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“So are you thinking her murder had something to do with her past?”
“It’s certainly possible,” noted Jamison.
“Works for me.” Kelly slid open the desk drawers and looked through them, even checking underneath each one. Jamison started going through the books and journals, while Decker popped open one of the file cabinet drawers and began searching.
“Nothing here,” said Kelly, a while later.
“Same here,” said Jamison as she put down the last journal, while Decker was still poring through the file cabinets.
Jamison sat down at the desk and pulled the Rolodex toward her.
“Funny thing to have these days, especially for a young person.”
Decker looked up from the cabinet drawer. “Anything in there?”
Jamison flipped through some of the cards starting with the letterA. “They look to be all empty,” she said. “Why have an empty Rolodex on your desk?”
Decker walked over, took it from her, and started going through each card. Finally, near the end he pulled one out that had some writing on it.
“What letter was that under?” asked Kelly.
Decker said, “I think Cramer was trying to be cute. It was underX, as in ‘X marks the spot.’ And I guess she was counting on the fact that almost no one would search every card.”
“Well, she didn’tcounton you,” quipped Jamison.
“What does it say?” asked Kelly.
Decker read off the card. “Lesson Plan C dated December 15th of last year.”
“Any idea what that might mean?” asked Jamison.
In answer, Decker raced back over to the file cabinet, quickly searched through the material there, and pulled out a scheduling binder. He flipped it open to December.
“Okay, on December fifteenth, she’s written the name ‘Bud,’ Green Hills Nursing Home, Williston, North Dakota.” He looked up. “And there’s an address and phone number.”
“Why would she have that written down in a lesson plan?” asked Kelly.
“Well, considering the subterfuge with the Rolodex, she probably didn’t want it listed on her phone but still wanted it around to refer to.”
“Williston isn’t that far from here,” said Kelly. “You want to go check it out?”
“Yes, but call first and see if they have anyone named Bud there.”
Kelly took out his phone, looked at the number on the page, and made the call.
He spoke into the phone for a bit and then waited for about a minute. “They’re checking,” he said. Someone came back on the line and he listened for a few moments. He clicked off and looked at them. “They don’t have anyone named Bud living there. Nor anyone who lived there recently with that name.”
“It might be a nickname,” said Jamison.
“Which means we need to take a trip to Williston,” said Decker.
They left and climbed into the SUV.
“You think this might finally be a break?” said Kelly.
“From your lips to God’s ear,” replied Decker.
“I’ll take a little divine intervention about now,” chimed in Jamison.
