Ghost Road Blues (Pine Deep 1)

“Yikes,” said LaMastra quietly.

“Do you have any reserves?” Ferro asked.

“Not as such, no,” hedged Gus. “A lot of men in town, and a handful of women, have been local officers at one time or another, especially those who did co-?op work while they were in law classes at Pinelands. Plus there was a town watch for a while, so a few of those guys had a basic course. Sometimes we’ll hire them on during the week of Halloween and all during the Christmas s

eason, you know, to cut down on shoplifting and stuff like that, and make some extra pay. ”

“More of a presence, you understand,” said Terry. “It helps everybody to see a warm body in a uniform. Shoot, I’ve even worn a badge a couple of times—back before I became mayor, of course. ”

“I see,” said Ferro. He pursed his lips. “Any chance we could reactivate some of these people?”

“‘Reactivate’?” Gus echoed.

“Yes. If this manhunt goes on longer than twelve hours, the officers on shift now are going to get tired. We’ll need replacements for them so we can keep the net as tight as possible. If we slacken at all, then Ruger and company will slip right through. ”

That would suit me , thought Terry. Aloud, he said, “Well, I more or less reinstated one fellow tonight. Malcolm Crow. ”

Gus wheeled on him. “Crow? Now why’n hell’d you do that?”

Ferro and LaMastra exchanged a brief look. “Who’s he?” asked LaMastra.

“A local shopkeeper,” Terry said.

“He’s a drunken—” Gus began and Terry withered him with a glare.

“Crow has been sober for years, Gus, and you bloody well know it. ”

“Once a drunk, always a drunk. ”

“Maybe, but he isn’t drinking now. Come on, Gus, even you have to admit he was a darned good officer. ” Terry almost said, Crow was the only good cop this town ever had, but didn’t want to appear unkind in front of the Philly cops.

Gus grunted.

Ferro did not want to involve himself in the matter, but LaMastra asked, “What’s the beef? Did he drink himself off the force or something?”

“No,” said Terry, still glaring at Gus. “He quit drinking before he ever even put on a badge. ”

“So what’s the problem?”

Gus opened his mouth to answer that, but Terry cut him off. “There is no problem,” he said slowly, putting firm emphasis on each word. Then he looked at Ferro. “Malcolm Crow was a superb cop. He might even have run for chief,” he said, intending the barb to hook itself in Gus’s flesh. “He had some issues from when he was a kid and got into the bottle for a while and, all right, he made a fool of himself for a year or two, but he also got himself sober. Started going to meetings and really turned things around. Became a decorated officer. Gus was opposed to a drunk working as a cop, but I vouched for Crow then and I vouch for him now. He’s been sober for years, as I said, and nowadays he’s a well-?respected businessman, a cornerstone of our community, and”—again he focused his eyes on Gus—“a close personal friend of mine. ”

In truth Terry did have doubts about reinstating Crow and halfway regretted having done it on the spur of the moment. Had he been less overwhelmingly exhausted and less off-?kilter he might not have done so. Crow had been a very good cop, and had been sober and going to AA meetings without a break for years, but it had also been a long time since he’d worn a badge and—as much as Terry hated to admit it to himself—Crow was so much of a goofball that it was hard to imagine him even taking what was happening right now with the proper seriousness. But he didn’t see what good admitting it would do now. Especially not in front of Gus and these other officers.

Turning back to Ferro, he went on, “I reinstated him just temporarily so that he could go shut down our Haunted Hayride. It gives him double authority as a contract employee for the hayride and a law officer. That way he’ll have the clout to handle any arguments or protests that result. Tourists can get touchy, you know. ”

“Mm. We saw the signs on the way into town. Chief Bernhardt tells me that you own it. ”

“Yes, and I’m proud to say that it’s the biggest in the East Coast,” Terry said with one of his few genuine smiles of the day, “but it’s full of kids, and I felt it was best to shut it up for the night and send the kids home. ”

“Very smart thinking, sir,” said Ferro. “Is this Mr. Crow the man for the job?”

“Crow,” said Terry firmly, “is the man for any job. Believe me. ”

Gus, it was clear, did not, but Ferro and LaMastra saw the look in Terry’s eyes, and they both nodded. “Fine,” Ferro said, “can we keep him on after he’s done that job? Help us out until this thing is over?”

“I think he can be persuaded. ”

“Good, good, anyone else?”