Free Fort Freak by George R.R. Martin Page A

grunted at me as I joined him among the oak and beech trees. “Sorry. We’re holding you up.”
    “No problem. I wanted a chance to talk to you.”
    His face closed down tight. “Call my office and make an appointment.”
    I shrugged. “Okay, but you probably don’t want these floating around your office.” I took out the photos of Todd Fairbanks and his friends. Todd and two others had the distinctive marks and stains from Joanie’s claws.
    “You asshole. Is this some kind of blackmail attempt because—”
    “No, just reminding you of your civic duty. Your son’s a first-class thug. He and his little pals humiliated, imprisoned, and terrified a girl, threatened her with rape, and now you’re trying to get her thrown in jail. You’re going to use your influence and get the D.A. to drop these charges.”
    His face was turning an alarming shade of red. “Like hell—”
    I waved the photos. “Or else these go wide on the Internet, along with Joanie’s story. The best-case scenario for your kid is that people will believe he got a hand job from a joker and she tattooed his dick. Which will make him a laughingstock. Or they’ll suspect her story is true, and most Ivy League colleges aren’t going to risk admitting a potential sexual predator.”
    “I’m asking you again. How much do you want?” The words squeezed between his clenched teeth.
    “Not a damn thing. But Mrs. McDermott is going to be suing you and your son. I suggest you settle. She’s also suing Barrington Prep, and since you’re on the Board of Governors you should urge them to settle too.”
    “Whoever the fuck you are, you’ve made yourself an enemy.”
    “Good. I think the kind of enemies a man acquires tells you a lot about his character. I’m very comfortable having you dislike me.” I started to walk away. “Oh, your ball’s over there. Behind the tree.”
    I returned to the fairway, smiled and nodded at Fairbanks’s companions. “If you don’t mind I’d like to play through,” I said.
    The solid feel of the head of the driver connecting with the ball was very satisfying, and watching the ball arc straight down the fairway felt equally great. And then it rolled onto the green and stopped only a few inches from the hole. Heaven appeared to be pleased, too.
    ♥
    The next morning I walked through the precinct unmolested. Bruce looked up from where he was emptying the grounds out of the coffeemaker, then quickly ducked his head and looked away. Tabby and Bugeye, who had been loitering in anticipation of seeing me humiliated again, gaped, exchanged glances, then glared at me. I gave them a sweet smile. A knot of people were reading the Cry. The front-page story was all about the huge academic grant made by Barrington Prep to Joan McDermott, enough to fund her undergraduate degree at any Ivy League university. There were also rumors of a lawsuit against Assemblyman Fairbanks, and more rumors that he would settle.
    I was a little sorry that Barrington hadn’t had their nuts hammered to a wall, but figured Pretorius had wrested more money out of them by letting them avoid admitting culpability. And I had a feeling Fairbanks senior was none to happy with his son and heir right now.
    Bill was studying me with a look that was half frown, half calculation. “You’re not naked.”
    “Nope.”
    “The charges against Joan McDermott have been dropped.”
    “Looks like it.” I moved on toward the locker room. He followed me.
    I had opened my locker and he peered in. “You don’t have an extra uniform.”
    “Nope.”
    “What did you do?”
    “Solved a few problems.”
    “How?”
    “Creatively.”
    “Do I want to know how?”
    “Nope.” I slammed the door shut and headed for the door and our briefing.
    “Answer me this.” I paused and looked back. “Did you have something to do with that McDermott girl?”
    “Maybe.”
    We measured glances. A slow smile split his face, and he nodded.
    ♣
    At the end of my shift I was