Sam Kincaid 01 - The Commission

of this morning, and don’t tell the press squat.”
    “Then to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit—never mind, I know. You want to search Levi’s office, right? And I’ll bet you don’t have a warrant?”
    “Very good, Larry. You’re right on both counts—I don’t have a warrant, and I do want to search Levi’s office.”
    “I locked it this morning as soon as I heard. The office looked undisturbed. As to your search, I don’t see a problem as long as the rest of the board members approve.”
    I found myself pleading my case for the search before a stunned and visibly nervous group of parole board members. So far, there was little to tell them about the murder of their colleague and friend. In the end, they gave me permission to search his office and saved me the time and trouble of obtaining a warrant.
    A cursory search of Levi’s office turned up little of value. I rummaged through his four-drawer file cabinet and desk but found nothing out of the ordinary. A search of his computer hard drive and several discs provided no clues that might help us solve his murder. All of the computer files contained information pertinent only to his work on the Board of Pardons. The only thing of significance I found occurred when I examined his Rolodex. When I got to the letter “S,” I found the initials SLM and the phone number to the Starlite Motel. The motel was going to be my next stop. On my way out of the office, I snatched a small desk photograph of Levi and Margaret that appeared to have been taken fairly recently.
    Three board members had agreed to immediate interviews. The fourth was vacationing and not scheduled to return for two weeks.
    I began with the board member with the least amount of seniority. Judith James-Hyde was serving her first term and had been on the job a mere nine months. She had been a career prosecutor, first with the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office, and most recently, a deputy attorney general with the Utah State Attorney General’s Office.
    “Judith, how are you holding up?”
    “Like everybody else, I’m in a state of shock. It’s hard for me to accept that Levi will never walk through that door again. He’s gone for good.”
    I nodded. There seemed little to say.
    “Tell me Judith, how well did you know Levi?”
    “Reasonably well, considering that I’ve only worked here for a few months. I knew him slightly before because of my assignment in the Attorney General’s Office, where I represented your department as well as the Board of Pardons. Other than an occasional business lunch, I never saw him socially outside the office. I did meet his wife, Margaret, at our office Christmas party last December.”
    “Do you have any idea about what kind of relationship Levi had with his wife and children?”
    “Not really. I mean he seemed highly devoted to his family and the Mormon church. He talked nonstop about how proud he was of his two sons. I never heard him say anything that would lead me to think there were problems at home. I recently overheard him talking with another staff member about being active in a Boy Scout troop, and I also think he coached a youth soccer team. But that’s about it.”
    “What about the days and weeks leading up to the murder? Did his behavior change, or did he seem upset about anything?”
    “I’ve been in here this morning thinking about that. I didn’t see any changes in his demeanor or mood. Nothing.”
    “Were you aware of anyone he might have been having problems with—anybody he might have been afraid of?”
    “Well, there are always inmates. As you know, some of them can be downright scary. But if he was afraid of someone, he never mentioned it to me. And that’s something I would’ve remembered.”
    I nodded. “I’m sure you would. Who did Levi socialize with outside the office? Anybody come to mind?”
    “Not really. I imagine he had friends in the church. That wouldn’t be unusual. Come to think of it though, since I joined the board, Levi seemed to be spending more and more time with Bill Allred. Almost like they’d become pals.”
    “You mean hanging out together away from work?”
    “Well, both actually. We’re all thrown together in the office, so that’s a given. But, yes, I had the impression that Levi and Bill were spending time together away from work. Several times I heard them talking about working out at one of the local health clubs, although I don’t know where or how often.”
    “When