The Eightfold Fence Ch. 04

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series.

The Eightfold Fence, Ch. 01-04.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

*****

Part 9 - Councilman Thomas P. Cook

Doctor Morgan put an x-ray up on the lighted panel. I could see the spot on Cindy's lower lung. Oh my God, I thought to myself.

Dr. Morgan said "It seems that Ross and Croyle began their training for the summer ironman competition, and the extreme exertions coupled with the cold air inflamed the scar tissue in Lt. Ross's lung, which was injured when she was wounded last summer."

I almost collapsed with relief. "So that's why she was coughing." I said. "So this is all it is?"

"All?" said Dr. Morgan.

"I... the way she was coughing..." I said, barely able to say the words, "I thought you were going to tell me it was cancer or something..."

"Oh... oh!" said Dr. Morgan, smiling briefly. "Well, maybe you police officers have to expect the worst, but in this case it's not life-threatening."

Thank God, I thought. I felt instantly better despite the Doctor's next words.

"But it is serious." he said. "The inflammation led to some fluid buildup. Her other lung is fine, so she can breathe decently, but if she keeps up the exertions she's going to have some trouble. She needs to rest completely for a few days, then take it easy for a few more weeks and let the inflammation die down."

"Just how much can she do?" I asked.

"She didn't have any problems... none that she'll admit to... until she started this intensive marathon training." said Dr. Morgan. "She is in tremendous physical condition, so she should be able to pass any police duty requirements. But she needs to be aware of this and not overdo things. And the summer race is out of the question for her."

"Ouch." I said. "Okay, thanks Doctor. I'll go put a leash on her." I exited the room and entered Cindy's room without knocking.

"Okayyyy, Miss Ross." I said, trying to sound jovial. Teresa looked up at me, Cindy kept her head down. "You will go home and sleep for the rest of the day. I know that it would be easier to stop sap from running in the trees than try to keep you from coming to work, but for the rest of this week and all next week you will stay at your desk, catch up on paperwork, be bored as hell, and rest. If I catch you so much as walking fast, I'll formally restrict you, meaning you'll have to be medically cleared -and- have to re-qualify with a gun, and I suspect you don't want to do that." That was no small thing, and Cindy was aware of it. "Do I make myself clear, Lieutenant?"

"Yes sir." I heard a voice say from somewhere under that platinum blonde hair.

"Teresa, take her home." I said. "Make sure she actually goes to bed and rests. I'll tell Jenna when I get back to Headquarters." I then left the room.

For all her life, Cindy Ross had been told what she could not do, was not capable of doing. She had delighted in proving people wrong every time. She had excelled at sports, mens' sports, despite being told girls could not compete with men. She had won 'Miss Physical America' competitions despite being told she was not good enough. She had become a police officer despite being told she lacked the ability in several areas. She had earned two black belts after being told that just one would be difficult-to-impossible for her. She and Teresa had defeated all competition in the race last summer, including some very fit Army Rangers. She had survived a shooting that everyone said should have been fatal.

Now her body was unable to cash a check she wanted to write. For the first time she was being told she could not do something, and she knew she couldn't prove otherwise. It hurt. Not physically, but in her heart and soul. It hurt.

"You'll have to find someone else to be your partner." Cindy said, trying hard to hold back the sobs. "Maybe... maybe Todd will train with you; he's in really good shape."

"No way in hell." Teresa said. "You're my only partner, and if you're watching from the sidelines, I will be too. We'll retire as champions; they can never take away what we've already done."

She took Cindy into her arms as her friend broke down crying. They sat there for a very long time...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Previously, during her conversation with Phyllis, Cindy said "Councilman Thomas P. Cook has been steadily coming onto the Iron Crowbar's radar screens. Don absolutely did not like it that Cook is profiting from the deal for the building for Precinct 1 Headquarters, and he liked it even less when he found out the connection to Sergeant Sharples and the building where the porn film guy was murdered."

"Oh my." said Phyllis. "That is somewhat suggestive in itself, is it not?"

"How do you mean?" Cindy inquired.

"Give it some thought, my dear." Phyllis said. "What else do you have on Mr. Cook?"

Cindy replied "I thought this was kind of strange: Most people think Cook is religious. He's very active with the First Baptist Church, has attended out-of-town religious seminars with Pastor Westboro from time to time. Additionally, he is registered as a Republican. However, I found out from required election filings that he gave large sums of money, the maximum possible, to Katherine Woodburn's campaign... and Katherine Woodburn ran as a Democrat. Each of his businesses gave their maximum to her campaign, and he also contributed to PACs that were established on her behalf."

"That's not so unusual in today's world, my dear." said Phyllis. "If you also consider what happened to John Cummings, how the Republicans did nothing to help him when he needed it the most, you'll see that the Republicans and Democrats are much more closely aligned than citizens realize. I heard an excellent quote about it: 'The Republicans are the right cheek and Democrats are the left cheek of the same butt.' I daresay that's absolutely true."

Cindy laughed, then coughed hard. Phyllis peered at her again then said "Neither Republicans nor Democrats today represent those who consider themselves conservative, like John Cummings. The Republicans attack and fight conservatives even harder than they pretend to oppose Democrats. I would say Thomas Cook is acting as a typical Republican: gives one appearance to the world, does something else in the background. And he doesn't want our right hand to know what his left hand is doing."

Cindy said 'That's why I'm a political atheist, and Jenna hates it that I won't have anything to do with politics: she wants me to push lesbian issues. But what you've said does help me to understand Cook's actions a bit more. And he's really got his fingers in a lot of rather sketchy pies. I wonder..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On Wednesday morning, January 21st, State Senator Katherine Woodburn received a visitor at her Senate office in the State Office Building in Town, which was right next to the Federal Building on Courthouse Square.

"Hello, Thomas, come on in." said State Senator Katherine Woodburn as Thomas P. Cook was ushered in by her assistant. "It's good to see you again. What can I do for you?"

"I just thought I'd drop by," said Cook, "and tell you that we were able to get Robert Brownlee into the Deputy Chief position with the Police Force. He'll be promoted and take over the position on February 1st."

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Katherine exclaimed. She then smiled maliciously as she asked "Does Commander Troy know?"

"I would imagine that he was told this morning." said Cook, his smile matching Katherine's. "The only dissenting votes were Schoen and Colby. McGillie abstained, citing that his son is on the Police Force. Adams, Lewis, Carnes, Westboro, and myself were solid supporters. Goldman and Steele gave support, but extracted something in return: that Troy gets veto power over the Chief nomination."

"That's not so great." Katherine said.

"He pretty much was going to get that anyway." Cook replied. "We're really giving away nothing. So tell me, how are things going in the Legislature?"

"Pretty well." Katherine said. "The budget is already done. I tried hard to cut funding for the TCPD, pending a State investigation of Troy for police brutality. I got some heat, but I pushed back... seems those spineless politicians didn't remember that I was once the toughest Media executive in the State... but the Conference Committee put the money back in and all but wrote a commendation for the bastard with the crowbar. Seems Nathan Allen tried the same thing last year, to block the funding, and they were looking for it and caught it."

"Doesn't matter." said Cook. "It's the bringing up of Troy's police brutality that's important. Once it's in people's ears, it will stick."

"It'll stick even more after the Bryan Thatcher trial next month." Katherine said, referring to the case of the dog abuser. "Anyway, the real battle comes up in the next few weeks: the SBI structure."

"Who is going to win that one?" Cook inquired.

"We are, of course." Katherine said. "Seriously, it's going to be close... maybe one vote either way. The House might vote for Conlan's side, which is for the SBI Reserve; while the Senate may go for Director Lewis's stronger SBI position, which is our side. Both sides are well-entrenched, and we'll just have to find a way to twist some arms and make everyone come to our side."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jack Muscone and I entered the conference room of the FBI offices in the Town's Federal Building on the morning of Friday, January 23d. The Deputy Director was already there, and I felt not only the mastery and power he always projected, but something else: irritation.

"Have a seat, gentlemen." he said. As we were all seated, the Director said "First, I'm glad to hear that Miss Ross is not seriously ill and will be making a full recovery. I shared your concerns about her, and I'm as glad as you are that she is okay."

I nodded, saving for later the contemplation that this man knew far too much more about Cindy's condition than he should, as the Director continued: "Getting straight to business... I've received what will likely be the final report of my special task force investigating the murder of Nicole Stanton. Commander Troy, this is the first time you and I have been at odds on anything: your nephew and his wife were very reticent to speak to my agents, and acted as if they were under suspicion themselves. Michael Burke talked with my agents, but also insisted upon legal counsel."

I just nodded as the man peered hard at me, making no apologies for recommending to my family that they exercise extreme caution.

"Just so you know," the Deputy Director continued, "I do not consider Todd Burke nor his wife to be suspects. I also am shutting the inquiry down mostly because I don't want to burn Cherie Ward as a confidential informant, which we've been able to confirm as being true. What I want to know, Commander, and don't play games with me here: who do you think did this?" The man wanted to know what I knew despite the lack of data, and I knew it was time to put my cards on the table.

"I don't think Todd or Jeanine had anything to do with it, either," I said, "but I did advise them to use caution when dealing with your agents, and I still think that was wise. But here is what I've observed and deduced and inferred from what I've been told in private conversations so far."

I began: "Cherie said that Michael Burke hired her specifically and asked her to bring someone else along. That was Nicole, and I noted that they arrived in separate cars. Now what is strange about that is that if Cherie is telling the truth, then why didn't she and Nicole drive up together? It's a two-hour trip from here, and an even longer drive from the City, so why come separately?"

"You may want to say that they did so in the contingency that one might leave before the other, but then I'm also thinking that if Michael Burke is hiring these women at the rates he was paying, why not throw in a few extra bucks and have them picked up and transported. Burke has hired prostitutes in the past to entertain business clients, so he knows the routines. All in all, I found that to be strange."

I carried on, seeing the Director and Jack totally absorbed by my lecture: "Second was the strangeness that the car keys were missing. Now if a criminal was kidnapping Nicole and forcing her out of the car, why would she take her keys? My thinking is that she took the keys as she got out of the car, by habit, because she knew her killer and was not afraid of him or her.."

I saw the Director nod, and Jack looked totally amazed as I said "But before she could get her purse, the killer either grabbed her or put a gun in her face. She either had the keys in her hand when he killed her, or she dropped them and he picked them up and simply took them away. I say 'he' as if the killer were a man, but it could be a woman, of course."

"Nicole also carried a concealed weapon." I said. "Now if she's being accosted by a stranger and going for her gun, she's not going to be grabbing her keys out of the ignition, and I cannot for the life of me see why the killer would take the time to take the keys out of the ignition but leave her purse there."

"To unlock the trunk and get something out of there?" Jack Muscone asked.

"Her luggage was in the trunk, untouched; she'd never brought it into the house. Nothing else was missing that we know of." I said. "So I may be wrong, but I'm not seeing the killer getting in the trunk, and he could've popped the latch from inside the car."

I continued: "All in all, it leads to another big question for me: 'Who took the weapon from her purse?'. I suspect the gun was removed before Nicole left the Burke house. And that leads to the conclusion that either Cherie or Michael Burke took it. Either had opportunities to be alone for brief moments and take the weapon. It most likely was Cherie, but we cannot exclude Michael. And of course that means that the murder was premeditated."

"Ohhhh..." said the Director, beginning to see the picture.

"Yes sir." I said. "Michael Burke invited Cherie up, apparently to entertain Todd and apparently knowing that Cherie and Todd knew each other. According to Cherie, she is the one who asked Nicole to come up, yet it is Nicole that was murdered and her gun removed beforehand."

Jack Muscone intervened with a question: "But Michael Burke basically confirmed that he hired Cherie and asked her to bring someone else. but he didn't ask for anyone else specifically."

Yes." I said. "Yes he did. Which is why I cannot and have not eliminated him as a suspect in all of this. But again: Cherie says she, not Michael, invited Nicole specifically... but they came up in separate cars and apparently at separate times, since Cherie had brought her luggage into Michael's cabin while Nicole had not. So I'm wondering if she was telling me the truth when I talked to her."

"Wow." said the Director. "Now that you discuss it, I see where these seemingly separate things are actually correlated. Please continue, Don."

"Yes sir." I said. "Means and opportunity, or lack of it, shows it was an outsider that actually committed the murder. I'm taking the collective word of the four people in the cabin and I believe no one was away and alone long enough to go out and kill Nicole either at the scene or to transport her there, especially in the hour following Nicole's departure. And the outsider was someone Nicole knew, so there is a collusion there. That shows premeditation and planning."

I added: "I did consider that Cherie was the actual target, which leads to Michael Burke being involved for some reason. It's still a possibility that I cannot rule out."

"At any rate, that leaves motive." I continued. "There is one strong thread that I can see: First, Cherie was definitely at the scene when Senator Nathan Allen had his heart attack and died. I personally remember her being there, and at least one of my officers remembers her being there. We're less sure about Nicole being there, but we think she was. Second, Michael Burke and his wife Eleanor were obsessed with finding out about their son Jack Burke's past. They were given help in this by someone... a very powerful someone."

Jack Muscone's beady eyes lit up when I mentioned this. "Our friend Wargrave." he said.

"Our friend Wargrave." the Director repeated as he and Muscone exchanged a meaningful glance.

"Funny how he's been in the shadows all these years," I said, "and now his name is popping up all over the place."

My words were intended to show something that neither FBI agent understood, so I let it go as the Director said with what was for him a smile: "There wasn't an Iron Crowbar shedding light upon his shadows all those years either, Commander Troy."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Katherine Woodburn groaned as the Satyr pistoned his long, thick cock in and out of her sopping wet pussy again and again, fucking her with hard, driving strokes. He had her legs hooked over his muscular arms has he plowed into her relentlessly, driving towards his climax.

As he leaned over and sucked Katherine's left breast, she looked over at the other people in the room. The young woman known as the 'Queen of Opposition Research', a typically unattractive, wiry girl with glasses that had been brought up and bred in liberal Academia, was on her hands and knees, her ass in the air, and sucking the slender cock of Gor-don, the punk assistant of Assistant District Attorney Jenna Stiles... the same Jenna Stiles that was engaged to Police Lieutenant Cindy Ross.

Watching everything and waiting his turn was Clark, Katherine's black-haired assistant. He watched the big cock of the Satyr, who was one of the BDSM queen Rita's club staff, sinking into Katherine until he was buried to the balls, only to withdraw and slam into her again.

Katherine heard the young man on top of her grunt as he bottomed out inside her and began coming, the thick spurts of ropy jism firing from his pulsing cock and coating the depths of the older woman's clutching cunt. Finally spent, the hung young man eased his meat out of the woman and went to make himself a drink.

"Want some sloppy seconds?" Katherine asked. Clark was eager to fuck his mistress, and as she turned onto her right side he eased down behind her in a 'spoons' position. Katherine grabbed his throbbing cock and guided it to her sperm-wet hole, inserting the spongy cockhead between her labes. Clark then pushed forward, and his eight inch cock easily slid into the filthy mess inside her cunt, pushing her cuntwalls apart, sliding in on a slick layer of cunt oil and semen until he was nuts-deep inside her.