mind.
16
Stanton went into the office on Friday morning and found Chief Harlow sitting at his desk, quietly staring out the window. He was dressed in a polo shirt and blue jeans with Italian leather shoes that gleamed from a recent shine. The photos of Jon Junior and Mathew were turned slightly off center and Stanton knew that Harlow had been looking at them. A copy of the Herald was spread on the desk.
Harlow saw him and pushed the paper across the desk and said, “Read this.” Stanton picked it up. On page five was a caption that read:
NEW COLD CASE UNIT FILLED WITH TROUBLED PASTS
Next to the caption was a photo of Stanton. It had been taken after he was released from the hospital when Noah had shot him. Reporters were hounding him as he was being pushed to an awaiting taxi in a wheelchair. His face was contorted with anger and bits of spittle were visible on the edges of his mouth. His eyes had fury in them. Anger was not an emotion he felt often and he hadn’t realized until now how awful it suited him. He sat down in the chair and began to read:
The San Diego Police Department has made an effort in recent years to begin solving the county’s enormous backlog of unsolved homicides. Chief Harlow’s latest attempt is the formation of the Cold Case Unit. In conjunction with the FBI, NCIS, LAPD and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the unit is assigned cases older than one year that have no active leads. The theory is that with nothing else on their plates, the detectives can focus their absolute attention to a single unsolved homicide and the likelihood of an arrest should increase. A noble goal, but with one problem: some of the detectives assigned to the unit should not be writing parking tickets, much less solving homicides … .
Stanton read the article in its entirety as Harlow waited. There was mention of Chin Ho having legal trouble with the IRS. Nathan Sell had had an affair with a superior officer at the San Diego PD and was demoted and transferred three years ago as a result. Philip Russell was responsible for a botched home entry by the FBI where two unarmed civilians were shot and killed, one of them sixteen years old. He was sent to San Diego afterward, the article claimed, as punishment. Jessica Turner had taken a leave of absence from the LAPD due to “familial stress” and issues with domestic violence. The article listed Zoloft and Prozac as medications she was currently taking. But Stanton got the lion’s share of the article.
It discussed the time he had spent in 5 North, the county’s psychiatric unit, after the shooting with Noah. It discussed his inability to see Noah for what he was and it leading to more deaths. It talked about the fact that he had left the police force to teach and was brought in on a whim by the Chief because none of the established detectives wanted the job. It talked about the fact that he didn’t carry his gun with him.
The article was written by Hunter Royal.
“ What do you think?” Harlow asked.
“ I think it’s an op/ed, but it’s not in the opinion section. Hunter must know some of the higher-ups at the paper.”
“ That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
“ What would you like me to say, Mike? It’s all true. He didn’t make any of it up.”
“ So the fuck what? I’m talking to the County Attorney about suing his ass. He can’t tell the world what medications my detectives are on. And how the fuck does he know you don’t carry your sidearm?”
Stanton shrugged and placed the paper down on the desk. Harlow stood up and began walking out of the office. His neck was splotchy red. Stanton had only seen his neck get that way after a good shouting match and he wondered who had been chewed out.
“ If I were you, Jon, I’d start carrying your sidearm. Never know who reads this shit.”
Stanton crumpled the paper into a ball as Harlow left. He threw it in the trash bin by his desk. He took out
16
Stanton went into the office on Friday morning and found Chief Harlow sitting at his desk, quietly staring out the window. He was dressed in a polo shirt and blue jeans with Italian leather shoes that gleamed from a recent shine. The photos of Jon Junior and Mathew were turned slightly off center and Stanton knew that Harlow had been looking at them. A copy of the Herald was spread on the desk.
Harlow saw him and pushed the paper across the desk and said, “Read this.” Stanton picked it up. On page five was a caption that read:
NEW COLD CASE UNIT FILLED WITH TROUBLED PASTS
Next to the caption was a photo of Stanton. It had been taken after he was released from the hospital when Noah had shot him. Reporters were hounding him as he was being pushed to an awaiting taxi in a wheelchair. His face was contorted with anger and bits of spittle were visible on the edges of his mouth. His eyes had fury in them. Anger was not an emotion he felt often and he hadn’t realized until now how awful it suited him. He sat down in the chair and began to read:
The San Diego Police Department has made an effort in recent years to begin solving the county’s enormous backlog of unsolved homicides. Chief Harlow’s latest attempt is the formation of the Cold Case Unit. In conjunction with the FBI, NCIS, LAPD and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the unit is assigned cases older than one year that have no active leads. The theory is that with nothing else on their plates, the detectives can focus their absolute attention to a single unsolved homicide and the likelihood of an arrest should increase. A noble goal, but with one problem: some of the detectives assigned to the unit should not be writing parking tickets, much less solving homicides … .
Stanton read the article in its entirety as Harlow waited. There was mention of Chin Ho having legal trouble with the IRS. Nathan Sell had had an affair with a superior officer at the San Diego PD and was demoted and transferred three years ago as a result. Philip Russell was responsible for a botched home entry by the FBI where two unarmed civilians were shot and killed, one of them sixteen years old. He was sent to San Diego afterward, the article claimed, as punishment. Jessica Turner had taken a leave of absence from the LAPD due to “familial stress” and issues with domestic violence. The article listed Zoloft and Prozac as medications she was currently taking. But Stanton got the lion’s share of the article.
It discussed the time he had spent in 5 North, the county’s psychiatric unit, after the shooting with Noah. It discussed his inability to see Noah for what he was and it leading to more deaths. It talked about the fact that he had left the police force to teach and was brought in on a whim by the Chief because none of the established detectives wanted the job. It talked about the fact that he didn’t carry his gun with him.
The article was written by Hunter Royal.
“ What do you think?” Harlow asked.
“ I think it’s an op/ed, but it’s not in the opinion section. Hunter must know some of the higher-ups at the paper.”
“ That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
“ What would you like me to say, Mike? It’s all true. He didn’t make any of it up.”
“ So the fuck what? I’m talking to the County Attorney about suing his ass. He can’t tell the world what medications my detectives are on. And how the fuck does he know you don’t carry your sidearm?”
Stanton shrugged and placed the paper down on the desk. Harlow stood up and began walking out of the office. His neck was splotchy red. Stanton had only seen his neck get that way after a good shouting match and he wondered who had been chewed out.
“ If I were you, Jon, I’d start carrying your sidearm. Never know who reads this shit.”
Stanton crumpled the paper into a ball as Harlow left. He threw it in the trash bin by his desk. He took out
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