Free Murder in the Dorm by C.G. Prado Page B

I can about the case.”
    On that note DeVries ended the call.
    Charlie did feel as if he’d been fired and told Kate what had transpired. She shared his dismay and they decided to go out to dinner and forget about the case.

Chapter 13
    The Third Wednesday

    Charlie had a slight hangover when he awoke. He’d had too much wine at dinner the previous night and more when they got home. On reflection Charlie was surprised at how much it had bothered him to be in effect dismissed by DeVries. He could handle her being more circumspect than she’d been before, but she’d pretty much told him to butt out in saying that he wasn’t likely to learn anything more from colleagues and students. What irritated him most was that while he’d certainly collected information and some ideas from his colleagues and the students he’d spoken to, he hadn’t just passed it on. He and Kate had thought through what he learned, added their own speculations, and the result was more than just information.
    Without a class to get to, Charlie moped around and had too much coffee. He went off to shower when Kate entered the kitchen because he didn’t feel like talking. Later, in his office, he tried to get into his new paper but found himself just staring at his laptop screen. After a wasted morning Charlie was getting ready to go to lunch when his phone rang. He almost ignored it but picked up. To his surprise it was Kim Berger.
    “Professor Douglas, hello. Look, I know it’s very late but I’m at the university on some business and I wonder if you’re free for lunch? It’s on me; Raymond, Teller has a corporate membership at the Faculty Club because of the number of clients we have at Meredith.”
    Charlie quickly agreed and they arranged to meet at twelve-thirty. It was just noon but Charlie walked to the Club to be early and get a good table, all the time wondering what Berger could want from him.
    At precisely twelve-thirty Berger stood in the doorway to the dining room looking for Charlie. He had a table for two by the window and waved her over.
    “Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Professor Douglas.”
    “My pleasure, but please call me ‘Charlie.’”
    Berger sat down and Charlie handed her a menu.
    “Thanks. Okay, Charlie, I’ll get right to the point. What I wanted to talk to you about is that I’ve made up my mind to come back and do a doctorate. My intention is eventually to teach computing, like Professor Sommers. I hope to start in September. Professor Sommers thought you might write a letter of recommendation for me. I realize you don’t know me very well, since I did only the one course with you, but I’d provide you with my cv and other stuff you’d need for a letter.”
    “Well, I’m quite willing to write for you, but I wonder what weight a letter from someone in the Humanities would carry for your admission.”
    “I’ll have two letters from the computing department. Professor Sommers thought it would help to have one from outside. She said there’s greater value put now on breadth of interest, and the mark you gave me is right up there with the best I got in computing.”
    “Okay, send me your cv and permission to have a look at your record, and I’ll do a letter for you.”
    “Great. I’ll email you my cv and the permission; I know that’s necessary now. And if that’s settled, I’m wondering if there’s anything you can share with me that you’ve learned about the Kelsey and McDermott case. I’m curious about it.”
    Charlie decided he’d tell Berger what he could to judge her reaction.
    “I managed to come up with some interesting stuff. I think Kelsey and McDermott were running a scam that involved stocks and computer hacking. In fact, I’m glad you raised the issue because I’d appreciate your views on whether you think they could have been doing what I think they were doing on their own. I tend to think they’d need help from an insider.”
    “What do you think they