Larceny at the Library

by Colleen Shogan

  It made sense, but I couldn’t help but conclude that the police sergeant had a soft spot for animals, particularly cute beagle mutts. Clarence must have sensed it, too. He ambled over to O’Halloran and licked his hand.

  “Clarence wants to say thank you,” said Doug. “He only gives kisses to people he really likes.”

  “And people who have recently used their hands to eat several pieces of cheese,” I said, laughing.

  “Now I have a question for you, Ms. Marshall,” said Sergeant O’Halloran. “I want to know how you figured out Janice Jackson was the killer, even before she tried to make you her next victim.”

  Dorian joined our group conversation. “I’d like to hear this explanation. All of a sudden, Kit hustled us over to the Jefferson Building and refused to tell me why.”

  “It was pretty simple once I thought of it,” I said. “Two clues helped me put it together. First, when I saw the Librarian of Congress earlier in the day at Ford’s Theatre, she said something that stuck in my head. She commented that Janice Jackson was always hustling back and forth between the Library’s buildings and the congressional office buildings. As you know, an underground tunnel connects everything.”

  “Wasn’t Janice seen on the surveillance video walking through the tunnel, headed over to a congressional office building after the preview event ended?” asked Lisa.

  “Yes. And the fact she was on the video provided her with a supposed alibi, until I thought harder about it,” I said. “I needed to know what she was wearing. I thought of it when I saw Joe Malden put on his coat to go outside for coffee on Friday when we visited him after his bat was stolen.”

  “What does a coffee break have to do with Gustav’s murder?” asked Dorian. “I was there, and Joe didn’t say anything incriminating about Janice.”

  “He didn’t have to say anything. Just the fact that he was putting on his coat to go outside made me wonder whether Janice had worn a coat on that surveillance video,” I said.

  “But if she was only making an appearance in the tunnels to establish an alibi, it wouldn’t matter,” said Dorian.

  “Exactly. I started to think about Janice’s movements that night if she was the killer. Something had been nagging me for a while, but I couldn’t figure out what it was,” I said. “I had a suspicion she’d manufactured an alibi. I just needed to prove it.”

  “How did you figure out your hunch was right?” asked Lisa.

  “I remembered that Congressman Chang asked for his coat when he left the preview reception. Why would he do that? He spent a lot of time at the Library of Congress. Surely, he knew he could use the underground tunnel to return to his congressional office. But then I realized he wore his coat because he knew the tunnel connecting the Library and the House of Representatives closes at eight o’clock in the evening on most days. He wasn’t sure how late the event would run. If it lasted beyond eight, then he’d have to walk outside to return to his office, hence the coat.”

  “We keep the tunnel open later some nights, but since Chang was the only member of Congress attending the preview, we didn’t bother to request an extension,” said Dorian.

  “Surely someone who uses the tunnels every single day for her job would know the hours the tunnel is open. In fact, the Librarian reminded me of that fact when we chatted at Ford’s Theatre,” I said. “Janice wanted to establish an alibi, and she knew appearing before the surveillance cameras would be credible. If she was really intending to drop in on a staffer working late, as she claimed, she would have needed her coat. After all, she’d have to walk outside to get back to the Library after eight o’clock. But she didn’t do that. Instead, she doubled back, probably using the stairwell to avoid additional security cameras. Then she slipped into the ceremonial to kill Gustav.”

  “I should have picked that up earlier,” said O’Halloran. “At first, I was confused when you texted me, asking whether Janice was wearing a coat on the Library’s security footage. I figured out it must have something to do with her alibi.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up,” I said, smiling. “Once you reviewed everything, it would have been staring you right in the face.”

  “I guess it goes to show that sometimes it’s good to have more than one set of eyes on something,” said O’Halloran. “Thank you, Ms. Marshall.”

  I felt my face blush. It was the first time our police pal had publicly acknowledged my role in solving a case. Had I become a legitimate sleuth in O’Halloran’s eyes?

  Dorian’s eyes sparkled. “I can’t wait to tell the Librarian that she gave you a critical clue to solve the murder. In fact, I might need to mention this to Roll Call. We’re setting up an interview about the aftermath of everything that’s happened.” Dorian hustled off, probably to harangue as many Capitol Hill reporters as possible before the evening deadline.

  “The other clue that pointed me in the right direction was the mysterious disappearance of Joe Malden’s bat,” I said. When Joe heard his name mentioned, he edged over to join our group.

  “How’d you know it was connected to the murder?” he asked, a glass of Prosecco in hand.

  “I wasn’t entirely sure,” I said. “But you’d had the bat in your office for quite a while. It seemed like an odd coincidence that it would disappear only days after a murder and major theft.”

  “That’s true,” said Joe, who’d just stuffed a piece of broccoli into his mouth. “Why suspect Janice as the person who lifted it?”

  “Process of elimination in my own mind,” I said. “Quite frankly, I originally suspected Congressman Chang as responsible for the murder and Lincoln theft. If the same person who killed Gustav stole your bat, I knew it couldn’t be Chang. He wouldn’t have known you had a valuable Red Sox baseball bat inside your office. It also didn’t fit his profile. His office was full of historical memorabilia, but there wasn’t anything related to sports teams.”

  I continued. “Then, I thought about Lea Rutherford. Perhaps you gave her the bat and faked the theft to divert suspicion. But then we found out she was out of town. It didn’t fit as an explanation.”

  “As I recall, you thought Gordon Endicott could have nicked it,” said Dorian, who rejoined the group.

  “Yes, he was a distinct possibility, especially if he’d stolen the Lincoln items to sell them for profit. Joe’s Red Sox bat could fetch a tidy sum, I imagine. However, after Clarence was dognapped, I tentatively scratched Endicott off my list.”

  “Why?” asked Dorian.

  “Whomever snatched Clarence had to have a car. That person tailed us from Capitol Hill to the house we visited in Falls Church. I knew from talking with Gordon previously that he was a subway rider. He’d even showed us his Metro card,” I said. “Therefore, it was highly unlikely he’d followed us that day. You can’t really steal a dog and then rely on an Uber or Lyft to make your getaway.”

  Dorian chuckled. “Good deduction. I hadn’t thought of that clue.”

  “Then you saw me put on my coat to walk outside for coffee,” said Joe.

  “That’s when I remembered what the Librarian said earlier about Janice dashing back and forth between the various Capitol Hill buildings, and I put it all together.” I reached down to pet Clarence. “It was circumstantial but I hoped Dorian and I could confront Janice Jackson before the big congressional event and get her to confess.”

  “That’s sort of what happened.” The corners of Dorian’s mouth twitching in a grin. “More or less.”

  “I’m just lucky I was nimble enough to avoid her using that slugger,” I said. “She’d obviously stolen it because she thought Doug and I were onto her. She needed a weapon to finish us off. The bat was a convenient solution when she decided I was getting too close for comfort. She knew I would show up inside the Jefferson Building for the congressional event, and she wanted to be prepared. There’s not many lethal objects floating around the Library of Cong
ress.”

  “Thank goodness,” said Doug.

  Everyone laughed. Meg and Trevor heard the chuckles and wandered over. “What’s so funny over here?” asked Meg. She tipped her glass of Prosecco in my direction.

  “Kit and Sergeant O’Halloran just finished going over the details of how they solved the case,” said Lisa.

  “And how Lisa and Murphy found Clarence,” added Doug.

  “Glad you got everything sorted out,” said Meg.

  “Speaking of sorting things out, we took advantage of the quiet weekend and came to a decision.” Trevor grabbed Meg’s hand.

  Meg’s face was glowing. “Trevor and I have decided to date exclusively.” She squeezed Trevor’s hand. “I know it’s been complicated, but I’m glad we took the time to figure it out.”

  “Congratulations.” After I placed my glass of Prosecco on the serving table, I hugged Meg and Trevor. It was hard to say where that relationship was headed, but at least they had the courage to give it a shot and find out.

  Dorian cleared his throat. “You know, Meg, I’d like to speak with you sometime about a position that just became available at the Library of Congress.” He paused and looked at me. “With your supervisor’s permission, of course.”

  My heart sank. Dorian wanted to hire Meg for the congressional relations job.

  I recovered quickly. “Certainly.” I forced a smile. “I’d hate to lose the best legislative director in the House of Representatives, but I’d never stand in anyone’s way when it comes to career advancement.”

  “Do you mean Janice Jackson’s job?” asked Meg, her eyes wide with surprise.

  “Something tells me we’re going to need a good person for that position as soon as possible. There’s going to be a lot of questions to answer after this past week,” said Dorian. “With your former boss as the chair of our oversight committee, I can’t think of a better fit.”

  “Wow,” said Meg softly. She turned in my direction. “I never thought about leaving Congress, Kit. But this might be a very good opportunity for me.”

  I nodded. “You should speak with Dorian about it and see if you’re interested. I’m your boss and I’m your friend. Even if we don’t work together anymore, we’re forever besties, right?” I picked up my glass from the table and raised it.

  Miriam Dunlap rushed over next to me. “Are you making a toast, Kit?” She shook her finger at me. “Really, that’s my job.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it. Please, the floor is all yours.” I stepped out of the way.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this has been a difficult time for everyone in this room,” said the Librarian. She looked at myself and Meg. “In memory of our cherished colleague Gustav Gaffney, I’d like to propose a toast.”

  She raised her glass high in the air. “To the Library of Congress staff and those who support our mission. May we continue to serve the pursuit of knowledge.” The Librarian’s gracious toast was met with several calls of “hear, hear” along with a synchronized duo echo of “woof, woof.”

  THE END

  Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at several universities and previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate, the Deputy Director of the Congressional Research Service, and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. She is currently the Senior Vice President at the White House Historical Association and Director of the David Rubenstein Center for White House History. A member of Sisters in Crime, she lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and rescued beagle mutt Conan.