Chapter Six
Cogent carefully pulled his prized jalopy into the courthouse parking garage. He parked at an angle so as not to incur a scratch on the old clunker. As he exited the car, he surveyed the scene. It was best that he not encounter another run-in with the Sheriff. The coast was clear. He slammed the door shut and proceeded to the courthouse. Cogent walked at a brisk pace. It was a scorcher of a day, and sweat poured off his forehead as he quickly made his way across the pavement. He was anxious to get back into the records of Lydia Secrest. He wanted to take another look at her family background.
“Good morning, Jack,” Beatrice Crump, the court record secretary, greeted him. She stiffened up and sat in a relatively formal manner as he approached the desk. Cogent sensed that she wa
