Murder Deja Vu

little luck to go with the forces against him. Payton had a few ways to get results, but he needed help. First, light a fire under Robert Minette’s ass. And he knew the right person to strike the match.

Chapter Forty
Let’s Make a Deal

    J im Payton liked Harris Stroud. Everyone did, except maybe his ex-wives. The newspaperman had two weaknesses. Women and booze, not necessarily in that order. When sober, he was charming and funny and smart. The sheriff called him a night drunk, because the next morning he sat at his desk, serious and competent. For years Payton wondered when night would turn into day. So far, it hadn’t.
    “Sheriff,” Harris said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
    “Might not be a pleasure, Harris. Least not for me.”
    “Uh-oh. What did I do?”
    “Mind if I sit down?”
    “No, ’course not. Sounds serious enough for a cup of coffee. Want one?”
    “No, thanks. I’ve already had enough caffeine this morning to send me into orbit.” Payton pulled out a stick of gum and folded it into his mouth. “I want to get Robert Minette.”
    Harris paused pouring his coffee with his cup half full and turned to Payton. He didn’t say anything, then turned around and finished pouring.
    Payton chewed. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I want to get him for?”
    “Hmm, don’t think so,” Harris said, settling back into his chair. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
    “Name Harry Klugh mean anything to you?” Payton couldn’t read Harris’s expression, but he definitely reacted to the name.
    “Enough to know he’s not a nice guy.”
    Focusing on the editor, Payton asked, “What’s Robert Minette got on you, Harris?”
    Harris snorted a short puff of air and put his cup down on his desk. “What makes you think he has anything on me?”
    “May I be frank?”
    “Can I stop you?”
    “Probably not.”
    Harris drank his coffee. “Well, then.”
    “See, here’s my problem. I’ve got two murders in my jurisdiction. I don’t like that the murderer or murderers are still on the loose. Makes everyone edgy. I understand that. It makes me edgy too. It also makes me look incompetent.” He chewed his gum, taking it slow. “I like my job. I don’t know if people would vote for someone who’s incompetent, so I’m starting to worry.”
    “I report the news, Jim. I don’t solve crimes. Why don’t you tell me what you want?”
    “Everyone in the county knows you’re too good a newsman to be working at a small local paper for a prick like Minette. Every time his office wins a case, even a petty robbery, it gets front page treatment, along with his name as a lead so we all know who’s boss. Fine, if that was the deal you made with him when he bought the paper, but he treats you like shit. I’ve heard him threaten to fire you in front of people. Why do you stay, Harris? Why do you put up with his nasty temperament?” Payton noticed the tremor in Harris’s hand when he brought the cup to his lips.
    “That’s between me and him. Frankly, it’s none of your business.”
    “You’re right. I’m from around here, and so are you, so I know what you used to be like before Minette came to town. Excuse me for being blunt, but you’ve turned from occasionally tying one on to being an out-of-control drunk.”
    Harris’s cheek twitched. “I’m not out of control. I’m here every morning, stone-cold sober.”
    “How long do you think that’ll last?”
    “Lasted a long time till now. You ever see me drunk during business hours? No, because I’m not. I don’t go near the stuff until my workday is done.”
    “My guess is Minette’s holding something over you. You’re a smart guy. Whenever he gives you shit, you throw it back at him, in front of everyone, like he does to you. He doesn’t like it, but he takes it. Which makes me think you have something on him too. What do you say to that?”
    Harris finished his coffee and went for another cup. Payton recognized the ploy to kill time while the editor thought of an answer.
    “You came in here saying you wanted to get Robert. Sounds like you’re trying to get me along with him.”
    “No, I’m trying to use you to get him. I don’t know what you did or what he knows about you that’s tying up your balls, but I’m offering you a fair hearing. Might be when I get Klugh, and I will, he’ll roll on Minette. Knowing Minette, he’ll pull all the dirty laundry he’s been collecting for years out of the closet to make a deal for