me baby.”
The room sounds like it is full of a bunch
of goddamn beavers who are going to chew up all the wooden fixtures. The place
is full of the clacking sound, laughter and hooting, clack, clack and more
clack….the false teeth an unholy symphony.
I’m no longer amused and step towards
Webster. We all stop, when the Chief steps out of his office. “Charlie, get in
here. The rest of you get moving. Now.”
The Chief and I go way back. Once I get
into his office, I think about how to apologize. I walk to the empty chair and
begin to sit down.
“Hold it, did I tell you to sit? Stand and
listen closely. At the beginning of last week, I convinced the Judge you should
be appointed the new head man in Homicide. He agreed but wanted the
announcement delayed until he had an opportunity to talk to Doug Brewster and
Jake Konahouse, neither one your biggest boosters.
Then a couple days later I have to talk a
blond into not pressing charges because you squeezed her breast at a basketball
game. Not my favorite chore, playing a humble servant to a groupie. But you
managed to top all that this weekend. I didn’t see what triggered the incident
with the sergeant and I don’t want to know, the spectacle on the floor was
enough.
My problem is: I went so far out on the
limb to get you back into Homicide I can’t afford to make an immediate reversal
and throw you back into Records. But you have to understand this, from here on
there are no more free passes; one more drinking incident and you’ll be buried
in Records or completely off the force. The loss of your wife and daughter
started all this, but it’s time to move on. Either you move on or get out. Do
you have anything to say?”
My mouth isn’t going to work. I shake my
head. As I said the Chief and I go away back, and I know when he is talking
tight and under control that he is furious––– best to sneak out as fast as
possible.
“At three pm today the Judge has asked
that the Section Heads attend a special Board session. This means you. I can’t
begin to tell you how disappointed I’m in what is happening with and to you.
But the gloves are off, and if you let me down one more time, I’ll kick you so
goddamn hard you may never recover. Now get the hell out of here and get ready
for this afternoon.”
###
I leave and almost run to the Homicide
department, three floors down. The entrance hall leads into an open area
cluttered with whiteboards, filing cabinets and some portable cork boards; we
are fortunate in that senior staff also have real offices, with full walls,
even windows. Wes is waiting, no longer grinning.
I guess. “You knew about the reinstatement
and promotion. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Come on, forget it. The rumor has been
around here for the last week, but I thought it best to keep quiet in case it
was false. Time to go. You have a room full of detectives who want to bring you
up to speed and don’t get sensitive if you get an uneasy inspection; you
deserve it.”
I know he’s right, and I think about how to
recover the respect of the group. This is not going to be easy. There are three
others in the room when Wes and I get there: Karen Zubik, Manuel Moreno, and
Terry Patterson are detectives in Sector 14 homicide. They know about the
promotion and make all the proper sounds; no one mentions the spring party. We
assemble in the meeting room, everyone around the large table, and we start a
quick review of all the active cases; most of it’s routine, except there are
two serious open cases.
Wes is in charge of the first major case: a
serial team, known as the Five Star Couple, who kill prostitutes in four or five-star
hotels. He starts his summary. “Although it’s not confirmed, it does appear our
Five Star Couple have been at the Ritz. A body was discovered this morning. If
the Forensic team confirms the initial assessment, this
The room sounds like it is full of a bunch
of goddamn beavers who are going to chew up all the wooden fixtures. The place
is full of the clacking sound, laughter and hooting, clack, clack and more
clack….the false teeth an unholy symphony.
I’m no longer amused and step towards
Webster. We all stop, when the Chief steps out of his office. “Charlie, get in
here. The rest of you get moving. Now.”
The Chief and I go way back. Once I get
into his office, I think about how to apologize. I walk to the empty chair and
begin to sit down.
“Hold it, did I tell you to sit? Stand and
listen closely. At the beginning of last week, I convinced the Judge you should
be appointed the new head man in Homicide. He agreed but wanted the
announcement delayed until he had an opportunity to talk to Doug Brewster and
Jake Konahouse, neither one your biggest boosters.
Then a couple days later I have to talk a
blond into not pressing charges because you squeezed her breast at a basketball
game. Not my favorite chore, playing a humble servant to a groupie. But you
managed to top all that this weekend. I didn’t see what triggered the incident
with the sergeant and I don’t want to know, the spectacle on the floor was
enough.
My problem is: I went so far out on the
limb to get you back into Homicide I can’t afford to make an immediate reversal
and throw you back into Records. But you have to understand this, from here on
there are no more free passes; one more drinking incident and you’ll be buried
in Records or completely off the force. The loss of your wife and daughter
started all this, but it’s time to move on. Either you move on or get out. Do
you have anything to say?”
My mouth isn’t going to work. I shake my
head. As I said the Chief and I go away back, and I know when he is talking
tight and under control that he is furious––– best to sneak out as fast as
possible.
“At three pm today the Judge has asked
that the Section Heads attend a special Board session. This means you. I can’t
begin to tell you how disappointed I’m in what is happening with and to you.
But the gloves are off, and if you let me down one more time, I’ll kick you so
goddamn hard you may never recover. Now get the hell out of here and get ready
for this afternoon.”
###
I leave and almost run to the Homicide
department, three floors down. The entrance hall leads into an open area
cluttered with whiteboards, filing cabinets and some portable cork boards; we
are fortunate in that senior staff also have real offices, with full walls,
even windows. Wes is waiting, no longer grinning.
I guess. “You knew about the reinstatement
and promotion. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Come on, forget it. The rumor has been
around here for the last week, but I thought it best to keep quiet in case it
was false. Time to go. You have a room full of detectives who want to bring you
up to speed and don’t get sensitive if you get an uneasy inspection; you
deserve it.”
I know he’s right, and I think about how to
recover the respect of the group. This is not going to be easy. There are three
others in the room when Wes and I get there: Karen Zubik, Manuel Moreno, and
Terry Patterson are detectives in Sector 14 homicide. They know about the
promotion and make all the proper sounds; no one mentions the spring party. We
assemble in the meeting room, everyone around the large table, and we start a
quick review of all the active cases; most of it’s routine, except there are
two serious open cases.
Wes is in charge of the first major case: a
serial team, known as the Five Star Couple, who kill prostitutes in four or five-star
hotels. He starts his summary. “Although it’s not confirmed, it does appear our
Five Star Couple have been at the Ritz. A body was discovered this morning. If
the Forensic team confirms the initial assessment, this
Similar Books
