Murder in the Dorm (10 page)

Seeing no reason to delay, Charlie emailed Berger after dinner. He kept things to the point: he’d heard she was responsible for her mother so needed to know how likely it was that, if admitted, she could start the Ph.D program in the Fall. He generously added that he could write the letter specifying it might be used at a later time. He sent the message, shut down his laptop, and got into the mystery he was reading.

Charlie didn’t expect an answer from Berger until at least the next morning and he almost went to bed without checking his email. On impulse he fired up his laptop about eleven-thirty and was surprised to find an email from Berger. He read it twice before calling Kate over to see what she thought of the response.

“Professor Douglas, I apologize for having taken your time. Your email came at a surprisingly appropriate time. I had dinner with a good friend and talked things over with her and realized that I was being unrealistic. I had convinced myself that a good fellowship would be enough, perhaps with a little part-time work, but my friend made me appreciate that it wouldn’t be enough. In answer to your question, no, I couldn’t start the Ph.D program in the Fall or for that matter next year. I’m not abandoning the idea but it will have to wait. Thank you again for your willingness to write for me. I hope to take you up on that before too long.”

“Now you don’t know if she was serious or only pumping you about the case.”

“Right, so I’m nowhere ahead on this.”

“Could you ask Janice Sommers?”

“I don’t think there’s much point. She very likely doesn’t know any more than I do and probably doesn’t yet know that Berger isn’t going to proceed with the application. But you’re right that Berger could have been either genuine or just fishing.”

As he drifted off to sleep Charlie had to admit that DeVries had probably been right. He felt as if he’d come down a very long way from the Wilson case. Maybe he should cut his losses and just forget about this one.

Chapter 15

The Third Friday

Once at his office Charlie was determined to put serious time and effort into his paper and not give a thought to Kelsey, McDermott, or Berger. By the time lunch was a half hour away he’d written some good stuff and managed not to think about the case at all. His internal clock told him to wrap things up and go for a leisurely lunch. He saved his work, shut down his laptop, and was just getting up when the phone rang. It was DeVries.

“Charlie. Hope I’m not disturbing you but I felt I owed you a call. When last we spoke Guy and I were working on some stuff that I thought would most likely take the McDermott case away from the university and it turns out I was right. I’m sorry if I sounded, well, dismissive, but I had a lot going on. I also didn’t want you wasting your time. The reason I’m calling is that I felt I really should tell you this: we’ve got McDermott’s killer and a very strong case against him.”

“Wow. So you got the third party?”

“No. I knew that’s what you’d think, but the shooter wasn’t involved in any scam with Kelsey and McDermott. In fact, he was a victim. He’s a widower in his mid-forties with two sons in university and a hefty mortgage. He was hit very hard by Kelsey and McDermott’s scam. He’d taken all the cash he had and put it into a telecommunications IPO or initial public offering. It looked like a sure thing and he was hoping to pay all or part of his mortgage with his gains. He intended to sell as soon as he made a significant profit but had an automatic-sell order in place in order not to risk losing everything. Well, Kelsey and McDermott did their thing and he lost big time.”

“You’re sure about this guy? And how did he know about McDermott?”

“Oh, we’re sure. He foolishly kept the gun. He hasn’t confessed, but I think his lawyer is working on him to do so to get leniency. As for how he knew, we’ll learn that when he talks.”

“How did you get on to him?”

“Hard police work. Even though the uniforms canvassed the area where McDermott was shot, Guy and I personally did it again and the first break came when we found a homeless guy who admitted to having seen a man waving a gun at a guy in the alley. Alleys aren’t as private as some think. We got a description and started searching, even though it seemed rather hopeless with only that. Then we got the second break; we found out about a car that was ticketed twice for parking in a red zone just down from the bistro. We think the shooter waited for McDermott and just left his car where it was. Anyway, the license plate gave us a name, the owner fit the description, and the rest was routine. What is more puzzling than how the shooter learned about McDermott is how he knew where to find him. As I said, though, I think he’s going to come clean. Neither Guy nor I think this man had anything to do with Kelsey’s death. We still think that was McDermott’s doing.”

“His finding out who the scammer was and where he often had lunch is definitely puzzling. I don’t see how McDermott hacking into this man’s account would leave any trace available to anyone but a techie, much less a name and a favorite restaurant.”

“I know, I know. I admit we’re as puzzled as you, but we’ll soon know when the lawyer does his part.”

After he hung up Charlie was perplexed. He couldn’t understand how the man in custody could have known about McDermott and especially where to find him. He could have read about Kelsey’s death in the paper, but there’d been no mention of McDermott in those stories. It didn’t make any sense and Charlie was surprised that DeVries seemed to accept the situation on the expectation that the suspect would divulge how he knew to go after McDermott. Somebody must have tipped him off; there was no other solution as far as Charlie could see. But the group of people who might have given McDermott away seemed very small: Kelsey and the third party, and Kelsey was dead.

A look at his desk clock soon distracted Charlie and he saw he was late for lunch. Once at the Club he hoped Baynes or Sommers might be there and he could talk over the latest development. Unfortunately, neither made an appearance and Charlie had to settle for political chitchat.

Back in his office Charlie determined not to spend the afternoon puzzling about the case and started working on his paper. A student at his door promptly took his mind off both the case and his paper and he discussed some epistemology questions for about forty minutes. When the student left Charlie steadfastly went back to his paper and was quickly caught up in it until he realized it was time to go home.

Charlie opened a bottle of California chardonnay and told Kate about DeVries’ call and his bafflement about how the man they’d arrested could have found out about McDermott and where he liked to have lunch.

“It does look strange, doesn’t it?”

“DeVries seems set on the arrested man blabbing to get a lighter sentence, but she may be expecting too much. Well, at least she called me.”

“Do you think she’ll tell you what they learn if the guy talks?”

“I don’t know. I hope she does. Trouble is, we don’t know how long it’ll take for the lawyer to convince his client to tell all.”

“You know, even if there was a third party involved, and he or she ratted out McDermott to this man in custody, he or she couldn’t have counted on the man killing McDermott. He might just have faced him down or gone to the police. Either result would be worse for the third party than keeping quiet.”

“You’re quite right. If the third party, and I’m sure there is one, wanted McDermott eliminated, telling this guy about McDermott could have been a bad mistake and he or she must have seen that. The worrying thing is that if they really do have a good case against this guy in custody they’ll most likely close the case with his conviction, accepting that McDermott killed Kelsey and that there was no third party. That may all be true, but they could be missing something important by settling for the guy they have in hand. Then, too, there’s the looming question of what happened to the money Kelsey and McDermott must have accumulated. DeVries and Matson will probably leave it to some forensic accountant who might give the question a few minutes every couple of weeks. Too many loose ends for my taste.”

“Okay, what about this: call DeVries. If she does see the case as pretty much over, she might open up more and you might learn something. Make it a social thing; invite her for lunch or coffee. She might tell you something that would at least help you put the whole affair behind you.”

“You’re right; you’re right. I will call her tomorrow and invite her for lunch or coffee and I’ll what she has to say. I doubt she’ll know anything new since the arrest, but there might be something she hasn’t mentioned that will mean something to me. It’s worth a shot. Now I’m going to get a glass of wine, read my mystery, and relax. Do you want a glass, too?”

“No; I’ve had enough. There’s a program I want to watch and some decaf will be fine.”

Charlie doubted he’d get anything more from DeVries, even if she did meet with him. But he’d call her, even if again on a Saturday. Later, as he was dropping off to sleep Charlie was again bewildered at how DeVries could have accepted that the man in custody had learned about McDermott and then found him at his favorite bistro. He couldn’t imagine what the guy’s lawyer could do to clear it all up. No, there was a third party, and the third party was the source of the information.

Chapter 16

The Third Weekend

Saturday morning Charlie breakfasted and showered before calling DeVries. Then he had another cup of coffee. Finally he admitted he was stalling and called. He took some comfort in thinking that the chances were good she wouldn’t be at work. He was wrong.

“Charlie; how are you?”

“Truth is I thought if I bought you a couple of drinks you might find it in your heart to tell me a little of what’s going on.”

“Well, as a matter of fact I was going to call you later today. Coffee about four o’clock would work. How about that same place we’ve been to before?”

Charlie accepted eagerly and went upstairs to tell Kate. She welcomed the news, perhaps especially that nothing would interfere with their usual Saturday lunch.

Kate and Charlie had lunch at a new crepe place they’d not been to. The service was, as in most new places, very good. Unfortunately, the food didn’t live up to the service. The crepes were tasteless and the stuffing too salty for both of them. The wine list was limited to popular brands and varietals and made Charlie think of the reasons for that old “anything but cabernet or chardonnay” sentiment that was widespread a decade or so earlier. In any case, he limited himself to one glass of so-so chardonnay because of seeing DeVries later.

After lunch Charlie drove Kate home and went to the diner a bit early. He was sipping a cup of their quite good coffee when DeVries walked in. She looked exhausted and Charlie despaired of getting much from her. He signaled the server and ordered what passed for biscotti for the two of them and coffee for DeVries. She plumped herself down in the booth across from him and told him the obvious.

“I’m beat. I’ve been up since five after going to bed late last night. I spent time at a stakeout and then had a ton of paperwork.”

“I feel guilty now for dragging you down here.”

“Don’t. I needed a break.”

Just then the server brought their biscotti and DeVries’ coffee and both were silent for a minute or two. When the server left DeVries got to the point.

“Umm. These look good. Okay, let me fill you in. Our guy confessed, with more than a little urging from his lawyer. Unfortunately, we learned very little. He knew about McDermott from an anonymous email. He still had it and we tracked it to a coffee bar over on Durant that has three public computers. That’s a dead end. The email simply gave McDermott’s name, a basic description, blamed him for the scam that cost our guy, and described the bistro where McDermott liked to eat.”

“That’s not much help. Obviously someone else is involved. Is this guy you’ve got in custody going to trial where we might learn more?”

“I don’t know. The prosecutor is open to a deal to save time and money. Frankly, most judges would go easy on him because he really was screwed by the loss of his money, which, by the way, still hasn’t been tracked down. McDermott had time to do a lot of transfers and squirrel it away somewhere. As for someone else being involved, that’s pretty obvious but we haven’t a clue where to start looking. And before you say anything, we found no reason whatever to look at Kim Berger.”

“So it looks like it’s all done, except for the money. What sort of figure are we talking about?”

“Our forensic types did an estimate based on the amounts on that list we got and figure Kelsey and McDermott were messing around with a million to one-and-a-half or maybe two million.”

“Finding the money isn’t your responsibility, though, is it?”

“No; that’s for the forensic accountants to do, if they can.”

“Did you find out about McDermott’s account with Raymond, Teller?”

“Yes. It was relatively modest and he only did day trading in standard tech stocks. There were no seriously large deposits. I think five thousand was about the biggest single deposit McDermott made, aside from opening the account with just over ten thousand. She did admit that her mother had been scammed but said or at least claimed she has no idea of who did it. I know you thought she had some involvement, but Guy and I can’t find a single thing to connect her to Kelsey or McDermott beyond her handling activity in McDermott’s account.”