Murder in the Dorm by C.G. Prado Read Free Book Online Page A

but have only a rather negative impression of him. Basically, I came not to trust him. It’s not that I know anything about what he might have been doing; it’s got to do with the things he asked me. He wanted to know what sorts of responsibilities interns have. That’s a legitimate question, since many of our graduating students intern for a year or two, but McDermott pushed it with respect to things like how much oversight was usually involved when interns were assigned to projects and he was interested in what sorts of liabilities interns incur if something goes wrong. None of this was particularly notable on any given occasion, but it added up and left me with the strong impression that McDermott saw an internship more as an opportunity for something than a first step in his career. But it’s Kelsey I want to tell you about because of a specific situation.”
    “Richard, I can see you’re done with your lunch. May I suggest we move over to a small table and have some dessert and coffee? You too Evan?”
    “No thanks, Charlie. You two go ahead. I just wanted to get you together.”
    Baynes and Charlie went over to a table for two and Charlie insisted that coffee and dessert needed to be accompanied by a brandy or perhaps a liqueur. Baynes didn’t put up much of a fight and Charlie ordered a sandwich and a glass of wine for himself and an espresso, biscotti, and a brandy for Baynes.
    “This may not amount to much, but I had a little trouble with Kelsey while chair. It started with an irate member of the Information Technology Services shop. Kelsey had had a laptop worked on and caused a scene when he was told the cost of the work done. That much wouldn’t have gotten to me, but apparently Kelsey tried to bribe the repairperson.”
    “He wouldn’t pay for the repairs but was willing to give the guy money?”
    “No; that’s what made the matter memorable. What Kelsey did was offer the repairperson a supposedly failsafe way of doubling whatever he might be willing to put into a particular stock. Kelsey told him that if he made the repair bill go away, Kelsey would give him the name of a stock that would double in price in a week or ten days. The repairperson couldn’t believe it, told Kelsey to pay up or he wouldn’t get his laptop, and came to my office.”
    “What happened then?”
    “Well, Kelsey was called to my office and denied the whole thing. He said he’d only been joking around with the repairperson. He gave me a check for the cost of the repairs and asked that his laptop be returned to him. It was basically a ‘he said, she said’ case, so I took his check, called the shop and told them I had the check and to give Kelsey his laptop. As far as my involvement went, that was the end of the matter. I ran into Evan yesterday and we were chatting about the two killings, so I told him the story and he said I should repeat it to you.”
    “I’m very glad you did. It actually fits in rather well with some other stuff I’ve heard or pieced together about both Kelsey and McDermott. Did you ever speak to Kelsey in any connection after that?”
    “No; I saw him around, but we didn’t speak again. What do you think was going on?”
    “I think Kelsey and McDermott were involved in some sort of scam, and I learned that Kelsey won prizes for his work on model stock and bond portfolios. Your story confirms that Kelsey was knowledgeable about stocks and not averse to using his knowledge for his own gain, and that supports my theory about what they were up to.”
    “So Evan was right; it was important for you to get this information. Well, I won’t press you further, but I would very much appreciate it if you’d keep me informed on this business. Let me give you my card. You might need to call me, too, if you want me to verify what I’ve told you to the police. I’m also sure that somewhere in the chair’s office there’s some brief note recording what happened regarding Kelsey.”
    “Richard, this has