A Man for All Seasons Read Online Free PDF

pier.”
    â€œShe accused Bib because she didn’t like him or his wife,” Brannon insisted. “She was angry at me, to boot. Accusing Bib was one way of getting back at me.”
    â€œMarc,” Simon said quietly, “you know what sort of upbringing she had. Her father was the youth minister of their church and her mother taught Sunday school. They were devout. She was raised strictly. She doesn’t tell lies.”
    â€œPlenty of girls go wild when they get away from home,” Brannon pointed out stubbornly. “And I’ll remind you that she slipped out of her house to go to that wild party when she was fifteen, and accused a boy of trying to rape her. The emergency room physician testified that there was no rape,” he added, and was visibly uncomfortable talking about it. “She was almost completely intact.”
    â€œYes, I know,” Simon said with a sigh. “Presumably her assailant was too drunk to force her.” He glanced at Brannon, whose face was strained. “We have to solve this murder as quickly and efficiently as possible, for Webb’s own sake.”
    â€œBib is a good man with a bright political future ahead of him,” Brannon said, relieved at the change of subject. “He’s already ahead in the polls in the senate race, and it’s just September.”
    â€œYou mean, Silvia has a bright political future ahead,” Simon murmured dryly. “She tells him what to wear and how to stand, for God’s sake. She’s the real power behind his success and you know it. Amazing insight, for a woman so young, with no real education.”
    Brannon shrugged. “Bib’s not a self-starter,” he admitted. “Silvia’s been his guardian angel from the beginning.”
    â€œI suppose so, even if he did rob the cradle when he married her.” He leaned back. “As I said earlier, I want this case solved quickly,” he added. “We’ve already been in the public eye too often because we have a Texan in the White House. We don’t need to be the focus of any more media investigations of our justice system.”
    â€œI agree. I’ll do what I can.”
    â€œYou’ll work with Josette,” Simon added firmly. “Whether or not you have to grit your teeth. You both know this case inside out. You can solve it.” If you don’t kill each other first, Simon thought.
    Â 
    Brannon waited for the elevator in the hall, leaning against the wall to observe a silk plant. There was a fine film of dust on it, and one petal was missing from the artificial rose. He wondered why the artificial flowersand plants in government office buildings never seemed to get dusted.
    The sound of the elevator arriving diverted his attention. He straightened up just as the doors slid open to admit a single occupant to the floor.
    Big dark brown eyes met his and went even darker with accusation and resentment in an oval face that had not even a touch of makeup. Her long blond hair was in a tight braided bun atop her head. She wore no jewelry except for a simple silver-and-turquoise cross suspended from a silver chain. Her shoes were gray, to match the neat, if outdated, suit she wore with a simple pink blouse. She was only twenty-four, but there were lines in that ordinary face, visible even through the big, gold-framed glasses she wore. His heart ached just at the sight of her.
    Her full mouth parted on a shocked breath, as if she hadn’t expected to see him. Certainly he’d hoped to get out of the building without running into her. Her gaze dropped to the badge on his shirt pocket.
    â€œI heard you were back working for the Rangers, in San Antonio,” Josette Langley said. Her face lifted as if with some effort and he noticed that her slender hands were clenched on the stack of files she was carrying. They were working hands; her short fingernails showed no polish, no professional manicure.
    He shoved