Just a Story Ch. 04

"Damn right." growled Sheriff Griswold. "Never speak of that out loud again, Edward."

"Roger that." conceded Edward.

I said "Having said that... I am aware that there are... issues... in the Allgood marriage. And one has to wonder... if that's why."

Part 3 - Inspections

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, November 24th, from the roof of the building at Riverside and College, with City Hall in her background. "Mayor Daniel Allgood and Council Republicans vote to fight Anthony Wilson's lawsuit!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "After a bitter debate, Council Republicans pushed through a motion strictly along Party lines to fight the lawsuit by the family of Anthony Wilson, who Commander Troy severely injured while using excessive force to arrest Mr. Wilson during a peaceful protest at a recent Council meeting. The motion also expressed support for millionaire Commander Troy's countersuit against Mr. Wilson's impoverished family."

Bettina: "Social Justice groups are outraged at the Council's actions, and are demanding that the Town & County City Attorney settle the case in Mr. Wilson's favor, and strip Commander Troy of his indemnity as a Police Officer. However, part of the motion to take the side of Commander Troy and the Police was to fire City Attorney Dennis Garland!"

Bettina: "The Council gave no official reason for the firing, but sources tell Channel Two News that Mr. Garland believed Commander Troy's actions were wrong and that the Council had to settle the lawsuit or they would lose in Court, and that the Republicans on the Council, in their unholy zeal to take the side of the Police in the case, moved to ensure Mr. Garland could not be their representative in Court concerning this lawsuit. And now let's go to Jeff Hull for the Sports report. Jeff!..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Well, that was... very brief.'' I said as Sheriff Griswold, ADA Paulina Patterson, Chief Moynahan, Chief Deputy Cindy Ross, and Deputy Chief Tanya P. Muscone drank coffee and watched the propaganda-cast with me in the Chief's Conference Room. "Total propaganda, but she didn't waste a lot of time on it."

"She must want to go on Thanksgiving Holiday like everyone else." said Tanya brightly, with a twinkle in her eye.

"No." growled Sheriff Griswold. "She didn't have a lot of time to get all the information and then collaborate with her Democrat allies on how to present it. Of course she wrote in the cheap shots at Crowbar, but those are just 'cut and paste' and 'plug and play' lines from their playbook. I would imagine you'll see and hear a lot more in-depth spin and attacks next week. Right, Crowbar?"

"If you say so, Sheriff, of course I entirely agree." I said agreeably, practicing good asskissing skills.

"Good asskissing skills." confirmed the Sheriff.

I said "I will add this caveat, though, sir. I expect Bettina's narratives for next week will be derailed by the announcements of candidacies for numerous Town & County offices on both the Republican and Democrat sides."

"They won't wait until after Christmas?" Paulina asked.

"They might, but I doubt it." I said. "The primaries are May 3rd, I think. They'll want to get the announcements in, then use December to organize, then put us all on blast with advertising after the New Year."

Paulina said "I was thinking that they might wait to see what the State Legislature does to us before committing to running for any affected offices. But I guess you're right; they won't have time."

Sheriff Griswold said "We can't wait for the Legislature, which may or may not act. If they do, we adjust accordingly. If they don't, we drive on anyway. And ditto that for anything the US DOJ thinks they're going to do to us."

"So what's everyone doing for Thanksgiving?" Chief Moynahan asked.

Cindy said "We'll go to my father's compound in Coltrane County for lunch. Tim is coming up from Southport, an-nd he's nervous about spending the time with the (air quotes) 'father-in-law'. And Callie, my mom, and Molly and her boys are going to be there, as well. And you and yours are always welcome to join us, Don." Cindy's father and my blood uncle was Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart, founder and great leader of 'The Vision' self-help empire.

Sheriff Griswold said "I thought Crowbar and Company were going to Dr. Eckhart's, so I invited Moynahan, here, to join Cordell and Zoe Singer from the EMS, Chief Davies and his fiancée Tina Felton, Miriam Walters, Father Romano, and Fire Marshal Roy Easley to my house for a smaller, quieter gathering of us single, mostly old people."

Tanya said "Jack has invited Julius Jefferson, Steven Gable, Christy Cassidy, and Tracy Stone to lunch, also. Catered and everything. I think Clark Webster and his family, Lindy Linares, and Clark Webster and his family were invited, too. It's gonna be big."

Cindy and I glanced at each other, and neither of us were fooled: this was Jack Muscone thanking his loyal fellow Agents... and quite possibly a farewell to them if and when Jack retired or was forced out of the FBI.

Paulina said "My brother T-Square invited me and Tasha to his Thanksgiving dinner for his 'Regiment' and their families, and all his sound and stage crew and their families. I thought Don and everyone would be at The Vision with Dr. Eckhart and Cindy's family, so I accepted the invitation."

Paulina: "And don't let this get past the walls of this room, but my brother told me that whenever he passes on, everything he has will be passed down to Tasha, and he wants her to begin seeing his musical empire. He did invite you and Laura and your kids, Don, so feel free to come."

I said "And I would accept, but Laura prevailed on me to consider a quiet... quiet-er... Thanksgiving, by not accepting T-Square's nor my Uncle Harvey's invitations. And with my mom accompanying Teresa, Todd, and their boys to Louisiana, Laura invited her sister Melina and Melina's family to The Cabin for Thanksgiving lunch."

"Did they accept?" the Sheriff asked, a bit too incisively. "Is Daniel going to attend with you?"

"I don't know." I replied. "He's invited. We also invited Seth and Joanne Warner and little Tony, whose second birthday is today."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After watching the Fox University Sunrise report on KFXU, Cindy, Tanya, and I began the Angels Meeting. And the Green Crowbar was not very happy.

"So everyone thought you were coming to 'The Vision' for Thanksgiving, and made other plans?" Cindy asked. "How am I supposed to take that? Not to mention that Laura wanted you to make other plans?"

I shrugged, then said "I haven't talked to the Sheriff about this, but I think he's had an idea of doing something like this for awhile, gathering the widowers and single people like him for a holiday gettogether. And Our Sheriff is a sneaky Sheriff: he invited Tina Felton and Miriam Walters so that they could talk to each other... about Tina possibly becoming an ADA."

Tanya said "How do you feel about Tasha and her mother hanging out with T-Square? And would you really accept that invitation? I'm not trying to sound like a racist when I say this, but you'd be the only white persons there, and could potentially become the object of their hatred."

Cindy gasped, and I quickly moved to defend Tanya by saying "I understand what you mean. But T-Square has gone in a new direction the last few years. More towards Rhythm & Blues as well as Christian music, and away from the hard rap with the lyrics of hatred for Police. Second, not all of his crews are black; there are plenty of whites, too. And last but not least, I'd love to ask them about what they do and how T-Square's music empire works, and let them talk to me."

"And Tasha is going to inherit his fortune." Cindy said. "Speaking as someone in a very similar situation, I can understand that Tasha needs to understand it, and from as early an age as possible. My only question is... what will Tasha do with it when she inherits it?"

I said "When we were in Apple Grove for the lake dedication, I remember Tasha telling Captain Wisocky that she, Tasha, was going to be a great singer." (Author's note: 'Cat's In The Cradle', Ch. 01) "But Carole says Tasha is going to be a lawyer like her mother, and then a Judge. So we'll see..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On the way to our inspections, I went into MCD and gave Joanne a card for her son Tony for his second birthday. Inside the card was a $100 US Savings Bond. I'd gotten the same for Henry Buchannan, and would give his dad the card when we went to 1st Precinct.

"Y'all better have this place cleaned up by the time I get back." I 'warned' the Detectives. "This room looks like a pig sty." Indeed, only Detective Sergeant Julia Rodriguez's desk looked decent; it actually looked very good, as I would expect from an Airborne Paratrooper. I barely got out of the room when Detectives sprang into action to get things cleaned up.

Cindy rode with me, and Tanya followed us in her tricked-out van. We went into 2nd Precinct Headquarters and were met by Precinct Captain Sean DeLong and Precinct Lieutenant Stevie Carter. Everything was spotless. I had always liked the old wood planks of the floors, which had been part of the original mill when it was first built at the turn of the century... the 20th century. They were polished to a military-level standard.

There were no elevators in the Old Mill, but a wheelchair lift was tucked away almost unobtrusively between the walls and a set of stairs that went to the second floor. Tanya took that as we went upstairs. She was inspecting not only for readiness, but to ensure we were meeting all laws and regulations involving handicapped access, and who better to do it? She said The Old Mill passed.

The 2nd shift Officers were assembled in the atrium at the front entrance to the facility, where we had arrested Major General Carl Just (Author's note: 'The Nuclear Option', Ch. 03). I went through and inspected them, and was pleased though not particularly impressed that their uniforms were pressed, their gig lines were straight, and their shoes were shined to acceptable levels, though not to the Airborne standard that my shoes were shined to.

"You guys look good." I said to them after I finished. "Keep up the good work, and have a safe Thanksgiving." Lieutenant Carter dismissed them to their duties. I told him and Captain DeLong that they were doing a good job and to keep it up, and Tanya and Cindy added their compliments.

As we drove to 1st Precinct Headquarters and County Jail, Cindy said "I'd like for you to inspect County Jail as well as 1st Precinct. The Sheriff wants to know if Olin B. Craig is doing a good enough job to be promoted to the Warden slot full-time."

"We can do that." I said as we parked. We went inside. We were met by Lieutenant Jerome Davis and Senior Sergeant Roy McGhillie. "Where's Captain Hewitt?" I asked.

"He took his leave... er, vacation... all of this week." said Jerome Davis. I made a mental note of that as I had Jerome and Roy lead us through 1st Precinct. It wasn't quite as good as 2nd Precinct had looked, but it met the standard. The 1st Precinct Officers that were inspected also looked good.

I had Kevin Buchannan come up, and I gave him the card for his son's birthday, and everyone sang 'Happy Birthday'. Then Cindy and I went to County Jail. We went directly to County Jail. We did not pass 'Go'. We did not collect $200.

Olin B. Craig met us at the Employees entrance. He was a Senior Deputy Sheriff, same rank as Teresa and Louis Bailey, and was the Acting Warden. He was polite and deferential to Cindy, and appeared surprised when she said that I would be inspecting his Deputies and Guards of the Jail.

Olin B. Craig was the definition of 'multi-racial'. His skin color was darker than white, but he was not African-American black, either. He looked somewhat like American politician Larry Elder, but with a mustache and more (black) hair. He was 5'10" tall, fairly slender but not 'wiry', and was in good shape. He was wearing a brown Sheriff Department uniform jacket over his khaki-tan shirt and tie, and matching (to the jacket) brown pants with khaki 'piping'. The ribbons on his jacket showed him to be a recipient of the Star of Gallantry and the Purple Order.

I peppered Acting Warden Craig with questions as we went through the Jail's administrative areas, then the large monitor room, manned by several Deputies. His face and sometimes voice connoted 'How can he not know this?', but he answered my questions with solid knowledge of the operations and procedures.

I did not have him assemble the on-duty Deputies and Guards, but I had noted them during our tour of the facilities. Cindy was noticing, also. When we finished, we went to the small conference room next to the Acting Warden's office.

"First of all," I said as we sat down, "I'll give you the verbal report of my inspection. You passed. Have a nice day." There was polite laughter at that, then I said "Seriously, my report to the Sheriff will be that you passed, and things look good. Having said that, there is room for improvement, and critiques are by nature negative, so take these comments as suggestions to improve."

Me: "Everyone's uniforms, from you on down, were acceptable, but they had a... shall we say... (air quotes) 'everyday' appearance about them, as opposed to doubling the effort for a formal inspection. What I'd like to see, and what I want the lawbreaking guests of your facility to see, are highly-pressed, starched uniforms with creases you can shave with, shined shoes, gleaming belt buckles, badges, and insignia, gig lines perfectly straight. I want the criminals as well as the Public to see a serious group of highly dedicated professionals. And if you all look the part, you'll act the part, and they will know that you're not playing around."

I saw Craig's eyes looking over my uniform, and I knew he was finding my uniform to be what I suggested his and his Officers's uniforms to be. Cindy and I both knew we were the ones setting the standards, and our uniforms reflected that.

I continued: "The County Jail policies and procedures appear to be working and working well, but if there are any improvements or suggestions you'd like to make, please give them to Chief Deputy Ross. They won't be considered negatives, and we'll work to fix them. And in that light, are there any suggestions or ideas you'd like to give us at this time?"

"Uh, may I speak freely?" Craig asked.

"Stay within protocol." Cindy said. "But we're asking you to speak in confidence."

I had the feeling that this was why Cindy wanted me to inspect the Jail. I said "And of course we might have to speak to the Sheriff about what you tell us, but we're not going to throw you under the bus."

Craig nodded, then said "I'll get to work right away on the uniform and appearance issues. My only complaint as far as really anything goes, is the command structure around here. Louis Bailey and I are the same rank, but he acts like he's in charge when I know I'm in charge of the Jail. I don't know if he wants to be formally named the Warden, or if he just thinks he's God, but we've had situations of my guys getting conflicting orders, especially when it comes to our guys that take prisoners to Court for their hearings."

Addressing Cindy, Craig said: "The reason I asked to speak freely, ma'am, is because I also believe that Bailey has designs on your job... well, on being second-in-command of the Sheriff's Department. I think that's why he was insubordinate to you during that Council meeting protest."

Craig: "I think he needs to be told to stay in his lane regarding County Jail and its operations. If the Sheriff wants him in charge of the Jail, make him the Warden. If not, then formally give me the job and tell him to keep his beak out of my business."

"Nnnno-ted." Cindy hummed, making a note on her notepad.

"And I think that's going to take care of itself, and soon." I added...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When we got back to Headquarters, MCD and Vice were treated to a tornado going through their rooms. I brought Captain Claire Michaels into MCD with me, and made my feelings clear: the TCPD standard was not being met.

As I passed by Detective Sergeant Julia Rodriguez's desk, which was tidy, orderly, and immaculately clean, I said "Well, I can tell we have one Airborne Paratrooper working here. Oh, make that two." Detective Kerri Ambrose's desk was also now meeting the standard. They also had their framed Airborne School diplomas on the wall by their desks.

Since the Detectives were all in civilian clothes, as they should have been, I did not make inspections of them. And Captain Michaels had long since learned, and her uniform was a sharp and excellent example for others to see and follow.

My inspection of Vice was about the same, except they had no Airborne Paratroopers in the room to set the example. I suggested improvements to Captain Michaels, which she would pass along in a most very direct and succinct manner...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Chief Moynahan and the Sheriff took me, Cindy, and Tanya to lunch at the Cop Bar. We were alone in the back 'Command' room, where Cindy and I discussed the results of our inspections. Of course, most of the conversation centered on Senior Deputy Olin B. Craig.

"Yes sir, I think he's doing well, and should be formally named Warden of County Jail." I said.

"I tend to agree." growled Griswold. "Did he say anything about Louis Bailey?" Cindy and I glanced at each other, which the three astute Detectives with us at the table immediately noticed. "Spill it, Crowbar." the Sheriff ordered.

"Yes sir." I said. "We did tell Craig we'd keep what he told us in confidence and speak of it only to you, Sheriff. So I'd appreciate it if you, Chief, and you, Deputy Chief, don't say anything to anyone about this." I then proceeded to tell them what Craig had said about Bailey.

Cindy said "Chief Bailiff Clark Alexander doesn't think much of Bailey, either. And I got that more from my own observations, physical and mental, than anything he has actually said."

"Sounds like Mis-terrrr Baileeee is getting a bit am-bish-usss." drawled the Chief.

"You still think he'll run for Sheriff, Crowbar?" the Sheriff asked.

"Yes sir." I replied. "It's only a matter of which Party's nomination he wants. I think his heart is on the Democrat side, but... other... forces are suggesting he run as a Republican, and primary you."

"Hmmph!" Tanya snorted. "Sheriff Griswold will destroy him."

"Good asskissing skills." growled Griswold. "But don't take the threat lightly. I think I see what Crowbar is driving at. And if he's right..."

"And he always is." replied Tanya with a grin, right on cue. Griswold's mustaches quivered merrily.

"Yes, he is." Griswold said. "And if he's right on this, we're going to be facing a strong orchestrated effort to take me and Mayor Allgood down..."

Part 4 - SEC Country

(Author's note: for more complete descriptions of Teresa's family, read 'Sugar and Spice' Ch. 01)

Wednesday, November 24th. BOW Enterprises Flight Two-Niner landed at Lake Charles Regional Airport (LCH). Phyllis, Todd, Teresa, Jack, Doug, and Mike disembarked and walked across the tarmac to the entrance to the Airport. For whatever reason, the 'roools' required that the Airport's workers unload their luggage, which they had to pick up at Baggage Claim.

"I'm glad we had the private plane instead of flying commercial." Teresa said as they walked to the car rental stations. "Jack was surprisingly good, but Mike was being a fidgety terror, kicking the chair in front of him like that."