AHMM, July/August 2012 by Dell Magazine Authors

Author:Dell Magazine Authors
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Mystery/Crime
Publisher: Dell Magazines

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Fiction: TIGHTENING OF THE BOND

by R. T. Lawton

“It seems our friend the copper is in trouble.”

Cletis Johnston, the proprietor of the Twin Brothers Bail Bond Firm, sat forward in his executive leather chair with his elbows resting on the mahogany desk, and his ebony hands tented at eye level. Facing him from the other side of the polished mahogany top stood his executive secretary, Moklal Feringheea, and the firm's solitary bail agent, Theodore Oscar Alan Dewey.

“You're referring to the station captain?” Theodore ventured.

“The only copper we have in our pocket,” replied Cletis.

Theodore thought he detected a slight amount of sarcasm in that reply, a somewhat disconcerting situation for him to be in. Undercurrents in conversation always left him slightly queasy, causing large beads of sweat to pop out on his pink, bald head. When he thought no one was looking, Theodore used his left hand, the one with the once broken and improperly set little finger that now stood permanently straight out like a wayward flagpole, to squeegee off some of the moisture.

News such as this meant the office would be in turmoil until circumstances had been remedied to the satisfaction of the proprietor. As the proprietor did not like loose ends, Theodore frequently found himself being the person designated to ensure that all endings were tied up with finality, no comebacks. And with the way things had gone the last several years, Theodore sometimes wondered how he hadn't completely dehydrated through excessive perspiration during one of these problem-solving sessions in the bail firm's Inner Sanctum.

“May I inquire what the captain's problem is?”

Cletis paused in reply as he untented his hands and straightened the sleeves of his light tan suit coat of Shantung silk. The cuffs of his dark cranberry shirt now displayed the proper amount of exposure, according to his personal tailor based in Hong Kong. As he reached for a document lying near at hand, soft light from baby spots in the ceiling glistened off his twenty-four karat gold cufflinks which were inset with polished ebony stones. His dark eyes barely skimmed over the sheet of paper before he spoke.

“According to this note delivered to our office a few minutes ago by an anonymous messenger, our friend the captain has been charged with the crime of murder.”

“Who'd he kill?” asked Theodore.

“The deceased appears to be an Internal Affairs detective looking into alleged corruption within the department.”

“Oh,” was all that Theodore could say in reply. This was definitely not good. He then tried drying the wet palm and damp fingers of his left hand by wiping them on the left pant leg of his brown slacks. Didn't work. A small dark spot now showed in the cheap cloth, which meant the sweat on his balding dome would get worse unless he switched hands. Some days, nothing seemed to go right.

“To protect our asset within the police department,” continued Cletis, “we must take immediate action before the situation worsens.”

Theodore wondered how the situation could possibly evolve into circumstances worse than a murder rap, but knew better than to inquire on that subject.

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