William Bernhardt - Deadly Justice

Ben kept his personal opinion to himself—that she was better off without him.

“It all welled up inside me at that retreat at Camp Sequoyah. Crichton was complaining that I was spending too much time with my baby, and Chuck was threatening to get me fired. You probably remember that big scene at Crackerbarrel, when Chuck said he was going to get Crichton to can me. The next day, I’m sure you also saw him huddled with Crichton on the High Course. I knew I was the topic of conversation. And Crichton looked like he was buying every lie Chuck told him.”

“So you cut Crichton’s belay line.”

Shelly nodded. “How did you know?”

“Well, after I didn’t find the knife up on the high course, I realized my initial theory was wrong. So I just kept thinking about that morning, where everyone was sitting, what everyone was doing. And I finally remembered you, spreading mayonnaise on sandwiches. With a knife.”

“Just a kitchen knife. But it was sharp enough. When I was done, I put it back where it belonged with all the other lunch paraphernalia. It was the Purloined Letter principle—since it was in plain sight, exactly where it was supposed to be, the cops overlooked it.” She smiled faintly. “Thanks for covering for me at the staff meeting.”

Ben tossed his paper cup into the trash. “No problem. I didn’t figure you were the hardened criminal type.”

“If Crichton knew, he’d fire me. It would be just the excuse he’s been waiting for. And he might have me arrested as well. I don’t know what Angie would do if I went to prison.” She kissed Angie on the cheek. “But taking the blame onto yourself like that. You could get into some big trouble. Crichton might bring charges.”

“I don’t think so. I have a bit of leverage over him at the moment. I also have a friend, Clayton Langdell, who could probably give you a job—outside Apollo. Or I think I can ensure that you keep your present job for some time. Whatever you want.”

She paused for a moment. “Let me think about it. I’ll get back to you. I can’t stand that place, but I hate to just give up.”

“I understand. It’s a hard fight, but it’s fighters like you who are going to make the world a better place”—he poked Angie in the tummy—“for people like her.”

Angie grabbed Ben’s finger. He reached out and took her into his arms.

“You’ve been so kind to me,” Shelly said. Her eyes were welling up. “And I don’t even know why.”

Ben bounced the little girl in his arms. “Well,” he said, “we all do what we can.”

Angie clapped her hands together and cooed.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

copyright © 1993 by William Bernhardt

cover design by Jason Gabbert

978-1-4532-7712-6

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