“He does all that, plus he has another job on campus. He works for the safety department and issues tickets to people who don’t have campus parking permits or who park in restricted areas. Jeremy is one of only three students who hand out all those tickets, so he’s very busy,” said Alice.
“I always wondered who handed out those tickets. I’ve never seen anyone actually doing it. Do they have uniforms?” asked Marlee, reflecting back to her own college experience where campus ticketing officers wore brown uniforms and fake badges to justify their positions.
“No, they don’t have to wear anything like that. Jeremy was disappointed that he didn’t get a badge or anything. They give them a ticketing booklet and that’s it,” said Alice, laughing. It struck Marlee that this was the first time she had heard Alice laugh since Logan’s death. She was glad to see the old Alice coming back.
As the two were chuckling, Jeremy walked into the office and set down a much smaller stack of papers than she had seen him with earlier. “Alice, I hung up as many of these as I could, but there were too many fliers and not enough space on the bulletin boards,” said Jeremy.
“That’s okay, Jeremy,” said Alice. “Just put them back in the mail slots of the professors who asked that they be posted. They can use the extra ones to post on their doors or to hand out in classes.” Jeremy nodded, relieved that Alice wasn’t going to force him to go out to hang up the remaining flyers.
“Jeremy, can you describe the guy you saw by my office door a little bit ago?” asked Marlee.
Jeremy looked down at the floor, trying to recall every detail of the man’s appearance. “He was an older guy with glasses.”
“How old? Like my age, or really old?” Marlee asked. Just this year she had realized that her students considered her an old person, even though she was only in her mid-thirties. The term “old” was indeed relative.
“Older than you, maybe fifty,” Jeremy replied. “He was average height and weight with brown hair.” Marlee realized that description ruled out Dean Green, who Jeremy would have been able to identify by name anyway.
“Have you ever seen him on campus before? Does he work here?” Marlee asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see his face very well,” said Jeremy.
“Would you recognize him if you saw him again? Could you identify him from a photograph?” asked Marlee.
“I don’t think so. Maybe?” said Jeremy.
“Was he a white guy? What was he wearing?” Marlee continued.
“Yeah, a white guy,” said Jeremy. This didn’t narrow the suspect pool at all, since over 95 percent of Elmwood’s population was Caucasian. “He had on black or dark blue pants and a gray sweater.”
“What exactly did you see him doing by my door? Did you see him put an envelope underneath it?” asked Marlee.
“He was just standing there. He wasn’t doing anything. I kept hanging up flyers and then you came out and he was gone,” said Jeremy.
Marlee left Jeremy and Alice, wishing them both a good weekend. She was disappointed with Jeremy’s description of the man by her office. He could have been Alan Haskell from the computer center, but he also could have been one of any number of men on or off campus. She went back to her office, hoping for some inspiration on the next steps to take.
Are words or actions more harmful? It depends on the situation.
Chapter 29
Drumming her fingers on her desk, Marlee pulled her notebook from her book bag and looked at her notes on the case. She felt certain that a few of the previous leads were no longer viable explanations for Logan’s death. Marlee didn’t think Joe had enough of a motive to harm Logan, so she crossed him off the list. According to Bettina Crawford from the Elmwood Police Department, the theory about groups of gay men assaulting one gay man if he rejected the romantic advances of one of them, was probably untrue. Marlee crossed this motive off the list. A hunting accident didn’t make any sense either since the gun used was not a hunting rifle. Marlee scratched that idea from her list. The remaining explanations were: a hate crime, an accident, a robbery, a crime of passion or a reason that she had not thought of yet.
Marlee started a new page, assigning motives and people possibly responsible for killing Logan. Al Haskell, a known racist and homophobe, could have killed Logan with the help of his brother. An accident could include innumerable scenarios and perpetrators. If Logan were shot during a robbery, it would have been by someone who wanted money or something else they believed he possessed. A crime of passion could have been committed by someone who loved, hated or was obsessed with Logan, such as Nate Krause, the mentally ill student who went to Logan’s apartment.
Two other questions kept coming back to the forefront of Marlee’s mind. What made the chief of police ultimately decide that this was a suicide? Was it just the short story found on Logan’s computer? Was it because of his bias against gays and not wanting to expend further energy on the matter, or was it to save his own reputation because the PD could not locate the real killer? The second question dealt with Dean Green and MSU Administration. Why were they being so secretive about what they knew? Why was the dean threatening faculty and staff if they talked to the press or asked too many questions?
After putting together her new assessment of the case, Marlee realized that she didn’t have any fewer possible explanations than she’d had before. They were just different. She pulled out her campus telephone book and started making a list of all the men who fit Jeremy’s description of the man by her door earlier that day. After listing ten names, she was not even a quarter of the way through the phone book. Deciding that this exercise was going nowhere, she thought about her next move.
Marlee made her way over to the computer center and asked to meet with Alan Haskell. She was shown into his office just as he was getting off the phone. Marlee introduced herself and explained that she happened to be in the building and thought she would meet him since he was new to campus. This was an absolute lie, since she rarely had anything to do with the computer center and really couldn’t care less what went on over there as long as her office computer and the computers in the classrooms worked well.
Al held out his hand and smiled at Marlee. He gave her the creeps and chills ran down her spine. The older she became, the more she learned to trust her instincts about people. Her whole body was telling her that Al was not a good guy. Marlee sat down in a chair near his desk and the two discussed Al’s adjustment to MSU and Elmwood.
“Did you buy a house when you moved here or are you renting?” asked Marlee. This was a frequent question asked of newly hired faculty and staff. It was a roundabout way of assessing if they had a family and if they planned to stay at MSU for more than a year.
“I rent an apartment on the east end of town,” said Al, enjoying the chat.
“Oh, one of the new apartments?” Marlee pried.
“I’m in the Newsome Apartments,” said Al. “It’s small, but that’s OK, since it’s just me. It’ll work until I buy a house. I’ll probably start looking this spring.”
“The Newsome Apartments?” Marlee asked. “I think that’s where Logan LeCroix lived. You know, the professor who died on campus a couple weeks ago?”
“Yes, it was,” Al grimaced as he shifted in his chair.
“Did you know him?” inquired Marlee.
“Sort of. I knew who he was, but I wasn’t friends with him or anything,” said Al.
Marlee took a deep breath. It was now or never. “I heard that you knew him well enough to know he was gay,” she said.
“Who said that? I’m not gay!” Al shouted, jumping out of the chair.
“I know. I heard you don’t like gays and called Logan names and made other slurs about him being homosexual,” Marlee stated.
“So?” said Al, not even trying to deny his actions.
“So… why did you kill him? Was it because he was gay?” Marlee said.
“I didn’t kill that little fairy! I wouldn’t waste my time
on him. Who are you anyway? Get the fuck out of my office!” Al shouted, pointing toward the door.
Marlee left the office, shaken by the encounter with Al. She hadn’t gained any new information by the confrontation, but she had the sense that he was not the killer. He seemed like someone who would hide behind mean words but would not be brave enough to physically assault someone. By the way he reacted to her accusations, she saw that he was all bark and no bite.
While she was in the computer center building, she decided to stop back at Sanjay’s office to see if he had any new developments. Sanjay was on the telephone when she poked her head in his office, but he waved her in with an excited gesture. He finished his phone conversation without even saying goodbye before he put down the receiver. “I tracked down the identity of the person from the computer center who accessed Logan’s office computer. It was Zack Gable. He’s a work-study student here and definitely does not have authority to be doing anything other than what we tell him. How he got into Logan’s office, I don’t know. Zack is incredibly gifted in his understanding of computers, so I totally understand how he was able to access Logan’s short stories and delete them. He just didn’t go quite far enough in deleting them,” reported Sanjay.
“How long has Zack worked here?” asked Marlee, thankful to be able to put a name to the computer center employee who accessed Logan’s computer before and after his death.
“This is his second year. He started as a freshman, which is odd, but like I said, he has top notch skills,” said Sanjay.
“Did you check to see if he was ever asked by anyone to do some work on Logan’s computer,” asked Marlee.
“I did check, and in the two years he’s been here, he was never authorized to go to any professor’s office in Scobey Hall. He just handles tech problems in the classrooms and computer labs,” said Sanjay.
“Do you have his class schedule?” asked Marlee.
“No, but he’s scheduled to work here this afternoon from two to four o’clock. I suggest you wait here in my office until then. We can talk to him together,” said Sanjay.
“I just talked with Al Haskell a few minutes ago and asked him why he killed Logan,” Marlee stated, worried that hanging around the computer center for any length of time was probably not a good idea.
“You did what?” screeched Sanjay, turning in his chair so violently that he nearly fell to the floor.
“It started as a fairly friendly chat. We talked about how he liked working here, and then I asked where he lived,” Marlee relayed the rest of the conversation with Al, including her accusation that he killed Logan because he was gay.
“Are you insane?” Sanjay screeched again. “He could have hurt you!”
“He confirmed that he knew Logan and didn’t deny using a gay slur when talking to him. He didn’t deny killing Logan and then yelled at me to get out of his office,” said Marlee.
“So, all that and you didn’t get anything from the confrontation with Al,” Sanjay said.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. Al confirmed he knew Logan and had called him names. He also showed that he is a homophobe. By the way he reacted when I confronted him, I’d say he was not responsible for Logan’s death,” reported Marlee.
“How so?” asked Sanjay.
“He uses his words to intimidate people, but I really don’t think he’s violent. Al seems much more the type to incite violence in others through his slurs,” said Marlee. “Of course, I can’t swear to it that he didn’t kill Logan or was there when it happened, but I just don’t think so. My intuition tells me this guy is an asshole, but he didn’t kill Logan.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t hang around the computer center,” Sanjay said, peering over his shoulder to make sure Al wasn’t walking by his office.
“Can you think of some reason to send Zack over to my office to fix my computer when he gets here?” asked Marlee.
“Yes, I’ll have him come over right away, and then I’ll come over a couple minutes after that. We can confront him with what we know and ask why he accessed Logan’s computer. He might be able to give us a clue to the whole case!” said Sanjay, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of the confrontation.
Marlee left the computer center and made her way over to Scobey Hall as quickly as her feet could carry her. Once she was in her office, she called Alice’s office to follow up on something they had previously discussed. After she had her answer, Marlee kicked back in her chair and started putting together her questions for Zack when he arrived within the half hour.
As the puzzle pieces fall into place the full picture is revealed, much to the chagrin of those in authority.
Chapter 30
A soft tapping on the doorframe of her office alerted Marlee that Zack was there. She turned to look at him. Zack was of average height and had a slim build. He wore athletic pants and a lined Columbia fleece jacket zipped up to the chin. His feet were clad in something that looked similar to plaid bedroom slippers. Zack’s dark blond hair was slicked back, either from styling products or from lack of washing, highlighting the acne on his forehead, cheeks and chin. He looked vaguely familiar, although Marlee was positive he’d never been in her classes.
“Dr. McCabe?” he asked.
“Yes. Are you from the computer center,” asked Marlee.
“Yeah. I’m supposed to fix your computer. The note I got said you were having trouble logging in,” Zack mumbled.
“There are a few different problems with it. I turned it off, so have a seat while it reboots,” Marlee said, turning the desktop computer back on and motioning for him to sit down. She was taking her time, waiting for Sanjay to arrive so he could help with the questions. Given Marlee’s lack of computer prowess, Zack would be able to talk techno geek to her and she wouldn’t have the faintest idea what he meant. Sanjay would be able to poke all kinds of holes in Zack’s story.
The computer warmed up and went to the login screen. Marlee held her breath because if Sanjay didn’t hurry up and get there, she was going to have to confront Zack by herself. As Zack moved to sit in the chair in front of the computer, Sanjay appeared at the door and marched in, shutting the door behind him. Zack looked at Sanjay, wondering why he had been sent to Marlee’s office too. This was a one-person job, and Zack would not need assistance on something as simple as this.
“Zack, we have some questions for you,” Marlee began. “We know you accessed Dr. Logan LeCroix’s computer before he died and after. We also know you didn’t have authorization to do it.”
“No, I didn’t. I’ve never even been in his office,” said Zack, with a level of defensiveness saved for the truly guilty.
“That’s not true, Zack. I accessed the system restore files, and I found out that you were in Logan’s office and accessed his computer on more than one occasion. I can show you step-by-step how you did it too,” said Sanjay, looking him square in the eye.
“Okay–before Dr. LeCroix died, he asked me personally to come over and look at his computer because he was having problems. He thought it would be quicker than reporting the problem to the computer center and then having them assign someone to come over,” said Zack.
“Why were you on his computer after he died?” asked Marlee.
Zack looked at the floor, concocting an answer that would be both plausible and would not incriminate him in any wrong doing. “Look, I don’t know what you mean. I helped him before he died, but I was never in his office afterward. It must have been somebody else.”
“It wasn’t,” said Sanjay. “It was you, and we have all kinds of proof. We also know you accessed Dr. LeCroix’s short stories. Why?”
“It wasn’t me! It was not me!” Zack shouted.
Marlee heard some noise outside her closed door and went to check. There stood Jeremy, just as she had requested. When Marlee had called Alice Olson earlier, she asked that Jeremy report to her office at exactly two-thirty. Marlee motioned him inside, and his face went completely white as he saw Zack sit
ting before the computer. Jeremy and Zack looked at each other with their mouths hanging wide open.
“Spill it! Why did you two break into Dr. LeCroix’s office and access his computer?” asked Marlee.
Neither student spoke for a full minute. Marlee resisted the urge to start speaking, knowing that silence was a powerful interrogation tool. When she couldn’t take the silence any longer, Marlee said, “Look, we know you were both in Logan’s office. We know Jeremy got the key from Alice Olson’s office, and that Zack used his computer know-how to get into the computer and try to cover his tracks. We know you both accessed Logan’s documents, specifically his short stories. Now tell us why!”
Silence continued between the students for another thirty seconds until Marlee noticed Jeremy’s chin trembling. She stared right at him, and he said in a wavering voice, “We didn’t mean for him to get hurt. We just wanted to scare him so he wouldn’t turn us in for selling his work to a paper mill.”
“Shut the fuck up, Jeremy!” Zack started to stand, but Sanjay firmly pushed him back down into the chair.
“You two killed Logan.” said Marlee. She had only come to this conclusion half an hour earlier, after Alice Olson confirmed that Jeremy Driscoll’s friend from the computer center was in fact Zack Gable. After that, the pieces of the puzzle fell together.
“We just meant to scare him. Zack said the gun didn’t even work,” said Jeremy.
By now, everyone was standing except for Zack, who still sat in front of Marlee’s desktop computer. Jeremy began to sob, but Zack looked defiantly at the floor.
“So why kill Logan?” asked Marlee “I can’t believe it was over theft of his short stories just so you could sell them.”
“He wasn’t supposed to die,” Jeremy said between sobs. “He told me about wanting to be a writer and how he had a bunch of short stories that he might try to get published one day. I told Zack, and we came up with the idea to take them off his computer and sell them to an online paper mill.”
Day of the Dead Page 26