Free Diagnosis Murder 6 - The Dead Letter by Lee Goldberg Page B

his files and corroborate the rest ourselves."
    Dickens looked at Penmore. "If you've got a video of a politician taking bribes, in the court of public opinion nobody is going to care where it came from or how it was obtained."
    "That's not where I try cases." Penmore said.
    "It's where I do, sweetie," Dickens said, wagging her finger at him. "These files are a godsend for our campaign."
    "Stryker may actually have accomplished something worthwhile with his miserable life," Penmore said. "Shame he had to die to do it."
    There was another benefit to making cases on Stryker's files. Nobody had brought it up yet, but Burnside knew his campaign manager was certainly aware of it. The arrest of Lieutenant Sloan's top suspects in Stryker's murder would be personally disastrous for two of Burnside's rivals in the mayoral race.
    A big police-corruption scandal involving the Major Crime Unit could torpedo Chief John Masters's campaign long before election day.
    And the revelation that Delmar Campos, a good friend and appointee of the mayor's, took bribes from a Mob-connected contractor could derail the entire reelection campaign.
    But Penmore was right—there was a risk of blowback for Burnside. Aligning himself with a blackmailing scumbag like Stryker could have unforeseen consequences, especially if the investigation into the murder unearthed even more unsavory secrets in Stryker's past.
    Burnside cleared his throat and sat up straight in his seat. "We have to put my campaign considerations aside."
    "We do?" Dickens said.
    "Rhea, my first obligation is to the pursuit of justice, We've received irrefutable evidence that serious crimes have taken place, and it's our obligation to prosecute the offenders, no matter what," Burnside said. "Owen, I want you to start getting whatever warrants are necessary. If you need help, pull people off of other cases. This takes priority."
    "What about the Stryker murder investigation?" Penmore asked.
    "I'm sure the facts concerning whatever happened to Mr. Stryker will eventually come to light in the course of our prosecutions of these offenders," Burnside said.
    "Lieutenant Sloan may not agree," Penmore said.
    "He'll be too busy working on the task force I'm creating to deal exclusively with closing these cases," Burnside said. "Get him in here right away."
    "What makes you think the chief will go along with forming this task force?" Penmore said.
    "Because it will look a hell of a lot worse for him if he doesn't," Burnside said.
    "I'd see to that," Dickens said. "And Masters knows it."
    "I'm counting on you, Owen," Burnside said. "My future and yours depend on you now."
    "I won't let either of us down," Penmore said and hurriedly left the room.
    Rhea Dickens looked at Burnside and smiled in admiration. "You're good. I have a feeling that becoming mayor of Los Angeles may just be a stepping-stone to much bigger things for you."
    He smiled back confidently, but he knew there was still a wild card that could disrupt everything.
    Dr. Mark Sloan.
    What was the doctor's motivation in all this? Was it to remove Chief Masters from the political playing field? Or was there a booby trap hidden amidst the files that Mark Sloan knew would blow up in Burnside's face?
    It was a risk he'd have to take.
    That uncertainty was another good reason to put Steve Sloan on the task force. In fact, maybe Detective Sloan should lead it.
    The more Burnside thought about it, the more he liked the idea, if for no other reason than the clear message it would send to Mark Sloan.
    If I go down, Doc, your son goes with me.
     
    After meeting with Stryker's lawyer, Steve dropped Mark off at Community General, promising to call if there were any new developments. They both knew that Steve couldn't act on the information in the files until he got the go-ahead from his captain or the DA's office. And there was nothing left for Mark to do on his own.
    So Steve decided to go back to his office and concentrate on backtracking Stryker's