Chapter 6: Last Semester Internship and Tragedy Strikes

After New Years, I spent most of my time off campus. One of the requirements of my college in order to graduate, was that I had to do an internship that was in my major. I designed a computer database used by the local police department. It tracked evidence and data collected by the local police. I had a great position, and I learned real police work was nothing like what you saw on TV. In reality it was about paperwork and dealing with people who were social outcasts. That semester, I learned to respect the police and knew it was not something I saw as one of my career choices.

In February, I participated in an inter-Greek basketball competition. A lot of scoring and elbows were thrown. We finished second in the competition. During one of the games, I fell after being elbowed in the solar plexus. Ginny was one of the first individuals who came to my rescue when I was struggling to breathe. She didn’t say anything to me, just grabbed my hand and held it till I could sit up. Ginny assisted me to the bench and sat with me until I recovered my breath.

When the game was over, I headed to the locker room to clean up. She gave my hand a squeeze and left.

March arrived like a lion, chilly, windy, and rainy. It was typical March weather in the Midwest. It may be in the 60s, bright and comfortable one day, and frigid the next, with several inches of snow.

It was one of those days when tragedy struck, directly affecting me. I was in my fraternity room, writing a proposal for the city police department’s grant application. The grant money was intended to fund a computer system for managing their evidence inventory. The present record-keeping method consisted of a ledger book and recipe cards stored in an old tin recipe card box.

I was sitting at my desk when my roommate walked in. He was extremely troubled and could scarcely restrain himself.

“Did you hear the RA over in your old girl friend’s dorm died?” He said it all out of breath, as if he had been running a marathon.

I sat there in shock. Who would have wanted to do that? She was a really sweet lady. I wasn’t in love with her, but I treasured her as a close friend. I didn’t say a thing, but got up, put on my coat, and walked over to the dorm. I did not walk; I rushed over there. I was horrified. Someone I cared for had passed away and I wasn’t sure it was by natural causes. There was yellow tape around the dorms. I stood there for a few minutes, like the rest of the onlookers. Except that I was crying actual tears at the tragic passing of my friend.

I observed the patrol officers doing their utmost to establish security at the scene. I recognized a few of the crime scene technicians. After they finished here, they would move on to the morgue and gather evidence from the deceased’s clothing and dead body. I watched the investigators roam around the crime site, taking notes and studying the ground for evidence.

Lt. Frank Barnes, the chief of the Homicide Division, was present. Someone with clout must have gotten him out on a night like tonight to lead an inquiry. He worked nine-to-five. Typically, he is the last to arrive in the morning and the first to go at night. Someone must have ignited a fire under him to get him to come out on a night like this for a murder investigation.

“Lieutenant, Lieutenant Barnes,” I yelled. “Come over here. Yes, over here.”

I could see he knew me but was having trouble recalling my name.

He came over to my general vicinity. “What do you want?” he muttered.

“Lieutenant, I knew the murder victim and was with her earlier today,” I told him.

“What time was this?” he asked. “Don’t BS me, because I know when she died.” He was getting into his bad cop routine.

I said, “This morning between 8 AM and noon.” “We went trekking in the glade. The hiking party included seven others. We had to register for the hike, so look into it if you’re interested.”

“What did you do after that?” the lieutenant asked.

“I went to lunch with about nine of my fraternity brothers at the fast food restaurant right off campus,” I replied. “The manager knows us and she can verify I was there.”

“OK, where were you then this afternoon?” asked Barnes as he was writing down my answers.

“I was in my room at the frat house writing up the grant application for the computer equipment and software. I have a dozen people who can confirm that if you like, Lieutenant,” I responded. I knew these were routine questions but they were tedious and I wanted to find out what happened to my friend. She was one of my closest friends and I was sadden by her demise.

Lt. Barnes said, “Oh yes, how is that going? That will make the job easier. Sorry for asking these kinds of questions. But if we’re ever going to determine exactly who strangled your friend, I need to collect as much information as possible. Can you think of someone who would hurt her? Are there any ex-boyfriends or other individuals that want her dead?”

“No sir; I can’t think of anyone who want to hurt her,” I answered, “Everyone on campus loved her.”

“Well, if you can think of anything else that may help, see me in my office. By the way, you are doing a good job helping us get our evidence room under control,” the Lieutenant said as he turned and headed back in to the dorm.

I stood outside the police barrier with the other students, watching what was happening. When they carried her deceased body out on a stretcher, I turned and walked away. I didn’t want it to be my last memory of her. She was my friend. I should have kept her safe from her attacker, I reasoned. I hoped that the rest of the semester passed quickly. The final two years of college were not going to be among my fondest recollections.

The next morning, I was sitting in the grill room when Ginny and a few other girls from her dorm came in. They took a table very near where I was seated. I overheard one of the females informing the others that the police were going to interrogate all of the residents. Another girl commented that she was anxious about dealing with the police. She claimed she disposed of her bong and marijuana in case they chose to do a room-by-room search. She added that she didn’t need any more problems because she was on thin ice at home with her folks already.