boss’s vindictive grousing about the farmer from Kansas.
“If he wasn’t a know-nothing shit-kicker, I’d come down so hard on him
that his teeth would still be vibrating next Christmas,” Sharp said.
“But what’s the point, huh?
He’s just a thick-headed Kansas plowboy who doesn’t know any better.
No point talking to a brick wall, Peake.
No point getting angry with a brick wall.”
“Right,” Peake said.
Pacing back and forth in front of Sarah’s closed door, glowering at the
nurses who passed in the corridor, Sharp said, “You know, those farm
families way out there on the plains, they get strange cause they breed
too much among themselves, cousin to cousin, that sort of thing, which
makes them more stupid generation by generation.
But not only stupid, Peake. That inbreeding makes them stubborn as
mules.”
“Mr. Kiel sure does seem stubborn,” Peake said.
“Just a dim-witted shit-kicker, so what’s the point of wasting energy
breaking his butt? He wouldn’t learn his lesson anyway.
Peake could not risk an answer. He required almost superhuman
determination to keep a grin off his face.
Six or eight times during the next half hour, Sharp said, “Besides, it’s
faster to let him get the information out of the girl. She’s a dim bulb
herself, a drugged-up little whore who’s probably had syphilis and clap
so often her brain’s like oatmeal. I figured it’d take us hours to get
anything out of her. But when that shit-kicker came into the room, and
I heard the girl say Daddy’ in that happy-shaky little voice, I knew
he’d get out of her what we needed a lot faster than we could get it.
Let him do our job for us, I thought.”
Jerry Peake marveled at the deputy director’s boldness in trying to
reshape Peake’s perception of what had actually happened in Sarah’s
room. Then again, maybe Sharp was beginning to believe that he had not
backed down and had cleverly manipulated The Stone, getting the best of
him. He was fruitcake enough to buy his own lies.
Once, Sharp put a hand on Peake’s shoulder, not in a comradely manner
but to be sure of his subordinate’s attention. “Listen, Peake, don’t
you get the wrong idea about the way I came on with that little whore.
The foul language I used, the threats, the little bit of hurt I caused
her when I squeezed her hand… the way I touched her… didn’t mean a
thing. Just a technique, you know.
A good method for getting quick answers. If this wasn’t a national
security crisis, I’d never have tried that stuff. But sometimes, in
special situations like this, we have to do things for our country that
maybe neither we nor our country would ordinarily approve of. We
understand each other?”
“Yes, sir. Of course.” Surprised by his own ability to fake nalvete’
and admiration, and to do it convincingly, Peake said, “I’m amazed you’d
worry that I’d misunderstand. I’d never have thought of such an
approach myself.
But the moment you went to work on her… well, I knew what you were
doing, and I admired your interrogation skills. I see this case as an
opportunity, sir. I mean, the chance to work with you, which I figured
would be a very valuable learning experience, which it has beeneven more
valuable than I’d hoped.”
For a moment Sharp’s marble-hard green eyes fixed on Peake with evident
suspicion. Then the deputy director decided to take him at his word,
for he relaxed a bit and said, “Good. I’m glad you feel that way,
Peake. This is a nasty business sometimes. It can even make you feel
dirty now and then, what you have to do, but it’s for the country, and
that’s what we always have to keep in mind.”
“Yes, sir. I always keep that in mind.”
Sharp nodded and began to pace and grumble again.
But Peake knew that Sharp had enjoyed intimidating and hurting Sarah
Kiel and had immensely enjoyed touching her. He knew that Sharp was a
sadist and a pedophile, for he had seen those dark aspects of his boss
surge clearly to the surface in that hospital room. No matter what lies