The Killer in My Eyes by Giorgio Faletti Read Free Book Online Page A

the grieving father or anything like that. There are young American men at war right now, in various parts of world. The loss of any one of them is as important as my son’s, the grief of a plumber in Detroit is no less great than the Mayor of New York’s. All I’ll let you say is that this city is mourning the loss of a great artist.’
    A pause.
    Jordan didn’t know who exactly his brother was talking to, but it was clear that it was someone in his Press Office.
    ‘All right. In any case, consult me before you decide anything.’
    As he put down the receiver, the door opened and Police Commissioner Maynard Logan walked into the room, wearing a fitting expression. ‘Christopher, I’m truly sorry. I came as soon as I—’
    The mayor interrupted him without the slightest sign that he had even heard what he had said. ‘Sit down, Maynard.’
    Jordan had never seen the Commissioner looking so embarrassed. When he noticed Jordan, his embarrassment increased exponentially.
    Logan sat down. Christopher leaned forward, put his elbows on the surface of the desk, and pointed his index finger at him.
    ‘Maynard, I want whoever killed my son to be caught. I want him locked up in Sing Sing. I want the other prisoners to beat the hell out of him every day and I want to be the one to give him the lethal injection when the time comes.’
    Christopher Marsalis was a politician, and like all politicians he knew what to say when he was in the public spotlight. In private, though, his language wasn’t always as refined.
    ‘And I want Jordan to conduct the investigation.’
    Three of the four men in the room were motionless for a moment: Jordan by the window, his brother with his finger raised, and Ruben Dawson looking with what seemed like great interest at the strap of his wristwatch. Only Commissioner Logan looked from one to the other.
    ‘But Christopher—’
    ‘Don’t “But Christopher” me, Maynard!’
    Logan tried to recover a little ground. ‘OK, let’s think about this for a moment. As a person, I have absolutely nothing against Jordan. We all know how good he is. But he isn’t the only good police officer around, and what’s more, there are procedures that even I can’t—’
    Logan seemed destined never to finish a sentence. Jordan saw his brother pounce on these words like a falcon on a henhouse.
    ‘I don’t give a fuck about procedures. Most of your men couldn’t find their own asses even with an anatomy chart in their hands.’
    ‘I have a duty to the community. How can I expect other people to obey the rules if I’m the first person to violate them?’
    ‘Maynard, we’re not at a police convention here. I know how the game works. Half the police officers in this city are taking bribes and the other half wish they were. Rules can be broken, it’s a matter of necessity.’
    Knowing it was his last throw of the dice, Logan tried to tackle the matter from another angle. ‘Jordan is emotionally involved in this case and might not be able to keep a cool head.’
    ‘Maynard, I saw what happened today. If Jordan was cool-headed enough to decipher that fucking number even after . . . after seeing what we saw, I don’t think he’d have any difficulty in pursuing the investigation.’
    ‘I don’t know . . .’ Logan sounded doubtful.
    ‘Well, I do. Or rather, I know what I want. And you have to help me get it.’
    For the first time since he had come in, Jordan spoke up. ‘Don’t you think my opinion matters in this discussion?’
    Maynard and Christopher looked at him as if he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. On Ruben Dawson’s pale, impassive face, there was the merest hint of a smile.
    Jordan left his place by the window and came and stood in front of the desk. ‘I’m out of the game, Christopher. God knows I’m sorry about Gerald, but by now I should have been at least a hundred and fifty miles away from here.’
    His brother raised his blue eyes towards him. ‘The road will still be there,