CHAPTER 4 – SATURDAY 12:48 AM
Kelly was held in lobby of the administration wing while officers secured the crime scene. Kelly had finally reached Potts, who'd been attending a play, and would soon arrive. Now Kelly wanted to call Jessica, but didn't have her number. The officer on station in the lobby was keeping a close eye on Kelly, but allowed him to consult the receptionist's staff directory.
"Jessica, sorry to wake you. It’s Kelly."
"What time is it?"
"Almost two. I’m at work. There’s been another murder. It’s Barry."
"Barry’s the murderer?"
"No, no … Barry’s dead."
"Oh, shit. Kelly, if this is some kind of sick joke ..."
"No. No joke."
Kelly told her of arriving at Heckathorn’s office just as the police pulled up. "Sergeant Haugen had apparently been trying to reach Barry, return a call, and when he didn't get through, sent a patrol car. I heard Haugen say he became concerned because Barry had promised to be here."
As they talked, there was a steady flow of personnel – investigators, crime scene technicians, the medical examiner.
"Kelly, this is so awful."
"I called Potts. He's alerting Dilman and Lorch."
"I suppose I should call the rest of the crisis management team." Her voice cracked with emotion. "There are only three of us left. Poor Emily …"
"Jeez, I’m sorry. I probably shouldn't have called."
"No, it’s okay," said Jessica, resisting sobs.
After saying goodbye and hanging up, Kelly felt like kicking himself. He hadn’t considered how traumatic the news would be. A second murder amplified everything. Kupmeier’s death was no longer an isolated incident. It was now part of something larger, more frightening.
Sgt. Haugen returned to the lobby, approaching Kelly in the company of another officer. "Kelly, this is detective Russ Amundson."
Amundson reminded Kelly of the Minnesota Viking's logo – Nordic, angular face with a droopy blond mustache. Haugen sat by Kelly on the other side of a corner end table. He had a notepad, but also placed a small digital audio recorder on the table. Amundson remained standing.
"You were called in tonight?"
Kelly confirmed that Rhonda called him and that he came in to work up some statistics.
"You were with her the whole time?"
"No. We spoke when I arrived, but I did the work at my desk."
"Anyone in there with you?"
"No."
"Talk to anyone?"
"Just Rhonda, when I was done."
"And what time was that?"
"11:30, 11:40. Something like that."
"And that's when you went to the administration wing?" asked Haugen.
"I stopped back at my desk first, wrote up an action report. Sent it to my supervisor."
"Why'd you come to this part of the building?"
"Barry's light was on when I arrived around 9:40. Later, I saw his car was still here. I thought he might have some news about the investigation."
"So what happened?"
"I came up here, found all the lights off, so I thought maybe I missed him, but I looked through the blinds, saw him in the chair and thought he was sleeping. About that time, the squad car pulled in, and I figured I better wake him, so I went in."
"He was maybe twelve feet from the window," said detective Amundson, sounding skeptical. "You peeked in but couldn't see the duct tape?"
"There was hardly any light. Especially in his office. Just a little from the parking lot."
"Did you touch anything?" asked Haugen.
"No. Well, the light switch. The door."
"Didn't check his pulse?"
"No, I stayed clear. I went to make sure the officer got in."
"Did you see anyone else?"
"No."
"Anything unusual?"
"Just that he was here late, but under the circumstances, I wasn't surprised."
"You knew him pretty well?" asked Haugen.
"Not really."
"Quite a coincidence that you were present when both bodies were found," said Amundson.
"I suppose. Though I do work here, so it's not that unlikely."
"What I'd like to do," said Haugen, "is have you go back to your office with Detective Amundson and one of our technicians, and let them look at your computer. They can verify the activity, like saving the file you created and sending the message you mentioned. Would that be okay?"
Kelly shrugged. "Sure, but before we go, there is someone else we thought of who might have a grudge. Randall Naughton, the company founder."
"We’re aware of him." Haugen didn’t seem impressed.
"Yeah, I suppose he’s unlikely. Just a long shot that came up in conversation. I did see him with a muscle-bound guy tonight, though."
"Here?"
"Oh, no. Sorry. At his lab. I happened to run by there."
"You just happened to run past his lab?" asked Amundson.
"It’s a route I take from time-to-time. I run most nights."
"What time was that?" said Haugen.
"Would have been a little after sunset. Maybe 8:20 or so."
"What were they doing?"
"The guy drove in, picked up Naughton, and they left."
Haugen jotted the info on his notepad. "Anything about their behavior strike you as unusual?"
"Not that I noticed."
"Okay. Call if you think of anything else."
After verification of the computer information, Kelly was allowed to leave.