“Both law enforcement departments work together as needed. I can bring them in on this, if necessary. Have you heard about Candy yet?”
“Did you find her?” His face lit up. “I really hate it when we can’t keep track of the students, but they’re all expected to be adults.”
“In this case, it’s a little bit different.”
He looked at her, a frown forming. “Oh, dear, what do you mean?”
“She was found dead at the intersection at the entrance to the boulevard.”
He winced at that. “That intersection, most of the time I don’t even think about it. Then we have an accident, and it brings back every other accident that’s happened there.”
“I understand there have been quite a few.”
“Yes, over the years, there definitely have been. I was part of a group who tried to get the traffic pattern there changed, so we could minimize the accidents—at least get a bike path over the top or something. Unfortunately it’s such a small intersection compared to some of the bigger ones in the actual downtown core that it didn’t make sense for the city to put that kind of money into it.”
“I think they would have, if you could prove that the accidents were caused by the traffic pattern.”
“What else would they be caused by?” he asked, with a wry smile. “I know people are idiots sometimes, but not everyone is all the time.”
She chuckled at that. “No, that’s very true, but, in this case, they’re all different people.”
He nodded. “Every time you hear of a new one, it just brings back the pain of the old ones.”
“It does, and that’s been a real hard cross for you to bear, I’m sure.”
“When you try to get a pattern like that changed, hoping to save lives, and you fail…” He shrugged. “Let’s just say a failure that’s once in a while is one thing, but a failure that you’re constantly reminded of? That’s a different thing entirely.”
“In this case,” she said gently, “it’s a different story.”
“How so?” He looked down at his cell phone, and she could see him checking the time.
“Actually, sir, she was murdered.”
He froze, his gaze widening, and he stared at her. “Good Lord, are you sure?”
“Yes, I am. The other accident at the same location, just days earlier, involving Sally Hardgens, it was also a murder.”
He leaned back in his chair, stunned. He shook his head. “No, no, no, that is not good news.” Then he straightened. “But it’s not on university property, so the negative impact should be minimal in terms of fallout for us.”
“I get that’s reallyyourpriority,” she said, with heavy emphasis onyour, “butmypriority is the victims.”
He had the grace to flush at that. “I’m not trying to be insensitive, Detective, but we do need to try to keep that conversation out of the media. Public confidence in keeping our students safe is paramount.”
“And yet, two have been murdered. And I don’t know, but there may have been many others over the years.”
At that, his expression changed to a frown, and he looked quite puzzled. “I don’t understand. Has there been any suggestion that—that the others were—that there were other murders I don’t know about?”
“Not confirmed. We’re looking at connecting a few scenarios that we thought were accidents that may not be.”
“It’s still very disturbing.” He put on a very fatherly concerned expression.
“It is, indeed, but do you have files on anybody who complained about other students’ behavior? Any accusations? Not just Brandon.”
“Brandon, yes.” Dr. Agress automatically looked at the file cabinet beside him. “He certainly has been a bit of a challenge. The RCMP opened a file on him after the last set of complaints.”
“I’m sure he has been problematic,” she said smoothly. “I understand he was removed from other universities before he came to you.”
“We don’t usually get the problem-child students. We’re considered a much better bet than that. But, every once in a while, when the parents have run out of any other options, they’ll come our way. Brandon’s brilliant, you know that, right?”