Death to the Chief (Atlanta Murder Squad Book 2)
Page 29
Minton continues, “Who turns down power? Play your cards right, Chance, and you could end up being president. Just give me the word.”
“The only good part about being president is the plane.”
The response gets his goat, and he grumbles some more. After devoting his entire life to politics, he cannot fathom why I would walk away from the brass ring. But having been Jack Meridian’s best friend on this earth, Minton of all people should see the truth for what it is. I am my father’s son.
The Governor, though, didn’t call this meeting to berate us, fun as it is for him. He has another play up his sleeve, and I can’t put my finger on it.
He turns serious, “I wasn’t kidding the other day about the state needing good people. Corruption is rampant and undermining public trust. I want to do something about it. My lasting legacy, so to speak.”
Part of me longs to point out that he’s the one carrying on a surreptitious affair with a Supreme Court Justice but decide to bite my tongue.
He continues, “I want to form an elite investigative unit to handle high-level criminal matters statewide.”
I point out, “The GBI already does that.”
“Something smaller. More powerful. Police and prosecutorial authority. A specialized murder squad based out of Atlanta. When the bad guys hear that the murder squad is in town, I want their butts to pucker up. That’s what I’m going for. Murder cases being the main draw but not just that. An empty floor is doing nothing in the new judicial building. I aim to house the squad there. You can commute to work with your new wife, Chance. And Moore, you can still play detective all day. You two in?”
Scott asks, “Would a state pension be included with that?”
The Governor eyes him suspiciously, unsure whether the question is serious or school boy sarcasm. I’m not sure, either.
Minton responds, “Fine.”
Cate has already wondered what I intend to do with the rest of my life. The proposed murder squad wouldn’t have near the volume of cases before the Supreme Court as the attorney general or governor’s offices. Her recusals would be rare. We could make it work.
Scott looks at me. I look at him. Gun-shy after we turned him down the last time, Minton inspects the both of us, much less confident than he was the other day. Scott gives me a slight nod, which means he’s game if I’m up for it. Both of them focus their attention on me, and I give them my answer.
“Why not?”
The End
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For Death to the Chief, I am beyond blessed to once again have my Dream Team—Nancy Boren, Browning Jeffries, Joanna Apolinsky, and Tom Lacy—keep me on the straight and narrow.
The willingness of these talented individuals to invest their free time into plowing through my rough drafts is humbling. Their myriad contributions—grammar, proofreading, story ideas, calling me out on my worst impulses—make for a much better book. I appreciate every one of them from the bottom of my heart.
The dedication of this book reads: “To Mom—For Always Having My Back.” Enough said. I love you, Mom!
As always, the biggest thank you goes to my wife, Carla. I wrote Death to the Chief while our family remained homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carla gave me the freedom to disappear into the basement for hours at a time to complete the manuscript. But perhaps her biggest sacrifice was yet to come. After I started the novel, Carla became the newest justice on the Georgia Supreme Court. To my everlasting relief, she didn’t make me change the plot! Without her love and support, this book wouldn’t be possible.
Finally, many thanks to my team at Bond Publishing for their encouragement and support—especially James and Emily.
All mistakes are mine alone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lance McMillian is a recovering lawyer who gave up the courtroom for the classroom. For over a decade, he has taught Constitutional Law and Torts to future lawyers at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School. Lance is married to Justice Carla Wong McMillian of the Georgia Supreme Court. Death to the Chief is the follow-up to his best-selling debut novel, The Murder of Sara Barton.
Lance loves to hear from his readers. You can connect with him via email (lancemcmillian@icloud.com), Twitter (@LanceMcMillian), or Facebook (fb.me/LanceBooks).