Part 19 (1/2)
”Several things,” he told her. ”The hard drives on all the computers belonging to the victims have been removed.”
”Which probably means the killer had contacted them and wanted to hide the fact?”
”That would be a good guess. Especially since Mrs. Cathcart's computer is intact.” He smiled. ”Want to guess what our man Will found?”
”E-mail, maybe from the killer?”
”Several e-mails, actually, all concerning an item in her collection.”
”The cylinder?”
”Good guess.” He nodded and sat down. ”But more importantly, Will traced the e-mail to the computer where the contacts originated.”
”So that's great, right? You can find the computer and arrest the killer,” Daria said excitedly.
”It's not going to be quite that easy,” he told her. ”The e-mail was traced to a computer in the library.”
She stared at him as if not quite understanding.
”The library? Wait, you don't mean here?”
”That's right. The e-mails were all sent from the Howe University Library.”
”The computers we used the other night?”
”Unless there are others somewhere else in the building, yes.”
”How would he have found their e-mail addresses?”
”In Mrs. Cathcart's case, she contacted him. She'd seen a mention of Shandihar in an electronic newsletter she receives. There'd been an article warning about fake artifacts, and someone had posted that there are all sorts of bogus items being offered online from civilizations that never actually existed-like Shandihar. The next issue carried Mrs. Cathcart's response setting the record straight. She knew for a fact that Shandihar had been a real city, that she herself owned an artifact from Shandihar and that she'd acquired it from a highly reputable dealer in Boston.”
”So he got the victims to come to him. He smoked them out.”
”Exactly. He got them to confirm that they did have the pieces in their possession, then asked them to e-mail him privately, which they did. Very clever of him. And before you ask, yes, there is a response from Kelly Blume in the same issue.”
”But not Sevrenson or Cross?”
”No, but he could have located them some other way, maybe through Blume or Cathcart. Polly is still interviewing her, so there may be more information to come.”
”Can your guy tell which of the computers in the library was the one the e-mails were sent from?”
”Sure.”
”So, if we went over there right now, and sent your friend an e-mail from each of the computers, he could tell which one was the right one?”
”Yes. But-”
Daria was already out of her chair. ”Let's do it, right now. We'll send him an e-mail from every one of the computers and we'll know right now which one matches. And you could take the hard drive and read the messages that are on it, right?”
”Uh-uh.” Connor shook his head. ”That's not the way this is going to work.”
”How's it going to work?” Daria gathered up the plates and the paper towels and the water bottles and set everything on the counter along with the empty pizza box.
”Sometime very soon, several of my colleagues will arrive, and they're going to handle this. They'll secure the computers and they'll do what they can to determine who the sender was.”
”How exactly would they do that?” She frowned. ”Lots of people use those computers.”
”They can see who signed in at what time on what day, and which of the computers had e-mail sent at approximately that time.”
”What if the killer didn't sign in with his real name?” Daria thought that over for a moment. ”Why would a killer sign in with his own name?”
”As I recall, there are surveillance cameras in the library. I highly doubt that the person we're looking for came in, browsed the stacks, then took his time at the computer stations. My guess is that he came in, sent his e-mails, and left. I think we'll find the times all line up.”
”You're a.s.suming the killer is a man. You said he.”
”The killer has to be one strong son of a b.i.t.c.h. Anderson Blume was six feet four inches tall, his wife was five-nine. They were both in excellent physical condition. Whoever killed them had the strength to handle them both. I think in the end, we'll find there were two killers, both men.”
”How did you come to that conclusion? And what if the killer had a gun? Why couldn't it have been a woman with a gun?”
”One person-even with a gun-would have a devil of a time tying up two people and doing what was done to them. And experience has shown us that women don't kill the way these people were killed.”
Sweet Thing whimpered and scratched at the back door. Connor found the leash he'd earlier left on the counter and snapped it onto the dog's collar. ”I'll be right back. She wants out.”
Daria washed the plates and forks and got rid of the paper trash. She had just dried her hands when her cell phone rang. By the time she located it in her bag, it had rung several times.
”Oh, Louise. I was just thinking about you.” Daria told her about the e-mails and the FBI's imminent seizure of the library's computers. ”Yes, it's definitely shocking, but you're right. Yes, of course I'll tell him...Oh. Please give her my best and tell her I'm looking forward to meeting her. I agree, now would not be a good time...I'm sorry this is breaking up your meeting...”
She hung up as Connor came back inside with Sweet Thing. ”This dog would walk all night if someone would walk with her.”
”She's an outdoor girl at heart, I guess.” Daria set her phone on the counter. ”That was Louise on the phone. She was calling to ask me to come to her office for an impromptu meeting. Dr. Bokhari's plane was earlier than expected, and she stopped in to Louise's office just as Louise was meeting with the head trustee and one of the members of the board. She wanted to know if I could run over and meet everyone. Of course, after I told her about the FBI being on the way-”
”You told her that the computers were going to be confiscated?”
”Well, yeah. Don't you think the president of the university deserves a heads-up?”
”Daria, we don't generally do the heads-up thing,” he said.
”She's concerned about the librarian on duty tonight. She wanted me to tell you that she's an older woman and very excitable. Louise is afraid she could have a heart attack if a couple of FBI agents came in waving their badges and grabbing the computers. What's the harm in letting the woman know?”
”It's just not a good idea, Daria.” Connor appeared to think it over. ”Actually, I think the library ought to be closed now. Would you mind getting Louise back on the phone? I think she's probably the only person who has the authority to put the building on lockdown, and I think sooner, rather than later, is the time to do exactly that.”
THIRTEEN.
”A s I told you on the phone, I'll close the library as of nine tonight instead of eleven, and keep it closed until your people have finished doing whatever it is they're going to do,” Louise told Connor when he and Daria arrived at her office. ”Luckily, there are hardly any students on campus right now, and few faculty members stayed around over the summer, so we won't have too many people to deal with.”
”I appreciate your cooperation, Louise. I've been a.s.sured that the Bureau will handle this as quickly and efficiently as we can and with as little disruption to the university as possible.”