In the Midst of Death Read Online Free PDF Page A

one guy, the polls show he's in trouble, his opponent is wiping the floor with him. So his campaign manager says, 'Okay, what we'll do, we'll spread a story about him. We'll tell everybody he fucks pigs.' So the candidate asks if it's true, and the campaign manager says it's not. 'So we'll let him deny it,' he says. 'We'll let him deny it.' "

    "I follow you."

    "Throw enough mud and some of it sticks. Some fucking cop is leaning on Portia, that's what's happening. He wants me to stop working withPrejanian and in return she'll drop the charges. That's what it's all about."

    "Do you know who's doing it?"

    "No. But I can't break it off withAbner . And I want those charges dropped. They can't do anything to me in court, but that's not the point.
    Even without going to court they'll have a departmental investigation.Except they won't be investigating a damn thing because they already know what conclusion they want to come up with. They'll suspend me immediately and they'll wind up kicking me out of the department."

    "I thought you resigned."

    He shook his head. "Why would I resign, for Christ's sake? I got better than twelve years, close to thirteen. Why would I quit now? I took a leave of absence when I first decided to get in touch withPrejanian .
    You can't be on active duty and play ball with the Special Prosecutor at the same time.

    The department would have too many openings to shaft you. But I never even thought about resigning.

    When this is over I expect to be back on the force."

    I looked at him. If he really meant that last sentence, then he was a whole lot stupider than he looked or acted. I didn't know his angle in helpingPrejanian , but I knew he was finished for life as far as the police department was concerned. He had turned himself into an untouchable and he would wear the caste mark as long as he lived. It didn't matter whether the investigation shook up the department or not. It didn't matter who was forced to put in for early retirement or who went to slam. None of that mattered. Every cop on the force, clean or dirty, straight or bent, would mark JeromeBroadfield lousy for the rest of his life.

    And he had to know it. He'd been carrying a badge for over twelve years.

    I said, "I don't see where I come in."

    "Freshen that drink for you, Matt?"

    "No, I'm fine. Where do I come in,Broadfield ?"

    He cocked his head, narrowed his eyes. "Simple," he said. "You used to be a cop so you know the moves. And you're a private detective now so you can operate freely. And- "

    "I'm not a private detective."

    "That's what I heard."

    "Detectives take complicated examinations to get their licenses.
    They charge fees and keep records and file income tax returns. I don't do any of those things. Sometimes I'll do certain things for certain friends.As a favor. They sometimes give me money.As a favor."

    He cocked his head again,then nodded thoughtfully, as if to say that he had known there was a gimmick and that he was happy to know what the gimmick was. Because everybody had an angle and this was mine and he was sharp enough to appreciate it. The boy liked angles.

    If he liked angles, what the hell was he doing withAbnerPrejanian
    ?

    "Well," he said. "Detective or not, you could do me a favor. You could see Portia and find out just how tied up in this she wants to be.
    You could see what kind of a hold they got on her and how we could maybe break the hold. One big thing would be finding out who it is that's got her filing charges. If we knew the bastard's name, we could figure out how to deal with him."

    He went on this way, but I wasn't paying too much attention. When he slowed to take a breath I said,

    "They want you to cool it withPrejanian . Get out of town, stop cooperating, something like that."

    "That has to be what they want."

    "So why don't you?"

    He stared at me. "You got to be kidding."

    "Why did you tie up withPrejanian in the first place?"

    "That's my business, Matt, don't you think? I'm hiring