I nearly went into shock. My wife never, I mean never, used profanity.
Camilla turned on her and sneered. “You pathetic people. I have powerful friends in the state government. I’ll have your license suspended so quickly you won’t know what’s happened.”
I smiled and spoke in a calm voice. “Mrs. Rottman, I hope you have some powerful friends in the Criminal Courts. Your son is charged with three murders. Murders he admitted in the presence of two witnesses. Murders he committed in an attempt to get a collection of Marathon Motor Works records that show your great-grandfather stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company.”
Her mouth dropped open for a moment, then closed tightly and her eyes flashed again. “Liar!” she shouted.
“If you haven’t seen them,” Jill said, “I’m sure TBI Agent Wayne Fought will be happy to show them to you.”
Camilla stood there for a moment, her expression running the gamut from shock to fear to total frustration. She spun on her heels and rushed out, leaving the door wide open. I walked over to close it, watching as her small red Jaguar spun its wheels and raced off.
I turned back to find Jill walking toward me, smiling. “I hope we didn’t blow anything for Agent Fought by mentioning the Marathon papers,” she said.
I checked my watch. “He’s probably meeting with Hedrick right now. Incidentally, you did a magnificent job, babe. I think we can cross Mrs. Rottman and her highfalutin friends off our potential client list.”
“Amen.” She threw her arms around me, resting her head on my shoulder. She looked up with a failed attempt at a doleful expression. “I’m sorry you won’t be sitting in the HI club suite at Titans Stadium this fall.”
“Yeah. I regret that almost as much as I regret not giving Kirk Rottman the chance to shoot me in the other arm.”
She started to giggle, then broke out laughing so hard I couldn’t help but join in. After all the misfortune that had plagued Marathon Motor Works’ demise and its aftermath, I relished the opportunity to wind up our involvement with a good guffaw. Wayne Fought might still have a few problems to resolve, but our case was all neatly wrapped up and ready for the archives.
About the Author
Chester Campbell got bitten by the writing bug when he started work as a newspaper reporter while a journalism student at the University of Tennessee. That was more than 60 years ago. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, freelance writer, magazine editor, political speechwriter, advertising copywriter, public relations professional and association executive. An Air Force intelligence officer in the Korean War, he retired from the Air Force Reserve as a lieutenant colonel. He is the author of five books in the Greg McKenzie mystery series and two books in the Sid Chance series. He also has two books out in a trilogy of Post Cold War political thrillers. His first Greg McKenzie novel, Secret of the Scroll, won a Bloody Dagger Award and was a finalist for Foreword Magazine's Mystery of the Year in 2003. The first Sid Chance book, The Surest Poison, won the 2009 Silver Falchion Award at the Killer Nashville Mystery Conference. He served as secretary of the Southeast Chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and is past president of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Website: http://www.chesterdcampbell.com/
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/WXLqZI
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