Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ten minutes later, as they sat in front of Pataki’s desk, Natalie was less excited.
“What do you mean you questioned the female TA and let her go?” she asked.
“First of all, you are no longer involved in this investigation.”
“In spite of the fact we just brought you new information?” Natalie countered.
Pataki leaned forward. “I shouldn’t even be talking to you about the case. It’s with homicide now,” he told them in a lowered voice. “But since you were helpful with the cause of death, I’ll tell you what I can.”
“We appreciate that,” Liam said, only to be shushed by Pataki.
“Keep this under your hat, and you didn’t hear it from me, but we got the names of all four assistants. Seized their computers, searched their apartments, got their alibis for the day Graves died. But we didn’t find anything. Not on any of the four.”
“An alibi for the day he was murdered doesn’t mean anything. Those pills could have been swapped a week or more before Lionel got around to taking them,“ Liam reminded.
“And what about the fact Lionel’s landlady saw the female TA going in and out a lot the last couple of weeks of his life? Doesn’t that give her opportunity? Doesn’t that make her the main suspect?” Natalie asked, matching Pataki’s low hiss so they wouldn’t be overheard.
Pataki shook his head. “All circumstantial. It won’t stick. The DA won’t risk it. And we still have no motive. All four kids were A-students so it wasn’t like Graves gave them a bad grade and it was a crime of passion or, you know, revenge.”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you my new theory for motive,” Natalie began.
Pataki rolled his eyes. “I can’t wait to hear.”
Ignoring the insult, Natalie said, “Intellectual property.”
Pataki stared at her for a moment before saying, “I’m going to need more than that.”
“I’m saying, taking into account the stolen computer—”
“The allegedly stolen computer,” Pataki corrected.
“What if the motive was to steal Lionel’s IP?” she finished.
Pataki stuck one fat finger in his ear and twisted, then shook his head. “Like I told you. We searched these kid’s rooms and cars. There was no stolen computer equipment.”
“They could have downloaded everything onto an external drive and dumped the computer,” Natalie suggested.
Pataki tipped his head. “They might have, but we didn’t find it.”
Natalie let out a huff and leaned back. “So what then? You’re giving up? It’ll be filed as just another unsolved cold case?”
“Jeezus. No. It hasn’t even been forty-eight hours since we reopened it as a valid murder case. Homicide will keep investigating. Garland and I will keep our ear to the ground. Keep looking for new information. Maybe some evidence will surface.”
“You could go look in the dump. And maybe if the computer was thrown out and you find it, it’ll have fingerprints on it. Or wait, did you dust the vitamin bottles for fingerprints and compare them to the suspects?”
Pataki glanced at Liam. “She one of those murder podcast nuts?”
“No, actually. She’s not. This is just … her.”
With a sigh, Pataki looked back to Natalie. “We did dust for prints. The apartment was covered in prints which was to be expected since all four told us they’d been there.
“And yes, we dusted the pill bottles for prints. You know whose we found on there? Graves’s and your boyfriend’s here, since he handed the bottles to me.” Pataki tipped his chin towards Liam.
“Why do the police have your prints? Were you ever arrested?” Natalie asked wondering if she didn’t know something about Liam she should know.
Liam rolled his eyes. “I was in the military, Nat. They’ve got my DNA too.”
“Oh. Right.” She turned back to Pataki. “What about seeing if any of the TAs recently bought some potassium pills? Can you get the surveillance footage from all the local shops that carry that brand of vitamin?”
“We looked into that too. The two potassium pills found in the bottles are a brand made and shipped exclusively by . And before you ask, while we had their computers we checked their account purchase histories.”
“And? Nothing?” she asked.
“Oh, plenty. But no vitamins. Look, Miss Chase. I know you want to solve this but you can’t think of anything we haven’t,” Pataki said.
Liam stood. “Thank you, officer. We appreciate you speaking with us.”
Pataki stood too and extended one hand to Liam. “Sorry I couldn’t be more help.”
“Yeah. Us too. Nat. Come on,” Liam said as she remained sitting. “Time to go.”
Finally, she stood, defeated, and let Liam lead her out of the precinct. In the car, she slumped against the passenger seat as Liam started the engine.
“I guess that’s it then,” she said.
“That’s it.” Liam nodded. “Wanna grab lunch?” he asked looking too excited given the disappointment they’d just had.
She guessed the reason. “You want to go to The Well?”
His eyes brightened. “Yes.”
“All right. Might has well.” She might be miserable right now, but it would made Liam happy. One of them should be.
The place was bustling when they arrived. So busy that they had to swoop in and grab a dirty table as the students seated there got up to leave.
“You sit and hold the table. I’ll go up and order.”
“Bring back some napkins so I can wipe down the table,” she called after him.
Waiting for Liam while surrounded by students made her feel every one of her forty years.
She watched as he got quite a few interested glances from the female students, while anyone who happened to look in Natalie’s direction basically ignored her.
Like she was a parent intruding on their space.
Not worth their attention except as an annoyance.
She couldn’t comprehend why Liam loved this place so much,. It must be the memories of good times in days gone by. Natalie didn’t have those memories and definitely did not have the appreciation for it that he did.
The overwhelming noise in The Well was nearly a roar. The din made hearing any one conversation nearly impossible, until a group of girls came to hover near Natalie’s table.
She glanced up and noticed they were doing the same thing she and Liam had. Stalking the table nearby where a pair of students were obviously finishing up and hopefully on their way out.
They talked, while they checked their phones and their hair in the reflection of a glass-framed poster hanging on the wall.
“I can’t believe they just came in and arrested her. For murder,” one said.
Another shook her head. “I heard the police just wanted to question her.”
“No. I heard there were actual handcuffs,” the third one said.
“Stop. Mia’s not arrested. She’s back in her room. Her roommate Jen was in my last class and told me all about it. They searched the room. Like they looked at everything, Jen’s stuff included. And then they took Mia’s computer and her phone for like a whole day,” the fourth one said.
“No phone or computer for a whole day? Oh my God. I’d die.”
“I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had killed him. I’ve wanted to kill Graves myself a few times. He’s so mean. I’m sure I’m not alone.”
“Shhh. You can’t say things like that anymore.”
“Why not? Because we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead?”
“No, because you don’t want the police taking your computer and cell. Do you?”
“The whole thing was ridiculous. Mia couldn’t kill anyone. I mean she’s so sweet. Plus Graves gave her like straight As. Why would she kill him?”
“Why would anyone kill him? Sure, he can be mean in class but like that’s not enough to make anyone want to actually kill him. Like dead.”
“I don’t know. Mia’s boyfriend really hates Graves.”
“Peter? He doesn’t even go here anymore. He graduated.”
“Yeah, barely. He almost flunked out of Graves’s class his senior year. Peter really hates him.”
“Yeah. And remember at that party before Christmas break? Peter was drunk and he was ranting for like an hour about how much he hated Graves. Peter called Graves a thief.”
“Why? What did he steal?”
“Some book idea or something like that. I don’t know. I got bored and went to play beer pong.”
Liam’s arrival back at the table startled Natalie and interrupted her eaves dropping.
She spun to face him as he paused with the two beers and the stack of napkins in his hands.
Liam took in her expression and asked, “What happened?”
She pressed her finger to her lips. “Shh.”
She listened harder, hoping for more from the girls but they’d stopped talking. When she dared to glance behind her at them she saw their table had become available. They’d moved on to sitting and staring at Liam.
The way these girls were acting, you’d think he was some A-list celebrity rather than just a handsome older—much older— man. But they were looking at him like he was a piece of meat or one of those male models in an ad in their favorite store window.
Natalie spun back to scowled at Liam, still standing and looking confused. “Can you please sit down before you cause a riot.”
“What’s happening? Why am I in trouble?” He frowned, sitting down and lifting one of the two mugs he’d planted on the table and taking a sip.
“You’re not. Never mind. Just listen. I heard something while you were gone. I think we have a new suspect. And a motive,” she told him as he reached for the napkins.
He began to clean the table, looking unaffected, or at least unimpressed, by her revelation.
She frowned. “Did you not hear me? I’ve found someone who had a motive to murder Lionel,” she whispered the last part, leaning forward so Liam would hear her over the ambient noise around them.
He paused in his wiping and leveled his focus on Natalie, finally. “Explain.”
“The girl TA has a boyfriend.”
“And? Why does that matter?”
“The boyfriend had Graves as a professor his senior year, and he hates Graves. He was mouthing off about him at a party.”
“You did the same in Salem and on Facebook, but you didn’t kill him.”
“Yes, but I didn’t have opportunity. I didn’t have access to his pills. This guy is dating the TA who we know was in Lionel’s apartment before he died. What if she didn’t do it? But he did? That’s why the police found no evidence in her things. We have to tell somebody.”
Liam sighed. “Fine, but I’m finishing my beer before we go back to that police station.”
“I don’t want to go to the station. At least not yet. Take me back to Mildred’s. I need to talk to Ralph. See if he ever saw the boyfriend at the apartment with the girl. Then we go to Pataki with the information once we know it’s solid.”
“The information you got from a ghost,” Liam reiterated.
“Well, I won’t mention that part. At least not if I don’t have to.” She lifted the mug and took a swallow of the cold crisp beer. Liam was right. They both definitely deserved a beer break as a reward for breaking this case wide open.
Liam shook his head. “We’re going to be lucky if Pataki doesn’t lock us both up.”
“Don’t worry. If he does, Alice will get us out.” She grinned.