Robie's Last Case
Part 8 of the Detective John Robichoud Mysteries series
The war was over, leaving behind in its wake a stain on the city that would last for generations to come: the Halifax Riots. It had to happen, Robie mused, as he read the paper; part of his daily ritual. Little did he know that the last three days were nothing compared to what was ahead. Two crooked brothers, the Melansons, in positions of authority and trust, were found out with their hands in the 'till' as they conspired to rob the government through fraudulent contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That and, the call from Phil Mulroney asking for his help...once again. This time it was in locating and apprehending another Russian spy. The last one was the year before and that one almost cost his friend and partner's life. Before these cases were over, he would realize two important things: he no longer had the stomach to deal with men like the Melanson brothers and, his world had changed to the point that there no longer any room for him in it. The war was over, leaving behind in its wake a stain on the city that would last for generations to come: the Halifax Riots. It had to happen, Robie mused, as he read the paper; part of his daily ritual. Little did he know that the last three days were nothing compared to what was ahead. Two crooked brothers, the Melansons, in positions of authority and trust, were found out with their hands in the 'till' as they conspired to rob the government through fraudulent contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That and, the call from Phil Mulroney asking for his help...once again. This time it was in locating and apprehending another Russian spy. The last one was the year before and that one almost cost his friend and partner's life. Before these cases were over, he would realize two important things: he no longer had the stomach to deal with men like the Melanson brothers and, his world had changed to the point that there no longer any room for him in it. It's the end of an era. Detective John Robichaud, Robie to his friends, is retiring. But the past is never really in the past for a detective and bad pennies have a way of showing up when a person least expects. Robie is forced to deal with the repercussions of a past case involving dirty cops, now the one man who escaped the law is back in town and bent on revenge. Doucette has created a cast of characters his readers have come to care about. I know I for one will be sorry to see Robie close his last case file. The war was over, leaving behind in its wake a stain on the city that would last for generations to come: the Halifax Riots. It had to happen, Robie mused, as he read the paper; part of his daily ritual. Little did he know that the last three days were nothing compared to what was ahead. Two crooked brothers, the Melansons, in positions of authority and trust, were found out with their hands in the 'till' as they conspired to rob the government through fraudulent contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That and, the call from Phil Mulroney asking for his help...once again. This time it was in locating and apprehending another Russian spy. The last one was the year before and that one almost cost his friend and partner's life. Before these cases were over, he would realize two important things: he no longer had the stomach to deal with men like the Melanson brothers and, his world had changed to the point that there no longer any room for him in it.