but elated, Doro sat in a comfortable armchair next to her own fireplace with her best friend seated on the other side of the hearth. Aggie had made coffee and set out a plate of sandwiches as soon as Doro got back. While they enjoyed the refreshments, the pair discussed the case. When Doro finished a summary of Winwood’s arrest, she smiled. “Constable Lammers was grateful you and I helped so much. It took a load off his mind while he was at the hospital with his mother.”
The expression on Aggie’s face telegraphed her pleasure. “I didn’t do nearly as much as you did.”
Doro shook her head. “You gathered important details when Officer Mallow and I were out-and-about. And you went with me to talk to several people. Plus, you had great insights.”
“I’m glad I could contribute. It was unnerving to know a killer was on campus.” A little shiver rippled through Aggie.
“It sure was,” Doro agreed. “Even though it looked like an act of passion, not a planned murder, I hated to think about the guilty party attacking someone else out of anger.”
Aggie chewed on her lower lip. “Do you think President Winwood would’ve killed again? He’s always been curt and cold, but I never considered him as a violent man.”
For a moment, Doro thought back to Lammers and Mallow interrogating Winwood. “He was furious about being accused and insisted his fingerprints on the drawer meant nothing, since he’d been in the library before and after hours many times in the past. That wasn’t true, but he lied a lot. He also insisted with so many people using the drawers, it would be impossible to isolate fingerprints.”
“He didn’t realize the card catalogue had been dusted, cleaned, and waxed the previous night.”
“He did not,” Doro agreed. “Even after it was all explained to him, Winwood said the janitors surely hadn’t taken out and cleaned each drawer, but the prints used were on the front and inside the front, where he gripped it when he hit Corlon. That gave him plenty of leverage. It turned out Pierce’s prints were only on the sides.”
“Because he picked it up to move it away from the professor and check the wound,” Aggie supplied, repeating what they had already discussed.
“Exactly, but we didn’t mention Pierce to Winwood, who kept whining and complaining. More than once, he reminded Lammers and Mallow to call him President, not Mister.” She rolled her eyes.
“A good reminder for me, too. I’ll just call him Winwood, for now. In the future, I won’t have to use his name at all.” Aggie took a sip of coffee.
“That’s a relief,” Doro agreed.
Aggie narrowed her gaze on her friend. “I’m surprised he admitted to what happened.”
“I was a little, but he only did it to avoid the most serious charge.” Doro recalled Winwood’s expression as he confessed. “He might’ve felt somewhat guilty.”
“But not enough to stop pointing the finger at innocent people,” Aggie said.
“No, not that much.”
“I wonder how long it will take the Board of Trustees to fire him.”
“I’m guessing they’ll call an emergency meeting as soon as they find out he’s in jail.”
“I hope they don’t make Provost Pottiger the interim president. He’s almost as bad as Winwood.”
“I’m with you,” Doro said, “but I don’t think the entire board realized what the Fearsome Foursome planned, so they may choose a long-time faculty member to serve until they find a permanent replacement. That’d be best.”
The sound of the door buzzer interrupted them. Doro looked at her friend. “When did the bell get fixed?”
“This morning. A couple of the other residents were tired of it not working so, they puttered around themselves.”
“It’s a good thing Winwood is out. I can’t imagine what he’d say if he knew ladies had done repairs.”
Aggie frowned. “He’d blather about how we should cook and clean instead.”
“Probably so.” Doro said. “It has to be Officer Mallow, because he planned to stop by and update us. Let’s take a flask of coffee and a couple of sandwiches for him.”
Within moments, the two women were in the reception area, where Officer Mallow sat at the far end of the room in front of the brick fireplace. Doro was relieved to find him alone, instead of surrounded by other residents. The news about Winwood would travel fast, but she didn’t want to deal with questions right now, and she doubted Mallow wanted to announce details to a crowd.
After the trio exchanged greetings, Mallow glanced at the tray Doro had placed on the table. “Dare I hope that’s for me?”
“It is.” Doro wanted to ask if he had eaten a meal, but quelled the idea. Fussing over the man would be unpardonably foolish. Besides, she was not the sort of young woman who did such things.
“I wanted to tell you both what else happened.” He helped himself to refreshments before glancing back at her. “I assume you told Miss Darwine about the arrest.”
“I did,” Doro replied. “And the confession.”
Mallow released a deep sigh. “I wish he would’ve admitted to wiping fingerprints off his doorknob, but it won’t make much difference.”
“You got him to explain why and how he killed Corlon. That’s a major accomplishment,” Aggie put in.
A shrug lifted one of Mallow’s shoulders. “You two were a tremendous help, especially when Wade had to stay at the hospital. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
When his gaze moved to her, Doro felt warmth rise in her face. “The main thing is that Winwood is behind bars. With luck, he’ll stay there.”
“It’s not likely he’ll get out on bail, but we’ll see. His lawyer will be here tomorrow. Until then, Winwood isn’t going anyplace.” Mallow took another slug of coffee before speaking again. “The provost got wind of the arrest and showed up at the constable’s office. He’s calling the Board of Trustees about taking over as president. At least, that’s his aim.”
“I hope he misses the mark,” Doro said. “With luck, the trustees will realize they made a mistake hiring Winwood and his crew. Now that their plans are out in the open, alumni and donors may be more vocal about not banning women as students and employees.”
“And critical of the lack of judgment involved in hiring someone who killed a friend and colleague,” Aggie added.
“That should be a factor,” Mallow agreed. “Wade and I talked with Pottiger at length. I asked outright why he and Winwood were in College Hall the other night.”
“What did he say?” Doro asked.
“First, he wanted to call his lawyer. When Wade pointed out that cooperating might get the provost farther, Pottiger revealed he and Winwood had dinner together, just like you figured,” Mallow said. “Winwood asked Pottiger to go with him to the offices. Supposedly, as we overheard, he wanted the provost to get some papers to review. He confirmed that Winwood went into his office alone. Pottiger heard a scraping, creaking noise.”
“Like we heard when we opened the bookcase door,” Doro put in.
“Yep,” he agreed.
“I think Winwood was making sure he closed it correctly and left no trace of using it on Tuesday morning. Maybe he was worried about us looking in there.” Doro offered the ideas.
Mallow nodded. “A guilty conscience usually escalates worry.”
“Pottiger didn’t know about the hidden passage?” Doro voiced the inquiry.
“Evidently not, and I didn’t tell him. The provost also saw Winwood tinkering with the connecting door. I asked if Pottiger had trouble with the doorknob, and he hadn’t.”
“So, Winwood went to wipe off his fingerprints,” Doro put in, “just as we figured.”
“Seems that way,” Mallow agreed. “Winwood knew I took fingerprints from the catalogue drawer as soon as I had the kit.”
“Which probably weighed on his mind, even though he figured a lot of prints were on the drawer,” Doro said. “But he acted like he was surprised about you getting prints off his doorknob.”
“Winwood is a decent actor,” Mallow responded.
“He is,” Aggie agreed. “He can be charming, if he wants.”
A sigh escaped Doro. “True. What about changing college policies? Did Pottiger mention that?”
Mallow shook his head. “He’s being cautious in that regard. We asked if he knew Corlon had changed his mind about coeducation, and he did. It was definitely a bone of contention between Corlon and Winwood. Pottiger confirmed that the president was furious with the professor.”
“So, you were right about them meeting and arguing,” Doro said.
“Which Winwood admitted,” Mallow agreed. “Like he told us, Winwood felt betrayed by his old friend. Corlon virtually ignoring him on Tuesday morning lit the last match.”
“How sad,” Doro murmured.
“It is,” her friend agreed. “I’m sorry for Professor Corlon and his niece, but I think coeducation will stay. Two of the trustees have daughters in high school, and both have visited campus. One has a son who’s an outstanding basketball player. I know Coach Ayers would like him on the Michaw team. Those could be big factors,” Aggie suggested.
“I hope Pierce will be back playing, too,” Doro said before directly addressing Mallow. “You said you wanted to bring us up to date, and I’m guessing there’s more to tell.”
He glanced at his notepad before replying. “We spoke with one janitor to get additional confirmation. Since the other is out-of-town today, I need his address. Having him confirm they cleaned the card catalogue thoroughly—among other things in the library—will bolster our case.” Mallow glanced from Doro to Aggie and back. “Both of you may be called as witnesses.”
“That’s fine,” Aggie agreed.
“Of course,” Doro said. “Before we got the vote, women couldn’t testify in court. I’m sure Winwood will be peeved if and when we take the stand.”
“I’m sure he will,” Aggie agreed. “Do you know when the trial will be?”
Mallow shook his head. “There are some steps to be taken before it’s scheduled. Winwood consulting with his attorney is one. The county prosecutor formally charging him is another. Before the latter occurs, Wade and I will need to pull the facts together. Luckily, we have solid evidence, so that won’t take long. We’ll recheck some odds and ends, just to tie it all up in one package with a neat bow.” He finished his coffee, polished off another half-sandwich, and laid the mug aside. “There wasn’t much to tell, but I wanted you both to know. Other than what I’ve said, Winwood will be taken to the county lockup tomorrow—probably shortly after his lawyer gets here.”
“That’s good news,” Aggie said.
“It sure is,” Doro agreed. “I suppose classes will resume soon.”
“There’s no reason they can’t,” Mallow replied. “Since Winwood canceled them until further notice, who knows? Faculty members, including librarians, are supposed to be back Monday. With that in mind, I’m guessing classes will restart then. I imagine the board will make the final decision about firing him when they meet.”
“There’s a big event coming up next weekend,” Aggie said. “I’m on the planning committee, so I suppose we can go ahead now. We’d put things on hold.”
“Sure,” Mallow replied. “What kind of event?”
“A Halloween party. Music, food, costumes,” Aggie replied.
“It’s a lot of fun. Harmless fun,” Doro assured him.
“Good to know,” Mallow said with a grin.
“Is the library still a crime scene?” Doro asked.
“I’d like to keep people out until the prosecutor has a chance to look at it. He’s planning to come first thing tomorrow. I hope that won’t inconvenience you,” Mallow said.
“No, it’ll give me an excuse not to do any work for another day.” Doro chuckled.
“You’ve been working every day,” Mallow pointed out. “Solving this case was a big job.”
His observation pleased Doro. “Then, I’ll enjoy time off. What about you?” She glanced at his cane. “You aren’t working your other job tonight, are you?”
“Surely not,” Aggie added.
“Nope. I need to use the cane for a couple more days. Then, I probably won’t be going on any more raids, unless Pottiger succeeds in getting me fired. He wasn’t happy about being questioned.” Mallow levered himself to a standing position. “Thanks again. For the food and your help. I’ll be in touch when you can go back inside the library, and about when you two might need to testify or provide statements.”
After Mallow limped out, Aggie turned to Doro. “Surely, he won’t be fired.”
“I wouldn’t think so, but I’ll feel better when a new president is named, and it isn’t Provost Pottiger.”