Read Online The Incumbent by Alton L. Gansky - Free Book Online Page A

Now.” He didn’t move, not from belligerence but from the shock of it. “Maybe I was wrong. Randi!” She was at the door in half a second, with a face as innocent as a newborn’s. I would bet a month’s salary she had been standing by the door, just out of sight. “Councilman Adler is having trouble finding the door. Would you help him, please?”
    “Certainly.”
    Adler sprang to his feet. “I don’t need help. I can’t believe you would be this unprofessional.”
    “You have no idea what professionalism is, Jon. Now leave or I’ll ask Randi to slap you around in front of your staff.”
    His face went white, then reddened like a beefsteak tomato. Spinning on his heels, he bolted from the office, his fists clenched and body rigid, as if he were a walking seizure.
    After he was clear of Randi’s office, she raised her hands and applauded. “I don’t think you know how much I love you,” she said, laughing. “What do you think he’ll do now?”
    “Is Tess in?”
    “I think so.”
    “He’ll go there and unload. She’ll listen, commiserate, then tell him to leave.” I took a deep breath. My heart was thumping. “Were you able to get reservations at the Fish Kettle?”
    “You’re all set. I told them you’d be there a little before noon. That you gives you time to pick up Celeste. I assume you may have to pick up her friend too.”
    “You’re still coming, right?”
    “I wouldn’t miss it.”
    “Great, I could use the support.”
    “Did they treat you right over at Crime Central?”
    I told her the story, then asked about the bank reports.
    “They’re clean. No withdrawals and only a few deposits, all of which you know about.”
    “I figured that’s how it would be. Package them up and run them over to Detective West. Give them to West and West only. He was there when I left, but I’d give him a call first, just to be sure.”
    “Will do. Is there anything else?”
    “No, I just need a few minutes to cool down. Jon annoys me more than I can say.”
    “He annoys everyone. You know what his aide calls him?”
    “Jane?”
    “That’s right. She’s from the South, you know, and they have a bug down there called a chigger.”
    “That’s like a sand flea or something, right . . . wait, she calls her boss Chigger?”
    “Not to his face, but she’s been known to use the term around us.”
    At first I was astonished; then the humor of it landed squarely on my head. A little, annoying, biting bug. That was perfect. I voiced the words: “Councilman Chigger.” My indignation washed away with laughter. Randi joined in, raising a hand to her mouth as if she were embarrassed to have shared the story.
    The laughter refreshed me.
    “Now that you’re in a good mood . . .” I noticed she was looking at the files on my desk. I glanced down. The file Randi had given me, the file about a congressional run, was missing.
    “He took it!” I said. “The little weasel took it!”
    “No, he didn’t. Do you think I’d let anyone sit in your office with sensitive files in reach? I have it.”
    “Whew. Don’t do that to me. I’m getting too old for such shocks.”
    “You’re not close to old. You can’t even see old from where you are. I’ll get the file. Read it. It’ll get your mind off things.”
    I agreed. I could stand to have my mind on something else.
    T he rest of the morning passed quickly. I had expected a scalding phone call from Adler or Councilwoman Tess Lawrence, his political buddy. To my great relief nothing came. I spent an hour or so reviewing the notes from the meeting I skipped out on, and found only one item of concern: the zoning change requested by the church was denied. The council agreed with the Planning Commission. The vote was three to one against. I felt bad about that. I had planned to support the church, but I doubted my presence would have made a difference.
    The other items on my desk took only a few minutes to handle. That left me about ninety minutes to