Murder
In The
Library
Steve Demaree
In the third book in the Lt. Dekker/Sgt. Murdock series, a man is found dead inside the locked library of his home. Surveillance cameras show that no one other than the deceased entered the library, and yet the man has been shot with a poisoned dart. The case means even more to the two detectives than any of their previous cases, because the deceased was a mentor to both of them when they were boys. The deceased had received a threatening note, which the two detectives knew about, and he had promised to leave them a clue if he was murdered. He did, but it turned out to be harder to decipher than the detectives thought. The duo questions friends and foe of the retired professor until they find the one clue that leads them to the guilty party.
Copyright © 2008
Steve Demaree
All Rights Reserved
This book is dedicated to the two people I love the most and whose love I deserve the least, my wife Nell and my daughter Kelly. May God continue to bless me with their presence in my life.
This book is also dedicated to Connie McBrayer and Wanda Cornish, both who have told me that they cannot wait to get another Lt. Dekker-Sgt. Murdock mystery.
May each of them and each of you enjoy this book.
Books by Steve Demaree
Dekker Cozy Mystery Series
52 Steps to Murder
Murder in the Winter
Murder in the Library
Murder at Breakfast?
Murder at the High School Reunion
Murder at the Art & Craft Fair
Santagelo PGRated Mystery/Thriller Series
Murder in the Dark
Picture Them Dead
Body Count
Aylesford Place Humorous Christian Romance
Pink Flamingoed
Neighborhood Hi Jinx
Croquet Anyone?
Non-Fiction
Lexington & Me
Reflecting Upon God’s Word
Table of Contents
Cast of Characters
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Cast of Characters
Lt. Cy Dekker - The lead detective of the Hilldale Police Department
Sgt. Lou Murdock - Lt. Dekker’s partner
Col. James Buckham Hardesty – A retired college professor and Cy Dekker and Lou Murdock’s mentor when they were young boys
Martha Hardesty – Col. Hardesty’s wife
Jennifer McDaniel – The Hardesty’s oldest granddaughter
Trish Owens – The Hardesty’s youngest granddaughter
Scott McDaniel – Jennifer’s husband
Tom Brockman – A teaching assistant who rents a room from the Hardestys
Joe Guilfoyle – A retired college professor and Buck Hardesty’s best friend
Earl Hoskins - A handyman who works for the Hardesty’s one day a week
Myra Hoskins – Earl’s wife, a maid who works for the Hardesty’s one day a week
Bob Downey – A retired trucker who lives next door to the Hardestys
Tom Johnson – A pest control technician who did some work at the Hardestys
Robert Collins - A plumber who did some work at the Hardestys.
Michael Belding – A high school teacher who says that Buck Hardesty caused him to lose his job at the university
Daniel Terloff – A former university student who disagreed with Buck Hardesty about a grade he received
Carla Bauerman – A former university student who claimed that Buck Hardesty kept her from getting into graduate school
Carl Bauerman – A former drama teacher who quit his job and moved away to become an actor; father of Carla
Mark Blakeman – A pizza delivery man who saw someone enter the Hardesty residence
Dick Morrissey – A neighbor who lived behind the Hardestys who confronted a man running from the direction of the Hardesty house on a few days before the murder
Lt. George Michaelson - A friend of Lt. Dekker and Sgt. Murdock and a fellow member of the Hilldale Police Department
Frank Harris - The medical examiner
Sam Schumann-A policeman who does much of Lt. Dekker’s investigative work
Louie Palona - The man at headquarters that Lt. Dekker turns to for technological help
Officer Dan Davis - A young policeman who helps Lt. Dekker and Sgt. Murdock from time to time
Heloise Humphert - Lt. Dekker’s irritating next-door neighbor
Twinkle Toes - Heloise Humphert’s dog
Rosie - The daytime waitress at the Blue Moon Diner
Thelma - The nighttime waitress at the Blue Moon Diner
Betty McElroy - A friend of Lt. Dekker’s whom he sometimes dates
Thelma Lou Spencer - Sgt. Murdock’s girlfriend
Chapter One
Just in case this is the first time you have wandered into our neighborhood, let me introduce ourselves. I am Lt. Cy Dekker, longtime member of the Hilldale Police Department, and one-half of the homicide department. The other half is my childhood friend and police force partner for over twenty years, Sgt. Lou Murdock. A few months ago Lou and I worked out an agreement with the department where we could work during any homicide investigation, but ease into retirement during the other times. Neither Lou nor I’ve a propensity for any other form of police work, and since both of us had put in over thirty years with the department and were eligible for retirement, we decided to opt for the best of both worlds.
+++
Seldom does anyone other than Lou call my home, and few others know my number, so one day when the phone rang I answered by saying, “Don’t tell me that you’ve decided to quit eating at the Blue Moon?”
“I’ve never been there, but I understand you, Cy, are mainly responsible for keeping that establishment in business.”
“Colonel, is that you?”
“I’m surprised you still remember me, since it’s been so long since you and Lou stopped by to visit.”
“I’m sorry, Colonel. It seems like Lou and I stay so busy these days.”
“Really, I’d heard the department finally got rid of the two of you.”
“So, you heard we’ve turned over a new leaf?”
“You mean you’ve quit eating between meals? Or have you reverted back to kindergarten and have nap time each day?”
“Sometimes we take naps, but we do other things, too. Lou and I’ve started reading.”
“Well, I’m glad. I remember you never read for any classes you took in school. Anyway, Cy, it’s good to talk to you
again. I was wondering if you and Lou might be able to take some time out of your busy schedule this afternoon to stop by and see me. I would invite you to lunch, but I know how much that diner means to you. Plus, I don’t think Martha could fix so much food on such short notice.”
“We’d love to stop by. How does somewhere around 2:00 sound?”
“Sounds fine. Whenever you feel you’ve eaten enough and gotten enough rest to drive the few blocks to my house.”
“Looking forward to it, Colonel. See you this afternoon.”
I hung up the phone. Even with the Colonel’s jovial demeanor, I couldn’t help but think that something was bothering him.
Lou and I had known the Colonel since we were boys. One day the two of us were out walking, bored to death because we had nothing to do. Neither Lou nor I were ever into sports, and building or fixing anything never appealed to us. Our dads worked. Our moms stayed home, and both of us left our houses for only two reasons. We liked being around each other, and at least one of us had to leave home to make that happen, and our moms kept after us to get out and get some exercise. How were two boys who didn’t like sports supposed to exercise?
One day we decided to walk through the neighborhood looking for an idea of something to do. We were walking around, downcast, when we heard someone say, “Say fellas, what’s wrong?”
Both of us turned, looked up, and saw this man, somewhere around our dads’ ages, standing in front of a house bigger than any I had seen in our neighborhood.
“Ain’t got nothin’ to do,” I said.
“What about playing catch?”
“We’re not much into sports.”
“Do either of you have a fort or a tree house?”
“Nope. Wouldn’t know how to make one, either.”
“Well, have you got a good, big tree in your backyard?”
“Nope. Our trees are all on the puny side.”
“Well, I’ve got a big one. Want to see it?”
Our parents had cautioned us about going somewhere with strangers, but this guy seemed okay, lived the next street over, and it wasn’t like we were going anywhere. He wasn’t inviting us to go for a ride, or even inside his house. And he couldn’t catch both of us at once. Well, more than likely he could have, as slow as the two of us ran, but we decided to check out his backyard. Besides, the people across the street were sitting on their front porch. I couldn’t imagine that this man would try to kidnap us with witnesses around.
I turned to Lou and he gave me the look.
“Okay, we’ll look at your tree.”
Lou and I followed the man around the house to his backyard, and sure enough, there was a tree that was bigger than any tree I’d ever seen. It certainly looked big enough to hold the two of us, if we were foolish enough to climb it.
After we stared at the tree and looked at each other a few times, the man asked, “Well, what do you think? Do you think this tree would make a good tree house?”
“I’d say you’d know more about that than we would, Mister.”
He laughed, then offered us a proposition.
“If you boys are interested, I’d be glad to talk to your parents and see if it’s okay with them for you to build a tree house in my tree.”
“It sounds like fun, but I don’t think I’d want to climb up into anything I built.”
He laughed again.
“Oh, I’d build it. You can be my helpers.”
And thus began our friendship with the Colonel. The Colonel and his wife became friends with our parents and a mentor to Lou and me. Oh, we both had good relationships with our parents, but as we soon found out, the Colonel was a professor at the university, and had summers off, which allowed him time to help us build a tree house. And what a tree house it became. And what fun we had. The Colonel had two daughters, neither of which was interested in a tree house, so he gave us free reign over when we could use the tree house.
+++
The Colonel’s phone call so distressed me that before I left the house, I meticulously unwrapped a Hershey Almond bar and took a bite, rewrapped it, and put it where I could get at it again. If it wasn’t for the Colonel, and picking Lou up so we could enjoy lunch at the Blue Moon Diner, I would have started to think about computers again. Wonder where Hershey is, anyway? Is it closer to Pittsburgh, or Philly? Sounds more like something God put in the Garden of Eden. I’m not sure how I would have reacted if God had told me that I could eat from any tree except the chocolate bar tree. I bet there is no exercise equipment in Hershey, PA.
I picked Lou up and drove to the Blue Moon. On the way, I informed him of the Colonel’s phone call. He too sensed that the Colonel was in some kind of trouble, but he didn’t pull out his bag of M&Ms. I wondered if that was because he had turned over a new leaf.
No sooner had we arrived at the Blue Moon and plopped down on our stools until Rosie, the daytime waitress, accosted us.
“Okay, Frick and Frack. What’s wrong today? Someone steal your feeding shovels?”
“No, it’s just that we’re afraid a friend of ours might be in trouble.”
“Well, there’s one way to find out. Go see him.”
“That’s what we plan to do, as soon as we leave here.”
“Well, in the meantime, get those glum looks off your faces, and act like you usually do when you come in.”
“So, it’s okay to have a food fight?”
“Neither of you would ever throw a speck of food, because both of you know that each bite thrown means one less bite in your stomach. So, what can I get you today?”
Chapter Two
I drove up Cherry Hill Lane and parked in front of the Colonel’s house. The two story, white brick house, spread out over two lots, hadn’t changed that much. One tree stood over to the side, away from the driveway. Everything else was a wide, flat front yard.
Up until then, life had been good for the Colonel. As a young man, he had inherited a great deal of money from his grandmother. This allowed him to do what he always wanted to do, teach school, and help young people find their way. Lou and I were just two of many the Colonel had helped over the years, but since we didn’t go on to college, we never had him as a professor.
Eager to find out why the Colonel had summoned us, Lou and I lifted ourselves from the car, walked as quickly as two, recently well-fed men, could walk. Lou seemed to walk quicker than I, even though I had been better fed.
I reached out, rang the bell, waited for someone to answer.
“Well, Cy, Lou, what brings you here?” asked Martha, the Colonel’s wife, as she opened the door, admitted us to the house. Although now in her mid-seventies, the woman still looked elegant, and her white, well-coiffed hair looked like she had just returned from the beauty parlor.
“Just checking in with the Colonel. It’s been a while since we’ve seen him.”
“I’ll say it has. What’s been keeping you away?”
“Work and poor planning.”
“Buck’s in the library. Don’t let me keep you from him.”
Buck was the Colonel. James Buckham Hardesty, and as far as we know, his students are the only ones to have ever called him Colonel. To everyone else, he was Buck or Mr. Hardesty.
I knocked on the library door. A few seconds later the Colonel opened the door. He removed the frown he was wearing, but not quickly enough. I noticed and turned to Lou to see that he noticed, too.
“Cy, Lou,” the Colonel said as he stood between us and wrapped his arms around our shoulders, “so good to see you, again. It looks like life is treating you well.”
The Colonel offered us seats, seats he had already arranged in front of his massive desk. It was the Colonel’s meeting, so we let him direct it. We spent a few minutes reminiscing about our tree house and school before the Colonel got down to business.
“Cy, Lou, I really respect you boys, and what you’ve done for this community. You’ve made me proud to be a friend. The Hilldale Police Department has never had two finer office
rs. I don’t care what the others say.”
On that note, he laughed, and we did, too.
“Boys, you’ve had a good record, and we’ve had some good times together. Up to now I’ve never asked anything of you boys, but I’ve got a problem, and I can’t think of anyone better to turn to for help.”
I wanted to ask if it was money or health related, but I knew the Colonel would soon share his troubles with us.
“I’m not sure if you boys have been in this library before, but let me tell you about it. This library is my haven, my sanctuary. It’s where I spent all those years preparing lessons for my classes, where I got my ideas for my inventions, wrote my books, and many years ago, it’s where I did some work for the government. Then, as now, the government expected secrecy and silence. I couldn’t then, nor can I now share anything about the work I did for them, but that has nothing to do with why you’re here. I only share that because the government insisted that I include a safe room below, a surveillance camera at the door, and another entrance or exit that no one other than I can use. You may have noticed the camera just before you stepped into this room. It sets idle until someone comes to the door. Then, it takes a picture of anyone who crosses its path. A trapdoor lies under the large rug in the middle of the room, a door that leads to a room under this one, but a room that has no other exit. The far end of the bookcase over there,” the Colonel said as he motioned toward the bookcases on the other end of the room diagonal from the door we entered, “is a hidden exit, and on the other side is a secret entrance that can be used only by me, because it takes my thumb and fingerprints for it to work. In other words, the room we’re in is safe, and yet it’s not. Sometime yesterday, when all of us were away from the house, someone left this piece of paper in the middle of the floor, right between where your chairs are now placed.”
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