Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Read Wrap-up / Chapter Summaries / Print Story Chapter 5 I couldn't resist the urge to peek in the conference room where Eduard Silver had died. The hoard of police had cleared out. They left behind yellow crime tape and gray residue from fingerprinting kits -- and little else. Only Detective Peet remained at the scene of the crime. When I found him in the meeting room, he was writing on the board. "Archibald will kill you for that." The cop looked startled. I looked embarrassed. "Oops. Bad choice of words. But you're using the wrong kind of marker. That type is for paper. Archibald goes nuts when people make that mistake. Those markers stain the whiteboard. That one shouldn't even be in this room." The cop shrugged. I rambled on. "See the color is a little different from the one that Eduard used." "Hmmmmh." Detective Peet made his favorite comment. He turned to me with one of his almost sincere smiles. "This window faces east, right?" He nodded at the three windows lining the far wall. "Absolutely. I am hardly ever around here at sunrise but on the few occasions I have been, that whole side of the building reflects the sun like a mirror. It's blinding." "Windows like that don't usually open." The cop didn't necessarily expect a reply but I had one. "This building is an odd combo of new and old. It was renovated about three years ago." I had nothing else to add so I left Detective Peet to his investigating. As I turned to enter my office I realized the cop had followed me back to my office. He settled into a visitor's chair and stared at me. Unable to abide the silence, I got to the point. "So you hinted earlier that you know why Eduard was killed?" "Yes . . . probably . . . possibly. That's why I'm here. I thought I could run a few things by you. The late Eduard Silver went to business school in Philadelphia didn't he?" I nodded. I knew that Eduard went to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. "And this company All About E-Games that is giving your company trouble is based in Philadelphia." "Along with two million other people." "Yes, but that got me to thinking about who the owners were. Eduard's death could be unrelated to what happened with All About E-Games yesterday but . . . let's be real. I looked at the All About E-Games web site and none of their officers went to Wharton. Since you're head of research, I was wondering if you could . . ." Fifteen minutes later we'd found the news item the cop had been seeking. Ten minutes after that we had a photo of one of All About E-Games key investors - that one that interested Detective Peet. "See, I told you. Good old-fashioned police work." "Just knowing that Eduard was in class with this guy isn't enough." "No it isn't. I still have more good old-fashioned police work to do. Would you print that page?" The cop trimmed the paper and then began to show the photo around. He called the employees into my office, one by one. Kim arrived with a huff but she arrived. She was obedient to a fault - but rude. "What?" She snapped. "I was wondering if you've ever seen this man before." Kim ripped the page out of the policeman's hand. "I don't think so." She spoke almost before she'd had time to look. "Who is he?" "You don't know?" Kim noted the policeman's disappointment. "Did he kill Eduard?" The policeman shrugged. I studied Kim. Her desperation to please authority was once again evident. She scrunched up her face and studied the photo as if she were being graded on her efforts. "Maybe I saw him." I watched the detective affect nonchalance as he studied Kim's face intently. "This might have been the guy . . . I can't tell . . . it mightI think this was the guy I saw him with at dinner." She looked to the detective for affirmation. Whatever she saw made her go on. "I'd have to see another picture but it might have been." Victor responded eagerly to the call. He charged across the play area immediately. He studied the picture that the cop presented without comment. He took short deep breaths and bit his lip. "Is this the person who killed Eduard?" The detective assured him we simply wanted to identify the man. Victor considered the photo for another minute then shook his head. "No. I don't know him." He handed the page back to the cop without making eye contact. Archibald was next. At Detective Peet's request he skated into my office. "Sure. I know him." Archibald recognized the man in the photo at a glance. He identified him as a major investor in All About E-games. "The business isn't that big. We all know each other." In response to Detective Peet's question he speculated that Eduard probably knew him. "That's not at all unusual. The guy isn't active in the business. He was a first round investor. Public company. You oughtta look at the documents. That's all?" It wasn't. While the detective had the CEO's attention, he had a line of questioning to follow. "You were the one who made sure that Anthony was out of the office all night." "Me. No way dude. I simply gave the guy some football tickets. He had a bad day. I wanted to make him feel better." "Yes, but at the football game you introduced him to a young lady." "A friend of my son. Actually, his babysitter. How could I know . . . I mean why would I think that would mean that Anthony would be out all night? No offense to Anthony, but he's not much of a ladies man. It never occurred to me." Archibald's brutal honesty was brutal to Anthony. "But you left them alone." "With fifty thousand other people. I was tired. I had a lot to worry about. The last thing I wanted to do last night was go to a football game. As you may have noticed my entire business is in jeopardy. As I explained, I left early." "Yes. Yes, you did." The cop's agreement sounded more like an accusation -- one that Archibald ignored. He stepped out of my office and skated across the shiny surface of the play area. I called Anthony who told me he was deeply involved in a programming problem. "Anthony, I know you're busy but this is kind of important." "Anthony, if you get murdered, I'll take a break to find your murderer." "Anthony, I have a candy bar in my drawer." "No, it doesn't." "It better not have nuts." Anthony flung himself into the office and the chair in one motion. I flipped him the candy and he ripped the package open as he rested two feet on top of my desk knocking over a pile of magazines. I didn't object. Verbally. "Okay, bub, where's the photo?" Anthony waved his arm impatiently. "I got big stuff going on." Detective Peet appeared neither annoyed nor impressed by Anthony's behavior. I knew from his earlier comment that the cop was fighting his natural reaction. The cop simply handed Anthony the page. Anthony studied the picture. "This the guy who killed Eduard?" The detective didn't respond even when Anthony flipped the paper back at him. "Never saw him. Gotta go." And he did - tripping over a chair in the process. "What's this?" He was staring at the carpet. Anthony sees stars invisible to the naked eye. That day he saw a pin. He leaned down and pulled it from the rug. "You lost the needle from your sewing kit." He tone was pejorative. "Someone could get hurt on this. Someone already was." He looked at the smeared red on the tip. Anthony tried to pass me the needle but the cop intercepted it. He stared at it thoughtfully before wandering off to the conference room. "You know this case is shaping up nicely." The policeman settled back into my chair. "What about me?" The detective and I turned to see Catrina standing in the doorway. "You've had everyone in and out of this office but me. I figured it was my turn." "The detective just wanted to know if anyone recognized this man." I passed the paper to Catrina. I didn't catch her reaction but I caught the cop's reaction to her reaction. I followed the cop's gaze to Catrina's face. "Did he kill Eduard?" Her voice quavered. "Catrina, do you know him?" The cop's tone was soft and encouraging. Catrina shook her head. "No." Her answer was almost a protest. "I never saw him. I just . . . I mean how could someone kill Eduard." She began to sob and ran from the office towards the ladies room. Peet nodded that I should follow. Apparently I had been deputized. Consoling weeping people is not one of my strong points but Catrina's sobs were so violent that I couldn't help but wrap an arm around her. I mumbled something comforting. "I know this is a shock." I didn't add that because of the thin walls in my office I knew about her crush. "It is for all of us." There were no paper towels so I pulled toilet paper off the roll to wipe her tears. "You know if you care about Eduard all you can do for him now is help catch his killer." She shook her head. "I can't help it." She met my eyes in the mirror. "I can't. I need to be alone." She grabbed more tissue and rushed towards her office. I found Detective Peet at my desk when I returned. He was on the phone. Apparently on hold. "Catrina had red ink on her hands." I explained that I had seen her touch the whiteboard in the conference room after we discovered Eduard's body. She'd touched the words he'd written on the board almost reverentially. "Convenient, don't you think? Letting you see that?" His eyes sparkled. Then the person at the other end picked up. Listening to his side of the conversation provided no insight. He wasn't doing much of the talking. I settled into the visitor's chair. When the detective hung up he folded his hands in front of him and leaned forward. "If I told you that Eduard was sabotaging Risk-eGames, who would be a suspect in his murder?" "Are you absolutely sure that his death is related to yesterday's . . ."I searched for a word and finally decided on "events." "You're sure that no one outside the office wanted to kill Eduard Silver?" "For all I know hundreds of people outside the office wanted to kill him. But they didn't have the same opportunity. There is no sign of forced entry anywhere in this building or in this office. So, who would be your prime suspect?" "Who wouldn't be a suspect? We all would be viable suspects. Including me." I waited for the cop to laugh. He didn't. I continued. "We all gave up a lot to work here. I don't know all the individual deals but I know that we are all working for equity. If someone sabotaged the firm, they would have stolen from us. All of us." I thought for a moment. "With the possible exception of Catrina. She has no real financial investment in the firm. For her this is just a job. For the rest of us it was kind of a dream." At last the cop smiled - at my feet. "You always dreamed of a job where you didn't have to wear shoes?" "Among other things." When the detective left and I returned to my desk, I realized all eyes were on me. Except Anthony's. Apparently Anthony didn't care why I was in conference with the cops. The others studied me as I feigned ignorance of their stares. Some of the looks were accusatory; some were fearful. Eventually interest in me faded. I was hoping that the police would let us leave soon. Evening was approaching and I wanted to go home. The Risk-eGames office has a long hallway that leads from the entrance to the play area. On that hallway are the rest rooms and the utility closet as well as a small kitchen. The eight offices --seven occupied -- are arranged around the play area. Well, from that day forward, six occupied offices. At the opposite end of the play area is the small conference room where Eduard Silver's body was found. I headed away from the conference room down the hall towards the ladies room. Just outside the utility closet, my stocking covered foot hit something damp. I patted the area with my foot and found a small wet spot on the area rug. Had I managed to find every spill in the office? What was leaking around here? At that point, I noticed that the door to the utility closet wasn't locked tight. Looking for a leaky item I pushed the door in. Nothing looked out of place - but I didn't generally check the utility closet. There was the usual array of buckets, mops, broom and cleaning materials. None of them appeared to be the source of the problem. I reached over my shoulder and turned on the overhead fluorescent lighting. The bulb shed no additional light on the situation. I backed towards the door for a better view. I was close to the exit when I felt a foot in the center of my back. The force threw me forward into a metal shelf. I fell onto one knee. Plastic bottles fell on my head. The full ones hurt. Behind me I heard a slam. I stared at the metal door with amazement. I tried to pull it open, but it secured from the outside. Someone had just locked me in the utility closet. Why? I was going to get out. All I had to do was knock. Soon someone would pass on the way to the ladies room and hear me and I would get out. Locking me inside was a futile effort. I knocked and I called. No one heard me but I wasn't worried. Not that it was pleasant in the closet. The air stank. Cleaning fluids. Not that I knew from personal experience. My first disposable dollars went to a cleaning service. I knocked on the door in vain. My eyes were burning. I sat on the floor and slumped against the cold door. The metal was cold to the touch but I didn't mind. I was tired. Only my coughing was keeping me awake. I pushed an oversized bucket on wheels away to clear the air. I rolled into a prone position, closed my eyes and yawned. The day had been exhausting. I felt like I could sleep on the cement floor. I didn't have to. "I was just walking by and I heard coughing." Kim was playing the heroine. She had me propped up against the ping-pong table. She had gathered the other employees to congratulate her on her valor. "The door was locked from the outside. So I sent Catrina for the key." I was coughing but not that badly. I was fine. I'd simply gotten sleepy when locked in the closet. I had a mild reaction to all the fumes in the closet. I was suffering a lot more from being propped up on a ping-pong table than I was from my stay on the closet floor. Detective Peet watched from the door of my office as all the employees fluttered around me - except Anthony who remained glued to his pc in his office. The cop had heard my story and checked out the closet. We'd all watched him curiously as, taking a different route each time, he paced the length of the office in bare feet. He'd laid some crime scene tape in certain spots and called to his office for backup. Then he returned to his position leaning against the door jam to observe. He'd doffed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Despite his stillness, he gave the appearance of working hard. "Why would anyone lock me in the closet?" I didn't get the point. "It must have something to do with Eduard's death," Catrina said breathlessly. "Why?" Kim asked with annoyance. "What else?" Victor snapped. "Now let's not jump to conclusions." Archibald tried to play the leader. "Okay, I've had it. Let's get this over with. My son has a soccer game tomorrow and I don't want to miss it. I want everyone here in five minutes." Detective Peet did not sound happy. "And I mean everyone." ow to get one in this crowd. In our little dot.com of big egos, he was going to flatter a confession out of the perpetrator. |
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Read Wrap-up / Chapter Summaries / Print Story Chapter 5 I couldn't resist the urge to peek in the conference room where Eduard Silver had died. The hoard of police had cleared out. They left behind yellow crime tape and gray residue from fingerprinting kits -- and little else. Only Detective Peet remained at the scene of the crime. When I found him in the meeting room, he was writing on the board. "Archibald will kill you for that." The cop looked startled. I looked embarrassed. "Oops. Bad choice of words. But you're using the wrong kind of marker. That type is for paper. Archibald goes nuts when people make that mistake. Those markers stain the whiteboard. That one shouldn't even be in this room." The cop shrugged. I rambled on. "See the color is a little different from the one that Eduard used." "Hmmmmh." Detective Peet made his favorite comment. He turned to me with one of his almost sincere smiles. "This window faces east, right?" He nodded at the three windows lining the far wall. "Absolutely. I am hardly ever around here at sunrise but on the few occasions I have been, that whole side of the building reflects the sun like a mirror. It's blinding." "Windows like that don't usually open." The cop didn't necessarily expect a reply but I had one. "This building is an odd combo of new and old. It was renovated about three years ago." I had nothing else to add so I left Detective Peet to his investigating. As I turned to enter my office I realized the cop had followed me back to my office. He settled into a visitor's chair and stared at me. Unable to abide the silence, I got to the point. "So you hinted earlier that you know why Eduard was killed?" "Yes . . . probably . . . possibly. That's why I'm here. I thought I could run a few things by you. The late Eduard Silver went to business school in Philadelphia didn't he?" I nodded. I knew that Eduard went to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. "And this company All About E-Games that is giving your company trouble is based in Philadelphia." "Along with two million other people." "Yes, but that got me to thinking about who the owners were. Eduard's death could be unrelated to what happened with All About E-Games yesterday but . . . let's be real. I looked at the All About E-Games web site and none of their officers went to Wharton. Since you're head of research, I was wondering if you could . . ." Fifteen minutes later we'd found the news item the cop had been seeking. Ten minutes after that we had a photo of one of All About E-Games key investors - that one that interested Detective Peet. "See, I told you. Good old-fashioned police work." "Just knowing that Eduard was in class with this guy isn't enough." "No it isn't. I still have more good old-fashioned police work to do. Would you print that page?" The cop trimmed the paper and then began to show the photo around. He called the employees into my office, one by one. Kim arrived with a huff but she arrived. She was obedient to a fault - but rude. "What?" She snapped. "I was wondering if you've ever seen this man before." Kim ripped the page out of the policeman's hand. "I don't think so." She spoke almost before she'd had time to look. "Who is he?" "You don't know?" Kim noted the policeman's disappointment. "Did he kill Eduard?" The policeman shrugged. I studied Kim. Her desperation to please authority was once again evident. She scrunched up her face and studied the photo as if she were being graded on her efforts. "Maybe I saw him." I watched the detective affect nonchalance as he studied Kim's face intently. "This might have been the guy . . . I can't tell . . . it mightI think this was the guy I saw him with at dinner." She looked to the detective for affirmation. Whatever she saw made her go on. "I'd have to see another picture but it might have been." Victor responded eagerly to the call. He charged across the play area immediately. He studied the picture that the cop presented without comment. He took short deep breaths and bit his lip. "Is this the person who killed Eduard?" The detective assured him we simply wanted to identify the man. Victor considered the photo for another minute then shook his head. "No. I don't know him." He handed the page back to the cop without making eye contact. Archibald was next. At Detective Peet's request he skated into my office. "Sure. I know him." Archibald recognized the man in the photo at a glance. He identified him as a major investor in All About E-games. "The business isn't that big. We all know each other." In response to Detective Peet's question he speculated that Eduard probably knew him. "That's not at all unusual. The guy isn't active in the business. He was a first round investor. Public company. You oughtta look at the documents. That's all?" It wasn't. While the detective had the CEO's attention, he had a line of questioning to follow. "You were the one who made sure that Anthony was out of the office all night." "Me. No way dude. I simply gave the guy some football tickets. He had a bad day. I wanted to make him feel better." "Yes, but at the football game you introduced him to a young lady." "A friend of my son. Actually, his babysitter. How could I know . . . I mean why would I think that would mean that Anthony would be out all night? No offense to Anthony, but he's not much of a ladies man. It never occurred to me." Archibald's brutal honesty was brutal to Anthony. "But you left them alone." "With fifty thousand other people. I was tired. I had a lot to worry about. The last thing I wanted to do last night was go to a football game. As you may have noticed my entire business is in jeopardy. As I explained, I left early." "Yes. Yes, you did." The cop's agreement sounded more like an accusation -- one that Archibald ignored. He stepped out of my office and skated across the shiny surface of the play area. I called Anthony who told me he was deeply involved in a programming problem. "Anthony, I know you're busy but this is kind of important." "Anthony, if you get murdered, I'll take a break to find your murderer." "Anthony, I have a candy bar in my drawer." "No, it doesn't." "It better not have nuts." Anthony flung himself into the office and the chair in one motion. I flipped him the candy and he ripped the package open as he rested two feet on top of my desk knocking over a pile of magazines. I didn't object. Verbally. "Okay, bub, where's the photo?" Anthony waved his arm impatiently. "I got big stuff going on." Detective Peet appeared neither annoyed nor impressed by Anthony's behavior. I knew from his earlier comment that the cop was fighting his natural reaction. The cop simply handed Anthony the page. Anthony studied the picture. "This the guy who killed Eduard?" The detective didn't respond even when Anthony flipped the paper back at him. "Never saw him. Gotta go." And he did - tripping over a chair in the process. "What's this?" He was staring at the carpet. Anthony sees stars invisible to the naked eye. That day he saw a pin. He leaned down and pulled it from the rug. "You lost the needle from your sewing kit." He tone was pejorative. "Someone could get hurt on this. Someone already was." He looked at the smeared red on the tip. Anthony tried to pass me the needle but the cop intercepted it. He stared at it thoughtfully before wandering off to the conference room. "You know this case is shaping up nicely." The policeman settled back into my chair. "What about me?" The detective and I turned to see Catrina standing in the doorway. "You've had everyone in and out of this office but me. I figured it was my turn." "The detective just wanted to know if anyone recognized this man." I passed the paper to Catrina. I didn't catch her reaction but I caught the cop's reaction to her reaction. I followed the cop's gaze to Catrina's face. "Did he kill Eduard?" Her voice quavered. "Catrina, do you know him?" The cop's tone was soft and encouraging. Catrina shook her head. "No." Her answer was almost a protest. "I never saw him. I just . . . I mean how could someone kill Eduard." She began to sob and ran from the office towards the ladies room. Peet nodded that I should follow. Apparently I had been deputized. Consoling weeping people is not one of my strong points but Catrina's sobs were so violent that I couldn't help but wrap an arm around her. I mumbled something comforting. "I know this is a shock." I didn't add that because of the thin walls in my office I knew about her crush. "It is for all of us." There were no paper towels so I pulled toilet paper off the roll to wipe her tears. "You know if you care about Eduard all you can do for him now is help catch his killer." She shook her head. "I can't help it." She met my eyes in the mirror. "I can't. I need to be alone." She grabbed more tissue and rushed towards her office. I found Detective Peet at my desk when I returned. He was on the phone. Apparently on hold. "Catrina had red ink on her hands." I explained that I had seen her touch the whiteboard in the conference room after we discovered Eduard's body. She'd touched the words he'd written on the board almost reverentially. "Convenient, don't you think? Letting you see that?" His eyes sparkled. Then the person at the other end picked up. Listening to his side of the conversation provided no insight. He wasn't doing much of the talking. I settled into the visitor's chair. When the detective hung up he folded his hands in front of him and leaned forward. "If I told you that Eduard was sabotaging Risk-eGames, who would be a suspect in his murder?" "Are you absolutely sure that his death is related to yesterday's . . ."I searched for a word and finally decided on "events." "You're sure that no one outside the office wanted to kill Eduard Silver?" "For all I know hundreds of people outside the office wanted to kill him. But they didn't have the same opportunity. There is no sign of forced entry anywhere in this building or in this office. So, who would be your prime suspect?" "Who wouldn't be a suspect? We all would be viable suspects. Including me." I waited for the cop to laugh. He didn't. I continued. "We all gave up a lot to work here. I don't know all the individual deals but I know that we are all working for equity. If someone sabotaged the firm, they would have stolen from us. All of us." I thought for a moment. "With the possible exception of Catrina. She has no real financial investment in the firm. For her this is just a job. For the rest of us it was kind of a dream." At last the cop smiled - at my feet. "You always dreamed of a job where you didn't have to wear shoes?" "Among other things." When the detective left and I returned to my desk, I realized all eyes were on me. Except Anthony's. Apparently Anthony didn't care why I was in conference with the cops. The others studied me as I feigned ignorance of their stares. Some of the looks were accusatory; some were fearful. Eventually interest in me faded. I was hoping that the police would let us leave soon. Evening was approaching and I wanted to go home. The Risk-eGames office has a long hallway that leads from the entrance to the play area. On that hallway are the rest rooms and the utility closet as well as a small kitchen. The eight offices --seven occupied -- are arranged around the play area. Well, from that day forward, six occupied offices. At the opposite end of the play area is the small conference room where Eduard Silver's body was found. I headed away from the conference room down the hall towards the ladies room. Just outside the utility closet, my stocking covered foot hit something damp. I patted the area with my foot and found a small wet spot on the area rug. Had I managed to find every spill in the office? What was leaking around here? At that point, I noticed that the door to the utility closet wasn't locked tight. Looking for a leaky item I pushed the door in. Nothing looked out of place - but I didn't generally check the utility closet. There was the usual array of buckets, mops, broom and cleaning materials. None of them appeared to be the source of the problem. I reached over my shoulder and turned on the overhead fluorescent lighting. The bulb shed no additional light on the situation. I backed towards the door for a better view. I was close to the exit when I felt a foot in the center of my back. The force threw me forward into a metal shelf. I fell onto one knee. Plastic bottles fell on my head. The full ones hurt. Behind me I heard a slam. I stared at the metal door with amazement. I tried to pull it open, but it secured from the outside. Someone had just locked me in the utility closet. Why? I was going to get out. All I had to do was knock. Soon someone would pass on the way to the ladies room and hear me and I would get out. Locking me inside was a futile effort. I knocked and I called. No one heard me but I wasn't worried. Not that it was pleasant in the closet. The air stank. Cleaning fluids. Not that I knew from personal experience. My first disposable dollars went to a cleaning service. I knocked on the door in vain. My eyes were burning. I sat on the floor and slumped against the cold door. The metal was cold to the touch but I didn't mind. I was tired. Only my coughing was keeping me awake. I pushed an oversized bucket on wheels away to clear the air. I rolled into a prone position, closed my eyes and yawned. The day had been exhausting. I felt like I could sleep on the cement floor. I didn't have to. "I was just walking by and I heard coughing." Kim was playing the heroine. She had me propped up against the ping-pong table. She had gathered the other employees to congratulate her on her valor. "The door was locked from the outside. So I sent Catrina for the key." I was coughing but not that badly. I was fine. I'd simply gotten sleepy when locked in the closet. I had a mild reaction to all the fumes in the closet. I was suffering a lot more from being propped up on a ping-pong table than I was from my stay on the closet floor. Detective Peet watched from the door of my office as all the employees fluttered around me - except Anthony who remained glued to his pc in his office. The cop had heard my story and checked out the closet. We'd all watched him curiously as, taking a different route each time, he paced the length of the office in bare feet. He'd laid some crime scene tape in certain spots and called to his office for backup. Then he returned to his position leaning against the door jam to observe. He'd doffed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. Despite his stillness, he gave the appearance of working hard. "Why would anyone lock me in the closet?" I didn't get the point. "It must have something to do with Eduard's death," Catrina said breathlessly. "Why?" Kim asked with annoyance. "What else?" Victor snapped. "Now let's not jump to conclusions." Archibald tried to play the leader. "Okay, I've had it. Let's get this over with. My son has a soccer game tomorrow and I don't want to miss it. I want everyone here in five minutes." Detective Peet did not sound happy. "And I mean everyone." ow to get one in this crowd. In our little dot.com of big egos, he was going to flatter a confession out of the perpetrator. |
