capture would be a perfect excuse for him.
“I can assure you all is being done to apprehend this killer, Mayor.”
“I’m not sure that’s true Sheriff, I’m thinking your mind is elsewhere at a time you should be giving this killer your full attention.”
“And where do you think my attention is Mayor?”
“Well, if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, your attention was on Jennifer Stewart’s lips, instead of a killer, or was that not you I saw practically mauling the poor woman at lunch?”
My ire spiked; Mayor Hall had been five years ahead of me in school, class president and all around prick. His wife of twenty years left him for another man five years ago, and he was always searching for the next first lady of Gunnison. The fact he knew Jennifer by name, when she’d only been here four months, caught my attention.
“I wasn’t aware the Mayor or the council had jurisdiction over my lunch hour or my personal life, John?”
“No, that’s true, Jack, but if you’re too busy pursuing the new reporter to make time for this killer, I’m sure that we can find someone who will take the job more seriously.” I counted to ten to reign in my temper, but it didn’t work.
“John, let’s cut the crap. My department has handled this case by the book from the beginning. With a second murder, it’s clear to my staff and me, whether the FBI can classify this or not, that we have a serial or a copycat on our hands. No one in my department is taking this lightly, and we are all putting in overtime on this case. So unless you and the council have information in regards to this killer, I don’t have time to waste in a meeting when I should be spending it tracking down this asshole. As for the matter of my lunch hour and whom I spend it with don’t hold your breath waiting for that person to change anytime soon.”
“As always it’s a pleasure to talk to you Sheriff, I’ll be advising the council of our conversation, and letting them know you have more important pursuits at the moment.”
“You do that, John.” Slamming the phone down, I looked around for Debbie. Seeing Grady come from the interrogation room, I shouted at him.
“Grady, where the fuck is Debbie?” His eyebrows rose at my tone; looked at her desk, then back again.
“She had a doctor’s appointment at five, Jack, she can’t miss them with the baby due next month.”
“Christ, I forgot, ignore me Grady, your Dad just phoned and I made the mistake of answering the phone.”
Grady, more his mother’s than his father’s son, worked hard and didn’t want a leg up because of his father, who incidentally, couldn’t stand him any more than I did. The fact his dad had screwed everything with two legs before, during and after his mother walked out, might have had something to do with his feelings. How a man like John Hall had produced a man like Grady proved you could overcome your environment.
I started to move towards my office when the phones started ringing again, so I grabbed the phone and answered.
“Sheriff’s department, Sheriff Gunnison speaking.”
“There’s a body of a woman off the jogging trail near 135 and the Gunnison River.” Someone whispered over the phone. Feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up, my gut told me I was talking to the killer.
“You put her there?”
“Perceptive, Sheriff.”
“Why don’t you stay with the body and I’ll come to you, you can give yourself up, and we’ll get you some help.”
“Sure, Sheriff, come on down, I’m feeling repentant right now. Come get me and help me stop.” The sarcasm was dripping from his words. I snapped my fingers at Grady and indicated I needed a pen and paper, he handed them to me, and I wrote , Killer on the phone, body at 135 and Gunnison River crossing, find who is closest and get them there now. I’ll keep him on the line.
Handing the note back to Grady, he read it, nodded and then headed to the dispatch office.
“Tell me why you’re
“I can assure you all is being done to apprehend this killer, Mayor.”
“I’m not sure that’s true Sheriff, I’m thinking your mind is elsewhere at a time you should be giving this killer your full attention.”
“And where do you think my attention is Mayor?”
“Well, if my eyes weren’t deceiving me, your attention was on Jennifer Stewart’s lips, instead of a killer, or was that not you I saw practically mauling the poor woman at lunch?”
My ire spiked; Mayor Hall had been five years ahead of me in school, class president and all around prick. His wife of twenty years left him for another man five years ago, and he was always searching for the next first lady of Gunnison. The fact he knew Jennifer by name, when she’d only been here four months, caught my attention.
“I wasn’t aware the Mayor or the council had jurisdiction over my lunch hour or my personal life, John?”
“No, that’s true, Jack, but if you’re too busy pursuing the new reporter to make time for this killer, I’m sure that we can find someone who will take the job more seriously.” I counted to ten to reign in my temper, but it didn’t work.
“John, let’s cut the crap. My department has handled this case by the book from the beginning. With a second murder, it’s clear to my staff and me, whether the FBI can classify this or not, that we have a serial or a copycat on our hands. No one in my department is taking this lightly, and we are all putting in overtime on this case. So unless you and the council have information in regards to this killer, I don’t have time to waste in a meeting when I should be spending it tracking down this asshole. As for the matter of my lunch hour and whom I spend it with don’t hold your breath waiting for that person to change anytime soon.”
“As always it’s a pleasure to talk to you Sheriff, I’ll be advising the council of our conversation, and letting them know you have more important pursuits at the moment.”
“You do that, John.” Slamming the phone down, I looked around for Debbie. Seeing Grady come from the interrogation room, I shouted at him.
“Grady, where the fuck is Debbie?” His eyebrows rose at my tone; looked at her desk, then back again.
“She had a doctor’s appointment at five, Jack, she can’t miss them with the baby due next month.”
“Christ, I forgot, ignore me Grady, your Dad just phoned and I made the mistake of answering the phone.”
Grady, more his mother’s than his father’s son, worked hard and didn’t want a leg up because of his father, who incidentally, couldn’t stand him any more than I did. The fact his dad had screwed everything with two legs before, during and after his mother walked out, might have had something to do with his feelings. How a man like John Hall had produced a man like Grady proved you could overcome your environment.
I started to move towards my office when the phones started ringing again, so I grabbed the phone and answered.
“Sheriff’s department, Sheriff Gunnison speaking.”
“There’s a body of a woman off the jogging trail near 135 and the Gunnison River.” Someone whispered over the phone. Feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up, my gut told me I was talking to the killer.
“You put her there?”
“Perceptive, Sheriff.”
“Why don’t you stay with the body and I’ll come to you, you can give yourself up, and we’ll get you some help.”
“Sure, Sheriff, come on down, I’m feeling repentant right now. Come get me and help me stop.” The sarcasm was dripping from his words. I snapped my fingers at Grady and indicated I needed a pen and paper, he handed them to me, and I wrote , Killer on the phone, body at 135 and Gunnison River crossing, find who is closest and get them there now. I’ll keep him on the line.
Handing the note back to Grady, he read it, nodded and then headed to the dispatch office.
“Tell me why you’re
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