Day 648: 5 Minute Freewrite: Tuesday - Prompt: manipulation

“Folks just do not learn,” said Ms. Maggie Thornton, secretary to the commissioner's office in Big Loft, VA.

Ms. Thornton's heart was aching, as she was watching her fifth commissioner in five months be appointed. The last one had only lasted five days.

All four there before Acting Commissioner Tate had made the same mistake.

They had attempted to manipulate the man she loved.

Captain Henry Fitzhugh Lee was tall, well-built, and very handsome, being in appearance very like the Lee relative whom Virginia had made an idol of. He also had the same general habits; quiet, humble, brilliant, and, if not bothered, perfectly mild-mannered. He had been brought in to work cold cases, and quietly went about solving one every ten days if left alone to do it.

But, Commissioner Thomas had added to the captain's assignment: a big, dangerous FOIA project. The commissioner had then attempted to manipulate Captain Lee into producing results favorable to the department. That had tipped Captain Lee off to the commissioner's corruption, and within five days, Commissioner Thomas had died resisting arrest, with two of his three deputies jailed to await trial.

The third deputy, made acting commissioner, had died from the stress of trying to intimidate Captain Lee.

Right. The man trying to intimidate Captain Lee had died of the stress of trying to do that.

And now here was Acting Commissioner Tate, going through Captain Lee's file talking about, “there's got to be some way to break him down a little.”

Ms. Thornton just knew that office was going to see a sixth commissioner before it was done. There were just some men you didn't need to bother to manipulate.

Ms. Thornton saw Captain Lee in passing later that afternoon, walking with one of the lieutenants assigned to work with him on his cases. She had just stood still for a moment, and watched, happily dazzled, as the captain had paused in his conversation long enough to acknowledge her presence with a sweet smile and a greeting. He should have been on administrative leave, but nobody had gotten around to putting him on it.

So, Captain Lee rolled right on, and Ms. Thornton was glad.

“Maybe,” she said to herself, “those that just won't learn and change will get cleaned out of here, rubbing up against our good Harry,” she said. “I don't know why they just didn't make straightforward Chief Scott commissioner anyway, but the way things are going, he will be in the office soon, and then maybe things will get right.”