Sting of the Scorpion Ch. 02

"I am not sure, sir." said Cindy, making sure to speak before Teresa could. "Sometimes the Commander does not share what he is thinking, at least until he has his case built and ready to act upon. If he has any idea of who murdered the Reverend Oldeeds, he hasn't said. By the way, what has happened to your friend Steven Ikea, Pastor?"

"Ah, he's with the SBI, as you know," said Westboro, "and he's been going to Theological Seminary. He has enough credits from his college degree that he'll be finishing up Seminary during the Summer semester. He'll be ordained, and then he'll become a Police Chaplain with the SBI."

"Sounds perfect for him." Teresa said. It was not a compliment.

"I remember Commander Troy saying something like that." said Cindy. "Even told Ikea himself to go become a Police Chaplain."

"Yes." said Westboro. "I am really happy to see Steven devoting his life and service to the Lord as well as the people of the State... just as you two ladies are serving this Town and County so well."

Pastor Westboro fixed his eyes on Cindy as he said "The Commander has made solid choices in putting you two where you are, and some members of the Council were beside themselves with happiness to agree with his decisions on those matters. Especially putting you in Captain Malone's former position, Miss Ross."

"You're too kind, Pastor." Cindy said, not really liking being compared to Malone.

Westboro continued: "There are some who have even suggested that you should be sitting in the Commander chair. You're young, but very accomplished."

"Thank you, Pastor," said Cindy, understanding the underlying implied criticism of the man currently in the Command Chair, "but I'm not a Troy, and I'm exceptionally fortunate to be working with man who is. I've learned more about being a Detective as well as being a leader from him in one day than the Police Academy and years of experience have otherwise taught me. He is a great man, and I can only hope to be half the Officer he is."

"What about you, Lt. Croyle?" asked Westboro. "Commander Troy really went to bat for you when you had that... troubling time. I think he saw something that no one else did, and he was right, as usual."

"I cannot say it better than Captain Ross just did." Teresa said. "I'm grateful to him, and I'm also fortunate to be able to learn from him."

"I can see that the Commander has very loyal people, Thomas." Pastor Westboro said, to Cook. "It would be amusing to give him a golden apple, to give to one of his three lovely Lieutenants, like the story in mythology." Cook chuckled, and agreed.

"By the way, Lt. Croyle," said Westboro, "I did hear of your sister's passing on a Christmas Eve some years ago. If you ever feel a need to talk about that, in a Spiritual way, of course, please do come to see me. My door is open to you any time."

"You're very kind, Pastor," said Teresa, "but with the help of friends like Commander Troy and Captain Ross, I've been able to put my sister's passing into it's 'compartment', as the Japanese would say."

"Ah, you've studied Japanese traditions?" asked Thomas P. Cook, his eyes showing his keenness.

"I have a friend who has, and he's shared some things with me." Teresa said.

"I see." said Thomas P. Cook, who then said "Changing the subject: as Council members, we get reports from your Sheriff about Police Department activities. But since we have you here today, this is your chance to speak out anonymously and confidentially: any problems we should know about? Any crimes or issues that Commander Troy is working on that could use our help?"

"No sir." said Teresa. "But I should say that the Council has been very supportive of our efforts to interdict the drug trade in this University town, and I'm grateful for your support."

"Ah, the vices." said Pastor Westboro. "The seven deadly sins. Pride is said to be the worst of those. Your Commander is a remarkable man, not only in his abilities, but his reticence to display what would be understandable pride in his achievements. But it's... unfortunate that he has not followed the Lord as his father did."

"Did you know his father, his parents, Pastor?" asked Cindy.

"No, I never had the fortune to meet them, though I understand his mother lives here in this Town now." said Westboro. "Jonas... the Reverend Oldeeds... knew Mr. Douglass Troy very well, though, and he spoke of the Don's father with the highest praise. Perhaps you would be kind enough to tell that to the Commander for me."

"Certainly, Pastor." said Cindy. Her eyes again swept the Courthouse Square area. She thought she saw an old woman walking along the other side, a good distance away. The woman peered over her (Cindy's) way several times as she walked.

"Looking for something, Captain Ross?" asked Westboro, noticing her look.

"Just a policewoman's habit, Pastor." Cindy said. "I'm always scanning the crowds."

As they finished up their lunch, Pastor Westboro said "Well, ladies, I must take leave of you. My church's main auditorium holds over 2000 people and is filled up on Sundays, but there's always room for two more, and I would love to see you join us to worship the Lord. I believe your colleague Detective Cummings is one of my flock, and I'll be performing a wedding within a few months if I'm any judge of her and the young man she attends services with."

"Yes sir, I wouldn't bet against you on that." said Cindy, and Teresa nodded polite agreement.

As Pastor Westboro went to pay the bill, Thomas P. Cook leaned in close and said "Ladies, I need to say something and not in the Pastor's presence. The Council has heard many... disturbing things about the Police Department. Too many clashes between high-ranking officers. I hope that your promotion to Captain, Miss Ross, will help bring about a more smooth operation, with everyone working much more closely together."

"Yes, Mr. Cook." said Cindy, who then leaned in and replied: "But I must be blunt, sir. As long as Detective Leonard Sharples is kept on the Force by the influences of the Police Union, there will be issues. The Council's actions in removing that man would be very welcome, and would contribute greatly to the smooth operation you desire."

"Ah, I see you are as brave as your reputation, Captain Ross." said Cook, deeply aware that Ross knew just who one of Sharples's associates was. Just then Pastor Westboro returned, and everyone made their goodbyes.

"Great shot about Sharples, especially to Cook himself." Teresa said as she and Cindy were walking west towards Police Headquarters. "But that whole conversation was fucking weird."

"Yes, it was... hey, do you see that old woman over there, in front of the State Office Building?" The State Office Building was next to and just west of the Federal Building on the north side of Courthouse Square. "C'mon, let's go talk to her. Maybe she knows who the Widow Athena Jones is."

The policewomen hurried towards the old woman that was now disappearing down the north-south street in front of City Hall, which was on the west side of Courthouse Square. By the time Cindy got to the northwest corner of the square, the old woman was gone.

"Aw, crap." Cindy said. Seeing Teresa's inquiring look, she said "I saw her all during lunch. I think she was watching us. And I don't know why, but I get this feeling that she might actually be the Widow Jones that found that classified file with Old Mrs. Boddiker."

"Could be. Let's head on back to Headquarters." Teresa said. As they walked, Teresa asked "What did you think about that lunch with our esteemed Council members?"

"I'll play Iron Crowbar." said Cindy. "What did you think?"

Teresa gave what for her was a grin. "Remind me to tell Don not to leave you in charge any more. The power is going to your head." Cindy chuckled as Teresa continued: "But to answer your question, I think I heard the words 'the Commander' a few too many times." Teresa had made quotes with her hands at the mention of those oft-stated words.

"Agreed." Cindy said. "I really got the feeling Thomas P. Cook was trying to get us to talk about Don, and what he's doing. By the way and for future reference, it might be good not to tell anyone when Don is away. I know those guys are Council members, but Don thinks Cook isn't totally clean."

"Maybe he's Don's Shadow Man." Teresa said.

"Shhh, hush about that." whispered Cindy, not wanting to discuss that matter, especially in public. "And yes, that's one good reason why we shouldn't reveal when Don's out of Town. I don't want the perps getting any ideas that they can get any ideas, if you know what I mean..."

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

"Damn, that was bad timing." Sheriff Allgood said. "I know Don needed to go with his wife to her former husband's funeral, but it's times like these that he does best: running the Police Force while we take care of this political bullshit."

The other two men in the room chuckled. It was early afternoon, and Chief Harold Bennett and the Sheriff had come to meet with D.A. Krasney in Krasney's office in the New Courthouse building on the east side of Courthouse Square. Also in the room was ADA Paulina Patterson.

The lovely black woman was looking very hot in her salmon jacket and skirt, peach blouse, and salmon high heel pumps. Don had told her that morning that she looked good enough to eat, and she was so wet and horny for him that she would've let him if he'd really tried. Paulina and her husband, who was white, were having a rough patch, and she had not had sex in weeks... way too long for a beautiful woman like her to go without.

"Captain Ross is doing fine," said Chief Bennett, "and Deputy Chief Brownlee has been running the administrative side pretty well. He brought in a new cleaning crew, and Headquarters has never looked so spotless. People are getting their supplies more quickly, as well."

"Glad to hear that." said Sheriff Allgood. "Okay, I'm sure the D.A. doesn't care about the cleanup crews."

"I don't know, I might want to get them in this place." Krasney said. "Our current cleaners don't do very well. But you're right, let's get this Burke tapes thing settled."

Krasney began his report: "The Open Records Act request was formally filed by KSTD with the Clerk's office literally three minutes before closing yesterday. So we hadn't even seen it this morning when they went off on television accusing us of hiding stuff from the Public. We have 72 hours to respond formally before they can take any further action, including filing a lawsuit,. But they're already filing the lawsuit because they said the Police Force's denial this morning constituted a response, thus waiving the 72 hour window."

"They're moving fast on this." said the Sheriff. "So are they allowed to jump the 72 hour window?"

"They can file it now." said Krasney. "But our County Clerk is having none of their crap, and told them that the paperwork will sit on her desk until after the 72-hour period expires. There is nothing KSTD can do about that."

"Except bitch on television, to all of those people who vote." said Harold Bennett.

"And that's the problem here." said Daniel Allgood. "It's not the process or the legalities; it's what Priya Ajmani was trying to do with the story. At least Bettina Wurtzburg shows some class, but Priya and all of KSTD are just slugs. This was totally an ambush... the late filing, rushing to file the lawsuit, the accusatory questions, and implying the Commander denied a request to comment when they never made such a request. It's obvious they're doing this to smear the D.A.'s Office and the Police Force."

"And the flip side of the coin," said Krasney, "is that if we do release those tapes, then KSTD is going to have a field day naming the names of those women, especially the wives of the wealthy business-people. Salacious stuff, sex and adultery and attacking the rich people. Win-win for KSTD, lose-lose for us."

Only Paulina noticed the change of expression on Daniel Allgood's face. He had just remembered fully that his current wife was one of the women that had been having sex with Jack Burke on those tapes. Oh shit! he thought to himself, KSTD could use this to humiliate my wife and hurt my political career!

"The multi-headed Hydra." Paulina murmured, seeing the look on Daniel's face though not understanding it.

"Excuse me?" said Daniel Allgood sourly, looking at Paulina almost as if she had insulted his mother.

"One of the Labors of Hercules." said Paulina. "Commander Troy said that KSTD is like the Hydra... you cut off one head, two grow in its place. The Media is like that, and you can't kill them off no matter what you do."

"That's not a bad analogy." mused Police Chief Bennett. "And speaking of Commander Troy... I still don't understand why that disgusting little reporter just kept bringing up his name. She just repeated it over and over, as if it were personal about him. Was she trying to get at me?"

"No sir." said Paulina. "If I may take a moment to explain..." She looked at Krasney, who nodded. "For several months, we've been aware of certain people trying to get a reaction out of Commander Troy. They butchered that poor police dog earlier this year; Brownlee actually physically assaulted Captain Ross, which did get a response from the Commander; and now the KSTD jerks are trying to do the same thing... vilify Commander Troy in public."

"I do understand that, Ms. Patterson," said Bennett, "but why? And is this just KSTD or is someone behind it?"

"Who owns KSTD, Paulina?" asked Krasney. Leading the witness, as it were.

"A consortium called Acme Media Group." said Paulina. "Which means billionaire and University Trustee Henry R. Wargrave is the man behind the curtain. Whether or not he's behind this latest stuff, I don't know."

"Okay," said Sheriff Allgood, growing tired of the meeting and the chit-chat, "where do we stand legally on this?"

Krasney nodded towards Paulina, who replied "The law seems pretty clear on this, that it's evidence and not subject to the Open Records Act. But if I may give a personal opinion... it's going to come down to which judge gets the lawsuit. If it's Folsom or Watts, they'll deny KSTD. But 'Spud' Nance? No telling what he might do; he just might order the tapes released. And if it's appealed and Judge Leahy is the Appellate judge that gets it, it's all over... he'll move as fast as he can to make those tapes public."

"We have until 4:57pm Thursday." said Krasney. "I'm sure the KSTD vultures will be waiting by the window to make sure that lawsuit gets put in the hopper before closing time. After that, we'll just have to see how the process goes."

"And in the meantime, KSTD just keeps taking shots at us." said Allgood, his mood becoming even more dark. "Well, it can't get any worse, can it?"

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

It got worse.

At 5:35pm, Cindy and Teresa were having tacos and Coronas at the Cop Bar for Cinco de Mayo, and talking about the KSTD situation before heading over to Todd and Jeanine's house to help babysit the armloads of kids... and dog, as Bowser was there, too. Just then, Cindy got a cell phone call. It was from Tanya Perlman.

"Uh oh." Cindy said. "Wonder if I should take this?"

"You better." Teresa said. "Like you said at lunch: leave it to the perps around here to start trouble when Don is out of Town." Cindy nodded and took the call. After a moment, she hung up.

"Shit." the platinum blonde uttered. "Tanya asked us to come back to Headquarters. They DVR'd the five o'clock news on KSTD.

At the station, Tanya, Myron, and Detective Martin Nash were in MCD as Cindy and Teresa arrived. When Cindy asked "What's up?", Tanya just wordlessly turned and pointed the remote at the TV screen, activating the DVR.

"This is Priya Ajmani, KSTD Five-Alive News at Five!" the Indian reporterette said into the microphone, standing where Police Headquarters was in the background. "We have an exclusive interview with Deputy Chief Robert Brownlee, the second in command of the Police Force!"

"That's not true." said Cindy. "Don is second in command." She then shut up as everyone listened. Priya was turning to Robert Brownlee, who was standing next to her in his police uniform. On the other side of him was the Police Union rep.

"Commander Brownlee, the D.A. and Sheriff are refusing to allow the public records of the Jack Burke sex tapes to be given to KSTD." Priya said. "Aren't they breaking the law?'

"I believe so, Priya." said Brownlee. "This case was resolved years ago, and there is no reason that information cannot be made public. The Public has a right to know what's on those tapes, and I call upon Chief Bennett to begin his career as Chief the right way by following the clearly written law of the Open Records Act and releasing those tapes to KSTD."

"Commander Brownlee," said Priya, "as second-in-command of the Police Force, and as Deputy Chief, aren't you in custody of the evidence, and can't you do something to release those files as required by law?"

"I am in consultation with the Police Union on that right now." said Brownlee. "I believe Chief Bennett's refusal to release those tapes is something the Union needs to become involved with, lest a grievous error take place that will harm the reputation of the Police Force as well as Chief Bennett personally."

"Turn it off!" shouted Cindy. "Turn that God damned shit off!" Everyone looked at her in shock, and Tanya stopped the DVR.

"Sorry, folks." said Cindy, struggling to regain her composure. "But now I know how Commander Troy feels... I swear to God this here blue crowbar is screaming at me to be used."

She did not yet know what had happened that afternoon...

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

"Lt. Peterson, this is a written, direct order." said Deputy Chief Brownlee, handing Peterson a piece of paper. "I want you to release those Burke tapes to KSTD immediately." They were in Brownlee's office, Brownlee sitting behind his desk, Peterson standing in front of the desk as he had not been invited to sit down.

"Sir, I don't have that authority." Peterson said.

"I just gave you that authority... and an order... to release those tapes immediately." Brownlee said.

"Sir," said Peterson, "I don't have the means to obtain that evidence, and furthermore the Chief, Sheriff, and District Attorney all said that we would not release that information without a Court order."

"The tapes were uploaded and preserved digitally in the servers." said Brownlee. "You order that piece of shit Milton to prepare discs or jump drives with the information, and you give it to KSTD per the Open Records Act. Is there a problem with my orders, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Deputy Chief Brownlee." said Lt. Peterson, getting a backbone. "The Chief himself ordered the evidence to not be released. I'm following his orders, which include the press release I'm about to make denying releasing the evidence."

Brownlee stood up. "Are you going to obey my orders or not, Lieutenant? I'm your direct chain-of-command boss, and I just gave you an order to comply with the law and release those tapes. Are you disobeying my direct orders, Lieutenant?"

"Yes I am." said Peterson. "Your order is unlawful, and it would be unlawful to release those tapes, as well."

"I am going to put a written reprimand in your permanent file, Lieutenant." Brownlee said, sitting back down. "Once I have three of them, I'm going to have you fired."

"No you're not." said a voice behind Peterson. It was Chief Bennett. "Peterson, I am countermanding Brownlee's order. I've talked to the D.A., and the evidence will not be released without my personal, written permission.

"You're breaking the law, Chief Bennett." Brownlee thundered. "I'm going to comply with the law. Those tapes will be released."