seymoure | (no subject)

22.
“Little of Anything”

Porter Gates sat behind his desk and looked at the case files arrayed before him.

“Pappy, we’ve looked at just about everything in Setonville both now and then,” He said apologetically, “And I am of the opinion that our killer is from out of town.”

Pappy didn’t say anything, but watched the boy speak.

“No one that was considered a suspect left town in the interim, so we would have had an idea of what they were doing. But, if the killer was from Hastings or one of the other towns nearby they could have left and returned without being the focus of a lot of inquiry.”

“That’s true,” Han mused, “So you’re thinking it was someone with a motive too . . .?”

“Well, if we had that, we’d have everything, wouldn’t we?” He said, almost sarcastically.

“Do you think it is a vendetta against the town?” Pappy asked.

“Possibly,” The Trooper answered, “We’re looking into it. We think it might also be something about land.”

The boy was treading water, Han thought. This was delaying thinking, not problem solving thinking. He was in the mode of gathering information without an eye for making anything out of it until he had all the possible pieces gathered.

That could last forever.

The boy wasn’t working like an investigator, he thought, he was working like a politician. Crimes are committed by some politicians, but very few are ever solved by politicians.

If they solved the problems, they would become out of work.

“Can I get copies of everything you have sent to me?” He asked.

“Certainly,” Gates said, as he stood and put out his hand. It was obvious that this session was over.

Pappy took his hand.

“By the way, how is Tooley?” He asked with the most off handed attempt at sincerity Hannibal had seen without a baby at election time involved.

“Coming home tomorrow,” Pappy said.

“That’s great,” Gates said as the phone rang.

“Hello,” He said into the phone and it was like Pappy was no longer in the room.

Pappy got his attention long enough to let him know that he’d find his own way out.

He left the office and walked to the front door.

He found himself wiping his hand on his shirt for no physical reason.