Smoke on the Water Ch. 02

"So to answer your questions about who to give deals to and who not to," I said, "Mrs. Dalmore would likely be the most devastating witness if she turned... but she's probably the most guilty of the bunch."

I then said "What did you think of the attorneys representing our suspects today?"

"They're business attorneys, or so they claim." said Joan Laurer. "But that guy Garner seemed to know his way around Courtroom law very, very well for a (air quotes) 'business attorney'."

I nodded. "Even so, I expect they will refer these cases to experienced criminal attorneys. And I'll make a bold prediction right now on who Mrs. Dalmore's representation will be..."

Part 12 - Union NO!

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, November 11th (Veterans Day), from the KXTC Anchor Desk. "The purge of the Public Safety Department under Sheriff Antonio Griswold continues!"

After the hard-charging intro music, Bettina began: "Channel Two News has learned that Public Health Officer Beth Paige will announce her resignation this morning. Sources tell Channel Two News that PHO Paige's resignation is not of her own free will, but was asked for by by Town & County Sheriff Griswold, who oversees the Public Health Department as part of the overall Public Safety Department."

Bettina: "Though no official reasons for the Sheriff essentially firing PHO Paige was given, sources tell Channel Two News that friction developed between them after the incident the other day when a HAZMAT vehicle was dispatched to a crime scene. A dangerous quantity of fentanyl was exposed to the air, creating the serious incident and need to respond with HAZMAT resources."

Bettina: "Channel Two News has learned that the Police did not initially request the four-man team, called a 'level two' team, but a level two team of four highly trained personnel was sent in an abundance of caution. A subsequent investigation led to the firing of a Public Health Department dispatcher and allegedly led to the tensions between PHO Paige and her boss, the Sheriff."

Bettina: "The Public Health Officer's leaving, whether forced or not, is just the latest of several purges by Sheriff Griswold. Former Fire Chief Patrick Quinlin and Battalion Chief Tucker were removed from their posts after openly disagreeing with the Sheriff. Of course nothing at all has been done by Sheriff Griswold to rein in Commander Donald Troy's violent tactics against predominately black peaceful protesters."

Bettina: "And now lets go to trusted reporter Amber Harris with more on a related story. Amber!"

"That's right, Bettina!" shouted the athletic blonde reporterette from the roof of the building at the corner of Riverside and College, with the Federal Building across Courthouse Square in the background. "Channel Two News has learned that the woman that died as a result of exposure to the fentanyl for which that HAZMAT team was deployed, was an Agent of the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency!"

Amber: "Elena Katerina Von Telsing was a native of the New York area and often was assigned to international cases for the DEA. As usual, the TCPD has no clue to what is going on regarding the murder, having no leads or suspects. The DEA is following several possible leads, including that a drug gang called 'Infinity Circle' may be involved. Our condolences go out to the Von Telsing family. Back to you, Bettina!"

Bettina: "Thank you for that insightful report, Amber! And now lets go to our KSB colleague Tim Sioban with breaking news on a State case. Tim!"

It was actually a videotape from the evening before as Tim Sioban came on "That's right, Bettina! The SBI's Office of Financial Investigations, in cooperation with the Town & County Police and the Pottsville Police, arrested six persons yesterday that are believed to have been running a fraud and identity theft scheme!"

Sioban: "Bernie Parker, Ron Ellijay, and four other persons connected to a software company called 'Ancestor Discovery' were arrested at Eastside Elementary School in the Town & County during a demo and sales pitch of their software. Sources tell KSB News that this group had appeared at a number of elementary schools across the northern part of the State and that credit card frauds and identity thefts occurred in those areas immediately afterwards. KSB News will continue to follow this breaking story. Back to you, Bettina!"

Bettina: "Thank you, Tim! And now lets go to political reporter Carl Lemay for a report on potential future activity in the Town & County District Attorney's Office. Carl!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said Carl Lemay, on the rooftop of the building at Riverside and College, with City Hall in the background. "With two underlings elected to Judicial posts in the recent Elections, District Attorney Miriam Walters faces several challenges in the coming weeks and months. She granted me this interview last night. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Lemay interviewing Miriam Walters in her office. "Thank you for your time, Ms. Walters. What are the D.A.'s plans for at least the next two years?"

Walters: "As you know, Carl, I had originally made plans to restructure the D.A.'s Office into two divisions, one for prosecuting major crimes of violence, and the other to prosecute Vice crimes such as gambling, drugs, and prostitution. These divisions will be supervised by Assistant District Attorneys, and Deputy District Attorneys will be hired to work under the ADAs's supervision.

Walters: "Franklin Washington and Hannah Doss won judicial seats, and I congratulate both of them for that. Their leaving the D.A.'s Office will create this opportunity to implement the new structure this January."

Lemay: "Do you know who will fill the new supervisory ADA roles?"

Walters: "I have two current ADAs, Savannah Fineman and Paulina Patterson. They are the top candidates for the positions. What I don't know is who will be assigned to the MCD cases and the Vice cases."

Lemay: "Ms. Walters, Paulina Patterson was the Prosecutor of the Breonna Bryant case, which still deeply angers People of Color. And with big issues like Bail Reform, Police brutality against People of Color, and with the US DOJ Civil Rights Division already investigating and suing Mayor Allgood and the TCPD, what will you be doing to help resolve these issues that are very important to the Minority communities?"

Miriam's beady black eyes flashed black fire as she said strongly "Unlike agenda-driven prosecutors in Democrat-controlled cities like the cesspool that is Wilmington, Delaware, that let criminals out of the street to rape women and murder children again, the Town & County District Attorney's Office will prosecute crimes of violence. We follow the Rule of Law here, Mr. Lemay...."

Back to Carl Lemay live: "D.A. Walters's remarks drew sharp criticism from Social and Environmental Justice groups, who have demanded she resign from her office. I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen, Bettina. Back to you..."

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

"Wow, they showed what Miriam Walters said!" exclaimed a stunned Lieutenant Commander Teresa Croyle as she, Chief Moynahan, Me, Deputy Chief Tanya Muscone, and Deputy Chief (Ret.) Cindy Ross drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room.

"They had to." I replied. "Lemay got in his shots about Breonna Bryant, and to put Miriam on the spot about bail reform and other Leftwing issues, he ran the whole tape. He and KXTC probably believe that Miriam's remarks will harm her politically, but he doesn't seem to realize that the vast majority of black families want to feel safe and not be murdered by criminals let out of jail by rabidly leftwing prosecutors who drop serious charges and/or demand low or no bail."

"Strong letter to fol-lowwww." drawled the Chief. "Oh... welcome to our coffee klatch, Commander Ross. It's always good to see yooooooo."

"Thank you, Chief." said Cindy. "I've missed you guys. By way of contrast, I have not missed KXTC's lousy reporting."

Tanya Muscone said "I want to know who leaked our deceased DEA Agent's name to the Press. Jack is going to have a heart attack over that."

"And Dwight Stevens will have a conniption fit about it." I added, noticing that Cindy had gotten quiet, but was giving off a strong Vibe.

Teresa said "Don, what did you think of the reporting on the HAZMAT truck incident?"

Cindy said "That's one reason I came over here. To get the inside scoop on that. City Hall just about exploded yesterday over Beth Paige's resignation in lieu of being fired.."

I said "I'm not sure who I told this yesterday, so I'll say it again now. I believe we may have shut down two pipelines that were freely leaking to the Press, up to and including Beth Paige herself. And what you saw this morning was Bettina's last-gasp retaliation snit. I might add that the cheap shots at the Sheriff are also retaliation, for him making Beth Paige an offer she couldn't refuse."

"And the information on the State fraud case?" Cindy asked.

"Oh, that was SBI Agent Carter Fischer." I said. "He's a well-known leaker to the Press. But in this case I can understand; he's hoping more victims will hear about that and come forward, which will lead to stronger evidence and maybe a personal connection that will nail those bastards's coffins shut."

"And you don't know who leaked Elena Katrina's real name?" Tanya asked, peering hard at me.

"No, I don't." I said. "But it was interesting how gleefully Amber Harris reported on it, wasn't it?" Yep, that vibe from Cindy was getting stronger and stronger...

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

"Ah, a full Angels Meeting!" I said happily as all three of my Angels and I sat in my office.

"What, Captain Michaels has not replaced me as an Angel?" Cindy said.

"Police Officers come and go." I said. "But I accept no substitutes: I have only three Angels, and the three of you are sitting here now."

"Awwwww!" chorused my Angels.

Cindy's ice blue eyes had shown some emotion at that, so she said to move things along: "I did come by today to get you guys's takes on what's going on at City Hall... not only with Beth Paige, but in the D.A.'s Office. Carl Lemay was so hell-bent on injecting race into his interview with Miriam that he totally overlooked the real issue... who's the Prosecutor for MCD?"

"Claire told me the Detectives have started a pool on it." Teresa said. "And it is the hot-ticket item of discussion at the Precincts."

"So, Don," said Tanya with a gleam in her eye, "tell us who it will be so I can go win that pool money!" Everyone laughed.

"You three are disqualified from that pool." I said. "Seriously, before I saw that interview with Miriam this morning, I would've bet money she was going to stick Savannah Fineman on MCD, just to fuck with me. But now, I'm not so sure..."

"Why not?" Cindy asked.

"Because Savannah is lazy as hell." I said. "Paulina puts in the work to prosecute our MCD cases, including negotiating plea deals. Savannah can hire competent lawyers to handle the Vice cases and act like our dog Buddy, who supervises with his eyes closed..."

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

11:30am, Wednesday, November 11th. The Chief, Sheriff, and I went to the Cop Bar for a early lunch. We'd just gotten out of a grueling, nearly two-and-a-half-hour meeting with the Police Union Reps.

"I'm not sure I've ever seen the Union fight that hard for dirty cops." said Sheriff Griswold. "Especially the way they dug in over Hendricks." (Author's note: 'Town & County Confidential', for Hendricks; 'The Babymaker', Ch. 04, for Toole.)

"I agreeeee." drawled the Chief. "I'll say this, also: when the Union agreeeed to hear both cases at once, I really thought they would give up one guy to save the otherrrr. But they went all-in for both of them."

"Yes sir." I said. "And along those lines, I expected they would work for reduced punishments, especially for Toole. But they did not give one freekin' inch on either one of them. And I don't really understand why. Hendricks is an absolute dirtbag, even by dirtbag standards. And I know Toole is racist against blacks, and likely a leaker to the Press, but for the Union to dig in as hard as they did was... well, it was a 'strangeness'."

"You don't think this was specific to yoooooo, Mr. Crowbarrr?" asked the Chief.

I shrugged, then said "I don't know, sir. I mean, I can actually understand about Toole. The Union is generally correct that bringing the triphammer down for insubordination is overkill... in a vacuum, for an Officer with an otherwise clean record. But Toole has past indiscretions, for which I now regret treating him way too leniently."

I continued: "And Hendricks is finished, no matter what. We dug in just as hard that he will never, ever, have his own Patrol car again, nor be permitted to be on field duty without being directly paired with a Sergeant... who must be personally approved by Lieutenant Commander Croyle or myself. But they literally acted like he was a saint, and we were besmirching his sacred honor."

Sheriff Griswold said: "I agree with you, Crowbar. Anyway, Hendricks's termination will go forward, no matter what. They can sue if they want, we'll fight them like hell all the way. It's Toole that they have a better case with. I might suggest busting him down to Corporal, though I could bust him down to Patrol Officer and strip his seniority towards his pension, and if the Union doesn't see reason, I'll send his termination papers in for processing, as well------"

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

It was my Police iPhone ringing, and I answered it. "Hi Helena... I'm in a meeting with the Chief and the Sheriff... well, they can wait until I get back... No, I am not rushing over there just because that asshole Stevens demands to see me... Helena! I'm not going to argue with you over the phone about this... Put 'em in the Main Conference Room, offer them coffee... Helena, tell them this, and be sure to quote me verbatim: I do not give a rat's ass that Dwight Stevens demands to see me immediately..."

Part 13 - Federal Arrogance

1:00pm. The Chief and I arrived back at Headquarters. I went to my office and said "Helena, my office. Now." The tone of my voice connoted that this was not going to be a pleasant meeting.

Once inside with the door closed, I did not invite Helena to sit down as I did so. I looked up at her and said "Now what the hell was that about?"

"Sir?" Helena asked, her face looking worried.

"That phone call." I said. "I don't understand why you kept arguing after I told you that I was in a meeting with the Sheriff and Chief."

Helena said "Sir, Agent Stevens was standing in front of my desk, all agitated, saying it was urgent and he had to talk to you right away------"

I held up my hand. "Helena, you don't work for that son of a bitch, and I don't work for him, either. So next time, pick up on my cues, okay?"

"Yes sir." said Helena, starting to look miserable.

"And I'll make sure he knows to never disrespect you again." I said. "Okay, you can go." Helena quickly exited, only to be replaced by Tanya Muscone in my doorway.

"I guess you don't want to hear it from me, either, that Dwight Stevens needs to talk to you, and that it's urgent?" Tanya asked.

"It would be a good idea if you don't mention Federal Agents to me right now." I said. "Much less take his side. Dwight Stevens is not my boss, and he's about to get a crowbar shoved up his ass simply on account of his goddamned bad manners." Tanya did a 180 in her wheelchair and drove back into her office...

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

1:45pm. The Chief called, and he does get to order me around. He 'invited' me to the Main Conference Room. I took the liberty of bringing in Teresa, as well.

Jack Muscone and Dwight Stevens were already in the room, their backs to the door. The Chief was in his normal seat at the near end of the table. I went around and sat on the far side, to the Chief's left, and Teresa sat to my left with a space between us, a defensive posture on my behalf.

"Where the hell were you?" Dwight Stevens snarled. Not a good start to the meeting.

"None of your goddamned business." I replied angrily.

"Like hell." Stevens said, his voice ugly. "Did you not understand that this is important?"

"So you harassed and disrespected my assistant?" I growled back. "I should shove this crowbar right up your faggot ass just for that alone. But what's more, if you think I'm your fucking servant, and will just come running at your beck and call because you perceive something is important to you? Again, I really ought to just shove this crowbar up your ass, just on account of your goddamned bad manners"

"If that ain't the pot calling the kettle black." said Stevens angrily. That caused Teresa to stand up, her hand hovering over her service weapon. Dwight looked shocked, and when his hand crept towards his holstered weapon, I stood up too.

"Dwight." said Jack Muscone, interceding before it got really ugly. "Now is not the time nor the place. These guys are pissed off, and they're very touchy right now. Keep a cool head."

"Everyone put your firearms on the table." said the Chief. "Now. In the middle." We all did so, including the Chief, following his example of clearing our weapons first.

"And that crowbar, too?" Stevens asked warily.

"Noooooo." said Chief Moynahan. "I'm not suicidallll, like you appear to be right now, Agent Stevens. Now why don't you tell the Iron Crowbar what was so damned important."

Stevens looked at me and said "Did you leak that information about Elena to the Press?"

"Hell, no." I said. "Why would I do that?"

"Someone did." Stevens said. "If it wasn't you, who? Did someone in the TCPD leak it?"

I rose to my feet again, fury on my face. "Are you suggesting in any way that the Town & County Police leaked that information?"

"I'm asking." said Stevens. "Y'all knew about her, and now the Press is blabbing her real name and other information to the whole fucking world!"

Teresa said "One more time... are suggesting any of MY Police Officers leaked it? Because you better have some solid proof of that, or I'll shove that crowbar up your ass before the Iron Crowbar even gets the chance to."

"What the fuck is with you people?" Dwight Stevens asked in shock.

"I'll tell you." I said. "You come in here like some arrogant fucking Federal Agent prick, and harangue my assistant. You demand... DEMAND!... that I come running out of my meeting just because YOU said so. You can fuck yourself on that, too; I ain't your 'boy' and I don't answer to you."

I continued: "And what's more, Stevens... my patience with you is utterly, utterly exhausted. I have tried to be patient, and you keep disrespecting me and acting like the asshole you are. I saved your worthless ass on the Marcie Harper case, I've given you all the help you could possibly hope to get... and you just keep treating me like shit. And NOW... you accuse MY Police Department of leaks with NO proof to back it up."

Jack Muscone said: "Don, it's a legitimate question. That information was leaked. It did severe damage to the DEA, and especially this case."

"So that gives shit-for-brains here license to come in here and start accusing us?" I thundered. "And act like an ass in the process?"

"Why don't you apologize, Dwight?" Jack suggested to Stevens.

"No sir, I won't." said Stevens. "I've had enough of his arrogance and shit." He stood up, then said "I am going to find the source of that leak, and I'm going to be asking for a formal investigation of the TCPD as part of that."

"Better be surrrrre." said the Chief. "You try to put your Agency's failures on my Police Force, and I'll snap your head back so hard you'll think you're a bobblehead doll."