Read Online The Shut Mouth Society by James D. Best - Free Book Online

appointment at the Federal Building? I expected you to be waiting. Nervous about my tardiness.”
    Evarts had forgotten that fib. “Sorry, rescheduled for another day. I should’ve called you in case you needed more time.” He threw her bag and case in back.
    “ Hey! Be careful. My computer’s in there.”
    “ Sorry.” It would be a long drive.
    After they had taken their seats and buckled up, Evarts asked, “Any conclusions?”
    “ Only that we can’t prove they’re fake.” She seemed to pout for a moment. “Abe wouldn’t even leave me the single page. Just took off with it as soon as we finished the tests.” She knocked her knuckles against the side window and then suddenly turned toward Evarts. “What’s that bastard got us into?”
    “ Abe is a friend and of sterling parentage. Please just call him an asshole.”
    No laugh. After a moment, she said, “I suspect the manuscript is genuine. If it is, then how much else is true? A conspiracy that threatens the nation? How bizarre … and paranoid. I have my own research. I don’t have time to oblige an old man’s fantasies.”
    “ Scared?”
    “ You betcha. The best-case scenario is that I get enmeshed in an elongated wild goose chase. The worst case could be dangerous.”
    “ I doubt there’s a physical threat.” He smiled and made his tone light. “Besides, I carry a gun.”
    Still no laugh. “I was talking about my career.”
    “ Sorry.” Three “sorries” in less than five minutes. It definitely was going to be a long ride. He decided to mollify her with agreement. “Listen, I’m not happy about this either. I have a demanding job, a class I need to prepare for, and I like to spend my free time at the beach. I don’t—”
    “ What class are you taking?”
    “ I’m a college instructor, not a student. Night school at California State University at Channel Islands.” Evarts tried a light tone again. “You can quit calling me Commander. I’m a colleague, of sorts.”
    “ Police science?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ A part-time lecturer in a nonacademic subject at a third-rate college.” She folded her arms across her chest. “My colleagues come with better credentials.”
    “ That was nasty.”
    She unfolded her arms. “I’m sorry.” She sounded genuinely contrite.
    Three to one on the “sorries.” At least he wasn’t losing ground. “I just meant I have a full life, and I don’t need this any more than you.” He paused. “Listen, I keep my private life compartmentalized from work. I do what I want, when I want. Maybe I’m selfish, but I feel like this is an invasion of my privacy … and I don’t like being manipulated.”
    “ Me either. So what are we going to do about it?”
    Evarts thought about her question. Douglass was his only real friend, so the situation presented a problem. He kept a professional distance at work and didn’t socialize with the other cops on the force. He had many acquaintances in his private life, but none he would classify as a friend. People called him a loner—at least those who liked him. Others called him worse. He knew people thought it odd that his only friend was double his age, but Douglass never bored him. He liked his life just the way it was, and he felt content. He needed to set his own agenda, but he didn’t want to lose his sole friend.
    “ I guess we run this out,” he said. “At least for the week.”
    She didn’t answer at first but then said, “Yeah. I’m willing to invest a week. Especially if I can get close to more Lincoln papers. That bastard sure knows how to seduce me.”
    “ I have an idea. Can I bounce it off you?”
    “ Go ahead.”
    “ I told you the code key was probably a book. An elementary encryption but hard to break. I looked into nineteenth-century publications, but I think it might be a law book.”
    “ Makes sense. But it would need to be a federal law book. Probably one on Supreme Court rulings. Someone in New York would have limited access to an