Bad Business

44

I went to see Quirk in his new high-tech office in the new high-tech police headquarters.

"Wow," I said. "You must be catching a lot more crooks now."

"We got so many," Quirk said, "they're asking us to slow down a little."

"I have a high-ranking employee at Kinergy that says the company is nearly broke."

"Gee," Quirk said.

"Two people from Kinergy have been shot," I said.

"One of them is Healy's problem," Quirk said.

"And the other one is yours," I said. "You think this might be a clue?"

"It might be," Quirk said. "Who's your source?"

"The source feels endangered and is in hiding," I said."I promised I wouldn't say."

Q uirk leaned back in his chair with his thick hands laced across his flat stomach.

"And," he said, "you know where this source is, of course."

"I do."

Q uirk swiveled his chair halfway and looked out the window for a bit.

"I known you a long time," he said. "So I know I can't scare you into giving me a name."

"Don't feel bad," I said. "I still think you're scary."

"Thanks. Got any evidence to say the place is broke?"

"Just the unsupported allegation of my well-placed source."

"Judges love that," Quirk said. "And, say it's so, and say we could prove it, how does it connect with my murder?"

"Don't you mean murders?" I said.

"Other one's Healy's. I only claim credit for out-of-jurisdiction crimes if they're solved."

"Of course," I said. "I don't know how it connects. Just strikes me that it might."

"Sure it might," Quirk said. "And what I want you to do is go right over to the DA's office and tell them you have an allegation from an unnamed source that might be a clue, and you want a warrant to examine the books of the most successful corporation in the Commonwealth."

"Didn't they donate a lot of money to the last election campaign of the current senate president?"

"I believe they did," Quirk said.

"Want me to mention your name?"

"No."

"Maybe Healy could get in there," I said.

"You can ask him," Quirk said.

"Think there's a chance?"

"No."

"Me either," I said.

"So," Quirk said. "I would say it's up to you, Caped Crusader."

"My forensic accounting skills may have corroded a little," I said.

"Lot of that going around," Quirk said.

"Still," I said, "if I blunder around over there long enough-"

"Maybe you'll write Hamlet," Quirk said.