Murder in the Dorm (9 page)

Without a class to get to, Charlie moped around and had too much coffee. He went off to shower when Kate entered the kitchen because he didn’t feel like talking. Later, in his office, he tried to get into his new paper but found himself just staring at his laptop screen. After a wasted morning Charlie was getting ready to go to lunch when his phone rang. He almost ignored it but picked up. To his surprise it was Kim Berger.

“Professor Douglas, hello. Look, I know it’s very late but I’m at the university on some business and I wonder if you’re free for lunch? It’s on me; Raymond, Teller has a corporate membership at the Faculty Club because of the number of clients we have at Meredith.”

Charlie quickly agreed and they arranged to meet at twelve-thirty. It was just noon but Charlie walked to the Club to be early and get a good table, all the time wondering what Berger could want from him.

At precisely twelve-thirty Berger stood in the doorway to the dining room looking for Charlie. He had a table for two by the window and waved her over.

“Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice, Professor Douglas.”

“My pleasure, but please call me ‘Charlie.’”

Berger sat down and Charlie handed her a menu.

“Thanks. Okay, Charlie, I’ll get right to the point. What I wanted to talk to you about is that I’ve made up my mind to come back and do a doctorate. My intention is eventually to teach computing, like Professor Sommers. I hope to start in September. Professor Sommers thought you might write a letter of recommendation for me. I realize you don’t know me very well, since I did only the one course with you, but I’d provide you with my cv and other stuff you’d need for a letter.”

“Well, I’m quite willing to write for you, but I wonder what weight a letter from someone in the Humanities would carry for your admission.”

“I’ll have two letters from the computing department. Professor Sommers thought it would help to have one from outside. She said there’s greater value put now on breadth of interest, and the mark you gave me is right up there with the best I got in computing.”

“Okay, send me your cv and permission to have a look at your record, and I’ll do a letter for you.”

“Great. I’ll email you my cv and the permission; I know that’s necessary now. And if that’s settled, I’m wondering if there’s anything you can share with me that you’ve learned about the Kelsey and McDermott case. I’m curious about it.”

Charlie decided he’d tell Berger what he could to judge her reaction.

“I managed to come up with some interesting stuff. I think Kelsey and McDermott were running a scam that involved stocks and computer hacking. In fact, I’m glad you raised the issue because I’d appreciate your views on whether you think they could have been doing what I think they were doing on their own. I tend to think they’d need help from an insider.”

“What do you think they were doing?”

This is where Charlie had to be careful. He paused for a few moments, making it clear that he was considering what and how much to say. Best to have her think he knew more.

“I think they were fiddling automatic-sell orders.”

“That’d be a tricky scam. They’d have to be super hackers and if they were doing that they certainly would benefit from having an insider’s help. Have the police come up with anything specific.”

“I’m sorry. I can tell you what I think, but I can’t say anything about what the detectives think or have told me.”

Which wasn’t a hell of a lot, Charlie thought.

“Of course. But you certainly seem to be plugged into the case. I hope when it’s over you’ll be able to say more.”

With that Berger went back to talking about her doctoral application and Charlie felt disappointed that she’d not pressed him for more and maybe even given something away. Perhaps she was satisfied to have learned about the interest in order manipulation. Or perhaps she didn’t want to pursue the matter because she was involved.

After lunch they reiterated their arrangement about her cv and record and Charlie and Berger left the Club. She thanked him again and headed for the parking area. Charlie went to back to his office.

That evening Charlie told Kate about his lunch with Berger.

“So you’ve no more nor less reason to think she might be the third party.”

“Not really. She’s bright, though, and may well have pulled off being a little interested but no more than that. I’m assuming her plan to apply for admission is real enough. I thought of checking with Sommers but decided not to bother her.”

“I’m sure Berger will supply what you asked for, and no doubt apply. Whether she’ll go through with quitting her job and registering, assuming she’s accepted, is another question and won’t be answered for months.”

“You’re right. In any case, I can’t think of what else I can do at this point. DeVries was right that what more I might learn about Kelsey and McDermott from people at the university probably wouldn’t help much, if at all.”

“Charlie, you’re just down because of what she said. Just put the whole thing aside for a while.”

With that Kate went to fix something for them to eat and Charlie, to pick up his spirits, got out a bottle of Syrah from Washington state, a lovely wine. Charlie considered Walla Walla another exception to his California wine preference.

Dinner and the Syrah cheered Charlie up and afterwards he was comfortably ensconced with a good book not giving a thought to the Kelsey-McDermott case. He read comfortably for a while but at nine o’clock the phone rang. Kate was watching one of her favorite shows so he put the book down and went for the phone, which was, of course, just out of reach.

“Charlie, this is Janice Sommers. Sorry if it’s a little late, but I just got off the phone with Kim Berger. She told me you had lunch and that she asked you for a recommendation. I did tell her it’d help if she had a letter from someone outside computing but didn’t mention you specifically. I hope you’ll write for her. I know you think she might have had some involvement with Kelsey and McDermott, but I really can’t believe that. Are you willing to write for her?”

“I think so. My suspicions are just that. I told her I wanted to see her cv and have access to her records. I also told her I didn’t think a letter from someone in the Humanities would do much good.”

“Well, that’s not so. Our admissions people are looking for some breadth of interests and accomplishments. Anyway, it’s up to you, but this was only one reason for my calling you. My other reason is that I wonder if you’re free for lunch tomorrow. There’s someone that I think you definitely want to meet. She’s also a former student of mine, but I won’t say anymore until you meet her. Are we on?”

“Definitely. Lunch it is. I’ll be there at noon and will grab a table if I get there before you.”

With that Charlie and Sommers said goodnight and hung up. Charlie then wondered who it was that Sommers wanted him to meet. She no doubt thought it was someone with knowledge relevant to the case and that Charlie was still helping the police. He certainly wouldn’t tell Sommers that DeVries had dropped him. And being realistic, maybe DeVries was right. Maybe he wasn’t going to come up with anything of further use. Then again, maybe Sommers’ friend might have some useful information.

Chapter 14

The Third Thursday

Charlie’s epistemology class went unusually well that morning, prompted by a productive dispute between students defending postmodern relativism and others supporting traditional objectivism. The fact that things went well was all to the good, but discussion with the students continued after the class and made Charlie late to the Club. He was concerned that he’d made Sommers and her friend wait. Charlie caught sight of Sommers waving at him from a table and he quickly went over and apologized for being late. Sommers introduced him to a young woman dressed in jeans and a Meredith sweatshirt.

“Charlie, this is Victoria Gerrard. Victoria, this is Professor Douglas.”

Charlie and Gerrard shook hands and Charlie was taken with her light blue eyes, which seemed to be peering straight into his mind.

Charlie sat down and asked Sommers and Gerrard what they would like to drink. On Charlie’s recommendation they settled on a California zinfandel blend.

“Charlie, I’ve been telling Victoria about the Kelsey and McDermott case and how you’re helping the police. I also told her I’d introduced you to Kim Berger, who was a classmate of Victoria’s. Now let me tell you a bit about what Victoria does, or rather, what Victoria used to do. Victoria, who was then ‘Vicky,’ was involved with some people who were stealing credit-card pin numbers from rigged ATMs and hacking into the accounts. Wisely, Victoria was of great help to the prosecution when her, ah, associates were arrested and she got off with a suspended sentence. Victoria is now working for a credit-card company, as so often happens in these cases, developing security procedures. Does that sound like her experience might interest you?”

Charlie was afraid that his big grin had already given him away and the small smile on Gerrard’s face made it clear she’d noticed.

“Does it interest me? It most certainly does. Let me lay out the basics, Victoria. Kelsey and McDermott were hackers and I think they were running a scam involving the triggering of automatic-sell orders. I also think they had a falling out, probably about how they split what they made, and that McDermott killed Kelsey. But somebody then killed McDermott, so there’s a third party involved. I’m unclear, though, as to the third party’s role.”

“Professor Douglas, why do you…”

“Please; ‘Charlie.’”

“Right. So, Charlie, why do you think there was a third party? Just because someone killed McDermott? Or do you know enough about their scam that there had to be someone else involved?”

“I’m assuming someone else was involved who provided them with information. I think it was someone in a brokerage firm who gave them accounts to target. I also think when McDermott killed Kelsey, the third party killed McDermott for self-protection.”

“Yes; I can see how that makes sense, but there are a couple of things you need to consider. First off, if Kelsey and McDermott were good at what they were doing, they wouldn’t need anyone else. In fact, a third party would be a liability, as I proved to be to some people. A good hacker wouldn’t need anyone to provide account numbers. He could access them once he’d hacked into a brokerage’s site.”

“What about ensuring that their low-ball bid for a stock overrode other low bids? Wouldn’t they need someone working at the brokerage to help with that?”

“I don’t think so. If one or both were really expert hackers, and one or both were triggering automatic sell orders, they’d be able to block other bids or most likely to give their bid priority by working that into the triggering of the automatic-sell order. It wouldn’t be easy, but they could do it. My guess is if there was a third party, it was someone who provided information about what particular accounts they should focus on. That would save them time checking out balances and trading activity for individual accounts. That would be helpful, but not necessary, so you’re looking at someone who was involved but not essential and so certainly not running the show. If that third party killed one of the hackers, he or she did it for self-protection, I’d bet.”

Charlie thought this a most useful point and thanked Gerrard, who then announced she had an interview for a better job to get to, thanked Charlie and Sommers for lunch, and left. Charlie poured the rest of the wine for Sommers and himself and they soon got up to go. Charlie thanked Sommers for introducing him to Gerrard and asked her a question he’d had at the back of his mind.

“Janice, with respect to Kim Berger’s application, how serious do you think she is about the Ph.D program?”

“I don’t know, but I’d be very surprised if she’s ready to go for it next Fall. The last time we spoke about that sort of thing she mentioned how important her income is because of her mother.”

“Her mother?”

“Yes. The poor woman was bilked out of her retirement savings by one of those bastards who prey on the elderly. Kim didn’t find out about it until she was called from a McDonald’s where her mother had applied for work. Can you imagine serving hamburgers in your seventies?”

“Well, I’ve seen a lot of elderly employees at fast food places.”

“Oh, I know, but that’s mostly people who are finding it hard to live on their pensions. Kim’s mother lost everything. She barely kept her house but then had to sell it to pay debts and medical expenses. She moved into a rental apartment. I think Kim has been pretty much supporting her, and Kim couldn’t continue to do that even if she got a very good scholarship.”

 
On his way back to his office Charlie wondered if it could have been Kelsey and McDermott who bilked Berger’s mother. Over dinner that evening Charlie filled Kate in on what he’d learned from Gerrard and Sommers. She disagreed about Kelsey and McDermott ripping off Berger’s mother. She thought Charlie was jumping to conclusions because of his focus on them, pointing out that taking an old lady for everything she had was quite different from running a complex stock scam involving highly sophisticated hacking.

“Well, right now I’d like find out a couple of details, such as when Berger’s mother was taken for all she had and if Berger knows anything about who it was that did the taking. I could tell her that I learned from Sommers that she’s taking care of her mother and that I’m wondering how serious she is about the application. One thing I won’t ask but does puzzle me is why Berger never mentioned the bilking to me even when we were talking about the case. Her email address in on the card she gave me. I’ll do it that way.”