Read Online JO01 - Guilty or Else by Jeff Sherratt - Free Book Online

this is a murder case, and the Senator has information that I need.” I took a breath and tried to cool off. I realized I was talking to a messenger boy, an assistant’s assistant. “Look, Mr. Tidman, tell Welch that if he doesn’t call me, I’ll get a subpoena, drag him in—”
    “Good day, Mr. O’Brien.” The line went dead.
    I looked up Thomas French’s phone number. I didn’t know him personally, but I knew about him. Seemed like an okay guy; a family man, usher in his church, and he belonged to all the community service clubs, Rotary, that sort of thing.
    His name was constantly in the local paper, giving speeches, presenting awards, promoting the community, and raising money for worthy causes. He was a do-gooder deluxe, a real boy scout. I wondered how he found the time to practice law.
    Rita walked in just as I was about to place the call to French. She had on white Bermuda shorts and a loose-fitting blouse with cheerful flowers printed on it, bluebells or bluebonnets, some kind of blue flowers. With no clients to speak of, I didn’t insist on a dress code. Anyway, she looked bright and fresh with her perennial smile intact.
    “Good morning, Boss. Shall I make the coffee?”
    “No, Rita, it’s been made, but I’ve got something for you to do right now.”
    “Okay.”
    I took a number-ten envelope from my desk and handed it to her. “I want you to take this to the mailbox on the corner and pretend to mail it.”
    “What is this all about?” she asked, flipping the envelope over in her hand.
    “Rita, when you get to the mailbox, look around to see if you spot a blue Buick parked somewhere close by.”
    “Jimmy, what’s the story?”
    “Just look for the car, okay?”
    “Sure, but I’ll save the envelope; money’s tight, you know.” She winked.
    “That’s why you’re the money manager around here.”
    While waiting for Rita to return, I made the call to Thomas French’s office. He probably wasn’t there. He’d be out helping little old ladies cross the street.
    A female voice answered. “Law office. May I help you?”
    “Mr. French, please. Jimmy O’Brien calling about a matter involving his client, Senator Welch.”
    “Mr. French is away from the office.” Her voice turned cold, like a wind from the north. Her lips must be purple.
    “I’ll leave my number. Please have him call me back. It’s important. I have a hearing in a few days and I need to discuss an urgent matter regarding his client.”
    The frosty voice said French was in court and would check his messages during the break. But if he called me back, it wouldn’t be until court adjourned, in the afternoon.
    French might not know anything about Welch’s affair with Gloria Graham. Even if he did, I doubted that he would be willing to discuss it. He would only tell me facts already in the police report. I needed to go eyeball to eyeball with the Senator himself to see if he’d blink when I mentioned his romance with Gloria. But if I handled French right, maybe he could arrange a meeting. I figured I’d have to hound him until he answered my calls.
    Rita returned, humming a pleasant tune I didn’t recognize. She came into my office and handed me the envelope.
    “I saved the envelope,” she said, smiling. “But I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.”
    “You didn’t see a blue Buick?”
    “Let me see…there was a pick-up truck and a bug, you know a V-dub. I think it belongs to the guy in the State Farm office next door. And two or three other cars parked close.”
    “How about a blue car, a sedan? Maybe some guy sitting in the driver’s seat?”
    “Well, yes, but it was down by the corner. Some big guy sitting behind the wheel,” Rita said. “He was giving me the eye. I just figured he liked the way I looked.”
    “I’m sure he did,” I said.
    Rita turned to leave, then stopped. “Is this trouble, Jimmy?”
    “No, of course not. It seems I’ve picked up a tail.” I leaned back in my chair and