Final Act by Dianne Yetman Read Free Book Online

damned helplessness and how it would affect him.  She’d decided to call him in the morning.   Her decision haunted her dreams.
    She reluctantly turned off the shower.  It was the ultimate of showers; a shower that wraps water, sound, light and steam together with the push of a button.  Most people, when choosing a condo, fall in love with the layout, the kitchen, the gardens, or the balcony.  She had fallen in love with the shower.   Towelling off, she didn’t think about what she would wear.  When an investigation was running in the fall of the year, it was always the same:  a black turtleneck , black jeans , red blazer, and black Doc Martens .
    Finishing her breakfast of coffee, orange juice and lightly buttered toast , she punched in David’s cell number.  It went to voice mail.  She left a message that she was on a case and this weekend wouldn’t work.  Told him she would call when things slowed down.  She left the condo and headed for the precinct. 
    ***
    The team met in the small boardroom and judging by the looks on their faces, it was obvious to Kate she wasn’t the only one who thought the morning arrived too soon.  She took the empty seat next to Roger.  Gordon seemed at a bit of a loss because a round table has no helm.  As a consequence, he sat higher in his chair than the others.  No doubt there were a couple of New York City directories under his butt.   She sat in the empty chair b etween Roger and Sgt. Withers.
    Withers, whose normal duties consisted of supervising new recruits, collating and filing overtime reports, and in control of the hated, most debated, ever changing document in a police precinct, the duty roster. 
    Withers was the man for the job.  He was incorruptible, rigid, dogmatic, bribe resistant; an iron will that hell on earth would not bend.   He had obviously been seconded to the interviewing team.  Pity the poor actors he had on his list.
    Cst. Shirley Proctor sat directly across from Kate.  A computer whiz who seemed to be able to capture the goods on the most obscure on the internet in record times, she was a highly valued member of the murder investigation team.  Shirley had entered the police force at a greater age than most recruits but Kate had no doubt that with her talents, she would zoom by the more senior recruits.
    Strange to see her part of the interviewi ng team , Kate thought . Minutes after Gordon star ted the meeting, she understood .  Shirley was coordinating, escorting the actors and crew to the interview rooms and would keep the interviewing team on schedule.  The meeting was quick.  They had to be at the theatre by 8:00am.  Once Gordon briefed them on how they were to proceed, he ended the meeting.  The team exited the room together and made a mad dash to the police car pool. 
     
    ***
    A bleary eyed cast and crew of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof sat in the front rows of the theatre.   No one spoke but a lot of body language was happening - everything from facial twitches to drumming fingers and feet - a nervous group ripe for the picking.  
    At the sound of footsteps, all heads turned in unison to watch six police officers march down the aisle, mount the steps and stand centre stage in parade perfect formation. Kate, Ro ger, Gordon, Withers, Shirley and Tom looked out at their audience with blank faces.
    Charlotte leaned into Andrew. 
    “Heaviest grand entrance I’ve ever seen”, she said.
    Andrew swallowed his response.  
    Gordon stepped forward, introduced himself and the team.  He extended his thanks to everyone for making the effort to be here on time after such a long and no doubt, stressful night.   Promises of a speedy process were made and reassurances of confidentiality given.
    Tuning Gordon’s spiel out, Kate scanned the faces. No surprises in the facial expressions; it was always the same .  T he majority people looked at police the way they looked at strange dogs - a lert, wary.  Her gaze halted for a moment on the