BLONDE DECEPTION - The Logan Files

by Marshall Huffman

  “Good point. It is easy to get caught up in something like this. Let’s just take our time and do good police work,” Logan added.

  C HAPTER FORTY-NINE

  Logan had his elbows on the desk and his palms were pressed against his eyes. The weather had changed again like it always does in the Midwest. The temperature had dropped thirty degrees from yesterday and his sinuses were killing him. He hated to take any kind of medicine because he never felt as sharp. He was just getting up to go to the bathroom when his phone rang.

  “Detective Logan.”

  “Hi Detective, this is Robin Jackson, from the hospital,” she said.

  “Sure. I’m glad you called. How is Dr. Ryan?”

  “That’s why I’m calling. He isn’t doing any better. In fact, he has taken a turn for the worse. I guess his heart is…” she let the sentence die.

  “I see. What are they doing to do?”

  “They are talking about an artificial heart or seeing if they can get a donor one. The problem is, as I understand it, is he is too weak for an operation. I guess as a last resort they will go ahead if his own gives out,” she said.

  Logan didn’t follow all her logic but he knew she was stressed so he didn’t ask any questions except to say, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “I don’t know what it could be. I guess I just needed to talk to someone,” she said.

  “Its fine Mrs. Jackson, you can call me anytime,” he said, trying to reassure her.

  “Thanks. I just don’t know what to tell Sophie. She is starting to ask questions,” Robin said.

  “Well, I think I would just tell her the truth. She seems like a very mature young lady and I’ve found it’s better to be up front with kids. It’s never easy, but I personally think it is the right thing to do,” Logan told her.

  “I know. You’re right. I just don’t know how to start. I’m sure I will be all right once I get going, but getting started is always the hard part for me,” she said.

  “I would just sit her down and say something like, ‘Listen Sophie, your father is really trying to hang on but he has several things working against him. It’s going to be a tough road for him but the good news is that they have several options available or something along those lines. Talk about the positive but don’t give her false hope. I know it is a thin line but it’s the best way to approach it,” Logan said.

  “Thanks. I’ll do it tonight when I get home. No use in stalling, he isn’t going to improve unless they do something. It would better to let her know ahead of time, just in case” Robin said.

  “It’s the right thing to do, Mrs. Jackson,” Logan said.

  “Thank you,” she said, “I just needed to have someone give me a little push.”

  “Glad to help. If you want me to be there, I’ll be happy to drop by,” Logan offered.

  “No. That won’t be necessary. You have done more than enough. Now if you will just nail this guy, I would be very grateful,” she said.

  “I’ll get him. He will show his hand at some point and we will nail him,” Logan said.

  After she hung up he had second thoughts. Would he really handle it that way? He played it over in him mind several times before deciding he had given her his best advice for what it was worth. He popped a couple more Tylenol in his mouth and downed them with the remainder of his Diet Coke. It seemed to be a losing battle.

  “Got 'em,” Bull said, coming up the stairs waving a thick book.

  “University pictures?” Randy asked

  “You bet. I was getting the usual run around and so I just asked to talk to the University President. Can you believe it? He gave me the book,” Bull said, smiling.

  “That’s a surprise. I would never figure him for the one to give you something like that,” Logan said.

  He rubbed his forehead with his fingers. It was hard to focus with the way his head was hurting.

  “It’s not a new one but it is the most recent one he had. He said they only produce one every five years, so some of the newer staff and facility may not be in it,” Bull said.

  “Whoa. That may not be much good to us,” Logan said, looking at Bull with one eye closed.

  “It’s all they have so I guess we will just have to take our chances,” Bull said, starting to get defensive.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean that as a personal affront. I have a splitting headache and I guess it is making me a little grumpy,” Logan said.

  “It’s okay, I understand. This change in the weather does a lot of people in. Randy gets like that too,” Bull said.

  He handed the book to Logan. John opened it up and started leafing through it. It had their names alphabetically along with their title, department, office number, phone number and e-mail address. He looked up Ryan’s picture and it was close enough to easily recognize. If he could pick them out, he was sure Ryan could if they got the chance to talk to him again. Bull was right; it was a heck of a lot more than they had earlier. It would have to do.

  * * *

  It was just after 2:00 p.m. when Jonas announced that Marcia Brown had just been placed in the interrogation room. Marcia had decided that the best way to get herself out of this fix was to go along with the cops. Or at least act like she was cooperating. One thing she knew for sure was that prison was not for her. Just being a lesbian wasn’t enough to survive, she had soon found out. She just wasn’t tough enough to hack it.

  The thing that was really pissing her off was the money. She had earned it and now the cops were taking it away from her. With that money she could get out of town and start a new life. She needed to find a way to get it back or at least as much as she could. The trick was how. She started to look at her watch then realized she didn’t have it any longer. Everything had been taken when she was booked.

  She looked around the room and wondered how many people were behind the glass. She thought about exposing her breasts for a second but decided that wasn’t going to do her much good, especially if she was going to get some of the money back.

  Logan, Bull and Randy stood on the other side of the glass watching as Marcia fidgeted in the hard chair. They had let her sit for thirty minutes before Jonas went into the room.

  “Hi Marcia. You know why you’re here, right?” he said.

  “To look at some pictures and see if I recognize anyone,” she said.

  “Right. I have a University book that shows the staff and faculty and I want you to look at each picture. Try to envision if any of these people could be the one you met. Even if you just think they look a little like that person, let me know. We can always eliminate the ones that we know are free and clear,” he told her.

  “Sure, I’m willing to do that but first I want to ask you a question. When you get tips from informants, don’t you pay them?”

  “We do from time to time. It just depends. Why?”

  “Well, it seems like if I can help you nail this guy, you might help me by letting me have some of the money I was given. It’s no skin off your nose. The money didn’t come from here. I could use the money to start over. Make a clean break and get my act together,” she said.

  “That isn’t really my call. It would have to go through several levels before I would get the answer to that,” Jonas said.

  “Still, it could be done, right?”

  “Sure. It could be done. I’ll tell you what. You give this your best effort and I’ll see what Logan says. He can then take it to the next level. I honestly don’t know who has the ultimate say in something like this,” he said.

  “But you will try?”

  “I’ll try. Now I need you to get to work. There are a lot of pictures in here. Point out any that could even remotely be who gave you the money. Before we start, is there anything you would like?”

  “A Coke and some chips or something to munch on would be nice. I seem to think better when I’m eating. I don’t really know why.”

  “Coke and chips, coming up,” he said and left. Marcia opened the book and
started to look at the pictures one by one.

  “What do you think?” Jonas asked Logan after he returned from giving her the Coke and chips.

  “I think she will give it an honest effort. She has nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

  “What about the money request?”

  “She wouldn’t get it all back but she could get some, especially if it helps to nail this guy. She would also have to testify against them and her testimony would have to hold up,” Logan said.

  “Should I tell her that?”

  “Just tell her that I said I would work on it and that her testimony would play a critical part in her getting any of the money.”

  “Good. She has a point about us paying informants,” Jonas said.

  “Not the same thing. She was an accomplice, knowingly or not. An informant doesn’t take part in the crime.”

  “That’s kind of splitting hairs.”

  “The law is always about splitting hairs. Get used to it,” Logan replied turning back to the window. A few minutes later Jonas was in the room.

  “Anything?”

  “Just this one guy,” she said, pointing to a picture.

  Jonas jotted down the name on a note pad. He sat down as she continued to turn each page, studying each picture. Too bad she was a lesbian, he thought, she was really kind of attractive.

  Eventually Logan and the others drifted off to do other things and Marcia had only found two possible matches. Jonas went out and got them dinner as she continued to wade through each photo. It was close to 9:00 p.m. when she finally finished.

  “Sorry, those are the only ones that even come close. I really tried but…well that’s it,” she said pointing to four photographs.

  “Well, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Maybe the person was new and hasn’t made it into the book yet,” Jonas said.

  “I wish I could have done better.”

  “You did just fine. It’s late, I’m going to have them hold you here tonight and you can be transferred in the morning,” Jonas said.

  “Do I have to go back?”

  “Sorry. Once you’re booked we no longer hold people here. We just don’t have the space or facility.”

  “Crap. I don’t think I’ll survive in that place,” she said, blowing out a big breath of air.

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  “What we need is a break,” Jonas said as they were setting around Logan’s desk.

  “We could use a couple of breaks. Bring us up to speed on the pictures,” Logan said.

  “We got nothing. Our sketch artist put a goatee and sunglasses on the four pictures she thought resembled the person but nothing came out of it. None of the four had Sharon Lewis in any class.”

  “So we are still at square one essentially,” Randy replied.

  “Yep. It would seem that way.”

  “This son of a bitch is going to get away with it if something doesn’t come up,” Bull said angrily.

  “Maybe for now, but I will get him. I have never given up on a case yet and I’m not about to start now,” Logan said.

  “You have to have something to go on,” Bull insisted.

  “We have. He is definitely at the University and Ryan knows him. You saw how many professors they have. I doubt if he knows but a handful personally.”

  “True, but until we can talk to him, we won’t know who he knows and who he doesn’t,” Bull said.

  “We have one untapped source,” Logan replied.

  “Who?” they all said in unison.

  “Dr. Ryan’s Secretary,” Logan said, taking his beat up note book out of his jacket pocket. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

  “Mrs. Janet Flossey. Probably the one person who knows most about what goes on in that office will be her.”

  “Who do you want to go to talk to her?” Bull asked.

  Just as Logan was about to answer the Captain came up.

  “Sorry to interrupt. We had a MP come up. I’m gonna have to pull you guys off this case for now. Sorry Logan,” he said.

  “It’s no big deal at this point. I can do most of the leg work now. I feel a hell of a lot better,” he replied.

  Randy waited until the Captain left before saying, “Look, my guys can handle the missing person. They know what to do without me looking over their shoulder. Besides, they can come get me if they run into any difficulties. I would really like to stay on if it is okay with you.”

  “What do you guys think?” Logan asked.

  “Hell, he just slows us down. You would be doing us a favor,” Jonas kidded.

  “I’ll go talk to the Captain. It will be his call but I don’t think he will turn me down,” Logan said.

  The dropped his empty Diet Coke can in the trash and went to see the Captain. He knocked on the door.

  “Come,” the Captain’s voice boomed out.

  Logan stuck his head in, “Got a second?”

  “That didn’t take as long as I thought it would. You want to keep them on the case.”

  “Just Randy. You are thinking about keeping him on anyway.”

  “We have a missing person.”

  “His guys can handle it and even if something comes up that they need help on, he can always run back downstairs and help out. I was bluffing about feeling up to par. I am better, but certainly not a hundred percent,” Logan said.

  The Chief sat back in his chair, placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. It was the first time he noticed it was cracking in places.

  “You know Logan, you’re not as spry as you once were and this last thing almost did you in. I’m gonna let Randy stay but you have to give me your word that when you are not up to working so hard, you’ll take some time off. This case isn’t going to go anywhere and it is a hell of a lot less important to me than you are. I guess I shouldn’t tell you that but…well, there it is. I need you more than getting this guy.”

  Logan actually blushed. The Captain simply didn’t let his feelings be known. This was totally out of character for him.

  “I appreciate that Captain. I’m honored to hear you say that. I’ll take it easy. Having Randy will be a big help,” Logan replied.

  “All right. Tell him he can stay but to check in on his people from time to time,” the Captain said.

  “Got it. Thanks Captain.”

  “No problem.”

  Logan went back to his desk.

  “The Captain said yes. Randy can stay. Bull and Jonas will work the MP and Randy is to check in occasionally to see what progress has been made.”

  “We don’t need him to check in on us. We can handle this,” Bull said.

  “It’s the Captain’s condition for Randy staying on this case. If you think it’s wrong, you know where his office is,” Logan said.

  Bull was a nice enough guy and fairly efficient at his job but he was starting to wear thin on Logan. He was actually glad he was going back to Missing Persons. Bull was just shaking his head. It didn’t seem to bother Jonas as much.

  “All right guys, you know what to do. Go find our missing person,” Randy said. Jonas headed for the stairs and Bull shuffled along after him.

  “Bull is kind of negative,” Logan said when he had gone down the stairs.

  “Insecure. His name ‘Bull’ actually refers more to his bullheadedness,” Randy said, laughing.

  “That I can believe,” Logan said, laughing along.

  “So what’s next? We go see Ryan’s secretary?”

  “Yes. I’ll even let you drive,” Logan said.

  “Thank you Lord,” Randy muttered.

  * * *

  With the students gone and most of the professors on vacation, finding a parking place was much simpler this time. The campus was essentially void of bodies. Only a few people were seen going from one building to another. They found Dr. Ryan’s office and Janet Flossey was sitting behind her desk, working on a stack of papers. She was matronly looking with glasses that looked like something from the
sixties. Her makeup was overdone and she seemed frail and tired.

  Logan knocked lightly on the door and she looked up, “Yes?”

  “I’m detective Logan. We talked briefly once before,” he said.

  “Oh. Is it about Dr. Ryan? Is he doing all right?”

  “He is still the same. The doctors still seem to be cautiously optimistic.”

  “Dear, dear, dear. I don’t understand how someone could deliberately hurt a man like Dr. Ryan. He is the kindest faculty member on campus,” said, blowing her nose into a handkerchief.

  “We came to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind,” Logan said.

  “Me? Goodness, I don’t know anything about what happened. What could I possible help with?”

  “First, do you know if Dr. Ryan had any problem with any of the other faculty or staff members?”

  “Heavens no. Everyone likes Dr. Ryan,” she said.

  “Not everyone. We know for a fact it was someone here at the University who attacked him,” Logan said.

  “How could you possibly know that? I thought he couldn’t speak.”

  “We had a chance to communicate with him briefly. He indicated it was someone here and that he knew who it was. Unfortunately that was all he could tell us at the time.”

  “That just can’t be. I don’t think he has an enemy anyplace on campus. Dr. Ryan is very highly regarded.”

  “That was before he stood up to Sharon Lewis. It got a lot of people in trouble and I suspect others will feel the ramifications eventually. That can’t do much for his popularity,” Logan replied.

  “That hussy? They may be mad at him; but enough to try to kill him?”

  “Apparently someone was,” Randy said.

  “Can you give us a list of the people at the University he knows? Ones he has talked about or had dealings with?”

  “Oh dear. That would be quite a list. I’m sure I wouldn’t know all of them. I do have his appointment calendar from the past three years. I could go through that. I have his memos and things like that. It would take me a little while to come up with a comprehensive list,” she said.