Lady Justice and the Candidate by Robert Thornhill Read Free Book Online

home.
        I was surprised to see many of the families that had been my customers, waiting in line to find a seat.
        Dave Richards, my old broker at City Wide Realty, along with thirty or more of my fellow realtors filled three of the pews.
        When the camera panned the back row, Mark said, “Who’s that mope and who’s the gal with him?”
        My mouth dropped open when I saw Louie the Lip and Maxine seated as close to the exit as they could possibly get.
        “If I tell you, you have to promise to keep it to yourself.”
        “Promise,” he said.
        “The guy that looks like Mick Jagger is Louie the Lip. He’s a street hustler and con man. Willie knew him from his days on the street and he’s helped me in a couple of our tough cases. He’s sort of an unofficial CI. Maxine is a hooker. She works Independence Avenue. We shared Thanksgiving dinner with her a couple of years ago.”
        “I shouldn’t have asked,” he said, shaking his head.
        As was the current custom, a screen in the foyer was displaying images of me from my childhood to my last days as an officer.
        Maggie and I had gone through our albums and selected the photos we wanted displayed.
        I figured this couldn’t hurt since there was a distinct possibility that such a video might actually be needed if this assignment suddenly took a disastrous turn.
        As I watched the photos flip across the screen, it reminded me of the old 1950’s TV show, This Is Your Life , hosted by Ralph Edwards.
        I was about to go get a soda since I had seen most of the photos dozens of times, when a crystal-clear image of me in drag flashed across the screen.
        It was followed by my candy-striper photo and finally by my impression of a dying man.
        Apparently, my buddies at the precinct couldn’t resist poking fun at the old man one more time by adding photos of my undercover assignments that I had hoped were long forgotten.
        Ben doubled over laughing. “Looks like you’ve had quite a distinguished career. After doing all of that, being me should be a breeze!”
        When the guests were seated, Maggie came from a room behind the sanctuary followed by Dad, Bernice, Mary, Willie, Jerry and the Professor.
        They were seated in the front row that had been reserved for them.
        I could see that their eyes were swollen and their faces were puffy.
        It was obvious that my death had been hard on all of them and I hated that I had to put them through such pain.
        Everyone’s eyes were on the photo of me in my dress blues on the day I received my first Medal of Valor. It sat atop the flag-draped casket that, of course, was empty since my body hadn’t been recovered.
        The sanctuary fell silent as Pastor Bob took his place behind the pulpit.
        “My friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Walter Williams.
        “I knew Walt pretty well --- not because he was a regular at my congregation, because he certainly wasn’t. In fact, I can’t remember seeing him in the congregation listening to one of my sermons more than a couple of times. Maybe that says something about my sermons.”
        That brought a smile to some of the very sad faces.
        “I knew Walt because he came to this house of worship when his soul was troubled and when he felt that his burden was more than he could bear. He sought counsel and guidance and left knowing that he was not carrying his burdens alone.
        “On one of the rare occasions that I did see him in the congregation, I had said that 'sitting in church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.' Afterward, he told me how much he liked that.
        “I think he liked it because he was the embodiment of it.
        “Although Walt rarely attended services, I can truthfully say that the life this man lived came as close to the teachings of the Master as