14. Catrina’s Classmates

Back in her own office she trawled the Internet for Catrina’s old classmates. Through LinkedIn she discovered Everett Jones was now Mrs. Mayfair and lived in Vancouver, British Columbia. Despite having two children in six years, she had risen to the position of creative director of a small ad agency. Kathy immediately ruled her out as a suspect. With a demanding job and two small kids she’d barely have time to do her nails, let alone murder someone on the other side of the country, Kathy thought.

Next was Tabatha Everson. Her LinkedIn account showed she was regional sales manager in Québec for a pharmaceutical company. Interesting. Had Catrina or Shaye been drugged? Keep it simple, she thought. Catrina was in the shower. Still, she jotted a reminder to see the autopsy report, took a swig of cold coffee and continued.

Last was Grant Ashbury. Her eyebrows rose when she instantly got four hits on the name. Grant was head of computer technology for a publishing empire. The back of her neck tingled when she saw it included Hilton’s Bazaar, the magazine where Shaye Alderson had worked. Another coincidence? She drew a thick black circle around his name and decided she would definitely go to meet this man, but first she’d find out from the professor how the team members had got along.

****

“Dr. Rivers, Ken, it’s Kathy Chatsworth,” she said into the phone, “I have a couple of questions about Catrina Somers’s project group. Is this a good time?”

He didn’t answer immediately, but when he did his voice was full of bonhomie. “Yes, yes, of course. I’m grading papers and I’ll take any excuse for a break. What do you need to know?”

“How did the three girls get along? Were they friends? Was there friction? Do you know how they worked together?”

She could picture him rearranging pens before answering. “It was an interesting group,” he said after a pause. “The three ladies,” she winced at the word, “were all very dynamic, very bright. I believe they worked together well. Everett Jones was the natural leader, but they were one of the more cohesive groups that year.”

Kathy made notes. “What about Grant? Was he okay with Everett taking the lead?”

A small sigh. “Ah yes, Grant, nice boy, very enthusiastic. He got quite excited about archaeological artifacts, loved history. He worked well with the girls and, truth be told, he had a crush on Catrina. He didn’t hide it very well. She didn’t complain, but I could tell from their emails, which were copied to me, she kept him at arms length. It was amusing to read between the lines.”

So Grant Ashbury had been sweet on Catrina. He must have been distraught when she was killed. Meeting Mr. Ashbury would be her next step.