Closure (Jack Randall) by Randall Wood Read Free Book Online Page B

switch the focus of the debate.
    “I cannot get behind anything that will cost this nation and my district alone hundreds of thousands of jobs. You’re talking a lot of votes that I can’t afford to lose. Not to mention a loss of millions in taxes. How’s the President going to explain that?”
    Charlie looked at his aide. The aide quickly opened a file and started reading out loud. “Our current numbers show an annual cost of four billion dollars to cover immediate medical care of gunshot wounds. That was last year, up 12% from the year before. Lifetime follow-up care and economic loss due to gunshot injuries is estimated at 20 billion per year. None of this cost is subsidized by the gun manufacturers. Pistols and revolvers account for over 80% of these injuries.” The aide looked up and smiled at the Senator.
    John Harper did not return his smile. Having the Deputy Chief of Staff lecture him was one thing, having this kid do it was another. He shifted his gaze to Mr. Parker. The two of them had done battle on many occasions, but they at least had a mutual respect for one another. The Senator had won more battles than he had lost, but that was before the last election. The Democrats had picked up more seats in the House this term, and defeating the bill this time would be harder than before. He was still kicking himself for falling for the last bill offering. The ruse had sucked him and his followers in and made them look bad compared to the President, the result being a loss of the majority in both the House and the Senate. Fortunately, there were still a lot of people on the fence in regard to the bill, and he and Charlie Parker both knew that the last headcount was still in his favor. This meeting was nothing but a fishing expedition. Charlie needed to know if there was room to negotiate, or if it was just plain war.
    He was not going to like the Senator’s answer.

 
    The state of Connecticut holds 19,846 inmates in its prisons.
Approximately 13,296 are repeat offenders.
    —SEVEN—

    D anny broke the yokes on his triplet of over-easy eggs and spread them around. Susan watched with some degree of amusement. For some reason he was excited about something. She blew on her cup of coffee, and waited for the explosion of words that was just a few bites away. Breakfast with Danny was a rare offer, but it was usually in conjunction with a request for information. It was also something of a spectacle to watch. Danny was the second youngest of eight, and always ate like someone was going to come along and snatch his plate away. Slice of toast in one hand to shovel the fork full of eggs, bacon, pancakes, sausage or a combination of all four, interrupted only by quick trips to the coffee mug that somehow remained upright. She was careful not to sit too close; she didn’t wish to be stabbed with the fork. She just worked on her bagel and coffee and waited.
    The fork finally hit the plate, and the last of the toast was used to sop up the remaining egg yoke. A quick swipe of the napkin and Danny was off.
    “So have you heard anything interesting around the office?” He grinned.
    She couldn’t help but grin back at him; he wasn’t even going to try to hide it. “About what?” she replied innocently.
    “About what? The dead lawyer, what else is there?”
    “I haven’t heard anything, not even in the break room. For some reason the boys aren’t yakking it up as usual over this one. Even Donna is in the dark. If she doesn’t know anything, I sure as hell don’t.”
    As much as he was disappointed, he wasn’t surprised either. Obviously the FBI had put a lid on the case and told everyone to keep their mouths shut. Donna was the Chief’s secretary and she and Susan often had lunch together, another fringe benefit of his relation with Susan. He thought about this for a moment. The envelope contained something, something worthy of the FBI’s attention, and worthy enough for them to send one of their top investigators;