Case of the Fertilized Fish Ch. 02

"And that's yet another crime Willard committed: endangering a critically endangered species." said Shellac, keeping his face totally straight.

I grunted, then said "But what we did not have, was a murder case. So we set up this sting."

"And it went far, far better than I had hoped it would." said Jack Shellac. "Any day we are drawing a chalk outline around Mitt Willard's dead body is a good day, as far as I'm concerned."

"It almost worked too well." said Nick Adrian. "It brought Mrs. Thornwell down here, too."

Sharon Akira of the Chronicle came up. "I need comments, gentlemen." she said. "This could get me my Pulitzer."

"I'll give you the details later." I said. "Why don't you talk to Laura Thornwell over there. She needs a shoulder to cry on, and mine is not good enough for her." Sharon went over to where Laura was and they began talking. As for me, I headed to the nearest bar. I tend to leave when the discussion gets 'philosophical'...

Part 10 - Epilogue

Friday, April 20th. I was sitting in my office on Riverside Drive, contemplating life as I knew it. The Feds had closed their investigation of a fentanyl-smuggling case, an operation being run by Mitt Willard and David Griese behind Laura Thornwell's back. They recovered $200,000, and as a documented C.I., I received ten percent, $20,000. That helped. A lot.

The door to my office opened, and in walked trouble. Brunette, as usual. It was Laura Thornwell, and she was looking smoking hot in her clingy navy blue dress and matching high heel pumps. I had stood up as she came in, and she declined my offer to sit down, so we both stood.

"I just came to say goodbye to you, Mr. Ferrament." Laura said. "I appreciate you getting to the truth, and especially for blowing Mitt Willard away."

"That was definitely my pleasure." I said. "So what are you going to do? Keep running Huxtable?"

"No." Laura said. "Mitt Willard died intestate... well, his will listed his wife Lenore as his heir, and she preceded him in death. So I claimed Mitt's shares of Huxtable, and the judge awarded them to me. I got a huge offer from one of the big distribution chains, and I accepted it. So I'm moving away, to Florida."

I nodded. "I understand. Too bad, though. We made a great team."

Laura looked at me with both amusement and derision in her eyes. "In bed, anyway. As to the rest of it?" Her smirk finished the sentence.

"You could do worse than me." I said.

"And I can do better.... a lot better." Laura said. As she turned for the door, she said "Take care of yourself, Mr. Ferrament." And with that, she opened the door and walked out.

As the door closed behind her, I sat back down, reminding myself of the best piece of advice I'd ever heard: 'Never mistake a great piece of ass for love.' Laura Thornwell had used me like she had used David Griese, and had used men in the past. She had her small fortune now. I had some cock-stirring memories. Easy Street ain't easy, my grandfather used to say.

As I lit up an Alec Bradley cigar, I looked out the window and saw Police Lieutenant Bentley Bayse walking his bluetick hound Smokey. Bayse was on the way to promotion to Captain, and Sergeant Graves would be promoted to Lieutenant... on another Police Force. He'd been the leak to Laura, of course. Meanwhile, Nick Adrian and Kira David had a lot of hours of thankless work on the beat waiting for them before they would receive well-deserved promotions. I told them I'd help them out when and where I could. I didn't know if they'd accept that help, or if they'd treat me like I was a rabid dog.

Maybe I should get a dog, I thought to myself. But not a bluetick hound like Smokey. Hey, he's a cool dog, but just as Laura said she could do better, I can too. Maybe I'll get a white English bulldog, like Clint Eastwood's canine buddy in 'Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil'. Yeah, Bulldogs are the best, the very best...

Finis.