Murder in the Supreme Court (Capital Crimes Series Book 3) by Margaret Truman Read Free Book Online Page A

just walks into the main chamber of the United States Supreme Court and kills the chief clerk?”
    “You can never figure women, Miss Pinscher. No offense. Can I call you Susanna?”
    “Sure. Unless you prefer Candy.”
    “As the poet said, Candy’s dandy but liquor’s quicker.”
    “So true… Look, Lieutenant, I hate to be a party-pooper but a man is stone dead by hands other than his own. Maybe we ought to get back to cases.”
    He nodded gravely, but pleaded for a reprieve until they’d finished off apple strudel and coffee served in glasses resting in silver filigree holders.
    “All right,” he said, patting his stomach, “what do
you
think? Is Childs right about the perpetrator, as my boss would say? Did a woman do in young Sutherland?”
    “—Certainly seems reasonable.”
    “What did Childs personally think of Sutherland?”
    “Didn’t like him, called him one of the soft generation.”
    “That wouldn’t sit well with Childs. I did some reading up on him this week. A real hard-nose, military all the way. I never realized he came out of a poor background. Somehow I always assume people in his position were born right.”
    “Give him credit. He’s a classic American success story.”
    “Yeah. I got a hold of that series
Life
did on him, the one written by Dan Brazier. It was good.”
    She nodded. “I read that series too. That was an interesting story in itself, the relationship between Childs and Brazier,” she said, referring to a close friendship that had developed between the two men.
    Brazier had been a UPI reporter assigned to Korea. Like Childs, he’d been captured by the North Koreans while covering a front-line skirmish, and they’d ended up in the same prisoner-of-war camp. The escape masterminded by Childs included five other prisoners, Brazier among them. They became inseparable after that, and Brazier had what amounted to an exclusive pipeline to the war’s leading hero, the
Life
series representing only one of several rewards for that closeness.
    After the war, Brazier ran into serious medical problemsdirectly linked to his captivity. One of his legs was amputated. A year later his other leg had to come off and he retired from journalism. As far as Susanna knew, he lived in obscurity in San Francisco.
    “Does Childs still support him?” Teller asked.
    “I don’t know. The last I heard he did.” Morgan Childs had sent a check to Dan Brazier every month for years. He’d tried to do it anonymously, but the press learned of it and reported on his generosity, which only added to his public image of a heroic, loyal and dedicated human being.
    “An after-dinner drink?” Teller asked.
    “Thank you, no. I really should get home. I was supposed to spend the weekend with my kids but this morning’s meeting with Justice Childs threw a monkey wrench into my plans. I want to get out to see them first thing tomorrow.”
    “I don’t see much of my kids. Two daughters, both in college. They come through once in a while, but most of their free time is spent with their mother in Paris.”
    Her eyes widened. “Paris, France?”
    “Paris, Kentucky. She married some guy from there. Nice guy, takes good care of her, which got me off the alimony hook… By the way, I don’t know what you like to do when you aren’t working, but I’ve got two tickets to Cav-Pag at Kennedy Center next weekend.”
    “Cav-Pag?”
    “Two one-act operas,
Cavalleria Rusticana
and
Pagliacci
. They usually play them together and call it Cav-Pag. Do you like opera?”
    “I take it you do.”
    “Love it. I’m a hell of a tenor in the shower.”
    “Can I let you know later in the week?”
    “Sure.”
    Her car was parked a short distance from the restaurant. He walked her to it.
    “Thank you for a lovely dinner,” she said. “I didn’t intend for you to pay, especially since I chose the restaurant.”
    “You chose good. Besides, it was worth every penny. I like talking to you.”
    “Thank you. I don’t