“So how’s the investigation going on the government inspector’s death?”
“Very well, ma’am.” Sledge answers. “We’re making some good progress and feel we’re getting closer to figuring out who’s responsible.”
Sledge listens to himself say these words, even though he doesn’t really believe them.
“Good, Sledge. So how soon can we expect to get some results?”
“Well, Sergeant Willis just returned from Maryland and has some very good information on Inspector Gaylord which is helping us in our inquiries.”
Willis squirms in his seat. He can feel the captain’s gaze on him and hopes to God she doesn’t ask him any questions.
“We’re hoping to have the murderer ID’d in a day or so.”
Willis can’t believe what he’s hearing.
“Good. I’m going to let you in on something about this case and trust you understand that it’s not to leave this office. Correct?”
“Yes,” Sledge and Willis answer in unison.
“As I’m sure you know, I’ve got some connections with the FBI here as well as in DC and I want you both to know how important this case is to them. That’s all you need to know for now. Just know that more eyes are on this case than just ours.”
Great, Sledge thinks. No pressure now.
“This case is very high on our radar here. The chief and the local FBI folks want to get this thing solved right away and want you both to know that you can have anything you need at your disposal. Just say the word.”
How about a clue? Willis thinks with a smile.
“Is there something you’d like to add, Sergeant Willis?”
“Ah, no ma’am. We’re on it and you can trust us both to get to the bottom of this.”
Sledge grimaces at Willis’s nervous comments.
“Captain, we’re going to make sure we get this thing done. Count on it.”
“I am. You both can go now; remember what you heard and didn’t hear today. I’d like an update by tomorrow afternoon, say at this same time? Will that work?”
“Yes ma’am. We’ll be here.”
Sledge and Willis slink out of the captain’s office and walk down the stairs to their offices. In the stairwell, their colleagues are smiling and ribbing them about being called to the woodshed.
“Did it hurt much, boys? Is mama mad?”
“Ha Ha, guys. Your turn is coming,” Sledge tells them.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Back in their office, Willis sees an envelope from the patrol sergeant.
“Sir, it seems that the homeless people lead goes nowhere. The patrol guys assure us that they are harmless; a bit nuts, but harmless.”
Sledge tells Willis that when he called the police department in Chicago, they knew nothing about any marital problems of Yvonne and her ex-husband’s. He feels that it’s a dead end. “I just don’t think that Yvonne is guilty of this murder. It’s just a gut feeling that I have.”
Willis eagerly agrees with what his boss is saying.
Sledge continues, “I’m feeling like this investigation is going nowhere.”
Willis tells his boss, “I gotta admit: I’m totally stumped.”
As they are talking, the phone rings and Brewster is on the other line. Sledge puts the call on speaker phone so that Willis can listen, too.
“How’s it going, boys?” Brewster asks. Both Sledge and Willis look sheepishly at each other.
Sledge responds, “We are a bit at loose ends. Something’s been bugging me. I still can’t understand why the FBI is so interested in this case. Is it because Gaylord worked for the federal government?”
Brewster does not respond immediately. He’s trying to weigh how much information he wants to tell his old friend without getting himself in hot water later. “Alright, Sledge. I’m trusting you to be discreet about this since we both go way back. I know this sounds like ‘top secret’ and straight out of a movie; but the library’s position in the Civic Center is right smack in the middle of both the Federal and State buildings. It gives the folks at Homeland Security a unique opportunity to monitor phone lines and Internet chatter. We don’t want another Oklahoma City terrorist attack. The feds have dubbed this operation ‘Freedom’s Ear’.”
Sledge and Willis are astonished. Sledge asks if Gaylord was moonlighting as a “mole.”
“Yes, he was,” Brewster replies. “At least until he met his maker. Now you know why so many eyes and ears were on this case. We have got to solve this thing ASAP before anyone finds out about ‘Freedom’s Ear’.”
Sledge asks Brewster if the library’s Director knows anything about this. Brewster responds, “Of course she does, since she agreed to have the monitoring equipment built into Library’s roof.”
“Anything else you’d like to share with us?” Sledge asks with an attitude.
“Well, that’s all I can say for the moment.”
Sledge says, “It looks like Willis and I will be pulling some all-nighters.”
Brewster responds, “Good luck, guys. I have total confidence in you.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next morning, Willis stumbles out of bed and throws on some clothes. He logs into his computer and sees an email with a red exclamation point in the subject line next to the words “This could be important.” It’s from Phyllis Gaylord.
He immediately calls his boss and they agree to meet at the police station.
******
He walks into Sledge’s office and tells him, “She’s attached a picture. I haven’t looked at it yet. I was waiting to see it with you.”
Willis logs into his email and brings up the message. When he opens the attachment and they see the picture, their eyes widen and they can’t believe what they’re seeing.
Sledge says, “We’re going to the library, Willis. I think we’ve got our guy.”
*******
Sledge and Willis arrive at the Law Library a little after nine and ask to see the library’s Director.
Once they are situated in her office, Sledge says, “Thanks for seeing us on such short notice. We’d like to see if we can get your staff together for a few questions, say in about 20 minutes?”
“Why yes; I suppose we can arrange that. Where would you like them?”
“How about the lunch room?”
“I’ll get everyone there in, say 30 minutes?”
“That will be fine.”
The Director picks up the phone and speaks to Kelly, asking her to please call everyone for a quick meeting downstairs.
“Who’ll watch the desk?” Kelly asks.
“Have some of the extra help take over for a few minutes. This shouldn’t take long.”
Sledge and Willis wait in the lunch room. A faint odor of stale coffee permeates the room.
“I could use some coffee. My brain is just barely staying alive,” Willis says.
Slowly everyone gathers in the lunch room, looking anxious and sheepish in the presence of two police officers. Sledge and Willis smile back. The room is quiet as the Director comes in and closes the door.
“I believe everyone is here.”
“Thank you, Director. I appreciate the help on such short notice.” Sledge answers.
“Detective Willis and I have a few more questions and with any luck this will be the last you see of both of us.”
The staff nervously laughs.
“We’ve been doing quite a bit of work since Mr. Gaylord was found murdered in the basement. We’ve followed a lot of leads and spoken to a lot of people relating to the case. The more questions we asked, the more questions we had. That’s the nature of police work I suppose. In all honesty, each one of you has some reason, or motive, to want harm to come to Mr. Gaylord. Yvonne was very intent on getting the library certified and was very passionate to that end. You and Mr. Gaylord had several conversations in the days leading up to his death about what you could do to keep your certification. You wanted this so bad that you appeared to be able to sto
p at nothing to achieve it. And when your conversations with Mr. Gaylord did not go as you hoped and you felt the possibility of not being recertified, you became more, should I say, desperate didn’t you?”
Yvonne says nothing.
“On top of that, Mr. Gaylord’s behavior towards you as a woman was just about the end for you, wasn’t it? Did he not treat you with his familiar disdain and chauvinism? And isn’t it also true that you almost killed your ex-husband for similar behavior?”
Yvonne’s eyes widen as she turns red, and slowly says, “That was a personal matter, with my ex, and it is ancient history. Yes; it’s true that Mr. Gaylord was a chauvinist but I’m a professional person and I care very deeply about this library. I was not going to let someone like him get in the way of our great library! Yes, I felt contempt for him but I would not kill him, no matter what happened earlier in my life.”
“Yes, I know you wouldn’t,” Sledge answers.
She shoots him a dirty look wanting to say, did you really have to bring up that part about my marriage and embarrass me in front of all these people?
“Kelly, you were also someone with very similar feeling towards Mr. Gaylord, weren’t you.”
“I don’t know what you mean, Detective Sledge.”
“Didn’t you have ‘issues’ with certain male officers while you were in the Marine Corps? Didn’t you in fact get discharged for almost killing a male officer for his ‘behavior’?”
“Hey, he had it coming. Nobody treats me, let alone anyone, that way and gets away with it. I should’ve killed him after what he did, but didn’t. That shows great restraint on my part, don’t you think?”
“That’s not what the military report shows. You laid this guy out with a pool cue. He was in a coma for months.”
“He put his hand up my skirt after about 5 beers. He had it coming.”
“A pool cue? You could’ve killed him.”
Upon hearing this, her coworkers stand a few inches away from her.
“He deserved it. I played the game for 5 years holding back and taking abuse and then I’d had enough. I couldn’t take it anymore. I should’ve laid all his buddies out too. The women treated me like a hero in that bar.”
“Too bad that didn’t get in the report. You had some pretty similar motives with the way Gaylord treated you.”
“He was harmless. Yeah, he was an asshole like the rest of them but I couldn’t see smacking him. He wasn’t worth it.”
The staff looked on in horror and amazement at Kelly’s attitude and choice of words. This was like watching a movie to them.
“Mr. Meadowlark, you also had some bones to pick with the government, didn’t you? Didn’t you see Mr. Gaylord as emblematic of all that’s wrong the government? You’ve been seen at neo-Nazi rallies that espouse open warfare and death to the government, am I right?”
“Oh no. I’d never do that; I don’t feel like that. I liked Mr. Gaylord, I really did.”
“So the posters on your desk and the rallies were all for show?”
“Well, no…I mean well…they don’t mean I’d kill the guy! Sure, I think the government should be more constitutional but I’d never kill him!”
The staff starts to smile now as Mr. Meadowlark digs himself in deeper. He began to resemble a nervous penguin, swaying from side to side unable to get his bearing to stay straight.
“You can’t really think I’d want to kill him do you?”
“No, Mr. Meadowlark, we don’t. Honestly, it took us no time to find that out.”
Sledge turns his attention to Hung who is quietly sitting with his hands clasped almost in a prayer shape.
“Now Hung, we haven’t talked too much about Mr. Gaylord, is that true?”
“Yes, I believe so, sir. We’ve only spoken a few times about this whole affair.” Hung’s hands clasp tighter.
“You also said that you had never met Mr. Gaylord before,” he says and pauses for effect before continuing. Then he looks Hung straight in the eye and says, “Now, Hung: What would you say if I told you that I had proof that you do indeed know him. That you know him quite well. Maybe this will jog your memory.”
Sledge holds up an 8 x 10 print copy of the photo Phyllis Gaylord sent that morning. The photo is of Mr. Gaylord with a monk; both with their arms around each other. On the back is written, ‘I’ll be waiting for you, with love’. The monk in the photo was clearly Hung. There is an audible gasp in the room.
“Mr. Tran, do you have anything to say about this?”
Hung stands up and through his tears began to speak. “It’s true; that is me in that picture. We were in love.”
The room is completely silent except for Hung’s quivering voice.
“I loved him and I thought he loved me. We spent several precious months together at the monastery. We were devoted to each other and he promised we would always be with each other, no matter what.”
“So you met Mr. Gaylord at the monastery in Vietnam?”
“Yes; we met and fell in love immediately. Those were the happiest days of my life. He said he loved me. He promised!”
Everyone in the room is hanging on each word he says.
“He said we would meet again after the fall of Saigon. We were to meet again in the United States. I came home and waited for him. I waited and waited but he never came. I began to think he was killed and my heart broke over and over.”
Hung rises and begins to pound the table as he speaks.
“He promised me! He promised me!”
“What happened when he came to the library?”
“That was the first time I’d seen him since Vietnam. All those years and there he was at last. I saw him and couldn’t believe my eyes. I was so stunned that I couldn’t move. I stood frozen at the desk. Mr. Meadowlark took him downstairs. I took the elevator and saw Sean in the basement. I ran to put my arms around him but he pushed me away. I couldn’t believe it. I asked him why he would treat me so bad after all our time and love together. He pushed me away and told me I was a ‘queer’ and that he didn’t love me at all. I was so mad at him then. I ran to him and pounded on his chest with both fists! We fell to the ground and he began to choke me. He had such rage in his eyes. He choked me so hard that I could barely breathe. As I laid there I found a heavy book tape dispenser nearby and hit him on the head with it. He fell off of me and into the compact shelving. As he fell, his leg hit the switch and the shelves began to close with him lying in them. There was nothing I could do. I was helpless. I didn’t want him to die! I didn’t.”
“Yet you didn’t do anything to help him did you, Mr. Tran?”
“It all happened so fast. There was nothing I could do.”
“Or there was nothing you would do. He hurt you deeply and you became enraged, didn’t you? You wanted him dead; he rejected you.”
The rest of the staff becomes increasingly tense and visibly pulled back to the safety of the walls. Hung becomes more agitated as Sledge speaks.
“You left Gaylord there to die and you went back to your desk as if nothing happened. How could you do that?”
“I don’t know…I don’t know… I was so mad and upset with him. I wanted him to feel the pain and loss I felt missing him for so long. He promised me he would return and I believed him! He said he loved me and I believed him! He lied to me!”
Hung begins to bob back and forth as he speaks, looking at his coworkers directly in their eyes. They’d never seen Hung look like this. He’s acting so unlike himself. He is so animated. The staff is transfixed.
“Mr. Tran, I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with us,” Willis spoke.
At that moment, Hung breaks and runs from the room. Sledge and Willis chase him as he heads up the stairway leading to the roof. The emergency alarm rings out as Hung opens the door. As Sledge and Willis came out the roof door, they see Hung perched on the edge of the sloped roof, the new addition to the library. He seems to be in a transfixed state, both hands are together close to his mouth as he
quietly says his prayers.
“Mr. Tran, please don’t make this difficult. Please come off there and come with us.”
As they approach Hung they hear him speak, “May all beings everywhere plagued with sufferings of body and mind quickly be freed of their illnesses. May those frightened cease to be afraid, and may those bound be free.” He then jumps off the roof and is killed instantly.
“What was he saying?” Willis asked Sledge.
“That was part of the Buddhist Prayer of Peace. I remember it from a book my father sent me from Vietnam.”
###
Thank you for reading “Death Among the Stacks: The Body in the Law Library.” If you liked what you read, would you please rate us at the retailer where you bought this novel? Thank you.
Would you like to read more books that have librarians as main characters? If so, check out “Watchin’ the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance” and “Honeymoon in New Orleans”. All of our books are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords and Oyster.
Books by Louise Hathaway:
The Tustin Chronicles: A Detective Santy Mystery
The Murder at the Abbey: A Detective Santy Mystery
Honeymoon in Savannah: A Detective Santy Mystery
The Body on Ortega Highway: A Detective Santy Mystery
England in the Footsteps of its Literary Giants
Chasing My Roots: New World Finally Meets Old World
High School Reunion: You Can Go Home Again
Honeymoon in New Orleans
The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery
The Ghost in the Plantation: A Nancy Keene Mystery
The Buried Treasure on Route 66: A Nancy Keene Mystery
The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery
Watchin’ the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance
The Forgotten Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice
Nonsense and Sensibility: A Modern Austen Variation
The Following are my literary essays:
Nags, Sluts, and a Deep-Breasted Soulmate from the Shining City: Thomas Wolfe’s Women in “The Web and the Rock”
Death Among The Stacks: The Body In The Law Library Page 7