” Attorney General John Ashcroft has directed federal prosecutors in New York and Connecticut to seek the death penalty in a dozen cases in which they had recommended lesser sentences… In 10 current cases in New York and two in Connecticut, U.S. attorneys decided not to seek the death penalty. One involved a defendant who pleaded guilty in exchange for testifying against other members of a drug ring.”
- from The International Herald Tribune

Chapter 7

It was 9:24 PM. I was in my office, sifting through the evidence, trying to find the key to this whole mess. I had just poured myself a double scotch to grease the wheels of inspiration when I looked up and saw her.

I don’t know how long she’d been there, but she had my attention now. Legs as long as a Saturday afternoon ballgame, but a lot more interesting. A waist you could belt with a napkin ring. And above that, two breasts that might as well’ve had “Hindenburg” tattooed on their sides; they were that big and that buoyant. And that dangerous.

And that metallic. She was a statue.

How could I have missed her all this time? I draped a blanket over her filthy charms for decency’s sake and headed down to the docks. I needed fresh air. Not that there was any of that down at the docks, but nothing overpowers the smell of stale fish like a fresh lead. At least to a dick like me.