Death Among The Stacks: The Body In The Law Library (6 page)

“
Thought you might like a
little breakfast.” Brewster holds out some coffee and bagels with
cream cheese.

“
Boy, you had me there. I
didn’t think Motel 6 had room service. Sorry for the mess, I
haven’t gotten unpacked yet. I spent my entire night reading the
information you put together on Gaylord. It’s really something all
the information you have on people.”

“
Everyone is on the radar
after 9/11. I hope it has something that will help you.”

“
Actually, it raises more
questions for me than it answers. But hey--that’s police work
right?”

“
Ain’t that the truth? This
fellow has quite a bit of mystery about him; even compared to
people we’re used to dealing with. A real odd character. I have to
admit that part of the reason we’re helping out on this one is that
the agency Gaylord worked for was one that was very close to the
FBI in ways I cannot reveal. There are people in the Bureau who
would like nothing better than to have this case closed as quick as
possible and without any fanfare, if you know what I
mean?”

“
Wow, I had no idea. I guess
this is bigger than I thought.”

Willis feels the pressure of
the case start to ratchet up.
Why in the
world was the FBI so interested in this person and or the Law
Library? Why did they care?

“
So what are your plans
today?”

“
I’m going to start with
talking to Gaylord’s sisters this morning. I’m hoping to visit the
Government Printing Office and see if I can get any information
about him there. Tomorrow I want to visit his apartment in
Baltimore. The guys in the department promised me I could see it
before they remove everything.”

“
So do you need a lift
anywhere this morning, Willis?”

“
Ah, no thanks. I’m going to
grab a rental.”

“
Can we at least drive you
to the car rental?”

“
Sure, why not.”

*******

While Brewster spreads out the bagels
and slathers cream cheese on them, Willis gets dressed and ready to
go. The day looks stormy and grey. The paper says there is a 70%
chance of rain. He tells Brewster, “I have a question about Gaylord
from the material you gave me. I noticed that he had numerous
run-ins with the law, mostly fights and bad behavior in
bars.”

“
Yes, we noticed that,
too.”

“
My question is, ‘How could
he get his GPO job with all that on his record? I mean, it doesn’t
make sense.’ The government shouldn’t have hired him,
right?”

“
You would tend to think so.
Let me let you in on something that you won’t find in his official
records. Gaylord was unruly and did cause a lot of problems for the
D.C. police. He seemed to be on a hair-trigger sometimes according
to what we’ve been able to find out. I don’t know what caused him
to snap so often, maybe PTSD from Nam, maybe something else.
Despite his behavior, he got that job mainly because he had someone
in his corner--his father. His dad was an Annapolis grad and was
good buddies with someone very senior in government. They were both
in the same class at the Academy. Seems Gaylord was given an
ultimatum; they’d give him the job if he stopped all his reckless
behavior. I can’t tell you much more than that but I think that
answers your question.”

“
So he got a sweetheart
deal?”

“
Yeah, and you didn’t hear
it from me.”

“
From the looks of things,
the deal worked.”

“
Yes, he seemed to have
sorted things out. No arrests or bad behavior since. Finish your
bagel and let’s go. Don’t you have a car to rent?”

“
Oh man, I do.
Thanks.”

Willis scarfs down a bagel with a gulp
of coffee. He grabs his coat and bag and follows Brewster down to
the lobby where Agent Simkins is waiting to take him to get his
rental car. They jump in and head toward the airport to get Willis
his rental. Willis still can’t get the military problem out of his
head while they drive through the streets.

“
Would you like us to come
with you to talk to the sisters?”

“
No, but thanks a bunch, you
guys have been a great help. I think I’ve got this one. I’ve got
your number, if I need any help, I’ll give you a call.”

*******

Willis dreads meeting Gaylord’s next of
kin--his two sisters. They are both single ladies who live together
in a house in Georgetown--the ritzy neighborhood in the Nation’s
Capital. Both women are professionals: one is a librarian and
another is a lawyer. Willis feels intimidated by them already, and
he hasn’t even met them yet.

At a prearranged time of 10:00 a.m., he
knocks on their door. The lawyer, Violet, is a large, imposing
woman who looks like she suffers no fools. She invites him inside
and asks him if he’d like any coffee or water. Willis has a very
dry mouth, so he gladly accepts her offer of a glass of water. He
had already notified them by phone of their brother’s death, so the
two sisters have had some time to get over the shock of his brutal
murder.

The other sister, Phyllis, comes into
the front room to join Willis and Violet. She is wearing her
glasses on a beaded chain around her neck, reminding Willis of
“Marian the Librarian”. She speaks very softly as she asks Willis
if they are getting any closer to figuring out who killed their
brother. Willis responds that the law enforcement team is still
gathering information. Violet says, “Ask us anything at all that
may prove helpful to this investigation.”

Willis first asks them if they have any
idea who might have killed their brother. Phyllis passionately
responds, “We can’t think of anyone who would do such a ‘dastardly
deed’.”

Willis inwardly chuckles at her
response, thinking that only a librarian would use the words
“dastardly deed.”

She also adds, “It is so difficult for
me to imagine that this would happen in a library, of all places”.
She sees libraries as “hushed reading rooms” where people can have
the peace and quiet to do their reading and research.

Willis asks both of them if they knew
of anyone who held a grudge against their brother. Violet
impatiently responds, “As my sister just told you, we have
absolutely no idea who might have done this!”

“
Calm down Ma’am; I’m just
doing my job.” He next asks if they had noticed any unusual
behavior or activities that their brother was involved in during
the last few years.

Both sisters look at each
other, thinking,
should we really open up
that Pandora’s Box?
They give each other a
silent signal that they will “spill the beans” about their brother
if it will help solve the mystery of his death and lead to the
arrest of the “evil person” who committed this horrible
crime.

Phyllis is the first to speak, knowing
from past experience that Violet tends to “fly off the handle”
whenever she gets stressed out and angry. This is going to be very
difficult to divulge the family’s dirty linen, the sisters think.
In a soft and measured voice, Phyllis tells Willis that their
brother was never the same after he was drafted and told to go to
Viet Nam. He was very upset that he would have to risk his life
fighting in a war he didn’t believe in. He knew of friends coming
home from the war suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
One of his closest friends committed suicide when he came back from
the war. The sisters had received very few letters while their
brother was fighting in Viet Nam. The last one he wrote said that
his tour of duty was over and he was on his way home.

Gaylord didn’t come home right away,
after all. For several years, the sisters received no
correspondence from him whatsoever and became increasingly afraid
and anxious, desperately making inquiries as to his whereabouts.
Nobody knew what had happened to him. When he finally did arrive
back home after the fall of Saigon, he refused to talk about where
he had disappeared to during all of the time he was missing. Violet
was very frustrated with him for keeping it a secret. She
remonstrated, “If you can’t tell your family, who can you
tell?”

Willis asks the sisters about their
brother’s employment history after he came back from the war.
Violet says, “He didn’t work; he did nothing but drink and get into
bar fights. We were totally disgusted and disappointed with
him.”

Phyllis interrupts her sister saying,
“We knew that he needed some space and healing before he could get
back to his old self.” Both sisters agreed that their parents would
be rolling over in their graves if they’d known how their only son
had been squandering all of that Harvard education. They were both
relieved when he finally got a job at the Government Printing
Office.

Willis continues, “I understand that he
was living in Baltimore before he came to Colorado to inspect the
library. When was the last time you saw him?” The sisters reply
that they hadn’t seen him for about a month. Willis tells them that
he plans to go look at Gaylord’s apartment tomorrow, and asks them
if they knew of anything at his home that might be helpful to the
investigation. When they answered that they didn’t know of
anything, he gives them his card and tells them to call him if they
can think of anything further.

Chapter Twelve

Willis makes his way through the D.C.
traffic to the Government Printing Office. He pulls up to the
security gate and greets the security guard. He’s armed
too.

“
Hello, I’m Sergeant Ronnie
Willis. I’m here to speak to some GPO employees about a crime we’re
working on.”

Willis proudly flashes his
badge.

“
Do you have a blue permit
card?”

“
Blue permit card? Ah, no, I
spoke with the director, Carole Seton, a few days back and she said
to just come on by. Nothing about a blue permit card.”

“
I’m sorry Sergeant Willis,
you’ll need to park your vehicle over there and then obtain a blue
permit card from the security office up over the ridge
there.”

The guard points to an office building
off in the distance.

“
Please pull ahead and make
a U-turn to exit towards the security office.”

Willis pulls his car over to the
security office parking lot and goes inside to get his permit. He
approaches a desk and speaks to a D.C. Security Officer. “Hello,
can you tell me who I can speak to about getting a blue permit
card?”

“
You’re speaking to the
right person. Can I have your name?”

“
Yes, Sergeant Ronnie
Willis.”

“
Let me check. Did you say
Willis, with two els or one?”

“
That’d be two.”

“
OK, I see your name right
here. Looks like someone knew you were coming.”

“
Must be Carole Seton, I
spoke to her days ago.”

“
No, it doesn’t look like
she reserved your card – I can tell if it’s someone inside the
agency by the way it’s coded. This one is coded from outside the
GPO.”

Who reserved the pass
then?
Willis thinks. “No bother, just glad
to have a pass ready. Where do I need to sign?”

“
Just right here and the
badge is all yours.”

He hands Willis a blue ID
badge.

“
Wear this visibly wherever
you go in the GPO.”

“
Do I need to return the
badge when I leave?”

“
Yes, please. There’s
someone here 24/7. Just drop it by and anyone can take care of it
for you.”

Willis returned to his car and
proceeded back to the security gate. Seeing his blue badge, the
security guard waved him through.

Chapter Thirteen

The Government Printing Office is huge.
The whole area reminds him of the Walmart stores back home. He
finds the lobby entrance and is able to park in a visitor’s parking
section. As he enters the building, he is greeted by a U.S.
Marshall who informs him that all his belongings are subject to a
search.

“
But I’m a sworn peace
officer.”

“
Sorry sir, this applies to
everyone.”

Willis empties his pockets and removes
any metal he can find. He steps under the metal detector and it
rings noisily. The Marshall waves him over and gives him a once
over with the wand.

“
You’re ok sir; you may
proceed.”

“
Can you tell me which way
the personnel office is?”

“
Down that hall there.
Second door on the right. You can’t miss it.”

“
Thanks.”

*******

Willis finds the personnel office and
approaches the reception area.

“
Can I help you?”

“
Yes, I’m Sergeant Ronnie
Willis. I’m here to see Carol Seton.”

“
Sergeant
Willis?”

Willis turns in the direction of the
voice. “Sergeant Willis, I’m Carol Seton. You found me.”