Free Digging Up Death (A Mari Duggins Mystery) by Gina Conroy Page A

members. Who was C.S. and what happened to her baby? I chewed on my pinky nail, yielding to the question I’d been avoiding.
    Could there be a murderer walking the halls of Lyndon University?

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    2:17 p.m.
    “SORRY ABOUT YOUR VEHICLE, Mrs. D.” Danny Evans flashed his Osmond smile and opened the car door for me.
    “Thanks.” I waved Matt over and scooted in the rear seat of Danny’s Honda Civic. The blonde in the front turned around. I smiled, sneezed, and pulled a tissue from my bag. “Hello, Cherilyn.”
    “Hi, Mrs. Duggins.” Red-rims outlined her cloudy sapphire eyes, which appeared brighter, yet still overcast with thoughts of the morning, no doubt. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”
    Matt slipped next to me with earbuds still attached like a growth. Danny climbed in next to Cherilyn, studied her with a goofy grin, and started the car.
    “A couple of bruises, but I’ll survive. Though I could use some Tylenol.” For the minefield exploding in my head, throwing shrapnel at my neck and shoulder.
    “I think I have something.” Cherilyn dug through her big, black purse and offered a bottle of Midol. “Sorry, it’s all I got.”
    “Thanks, I’ll take anything that’s legal. There are only two left.”
    “That’s okay. I won’t need them for a while.”
    I swallowed the last of the gel caplets without water. “How are you holding up? You had quite a shock earlier.”
    Cherilyn forced a smile, the polite kind that kept people at a distance. Yet she couldn’t mask her true feelings. “I’m doing better. Danny’s helping me sort through things. It’s just … is it true about Professor Henderson? He was murdered?”
    I glanced at Matt, who mouthed the words to some rock song. “Campus news spreads fast.” I inched toward the seat. “I don’t think there’s any need to worry. The detectives aren’t positive Henderson was murdered. It still could’ve been his heart.”
    “What do you think?” Danny’s brown eyes locked on mine through the rearview mirror. “You knew the man. You must have an idea whether anyone would want him dead.”
    My conviction wrestled with my instinct to shield Matt. “I can’t say. I guess he wasn’t the most scrupulous man at LU, but that doesn’t mean someone wanted him dead.”
    “If someone killed him, then are we in danger?” Cherilyn’s eyes darted left then right, as if trying to connect the dots of the past to those of the uncertain future.
    “I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” I rasped, trying to generate some moisture in a mouth that felt like the Sahara.
    “If you hear anything, you’ll let us know?” Cherilyn tapped her pointer finger to her bottom lip. “I mean, if we’re in any danger, you’ll tell us, right?”
    I touched her shoulder. “Of course. But I’m sure no one’s in danger. You haven’t told me how you and Danny know each other.”
    “He’s been tutoring me in computer class. I can’t seem to grasp all the lingo and coding. When it comes to programming, Danny is a real geek. Oh, I mean that in a good way.”
    Matt slipped off his earbuds and leaned forward. “Hey, dude, can you drive through McDonald’s or something? I’m starved.”
    “We don’t have time for fast food,” I said.
    Matt turned and glared at me, mumbling.
    “You can get something at the university after Danny drops me off to get your Jeep.” My face flushed. Nausea bubbled. I probably shouldn’t have taken the Midol on an empty stomach.
    Matt slapped the seat. “Great, I’m dying here!”
    Danny reached into his backpack and passed two protein bars over the seat. “Here. You can snack on these.”
    Matt grabbed one and tore into it while I contemplated the orange-packaged stick of well-balanced proteins and carbs. “Is it any good?” The roar of hunger protested my delay.
    “They’re great energy boosters when there’s no time to grab a decent meal. I eat them all the time.” Danny pulled into traffic.