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 is I had to do an internship that was in my major. I was selected to help design a computer database that tracked evidence and data collected for the local police department. It was a great position and I learned that what happened with the police was nothing like you saw on TV. It was mostly paper work and dealing with people who were societal outcasts. That semester I learned a whole new respect for the police and knew it was not something I myself could do.

In February I got roped into playing in an inter-Greek games basketball tournament. I gave as good as I got. Lots of scoring and elbows thrown. We came in second. During one of the games I went down from catching an elbow to my solar plexus. One of the first people there when I was gasping for breath was Ginny B. I could tell she was worried. She didn’t say anything to me just grabbed on to my hand and held it until I was able to sit up and was helped over to the bench till I got my breath back. For the rest of the time on the bench she held on to my hand and didn’t say a word to me. When the game was over and I was heading to the locker room to clean up. She gave my hand a squeeze and left.

March entered like a lion it was cold, windy and wet. Typical March weather for the Midwest. One day it could be in the 60s sunny and warm, the next cold with several inches of snow on the ground. It was one of those days that tragedy struck that deeply affected me. I was in my room writing up a proposal for the city police department to apply for a grant to purchase computers and software that would manage their evidence inventory room. With the grant money they could get a computer system that would allow them to check in evidence and manage it. They would be able to see where it was stored, who signed it in and out and the evidence’s final disposition. Currently that information was kept in a ledger book and on 3×5 cards in a dinged up tin recipe card box. I was learning practical skills that when combined with the theory in class would put me light years ahead of my competitors and would give the city police the tools they needed to better manage their evidence inventory.

I was sitting at my desk when my room mate came in. He was all excited and could hardly contain himself. “Did you hear the RA over in your old girl friend’s dorm was found strangled earlier?” he said all out of breath like he had been running a marathon.

I sat there shocked. Who would want to do this? She was such a sweet person. I wasn’t in love with her but I did love her. I loved her as a friend that she was. I didn’t say a thing got up and put my coat on and headed over to the dorm. I didn’t walk I ran over there. I was totally in shock. Someone who I cared for was dead and it wasn’t by natural causes. The whole front of the dorm was wrapped in yellow tape to keep the curious out and give the police plenty of room in which to work. I stood there for a few minutes like the rest of the gawkers looking on, except I was shedding real tears for the loss of my friend.

I watched the patrol cops doing their best to keep the curious from seeing too much and at the same time provide security. I recognized a couple of the crime scene technicians who silently did their job and whose responsibility would then lead them to the morgue where additional information would be gotten from the deceased’s clothing and body. I watched the detectives wandering around on the scene taking notes and trying to visualize how this murder took place.

I saw Lt. Frank Barnes head of the Homicide Division. Must have been some one with some weight to get him out on a night like this to head up an investigation. Normally he was strictly a nine to five man. Usually the last to arrive in the morning and the first to leave at night. So someone must have lit a fire under him to get him to come out on a night like this for a homicide investigation.

“Lieutenant, Lieutenant Barnes”, I hollered. “Over here. Yes Over here.” I could tell he recognized me but was having difficulty remembering my name. He came over to my general area. “What do you want?”, he grumped. “Lieutenant, I think I knew the murder victim and was with her earlier today.”, I said.

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

“This morning between 8AM and around noon.” I replied. “We went hiking down at the glade. There were a bunch of others with us in the hiking party. We had to register to participate in the hike so you can check that easily enough if you feel you must.”

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

“Went to lunch with about 9 of my fraternity brothers at the fast food restaurant right off of 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 so your police department can get your computer equipment and software. I have maybe a dozen people who can verify that if you like, Lieutenant.” I responded. I knew these were routine questions but they were tiresome and I wanted to know what happened to my friend. She was one of my closest friends and I was really going to miss her.

Lt. Barnes said, “Oh yeah how is that coming along? That will make the job a lot easier. Sorry to ask these questions but if we are to ever find who strangled your friend I need to get as much information as I can. Can you think of any one who would want to harm her? Any ex-boyfriends, or someone else who would want her dead?”

“No sir, I can’t think of anyone who would want to hurt her.” I answered. “She seemed to be liked by everyone on campus.”

“Well if you can think of anything else that may help see me in my office. And you are doing a good job on helping us with getting our evidence room under control.” the Lt said as he turned and headed back in the dorm.

I stood outside the police tape with the other students who had congregated there watching what was going on. When they brought out her body on a stretcher I turned and walked away. I didn’t want my last memory of her to be that. She meant a lot to me as a friend. When things went south between between me and Ginny B. she was there to give me a shoulder to lean on. I felt as if I had let her down as I wasn’t there to return the favor and protect her from her attacker. I hoped the rest of the semester went quickly by. The last two years were not going to be some of my fondest memories of my college days.