The Law Of Three: A Rowan Gant Investigation by M. R. Sellars Read Free Book Online

down,
then in a swift motion snatched up a full Pyrex globe of java and
filled them all with a single practiced pour.
    Ben slid partially out of the booth and in a
pivoting motion ferried the steaming mugs to our table.
    “Youse gonna be here for a bit?” Chuck
asked.
    “A while, probl’y,” Ben returned. “Why?”
    The large man behind the counter hooked his
thumb over his shoulder. “I gotta go in the back and check in a
delivery. Wendy oughta be here in a bit. You wanna yell back there
if someone comes in before she gets here?”
    “We can do that.”
    “I ‘preciate it.” Chuck nodded as he turned,
then called back over his shoulder before disappearing into the
back of the diner, “If youse want any more coffee, help
yerselfs.”
    A quiet lull ensued, broken randomly by
the noise of Chuck shifting boxes in the back room and Felicity
stripping open packets of sugar. The static-plagued tune of
the Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” fell in behind the duet as it wafted from the speaker of a
tinny radio behind the counter.
    Considering what was happening a few blocks
away, I suppose the song was appropriate.
    “Can you tell me what’s going on now, Ben?” I
finally appealed.
    “There ain’t no other way to say this. You’ve
been banned from any investigations involving the Major Case
Squad.”
    I blinked. I waited for him to tell me he was
kidding. He didn’t, so I spoke. “Excuse me? Banned? Why?”
    “Listen,” he started again. “That’s what I
was gettin’ ready to tell ya’. With Bee-Bee runnin’ the show,
there’s not a hell of a lot I can do.”
    “Who’s Bee-Bee?” I asked, shaking my head. “I
thought somebody named Albright was in charge.”
    “That’s Bee-Bee. Bible Barb,” he explained.
“Lieutenant Barbara ‘fuckin’ holier than thou’ Albright.”
    “But, I thought you were running this
investigation,” Felicity said.
    He shook his head. “I’m just the
investigating officer of record for the original case.”
    “Well doesn’t that carry any weight?” I
asked.
    “For gettin' me outta bed in the middle of
the night, maybe, but that’s about it. It’s pretty simple. She
lieutenant, me lowly detective, and that’s the size of it.”
    “Banned?” I repeated again.
    “Yeah, Row. Banned.”
    “Aye, but you seemed to be running things
before,” Felicity interjected.
    “Yeah, well it doesn’t usually happen that
way. It did then, but only because I was originally assigned the
case, and the powers that be gave me some breathing room.”
    “So why aren’t they now?” I asked.
    “Well, let’s see…” He rolled his eyes and
huffed out a breath. “For starters, the lieutenant I reported to
with the Major Case Squad retired.”
    “And this Albright woman is the replacement?”
my wife half asked, half stated.
    “Exactly.”
    “Correct me if I’m wrong,” I posed, “but I
was under the impression that lieutenants were basically management
and that they didn’t get that directly involved in
investigations.”
    “Yeah, pretty much,” he agreed with a nod.
“But not always. Some of ‘em get involved. As it happens, Bee-Bee
is a real hands-on, stir-the-shit type.”
    “So can’t you go over her head?” I
pressed.
    “Not really. I dunno if you missed it, but in
the past year we’ve gotten a new mayor and a new police chief in
the city.”
    “Yeah, so?”
    “Yeah, so, there’s been a change in
management my friends, and I’m not exactly considered a model
employee right now.”
    “Why is that?” Felicity asked.
    “Does a little nocturnal incident at the
morgue a few weeks ago ring a bell?” he asked.
    Unfortunately, it did. During the hunt for
the serial rapist, I had convinced Ben to get me into the medical
examiner’s office to view the remains of a victim from an
overlapping investigation. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a
problem, except that I had talked him into doing so in the middle
of the night. The chaotic psychic events that ensued