Free The Wizard Murders by Sean McDevitt Page A

realized that it was all an illusion- that no, everything was not okay, and that the whole thing for them was being ad-libbed."
     
    Denise smiles at him sadly as he finishes. "Every parent in this town should be able to tuck their child in at night and at least be able to give them the illusion that everything is all right... even if it's not."
     
                                        *************
                                                                                                     
    Pitt returns to the station later that afternoon, and shortly after his arrival Denise hands him a note. He reads it and then exclaims, "City Hall called? They want a meeting here at 5:30, 'sharp', it says? What the hell is this?" Denise shrugs her shoulders, cringing a bit.
     
    At the appointed hour, Pitt is greeted by two grey-suited men in his office- the City Attorney and the City Manager. Both men carry grim expressions.
     
    "Okay, gentlemen, what is the meaning of this?" Pitt asks, a little agitated.
     
    "It's Chief Stevens," the pudgy City Attorney proclaims. "He's been put on administrative leave. He's been diagnosed with stomach cancer."
     
    Pitt's own stomach lurches, both in sympathy and alarm. "Oh my God. Is he going to be all right?"
     
    "It's not at all clear. The leave is- for obvious reasons- indefinite, and the family is asking for complete privacy. Mainly, we're just here to make sure that the day-to-day operations continue, and to offer whatever assistance we can. Andy, can the department sustain itself at a time like this without a chief? I hate to put it in those terms, I know Chief Stevens is your friend, but obviously public safety is our priority."
     
    Pitt fumbles in his pockets for some antacids, his stomach pain really starting to flare. "Well, um... yeah. He had, uh, set the parameters pretty clear for us already. I know this is a really extreme homicide case, but we have a plan. I just didn't know we'd be using it because of a medical emergency."
     
    The owlish City Manager speaks up, almost matter-of-factly. "The Chief may have his own medical emergency, but the community's state of emergency outweighs that. We need to know if we can expect the same mediocre amount of competence your department has shown so far, or is something going to get accomplished around here, and soon?”
     
    Quietly furious, stunned at their astounding lack of judgement, Pitt casts his eyes down at his desk for a moment. Images of Geoff Stevens flash before him- the kind smile, the patience, the Chief who always guided things with a firm but gentle hand.
     
    Finally he responds. "Yeah, I know where your priorities are. We all want the same thing." He pauses, distracted by his anger. He then adds bitterly, "We both want someone who can stop people from dying."
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    September 15th.
     
    Two weeks have passed, and Pitt is rifling through the tubs of what he's now calling the "wizard files." Desperate for evidence, he and Clarence are seated across from each other in his office, making another effort to scour through their notes taken while speaking with the families of both victims- looking for anything that wouldn't have been apparent on a first review.
     
    "There's nothin' here about no strangers around those girls, no stalkers... nothing," Clarence offers, taking a moment to take a sip from a can of iced tea. "It could be a bum- a transient. Who knows? The nut could be passin' in and out of town by train, maybe he works for Union Pacific."
     
    Pitt shakes his head, runs a hand through his scraggly hair and tries to stifle a yawn. "What throws me off there is the paint. He's got to be a local, so he's got to have his paint stored somewhere. Last I checked, there weren't too many hobos out there with paint