The government men examining the matter of the improper use of city funds have ended their investigation, and most questions remain unanswered. The officials of New Toulouse have not been jailed, and the investigators are unwilling to discuss the matter.
Late on Saturday I saw one of the government men waiting at the docks, suitcase in hand. He refused to discuss the investigation in detail. He said that it was over, that he had rarely seen such a welcoming and warm community, and that he was sorry for all of the trouble.
I asked him about his new crutches, casts, and bandages, and his missing partner, and he said, “Streetcar accident. We were walking out of Spiegel Hall, and the streetcar ran over us. The mayor was aboard, and he took us to the clinic. Leave it be, Jack, there’s no story here. Burn your notes. I need to get out of here.”
When I asked him about the midnight movement of goods between the bayou and the Land Office, the tankers hiding in the canals north of the bayou, and the strangers walking around town, he said nothing. When I offered to show him pictures, he put down his crutches and sunglasses and gestured with a shaky finger. “You don’t want to go there. Let it rest. My official report will say that this place is as clean as any I’ve seen. Burn those photos with your notes.”
It was midnight when I left him at the docks, and I never did see his partner. As I walked home I noticed city workmen putting in a new garden at the mayor’s place, and it looked like they were planting catnip.
Jack Mondieu, Ace Reporter, is a figment of your imagination.