“Daniel Terloff?”
“Let me see. You have no religious tracts, so I doubt if you’re affiliated with any of those religious groups people have a tendency to avoid. Although I am new to the neighborhood, you’re not my idea of the Welcome Wagon, so I’ll rule them out. You could be here to let me take advantage of one of those monstrous pizza deals, but I see nothing in your hands. From the looks of the two of you, you’re not here to entice me into joining a health club. But when I look at the two of you, I cannot help but think of Frank Cannon or Nero Wolfe. So, I assume the two of you’re cops, city or private.”
“So, you’re familiar with William Conrad. I am impressed that one so young is familiar with him. But did you know that he was the voice of Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke on the radio?”
“I imagine that every horse in captivity breathed a sigh of relief when James Arness was chosen for the Dillon role on TV.”
“The young man knows his stuff. But I’m disappointed that you don’t think we are affiliated with a health club. I’ll have you know that the two of us recently began an exercise program. We began with one trip up and down an escalator a day and are working our way up to ten.”
The young man laughed.
“No matter who you are, you have provided free entertainment for me today. Yes, I’m Daniel Terloff. After a bad experience in college, I recently returned to this fair city after spending ten years finding myself.”
“Then you should be impressed with us. It took us only a little over a week to find you.”
“Then you must be police officers. If not, the department could use a couple of men like you. From the silence of your friend, I assume you go by the names Penn and Teller.”
“And may I assume that you’re starring nightly as a stand-up comedian in some fine establishment?”
“Touché.”
“Let me introduce ourselves. I’m Lt. Dekker and my silent friend is Sgt. Murdock. As you so aptly guessed, we’re with the Hilldale Police Department.”
“And what brings you fine gentlemen to see me today?”
“Professor James Buckham Hardesty.”
“Don’t tell me that he’s still sore about that can of paint?”
“So you admit you threw the can of paint at his house?”
“Has the statute of limitations run out on that yet?”
“I have no idea. We’re here on a larger matter. Murder.”
“Are you saying that the professor or some member of his family has been murdered?”
“Are you saying that you don’t know?”
“I am. I’ve been back in Hilldale only a few days. I’m currently looking for work, and have consulted an employment agency to assist me in that process. I’m also toying with the idea of going back to school.”
“Col. Buck Hardesty was murdered a week ago Monday. Where were you on that day?”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Dead serious.”
“You don’t think I still had it in for Prof. Hardesty, do you?”
“Are you saying you didn’t?”
“No, that was part of the reason I got away. I wanted to be able to control my anger.”
“And you have?”
“Yes. I spent several years alone. Much of the good weather I spent in the woods, nature, spending time with God. It took a while, but I got over my vindictiveness. I stayed on in the woods because I liked the peace and tranquility that that lifestyle provided. I only came back because I know that eventually I’ll need to earn a living.”
“And how did you provide for yourself during these last ten years?”
“I made friends. I did odd jobs. I accepted handouts. I had and needed nothing except a tent, a backpack, a sleeping bag for camping out in the winter, a few clothes, and enough food to get me by.”
“And you no longer resent Prof. Hardesty for not giving you the grade you thought you deserved?”
“No. I mean I still think I deserved that grade, but I came to think of it merely as a difference of opinion.”
“And do you have alibi for that day?”
“When did you say it was?”
“Monday of last week.”
“I rented this apartment on Saturday, was here over the weekend. I was at an employment agency up until lunch on Monday, came back to my apartment after that.”
“Mr. Terloff, I’d like for you to look at these pictures and see if you recognize anyone.”
“Oh, I see you have an old picture of me. And I remember this guy, but I can’t think of his name. He taught at the college. As I can remember, he was someone who didn’t like Prof. Hardesty. Tried to get me to join him in some lawsuit. And this last guy looks like someone who might’ve lived in the woods, like I did.”
“Have you actually seen this person?”
“No, I saw a couple of guys who long hair and beards, but not this particular guy.”
“I assume by what you said that you plan to stick around a while.”
2“Absolutely, unless the big city life becomes too much for me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call Hilldale a big city.”
“No, but I’ve already encountered a few more humans than I did in the ten years I was away.”
I thanked Terloff for his time, and Lou and I left.
I opened the driver’s side door, got in, and turned to Lou.
“Well, Lou, what do you think?”
“About Terloff?”
“Right.”
“He seemed like he was telling the truth, but who knows. Except for Belding, no one we’ve met seemed to have it in for the Colonel. Yet most of the time it isn’t the most likely suspect, at least not this far into the case. Those types you pick up in a day or two, or as soon as you can gather enough evidence to arrest them. There’s no evidence leading toward anyone, except some guy who, more than likely, doesn’t exist.”
“You mean the long-haired, bearded guy?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, he exists, all right, but more than likely not as a long-haired, bearded guy.”
“Isn’t that what I said?”
+++
We had time to cruise by Johnson’s duplex before lunch. We did, and found the neighbor in his yard.
“You the one who called,” I asked as we pulled ourselves from the car and approached him.
“That’s right. You said to let you know, and I thought you might want to know that the guy next door returned. Only I didn’t see him when he came back. I saw him when he was leaving again. I made some comment about not having seen him in a while, and he said he’d been away to take care of his sick mother, and his sister came for a few days to take care of her, so he came back to get a few of his things. He said he hoped to be back in a few weeks.”
“Anything else that might interest us? Have you seen anyone else in the duplex?”
“No to both. No lights. No people. Just last night for a while.”
“Did he seem nervous in any way?”
“Not nervous exactly. He seemed like he always seemed. In a hurry. The way a lot of guys are. But then it wasn’t like I was around him a lot and got to know him.”
“Well, thank you for your time, Mr. Simons.”
Again, Lou and I returned to the car. Because Simons was still in the front yard, I waited until after we pulled away before pumping Lou.
“Any feeling on this one, Lou?”
“For some reason I feel that this guy Johnson is either our most likely or least likely suspect. He could be someone who’s telling the truth and has no idea we’re looking for him, or he could be our murderer. The only thing that bothers me about him is what reason he would have for wanting to murder the Colonel. He could have gotten the key, but why would he want it? We can find no connection between Johnson and the Colonel. The guy’s only been in town for a year, and it checks out that he was in Indiana for two years before that. And he does look too short and too stout to be the long-haired guy in the picture.”
Lou was right. We could almost make a case for any of our suspects, but we could just as easily eliminate them. There didn’t seem to be one person who seemed guiltier than any of the others. At least not to Lou and me.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
We’d been gone from Johnson’s duplex only a few minutes when I had an epiphany. I felt so strongly about the feeling I had, it could’ve come only from God. I think I scared Lou when I yanked the wheel to one side and pulled over to the curb.
“Are you having a chocolate attack, Cy?”
“No, Lou, I having an inspiration so strong I feel we’re about to end this case.”
“You serious?”
“No, I just wanted to see if you were paying attention to what I’m saying. Of course I’m serious. Hear me out. I have an idea, an idea where I think we can bring our murderer to justice in a matter of days. All we need is the cooperation of the Chief.”
“Well, he’s usually gone along with what we’ve wanted to do.”
“I know, but this time I’ll have to yank so many chains, there’ll be some angry people out there. Plus, more than likely, I’ll need Judge Heller’s help.”
“You’ve gotten that before, too. Cy, why don’t you just tell me what you have in mind?”
“Okay, Tonto. We have a murderer, probably in disguise, since we haven’t run into anyone who looks like the man in the picture. But what’s the one thing that no one is able to disguise?”
“You’ve got me.”
“Come on, Lou. How long you been a cop? What is the one way where we can identify someone?”
“Well, I can think of three. There’s fingerprints, dental records, and DNA. How’d I do?”
“You did well, my friend. I just needed to jiggle your brain. Here’s what we have right now. We have all of our suspects in house, so to speak, except for two. I think we can locate fingerprints for both of those two. I want to set the ball in motion. A man spends time in a duplex. True, he might not have spent a lot of time there, but I think he spent enough time there to leave some prints behind. I want to get a crew to that duplex and see what we can find. I want to be there too, in case we find something other than prints. Also, I want to call Sam. I want Sam to get on the phone to Olive Grove, where that Bauerman girl lived, and see if he can locate any of Carl Bauerman’s prints at that high school. Some schools require prints. Some don’t. I also want Sam to see if he can find any of Bauerman’s prints in New York, and do the same in California. I’m hoping that somewhere he can find some of Bauerman’s prints. If he can find prints each place, that’s even better. At least we’ll know if Bauerman was everywhere we think he was. So, when Sam and our local print crew are finished, we should have prints for our two missing men and live bodies of everyone else. Then, and here’s where everyone will raise a stink, I want to round up all of our suspects, corral our three witnesses, and yank everyone downtown and have a lineup. To make things easier, I want a crew to make up each of our suspects and dress them in an outfit like our long-haired guy wore when he murdered the Colonel. So, now you have it? What do you think?”
“I think you’ve come up with a fine way for us to be permanently retired. I just hope we don’t lose our pensions, but if we do, I’ve first dibs on Terloff’s camping gear.”
“Now that we’ve heard from the attorney for the defense, what does my friend Lou Murdock the cop think? Oh, and if you should some day go camping, I want to find someone to teach me how to use the Colonel’s camera equipment. Now, once again, what do you think?”
“Oh, I think that some of our suspects will raise a ruckus when they have to go downtown and be part of a lineup.”
“Suspects? I don’t think our witnesses will want to participate, either.”
“You mean because they’re lying?”
“I mean because they’ll say what they’ve said so far. Well, I didn’t get that good of a look, and I wouldn’t want to cause any harm to an innocent person. Nobody’s gonna like this, Lou. But something tells me that when all is said and done, you and I will be on our way back to the Scene of the Crime, and I don’t mean the Colonel’s house. I mean the bookstore.”
“What about a trial, Cy? Won’t we have to testify?”
“I don’t think so, Lou. I think we’ll be able to come up with strong enough evidence that our murderer will confess.”
“So, do you think you know who it is?”
“I don’t have a clue, Lou. That’s the reason why I’m trying to bring this off. I think if we have a cattle call and make everyone play a part, then we’ll get our murderer.”
“Who do you mean by ‘everyone?’”
“Everyone. Men and women. I mean the widow, the granddaughters, the grandson-in-law, the boarder, the maid, the handyman, the best friend, the man who threatened him who seems to have gotten over it, the man who threatened him who doesn’t seem to have gotten over it. I even mean the plumber, whom we haven’t even considered. And I plan to have all three witnesses there; the next-door neighbor, the college student who delivered pizza, and the old man on the next street who almost ran over him. And if I could find them, I’d bring in the pest control tech and the actor whose daughter died. Some of these people are going to be hot. Some of them are going to be inconvenienced. But one of them is going to confess, if we do this thing right. So, are you with me on this?”
“Right beside you.”
“Mind eating a late lunch? I want to nibble on the Chief’s ear.”
“Remember, Cy, you got some candy in your pocket.”
“Very funny. But since you mentioned it, we might as well gather enough strength to bend the Chief’s ear.”
“I thought you were going to nibble on it.”
I ignored my friend and partner and grabbed the Hershey bar in my pocket. I was so worked up I ate three bites before we got to the station.
+++
“Okay, Cy, what’s so important that you’re willing to miss lunch to tell me about it?”
“I don’t plan to miss lunch, Chief. Just postpone it a little.”
“Just go ahead. I’m missing my lunch, too.”
“So, it’s okay if I go ahead?”
“How does Patrolman Dekker sound?”
“Okay, Chief. I forgot. I’ve a better sense of humor than you do. Here’s where we are. We have a photo identifying the murderer, only no one we’ve met looks like the man in the photo. So, we figure that someone donned a disguise.”
“I know all that, Cy.”
“There’s more. All of our suspects are in town except for two. One of them, an actor, hasn’t been seen in this area in over ten years, but he’s one of our strongest suspects. The other one, a pest control tech, has skipped town, said he’s gone to be with his ailing mother. The second guy has rented a duplex. Since I’ve never seen him I want to get a warrant to search the duplex, see what we can find. I suspect we’ll find prints if nothing else. In the end, I think those prints will help us. I don’t want to go into detail, yet. Things need to fall into place first. I want Sam to locate prints for our missing suspect, something I think Sam will be able to do without too much trouble. Now, that’s the first part.”
“I don’t see any problem so far, only you might be able to save yourself time spent getting a warrant if the landlord agrees to let us search the place. Now, what else do you have?”
“I want to bring everyone in and put them in a lineup. We’ve got three witnesses who’ve seen our murderer in his or her costume. I want our experts to make up and dress each of our suspects in an outfit similar to what our murderer wore. I want to get everyone’s prints, and if we get a match of the prints we already have, I want Judge Heller to give us a warrant, while we hold our murderer to see if we can come up with any evidence he or she might have hidden somewhere at home.”
“Are any of these people liable to throw a fit?”
“I’d say most of them, Chief. But I think if we do this the way I’ve mapped out, we’ll get a confession that day.�
��
“And if we don’t?”
“Then, I’m willing to let things play out.”
“Are you sure about that, Cy? Remember, we’re talking about your friend here.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’ll be hard. But I think it’s going to work. Just give me a chance, Chief.”
“Are we talking about bringing in any important people?”
I ran down the list of everyone I planned to bring in. The Chief seemed satisfied with it.
“Do you know how many people it will take to make this happen, Cy?”
“A lot, but a solved murder will make it worth it.”
“You really think you have a shot at pulling this off, don’t you?”
“I do, Chief, but it won’t work unless we involve everyone.”
“Okay, I’ll stick my neck out. You’ve never failed us yet. Take whoever you want. There doesn’t seem to be too much going on right now. How do you feel about talking to the owner of that duplex first?”
“That’s fine, as long as it’s a go if he or she says ‘no.’”
“I think I can handle Judge Heller. It doesn’t seem like anything too outlandish.”
Lou and I shook hands with the Chief, left to go to an abandoned phone to call Sam. Sam, like the two of us, worked from his home, and he could usually be found.
“Sam, old buddy.”
“Oh-oh, I don’t like your tone, Cy.”
“Guess where I am? At the station.”
“Don’t tell me they’ve finally arrested you?”
“No, I think we’re about to break our murder case, but I need your help.”
“What do you need this time?”
I told Sam about the prints we needed, and the three places I wanted him to look to find them. He seemed relieved that it wasn’t something worse.
“I’ll see what I can do, Cy. I might have them this afternoon. I might not have them until tomorrow. Either way, I’ll do what I can to get them for you.
3 Murder In The Library Page 18