Read Online An Inconsequential Murder by Rodolfo Peña - Free Book Online
Authors: Rodolfo Peña
Tags: Mystery
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hardware.”
“ Hmm, yes, but I doubt that anyone in the Investigations Department would care. Anyway, I’d rather they spend the money on getting me a new car.”
When they reached the end of the ha llway, a glass door slid open. The steady hum and buzz of computers running and printers printing filled the large room. David gestured toward the opened door of a space in the middle of the large room; it was a small office walled in by panels that were half aluminum and half glass.
Inside the office there was a desk, two chairs, and a bookshelf with manuals and thick, black folders. The room’s roof was solid aluminum panels so there was relative quiet when David closed the door.
“ Please sit down,” he said gesturing toward a chair. “So, Doctor Delgado told you to talk to me?”
Lombardo weighed the chances that maybe David had called the good Doctor during the ten minutes he had had to wait. He decided not to lie.
“ No, actually he did not. I just said that to the girl to save time.”
David nodded and lowered his head to hide a half smile. “So, what makes you think I could help you with what happened to poor Victor? I assume that that’s why you are here—to ask me about Victor.”
Lombardo nodded and asked, “I supposed I can’t smoke in here?”
“ No,” said David simply.
Lombardo sighed, “Well, I don’t know that you can help in any way at all. I just want to know more about Victor, and about his job. If I’m to find whoever killed him, I have to know more about him. That’s the only way I can find a motivation or reasons for his murder.”
David nodded and said , “Well, his job was much like mine but although I am in charge of system management for the computers in this center, he was my boss; he was in charge of system management for the entire campus, all five faculties.
“ Doctor Delgado described briefly what Victor’s job was but can you give me your description of it?”
He squirmed in his seat like a doctor who is asked to describe in laymen’s terms a complicated neurosurgical procedure. “Uh, system management is not one thing; it is many things, many jobs and tasks. For example, we have to determine not only what the University needs as an institution but also what users need, or certain groups of users, like the Math Department for instance. Then, when we buy stuff for them we have to set it up, keep it running, you know, maintain it, get upgrades and enhancements as needed. On top of that, we have to manage the network and the databases, make backups, copies that is, of the data, and so on.” He sighed, “Lots of stuff.”
Lombardo smiled wryly and said, “I suppose you’ve had to answer that question a thousand times. It probably bores you to have to explain yourself to non-technical people, but as I said, since we don’t know why he was killed, we have to look everywhere for a possible motive.”
“ I understand, Captain, and I am willing to cooperate as much as I can if it will help to find the people who killed Victor.”
“ Hmm,” said Lombardo and took out a little notebook and a pen. Lombardo had noticed early in his career as a cop that people took questioning more seriously when they thought their answers were being recorded. So he wrote something in the notebook and then he asked, “Were you on good terms with Victor? You know, were you more than just colleagues? Were you friends?”
David shrugged, “I guess so; you know, as much as you can be friends with someone you see at work every day.”
“ But, outside of work: did you ever, you know, go out for a beer or something?”
“ Sure, plenty of times, and when somebody in the Department had a birthday we would all go out to lunch together, to some restaurant, you know.”
“ Did he seem worried lately—as if he had problems?”
“ We are system engineers; we always have problems,” said David with a
“ Hmm, yes, but I doubt that anyone in the Investigations Department would care. Anyway, I’d rather they spend the money on getting me a new car.”
When they reached the end of the ha llway, a glass door slid open. The steady hum and buzz of computers running and printers printing filled the large room. David gestured toward the opened door of a space in the middle of the large room; it was a small office walled in by panels that were half aluminum and half glass.
Inside the office there was a desk, two chairs, and a bookshelf with manuals and thick, black folders. The room’s roof was solid aluminum panels so there was relative quiet when David closed the door.
“ Please sit down,” he said gesturing toward a chair. “So, Doctor Delgado told you to talk to me?”
Lombardo weighed the chances that maybe David had called the good Doctor during the ten minutes he had had to wait. He decided not to lie.
“ No, actually he did not. I just said that to the girl to save time.”
David nodded and lowered his head to hide a half smile. “So, what makes you think I could help you with what happened to poor Victor? I assume that that’s why you are here—to ask me about Victor.”
Lombardo nodded and asked, “I supposed I can’t smoke in here?”
“ No,” said David simply.
Lombardo sighed, “Well, I don’t know that you can help in any way at all. I just want to know more about Victor, and about his job. If I’m to find whoever killed him, I have to know more about him. That’s the only way I can find a motivation or reasons for his murder.”
David nodded and said , “Well, his job was much like mine but although I am in charge of system management for the computers in this center, he was my boss; he was in charge of system management for the entire campus, all five faculties.
“ Doctor Delgado described briefly what Victor’s job was but can you give me your description of it?”
He squirmed in his seat like a doctor who is asked to describe in laymen’s terms a complicated neurosurgical procedure. “Uh, system management is not one thing; it is many things, many jobs and tasks. For example, we have to determine not only what the University needs as an institution but also what users need, or certain groups of users, like the Math Department for instance. Then, when we buy stuff for them we have to set it up, keep it running, you know, maintain it, get upgrades and enhancements as needed. On top of that, we have to manage the network and the databases, make backups, copies that is, of the data, and so on.” He sighed, “Lots of stuff.”
Lombardo smiled wryly and said, “I suppose you’ve had to answer that question a thousand times. It probably bores you to have to explain yourself to non-technical people, but as I said, since we don’t know why he was killed, we have to look everywhere for a possible motive.”
“ I understand, Captain, and I am willing to cooperate as much as I can if it will help to find the people who killed Victor.”
“ Hmm,” said Lombardo and took out a little notebook and a pen. Lombardo had noticed early in his career as a cop that people took questioning more seriously when they thought their answers were being recorded. So he wrote something in the notebook and then he asked, “Were you on good terms with Victor? You know, were you more than just colleagues? Were you friends?”
David shrugged, “I guess so; you know, as much as you can be friends with someone you see at work every day.”
“ But, outside of work: did you ever, you know, go out for a beer or something?”
“ Sure, plenty of times, and when somebody in the Department had a birthday we would all go out to lunch together, to some restaurant, you know.”
“ Did he seem worried lately—as if he had problems?”
“ We are system engineers; we always have problems,” said David with a
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