Love Can Be Murder

all I need to hear," Jaffey said, reaching for his cuffs.
    "No, wait," she said, holding up her hand. "I jogged to his house because..."
    "Because?" one of the other cops prompted.
    She inhaled. "Because someone told me that Carl was a philanderer, and I was worried about my cousin being with him."
    "She outbid you for a date with the professor," Jaffey said.
    "It was for charity." A dumb argument, even to her own ears.
    "What time did you jog over to Seger's house?"
    "Around two-thirty a.m."
    "And what happened when you got there?"
    "Nothing. I realized how stupid it was of me to be concerned, so I simply turned around and ran back to the house where I was staying."
    "Right," Jaffey said, his sarcasm thick.
    She leaned forward. "I could have lied just now. Why would I tell you I jogged over there unless I was innocent?"
    "Did anyone see you?"
    She turned to Capistrano. "I don't guess you could have been following me then?"
    He shook his head. "I gave up." His gaze was pointed.
    She looked back to Jaffey. "I didn't see anyone else, although someone could have noticed me, maybe someone driving."
    The cop gestured to her black sweatshirt. "You weren't exactly dressed to be noticed, now were you?"
    She didn't answer—her humiliation was complete.
    "Do you have a history with Carl Seger?" Warner asked.
    She sat back. "He was my professor when I went to school here from ninety-two through ninety-six, and I had a work-study under Dr. Seger my senior year."
    "Let me rephrase. Do you have a personal history with Carl Seger?"
    Roxann inhaled and exhaled, wondering how much to tell. But really, how much was there to tell? "We were fond of each other, but we didn't have a sexual relationship." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Capistrano straighten, edge closer.
    "Did you see him after you graduated?" Warner continued.
    "No. Just before I graduated, Carl was accused of having an improper relationship with a student. I left campus and... I didn't see him again until this week."
    "Did the two of you stay in touch?"
    "He called twice—once a few months after I left to say he was sorry how things had ended, and a few weeks ago he left a message on my phone in Biloxi asking if I would consider accepting a Distinguished Alumni award. But I didn't return his call."
    "Because you were still angry over how things had ended?"
    She 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