"Doherty, Jim - Death And Taxes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Doherty Jim)

He replied that it was quite all right, that I wasnТt that late, and that he
was sure one officer would be sufficient. We spent a few minutes chatting.
Turned out CooganТd been a copper himself once, having started his Government
career as an agent for the ATF (another hotshot outfit), before transferring
over to Central Intelligence and, eventually, Internal Revenue.
I called the SheriffТs Office to inform the watch commander that I was
operating in his jurisdiction, then grabbed a doughnut off of the tray that
had been set out for visitors, bought a can of Coke out of a vending machine
in the employees lunch room, and went out into the corridor to take up a fixed
post by the front door. Supposedly anyone with trouble on his mind would be
pacified if the first thing he saw before entering the office was an armed,
uniformed policeman. But so few people were showing up that I wasnТt really
doing a whole lot of pacifying.
Coogan was right; this wasnТt really a two-man detail. In fact, for the amount
of business they were getting they probably could have gotten by with a
cardboard cutout of Jack Webb. But a partner would have at least been someone
to talk to and pass the time. As it was, the hours were dragging by with
agonizing slowness.
Since I was solo, the criminal investigator came out and spelled me a couple
of times for pitstops and lunch. During one of my breaks, I happened on a nice
little antique shop in another corner of the mall, where I found a Fiestaware
covered soup bowl for my wife, Katie Anne, who collects the stuff. During
another I browsed a used bookstore where I snagged a copy of The Trail of the
Poppy the autobiography of legendary US Narcotics Agent Charles УCharlie
CigarsФ Siragusa. IТd read the book before, of course, but this was the first
decent copy I d ever found for sale. Katie collects plates; I collect cop
memoirs.
With Charlie Cigars to keep me company, the second half of the shift went a
little quicker, and when they decided to call it a day at 1630, I didnТt feel
as washed out as IТd expected to. Due the distance of my trip, I didnТt have
to drive back that night. I looked forward to a relaxing evening.
УDaniel Sullivan,Ф I said to desk clerk at the Red Barn Inn. УIТve got a
reservation.Ф
She smiled pleasantly, immediately erasing the momentary surprise her face
betrayed at a uniformed policeman in a marked squad car asking for a night s
lodging, and said, УYessir. You asked for a federal employeesТ rate?Ф
УThatТs right,Ф I answered, sliding a credit card over to her. In a few
moments the formalities of commerce had been completed, and she handed me the
key to Room 9.
Though Sac Prairie County is more of a working agricultural community than a
resort area, it still boasts a number of hostelries notable for being both
picturesque and comfortable. The Red Barn Inn is one of the most picturesque
and perhaps the most comfortable. Designed (by a graduate of a nearby,
world-renowned architectural institute) to resemble the circular-roofed barns
found on so many Wisconsin farms, its spacious rooms and convenient location
in the town of Greenspring make it very popular with tourists. The last time
IТd stayed here, during a weekend of antiquing with Katie, IТd been one of
those tourists.
The drive from the outskirts of Sac Prairie City to Greenspring had taken
fifteen or twenty minutes, and the process of checking in, finding my room,