The Cruelest Cut Read Online Free PDF Page A

man’s shoes, maybe take a picture of the bottoms, for later elimination. He looked up and saw the mobile crime scene van parking at the top of the road. He also saw Maddy Brooks hobbling down the shoreline with a cameraman in tow.
    Jack keyed his radio and advised the uniformed sergeant in charge of the scene that they had company. In less than a minute two uniformed officers were headed down the bank to cut off Maddy Brooks and get her out of the crime scene.
    He watched the two uniforms corral the news crew, and although he couldn’t make out any words, he could hear her exasperated voice rising above the others as she was ushered out of the area. He could imagine the threats she was hurling down on their heads. He knew she had a job to do, but he couldn’t care less about her damn television station or her bastardized idea of the U.S. Constitution. The public’s right to know didn’t outweigh the rights of the victim. At least on that count, the fire rescue crew and Jack were in complete agreement.

C HAPTER F IVE
    â€œHe’ll see you now,” the mayor’s administrative secretary said.
    Chief Marlin Pope put down the Evansville Living magazine and nodded at the woman. He guessed her age as in her early forties, but the perpetual scowl she wore made her mouth into a straight-line gash with concentric wrinkles emanating from it, creating the effect of a broken pane of glass. Her hair was tightly permed and short like the geriatric set seemed to prefer. Her pinstriped black pants, coarse black blazer, and thick-soled, ugly shoes gave her the look of a stern jail matron. She was quite a contrast to the last secretary, who had looked to be all of seventeen years old, was a knockout, and was rumored to be extremely loyal to “his honor, the mayor,” but not too bright.
    Maybe he’s finally realized that youth and beauty do not necessarily equate to brains and ability, Pope thought. But, more likely, his wife hired this one.
    â€œGood morning, Mayor,” Pope said as he entered the spacious office. He didn’t bother to attempt to shake hands. It was no secret that Mayor Thatcher Hensley hated the very air that Pope breathed and would do everything in his power to replace him as soon as it was possible. The only thing stopping Hensley from replacing him now was a serious lack of backbone.
    Pope knew that he had the distinction of being the first black man in the history of Evansville to attain the promoted rank of deputy chief and the appointed rank of chief of police. The person the mayor was considering as a replacement for him was Deputy Chief Richard Dick—blond-haired, blue-eyed, tall, and lean, every bit the Aryan poster child.
    Mayor Hensley believed that replacing the popular Marlin Pope with the decidedly unpopular Richard Dick would be tantamount to political suicide. But in truth, it was an accepted political practice for an incoming mayor to replace the chief of police with his own selection.
    To his regret, when Hensley took office he delayed in naming a new chief of police. Now, almost a year later, the rumor that Hensley was considering doing so was viewed by the black community as a racial slight, by the public as a weakness, and by his own party as outright stupidity.
    But like any politician worth his salt, he had a backup plan. All he had to do was find good cause to dismiss Pope, maybe some type of malfeasance of office, or a corruption charge, and Hensley would be home free. The trouble was, Pope was good at what he did, and as far as Hensley had been able to ascertain, the man was as honest as, well, the Pope.
    â€œHave a seat, Marlin,” Hensley said, not bothering to address him by his title or even his proper name. Pope pretended not to notice the intended slight and sat directly across from the mayor. Thatcher Hensley leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Where are you on the murder of