Chapter 41
FORTY-ONE
Eric grabbed the door for a woman leaving the library and hurried inside with the textbook from Shane Perkins’s apartment. It was in a clear, plastic evidence bag, and the librarian at the checkout desk narrowed her eyes when he set it on the counter.
“Can I help you?”
He fussed with his jacket and cleared the way to his badge. “Detective Eric Birch.”
“What can I do for you, Detective?”
“This book was signed out from your library by Shane Perkins, and I need to know who took it out before him.”
“You want the entire borrow history?”
“That would be great.”
“Do you have a warrant?”
“Is that really necessary? Let me show you something.” Eric put on gloves and opened the book.
The librarian gasped when she saw the damaged interior. “If you did that, you’ll need to reimburse the library for the book.”
“There was a note stuck in there that is a key piece of evidence in an active crisis situation. Your cooperation would be appreciated.” Eric could say crucial, but he didn’t want to put too much pressure on the woman.
She pinched her lips. “Fine. One minute.” She positioned herself behind the computer and tapped on the keyboard.
As Eric waited, he hoped this would be what netted that fourth perp’s identity. He suspected it wasn’t the plan for Perkins to hang on to the book. That led to the question of why he had.
“All right, here we go,” the librarian said. “Before Shane Perkins, it was checked out by Carmen Feeney. Do you want her number and address?”
“No, that’s fine.”
“Before her, Tom Sparling. Need his information?”
Eric shook his head, recalling Neal mentioning that name and that another officer would be checking out his home.
“And the person before that?” He reined in his excitement that so far the people who had withdrawn this book matched the names the team had already uncovered.
If this track record held that meant the next name would be the person behind the username Alaya Princess.
“Mindy Ashmore. That line up with what you were thinking?” The librarian stood back and studied Eric.
Alaya/Mindy… not really. “Did anyone check this book out before her?”
The librarian looked at the screen. “The last time someone took that book out was eight months prior.”
That suggested that Mindy Ashmore had, in fact, assumed the username Alaya Princess, but he had to be sure.
And if the foursome communicated once through a book, they had likely done it before.
“Do these four people share a history with any other books in recent months?” He doubted their conspiracy went back further than that.
“Let me see.” The librarian returned to the computer and confirmed the four of them held two other books in common. Both on tax law, and they dated before the one Eric had found in Perkins’s apartment.
“Could I see them?”
“Sure. They’re all here.”
A handful of minutes later, Eric was thumbing through the books. They held more in common than their topic. The interior lining had been compromised in both. This more than cemented things for Eric. He had the identity of their shot caller.