Read Online Corpus Corpus by Harry Paul Jeffers - Free Book Online Page A

justice."
    When they set down their drinks Janus asked, "Is making a deal for Paulie Mancuso's testimony justice?"
    Goldstein smiled. "The district attorney's office turned him into a witness. He's in protective custody. My office has never been invited into the loop."
    "Be glad you're not being dragged into that quagmire," said Janus as a scoop of rice with a dollop of quince jelly went into his mouth.
    "Will you be jumping in on Mancuso's side? Or have you been hired by the people he'll be testifying against?" "Neither, thank God. Merely curious."
    With delicate movements he took up knife and fork and cut a small piece of turkey only to be interrupted by a book's appearance before him. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Janus," said a young woman, holding the book between him and his dinner plate, "but will you please autograph this for me?"
    Taking a pen from his breast pocket and opening Janus for the Defense to the title page, he looked up at her smilingly and asked, "What's your name?"
    "It's not for me. I bought this for my father. He's a great admirer. Could you make it 'To Sidney' and then write something personal?"
    After thinking a moment, he wrote in green ink, "lb Sidney, Nothing corrupts a man as deeply as writing a book," and signed "Theo Janus" with a flourish.
    When the young woman was too far away to hear he said, "Very rude of her. But at least it was the hardcover edition, not the paperback."
    "If you are not getting involved in the Mancuso thing," said Goldstein, "why did you bring it up?"
    "I represented the scoundrel once. For about fifteen minutes. We parted company when he asked how much money it would take to bribe a couple of jurors. Maggie Dane was with me at the time. It was all I could do to keep her from leaping across the table and strangling the jerk. We've all come a long way since that day. I can't get out of my thoughts what a splendid career Maggie could have had if she had stayed on my side of the courtroom."
    Goldstein's eyes settled on her. "I guess she preferred to stand on the side of the angels."
    Cracking a smile, Janus turned his attention to the turkey. "Sergeant Bogdanovic may have inherited his passion, but it's too bad he hasn't your gift for quiet self-righteousness."
    Goldstein looked admiringly and with welling affection toward Bogdanovic. 'John's a good man. If I could get him reading more detective novels, he'd be even better. He's yet to grasp the truth that being a homicide cop isn't just a job. It's an art."
    "To quote the scripture according to Wolfe, 'Competence is so rare that it is a temptation to cling to it when we find it.' 

 

    As A WAITER served sherbet and sponge cake and Bogdanovic's intense brown eyes were directed not at the dessert but toward the head table, Maggie Dane leaned close. "Relax, Sergeant. No one is going to attack your boss."
    "Famous last words. Mrs. Lincoln: 'Come on, Abe, a night at the theater will do you good.' President Kennedy to the Secret Service: 'They love me in Dallas. Take the bubbletop off the limo.' Dr. Martin Luther King in Memphis: 'Let's step out on the balcony for a little fresh air.' John Lennon to Yoko Ono outside the Dakota: 'The kid only wants my autograph.' "
    With a little laugh that was a gust of warmth on his cheek, she startled him with a feathery kiss. "You are a gem. How did Harvey find you?"
    Picking up a dessert spoon, he replied, "It was through the police department magazine Spring 3100 , named after what used to be the department phone number. It had an article saying that the chief of detectives was looking for a man to be his assistant. I tossed my name in the hopper. Weeks went by. I assumed he'd found his man. Then I was called in for an interview. This consisted primarily of a lecture on the value of reading detective stories for real-life police. He never actually came right out and said I'd gotten the job. I found out after I'd left the office when his executive assistant asked me if I'd be needing anything