The Kitten Burglar by John Burnham

Author:John Burnham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Publish on Demand Global LLC

Ordering a meal with the Old Man always felt like a tap dance to Garth. The august gentleman's many physical challenges required the waiter to take bits and pieces from several places on the menu to assemble an acceptable entree. Garth would feel guilty savoring something that the Old Man couldn't eat, so he sorted through the menu looking for something the Old Man could have or didn't like.

As they waited for the food to arrive, Garth said, “Mind tellin’ me what went on in there? It sounded to me like we were cut loose.”

The Old Man smiled. “That we were, my boy.”

“Mind tellin’ me why? I'm happy as hell that they did, but I don't understand why.”

The Old Man looked up, surprised. “You don't? I thought you were doing a masterful job of steering the conversation to that end.”

“Huh?” was all Garth could say.

“Pick your jaw up off the plate, son; I see that you didn't know what was happening. Here it is. For starters, Martin is a political creature. He's an excellent cop, but his current role has more to do with protecting his turf and budget—to say nothing of the bureau's reputation—than police work. Judge Grant's involvement in this put him on high alert. With her background, there is a better than even chance that she'll wind up on some law-enforcement oversight committee. Avoiding the displeasure of people who have the potential to be in a position of authority over you is a survival strategy for political animals.”

“Sounds like a long shot that it would ever happen,” Garth observed.

“Not as long as you might think. Martin did well to consider it. At any rate, keeping us at arm's length is a win–win situation for him. He has deniability if she is sucked into this thing; he didn't authorize whatever we did that involved her. On the other hand, he can claim credit for foresight and perception in recognizing the potential of a new investigative technique if we make a good collar.”

“That makes sense. I'm sure glad it worked out that way.”

The food arrived. The Old Man seemed lost in thought as he began to eat. Garth poked around in something that started life as yams and was now covered with a sauce described as “lite.” Eating such stuff always made him wonder if being healthy was worth it. The two men ate in silence. Visions of grease burgers and fries with loads of ketchup danced in Garth's head as he pushed the empty plate away.

The waitress appeared. “Would you gentlemen like to see a dessert menu?”

“Uh, I don't think …” Garth began.

The Old Man cut him off. “We'd like some coffee and bring him a dessert menu.”

Garth was surprised. He'd have thought that the Old Man would be itching to get back to the office by now. Instead, he pushed back from the table, applied the napkin to his mouth, tossed it on the plate, settled back, and crossed his legs. He regarded Garth thoughtfully for a couple of minutes.

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