Raven: A political thriller Read Online Free PDF Page B

reprimanded for some of his
actions during his research of the youth’s criminal activities. But he was
proud that he had the tenacity to do the right thing by the victim, because the
senator’s son didn’t deserve to be saved from the justice system.
    Don didn’t like people who thought they were above the law and used
their influence to stop criminal investigations. It was those instances that
caused Don to pursue the case like a pit bull with his teeth clenched fiercely
in his person of interest. And, in most cases, it lead to uncovering other
crimes the perpetrator got away with. But in the end, in a jury trial, it
showed a pattern of behavior that caused jurors to be harsher on the defendant.
      Don always got satisfaction
when the defendant refused to take a plea agreement, which meant when they were
found guilty of their crime, their punishment was to the full extent of the
law—unlike the slap on the hand they would have gotten if they took the plea.

Chapter 5
     
    Chief Webber had run the homicide department for then years now. He
was five years away from retirement and wasn’t about to alienate anyone, or
make waves at this point in his career. He slowly walked around his desk. He
didn’t like the role he was asked to play today. Every homicide in the city was
important for him to get solved. He usually balked at the higher-ups forcing a
case to be placed on the front burner before other older cases. They were all
important in being solved, and making sure all the t’s were crossed and the i’s
were dotted so that a strong case was handed over to the prosecution.
    When you started dictating the importance of any one case, it tended
to make for not-so-happy campers around the station house. Don was one of his
best detectives, and his closing rate was right up there with the best of them.
He felt confident that if anyone could solve this and put it to bed in a timely
fashion, the right man was on the case. And his new partner could learn a few
lessons from a pro. But he knew pushing Don and Fred would not make either of
them happy.
    The Chief quickly sat down and then just looked up at Don and Fred as
they followed him into his office. Don brought in his breakfast sandwich and
coffee. He was not going to let them get cold, because he knew once the day
started there would be no time to stop and eat. Don just sat down nonchalantly
and took a big gulp of the hot liquid.
    “Well, what’s so important?” Don asked, knowing full well what this
was all about. He was just toying with the Chief.
    “What do you have?”
    Don and Fred looked at each other a moment as if not knowing what the
Chief was talking about.
    The Chief was annoyed with the game they were playing and then
snapped. “The VanBuren case!”
    Don quickly cut in, “I just got in.”
    “You must have something.”
    Fred leaned forward and quickly added, “We were going to interview the
people where she worked.”
    The Chief glanced at his watch, not aware anyone was paying attention
to him. It was almost eight.
    Fred turned to the Chief. “It’s too early.”
    Embarrassment was on the Chief’s face, realizing he had been read.
“Then what?” he asked.
    “We can go back to her house and have a second look at things,” Don
quickly added.
    “You don’t sound too enthusiastic.” The Chief sighed and then quickly
added, “The heat’s on, I need answers.”
    “Who is this girl anyway?” Don asked, curious why the concern. They
had other cases just as important as this one.
    Fred quickly piped in. “Yeah, what makes her case more special than
the others?”
    The Chief got up and looked outside the office and then pulled the
blinds, while Don took the opportunity to take a bite off his sandwich and
another gulp of his coffee. Once it was gone, Don threw the cup in the trash
while the Chief started pacing his office. He finally stopped and turned to the
two.
    “Did you know she was Senator Maxfield’s personal assistant?”
    Don just