Miranda's War Read Online Free PDF

be?”
    â€œI want you to come to the Commission meeting on Monday night.”
    â€œSo I can tell them they’re being pansies in person?”
    â€œNo, to watch. I want to know what you think of my performance up there. And if you think I’m going too far, give me a signal.”

Chapter Five
    Rebecca was there, sitting in the front row of the Commission room with a hat, her wristwatches, a smartphone and accompanied by two friends who lived in Lincoln. Then there was Archer, and seated beyond him, Professor Blair Hull, a Harvard sociologist, the owner of the peace sign barn, wearing a tweed sports coat and gray slacks, and his wife. He fixed his gaze at Miranda and studied her face. She made small talk—a difficult task—with Nathan Griswold while they waited for Karl to arrive and begin. At 7:00 Karl took his seat and announced they were in session. The agenda, as everyone knew, consisted of several minor items, which were dispensed with in minutes. Then there was “the suggestion of Commissioner Dalton that the property at 101 Trapelo Road, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Blair Hull, is in violation of section 41(A) of the Zoning Ordinance.”
    Karl recognized Professor Hull. He walked from his seat to a microphone and only then focused on Karl.
    â€œCommissioners, our barn is a landmark in this town. It was painted in 1967, and we’re the fourth owners since then. Each owner has carefully preserved it and respected the town’s ordinance. As far as we knew, it was in compliance when we bought it eleven years ago. Commissioner Dalton says it’s two shades off the color chart. She may be right, but the shades of green were chosen to blend in with the landscape. If you order us to change the color, we’ll repaint it. It will cost us $6,000 and nobody will notice a difference. But I respectfully suggest this isn’t about the color of our barn. Mrs. Dalton has a political motive here. Because she seems so concerned about my politics, I have looked into hers. She’s a registered Republican. She gave money to Mitt Romney’s campaign and George W. Bush.”
    â€œAlright, Professor Hull,” Karl said, “we don’t question each other’s motives here. I assume the good faith of everyone who appears before us, unless there is some reason not to, and that’s not a reason to doubt the Commissioner’s motive. Am I right?”
    He looked over at her sternly and the room stopped. She decided to double down, showing her unflappability under fire—the most important lesson General George Patton said one had to have in battle.
    â€œAbsolutely, Mr. Chairman. I noticed the barn because we all notice it. It demands attention. And my eye is trained to these things, the color code, diseased trees, an empty flowerpot at the center of town. I have no idea what Professor Hull’s political affiliation is. If he owns that barn, he is subject to the Zoning Ordinance.”
    It was a whopper, but she pulled it off with distinction. Rebecca was impressed. She nodded and gave a thumbs-up. And Karl believed it.
    â€œAlright, Mr. Hull,” he said, “do you have anything else to say in your defense?”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    But Hull was not convinced of Miranda’s good faith. He stared at her with utter contempt.
    Karl declared the debate over and asked for the vote to be taken on whether to approve the issuance of a notice of intent to fine Mr. and Mrs. Blair Hull for their “willful violation of section 41(A) of the Zoning Ordinance,” quoting the wording from Miranda’s proposal with emphasis on the word “willful” so as to highlight its adversarial tone.
    He asked Julia, seated at the right end of the dais, for her vote.
    â€œI have to say I was quite skeptical of this approach when I first heard it, and I’ve done a great deal of reading about the broken glass theory of policing and some other things Commissioner Dalton