excerpt
“What’s on your mind, Taylor?”
“Well, what about those two Iraqi punks. You think that they don’t have
anything to do with this?”
“We don’t have any evidence leading to them; you know that. So what is all
the fuss about?”
“I don’t like those two, the prince and the other.”
“I know you don’t like them, John, you have made that clear to me already;
give it a rest. We have other things to attend to. Get the family on the phone and
tell them they can collect the body from the morgue.”
No sooner have the two officers left his office, Mario has a visitor. Admiral
Bevan Longhorn is back and wants to talk with him. He invites the Admiral into
his office and asks him to make himself comfortable.
“I suppose you are just about done with this case, lieutenant?”
“Yes, I’m done and the file will be put away, as soon as I make the official
report,” Mario Bonetti says.
“I’d like to ask you, on a personal level, what you make of this?”
“Well now, Admiral, to me it is a clear-cut case. The man took his own life.”
“I suppose, lieutenant, you interrogated the widow, or was it your officers?”
“I did, why the question, Admiral?”
“Don’t you remember her mentioning the deceased was in the process of
cleaning his gun?”
Mario Bonetti looks at the Admiral with some shock.
“Cleaning his revolver, Admiral?”
“Yes. She toldme as well. When she left him to go out for a while he was in the
process of cleaning his service pistol, which makes this a tragic and accidental
death, as you can understand,” Bevan says.
“But of course, if that’s the case, this is a tragic and accidental death.” He
repeats it as if to confirm it to himself.
“Lieutenant, may I ask you something else?”
“By all means.”
“If it happens that you get killed on duty, your widow is entitled to your
pension and other benefits?”
“Of course.”
“Then, if you take your own life, is she entitled, just the same?”
“I don’t think so, Admiral. Suicide means no pension, or half.”
The Admiral looks at him without making further comment. Mario Bonetti
realizes there is a variety of ways one can look at something and every one appears
different. The Admiral finishes his conversation with the police lieutenant and
shakes his hand before leaving.
Libros Libertad 