
    All the cops straightened and fingered their weapons involuntarily. Then Jaffey scoffed. "You're saying that this Cape fellow stole your scarf and used it to strangle Carl Seger so you would tell him where his wife and kid are?"
    "I didn't say that, but right now it makes as much sense as anything. Officer, don't you think if I were going to kill Carl, that I would have chosen something a little less obvious than the scarf that at least a thousand people saw me wearing last night?"
    He chewed on his tongue, then retrieved the pencil and pad of paper. "Ms. Beadleman, I think you'd better tell us exactly where you were last night, when, and who you were with."
    She recited her schedule and timetable as best as she could remember. Capistrano corroborated her story until the time he dropped her off. Then she was on her own.
    "Nell was asleep when I came home, so that's when I decided to go to Carl's. No wait—I lay down first, and received a phone call."
    "From?"
    "From an ex-roommate of mine in Biloxi, Elise James. She went to grad school here and came up for Homecoming."
    "What time was that?"
    "Around midnight."
    "What did she want?"
    "It was a strange conversation. She was stoned, I think. She said something about wanting to tell me everything and asked me to meet her at the chapel today at noon."
    "Do you know what she was referring to?"
    "We had a falling-out when she lived with me, after which she moved out. I assumed she wanted to apologize. Elise can be dramatic."
    "What did the two of you argue about?"
    "It's personal."
    "We can always ask her," Jaffey said.
    She sighed. "Elise got it into her head that she was...attracted to me."
    All the men smiled, even Capistrano, the lout.
    "She's a lesbian?" Jaffey again.
    You'll have to ask her."
    "Are you a lesbian?"
    "No."
    "Bisexual?"
    "No."
    "So this girl hit on you and you threw her out?"'
    "What does this have to do with Carl being murdered?"
    "Just amusing myself," Jaffey said with a nasty little smile.
    "Let's get back to the subject," Capistrano said.
    She smirked at him—he could pester her, but no one else could?
    "What happened after the phone call?"
    "I dozed off for a couple of hours, then I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I changed into these clothes and my tennis shoes, ran over to Dr. Seger's and back, then went to bed."
    "Dr. Oney said she didn't hear you leave or return."
    "I tried to be quiet. And the bedrooms are on opposite ends of the house."
    "What did you see when you got to Seger's house?"
    She shrugged. "Nothing. I saw his car sitting out front."
    "A black Volvo."
    "Right."
    "What else?"
    "Some lights were on, in maybe two or three rooms."
    "You didn't see anyone