Read Online Goodbye Sister Disco by James Patrick Hunt - Free Book Online Page A

we’re doing something about it. And some television news reporter is one step ahead of us. We can’t very well solve this by watching television, can we?”
    â€œNo, sir.”
    â€œHave you talked with this television reporter yet?”
    â€œNo, sir. I was planning to, but—well, sir, you called me in for this discussion.”
    He was pushing it, just. But then he’d just told the man he was waiting to talk to her about it. A police department is like any other organization: something bad happens, and everyone scrambles to avoid taking responsibility for it. Well, there had been a message, but my secretary forgot to tell me about it. And so forth. Hastings hated that sort of thing, and he was particularly hard on his own people when they tried it with him. But in this case, what had happened was legitimately beyond his control. He was getting irritated now because he believed Fenton Murray had to know that. And Hastings was fairly sure that Murray had gotten a full night’s sleep, while he and his men had not.
    Maybe the man sensed this, because the next thing he said was, “Did you get any sleep last night?”
    â€œNo, sir,” Hastings said.
    Assistant Chief Murray sighed. And Hastings realized it was as close to an apology as he was going to get that day. In a different tone, Murray said, “Well now it’s officially a kidnapping. So FBI’s in. We can work alongside, but it’s their game. The chief’s been on the phone with the local SAC. The ASAC and two of his agents are in the conference room.”
    â€œOkay,” Hastings said. He had been expecting it. Indeed, he had even warned the Penmarks that it would happen. But it had happened sooner than he expected. The videotape on the news had accelerated things. It had upset people and made them frightened and anxious. It had reminded the authorities that they were not the ones in control.
    Murray said, “Get as much of the file as you can, and meet us there as soon as possible.”
    â€œYes, sir.” Hastings stood up.
    â€œGeorge?”
    â€œYes, sir?”
    Murray hesitated for a moment. “Have you had any dealings with the FBI since the Cahalin thing?”
    The Cahalin thing.
    Hastings told himself he should not be surprised that Fenton had brought it up. In fact, now that it was out, he was surprised he hadn’t thought of it himself. Once they suspected that the Penmark girl had been kidnapped, it was just a matter of time before the FBI got involved. Frank Cahalin had been the former SAC for the FBI field office. He was dead now, having committed suicide. He had probably been aware that he would lose his trial. Hastings was not vain enough to be haunted by this. He was actually angry at Cahalin for doing it. By killing himself, Cahalin had deprived Hastings and others of the satisfaction of seeing him convicted in court. And Hastings had no doubt that he would have been.
    Now Hastings said, “No, sir. I have not had any business with the FBI since then.” His tone was a little hard then. He said, “Is the chief concerned about it?”
    Fenton Murray said, “He didn’t say anything to me about it.”
    After a moment, Hastings said, “And you, sir. Are you concerned about it?”
    Murray flashed him a fierce look. “I think Frank Cahalin was a piece of shit,” he said. “I’m not bothered in the slightest about him. But these feds may not see it that way.”
    â€œSo what.”
    â€œSo they may be a little chilly to you.”
    â€œI can handle it.”
    â€œYou sure?”
    Hastings wasn’t bothering to hide his anger anymore. “Are you pulling me off the case?”
    Murray’s tone matched his. “No, Lieutenant, I am not. What I’m telling you is, the primary goal is to get this girl returned to her parents safely. That’s the mission. You say you’ll conduct yourself professionally, I believe