Read Online The Devil's Water: Scenic City Murder Series #1 by Amanda Swafford - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Amanda Swafford
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feelin’ better?” Clutch asked as he returned the smile.
“Yeah. I just had an upset stomach is all. Spent most of the day in the bathroom.”
“Is that right?” Clutch asked, the smile turning into an expression of concern. “Well Martin, what I’ve called you down here for is to talk to you about the article that came out in the paper yesterday.”
“Oh, yeah. That was terrible. How is Tasha?”
“Well fortunately, after talking to her, I convinced her to stay with the case. She had been drinking yesterday. This whole thing has been very hard on her and, as you know, she drinks a little too much.”
“Yeah, I know she has a problem with that.” Vicelli said as he darted his eyes away and looked down at his shoes. Clutch’s gaze never wavered. He stared at Vicelli.
“Well Martin, since we’re talking about the major players involved in this recent turn of events, I have to ask you. How’s Hank Gamblin?”
Vicelli’s eyes opened wide. He glanced back up at Clutch. “What?”
“Hank Gamblin. The reporter from the paper. The one who wrote the nasty news article yesterday.”
“Well…I don’t even really know him. I…I don’t talk to him.” Vicelli stuttered.
“Aw, c’mon Martin. You know Hank! Everyone around here knows Hank. It’s just that you know him better than most. Matter of fact, you’ve been leaking information to him since this whole thing started.” Clutch said with a wicked smile on his face.
“N..no. You’ve got it all wrong.” Vicelli said. Clutch noticed that his upper lip was beginning to sweat. He watched as Vicelli swallowed, his Adam’s apple jumping up and down.
“Well, I’m a betting man Martin. I’ll bet that I can lean on Hank and get him to squeal. See Martin, Hank ain’t loyal to anybody. Even his, shall we say, anonymous sources close to the investigation?”
Martin Vicelli stared at Clutch. A drop of sweat trickled from his temple to his cheekbone and finally landed on his dark pants. His upper lip was absolutely drenched. “Are you gonna fire me?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Depends. Skopic and I talked it over. There is some information you could feed Gamblin that would be beneficial to the police department and those of us who are trying to catch this bastard. You do that and we’ll see what we can do about keeping you around. You’ll probably be demoted from detective, though.”
Vicelli’s face turned white. “What’s the other option?”
“Well, if you don’t cooperate, I am putting you on leave without pay. Then I’ll make sure there is a full and thorough internal affairs investigation and then….I’ll fire your ass. I don’t think you want to go down that road, do you?”
“No I don’t.” Vicelli finally whispered. Clutch wasn’t sure but he thought the man was about to cry. “What do I need to do?”
“When the time is right, I want you to give Gamblin some information. We have reason to believe it’s false but it might put the killer on the move. It’s worth a try, anyway. I will depend on you to do exactly as I say. You veer from the plan at all and you can kiss your solid career and pension goodbye. Understood?”
Vicelli’s lip was quivering. Clutch stared at him for a full minute while he tried to get his emotions under control. “Understood.”
CHAPTER18
Tasha Yoder was standing in the middle of her classroom watching the students examine various pieces of evidence. The class was Crime Scene Investigation and the course had closed quickly for the fall quarter. Everyone wanted to be a CSI. They all thought they could be the next Ted Danson or Jorja Fox. Little did the students know that crime scene analysis wasn’t nearly as exciting as what they saw on TV. All of the crime dramas had these “wonder computers” where any information pertaining to the case was only a few seconds and the press of a button away. Tasha was very aware that it didn’t work like that in real life. Right at
“Yeah. I just had an upset stomach is all. Spent most of the day in the bathroom.”
“Is that right?” Clutch asked, the smile turning into an expression of concern. “Well Martin, what I’ve called you down here for is to talk to you about the article that came out in the paper yesterday.”
“Oh, yeah. That was terrible. How is Tasha?”
“Well fortunately, after talking to her, I convinced her to stay with the case. She had been drinking yesterday. This whole thing has been very hard on her and, as you know, she drinks a little too much.”
“Yeah, I know she has a problem with that.” Vicelli said as he darted his eyes away and looked down at his shoes. Clutch’s gaze never wavered. He stared at Vicelli.
“Well Martin, since we’re talking about the major players involved in this recent turn of events, I have to ask you. How’s Hank Gamblin?”
Vicelli’s eyes opened wide. He glanced back up at Clutch. “What?”
“Hank Gamblin. The reporter from the paper. The one who wrote the nasty news article yesterday.”
“Well…I don’t even really know him. I…I don’t talk to him.” Vicelli stuttered.
“Aw, c’mon Martin. You know Hank! Everyone around here knows Hank. It’s just that you know him better than most. Matter of fact, you’ve been leaking information to him since this whole thing started.” Clutch said with a wicked smile on his face.
“N..no. You’ve got it all wrong.” Vicelli said. Clutch noticed that his upper lip was beginning to sweat. He watched as Vicelli swallowed, his Adam’s apple jumping up and down.
“Well, I’m a betting man Martin. I’ll bet that I can lean on Hank and get him to squeal. See Martin, Hank ain’t loyal to anybody. Even his, shall we say, anonymous sources close to the investigation?”
Martin Vicelli stared at Clutch. A drop of sweat trickled from his temple to his cheekbone and finally landed on his dark pants. His upper lip was absolutely drenched. “Are you gonna fire me?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.
“Depends. Skopic and I talked it over. There is some information you could feed Gamblin that would be beneficial to the police department and those of us who are trying to catch this bastard. You do that and we’ll see what we can do about keeping you around. You’ll probably be demoted from detective, though.”
Vicelli’s face turned white. “What’s the other option?”
“Well, if you don’t cooperate, I am putting you on leave without pay. Then I’ll make sure there is a full and thorough internal affairs investigation and then….I’ll fire your ass. I don’t think you want to go down that road, do you?”
“No I don’t.” Vicelli finally whispered. Clutch wasn’t sure but he thought the man was about to cry. “What do I need to do?”
“When the time is right, I want you to give Gamblin some information. We have reason to believe it’s false but it might put the killer on the move. It’s worth a try, anyway. I will depend on you to do exactly as I say. You veer from the plan at all and you can kiss your solid career and pension goodbye. Understood?”
Vicelli’s lip was quivering. Clutch stared at him for a full minute while he tried to get his emotions under control. “Understood.”
CHAPTER18
Tasha Yoder was standing in the middle of her classroom watching the students examine various pieces of evidence. The class was Crime Scene Investigation and the course had closed quickly for the fall quarter. Everyone wanted to be a CSI. They all thought they could be the next Ted Danson or Jorja Fox. Little did the students know that crime scene analysis wasn’t nearly as exciting as what they saw on TV. All of the crime dramas had these “wonder computers” where any information pertaining to the case was only a few seconds and the press of a button away. Tasha was very aware that it didn’t work like that in real life. Right at
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