Twelve Angry Librarians

“Tell me more about the subject of the meeting you were supposed to have with her.”

“Okay.” Lisa nodded. “I was the chair of the local arrangements committee for the meeting this year, and Maxine was going to be chair for next year’s meeting. She was on the program committee for this meeting, and I think she was on it for last year’s meeting, too.” Lisa paused for a moment, then nodded. “Yes, she was. Anyway, she volunteered to be in charge of local arrangements for next year, and I told her I would meet with her during this meeting to go over some of the things I’d learned.”

“That seems clear enough,” Kanesha said. “Ms. Muller was a friend of Gavin Fong’s. She spoke to me about him yesterday. Did she happen to tell you anything about him? Or anything she might have known or suspected about his death?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Lisa said. “Really, we hadn’t time to talk much. At the luncheon yesterday she spent most of her time talking to Gavin Fong.” She paused for a moment. “Maybe I shouldn’t say this, because it probably doesn’t mean anything, but I did hear her say one thing that was pretty odd. I don’t think she realized I could hear her.”

“What did she say?” Kanesha asked when Lisa didn’t continue right away.

“I’m trying to remember her exact words,” Lisa replied. “I think I’ve got it now, though. She said, What are you going to do if he doesn’t pay you like he promised? Will you send that letter?”

I wondered what Maxine Muller had meant. Was Gavin Fong trying to collect on a debt, and if he couldn’t, was he going to write to someone about it? Perhaps a demand letter?

Kanesha frowned. “Did you hear Mr. Fong’s response?”

“He just said, Shut up, Maxine. Not now. He gave her kind of an ugly look when he said it. She drew back in her chair, and that was the end of it, I think. At least while we were at the table,” Lisa concluded.

After I thought about it a moment, I realized there was a more sinister interpretation. Was Gavin Fong blackmailing someone? And what did Maxine Muller know about it?

TWENTY

I knew already that Gavin Fong was willing to resort to blackmail—or extortion—to get what he wanted. I wasn’t really surprised that he might have been blackmailing other people. I supposed there could have been a less criminal interpretation put on Maxine Muller’s questions to him, but Gavin had been murdered.

Blackmail was a powerful motive for murder.

Kanesha said, “Neither Mr. Fong nor Ms. Muller mentioned a name in connection with these questions?”

“Not that I heard,” Lisa said. “I’d been talking to my neighbor to the left just before that. Maxine was on my right. I had turned to say something to Maxine when I heard her ask Gavin those questions.”

“Let’s go back to your discovery of the victim for a moment,” Kanesha said. “When you arrived on the sixth floor, did you see anyone else?”

Lisa frowned. “I don’t think so.” She paused. “No, wait a minute. Yes, I did, toward the other end of the hallway. I didn’t see a person, though. I saw one of those housekeeping carts a few doors down from the elevator.”

“About what time would you say you reached the sixth floor?” Kanesha asked.

“It was a minute or two before I called Charlie,” Lisa said. “I’m not really sure of the exact time.”

“Can you check your phone to see what time you made the call to Mr. Harris?”

“Of course, how stupid of me.” Lisa fumbled in her purse and, after a moment, pulled out her phone. She tapped the screen several times. “I made the call at ten fifty-seven. So I guess I arrived on the sixth floor about ten fifty-five.”

Kanesha made a note of it on her pad. “All right then, Ms. Krause. You can go. I might have more questions later.”

Lisa dropped her phone back in her bag and rose quickly from the table. “Thank you, Deputy Berry. I’m happy to help in any way.” She looked toward me, and I nodded and smiled. Then she hurried out of the room.

I wished I could follow her. I knew Kanesha was annoyed that I was involved in this.

“Mr. Harris, I’d like to talk with you next. Please join me.” Kanesha indicated the chair Lisa had vacated.

I did as she asked and kept my expression as bland as possible when I faced her.

Kanesha’s gaze flicked to the other end of the room where Hampton and his assistant still sat, then back to me.

Was she trying to tell me something? I decided maybe she was warning me to be careful what I said. Maybe she didn’t want Hampton and his associate to know that she and I knew each other well.

Kanesha’s chilly tone when she asked me the first question told me I could be right.

“What were you doing on the sixth floor with Ms. Krause?”

“She called me in a panic. I couldn’t ignore her plea for help, because I don’t think she was calm enough to think clearly. I told her to call 911 and then the front desk, and that I would be with her in a couple of minutes.”

“Where were you at the time you received the call?”