Death Among The Stacks: The Body In The Law Library (7 page)

Carol Seton is a tall, dark woman. Her
voice and manner are self-assured. She is one of those people who
takes over a room when they enter it. She has a warm, firm
handshake and a demeanor that made you feel right at
home.

“
Hello, I’m Sergeant
Willis.”

Willis blurts out suddenly feeling
silly for having said it.

“
Of course you are! I’ve
been waiting here for you since 1:30. Did you get stuck in
traffic?”

“
No; actually I had to get a
blue pass--this card here.”

“
Oh that. Sorry for the
inconvenience. I forgot to mention that when we spoke the other
day. I should’ve had one ready for you when you came. Sorry for
that also.”

“
No problem. There was one
waiting for me when I arrived. Someone knew I was
coming.”

“
Hmm, you’re more popular
than you think. Come this way; let’s go down to my office where we
can talk.”

Willis follows Carole down through a
maze of corridors and security checks until they reach her
office.

“
Excuse me for saying this,
but I’m surprised at all the security here. I mean, this is the GPO
not the CIA. Why all the checks?”

“
Amen. All this stuff here
belongs to the people, yet you need a security clearance to see
most of it. Honey, you’ve got to realize this is Washington D.C.
Everything changed on 9/11. Everything is a target for everyone.
We’re worried about the terrorists blowing us up. We’re worried
about old fashion espionage.”

While Carole spoke, Willis couldn’t
help but notice the diplomas from Harvard, Wharton and the U.S. Air
Force on the wall.

“
Why should we have to
secure government guides on soybeans for Pete’s sake? You got me,
Sergeant. So what can I do for you?”

“
As you know, I’m here
investigating the murder of one of your GPO library inspectors, Mr.
Sean Gaylord.”

“
Yes, I remember our
conversation. You mentioned that you’d like to ask us all some
questions about Mr. Gaylord. So you really think he was
murdered?”

“
Yes. I do,
ma’am.”

“
Please detective, call me
Carole or Mrs. Seton. Just not Ma’am.”

“
I’m sorry, Mrs. Seton. Yes;
we do think he was murdered from the evidence we have so far. I
can’t reveal very much about the case except that we believe Mr.
Gaylord was murdered. Can you think of any reason that someone
would want to murder him?”

“
Lord, no. Honestly, I
barely knew the man. I do know from his personnel file that he was
a good worker and that he carried out his duties as requested and
on time. It doesn’t look like we had any problems with
him.”

“
Did he have any problems
with any of the GPO staff?”

“
None that I’m aware of.
What I know of Mr. Gaylord comes from the personnel file. How he
behaved outside the workplace is another story.”

“
Thank you, Mrs. Seton. I
appreciate your help and candor. I’d like to see if I might talk to
his supervisor, Mr. Gonzalves. Do you know if he is in his
office?”

“
Sure. Let me get him on the
phone right now.”

Willis couldn’t shake the feeling that
Mrs. Seton was holding something back and maybe not telling him
everything she knew. Certainly she couldn’t know everything about
everybody who worked at the GPO but there was something in her
manner that wasn’t right.

“
Mr. Gonzalves will see you
now. His office is down at the end of the corridor, second to the
last office. He’s waiting for you.”

“
Thank you, Mrs. Seton. It
has been a pleasure speaking with you. Thank you for your time.
He’s my card in case you remember anything that might be of help to
us in this case.”

Mrs. Seton stands up as Willis leaves
the office; she doesn’t say a word.

Chapter Fourteen

“
Why, you must be Sergeant
Willis. Art Gonzalves at your service. Please sit down.”

“
Thank you.”

Mr. Art Gonzalves was a large man of
about 40 years. Dark haired and tired looking, he was a curious
combination of Vietnamese and Italian parents. Many years of
sedentary government work combined with apparent loads of junk food
had taken its toll on him. His desk was littered with empty
Starbucks cups and he had a plethora of electronic gadgets at his
disposal. Computers, phones, monitors, his desk resembled a NASA
flight control center, albeit a lot more messy.

“
Sorry for the mess,
Sergeant. I’ve just gotten some new phones for our inspectors and
I’m putting them through their paces making sure they work as
expected.”

“
I expect you know why I’m
here. I’d like to ask you a few questions about the death, or
murder, of one of your inspectors, Sean Gaylord.”

“
Yes, the whole Gaylord
business – what a tragedy. Why, he was just here not four days ago
sitting in that very seat. He was telling me about his plans to
travel to your area and how he was going to evaluate the GPO
library there.”

“
Do you remember anything
odd about your last conversation? Anything that stood
out?”

“
No, actually it all seemed
so routine. Gaylord did these certification visits all the time. He
visited GPO libraries several times a year. Nothing seemed unusual
in this one.”

Willis could see Gonzalves had a copy
of Gaylord’s personnel file on his desk, amidst the coffee cups and
computers. As he talks, he slowly pushes it off to the side as if
something might jump out of it unexpectedly.

“
You see, it was Gaylord’s
job to inspect and ultimately certify or not certify our GPO
satellite libraries. The libraries had to meet a certain criteria
level before they were officially certified as GPO libraries.
Gaylord’s job was to ensure that GPO libraries met those
standards.”

“
Did you ever have cases
where a library did not get certified?”

“
Why yes, we’ve had a few
that missed the mark. Three this year.”

“
Were they, I mean the
librarians, very upset with losing their certification?”

“
Oh yes. They value the
prestige and bragging rights they get from being the chosen
depository library in their area.”

“
Has anyone become, how can
I say, visibly upset when they didn’t pass the
certification?”

“
Yes, yes indeed. We’ve had
people cry, sob and throw things at us. One library even threatened
us with a lawsuit.”

“
A lawsuit?”

“
Yes, a lawsuit.”

“
Do you happen to know
whether or not the library where Gaylord was murdered was going to
be recertified?”

“
I don’t know. Gaylord was
to make his inspection the day he was murdered. I can tell you
though, from looking at his notes about the law library, they were
very eager to make sure they were going to be recertified and they
wanted to be sure that they had everything taken care of for Mr.
Gaylord. They were planning to take him to dinner to go over any
issues that might arise during his visit. I’ve got the phone
message with the restaurant name and time on it. Looks pretty fancy
doesn’t it?”

“
Sounds a bit like a
conflict of interest going to dinner, doesn’t it?”

“
I suppose it does on the
surface. This is actually pretty common for our inspectors to do.
They encourage meetings with the library staff to explain what is
expected of them and what they should be aiming for.”

“
How about sandwiches and
chips in the conference room?”

“
We do that, too. Whatever
the library wants—is what we say.”

Willis feels he’s hit a nerve. It looks
to him that this whole system and Mr. Gonzolves had grown too fond
of the way things were. This sense of power and what they had to
offer seemed to ooze from GPO staff.

“
I believe our inspectors
are firmly above the law in all their actions.”

Willis feels that things are getting
personal with Mr. Gonzalves. He needs to get control of the
interview back.

“
I’m sure you’re absolutely
right, Mr. Gonzalves. I didn’t mean any disrespect. I’m sorry, but
there are questions I just have to ask. This is a murder
investigation and we don’t want leave any stone unturned. Can you
tell me if Mr. Gaylord had any issues with his coworkers? Did he
get along with everyone?”

“
Yes, I think he got along
with most everyone. From what I could observe, he was pretty much a
loner. He kept to himself. But he did socialize with our group and
the other inspectors from time to time.”

“
You don’t remember any
altercations with anyone? Any fights or strong words
used?”

“
No, I can honestly say that
I haven’t.”

“
OK, thank you Mr.
Gonzalves. You have been very helpful.”

“
No problem. I hope I’ve
been able to help. It was such a tragedy what happened to Gaylord.
I can’t imagine the grief and misery his family must be
enduring.”

“
I’d like to speak to
Richard Masters if he’s in.”

“
Yes he is. I’ll see if he’s
in his office.”

Gonzalves clicks something on his
computer to see if Masters is in.

“
Yes, I can see that he’s in
his office. I’ll call him and let him know that you’re on your way.
He’s just two doors down on the right.”

“
Thank you Mr. Gonzalves. I
appreciate the time and your help.”

Chapter Fifteen

Willis heads down the hallway towards
Richard Master’s office. His door is closed and Willis
knocks.

“
Come in; it’s open,”
Masters responds.

“
Hello. You must be Richard
Masters; I’m Sergeant Ronnie Willis, Denver PD. I’m here
investigating the death of Sean Gaylord. I appreciate you taking
the time to see me.”

“
Not at all, call me Rick.
Please, sit down.”

Rick Masters is graying, late-fiftyish
man, with a pencil-thin mustache. He’s dressed sharply in a crisp
button-downed shirt and tie. He has the look of someone who aspires
to be in a position much higher than he is. He carries himself as
if he’s in charge of things around the GPO. His desk and office are
clean and tidy. Everything in its place. His desk has two computer
monitors with screen savers of automobiles. His bookshelves are
full of model cars of all types. The books in the cases didn’t show
much wear at all. They look impressive but do not look used. Above
his desk is a prominently framed Honorable Discharge from the
Army.

“
Mr. Masters, I understand
that you are a GPO inspector just like Mr. Gaylord was. Is that
correct?”

“
Yes, we are, or were, on
the same level although I’ve been here quite a bit longer. I’ve
been doing this for over fifteen years now.”

“
Did you know Mr. Gaylord
very well? Did you socialize with him at all?”

“
I knew Sean fairly well;
we’ve been neighbors here in the office ever since he started.
We’ve gone to training together and even travelled together. I
wouldn’t say we were best friends, I mean, I’m not like Sean in
most ways.”

“
In what ways
exactly?”

“
Well, his personality was
different from mine. I don’t think he appreciated the finer things
in life, like fine automobiles, fine wine and the like. We could
relate somewhat on the GPO level but outside of that we were
different.”

“
Did you and Mr. Gaylord
ever go out together at night?”

“
No. I mean we never went
out alone, if that’s what you mean!”

“
That’s not what I meant.
What did you mean, Mr. Masters?”

Mr. Masters gets up and shut the door
to his office, looking both ways down the hallway before closing
the door. “I meant, we never socialized--just us two. Like I said,
we were different sorts of people. He liked different things than I
did. We attended dinners with other staff members and also while
travelling to depository libraries. Never just us.”

“
You seem pretty adamant
about the fact that you two never went out alone. What was so bad
about Sean that you would feel so strongly about his
company?”

“
Now, don’t get me wrong.
Sean was a nice guy. We were different types of people, that’s all.
I’m as opened minded as the next guy but I’m just not like Sean in
certain ways.”

“
What ways, Mr.
Masters?”

“
The word around the office,
and don’t quote me on this, was that Sean was a bit, how can I say,
light in the loafers, if you know what I mean. He and I never had
any issues but I’ve heard stories that after a few drinks, he
became another person.”

“
What sort of
person?”

“
The sort of person who
likes, well, likes the company of other guys.”

“
Did you ever witness any
anger or violent behavior around Mr. Gaylord when he became this
other type of person?”