Playing Dead_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [69]
“Tammy?” Mitch introduced himself and Steve. “Let’s sit down where it’s private.” He led her to a sitting area in the corner. There weren’t many people inside on this beautiful May afternoon.
Her face fell as she shrank into the chair. “It’s about Oliver.”
“I’m sorry to tell you this, Tammy, but he’s dead. His body was found yesterday morning.”
Her bottom lip quivered, and she bit it to make it stop. She blinked back tears, then said in a shaky voice, “Wh-what happened?”
“His body and his Explorer were in the Sacramento River near Isleton.”
“Isleton? Where’s that?”
“A small town in southern Sacramento County, in the Delta.”
“I’ve never heard of it. I’m not from around here. I can’t believe he had an accident like that. Oliver was such a good driver. I mean, sometimes he got distracted, especially when he was talking, and he’d get excited about something, but he didn’t drink and drive, never, and he was never reckless and I don’t understand how this can happen. When? Where has he been since January? Are—” She gasped. “Oh my God, he’s been dead. Since then. Since January? I knew it. I knew something bad had happened to him!” She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, and batted them away with her hand.
“We have a few questions, if you have a moment.”
“Anything. I—” She stopped talking and stared at them, blinking rapidly. “Was it an accident?”
“That’s unclear right now, but we’re treating it as a possible homicide.”
She started shaking. Mitch put an arm over her shoulders, felt her body racked with sobs he couldn’t hear. Somehow that made her grief worse.
When the worst of the shakes subsided, Mitch said, “You said in the missing person report that the last time you saw Oliver was about noon on Sunday, January 20.”
She nodded.
“Professor Collier had a meeting with him on Monday, but Oliver canceled it.”
“Canceled it? No. That’s not right.” Tammy squeezed her eyes shut. “No,” she said more emphatically. “Professor Collier told me that Oliver never showed up for his meeting. I’m positive. That’s what had me going to the police. Because no one had seen Oliver for days, and when Professor Collier said Oliver missed his meeting—Oliver was excited about the meeting. Really excited. He and Professor Collier had a dispute ages ago, and Oliver thought this would put things right. I told the—oh. I should have known something was wrong yesterday. I got my hopes up that she would find Oliver.”
Mitch wasn’t sure he was hearing correctly. “What happened yesterday?”
“A private investigator came to me after class. She was looking into Oliver’s disappearance. I told her everything I told you, plus how excited Oliver was about his thesis, ‘The Perfect Frame’ he called it. He said he finally had the information to prove his hypothesis. I just got my hopes up that Oliver was okay. She seemed so determined to find him. I think in my heart I knew he was already gone, but—” She took a deep breath and the tears started running down her face again.
“Do you remember the PI’s name? A company?”
“Claire. Um, Claire something. From Rogan-Caruso. I have her card in my desk upstairs.”
“That’s okay,” Steve said. “We’re familiar with the company.”
Mitch’s stomach felt like lead. What was Claire doing?
“Thank you for your time,” Steve told Tammy. “Would you like me to call someone for you?”
She shook her head, wiping her nose with her sleeve. “My roommate is upstairs. I just want to go home.” She sniffed. “Do you have any idea who would want to hurt Oliver?”
“No, Tammy, but we’re working on it.”
NINETEEN
Claire walked through the glass doors of the Renaissance Towers at 8th and K Streets—known to locals as the Darth Vader Building because the top dozen floors had a shape reminiscent of the Sith lord. She showed her Rogan-Caruso badge to the guard, who waved her through. She was still mulling over the information she’d learned