Hammer took the phone away from her caretaking son.
“Jude, it’s all right,” she said to him, patting his shoulder.
“Virginia?” she said.
W Goode was watching a videotape of True Lies, and relaxing on the couch with her gas
fire lit and the air conditioning on high, waiting for Webb to call. He had promised to
sneak by before the six o’clock news, and she was getting anxious. If he didn’t show up
within minutes, there wouldn’t be time to do or say a thing. When the phone rang, she
snatched it up as if all in life depended on whoever it was.
Goode was not expecting Chief Hammer. Goode was not expecting Hammer to somberly
tell her that Seth had died, and she, the boss, would see Goode in Goode’s office at four-
thirty sharp. Goode jumped off
the couch, energized and euphoric. This could mean but one thing.
Hammer was taking a long leave to get her pathetic affairs in order, and she was naming
Goode acting chief.
^ Hammer had quite another scenario in mind for Deputy Chief Jeannie Goode. Although
those around Hammer did not entirely understand how she could think of work at a time
like this, in fact, nothing could have been more therapeutic for Hammer. Her mind
cleared. She woke up, anger a blue flame burning through her veins. She felt she could
vaporize someone just by looking at him, as she dressed in gray polished cotton slacks
and blazer, a gray silk blouse, and pearls. She worked on her hair, and sprayed a light
mist of Hermes on her wrists.
Chief Judy Hammer went out to her midnight-blue police car, and flicked on wipers to
slough out leaves knocked down by rain. She backed out of her drive, and turned onto
Pine Street as sun broke through moiling clouds. A lump formed in her throat, and she
swallowed hard. Tears burned her eyes, and she blinked and took a deep breath, as she
saw her street and the world around it, for the first time, without him. Nothing looked
different, but it was. Oh, it was. She took deep breaths as she drove, and her heart felt
bruised while her blood roared for righteous revenge. Goode could not have picked a
worse time to pull such a stunt and get caught, of this Hammer was certain.
^/A-?
W Goode was filled with confidence and self-importance, and she didn’t see any point in
putting on her uniform or a suit that might have
suggested respect and consideration for her troubled leader. Instead, Goode drove back down town, dressed in the short khaki skirt and T-shirt she had been in all day, waiting
for Webb, who was busy working in the yard, his wife keeping a close eye on him these
days. Goode parked her Miata in her assigned spot, and was more arrogant than usual to
all she met as she took the elevator to the third floor, where her fine office was just
around the corner from the suite that soon would be hers.
She shut her door and began her usual routine of dialing Webb’s number and hanging up
if someone other than the handsome news reporter answered. Goode enjoyed a feature
on her police line that scrambled signals and rendered Caller ID useless. She was
hanging up on Webb’s wife when Goode’s door suddenly flew open. Chief Hammer
walked in, about to live up to her name. Goode’s first reaction was how sharp her boss
looked in gray. Goode’s second and final reaction was that Hammer did not seem to be in
mourning as she strode to the desk and snatched up Goode’s brass nameplate.
“You’re fired,” Hammer said in a voice not to be questioned
“I want your badge and gun. Your desk gets cleared out now. Let me help you start.”
Hammer threw the nameplate into the trash. She turned without another glance and
walked out. Hammer was fury traveling down the corridors of her department, yet she
was forthcoming in her nods and salutations to troops she passed. Word was already out
on the radio about her husband, and members of the Charlotte Police Department were
overwhelmed with sorrow and newfound respect for their leader.