the female body after it turned thirty? Men were ready and willing until death. They sat
tall in the saddle, and were unaffected by gravity, and this was why it wasn’t out of the
question for the male to seek out younger females, eventually.
“You understand the definition of honey?” Hammer started in on this again.
“A food for larvae. To be flattering or obsequious. Cajolery.
What you say to get your socks darned and buttons sewn on. Christ, why did I come to
this city? ” She shook her head, not kidding.
“Atlanta wasn’t much better,” he reminded her.
“Certainly not Chicago, or it wouldn’t have been for long.”
“True, true.”
“What about your press conference?” He moved on to more important matters.
“I passed along a very appropriate suggestion. And what?” He shrugged thin shoulders.
“Where’s my press conference? Was it so much for me to ask? This building is a beacon
bringing business to Charlotte-Mecklenburg. We need to disseminate positive
information, such as our hundred and five percent clearance rate for all violent crimes last
year …”
She interrupted him, because she couldn’t let this pass.
“Sol, this is not financial smoke and mirrors. You cannot manipulate the bottom line on
paper and in computers and get everyone to accept it. We’re talking tangibles. Rapes,
robberies, BEs, homicides, with real flesh and blood victims. You’re asking me to
convince citizens that we cleared more cases than we had last year?”
“Old cases were solved, that’s why the numbers …” he started to repeat what he had been told.
Hammer was shaking her head, and Gaboon’s infamous impatience was heating up. This
lady was the only one who dared talk to him in this fashion, if he didn’t include his wife
and children.
“What old cases?” Hammer said.
“And going back how far? You know what this is like? It’s like some one asking me
how much I make as chief of police and I say a million dollars because I’m going back
ten years.”
“Apples and oranges.”
“No, no, Sol.” She was shaking her head more vigorously.
“No apples and oranges here. Oh no. This is fertilizer.”
“Judy.” He pointed a bent finger at her.
“What about the conventions that decide not to come here because of this … ?”
“Oh for God’s sake.” She waved him off and stood.
“Conventions don’t decide anything, people do, and I can’t hear anymore of this. Just let
me handle things, you mind? That’s what I’m paid to do. And I’m not going to spread a
lot of crap. You’ll have to get someone else to do it.” She started walking out of his
office with its view.
“A hundred and five percent.” She raised her hands in exasperation.
“And I’d watch out for your secretary, by the way.”
“What does she have to do with this?” Cahoon was most confused, which was fairly
normal after a visit with Hammer.
“I know the type,” Hammer warned.
“How much does she want?”
“For what?” He was baffled.
“Trust me. She’ll let you know,” said Hammer, shaking her head.
“I wouldn’t be alone with her or trust her. I’d get rid of her.”
Mrs. Mullis-Mundi knew the meeting could not have gone well. Cahoon had not sent for
water, coffee, tea, or cocktails. He had not summoned her on the intercom and asked her
to show the chief out. Mrs. MullisMundi was conjuring up herself in her Chanel
compact, checking her smile in the mirror, when Hammer suddenly was there. This was
not a woman who bleached her teeth or waxed her legs. The chief tossed some sort of
report in a file folder on the executive secretary’s enameled Chinese desk.
“These are my stats, the real ones,” Hammer said as she left.
“See to it he gets them when he’s feeling open-minded.”
School kids were getting the grand tour through the marble lobby when the chief’s rapidly
clicking heels carried her out. She glanced at her Breitling watch without really noting
the time. Tonight was her twenty- sixth anniversary of being married to Seth. They were
supposed to have a quiet evening at the Beef & Bottle, the rare steak, male hang-out that