for a special lecturer."

He sounded foreign, though he had noaccent. His voice was denatured, as if English was just another language he hadlearned.

"I am Dr. Geisman," he said as he hung upand stroked out a name on the list in front of him. "Are you Dr. deFalla?"

"No. My name is Archer."

"What are your qualifications? Do you have anadvanced degree?"

"In the university of hard knocks."

He didn't respond to my smile. "Amember of our faculty is defunct, as you must know, and I've had to give up mySaturday to an attempt to find a replacement for her. If you expect me to takeyour application seriously—"

"I'm not applying for anything,doctor, except possibly a little information. I'm a private detectiveinvestigating Professor Haggerty's death, and I'm interested in how she happenedto land here."

"I have no time to go into all thatagain. There are classes which must be met on Monday. If this Dr. de Falladoesn't arrive, or proves impossible, I don't know what to do." He peeredat his wristwatch. "I'm due at the Los Angeles airport atsix-thirty."

"You can spare five minutes, anybodycan."

"Very well. Five minutes." Hetapped the crystal of his watch. "You wish to know how Miss Haggerty camehere? I can't say, except that she appeared in my office one day and asked fora position. She had heard about Professor Farrand's heart attack. This is oursecond emergency in a month."

"Who told her about the heartattack?"

"I don't know. Perhaps DeanSutherland. She gave Dean Sutherland as a local reference. But it was commonknowledge, it was in the paper."

"Was she living here before sheapplied for a job with you?"

"I believe so. Yes, she was. She toldme she already had a house. She liked the place, and wished to remain. She wasvery eager for the post. Frankly, I had some doubts about her. She had amaster's degree from Chicago but she wasn't fully qualified. The school whereshe had been teaching, Maple Park, is not credentialed on our leveL But DeanSutherland told me she needed the position and I let her have it,unfortunately."

"I understood she had a privateincome."

He pursed his lips and shook his head."Ladies with a private income don't take on four sections of French andGerman, plus counseling duties, at a salary of less than five thousand dollars.Perhaps she meant her alimony. She told me she was having difficulty collectingher alimony." His spectacles glinted as he looked up. "You knew thatshe had been recently divorced?"

"I heard that. Do you know where her ex-husbandis?"

"No. I had very few words with her at any time.Do you suspect him?"

"I have no reason to. But when awoman is killed you normally look for a man who had a motive to kill her. Thelocal police have other ideas."

"You don't agree with them?"

"I'm keeping my mind open, doctor."

"I see. They tell me one of our students is undersuspicion."

"So I hear. Do you know the girl?"

"No. She was registered for none of ourdepartmental courses, fortunately."

"Why 'fortunately'?"

"She is psychoneurotic, they tellme." His myopic eyes looked as vulnerable as open oysters under the thicklenses of his glasses. "If the administration employed proper screeningprocedures we would not have students of that sort on the campus, endangeringour lives. But we are very backward here in some respects." He tapped thecrystal of his watch again. "You've had your five minutes."

"One more question, doctor. Have youbeen in toqch with Helen Haggerty's family?"

"Yes, I phoned her mother early thismorning. Dean Bradshaw asked me to perform that duty, though properly I shouldthink it was his duty. The mother, Mrs. Hoffman, is flying out here and I haveto meet her at the Los Angeles airport."

"At six-thirty?"

He nodded dismally. "There seems tobe no one else available. Both of our deans are out of town—"

"Dean Sutherland, too?"

"Dean Sutherland, too. They've goneoff and left the whole business on my shoulders." His glasses blurred withself-pity, and he took them off to wipe them. "It's foggy, and I can't seeto drive properly. My eyesight is so poor that without my glasses I can't tellthe difference between you and the Good Lord himself."

"There isn't much difference."

He put on his glasses, saw that this was a joke, andemitted a short barking laugh.

"What plane is Mrs. Hoffman coming in on,doctor?"

"United, from Chicago. I promised to meet her atthe United baggage counter."

"Let me."

"Are you serious?"

"It will give me a chance to talk to her. Wheredo you want me to bring her?"

© Alexander Sviyash, 2009