Stairway to Death

Synopsis

Professor Andy Stanard finds Dr. Alex Collinge bludgeoned to death in a campus stairwell. Tongues had been wagging at Chesapeake Bay University about Collinge for a while. He ditched Astrid, his wife of over twenty years, and moved in with a young sociology professor, Sheila. He then dumped Sheila and their infant son to hook up with a lithe yoga instructor.

Suspicion immediately falls on Collinge's abandoned family. Astrid is the beneficiary of his substantial life insurance policy, and before their marriage imploded, she started a heated affair with a Nordic biology professor. Collinge's two sons are also suspects, though. Markus had a vicious argument with his father the day before his death, and his younger brother, Matthias, quarreled with his father only minutes before he was killed.

When a bloody pipe is found concealed in Astrid's office, Matthias and his mom are charged with murder. However, Professor Stanard doesn't believe the case is closed, as other people—even at the university—had motive, too. He uncovers a link between Collinge's death and the murder of a naval officer the year before. He quickly tumbles down a twisted trail into the dark secret of a vicious killer.