Official Privilege by P. T. Deutermann

Author:P. T. Deutermann [Deutermann, P. T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Thrillers, Political, Espionage
ISBN: 9780718140748
Google: VLY6c01DQTIC
Amazon: 0312957130
Goodreads: 21296
Published: 1994-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

She laughed, but then her expression grew more serious.

“Tell me,” she said, “do you think the racial aspect has something to do with what’s happened with this case?” she asked.

Dan was almost annoyed that she had come back to the Hardin case. He had been enjoying her company, and the chance to have a drink with an attractive woman without having to maneuver through all the quivering thornbushes of the mating game. But the Hardin case is really why she’s here, right? She didn’t come down to the boathouse to watch you row, did she?

He did not give her a direct answer.

“Did Englehardt say anything to indicate that race was a factor in how they’d handle the case?” he asked.

She put her glass down. “He didn’t mean to, but yes, he did. He said it was just another unsolved black homicide, one among too many. And then he tried to cover his tracks by citing the backlog of Hispanic, Filipino, and even unsolved white homicides. But I think he revealed how he felt with his first words. The gist was, This is probably some black thing. Another young black male ending up getting killed over a pair of tennis shoes. That’s hardly front-page news. His sister was also killed, although that appears to be an accident. Well, that’s Washington. We get three of those a night in this town. Next. Like that.”

Dan nodded and stared down at the table. Grace sounded bitter about what had happened. He didn’t know what to say to her. Having seen the body, the murder of Lieutenant Hardin was a lot more personal than daily newspaper stories of life and death in the inner city. He could not trivialize the hideous fact that the lieutenant had been literally entombed alive in that ship. Grace had seen it, too, which maybe was why she wouldn’t let it go.

“What do you plan to do?” he asked.

“About … ?”

“Well, first, about getting the shaft from your erstwhile rabbi, Engle-whatever, and the NIS. And about the Hardin case.”

“Ah. You think something should be done about the Hardin case?”

He had surprised himself, and maybe her, as well.

But it was true: Something should be done. “Regrettably, yes, I do.”

“Why regrettably?”

He had to think about it for a moment, figure out how to explain his situation. “Because,” he replied, “it’s politically risky, careerwise. I have this instinctive feeling that if I continue to poke around in this, I’m going to step on a land mine with those EAs.”

Grace was surprised. “How could the Hardin case make you professionally vulnerable?”

“Easy. I’m in a Washington headquarters staff job, and in the bank for command. I stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, piss somebody off, especially one of these EAs, they can derail all of that if they want to.

Delay giving me a ship; extend me in the staff job. Or give me a ship that’s being decommissioned: You spend a year and half putting her to sleep in some armpit like the Philadelphia shipyard.

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