Murder in the Aisles (13 page)

“I'm the same old me, Elaine. I still leave the toilet seat up, dishes in the sink, and I bring my job home every night.”

The waiter arrived with their lunch.

“I know.”

“And now none of that matters?” He nodded his thanks to the waiter.

“I'm not saying that it doesn't matter. I'm saying that it's not important. What's important is us being together.”

Mark lowered his head, lifted his burger and took a bite, just as his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He fished around for it then glanced down at the screen. Felicia's name lit the screen. His gut tightened. He cleared his throat and gave Elaine a quick look. “'Scuse me. I need to take this.” He pushed back from his seat and got up. He walked over to a quiet corner of the restaurant and pressed the green talk icon.

“Dr. Swift. What can I do for you?”

“I think it's what I can do for you.”

* * * * *

Mark returned to his seat with the intention of finishing his lunch and not obsessing about what Felicia hinted at or that within the next hour or so he would see her again. In the meantime there was still the Elaine bombshell.

“Work?”

Mark shifted his focus. “Hmm?”

“The phone call. Work?”

“Yeah. That Dr. Dresden case. Some potential new information.”

“Really,” she said with a mixture of confusion and caution. “His death was ruled a result of natural causes. Is my office being questioned?”

“No. Nothing like that.”

Elaine rested her arms on the table and leaned forward. “I was under the impression that after the ruling the case was closed. Has it been reopened?”

“Not officially,” he hedged, unsure why he didn't want to share details with Elaine that would have been second nature at any other time.

“What does that mean,
not
officially?”

“I'm working a couple of angles. Cap says if I get something solid he'll reopen the case.”

Elaine drew in a long breath and slowly exhaled. She reached for her glass of water.

“Look, you didn't ask me to lunch to talk about work.” He offered a half grin.

Elaine seemed to relax and the conversation shifted to old times. Before long they were laughing and talking as if the hard feelings never existed.

“Look, I can't make any promises,” Mark said while they faced each other outside the front of the restaurant.

“I understand. All I'm asking is that you think about it.” She reached up and caressed the side of his face. “Call when you want.”

He leaned down and lightly kissed her cheek. “Gotta go.” He gave her shoulder a light squeeze, turned and strode away.

Behind the wheel, while his Honda warmed up, the sound and urgency of Felicia's voice played in his head. All she'd said was that she knew she was supposed to stay clear of the investigation but that she'd “stumbled” on some information that she knew would be helpful—Dr. Dresden's appointment book. He couldn't imagine Felicia Swift stumbling over anything.

Chapter Seventeen

Mark slapped his police plaque in his windshield and pulled into an illegal parking spot across from the Library of Congress.

This part of D.C., especially during the early morning until after business hours, was always heavy with traffic, both foot and vehicle. The Capitol Building, the Smithsonian, the White House and numerous legal and government offices, as well as the businesses that catered to the political milieu surrounded the Library of Congress. Even after all of these years in D.C., on beats from the deepest of the inner city to the front lawn of the White House, he could not deny the scent of power that filtered through the air. But he also understood that the aura of power was a distraction for the evil and corruption that lurked right beneath the surface.

Mark climbed the steps of the library, winced mildly as his knee threatened him and pushed through the class doors. He was once again taken aback by the splendor of the interior, images that he had nothing to compare to. He stopped at the security desk. Larry Purvis was back on duty. Mark hid his smile as he sidled up to him and flashed his badge.

“I'm here to see Dr. Swift.”

Larry stared at the badge, then at Mark. “You're that fella that was here about poor Dr. Dresden.”

“Yes, I was.”

“Hmm.”

Mark noticed the video camera mounted on the ceiling aimed at the entrance.

“I'll ring Dr. Swift for you.” He made a call to announce Mark's arrival. “Someone will be with you shortly.”

“Thanks.” He lifted his chin in the direction of the video camera. “How many of those are there in the building?”

“The cameras?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm. Hard to say an exact number, but they are mostly at the entrances and exits, not the reading rooms or the stacks.”

Mark nodded. Whoever did it knew about the cameras and didn't care. “Where are the tapes for the cameras kept?”

“In the security office.”

“Detective.”

Mark turned toward the sound of his name. He recognized the woman from the day of the death.

The woman extended her hand. “Hello, I'm Emily Windsor. Dr. Swift asked that I come for you. She's on a conference call.”

Mark shook her hand and wondered why she was memorable. The only explanation that he could come up with was her incredible plainness and the bright red hair.

“Ms. Windsor, what do you do here at the library?” he asked while they walked toward the elevators.

“Research mostly for the staff and patrons.” She pressed the UP button.

“Been here long?”

“Three years.”

“Ever work with Dr. Dresden?”

“Yes, I did.” She sniffed and lowered her head.

Mark slid her a look. “How was that?”

The doors opened and they stepped on.

“Working with Dr. Dresden?”

“Yes.”

The doors locked them in.

She stabbed the button for the second floor. “Um, fine. He was wonderful. A little eccentric,” she said with a soft smile.

“Eccentric? In what way?”

“He had his own way of doing things, pretty much thought that technology was the devil.” She laughed lightly. “He had handwritten notes and notebooks everywhere.” She shook her head in amusement. “I tried to organize as best as I could, but Dr. Dresden would go right behind me and undo whatever progress I'd made.”

The doors swished open. They stepped out and turned down the corridor toward Administration. They stopped at the third door down.

Emily knocked on the partially opened door. The trail of Felicia's voice in conversation filtered through the opening.

“Yes, come in,” she called out.

Emily pushed the door open and stepped aside to let Mark pass. “Take care, Detective.” She walked away.

“Yes, of course,” Felicia was saying into the phone, while waving Mark in. “We'll talk soon, Senator. Happy to help.” She hung up the phone, took a breath and stood up behind her desk.

Mark closed the door behind him.

The temperature in the room rose exponentially. Mark reached for the knot in his tie, shifted it against his neck.

“Hello, Detective.”

Mark stepped fully into the room. He quickly took in the orderliness and clean spaces, a miniature replica of her townhouse. He unbuttoned his coat. “So, what is this about an appointment book?”

“Dr. Dresden was meticulous about his appointments. Turn to the last page.”

Mark read the last page entry and his gaze jumped to Felicia. “He was scheduled to meet Wallington—after hours—about Steven Hollis…the same night of his death.”

Satisfaction lifted the corners of her mouth. “Exactly.”

He shook the book as he spoke. “This is what I need to get the case reopened and to question Wallington and Hollis,” he said while he tapped the book against his thigh, “and get search warrants for the offices.”

Felicia's smooth features had tightened into a mask of concern. “I can't see Dr. Wallington doing anything to hurt Paul. They were best friends for years.”

“You'd be surprised at what people do when their backs are against the wall.”

Felicia pushed out a long sigh. “I suppose. I still find it hard to believe.”

Mark leveled his gaze on Felicia. “We'll figure it out.”

“We?” she said, brightening.

He half-grinned. “We as in DCPD.”

Felicia made a face. “But you have to admit that without me you wouldn't have this evidence.”

Mark flicked his brows and murmured something under his breath. He pushed to his feet and pointed a warning finger. “Behave and stay out of this.”

Felicia rose and came from behind her desk to stand in front of him.

Mark's gaze darkened as it strolled across her face and settled on her polished lips.

“I'll try,” she said on a breath.

He ran his tongue along his bottom lip. “Try harder.”

A hint of a smile touched her mouth. Mark stepped closer just as a knock on the door halted his momentum.

Felicia backed up. “Yes, come in.”

Mark turned away.

The door opened. Emily poked her head in. “Oh, I'm sorry. You're still busy.” She pushed her glasses up on her nose.

“How can I help you?”

“Oh, I got a call from Lucy. She said the information you wanted is ready to be picked up.”

“Thanks Emily.”

She hesitated in the doorway. “Um, if you want I can stop by Dr. Wallington's office and pick it up for you.”

“Thanks, but I can take care of it.”

“Okay.” She backed out and closed the door behind her.

“Is she always so…”

“Odd?” Felicia filled in.

Mark chuckled. “I should get going.” He turned to the door. Felicia followed. “I'll be in touch.”

“Looking forward.”

Mark shook his head in amusement. “Don't forget what I said.”

Felicia reached out and touched his arm. “Like I said, I'll try.”

He should kiss the smug look off of her lips but instead he walked out.

* * * * *

Felicia shook off the aftereffects of being in close quarters with Mark. Her body tingled from the inside out. At some point they were going to have to resolve this “thing” between them. In the meantime she had work to do and her first stop was with Lucy.

“Dr. Swift,” Lucy greeted. “Here is the information that you requested.”

Felicia took the manila envelope. “Thanks, Lucy.”

“Dr. Swift, I hope you don't mind my asking, but why do you need the background on the vetting process?”

One more person with questions
. “Oh, as I explained to Dr. Wallington, I think that the process may be valuable in our search for new hires.”

Lucy frowned momentarily. “HR has a pretty thorough process and the board of directors as well.”

You had to get up pretty early to pull something past Lucy. “Oh, of course. Of course. Most of it is for my own use—for staffing purposes going forward.”

Lucy blinked slowly as if the action would bring clarity to what Felicia was proposing. “Hmm. I hope it helps,” she said, her tone laced with skepticism.

“I'm sure it will. Thanks again.” She hurried away before Lucy thought of something else to quiz her on and returned to her office.

Once inside, she locked the door. She sat at her small conference table and laid her items on top: copies of the calendar pages, printouts from Harriette and Derrick, the documents from Lucy, and she already knew the contents of the disk.

Piece by piece she examined the information while listening to the notes that she'd dictated on her iPhone. Now she was able to add more details:

Dr. Dresden had an after work app't with Dr. Wallington about Steven Hollis

The list of poets were all fake (someone with computer skills had to have set it up)

Dr. Dresden was found in the aisles—never in a million years

His jacket that he always wore on the floor was still hanging in his office. He would have never gone out of the office without it.

Questions:

Who benefitted from Dresden's death? (Steven Hollis?)

Who prepared the disk with fake information?

Why fake poets?

Why was S.H.'s credibility being questioned by Dr. D. in the first place?

Who did Dr. D get to help him?

How did they kill him without being seen?

Or was it really a heart attack? NO!

She had a lot of questions that needed answers and she wasn't going to wait on Rizzo to fill in the blanks. One of the biggest questions was how did they kill him without being seen? Since 9/11, security everywhere had been bulked up, but because the LOC mainly catered to the politicos and researchers, everyone had an appointment and had to be logged in. The efficacy of a high-tech surveillance system did not seem relevant. What the library did upgrade were the exterior cameras. The interior cameras were located at the entrances and exits. Tourists, of course, were always accompanied by two docents. Still, it wouldn't hurt to check in with Bob Morton, the head of security.

Felicia started out of her office with the intention of going to the security office but thought better of it. She didn't need to involve anyone else, intentionally or not. She'd have to figure out another way. Her eyes widened with a smile to match. She checked her makeup in her compact mirror, added a dash of tinted lip-gloss and click-clacked her way to security.

* * * * *

“I'm not going to the D.A. with this for any warrants,” the captain said, “but start asking some questions, dig deeper; bring me something solid and I'll go to bat for you.”

“Thanks, Cap.”

The captain leaned back in his chair and linked his fingers across his hard-packed stomach. “What's your gut telling you?”

“That something ain't right.”

The captain pursed his lips and slowly nodded. “Well, get to it and keep me posted.”

“Sure thing.” Mark got to his feet and strode out, filled with a rush of adrenaline, something that had been missing in his day-to-day for a while.

“Captain gave you the go-ahead,” Eddie stated more than asked when Mark returned to his desk.

“Yep.” Mark plopped down in his seat and powered up his computer.

“Any new leads?”

“Yeah, a few.” He stared at his screen for a minute and then peered around it. “Hey, you still busy with those cold cases?”

Eddie shoved a folder to the left side of his desk and took off his glasses. “Nothing that can't wait.” He sat straighter in his chair.

Mark opened his notebook and handed it to Eddie. “Tell me what you think.” He leaned back and worried his thumbnail with his teeth while Eddie reviewed his notes.

Finally he put the notebook down and swiped the glasses from the bridge of his nose. He tapped the notebook as he spoke.

“My gut tells me that someone wanted him dead to protect themselves and that the heart attack was not the real cause.”

“How 'bout you and me taking a trip over to the ME's office?”

“Ready when you are. It's been a while since I saw Elaine.” Eddie grinned.

“Let's go.” Having Eddie with him would keep a comfortable distance between himself and Elaine. He had yet to respond to her proposition. Maybe when this case was finally wrapped up he could turn his attentions back to what Elaine had suggested. What his decision would be was anyone's guess.

* * * * *

Felicia knocked on the door of the security office and stepped inside. The twelve-by-twelve-foot room was dominated by a horseshoe-shaped desk with four television screens mounted on top offering several views of the street and the entrances. Beneath the desk were three fabric-stuffed swivel chairs. One chair was occupied.

Bob turned toward the door. His coffee-colored eyes widened with surprise. “Dr. Swift.” He stood.

Felicia waved off the act of gallantry. “How are you, Bob?”

“I'm well. Can't complain. Just counting the days until retirement.”

Felicia sat in one of the vacant chairs. “How much longer?”

“Seven months, eighteen days,” he said with a grin.

Felicia laughed. “Is your wife looking forward to your retirement?”

Bob tossed his head back and laughed. “She's very clear that she has ‘things to do' during the day and I'd better have some ‘things to do' like finish up all those projects I've begun over the years.”

“I feel her pain. My mom was the same way.” A flash of her father's face, bright lights, the eerie sound of nothing and then… Her pulse began to race. The room grew smaller.
Not now. Not now.
She started to count and focused on her breathing.

“Dr. Swift, are you okay?”

Felicia blinked and realized that Bob was staring at her with lines of worry etched between his eyes. She pressed her hand to her chest and forced a smile. “Oh, yes, fine. My thoughts drifted for a moment.”