She didn’t enjoy interviews of any kind, they made her nervous regardless of whether she had actually done anything wrong or not. As she had been at Cabot Creek University for a good few years, this wasn’t the first time she had been interviewed by the Sheriff’s office, although that was not a comfort in the slightest and her nerves were not eased. However, she was now well practised on the best tone to use when addressing the Sheriff and she she knew better than to rise to any jabs that he threw at her.
“Shall we get this over with Sheriff? I have a very busy day ahead of me and I am sure do do as well”. Interrogating my poor students, she thought bitterly, though the smile on her face never wavered.
“Right you are” he responded, “let us start with the basics. Could you please tell us your full name, age, and how many years you have spent at Cabot Creek University thus far?”
“Jennifer Elizabeth Mayhew, fifty-seven years of age and I have resided in Cabot Creek since my appointment as a professor, twenty-nine years ago”.
“You have a long history with Cabot Creek?”
She nodded, “I do. I studied here as a young girl as well”.
“When was the last time that you can recall seeing Melanie Whyte?”
She pursed her lips and thought back, folding her hands, one over the other, in her lap. “I believe it was the Tuesday, the 17th if I am recalling correctly”.
“Did you talk to her?”
“Yes, we talked”.
“How did she seem to you?”
“Perfectly fine, a little stressed though she was trying to cope with her workload and from what I understood, an ongoing family matter than was draining her of her energy. Poor dear”.
The Sheriff’s eyes searched her face, but she kept her expression frozen. When his eyes narrowed, she smiled softly and leaned back in her chair a little, observing him. She could almost hear the cogs turning in his mind.
“What was your relationship with Melanie Whyte?”
“I hired her” she said, simply, “I regarded her as a wonderful, intelligent woman, more than capable of doing the job I employed her to do”.
“Where were you between 5pm and 7pm on the 18th November, 2015, the day before Thanksgiving break?”
”In all honesty, I cannot remember, though I am sure that I was most likely in this here office, where I am talking to you, as it is where I spend most of my days and evenings, especially when a break in school is coming”.
”You weren’t eager to rush home to your family?” he asked.
”What family, dear?” she replied quickly, and he looked a little stunned, before his expression changed to embarrassment.
“I a p o l o g i s e...”
She waved his apology away quickly, with a flick of her wrist. “There is no need to apologise, it is what it is. Now, if there’s nothing more...”
“Actually, there is something else that I wanted to ask you”.
She had been hoping that their interview would have been finished there, but the look in his eyes, despite his earlier embarrassment, revealed a need to ask whatever question was burning through his mind.
“What do you think happened to her?”
She leaned back in her chair for a moment, pondering his question. It had almost been whispered to her, like a secret, as if he genuinely wanted to know because he was grasping at straws himself. She felt sorry for him and sighed, leaning forward, elbows on her desk and fingers clasped together.
“I don’t know what to think” she said, honestly, “all I can say is that Melanie Whyte was a beloved person around this campus. It was a terrible day here when we found out that she was missing and has been an even more distressing time since. I cannot offer explanations where I have none, but I do hope that you get to the bottom of what is shaping up to be a terrible t r a g e d y”.
He studied her for a moment, opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but closed it once more. Pushing himself to his feet he held out his hand for her to shake, which she took.
“Thank you for your time, Dean Mayhew” he half smiled, “we’ll be in touch”.
Lena sat in a familiar room, though now that it had been taken over by the police, it almost felt like she’d never been here before. She was nervous, though she didn’t have much to actually be nervous about, she didn’t even know Melanie that well, let alone know what happened to her. All she had to do was tell the truth, it should be fine.
When the officer walked into the room, Lena felt her throat go dry. She prayed this would go by quickly.
The officer sat across from her at the table, put his papers down and opened some file Lena couldn’t read.
“Could you please tell us your name, age, and how many years you have spent at Cabot Creek University thus far?“ He asked her, straight to the point, not even an introduction.
“Lena Marianne Elias. I’m 24 years old, and I’m a senior undergrad student, so this is my 4th year.”
The man across from her wrote something down before asking the next question, “when was the last time that you can recall seeing Melanie Whyte? Did you talk to her? How did she seem to you?”
“Uh...” Lena hesitated for only a moment “I honestly don’t remember. I think it was sometime around the start of the semester in 2015.”
Again he wrote something down. “What was your relationship with Melanie Whyte?”
“I barely knew her. We only talked in passing a couple of times. Mostly just friendly smiles in the hallway.” Lena smiled with her answer, almost automatic as a response to her saying the word.
“Where were you between 5pm and 7pm on the 18th November, 2015, the day before Thanksgiving break?“
“That was almost two years ago... I have no idea. Probably in my room at the sorority, packing to fly home I think.” Lena could feel herself start to sweat. She had no alibi, though she was sure she didn’t need one, the thought was terrifying.
“In your opinion, was Melanie Whyte someone who was well liked around campus?“
“I believe so. Like I said, I barely knew her. When she went missing it was pretty big news around the school.”
“Do you think Melanie Whyte could possibly have any enemies?“
Lena had to think hard. “It’s possible, but she was also always extremely friendly. I don’t know.”
The officer wrote again. Lena felt the moisture in the small of her back more now.
“In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, did you notice any strangers on or around campus?”
“Not anymore than usual, but I don’t know many people under my grade so a lot of people are strangers to me.”
“When it was reported that Melanie Whyte was missing, what was your reaction to the news?“
“Well, I was sad and scared for her and her family, but I really didn’t know her well so I didn’t feel very personal to me.” Lena could remember the day Melanie became an official missing person. Everyone around campus had a reaction to it one way or another. There were many tears, though Lena had a feeling most people just liked the attention that came from being sad, and that most people probably didn’t even know the girl that well.
“What do you think happened to her?“
“I have no idea. I hope she ran away though, and nothing worse.” Lena looked down, the horror of a different outcome weighing heavily on her.
“Do you have an other pieces of information that might help us with our investigation?“
“I don’t. I’m sorry. I hope you find out whatever happened to her.”
The officer wrote again for the final time before looking up at Lena with a polite smile. “Okay, Miss Elias, that’s all. You’re free to go. We will contact you if we require anything else from you.”
Lena smiled back as she stood up, her legs feeling a little shaky. She picked her bag off the floor before reaching her hand out to the officer for a handshake.
When Lena returned to her room, she immediately poured herself a drink. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she said aloud to no one in particular before finishing her drink in one gulp.
They wait in an empty lecture room to be picked up and led into a second room one by one. Her last name starting with “O”, Anni’s turn comes relatively late, and by the time she’s getting ready for her interview, she already knows what the whole thing is about. And she already has her theory ready, the same theory she now always has ever since she read that, while vanishing children are usually cause for concern, vanished adults are probably just in hiding from their old and worn-out life and trying to start a new one somewhere else with all ties severed. And why not? Sometimes when it all gets too much and nothing seems to work out for her, she also gets tempted to just throw her most cherished belongings into a suitcase and board a plane to somewhere she’s never been to. A professor’s life is probably exhausting, she surmises. Plus, they earn enough to afford resettling somewhere else secretly. That’s the truth she clings to as she walks down the hallway next to a policeman. That this is all just the result of one woman wanting a new life.
But what if not? What if it all goes wrong? Like in her favorite novel, Svartvatten: Things didn’t always go well. They could go badly. It could be too late. The worst thing could happen. The kind no one can think to a conclusion. How? No one knew. Things just went badly.
“Could you please tell us your name, age, and how many years you have spent at Cabot Creek University thus far?”
“Anneliese Tanja Olsen, born March 27, 1996 in Turku in the Republic of Finland, and this is my senior year at Cabot Creek University.”
She’s lived in Georgia long enough to learn that around police, you don’t mess around. And even though she knows that in the US things work better, at least in theory, the idea that if they want to pin something on you, they will, has stuck with Anni. Better not give them cause to attack you, even if an unknown arbitrary will always remain.
“What was your relationship with Melanie Whyte?”
“She’s a professor, but she teaches English and I’m a language major, so I didn’t have a lot of classes with her. In fact, it was only one, in my freshman year, some GenEd class about literature. She was…fine, I guess. I can’t really judge. I got a B for that class, which was fine, seeing as I don’t know anything about literature.”
She distinctly remembers that back then she didn’t find the B fine, but she’s not going to say that. That B killed her goal of getting all As that year.
“Did you see her after that?”
“I…I think she was at the gym that I work at a few times, but I haven’t seen her there in a long time, over a year. But she didn’t take any classes with me there, and I might be wrong about the whole thing. I didn’t really pay any attention to it.”
“Did you talk to her then? How did she seem to you?”
“No, I didn’t talk to her, sir. It was awkward in any case, I don’t like seeing my teachers there, it just feels strange. And in any case, I don’t work ...vastaanotto …reception or anything, so I really can’t say what she was like then. And like I said it’s….it was a long time ago.”
Why does she have to get her language mix-ups just now? It will make her look so nervous when she really has no reason to.
“Where were you between 5pm and 7pm on the 18th November 2015, the day before Thanksgiving break?”
Like she remembers. Anni retraces her steps but the years get mixed up in her head. “I think I went to Massachusetts that year with a friend. My family were already living in Finland and I didn’t have the money to fly transatlantic for Thanksgiving, so my friend invited me to her family’s place. I think I played tennis or taught a class at the gym, and then in the evening I must have been at home packing for the trip.”
One time in Georgia, the police stopped them on a road outside Tbilisi and told them their car was missing the required type of lights for driving on country roads. The police had the car towed to a police station and asked not only for a fine for the missing light, but also for them to reimburse the towing company. One call to the local OSCE legal advisor revealed that the car was perfectly fine to drive. She has to trust these people, Anni reminds herself. It’s fine.
“Do you think Melanie Whyte could possibly have any enemies?”
“Well, the only reason I can come up with for someone to actually hate her would be what they would perceive as unfair grading. Particular with older students, a lot can depend on individual grades. But that’s just her professional life, sir. I really can’t say anything concerning her private life.”
“In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, did you notice any strangers on or around campus?”
Not this again. Not now that her dad has already tried to make her paranoid about what in his imagination is probably a mix of the haunted forest and the worst of inner-city Chicago. It’s not like that has much effect on her, Anni likes to think. She’s too busy to take anything beyond basic precautions, which ultimately only serve to make people paranoid, right? And she’s a rational person. That has always served her well.
“I really can’t say. There are always so many people on campus, and I really don’t know everybody here. I sometimes find it a bit strange when there are older people here that I don’t know as professors, but maybe they are parents visiting, or repairmen? There could have been one or two of these.”
Walking back to join the others outside for gossiping and theory-spinning both anxious and excited, Anni tries to imagine her professor in Hawaii sipping cocktails on the beach or in Nepal living in a Buddhist monastery, but the image shifts until she finds herself looking at herself.
Earlier that morning, Crystal had a smile on her face, excited to be back at school in god knows how long. While she wasn’t usually one to have be smiling in public, finally being able to be away from her parents for a while, get back to school, and just learn for a bit, felt like a bit of a godsend. Walking around campus with her bag, just about to go to her dorm, she was interrupted when she saw a campus cop or something calling out her name. She rolled her eyes.
Ugh.
Walking into the cold interview room, Crystal considered herself lucky that she was wearing her jacket beforehand. The room was cold, in an eerie sort of way. She remembered watching Law and Order with her mother, seeing the suspects being interrogated in those rooms with the mirrors, and now she found it ironic that she was now in a similar situation. Nevertheless, she sat down, and began to answer the questions posed to her.
1) Could you please tell us your name, age, and how many years you have spent at Cabot Creek University thus far?
“I’m Crystal Gauthier, and I’m 19, almost 20. I’m a sophomore at CCU, so this is my second year here.” She grumbled this seemingly bored, twirling a lock of her hair.
2) When was the last time that you can recall seeing Melanie Whyte? Did you talk to her? How did she seem to you?
Crystal blinked repeatedly, trying to recall any memories of Professor Whyte. “Umm, hmm, probably a month before freshman year ended. I just saw her around the campus, and nothing seemed particularly off about her, I guess. But I don’t know her, sooo...” She shrugged, eyebrows raised.
3) What was your relationship with Melanie Whyte?
At this question, she scrunched her face. “We didn’t really have one. I didn’t take any of her classes, and so I only saw her around the campus.”
4) Where were you between 5pm and 7pm on the 18th November, 2015, the day before Thanksgiving break?
”Day before Thanksgiving break? In my room, packing my luggage. It’s a pretty long flight from here back to Arizona, so I tried to finish up everything then.” She answered, with a bit of a questioning tone.
5) In your opinion, was Melanie Whyte someone who was well liked around campus?
Again, she shrugged, seemingly more confused. “Probably. A lot of people were really sad about her disappearance, and while I didn’t know her, she seemed like a really good person, based on how everyone reacted.”
6) Do you think Melanie Whyte could possibly have any enemies?
”Yes? I mean, I think going through life without having anyone dislike you is quite hard, and maybe one of the professors or something was jealous. I don’t know though.”
7) In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, did you notice any strangers on or around campus?
”Strangers around campus? Not anymore than the usual, I guess.”
9) What do you think happened to her?
”Well, I mean I tend to assume the worst, but if I had to guess, probably six feet under. She gulped. “But, I hope she’s still alive out somewhere. But who knows?”
10) Do you have an other pieces of information that might help us with our investigation?
“Sorry, but nuh uh. I really have no idea what happened.”
The room was cold. It was bright and sunny outside but with the blinds down no warmth entered the room. They probably kept it that way deliberately, just to make sure everyone being interviewed was a little uncomfortable. Natalia remembered reading somewhere about the interview techniques they used on inmates at Guantanamo Bay. Keeping the subject uncomfortable made them easier to break, more likely to slip up. It was one of the five elements of torture: hot, cold, sharp, blunt and loud.
A detective sat down across from her and Natalia shook herself from her dark thoughts. She wasn’t being interviewed in Guantanamo Bay. And there would be no torture.
“Ok miss, could you please start by stating your name, age and how long you have been attending Cabot Creek University.”
He didn’t look at her but was already writing something on his pad. He didn’t seem that interested in their conversation. Natalia felt uncomfortable but she folded her hands in her lap and tried to keep the nerves from her voice.
“My name is Natalia Vasquez, I am 23 years old and a Senior studying in the Science Department”
“Uh huh, uh huh.” His voice was so disinterested that Natalia began to become annoyed. She tapped her fingernails irritatingly on the desk until the man looked up. She raised an eyebrow in him. He sighed and placed his pen down, clasping his hands in front of him and meeting her eyes for the first time.
“Of course, you will remember the disappearance of Melanie Whyte,” he said. Natalia nodded silently. How could she forget? It was all anyone has talked about for weeks, months even. Though until the news of the re-interviews came up she hadn’t thought about the teacher in a while. “When was the last time you saw Melanie Whyte?”
Natalia sighed. She’d answered all the questions before.
“I last saw Professor Whyte at an inter-faculty mixer a few nights before she went missing.”
“And how did she seem to you?”
Natalia shrugged. “Fine. I mean, I don’t really know her...didn’t really know her. I’m a chemistry major, she’s an English professor. I took one of her classes as an elective in my first year but that’s all. She was drinking and talking to people. Nothing seemed weird.”
The man nodded and scribbled something down on his paper. Natalia tried to discern what he’d found interesting in her words but his handwriting was illegible upside down. She waited for him to stop but her heart was beating hard in her chest. Why was she nervous?
“Where were you between 5pm and 7pm on the 18th November, 2015, the day before Thanksgiving break?” he asked when he’d finally finished writing. His pen hovered over the paper.
Natalia could remember exactly whee she was. Her father had made a surprise visit - his first to the university. At first she’d been excited to see him and show him around but it hadn’t taken long before she realised his presence was only an apology. He wasn’t going to be home for Thanksgiving. He was flying out to Hong Kong that evening. In fact, he’d left her halfway through dinner at the restaurant to catch the flight. After she’d picked at her meal, trying not to cry at the embarrassing situation, she’d gone to the nearest bar and drunk with randoms until the early hours of the morning. During the first investigation her father, the restaurant and the security footage from the bar had all corroborated her story. She relayed the information to the detective, leaving out the painful memory of her father’s abandonment.
The detective’s expression revealed nothing as he wrote down her words.
“Was Melanie Whyte well liked on campus? Have you heard of any enemies she may have had?”
Natalia snorted in a unladylike manner. She rolled her eyes.
“I’m sure everyone else has told you already. She was just a normal, nice, professor. You’re making it sound like she was part of the mob or something. I’d never heard anyone say a bad word about her. Not even a complaint against her grading. Everyone knew she was kind but fair. As for enemies, I don’t tend to ask people over Merlot and nibbles if they have a list of enemies.”
The detective gave her a hard look that made it clear he didn’t like her flippancy. She gave the look back to him. It was very annoying being dragged across campus to a chilly, uncomfortable room, treated like a suspect and asked the same questions she’d answered months ago.
“Okay, Miss Vasquez, final question. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, did you notice any strangers around campus?”
“I know this place isn’t big but I don’t exactly know every single person on campus. I’m sure there were people around that I’d never seen before. I mean, heaps of people had friends or family visiting before the holiday, those that had to work or study through the break or weren’t going home. I mean, I told the first round of cops about the weirdos hanging out by the fountain, but apart from that...”
“Tell me again,” the detective said sharply. His body language changed. He was leaning forward, elbows on the table, staring at her intently. Natalia’s stomach squirmed.
“It was just a couple of guys...men, I guess. Um, they were older than the grad students but younger than the deans. Uh...they were standing by the fountain not talking every time I went to class. They just gave me weird vibes. One of them had a briefcase.”
The detective wrote for a long time and Natalia craned her neck, trying again to read the notes. She began to fidget, straightening her vest and flicking her watch clasp open and closed.
After forever, the detective put down his pen. He stared at her for several minutes while Natalia began more agitated.
“So, are we done?” she snapped at last, not liking the way he was raking his eyes over her.
“Yes, Miss Vasquez,” the detective said at last, closing his notepad. He stood up and Natalia shot to her feet. She couldn’t wait to get out of the office. She put her bag over her shoulder.
“Thank you for coming in today.”
“Like I had a choice,” she said rolling her eyes. She was almost out the door when the detective placed a hand on the door, halting her escape.
“If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to contact the office.”
Natalia gave him a curt smile.
“Of course, detective.”
She fled down the corridor before she could reveal how uncomfortable the man made her.
1) Could you please tell us your name, age, and how many years you have spent at Cabot Creek University thus far?
James Platt. I am 23 and I am a senior, so this is my forth year year.
2) When was the last time that you can recall seeing Melanie Whyte? Did you talk to her? How did she seem to you?
I had a class with her my Freshman year, Spring semester... which was in 2015. I think I saw her around campus the following semester, but I can’t name a specific date or time.
3) What was your relationship with Melanie Whyte?
She was my professor for one of my English classes- the short story class. It was a pretty big class, but she was always nice, you know? Took her time and helped anyone who needed it. I had set up a few appointments with her to discuss my major options when I wasn’t completely sure.
4) Where were you between 5pm and 7pm on the 18th November, 2015, the day before Thanksgiving break?
That was two years ago... If I remember correctly, I was driving home around that time. I want to say I left by six.
5) In your opinion, was Melanie Whyte someone who was well liked around campus?
Yeah, I’d say she was liked by anyone that knew her.
6) Do you think Melanie Whyte could possibly have any enemies?
Not that I know of. I don’t know much about her personal life, though.
7) In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, did you notice any strangers on or around campus?
Yeah, there are always strangers around campus. People touring, visiting friends or family. I’m sure I saw some, especially since some people would get the whole week off and come to help their friends or family pack their stuff to head home for the holiday.
8) When it was reported that Melanie Whyte was missing, what was your reaction to the news?
I heard about it a week after I got back to school from Thanksgiving. I was pretty shocked, of course. Part of me just thought maybe she hadn’t gotten back from the holidays.
9) What do you think happened to her?
I don’t know. The car being found is not good, though. I don’t like thinking negatively, but it looks pretty suspicious.
10) Do you have an other pieces of information that might help us with our investigation?
James glances down, recalling the photograph he found in the textbook he purchased, wondering if now was the time to disclose the information. Part of him wanted to but a part of him was nervous. Did it even mean anything?
No, not that I can think of.
1) Could you please tell us your name, age, and how many years you have spent at Cabot Creek University thus far?
“Stella Emerson. I’m twenty-three and a junior, so what’s that? Going into my third year. Why the hell am I here? Is it because I served some freshman with a fake ID because I swear, I had no idea it was fake until his fraternity brother told me. Some brother if you ask me.”
2) When was the last time that you can recall seeing Melanie Whyte? Did you talk to her? How did she seem to you?
“Professor Whyte? That’s what this is about? I’ve already made my statement. I was enrolled in her class when she up and left. Just a gen ed I had to take. I saw her like 3 days before her little stunt, turned in my essay. I was turning it in a week late, so I went to her office. Not that it meant much, when we got back from break some interim teacher gave everyone A’s. Bitch couldn’t have left before I had to write a glorified 12 page book report? Whatever. When I saw he left she seemed frazzled and in her own world. Don’t read into it though. She was like that almost every day, lady could’t keep it together for the life of her.”
3) What was your relationship with Melanie Whyte?
“Are you fucking kidding me? I just said she was my professor. Next.”
4) Where were you between 5pm and 7pm on the 18th November, 2015, the day before Thanksgiving break?
“Seriously? You want me to remember my exact location from almost two years ago? Want to know the color of my panties that day too? If I had to say, I’d probably say I was leaving work. Used to work retail, don’t anymore. Then I was probably just in my dorm. I don’t know. I know I didn’t go home for break though.”
5) In your opinion, was Melanie Whyte someone who was well liked around campus?
“Sure? She wasn’t disliked. Don’t pay attention to what people say about professors often though.”
6) Do you think Melanie Whyte could possibly have any enemies?
“This is the same damn question as earlier. I don’t know. Aren’t you supposed to be the cops? Am I done here yet”
7) In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, did you notice any strangers on or around campus?
“Hoards of prospective students. It’s the time that they all try to decide what college to apply to. No shady, single men if that’s what you’re getting at.”
8) When it was reported that Melanie Whyte was missing, what was your reaction to the news?
“Gasp. Sob. Boo-hoo. Do you see any tears here? No. I’m indifferent.”
9) What do you think happened to her?
“She probably ran away or some shit. Got sick of life here. Can’t blame her.”
10) Do you have an other pieces of information that might help us with our investigation?
“Do you have anymore redundant questions to ask me? If not, I’m done here.”
