Risen To The Top

CHAPTER 118

The next day, Dr. Hoades knew Detective Ryan Dole was not happy about his call, and had probably spent the morning cleaning up his office in preparation for their meeting. It was Sunday, after all, and Hoades had insisted they meet at the detective’s office, not the Hoades home. That made it more official. And meant he didn’t yet have to tell his wife and daughter about the letters.

The surface of Dole’s dented metal desk was hardly ever exposed, not like today. The detective’s man-cave was a perpetual cleanup in process, one never completed. The desk’s soft plastic top was perfect for pressing hard when filling out quadruplicate forms for the Department. Over the years he’d seen the man grip his medium point blue pens and press so hard, as if to savor making indentations in the soft grey surface beneath. After coming back from an interview or profile meeting, Hoades would watch the detective rummage for a patch of desk surface, and fill out those reports. It