W. Griffin: The Victim

"Something even more shocking than the senseless shooting of my daughter has occurred in our city. I refer to the cold-blooded murder of Officer Joseph Magnella. That brutal, vicious act, the slaying of a police officer, poses a real, present, and absolutely intolerable danger to the entire fabric of our society, a threat we simply cannot tolerate.

"It came to my attention that one citizen, who wishes to remain anonymous, was thinking along the same lines. More important, she was prepared to do something about it. She was prepared to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the brutal murder of Officer Magnella. The reward she offered was in the amount of ten thousand dollars. My wife and I have decided to offer an equal amount for the same purpose. I have a check here with me.

"I call upon-"

He stopped and fished in his pocket and came up with a check, which he handed to Mayor Carlucci, who shook his hand while flashbulbs popped.

That forgotten little detail out of the way, Detweiler continued. "I call upon my fellow citizens of Philadelphia to assist with the investigation of the murder of Officer Magnella. The police would prefer information, but if you have no information, certainly you can afford a dollar or two, whatever amount, to add to the reward fund and to demonstrate to the police that the people are behind them. Thank you very much."

Matt felt a tug at his arm. Wohl pulled him off the stage and out of the room.

"You are only partially forgiven," he said. "That whole ambience would be ruined if Detweiler tried to choke you. I know he'd love to."

"What does 'partially' mean?"

"What do you think it means?"

"I don't know."

"Put your uniform back in the mothball bag," Wohl said. "And forget the 12^th."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me. That came from the mayor."

"In other words, you'd rather not have me."

"I didn't say that," Wohl said. "Don't put words in my mouth."

Matt looked at him.

"My father thinks you'll make a pretty good cop," Wohl said. " Okay? Who am I to question his judgment?"

"Thank you," Matt said.

Two weeks and two days later, Staff Inspector Peter Wohl received a call from Walter J. Davis, Special Agent in Charge, of the Philadelphia office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Mr. Davis told him that he had received word from the assistant special agent in charge (Criminal Affairs) of the Chicago, Illinois, office of the FBI that one Charles Francis Gregory, who was almost certainly the man in the photographs Wohl had shown him, had been found in the trunk of his automobile in Cicero, Illinois, having suffered seven large-caliber pistol wounds to the head and chest, probably from a Colt government model.45 ACP pistol.

Special Agent in Charge Davis said, unofficially, that the Chicago FBI believed Mr. Gregory to be a hit man and that the word was that Mr. Gregory had been shot because he had botched a job he had been hired to do.

"We've got to get together for lunch, Peter," Special Agent in Charge Davis said.

"We really should," Inspector Wohl replied. "Call me."