The White Angel Murder Read Free Page A

number of universities lucky enough to have him.
    The day he told his father he was joining the police academy, all his father said was, “Son, power, no matter how nobly it’s applied, eventually corrupts.”
    After he had unpacked he sat down. He began looking out the window again when a man with a vacuum stepped into the room. He looked in the garbage can and glanced passively at Stanton before leaving.
    Stanton took a deep breath, and decided to leave.
     
    *****
     
    It was dark by the time Stanton pulled to a stop in front of the large house. It was two stories with a wide lawn. A Mercedes was parked in the driveway. Through the kitchen window he saw a man, woman and two young boys eating dinner. They were talking and laughing and the mother would get up and get another dish or fill someone’s glass.
    He walked to the door and knocked, a large manila envelope under his arm. Melissa answered, a smile on her face that quickly faded away when she saw him.
    “ Hi,” he said.
    “ Hi.”
    He pulled out the envelope and handed it to her. “A few things. Some jewelry I found when I moved.”
    She looked through the envelope. “Jonathan, you can keep most of this stuff. I gave it to you.”
    “ No, some of its family heirlooms. It should be in your family.”
    Just then a small head popped around the corner and Mathew ran out and threw his arms around his father. Four year old Jon stood at the corner and didn’t move.
    “ Hey dad,” Mathew said.
    “ Hey squirt. How was the game?”
    “ We lost by two goals.”
    “ You’ll get ‘em next time.”
    Melissa’s fiancé Lance came to the door and stood behind her, softly letting his hand rest on her shoulder.
    “ How are you, Jonathan?”
    “ Fine. Thanks.”
    Lance cleared his throat. “So what’s up?”
    “ He was just dropping off some of my stuff,” Melissa said. “Why don’t you join us for dinner?”
    “ Yeah!” Mathew shouted.
    Lance said, “I’m sure your dad’s got more important things to do than have dinner with us. Don’t you, Jonathan?”
    There was a long silence as the men stared at each other.
    “ Sure,” Stanton said.
    “ Come on, Matty, let’s finish up supper. Good to see you, Jonathan.”
    “ Yeah. I’ll see you later, squirt.”
    “ Bye dad.”
    Melissa stood at the door until they were out of view in the kitchen. She stepped outside, folding her arms though it wasn’t cold.
    “ He misses you,” she said.
    “ I know. I wish I could see him more.”
    “ Jon Junior misses you too. He just doesn’t know how to show it.”
    “ He’s angry with me. He thinks this is my fault.”
    “ That’s not true.”
    There was a silence and then Stanton said, “I’d like to take them more, Mel. I don’t see them enough.”
    “ They’re going to have a new life. Lance is going to be a big part of that life and they need to spend a lot of time with him. I think every other weekend is appropriate.”
    Stanton looked down to his shoes. They were worn and hadn’t been polished in a long time. He noticed that Melissa was barefoot and had her toenails painted black.
    “ I should go. Kiss the boys for me.”
    “ Jonathan,” she said hurriedly as he turned to leave. “I know I can’t talk you out of that job. But be careful.”
    “ I will. Thanks.”
    As Stanton got into his car he looked through the window at the family having dinner; they were laughing and joking around again. He started his car, and pulled away.
     

5
     
    When Stanton walked in to police headquarters on Monday morning he stopped at the vending machine and got a Diet Coke. He wore old khakis and a blazer he had dug out of his closet. After work he would have to head to the Fashion Depot and pick up a couple of suits.
    He went to the fifth floor and it was buzzing with activity. Detectives with their suit coats off and their sleeves rolled up ran around making demands of assistants and secretaries. A few uniforms were wandering around, rubbing elbows with the