Death Among The Stacks: The Body In The Law Library
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“That’s not what the recording has you say. Mr. Meadowlark. Are you holding anything back that you should be sharing with me?”
John starts turning red and his right arm begins to tingle and twitch. “I meant that I think that…well…we’ll find out, you know. You’ll find out who the murderer is—that’s what I meant.”
“Thank you, Mr. Meadowlark, I have no more further questions.” John feels deflated, as if he’d missed his golden opportunity to shine in front of the detective. Yet as he walks out, he says, “Anything I can do to help, just let me know; I’m here for you.”
“Thanks,” Detective Sledge answers. He then asks, “Could you please tell Kelly that I’d like to have a few words with her as soon as possible?”
“Of course,” John responds, “I’m at your service.”
Chapter Six
When Kelly enters the office to be questioned, the first thing that strikes Detective Sledge is her beauty. She had long red hair, freckles, and blue green eyes. She looks like she could twist any man around her finger and he imagined her breaking many hearts of the men who happened to cross her path. “Please have a seat, Kelly. Do you know why I’ve asked for you here today?” inquires the detective.
“Well, I assume it’s because of the murder. All of us are completely stunned by what has happened today.”
“Did you know the Inspector?”
“Yes; he’s visited here before and some of the staff have gone out to lunch with him.”
“What was your impression of him when you went out for these lunches?”
“I thought he was a big flirt. Not only did he make suggestive comments to the waitress while staring at her breasts; he also kept grabbing my leg under the table.”
“How did that make you feel?”
“Like I wanted to clobber him. He treats women like dirt.”
“Some of the staff here has mentioned that you were a captain in the Marine Corps. That must have been very hard for you to fit in what was basically an old boy’s club in the 1970’s when you were in.”
Kelly answers frankly, “Yes indeed. There were some men who found it very repugnant to take orders from a woman. It was a battle every day trying to salve their bruised egos all the time.”
The Detective continues, “Sorry for this very personal comment, but did you date any officers or enlisted men while you were in the Marine Corps?”
“Well, we weren’t supposed to fraternize; it was really looked down upon,” Kelly responds defensively.
“So, you never dated anyone in the service?” the Detective continues to probe.
“Well, Kelly replied, “There was one man I thought I was in love with, but it didn’t work out.”
“Who broke up the relationship—you or the man?”
Kelly gets annoyed and says, “What does this have to do with the murder here today? Doesn’t a person have a right to a private life without somebody digging around in someone elses’ dirty laundry?” She continues, “Look—I didn’t have a personal relationship with the guy who got murdered today. I admit that I’ve been angry with men in the past, but I’d never, ever resort to murdering someone.”
“Have you ever filed a sexual harassment suit against any man?”
“No, Kelly responds, “My mantra is “to suffer and be still.” I learned that when I was taking a ‘Feminists’ Studies’ class. My teacher said that this phrase—“to suffer and be still”—was what these Victorian woman were trained to do. If they didn’t feel like having sex with their husband some night, they were told to ‘smile and think of England’, as if they were supposed to be baby-making machines for the common cause of spreading England’s power throughout the world. My teacher made it sound like the British colonialists saw it as a way to insure their future as a ‘master race’. It really makes me mad thinking about it.”
Detective Sledge could feel himself losing control of this interview and clears his throat to proceed. “Kelly,” he continues, “What are your responsibilities here at the library?”
“I am the Administrative Assistant and I am “second in command” of all that happens in the library.”
“I understand that you have been having some trouble with the chief architect of the building expansion?”
“Yes I have. It’s been one problem after another. He rarely answers my calls and it takes forever for his staff to come and look at the latest disaster in the expansion project.”
Detective Sledge pauses and thinks about her response. He then asks, “Where were you at the time of the murder?”
“What time exactly are you talking about and why do you automatically assume that I would know the time of death?”
“Try not to be so defensive,” Kelly, “I’m not accusing you of anything; I’ve asked everyone that question.” Sledge continues, “The time of death was around 1:30.”
Kelly answers that she and Nic went out to lunch at 12:00 and came back around 1:15 or so. Lastly, Detective Sledge asks her if she knows of any reason why Mr. Gaylord may have been killed. She replies, “I have absolutely no idea, but I can understand how someone might have been very upset over his abrasive manner.” Kelly says this with a disarming smile that leaves Sledge somewhat taken aback. He doesn’t know what to make of her. She seems both bossy and flirtatious at the same time. He finally composes himself and says, “Thank you for your assistance. Could you please ask the Public Services Librarian, Hung, to come and answer a few of my questions?”
“Yes, sir,” Kelly pauses and responds, “Oh, I sure hope you catch the creep who did this.”
Chapter Seven
Detective Sledge was working on some of his notes when he happens to look up to see a smiling Asian man sitting patiently in the chair opposite him. He starts slightly but catches himself. “Oh, hello. You must be Hung Tran.”
“Yes. I hope I wasn’t interrupting you, Detective?”
Sledge wonders how he came in so quietly and softly. “No, not at all. Thank you for coming in. I hope I’m not creating too much of an inconvenience for you. I just have a few questions I’d like to ask you about what happened today.”
Hung is a very quiet person. He is very kind and gentle in his demeanor and is always thanking everyone for any small gesture. He is a Vietnamese refugee who had come to the United States back in the early 1970’s after escaping the strict crackdowns on the monasteries in Viet Nam. Hung however, has a secret life away from the library which he never speaks of to his coworkers. During the Viet Nam War, both of his parents were killed and he ended up in an orphanage. When he became a teenager, he sought refuge in a monastery and became a monk. He formed strong friendships with other men in the monastery. Having to live in such tight quarters with other men and taking communal baths together often left him feeling ashamed and confused. “Am I gay?” he wondered. He struggled and prayed over his sexual orientation. He began feeling more trusting and safe when he met and fell in love with another man. This man became the center of his universe. Hung was so in love and serene with this man that after they finished making love, he often would imagine all of the smiling, happy faces looking down from the heavens and blessing the two of them. When the war was coming to an end, many of the monks began to leave Viet Nam, understanding that the Communist government would not look kindly towards such a spiritual vocation. Hung, and his lover, both planned to come to the United States to live and love together. In the growing chaos that ensued as Saigon began to fall to the communists, Hung and his lover became separated. They both promised each other that, should they become parted, they would somehow seek each other out in the United States. Regretfully, Hung left Viet Nam and came to the United States alone and with a heavy heart.
Detective Sledge says, “Hung, can you tell me where you were around 1:00 this afternoon?”
“Yes; I was working at the reference desk with John—John Meadowlark.”
“Did you see Mr. Gaylord come into the library this afternoon?”
“Yes; he came in a
bout 1:15 or so and John took him downstairs to the basement to show him the microfilm collection. The collection is a major part of the depository and he wanted to take a look at it.”
“So you talked with him when he came in?”
“Yes; a bit; he asked me where he could find the Director regarding a depository meeting that was to be held in the basement.”
“Did Mr. Gaylord’s appearance or demeanor seem unusual to you in any way? I mean did he act out of the ordinary to you.”
“No; not that I remember, sir.”
“Can you think of any reason why anyone should want to kill Mr. Gaylord?”
“No, sir; I can’t think of any reason why anyone should want to do such a horrible thing.”
“Thank you Hung, that will be all for now. I may have more questions for everyone later.”
Hung stands up and shakes Sledge’s hand and with a slight bow, turns and leaves the office. Sledge sits down to go over his notes.
Chapter Eight
After Sledge finishes interviewing the staff, he meets Willis at a nearby Starbucks to go over their progress in the investigation.
“So what do you think so far sir?” Officer Willis asks him.
“It’s hard to say for sure but I think several employees had a reason to kill Mr. Gaylord. Kelly doesn’t suffer fools gladly and has some mystery about her past in the Marine Corps. Yvonne was depending on the depository continuing almost to the point of desperation. To you and me, murder seems like a stretch but who knows how desperate a person can get when they really want something. Plus, there’s something funny about that John character. I mean he does seem to be a blowhard, but he does have that anti-government past about him and all. Would he want to kill someone for it? I don’t know.”
“Sir, I spoke to some of the patrons who were here when the murder occurred. They didn’t hear any noises or screams. Apparently this place is pretty quiet most of the time. There are some homeless people who come and go from what they told me. Two people in particular seemed suspicious to me. One, a young man of about twenty five, and an older woman of about fifty. They both spend quite a bit of time in the visitors’ rest rooms, which happen to be near the basement stairs. I guess they can get loud and belligerent at times. The young man is known to throw tantrums every once in a while. He’ll take over the bathroom and angrily bark at anyone who dares to come in. I think some of our patrol cops have been called to check this guy out also. The woman is also a bit over the top. She’ll come in and take over some of the private, small conference rooms and scream at anyone who tries to even suggest that she needs to move on. She’s been known to make threats and throw books and other things at the library staff. They are all very afraid of her. It seems the only one here who can deal with her is the Asian guy, what’s his name— Haung, Hag, Hang, or Hung, I think. The staff says he’s been able to quiet her and make her see the light. Not sure if it’s anything, but I thought you should know.”
“Very good, Willis. Nice work. Make sure we follow up with the uniformed guys and see if they have anything to add about these characters. There just might be something to them. Willis, I need to find out everything you can about Mr. Gaylord. Where he lives, where he’s from—everything. We’ve got to contact the next of kin, wherever they are. Got any questions?”
“No sir; I’ll get right on it.”
“Thanks, Willis. By the way, I watched the CCTV and it doesn’t show the area where the murder took place. There must be a blind spot. I told the Director and she was livid.”
“That’s rotten luck.”
“Tell me about it. Right now, I’m going to visit Ms. Brown, the Government Documents Assistant, who worked at the library for several years before she recently retired. We’ll see what her take is on all of this.”
Chapter Nine
Detective Sledge pulls up to a Craftsman Bungalow home in Old Town to interview Ms. Brown. Nice house, he thinks. After he knocks on the door, Ms. Brown opens it for him. His first impression of her is that she looks a lot younger than he expected her to be. She is wearing a pink sun dress. Maybe a little “too young” for her, but she pulls it off, he thinks. She has made iced tea for him, which he gladly accepts since the day is very hot and humid. The front room’s decorated beautifully and looks like it belongs in a museum. It reminds Sledge of the Greene and Greene houses or those designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago. The room could be right out of the pages of “Architectural Digest.” I wonder how a retired government worker can afford a beautifully appointed house like this? he asks himself. Just as he’s sitting down, a brown cocker spaniel comes flying into the room. The dog jumps up on Sledge’s lap and smothers him with kisses.
“Gumbo, get down,” Ms. Brown commands. “Go to your place.” The dog slinks off to the other room. “I’m sorry. He does get a bit overenthusiastic. He loves people. We spoil him too much.”
Sledge answers that it’s okay; he likes dogs, too. Then he settles down to begin questioning Ms. Brown.
“Do you know of any reason why Mr. Gaylord might have been killed?”
She responds, “No…it’s a horrible thing that happened. I can’t think of any reason why someone would want to kill him. And the way the he was killed—being smashed in the compact shelving—it must have been a terrifying way to die. Nobody deserved that. I don’t know if anyone told you, but a few years back one of the library’s employees almost died because the compact shelving malfunctioned. I was the one who heard her scream and called 911. Luckily we were able to open the shelves and get her out of there.”
Sledge continues, “Did Mr. Gaylord have any enemies in the library? I heard that he had rubbed some of the female employees the wrong way.”
“Is that what you heard? Interesting. I heard rumors that he was quite a flirt, but I never had any problems with him. To me, it seemed like he had some sexual identity issues, though. Some of the guys at the library felt that he stood a little too close to them whenever he’d come to town. There was even talk that he had visited a male prostitute to get spanked.”
“Where did you hear that from?”
“From John Meadowlark. I think that he may have been making it up, though. He also said that he thought our boss likes to wear leather and play sadomasochistic games. What a mind that man has. I think the whole idea is that he likes to be titillated.”
“How did the library staff get along? Were there the usual politics in the work place?”
“There were catfights and things could get a bit nasty. Mostly email wars. That kind of thing.” Sledge notices that the questioning has made Ms. Brown very uncomfortable. He senses that she is holding something back. She doesn’t seem to like being in the position of having to say unpleasant things about people—especially about her former colleagues.
“Even though I’m retired, I still see my friends from the library often. When all is said and done, the library’s employees are like one big happy family, with all of the ups and downs that go with it. I will say this for the staff: if anyone had any health or psychological problems, the employees and the management really were ‘there for them’. When my parents died, everyone from work came to the funerals. And none of them had ever even met my parents.”
“Why did you leave the library? You are pretty young to be retired.”
“I’m one of those lucky people who were able to have a guaranteed pension after I turned 50. If you read the local newspapers, you’ll find that these kinds of pensions are not too popular these days, to put it mildly. We paid into our retirement fund, but the newspapers don’t want to acknowledge that because they prefer to lead the public into believing that our cushy pensions are being paid on the backs of taxpayers. Of course, the newspapers only list the retirement income of the highest echelon of government employees as examples. But don’t get me started. I’m just glad that I left when I did, because I think there will be some big changes coming down the pipeline. Maybe, the age you can retire will move up. Something like that.”
“Would you like some more iced tea?” Ms. Brown asks.
“No, thank you. I’ve taken up enough of your day already. Thank you for answering my questions. And thank you for your hospitality.”
“It was my pleasure. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you. I really hope you find the killer, Detective Sledge.”
“Have a nice day, Ms. Brown,” he says as he walks out the door. Why do I feel like she’s hiding something? he asks himself. How did I develop into this cynical person who doesn’t trust anybody? I guess it comes with the job.
*******
His cell phone rings as he is leaving her house, and his boss tells him that she wants him to fly to Maryland to interview Gaylord’s family and coworkers. She’s arranged a flight for him that leaves in the morning.
That night, as he is walking down from the master bedroom, he loses his footing mid-way and tumbles down the stairs, landing with a loud thud. His wife runs down the stairs to see what happened.
“Oh, my God. Are you alright?” she asks.
“I don’t think I can stand up. Can you get me the ice pack?”