Arsenic And Old Books

THIRTY-SEVEN

I hated to think of our mayor as a murderer, but this wouldn’t be the first time a politician had gone off the rails and done something criminal and downright stupid. Was it truly that important to the Longs and their identity as a respected family to get Beck Long elected to office, no matter the cost?

Time to call Kanesha back, I decided. I had done everything I could, and it was her job now to sort through it all and make a case against the killer.

She answered right away.

“I’ve finished reading the pages,” I said. “Have you had a chance to look at them yet?”

“No,” Kanesha said. “I’ve been following up a promising lead on the car that struck down Dr. Steverton. What have you got for me?”

“The fact that Andrew Long—Rachel’s husband—wasn’t the war hero everyone thought he was,” I said. “He deserted at the Battle of Gettysburg and came home. He committed suicide, and Rachel covered it up. Everywhere except in her diary, that is.”

“I wonder why she didn’t destroy her diaries at some point,” Kanesha said. “Surely she wouldn’t want to risk having someone read them after she died.”

“Good question,” I said. I should have thought of that myself, but I was too caught up in the tragedy to consider it. “Perhaps she meant to and put them away and then forgot about them.”

“Possible, I suppose,” Kanesha said.

“Are you ready to make an arrest?” I asked.

“Not until I get the details on the car,” she replied. “Then I’ll move forward.”

“Do you know who the killer is?” I asked. I didn’t figure she’d tell me, but I decided to ask anyway.

She surprised me. “No, not yet. I’m still trying to sort out a few details, but what you’ve told me about Rachel Long’s husband helps.”

That was the most I’d get from her at this point. “I see. I don’t have the mental energy to read any more of Rachel’s diary today. Besides, I think we’ve found the part that’s pertinent to this case.”

“I agree,” Kanesha said. “Why don’t you go home and relax? I appreciate all you’ve done so far, but I think it’s time for you to bow out.”

“Gladly,” I said. “But my curiosity is going to be rampant until I found out whom you’ve arrested.”

That got me a rare chuckle. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She ended the call.

“Okay, boy,” I said to Diesel. “Let’s go home. I’ve had enough of this office for today.” I restored the one diary volume to its new archival box, then transferred all three to the storage room where they would be safe until I was ready to go back to reading.

A few minutes later we stopped downstairs to say good-bye to Melba. I was happy to see she was on the phone, because that meant Diesel and I could get away without an extended conversation. I waved, and she waved back. Then Diesel and I made for the front door.

The afternoon heat made me uncomfortable, and I was thankful that the walk home was a short one. I knew Diesel would be ready to get back inside with air-conditioning, too. We had gone only two blocks, however, when a car pulled up to the sidewalk a few feet ahead of us. Mrs. Long stepped out of the car on the driver’s side.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Harris,” she said. “I was on my way to see you. Could we go back to your office and talk?” She was already getting back in the car before I had a chance to respond.

“I guess so,” I called after the car as it headed up the street to the library. I did not want to have to talk to her right now, but I really had no choice.

I pulled out my cell phone, though, and speed-dialed Kanesha. The call went straight to voice mail, and I wanted to shout in frustration. Instead I left a terse message. “The mayor is here to talk to me. Please get to my office as soon as possible.”

I ended the call and stuck the phone back in my pocket. “Come on, boy,” I said to Diesel. I knew that my turning around and going back toward the office confused him. “Let’s get this over with.”

I hoped like anything I could get away from the mayor without giving away what I knew about the forged diary and the family secret. I also hoped Kanesha would arrive quickly, or at least send one of her deputies. I no longer trusted the mayor, and I didn’t want to be alone with her.

I walked at a slow pace back to the building. For one thing, it was blasted hot outside, and I didn’t feel like hurrying. I also wanted to delay this meeting as much as I could.

Mrs. Long frowned when Diesel and I met her at the head of the stairs near my office. “I began to think you ignored me and walked home, Mr. Harris.”

I flashed her a smile. “Oh, no, it’s so hot outside I had to take it slow so Diesel didn’t get overheated.” As if on cue, the cat meowed. “With all his hair this weather can be hard on him. If the walk home weren’t so short, I’d use the car to get to work.” I fumbled a bit with the lock. A covert glance at the mayor’s face told me she was not happy with the delays. “Please come in,” I said as I unlocked the door and opened it.

Mrs. Long strode in while I turned on the lights. She made for the chair in front of my desk and sat. Diesel and I walked at a normal pace to my desk. I removed his leash, and he climbed onto the windowsill. I sat and faced Mrs. Long. “What can I do for you, Your Honor?”

“I want to know why you refused to let my son and his aide take the pictures they wanted earlier today,” she said, her tone becoming more heated with each word. “I know perfectly well the binding of that diary was just fine, and the pictures Mr. Kittredge wanted to take would not have damaged the book in any way.”

“That was my decision to make, Your Honor,” I said, hoping to stonewall her until Kanesha or a deputy arrived. “When you signed the deed of gift and handed over the diaries, you basically gave the right to make decisions about their care to me.”

“That deed of gift can be revoked,” Mrs. Long said sharply, “as can any future donations to this college. I don’t appreciate your interference, Mr. Harris.”

“I regret that, Mrs. Long,” I said. “I don’t see why Mr. Kittredge and your son can’t use the scans of the pages instead.” The moment I said it, I had the guilty feeling I had forgotten to e-mail the file to Mr. Kittredge. “The scan isn’t any different from a digital photograph. In fact, it might be better, depending on the camera’s resolution.”

“You neglected to send the file to Mr. Kittredge,” the mayor snapped. “Really, I don’t understand this obstructive attitude of yours.”

“I apologize for forgetting to send the file,” I said, “but I have been busy today. I simply got distracted and forgot. I’ll send it right now, if you like.”

She glowered at me. “Yes.”

I turned to the computer and switched it on. “This will take a couple of minutes.”

She did not reply, but I could feel the heat of her gaze on me. While I waited for the computer to boot up, I found the card Mr. Kittredge had given me earlier. As soon as I could open the e-mail program, I prepared the message, attached the file, and sent it. I swiveled my chair to face the mayor. “There, it’s done.” I longed to tell her that if her son and his campaign staff made use of the contents of that diary, they would only be embarrassed, if not sued. But I couldn’t.

“Good,” the mayor said. “Now I want to see that diary. I want to assure myself that it wasn’t damaged after I turned it over to you. You might as well show me the others as well. My husband and I expect these diaries and anything else given to the archive to be handled with the utmost care.”

The more she said, the harder I found it to hold on to my own temper. If I wasn’t careful, I’d let something slip in anger, and Kanesha would have my hide if I did that. If only Kanesha would walk through that door. I was trying to think of a way to stall the mayor, but I wasn’t sure I could keep lying and doing it convincingly enough.

“Good afternoon, Your Honor, Mr. Harris.” Kanesha spoke from the doorway and almost made me jump out of my chair. Thank goodness the cavalry arrived in time.

Mrs. Long twisted in her chair. “Deputy Berry, I didn’t expect to see you here, but it’s just as well that you’ve come. Mr. Harris is not cooperating with me, but perhaps you can persuade him, if I can’t.”

Kanesha regarded the mayor coolly. “Not cooperating? In what way?” She advanced farther into the room.

“I asked him to show me the diaries that my husband and I donated to the archive, and so far he is refusing to do so.” The mayor shot me an angry look.

I didn’t try to defend myself. Instead I waited to see what Kanesha would say.

“Mr. Harris, I really think you should let the mayor see the diaries,” Kanesha said in a gently chiding tone. When the mayor turned to give me a smirk, I saw Kanesha wink.

“As you wish,” I said.

Diesel had remained quiet so far, and that didn’t surprise me. The tension in the room was palpable, and I knew he was uneasy. Before I left the room to retrieve the three diary volumes from the storage room, I rubbed his head and told him everything was okay.

Mrs. Long and Kanesha waited in silence while I went next door. When I came back, diaries in hand, they didn’t appear to have moved. I set the archival boxes on my desk and carefully began to extract each book. When they were all on the desk in view of the mayor, she got up from her chair and moved closer to them.

“Please, if you intend to handle them,” I said, “wear these.” I pulled a pair of cotton gloves from the drawer and handed them to her. I took a pair for myself as well.

“Very well,” she said as she accepted them. She frowned. “There are only three volumes here. Where are the other two?”

“We can get to those in a moment,” Kanesha said smoothly. She joined the mayor in front of my desk. “Why don’t you go ahead and check these three first?”

The mayor looked puzzled, but she did as the deputy suggested once she had her gloves on. I had placed them so that she would be able to open them properly, and she opened the one in the middle first. That happened to be the one with the missing pages, and I wondered how long it would take her to notice the gap.

I glanced at Kanesha. She had her eyes on the mayor.

Mrs. Long carefully flipped pages until she reached the gap. “What is this?” She glared at me. “Someone took pages out. How could this have happened?”

“It happened when they were taken from this office,” Kanesha said. “I’m pretty sure that Dr. Steverton is the one who stole the diaries and then cut out those pages.”

The mayor shook her head. “Why would Marie do such a thing? She was so excited to work on them. I can’t believe she would deliberately damage them.”

“She might if the stakes were high enough,” Kanesha said. “Tell me, Mrs. Long, did you ever read the diaries? All five volumes?”