Death Among The Stacks: The Body In The Law Library (4 page)

“
How did that make you
feel?”

“
Like I wanted to clobber
him. He treats women like dirt.”

“
Some of the staff here has
mentioned that you were a captain in the Marine Corps. That must
have been very hard for you to fit in what was basically an old
boy’s club in the 1970’s when you were in.”

Kelly answers frankly, “Yes indeed.
There were some men who found it very repugnant to take orders from
a woman. It was a battle every day trying to salve their bruised
egos all the time.”

The Detective continues, “Sorry for
this very personal comment, but did you date any officers or
enlisted men while you were in the Marine Corps?”

“
Well, we weren’t supposed
to fraternize; it was really looked down upon,” Kelly responds
defensively.

“
So, you never dated anyone
in the service?” the Detective continues to probe.

“
Well, Kelly replied, “There
was one man I thought I was in love with, but it didn’t work
out.”

“
Who broke up the
relationship--you or the man?”

Kelly gets annoyed and says, “What does
this have to do with the murder here today? Doesn’t a person have a
right to a private life without somebody digging around in someone
elses’ dirty laundry?” She continues, “Look--I didn’t have a
personal relationship with the guy who got murdered today. I admit
that I’ve been angry with men in the past, but I’d never, ever
resort to murdering someone.”

“
Have you ever filed a
sexual harassment suit against any man?”

“
No, Kelly responds, “My
mantra is “to suffer and be still.” I learned that when I was
taking a ‘Feminists’ Studies’ class. My teacher said that this
phrase—“to suffer and be still”—was what these Victorian woman were
trained to do. If they didn’t feel like having sex with their
husband some night, they were told to ‘smile and think of England’,
as if they were supposed to be baby-making machines for the common
cause of spreading England’s power throughout the world. My teacher
made it sound like the British colonialists saw it as a way to
insure their future as a ‘master race’. It really makes me mad
thinking about it.”

Detective Sledge could feel himself
losing control of this interview and clears his throat to proceed.
“Kelly,” he continues, “What are your responsibilities here at the
library?”

“
I am the Administrative
Assistant and I am “second in command” of all that happens in the
library.”

“
I understand that you have
been having some trouble with the chief architect of the building
expansion?”

“
Yes I have. It’s been one
problem after another. He rarely answers my calls and it takes
forever for his staff to come and look at the latest disaster in
the expansion project.”

Detective Sledge pauses and thinks
about her response. He then asks, “Where were you at the time of
the murder?”

“
What time exactly are you
talking about and why do you automatically assume that I would know
the time of death?”

“
Try not to be so
defensive,” Kelly, “I’m not accusing you of anything; I’ve asked
everyone that question.” Sledge continues, “The time of death was
around 1:30.”

Kelly answers that she and Nic went out
to lunch at 12:00 and came back around 1:15 or so. Lastly,
Detective Sledge asks her if she knows of any reason why Mr.
Gaylord may have been killed. She replies, “I have absolutely no
idea, but I can understand how someone might have been very upset
over his abrasive manner.” Kelly says this with a disarming smile
that leaves Sledge somewhat taken aback. He doesn’t know what to
make of her. She seems both bossy and flirtatious at the same time.
He finally composes himself and says, “Thank you for your
assistance. Could you please ask the Public Services Librarian,
Hung, to come and answer a few of my questions?”

“
Yes, sir,” Kelly pauses and
responds, “Oh, I sure hope you catch the creep who did
this.”

Chapter Seven

Detective Sledge was working on some of
his notes when he happens to look up to see a smiling Asian man
sitting patiently in the chair opposite him. He starts slightly but
catches himself. “Oh, hello. You must be Hung Tran.”

“
Yes. I hope I wasn’t
interrupting you, Detective?”

Sledge wonders how he came in so
quietly and softly. “No, not at all. Thank you for coming in. I
hope I’m not creating too much of an inconvenience for you. I just
have a few questions I’d like to ask you about what happened
today.”

Hung is a very quiet person. He is very
kind and gentle in his demeanor and is always thanking everyone for
any small gesture. He is a Vietnamese refugee who had come to the
United States back in the early 1970’s after escaping the strict
crackdowns on the monasteries in Viet Nam. Hung however, has a
secret life away from the library which he never speaks of to his
co-workers. During the Viet Nam War, both of his parents were
killed and he ended up in an orphanage. When he became a teenager,
he sought refuge in a monastery and became a monk. He formed strong
friendships with other men in the monastery. Having to live in such
tight quarters with other men and taking communal baths together
often left him feeling ashamed and confused. “Am I gay?” he
wondered. He struggled and prayed over his sexual orientation. He
began feeling more trusting and safe when he met and fell in love
with another man. This man became the center of his universe. Hung
was so in love and serene with this man that after they finished
making love, he often would imagine all of the smiling, happy faces
looking down from the heavens and blessing the two of them. When
the war was coming to an end, many of the monks began to leave Viet
Nam, understanding that the Communist government would not look
kindly towards such a spiritual vocation. Hung, and his lover, both
planned to come to the United States to live and love together. In
the growing chaos that ensued as Saigon began to fall to the
communists, Hung and his lover became separated. They both promised
each other that, should they become parted, they would somehow seek
each other out in the United States. Regretfully, Hung left Viet
Nam and came to the United States alone and with a heavy
heart.

Detective Sledge says, “Hung, can you
tell me where you were around 1:00 this afternoon?”

“
Yes; I was working at the
reference desk with John--John Meadowlark.”

“
Did you see Mr. Gaylord
come into the library this afternoon?”

“
Yes; he came in about 1:15
or so and John took him downstairs to the basement to show him the
microfilm collection. The collection is a major part of the
depository and he wanted to take a look at it.”

“
So you talked with him when
he came in?”

“
Yes; a bit; he asked me
where he could find the Director regarding a depository meeting
that was to be held in the basement.”

“
Did Mr. Gaylord’s
appearance or demeanor seem unusual to you in any way? I mean did
he act out of the ordinary to you.”

“
No; not that I remember,
sir.”

“
Can you think of any reason
why anyone should want to kill Mr. Gaylord?”

“
No, sir; I can’t think of
any reason why anyone should want to do such a horrible
thing.”

“
Thank you Hung, that will
be all for now. I may have more questions for everyone
later.”

Hung stands up and shakes Sledge’s hand
and with a slight bow, turns and leaves the office. Sledge sits
down to go over his notes.

Chapter Eight

After Sledge finishes interviewing the
staff, he meets Willis at a nearby Starbucks to go over their
progress in the investigation.

“
So what do you think so far
sir?” Officer Willis asks him.

“
It’s hard to say for sure
but I think several employees had a reason to kill Mr. Gaylord.
Kelly doesn’t suffer fools gladly and has some mystery about her
past in the Marine Corps. Yvonne was depending on the depository
continuing almost to the point of desperation. To you and me,
murder seems like a stretch but who knows how desperate a person
can get when they really want something. Plus, there’s something
funny about that John character. I mean he does seem to be a
blowhard, but he does have that anti-government past about him and
all. Would he want to kill someone for it? I don’t
know.”

“
Sir, I spoke to some of the
patrons who were here when the murder occurred. They didn’t hear
any noises or screams. Apparently this place is pretty quiet most
of the time. There are some homeless people who come and go from
what they told me. Two people in particular seemed suspicious to
me. One, a young man of about twenty five, and an older woman of
about fifty. They both spend quite a bit of time in the visitors’
rest rooms, which happen to be near the basement stairs. I guess
they can get loud and belligerent at times. The young man is known
to throw tantrums every once in a while. He’ll take over the
bathroom and angrily bark at anyone who dares to come in. I think
some of our patrol cops have been called to check this guy out
also. The woman is also a bit over the top. She’ll come in and take
over some of the private, small conference rooms and scream at
anyone who tries to even suggest that she needs to move on. She’s
been known to make threats and throw books and other things at the
library staff. They are all very afraid of her. It seems the only
one here who can deal with her is the Asian guy, what’s his name--
Haung, Hag, Hang, or Hung, I think. The staff says he’s been able
to quiet her and make her see the light. Not sure if it’s anything,
but I thought you should know.”

“
Very good, Willis. Nice
work. Make sure we follow up with the uniformed guys and see if
they have anything to add about these characters. There just might
be something to them. Willis, I need to find out everything you can
about Mr. Gaylord. Where he lives, where he’s from--everything.
We’ve got to contact the next of kin, wherever they are. Got any
questions?”

“
No sir; I’ll get right on
it.”

“
Thanks, Willis. By the way,
I watched the CCTV and it doesn’t show the area where the murder
took place. There must be a blind spot. I told the Director and she
was livid.”

“
That’s rotten
luck.”

“
Tell me about it. Right
now, I’m going to visit Ms. Brown, the Government Documents
Assistant, who worked at the library for several years before she
recently retired. We’ll see what her take is on all of
this.”

Chapter Nine

Detective Sledge pulls up to
a Craftsman Bungalow home in Old Town to interview Ms.
Brown.
Nice house
,
he thinks. After he knocks on the door, Ms. Brown opens it for him.
His first impression of her is that she looks a lot younger than he
expected her to be. She is wearing a pink sun dress.
Maybe a little “too young” for her, but she pulls
it off,
he thinks. She has made iced tea
for him, which he gladly accepts since the day is very hot and
humid. The front room’s decorated beautifully and looks like it
belongs in a museum. It reminds Sledge of the Greene and Greene
houses or those designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago. The room
could be right out of the pages of “Architectural Digest.”
I wonder how a retired government worker
can
afford a beautifully appointed house
like this?
he asks himself. Just as he’s
sitting down, a brown cocker spaniel comes flying into the room.
The dog jumps up on Sledge’s lap and smothers him with
kisses.

“
Gumbo, get down,” Ms. Brown
commands. “Go to your place.” The dog slinks off to the other room.
“I’m sorry. He does get a bit overenthusiastic. He loves people. We
spoil him too much.”

Sledge answers that it’s okay; he likes
dogs, too. Then he settles down to begin questioning Ms.
Brown.

“
Do you know of any reason
why Mr. Gaylord might have been killed?”

She responds, “No...it’s a horrible
thing that happened. I can’t think of any reason why someone would
want to kill him. And the way the he was killed--being smashed in
the compact shelving—it must have been a terrifying way to die.
Nobody deserved that. I don’t know if anyone told you, but a few
years back one of the library’s employees almost died because the
compact shelving malfunctioned. I was the one who heard her scream
and called 911. Luckily we were able to open the shelves and get
her out of there.”

Sledge continues, “Did Mr. Gaylord have
any enemies in the library? I heard that he had rubbed some of the
female employees the wrong way.”

“
Is that what you heard?
Interesting. I heard rumors that he was quite a flirt, but I never
had any problems with him. To me, it seemed like he had some sexual
identity issues, though. Some of the guys at the library felt that
he stood a little too close to them whenever he’d come to town.
There was even talk that he had visited a male prostitute to get
spanked.”