Psychic Detective 2 A Staff Meeting in the Sheriff's Office By: Jake Preston
This is a work of erotic gay fiction, intended for readers who enjoy a murder mystery in which fully developed characters interact sexually and in other ways. Their sexual encounters are sometimes romantic, sometimes recreational, and almost always described explicitly. My attention is equally divided between narrative, character development, and sex scenes. If you don't care for this combination, there are many other excellent "nifty" stories to choose from. And remember that while nifty stories are free, maintaining a website is not. Please think about donating at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
Writing is usually a solitary avocation, but not necessarily so on nifty.org, where a longer story appears in installments. If my characters and my story grabs your attention, you can always intervene with suggestions for improvements. All sincere comments will get a response!
Jake, at jemtling@gmail.com
Chapter 2 A Staff Meeting in the Sheriff's Office
That evening in Duluth, Ron Matthews called an emergency meeting with his city deputy and his county detective inspectors. He instructed his secretary to call everyone, including Göran Svenson, although Göran was still a Sergeant. The meeting was supposed to start at 6:00 PM, with take-out ordered from Jeno Palucci's Chung King Restaurant. Matthews looked around the conference room. "Where's Svenson?" he asked. "Alice, where's Detective Sergeant Svenson?"
His secretary glanced at Svenson's superior, Detective Inspector Harvey Winik. "Sir," Winik said, "I told Alice that I would contact Svenson, but I couldn't reach him on his cellphone."
"Let's eat then," Matthews said. "We'll start the meeting until Svenson gets here." He retreated to his office. Alice followed him. She gave him Svenson's number on a slip of paper. Matthews called Svenson himself.
"Have you checked your cellphone messages?" Matthews asked Svenson.
"No, Sir," Matthews said. "I'm sure I haven't missed any calls."
"Well, get to the conference room as soon as you can, Sergeant," Matthews said, impatiently. "And check 'missed calls' on your cellphone. Call me back and let me know about any calls you might have missed."
"Yes, Sir."
A minute later, Sergeant Svenson called Matthews to say that he hadn't missed any calls. "I'm on my way to the Office, Sir. I'll be there in ten."
"Goddamn that Harvey Winik!" Matthews said, in Alice's hearing. "Who the fuck does he think he's fooling? He's trying to make Svenson look bad. What a jerk!"
The meeting got started at 6:30. "Sorry to keep you all late, gentlemen," Sheriff Matthews said. "The delay was caused by a minor communication glitch which, I am sure, will not happen a second time. Right now all we have is a verbal description of the crime scene. From the description of the bodies, the murders occurred sometime last year. The crime scene is washed out by winter snow and spring rains. It's so corrupted that we'll have to treat it as a cold case. One of the victims, the one suspended on ropes, has longish dark hair, so he might be an Indian, but that's all we know so far. One other thing: the crime scene looks like some sort of cult ritual with homosexual overtones, so journalists and TV reporters will be all over it. We need to assign an investigative team to this case, and we'll need to work on it until we get a result. Detective Matthews!"
"Yes, sir," Göran was surprised that the Sheriff singled him out.
"You're from Lake Ashawa, aren't you, Svenson?"
"Yes, sir. From a farm about ten miles southeast of the Lake," he replied. "But I know the Lake Country pretty well."
"I want you to lead the investigation, Svenson," Matthews said.
"Meaning no disrespect, Sir, but Svenson is still a Detective Sergeant," Harvey Winik intervened.
Sheriff Matthews was irritated. He looked poker-faced at Winik while he addressed Svenson: "Sergeant Svenson, you passed your Detective Inspector exam last month, as I recall."
"Yes, sir."
"In that case, we'll consider this case as your field test. Detective Inspector Winik will accompany you in the field, until he determines that you're ready to go on your own. But you'll report to me every day."
"Yes, sir," Svenson said. "May I ask, sir, is the crime scene still intact? I would want to start by examining the corpses in situ."
"It is, and you will, tomorrow morning. I want you to drive to Lake Ashawa this evening," the Sheriff replied. "Inspector Winik can drive up tomorrow as he schedule allows. You'll both take police cruisers. I want a police presence seen in Ashawa."
After the meeting, Svenson spoke privately with the Sheriff: "It seems to me, Sheriff, that apart from forensics, all we'll have going for us is local knowledge, and especially local Ojibwe knowledge. I'd like to assemble a team of civilian consultants to assist me."
"Well, Winik won't like that. He likes to keep things in house," Matthews said.
"The people in Lake Ashawa can be rather secretive, especially the Ojibwe," Svenson replied. "They won't tell us much if they think they're being interrogated. Winik's sausage- techniques might solve crimes in Duluth, but Lake Ashawa is a whole new game."
"Sausage-techniques!" Matthews laughed. "Well, who do you have in mind then?" Matthews asked.
"First, an Ojibwe tribal leader named Dark Eagle. Second, an Ojibwe anthropologist named Red Hawk. He's young, but he's had experience as a consultant. Third, an artist named Anna Ravitch. She'll be good at preparing sketches of possible crime scenarios. Fourth, a mystery writer named Jake Preston. He lives about five miles from No Name Island."
"So you're already familiar with the location?" Matthews said. It wasn't a question. "Well, I know Preston, and I have a recollection of Mrs. Ravitch, the artist of nudes. All right then. Just make sure you follow the rules about paying consultants by the hour, and try to keep the budget down."
"Thank you, sir." Göran smiled. He remembered that Matthews and Svenson had been boyfriends. They had tried to keep it a secret, but no love affair can be secret for long. At least he didn't have to worry about having a homophobic boss!
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