Justifiable Homicide: A Political Thriller (Robert Paige Thrillers Book 1) by Robert W. McGee Page A
Authors: Robert W. McGee
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from his youth in Erie, Pennsylvania, which was just south of the Canadian border. Life was good.
He turned on the radio to get some music. Instead, he got a special news report.
Nathan Shipkovitz, a law professor at the University of Miami, was found dead a few minutes ago in his car, which was parked in the university’s parking lot. The cause of death appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Shipkovitz had been an outspoken critic of the federal government’s warrantless wiretapping and email monitoring program. He had written several papers on this topic for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Sources say a note was found under the car’s windshield wipers, but the police have not disclosed its contents.
The broadcast ruined his afternoon. He had never heard of the Electronic Frontier Foundation until that afternoon. Now it was part of the top local news story of the day. Could Wellington be behind the killing? Quite possible. Either he had set it up or he knew who did. It was too much of a coincidence.
Would Steinman be next? Was Paige’s new assignment the first step toward setting him up for the kill? Should he tell Wellington he changed his mind? Should he at least confront Wellington, face to face, to check his reaction?
16
North Miami Beach
“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”
Thomas Jefferson
“Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.”
George Orwell
Jim Bennett swiveled in his chair and gazed out his office window at the street below. He kept thinking about Santos. It bothered him that Santos shot Gabriella Acosta in the chest instead of the head. Assassins shouldn’t become emotionally involved with their targets. They should make decisions that are in their best interests, not the best interests of their targets or their families. Being overly sensitive is a weakness. Having a weak partner can get you killed.
Jim Bennett—born Jaime Benítez—worked for the FBI out of its North Miami Beach office on Northwest Second Avenue. His parents came to Miami shortly after Fidel Castro seized power. His main job at the FBI was to keep track of the Latin American drug cartels. As a side job he kept the CIA informed of local FBI activities, for which he received a monthly cash stipend he neglected to include on his tax return. John Wellington also hired him to do freelance work from time to time.
The all-female Spanish-speaking staff at Super Cuts in Sunny Isles Beach liked seeing him walk through their door. Good looking and taller than average – a few inches under six feet with wavy, dark brown hair – they enjoyed flirting with him and he flirted right back.
He kept fit by jogging and going to the gym, although his body wasn’t as rock solid as it used to be when he served in the military, where he learned to kill without thinking twice. On a few occasions, he had been part of a team that executed entire families in their homes, including women and children, up close and personal. That’s why it didn’t bother him when Santos killed Gabriella Acosta.
Seth Newman, a young attorney who started working for the FBI a few months after graduation, walked into Bennett’s office and sat down in the plush leather chair next to Bennett’s desk. “Jim, I just got back from that briefing on the new law that Senator Tom Garrett is sponsoring. I’m a little disturbed.”
“Why’s that?”
“I think major portions of it are unconstitutional. If it passes, we’ll be in charge of enforcing an unconstitutional law.”
Bennett shifted in his chair and leaned forward. His piercing brown eyes and thick eyebrows made people feel uncomfortable when he looked them directly in the eyes, which was what he was doing to Seth. “What else is new? Some provisions of the Patriot Act are unconstitutional too, along with most of the anti-terrorist laws that Congress has been passing.
He turned on the radio to get some music. Instead, he got a special news report.
Nathan Shipkovitz, a law professor at the University of Miami, was found dead a few minutes ago in his car, which was parked in the university’s parking lot. The cause of death appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Shipkovitz had been an outspoken critic of the federal government’s warrantless wiretapping and email monitoring program. He had written several papers on this topic for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Sources say a note was found under the car’s windshield wipers, but the police have not disclosed its contents.
The broadcast ruined his afternoon. He had never heard of the Electronic Frontier Foundation until that afternoon. Now it was part of the top local news story of the day. Could Wellington be behind the killing? Quite possible. Either he had set it up or he knew who did. It was too much of a coincidence.
Would Steinman be next? Was Paige’s new assignment the first step toward setting him up for the kill? Should he tell Wellington he changed his mind? Should he at least confront Wellington, face to face, to check his reaction?
16
North Miami Beach
“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”
Thomas Jefferson
“Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.”
George Orwell
Jim Bennett swiveled in his chair and gazed out his office window at the street below. He kept thinking about Santos. It bothered him that Santos shot Gabriella Acosta in the chest instead of the head. Assassins shouldn’t become emotionally involved with their targets. They should make decisions that are in their best interests, not the best interests of their targets or their families. Being overly sensitive is a weakness. Having a weak partner can get you killed.
Jim Bennett—born Jaime Benítez—worked for the FBI out of its North Miami Beach office on Northwest Second Avenue. His parents came to Miami shortly after Fidel Castro seized power. His main job at the FBI was to keep track of the Latin American drug cartels. As a side job he kept the CIA informed of local FBI activities, for which he received a monthly cash stipend he neglected to include on his tax return. John Wellington also hired him to do freelance work from time to time.
The all-female Spanish-speaking staff at Super Cuts in Sunny Isles Beach liked seeing him walk through their door. Good looking and taller than average – a few inches under six feet with wavy, dark brown hair – they enjoyed flirting with him and he flirted right back.
He kept fit by jogging and going to the gym, although his body wasn’t as rock solid as it used to be when he served in the military, where he learned to kill without thinking twice. On a few occasions, he had been part of a team that executed entire families in their homes, including women and children, up close and personal. That’s why it didn’t bother him when Santos killed Gabriella Acosta.
Seth Newman, a young attorney who started working for the FBI a few months after graduation, walked into Bennett’s office and sat down in the plush leather chair next to Bennett’s desk. “Jim, I just got back from that briefing on the new law that Senator Tom Garrett is sponsoring. I’m a little disturbed.”
“Why’s that?”
“I think major portions of it are unconstitutional. If it passes, we’ll be in charge of enforcing an unconstitutional law.”
Bennett shifted in his chair and leaned forward. His piercing brown eyes and thick eyebrows made people feel uncomfortable when he looked them directly in the eyes, which was what he was doing to Seth. “What else is new? Some provisions of the Patriot Act are unconstitutional too, along with most of the anti-terrorist laws that Congress has been passing.
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