"Evans, Tabor - Longarm 234 - Longarm and the Renegade Assassins" - читать интересную книгу автора (Evans Tabor)

"Thank you," the voice went on.

Longarm tried to get a look at whoever was doing the talking, but all
he could see at the moment was the top of the man's head. Which did not
exactly give him much to go on.

"For those of you who do not know me," the speaker announced, "my name
is Cotton. J. B. Cotton. I am--I should say that I was--assistant U.S.
attorney under Avery Terrell. The Attorney General of the United States
has appointed me interim U.S. attorney for this district until such time as
permanent replacements can be decided upon to fill this vacancy and that of
the U.S. marshal for the district." He paused and coughed. "It is my
understanding that no decision has been made yet about whether another
special envoy will be named to fill the shoes of Commissioner Troutman.
All of those decisions, naturally, will be at the will of the president and
Congress. In the meantime, gentlemen, it is our task--one might even say
it will be our privilege--to conduct a swift and sure investigation into
the shocking and unwarranted assault on our brothers in service of our
government. It is up to us, each one of us assembled here today, to see
that the murderers do not go unpunished, to insure that the lives of these
brave and worthy men were not given up in vain.

"I am, on the authority of the President of these United States,
assuming command of the investigation. I will assign tasks to each of you,
and I will expect you, individually and collectively, to carry out this
work with all the diligence and expertise that is available to you. I
expect you to give this your total attention. A few of you, quite
naturally, will be required to perform the ordinary duties of your
respective jurisdictions and agencies. When you are given such tasks, I
expect your full cooperation. This investigation is too important to allow
the intrusion of personalities or politics into any of the decisions.
Those of you who must perform other duties should do so with the
understanding that your cooperation and your devotion to matters that may
at the time seem insignificant are necessary so that others can labor on a
full-time basis toward the discovery and apprehension of whoever it was who
planned the recent attack on the commissioner and his wife.

"I want you to know that I personally will not rest until these
people, every one of them who may have been involved, have been caught,
convicted, and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law. I trust that
everyone else in this room feels the same. If you do not, please have the
courtesy to speak up now. I want no shirkers on this team, gentlemen. I
expect every man among you to commit himself to his best efforts, without
regard to personalities or favoritism. Is there anyone here who is not
willing to make this commitment? Anyone at all? Speak now, please, if you
want out."

Longarm would have been damned well amazed if anyone had asked out.
And, of course, no one did--as the interim U.S. attorney undoubtedly had