Read Online The Long Lavender Look by John D. MacDonald - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: John D. MacDonald
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Private Investigators, Hard-Boiled, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.), McGee; Travis (Fictitious character)
Ads: Link
They will be taken care of, if not by the county, then by me personally."
"Do I get one of those, too?" I asked.
Hyzer swiveled slowly and . stared at me. with those frozen eyes. "One what?"
"An apology."
"He's making a joke, Sheriff," Lennie said.
"He is? I have very little sense of humor, Mr. McGee. Your rights ... and your person ... have been protected. I am releasing you from further questioning because Mr. Sibelius prevailed on me to more carefully investigate your ... version ... of what happened Thursday night." There were little hesitations, pauses in which he carefully composed his phrases, making the end product so stilted, so stuffy that it became, in one sense, an armor against the world.
He indicated a .38 automatic pistol, an old one, rust flecked, with the bluing worn away in places. "This handgun was found on the Baither property under a clump of palmetto about fifteen feet from where the pickup truck was parked, and almost in line with the back porch.
There were two rounds in the clip. There is a partial print on the side of the clip which matches Baither's left thumb print, and is in the place where a man would logically hold it while loading the weapon. We can assume it was Baither's weapon and was lost in the darkness when Baither was overpowered while walking from his truck to his house. There is no way to tell how many shots were fired, as we do not know how many were loaded into the clip. Examination proved it had been fired recently. A wax test on the right hand of the decedent indicates he had fired a gun not long before death."
He moved along to the next item, three empty brass cartridge cases neatly aligned. "One of these was found on the floor of the truck. The second one was found this morning on the shoulder of the highway three and two-tenth miles south of the point where your car went into the canal. That area was searched carefully after certain marks and footprints were found in the soft earth beside the canal. This plaster cast of the best footprint matches the left shoe you were wearing, Mr. McGee, when you were taken into custody. This third case is a test round fired from this handgun. Alhough we have not arranged a ballistics examination with a comparative microscope, examination through a hand magnifying glass indicates the probability that the indentation made by the firing pin is distinctive enough to allow eventual proof that all three rounds were fired from the same pistol."
"This is very reassuring to my clients," Lennie said.
"Taken alone," Hyzer said, "these indications would not be enough to cause me to release these people. There could be too many alternative explanations. And the fact of the envelope seemed conclusive evidence that one of you or both of you were inside the Baither house. However, Mr.
Sibelius suggested a method of ... making Arnstead change his report to me about his assignment to guard the Baither house."
"All Arnstead had to do," Lennie explained, "was leave one little hole in his story, one period of time when that envelope could have been planted. I could drive trucks through any hole like that. Norman, my friend Meyer is looking rocky, and with your permission I'd like to fly him over to Lauderdale. Trav, I'm assuming you'd like to get that old crock truck of yours dried out and running."
Hyzer said, "I would prefer to have Mr. McGee remain in Cypress County until I have completed my--"
"But, Norman, you have my personal guarantee, my personal word that I can produce them right here any time you say."
"I think it would be better if-"
Lennie smiled his best smile. "Hell, Norm, it's all give and take, after all. Famed economist brutally beaten and held, without charges, in Cypress County jail cell."
"I refuse to be-"
Page 25
"Come on, Norm! I like the way you're thinking. I think you are the first lawman who's got a decent lead on that racetrack money. I don't blame you for keeping a tight lid on it because if word got out, somehow,
"Do I get one of those, too?" I asked.
Hyzer swiveled slowly and . stared at me. with those frozen eyes. "One what?"
"An apology."
"He's making a joke, Sheriff," Lennie said.
"He is? I have very little sense of humor, Mr. McGee. Your rights ... and your person ... have been protected. I am releasing you from further questioning because Mr. Sibelius prevailed on me to more carefully investigate your ... version ... of what happened Thursday night." There were little hesitations, pauses in which he carefully composed his phrases, making the end product so stilted, so stuffy that it became, in one sense, an armor against the world.
He indicated a .38 automatic pistol, an old one, rust flecked, with the bluing worn away in places. "This handgun was found on the Baither property under a clump of palmetto about fifteen feet from where the pickup truck was parked, and almost in line with the back porch.
There were two rounds in the clip. There is a partial print on the side of the clip which matches Baither's left thumb print, and is in the place where a man would logically hold it while loading the weapon. We can assume it was Baither's weapon and was lost in the darkness when Baither was overpowered while walking from his truck to his house. There is no way to tell how many shots were fired, as we do not know how many were loaded into the clip. Examination proved it had been fired recently. A wax test on the right hand of the decedent indicates he had fired a gun not long before death."
He moved along to the next item, three empty brass cartridge cases neatly aligned. "One of these was found on the floor of the truck. The second one was found this morning on the shoulder of the highway three and two-tenth miles south of the point where your car went into the canal. That area was searched carefully after certain marks and footprints were found in the soft earth beside the canal. This plaster cast of the best footprint matches the left shoe you were wearing, Mr. McGee, when you were taken into custody. This third case is a test round fired from this handgun. Alhough we have not arranged a ballistics examination with a comparative microscope, examination through a hand magnifying glass indicates the probability that the indentation made by the firing pin is distinctive enough to allow eventual proof that all three rounds were fired from the same pistol."
"This is very reassuring to my clients," Lennie said.
"Taken alone," Hyzer said, "these indications would not be enough to cause me to release these people. There could be too many alternative explanations. And the fact of the envelope seemed conclusive evidence that one of you or both of you were inside the Baither house. However, Mr.
Sibelius suggested a method of ... making Arnstead change his report to me about his assignment to guard the Baither house."
"All Arnstead had to do," Lennie explained, "was leave one little hole in his story, one period of time when that envelope could have been planted. I could drive trucks through any hole like that. Norman, my friend Meyer is looking rocky, and with your permission I'd like to fly him over to Lauderdale. Trav, I'm assuming you'd like to get that old crock truck of yours dried out and running."
Hyzer said, "I would prefer to have Mr. McGee remain in Cypress County until I have completed my--"
"But, Norman, you have my personal guarantee, my personal word that I can produce them right here any time you say."
"I think it would be better if-"
Lennie smiled his best smile. "Hell, Norm, it's all give and take, after all. Famed economist brutally beaten and held, without charges, in Cypress County jail cell."
"I refuse to be-"
Page 25
"Come on, Norm! I like the way you're thinking. I think you are the first lawman who's got a decent lead on that racetrack money. I don't blame you for keeping a tight lid on it because if word got out, somehow,
Similar Books
