“You have access, right?” asked Marlee.
“Well, yes, I have keys to everyone’s office, but I wouldn’t use Logan’s computer. I have my own right here, so there would be no need. Plus, I have a computer at home,” Alice said.
“Who has access to the keys you use to get into everyone’s office, besides you?” asked Marlee.
“No one. I lock up the drawer with the keys every day when I leave for home,” said Alice. She motioned toward a desk drawer and pulled it open to show the ring of keys lying on top of a stack of envelopes.
“But that desk is unlocked during the day, so someone could come in when you’re not around and grab the key to Logan’s office, right?” Marlee pushed.
“I guess so, but I don’t know who would do that. Somebody could probably grab the key if I were in the restroom or had run over to the campus post office. Work-study students are here throughout the day, but there are times when the office is unstaffed for a brief period. Besides, what’s the big deal about his computer? Have you found out something?” Alice asked.
“Sort of. The Chief of Police told me that Logan wrote a short story in which a college professor kills himself on campus. The details are eerily similar to Logan’s real death, so the police used that to support the theory of suicide. Joe and I met with the chief and asked to see the short story, but he said it was deleted from Logan’s office computer at the request of his estranged sister,” Marlee recounted.
Alice’s mouth was wide open, and her eyes bulged. “What?”
“I know, it’s a lot to take in. Did Logan ever talk to you about writing short stories or wanting to be a writer?” Marlee queried.
“No, he never said anything to me about it,” Alice said.
“Do you know about someone coming to erase some things from Logan’s hard drive a day or so ago?” asked Marlee.
“The computer center people sent up one of their work-study students to do some work, but I don’t know his name. He’s a friend of my work study student, Jeremy. When Jeremy comes in, I’ll ask him his friend’s name,” Alice replied.
“Alice,” Marlee said, lowering her voice to a whisper, “Joe and I want to get into Logan’s office and take a look at what’s left on his computer. I don’t want you to get into any trouble, but we need to get the key tonight.”
It didn’t take long for Alice to get on board with the idea. “I’ll leave my desk unlocked tonight when I leave. You have a key to get inside my office, just like the other faculty, so it will be easy enough for you to get in here, grab the key and go to Logan’s office.”
“Thanks, Alice. I appreciate it so much. If we happen to get caught, we won’t say a peep about where we got the key,” said Marlee.
“I don’t care if I do get into trouble. It’s for a good cause,” said Alice. “What exactly are you and Joe looking for on Logan’s computer, besides the short story he wrote?”
“Joe said Logan wanted to be a writer and was hoping to get published at some point. I just want to see if his stories are on the computer and what they’re about. I also want to see if they’ve been viewed by someone other than Logan, either before or after his death,” said Marlee.
“Do you know how to find that out?” asked Alice, knowing Marlee was not the most computer savvy professor on campus.
“No, but Joe and I lined up a third person to help us. He’s proficient with computers and can tell us if things have been deleted, copied or moved to another area of the computer. I’m not going to tell you his name, because the less you know, the better. Just in case we get caught, and you’re questioned by Dean Green,” said Marlee.
“Hey, before I forget, I was in here earlier today and your work-study student seemed upset. I asked him about it, but he didn’t want to talk. Just thought I should let you know, since I know how close you are to the kids that work for you,” said Marlee.
“It’s awful. His mother has stomach cancer and it’s inoperable. Jeremy has been torn up over it, but he always comes to work and is keeping up in his classes too. I don’t know how he does it,” said Alice.
“Wow, I had no idea,” said Marlee. “Does he have other family at home to help him? Does he have friends here to support him?”
“It’s just he and his Mom. She lives about an hour away in Cassaway. He drives there at least twice a week to see her and care for her. I gather that money is very tight for them, and Jeremy has to put a lot of his time toward working various jobs,” said Alice.
“Ah, the poor kid. Has anyone looked into having a fundraiser for Jeremy and his family?” Marlee knew benefits had been held on campus in the past to assist students with medical issues.
“He hasn’t talked much about it. I guess I could ask him. That might be something we could do for him here on campus,” said Alice.
“Yes, let me know. I’d be happy to help. And don’t forget to leave your desk drawer unlocked tonight. I’ll let you know if we find anything,” said Marlee, as she opened the office door and walked out.
Truth, like danger, hides in the shadows.
Chapter 27
Marlee drove home for a quick lunch and to change clothes. She was wearing jeans and a navy sweatshirt with the MSU logo, along with brown fur-lined clogs. Normally she would have no need to change midway through the day, but Logan’s memorial service was being held that afternoon, and she wanted to dress up a bit. She microwaved a frozen diet meal and wolfed it down without tasting a bit of it. Then she changed into a long black skirt, topped with a purple and black sweater, and completed the outfit with black low-heeled boots.
Back at campus, she had difficulty finding a parking spot and had to check in three lots before finding an open space. A few classes were still being held, and the regular employees were not due to leave for another two hours, so many of the parking spaces would have been occupied without the memorial service on campus. Making her way to the entrance of the Quinn building, she nodded to a few people she knew. The mood was somber and soft classical music filled the lobby. Students were standing at the entrance handing out memorial booklets and Marlee took one before entering the room. She found an open chair near Diane and sat down. Diane looked at her with red-rimmed eyes and offered a small smile in greeting. Marlee reached into her purse, pulled out two packages of tissues and handed one pack to Diane. She knew that Diane would forget to bring Kleenex.
Looking around, Marlee noticed four large bouquets of flowers on the stage. In the center of the stage was a tripod, which balanced an enlarged photo of Logan. He was smiling and looked truly happy, with the skin crinkling slightly around the corners of his eyes. Joe Tisdale entered the room just before the service began. He sat in the front row along with the president, vice president, the deans and other bigwigs from the MSU administration. A non-denominational pastor had been selected by Kendra Rolland, the Director of Student Affairs, to handle the service. Pastor Pam Striden made her way to the stage and began the farewell ceremony for Logan. Given that Joe Tisdale was the only one in the room who had really known Logan well, the service was generic, but well done. It included singing by two faculty members and a reading by another. Pastor Striden ended the service by encouraging everyone to sing “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton.
Marlee wasn’t one to cry. She had attended the funerals of all four of her grandparents in the past twenty years and had never shed a tear. Not that she wasn’t sad; she just wasn’t a crier. This was different. The tears ran down Marlee’s cheeks as she thought of Logan coming to Elmwood alone, working to make a new life for himself, and then having his life taken from him. As she walked out of the building, she wiped her tears just as a loud sob escaped her mouth. She covered her mouth, walked to her car and drove home. In this state, she wasn’t even able to process her feelings with Diane. It was just too sad.
When she arrived home, Pippa greeted Marlee at the door. She scooped the fluffy kitty into her arms and hugged her for comfort. Pippa finally struggled free after receiving the amount of attentio
n she wanted. Marlee changed out of her dress clothes and back into the jeans and sweatshirt she had worn earlier. She stretched out on the couch and flipped through television stations as a way of distracting her from her feelings. After two hours of complete inactivity, she called Joe to see how he was feeling after the service and to set the plan for that evening. Joe appreciated the effort MSU had put into Logan’s memorial ceremony, and felt that his life was celebrated as well as it could be by people who didn’t know him very well. They agreed that Marlee would pick Joe up at his hotel at 11:00 p.m., and they would go to Scobey Hall to search Logan’s office computer.
At 10:40 p.m., Marlee left home to pick up Joe at the Ramkota Hotel. Although she arrived a bit early, he was already waiting outside the front door. He seemed shaken and Marlee wished she had the words to comfort him. If she hadn’t been such a mess herself after the ceremony, she would have made sure to speak with before leaving. “Did you talk to Alice at the memorial?” asked Marlee.
“Yes, I did. We went for coffee right afterwards, so we were able to lean on each other for support. Logan would have been so happy to see the huge turnout at the service and the positive words that were said about him,” said Joe.
They drove the remainder of the way to campus in silence. Marlee contacted Sanjay earlier that evening to confirm a time to meet him as well. He agreed to be waiting by the east door to Scobey Hall at eleven o’clock. Marlee parked her car two lots over, so that it would not be readily recognized by anyone who was in or around Scobey Hall at that time of night. Joe and Marlee made their way to Scobey and waited for Sanjay. “He should be along shortly,” said Marlee, trying not to become impatient. They waited in silence for over five minutes, Marlee becoming more irate by the moment as her blood pressure rose. A crackling of leaves caught her attention, and she turned just in time to see a dark figure jump from behind a tree. It was Sanjay dressed all in black and wearing a black knit cap. “Holy crap, Sanjay! Why are you dressed like a cat burglar?” said Marlee, more loudly than she intended.
Sanjay Rashad just flashed a wide grin at Joe and Marlee, proud of himself for sneaking up on them.
Marlee used her building key to let them inside. As they walked up the stairs, Marlee introduced Joe and Sanjay, since they had not yet met. The three walked to Alice’s office, and Marlee used her key to let herself inside. Once inside, she used her small flashlight to locate the desk drawer and find the key to Logan’s office. Marlee slid the key to Logan’s office off the keychain, returning the other keys to the drawer. She pulled the office door closed behind her, and the three made their way to Logan’s office. Once inside, they closed the door behind them and left the light off so as not to attract undue attention. It was a Friday night, so most faculty and staff would not be on campus at this late hour. The students who lived on campus were more concerned with other matters and most likely would not notice if lights were on in an office in Scobey Hall. The police had an officer stationed on-campus during the overnight hours, so it was that person she was trying to avoid. She also worried about the cameras supposedly hidden around campus.
Logan’s desk was sparsely furnished, and three boxes of books sat on the floor. A desk chair was pulled up to a computer monitor placed on a stand. Sanjay leaned over and turned on the computer. As it booted up, Marlee wondered how Sanjay would be able to get information from the computer if he didn’t have Logan’s password. Joe stood behind Sanjay and held the flashlight.
Sanjay sat in front of the computer and typed in characters upon request. The system paused for twenty seconds and then allowed him in with a greeting of “Welcome, Logan.”
“We’re not supposed to announce it, but we can get into anyone’s computer anytime we want. The computer center knows that will cause ill-will with faculty, so we pretend to wait and get their permission to enter their offices and mess with their computers,” Sanjay said, looking pleased. He was enjoying the attention Joe and Marlee were giving him. He had suddenly gone from computer nerd to superhero.
For the next five minutes, Sanjay typed on the keyboard, moving from one screen to another. He muttered the whole time, but it was unintelligible to Marlee, since it was all techno speak. “Can you see yet who accessed Logan’s computer and when?”
Sanjay continued tapping away on the keyboard and muttering to himself. “Here we go!” he nearly shouted. Marlee shushed him and pointed to the door, reminding the computer whiz that they wanted to keep this break-in a secret. “Okay, I found some of Logan’s short stories. They had all been deleted. I can also see the days they were accessed. It looks like some of them were last viewed before his death and some afterward.”
“Can you make copies of them?” asked Marlee, pointing to the small printer sitting on a table next to the computer.
“I can do better than that. I’ll just forward all of them to my computer and yours. Then we will both have a copy,” Sanjay replied.
“Sanjay, you’re a genius,” said Marlee, fully meaning it. “Can you also copy the log showing when the computer was accessed? And also, who accessed it, if you can?”
Sanjay beamed with delight. Normally he was one of the most overlooked people on campus. Even though universities were overrun with geeks and nerds, the people from the computer center seemed to occupy the lowest rung on the academic social ladder. Tonight, possibly for the first time in his life, Sanjay was a rock star. “Sure, I can get all that.” He typed a bit more on the keyboard and turned his chair to face Marlee and Joe. “We’re done here. I’ve got everything we need.”
“Good,” Joe and Marlee said in unison. “Let’s get out of here,” Marlee said. Even though there was no indication of anyone in Scobey Hall to see them, she was still worried about getting caught. The dean had made it clear that her career was in the toilet, but she still held out a little hope that it could be salvaged. Getting caught entering an office which, up until just two days ago was sealed with crime scene tape, would not help Marlee breathe life back into her career.
The three quickly exited Logan’s office, locking the door behind them and pulling it closed. Marlee made her way to Alice’s office and returned the key to the drawer where it belonged. She pushed the lock button on the desk drawer and locked Alice’s office behind her. As long as they could exit the building without being seen, they would be in the clear.
Joe put his fingers to his lips as Marlee approached him. “Shh… I thought I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.”
“Oh, my God. We have to get out of here, ASAP!” Marlee whisper-shouted. The three turned and race-walked softly down the back stairwell. It was on the opposite side from the stairs they had taken earlier, but that was fine. Both stairways led to the first floor exit doors. Nearing the first floor, Marlee said, “Sanjay it’s not safe for us to go to your office right now. We don’t want anyone seeing us together there. Let’s wait until tomorrow to meet. I’m done with class at noon. Can we meet sometime after that?”
Sanjay nodded and suggested they meet right after Marlee’s classes in his office. Exiting the building, Marlee waved to Sanjay as he took off in another direction and disappeared before their eyes. Maybe wearing all black wasn’t such a dumb idea after all. Joe and Marlee walked around the building and over to the lot where her car was parked. They were in such a hurry to escape from campus that they didn’t even notice the figure of a person behind a tree, watching their every move.
Lies, prejudice, and threats. All in a day’s work. Don’t be too quick to dismiss the obvious.
Chapter 28
It was a fitful night. Marlee tossed and turned, anxious to see what the information from Logan’s computer would reveal. What if this was the key to the whole case? What if it was a dead end and she had to pursue one of the other leads? What if she were nowhere near an answer? She had more questions than answers as she lay awake. Her alarm jolted her out of a deep sleep at 7:00 a.m. Typical, she was awake all night and then fell asleep just an hour before the alarm went off.
&
nbsp; She stumbled out of bed, groggy from lack of sleep and stress. She started the coffee and hopped in the shower. Within a half hour, she was pleasantly caffeinated and ready for the day. She dressed hurriedly and spent minimal time on her hair and makeup. After drinking a protein shake and packing a quick lunch of yogurt and an apple, Marlee was out the door and off to campus for what she hoped would be a most revealing day.
Prior to her first class at ten o’clock, Marlee sat in her office and prepared for her lecture. The first class was Intro to Criminal Justice, and they were talking about the correctional system, which was one of Marlee’s main areas of interest. Working as a probation officer for seven years had given her unique insight into jails, prisons, probation and parole. Today she would lecture for half of the class period on justifications for imprisonment. Then she would involve the class in an activity in which they would be required to apply these justifications to scenarios. Her students tended to like the hands-on activities in the class, so she knew the class would be fun. In her Policing class at eleven o’clock, she had just finished lecturing on police ethics, and today this class would also be doing an in-class activity in which they had to determine what actions were and were not ethical, based on the standard of ethics she provided them. Most students knew stealing by a police officer was unethical, but many of them were unsure if they could accept a free meal while on duty. The exercise provided for some in-depth discussions of what was right and wrong for police officers while they were in uniform and off duty.
Day of the Dead Page 24