Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2014 21:42:07 -0500
From: Jake Preston <jemtling@gmail.com>
Subject: Psychic Detective 2

Psychic Detective 2
A Staff Meeting in the Sheriff's Office
By: Jake Preston

This is a work of erotic gay fiction, intended for readers who enjoy a
murder mystery in which fully developed characters interact sexually and in
other ways. Their sexual encounters are sometimes romantic, sometimes
recreational, and almost always described explicitly. My attention is
equally divided between narrative, character development, and sex scenes.
If you don't care for this combination, there are many other excellent
"nifty" stories to choose from.  And remember that while nifty stories are
free, maintaining a website is not. Please think about donating at
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

Writing is usually a solitary avocation, but not necessarily so on
nifty.org, where a longer story appears in installments. If my characters
and my story grabs your attention, you can always intervene with
suggestions for improvements. All sincere comments will get a response!

Jake, at jemtling@gmail.com

*  *  *  *  *  *

Chapter 2
A Staff Meeting in the Sheriff's Office

	That evening in Duluth, Ron Matthews called an emergency meeting
with his city deputy and his county detective inspectors. He instructed his
secretary to call everyone, including Göran Svenson, although Göran
was still a Sergeant. The meeting was supposed to start at 6:00 PM, with
take-out ordered from Jeno Palucci's Chung King Restaurant. Matthews looked
around the conference room. "Where's Svenson?" he asked. "Alice, where's
Detective Sergeant Svenson?"

	His secretary glanced at Svenson's superior, Detective Inspector
Harvey Winik. "Sir," Winik said, "I told Alice that I would contact
Svenson, but I couldn't reach him on his cellphone."

	"Let's eat then," Matthews said. "We'll start the meeting until
Svenson gets here." He retreated to his office. Alice followed him. She
gave him Svenson's number on a slip of paper.  Matthews called Svenson
himself.

	"Have you checked your cellphone messages?" Matthews asked Svenson.

	"No, Sir," Matthews said. "I'm sure I haven't missed any calls."

	"Well, get to the conference room as soon as you can, Sergeant,"
Matthews said, impatiently. "And check 'missed calls' on your
cellphone. Call me back and let me know about any calls you might have
missed."

	"Yes, Sir."

	A minute later, Sergeant Svenson called Matthews to say that he
hadn't missed any calls.  "I'm on my way to the Office, Sir. I'll be there
in ten."

	"Goddamn that Harvey Winik!" Matthews said, in Alice's
hearing. "Who the fuck does he think he's fooling? He's trying to make
Svenson look bad. What a jerk!"

	The meeting got started at 6:30. "Sorry to keep you all late,
gentlemen," Sheriff Matthews said. "The delay was caused by a minor
communication glitch which, I am sure, will not happen a second time. Right
now all we have is a verbal description of the crime scene. From the
description of the bodies, the murders occurred sometime last year. The
crime scene is washed out by winter snow and spring rains. It's so
corrupted that we'll have to treat it as a cold case. One of the victims,
the one suspended on ropes, has longish dark hair, so he might be an
Indian, but that's all we know so far. One other thing: the crime scene
looks like some sort of cult ritual with homosexual overtones, so
journalists and TV reporters will be all over it. We need to assign an
investigative team to this case, and we'll need to work on it until we get
a result. Detective Matthews!"

	"Yes, sir," Göran was surprised that the Sheriff singled him
out.

	"You're from Lake Ashawa, aren't you, Svenson?"

	"Yes, sir. From a farm about ten miles southeast of the Lake," he
replied. "But I know the Lake Country pretty well."

	"I want you to lead the investigation, Svenson," Matthews said.

	"Meaning no disrespect, Sir, but Svenson is still a Detective
Sergeant," Harvey Winik intervened.

	Sheriff Matthews was irritated. He looked poker-faced at Winik
while he addressed Svenson: "Sergeant Svenson, you passed your Detective
Inspector exam last month, as I recall."

	"Yes, sir."

	"In that case, we'll consider this case as your field
test. Detective Inspector Winik will accompany you in the field, until he
determines that you're ready to go on your own. But you'll report to me
every day."

	"Yes, sir," Svenson said. "May I ask, sir, is the crime scene still
intact? I would want to start by examining the corpses in situ."

	"It is, and you will, tomorrow morning. I want you to drive to Lake
Ashawa this evening," the Sheriff replied. "Inspector Winik can drive up
tomorrow as he schedule allows.  You'll both take police cruisers. I want a
police presence seen in Ashawa."

	After the meeting, Svenson spoke privately with the Sheriff: "It
seems to me, Sheriff, that apart from forensics, all we'll have going for
us is local knowledge, and especially local Ojibwe knowledge. I'd like to
assemble a team of civilian consultants to assist me."

	"Well, Winik won't like that. He likes to keep things in house,"
Matthews said.

	"The people in Lake Ashawa can be rather secretive, especially the
Ojibwe," Svenson replied. "They won't tell us much if they think they're
being interrogated. Winik's sausage- techniques might solve crimes in
Duluth, but Lake Ashawa is a whole new game."

	"Sausage-techniques!" Matthews laughed. "Well, who do you have in
mind then?"  Matthews asked.

	"First, an Ojibwe tribal leader named Dark Eagle. Second, an Ojibwe
anthropologist named Red Hawk. He's young, but he's had experience as a
consultant. Third, an artist named Anna Ravitch. She'll be good at
preparing sketches of possible crime scenarios. Fourth, a mystery writer
named Jake Preston. He lives about five miles from No Name Island."

	"So you're already familiar with the location?" Matthews said. It
wasn't a question.  "Well, I know Preston, and I have a recollection of
Mrs. Ravitch, the artist of nudes. All right then. Just make sure you
follow the rules about paying consultants by the hour, and try to keep the
budget down."

	"Thank you, sir." Göran smiled. He remembered that Matthews and
Svenson had been boyfriends. They had tried to keep it a secret, but no
love affair can be secret for long. At least he didn't have to worry about
having a homophobic boss!

2