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Pale Morning Light Ch. 01

By: WifeWatchman



The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series, The Eightfold Fence series.

Pale Morning Light, Ch. 01.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.



*****

Part 1 - Prologue: Remembering the Fallen 

Dawn, February 3d. It was a cold Tuesday morning on Cemetery Hill, and there was an edge of overcast to the dawn. The morning light was pale and weak, matching the feelings in my deepest soul as I lay a small bouquet of flowers before the tombstone of the late Police Corporal Peter M. Feeley. It was one year ago this day that he had been brutally murdered by Angela Harlan, the Black Widow, and her cohorts. I was remembering my failure in the Black Widow case, the cost, and my resolve to not fail in that way again. I became lost in contemplation.

Something told me to come back. I realized that there was movement behind me. I turned around and was totally shocked to see that twenty uniformed officers of the Town & County Police Force were standing behind me in formation, led by Sergeant Micah Rudistan and joined by Senior Patrolmen Chet Morton, Hicks and Johnson, Officer Lydia Green, and others that had known Feeley. Myron Milton was in the group, making a rare appearance his police uniform. Behind them were retired officers Chief Emeritus Griswold and Captain Leslie Charles. And in front of the group was Lt. Tanya Perlman, holding Pete Feeley's baby son.

A college student, who was also part of the University's ROTC, came forward with a bugle, and as Sergeant Rudistan called us to attention, the officer played 'Taps' on his bugle. As the sonorous sounds of the bugle call faded, officers came forward with a wreath of flowers, setting the wreath next to my bouquet. Tanya then brought a bouquet from herself, little Pete and also Pete's mother, who would visit the grave site later in the day.

After the flowers were laid, I saw and felt all the eyes on me, as if expecting me to say something. My vision was a bit blurry and my voice wasn't working well as I said "Thank you, everyone, for coming this morning. Let us... let us never forget Pete Feeley's sacrifice as we... as we go forward and continue his work, serving this Town and County as the law enforcement officers that we are."

"Amen." I heard a few people murmur, then we began dispersing. Tanya hooked her arm into mine, mostly to make sure I did come with them and discontinued my propensity for self-recriminations, and we left the quiet place on the hill where Officer Pete Feeley continued his eternal overwatch...

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

"How was Don this morning, Cindy?" asked Laura as she, Phyllis and Cindy ate lunch at Laura's favorite Soup & Sandwich Shop on the little man-made lake north of the University. They were eating indoors due to the cold weather outside. "Has he bitten anyone's head off yet?"

"Oh no, nothing like that." Cindy said. "He is pretty quiet and morose today, though, and he's pretty much stayed in his office. I daresay paperwork is getting done in there, but I told his new assistant Helena about Pete's death and that Don might not be his normal self today."

"Laura," asked Phyllis, "do you think this is normal, or is Don overreacting to Officer Feeley's death a year ago?" Cindy had a bit of a sharp look in her eyes at that, but didn't say anything.

"I'm not sure." Laura replied, her eyes and voice becoming introspective. "Of all Don's cases and even the fire at The Cabin and near-deaths of us all, nothing has really affected him like losing Pete Feeley. I think Don blames himself that he did not figure out the Black Widow in time, or that he did figure it out but did not act quickly enough. He blames himself for Pete's death."

"I think you're right." said Cindy. "It was a near thing with Hugh Hewitt, too. Don blames himself there, as well, though he shouldn't."

"True." Laura said. "But there's one other thing. He took Tanya Perlman on the Hewitt raid knowing full well what Tanya was going to do... exterminate Angela Harlan. And that really did a great amount of good for Tanya, getting revenge for Pete's death. But Don has had no such outlet. He still hasn't found had a way to expiate what he considers his shame for his failure. He allowed Tanya to kill Harlan, which was a bigger sacrifice on his part than he'll ever let on, and while he has taken out the Corrigan Cell and is on the track of Wargrave and this 'real Moriarty' person, he simply hasn't been able to let go of Pete Feeley's death."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Phyllis. "Is there anyone still out there upon whom we can unleash my son?" She knew full well the answer; she was saying that to get Cindy to think. And Cindy did.

"You know," the platinum blonde policewoman said, having an insight, "there still is someone from the Feeley murder that is still out there... that guy Don calls 'Skinny Beard', who may have injected the poison into Feeley, and did inject it into Hugh. Skinny Beard might have had a hand in the attempt to murder Don on the day Rev. Oldeeds was shot, and he was believed to be associating with the Corrigan Cell and maybe even worked with Ned and his drug creations. Skinny Beard but didn't go on the mission where Taichi-sama destroyed the Corrigan Cell, but he was at the house they were hiding in. He's still at large, and maybe if Don could get him..."

"That's an excellent idea, my dear." said Phyllis. "You've been researching all of this stuff. Any insight as to where this 'Skinny Beard' might be?"

"I'm not a Troy, so no sudden insights here." Cindy replied. "The FBI thinks he went to the City. He may have skipped the State altogether. Laura, what do you think about... Laura?" 

But Laura was not hearing anything... she was in a reverie of her own...

Part 2 - Trial Preparations 

(Author's note: see 'Dark Side of the Force', Ch. 1, to refresh your memories of the Bryan Thatcher arrest.)

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" yelled the lovely redheaded reporterette from the Courthouse steps at 7:00am on Wednesday, Feb. 4th. "KXTC has learned that Judge Patrick R. Folsom will recuse himself in the dog abuse trial of Bryan Thatcher, set to begin Monday. Judge Folsom cited the fact that he owns several dogs as the reason. He has given the case to law-and-order Judge Rodney K. Watts, who does not own any dogs... and does not tolerate theatrics in his Courtroom."

Bettina continued: "This is a huge blow to the Thatcher's defense team from Chase, Lynch & Berry, P.C., who intend to mount a defense of police abuse of Mr. Thatcher at the scene when he was arrested. Judge Watts has set aside a motion for a change of venue, saying that he will first determine if a jury can be seated from within the County. He also denied a defense request for a continuance, stating that the defense has had adequate time to prepare their case no matter which judge would be presiding. The defense team has said they will appeal both rulings."

"In other news, with the Budget battle essentially over in the State Legislature, the politicians are now turning to the key legislation to revamp the State Bureau of Investigation. It is expected to be a huge battle, and no one knows exactly what will come of it. The SBI Reserve Program is on the table, as well as the scope and jurisdiction of the SBI's Narcotics Task Force, which has come under fire in recent months. Local citizens will remember the botched drug raid that ended with gunfire exchanged with the Town & County Police, who were raiding the same drug felons at the same time. State Senator Katherine Woodburn is leading the fight for more State jurisdiction over local agencies, but she has plenty of opposition around the State to her plans, including our own State House Representative, Billy Williams. This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!"

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

Cindy Ross and I were in the District Attorney's office in the Courthouse, at a meeting with District Attorney Gil Krasney and Assistant District Attorney Paulina Patterson, who was prosecuting the Bryan Thatcher case. Sheriff Daniel Allgood had also been invited to the meeting, and was sitting in.

"The defense intends to call you as a witness, Don." said Paulina. "But it's so they can attempt to paste a police abuse charge onto you. They have no chance of acquitting Thatcher after we show the dog abuse evidence; their only hope is to get the jury to sympathize with Thatcher by claiming you physically abused him while he was in your custody. I might add that Katherine Woodburn has been monitoring this case and has been working with the defense team on Thatcher's behalf, as well as throwing the Media some red meat about the case."

"This should be simple to defuse." I said. "Call me to the stand yourself. First ask me to explain what 'resisting arrest' is, so that I can give the jury a thorough explanation. Then ask about my crowbar being like a billy stick that all officers have. Then we'll move to my training; I and the majority of our Officers have been trained by a two-sport black belt named Lieutenant Cindy Ross in proper techniques and use of the crowbar and nightstick. Then you put Cindy on the stand... and she can cut off any talk about Thatcher being pushed off the front porch, but I'll leave her to make her own statement there."

"I like that." said Krasney. "It will also give some precedence for any future cases where your use of that crowbar has come up. Defense attorneys have been trying to use that in the past, but without success. This case has publicity about it, thanks to Katherine Woodburn, but I like your way of diffusing it."

"The resisting arrest part is key." I said. "We have to spoon feed that to the jury so they'll have doubts about anything Thatcher says. After that, I think if you show the jury the pictures of the dogs in your final summation, it'll be all over for that son of a bitch."

"I'll be so glad when this case is over." Paulina said. "I start crying every time I see those pictures. I'm going to have to work hard not to break down when I show them to the jury."

"Just be glad you weren't at the scene when we made the arrest." Cindy said. "That was the worst thing I have ever seen; I still have nightmares about it..."

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

"Ah Katherine, so nice to see you." said Henry R. Wargrave as State Senator Katherine Woodburn was admitted into his office high atop one of the City's skyscrapers. "Would you care for some water or green tea?"

"Thank you, Mr. Wargrave, but I'm fine. Oh, thank you." she said as Henry Wargrave held a chair for her to sit in. Once she was seated, he went around behind his desk and sat down. The pale light coming through the windows was to his back and fully in Katherine's face.

"First, please call me 'Henry', if I can be so presumptive and call you 'Katherine'." said Wargrave.

"Why thank you, Henry." said Katherine. "And I hope we'll be working much more closely together while I'm in the State Senate."

"I'm sure we will." said Wargrave smoothly. "So how are you liking our State Legislature?"

"It's good." Katherine said. "I think some of those politicians underestimated me, and I had to show them my years running KXTC gave me more spine than they have put together. I'm sure you know all about that, since you're running KSTD now."

"Well, I'm merely a part owner and silent partner in the background, but I have some good people running it for me." Wargrave said. "Certainly not the caliber you were while running KXTC."

"You're too kind, Henry." said Katherine. "So, how may I be of service to you today?" Wargrave had called the meeting and invited Katherine to his offices.

"Just a couple of things upon which I'd like to get your viewpoints." said Wargrave. "First, the Thatcher trial is starting over in our friend the Iron Crowbar's County. Is there anything we can do to help cause Mister Troy some pain in that case?"

"I've done what I can." said Katherine. "Chase, Lynch & Berry's lawyers hate the man as much as I do, and they're going to try hard to stick a police abuse stigma on him. I'm hoping that nigger ADA can't handle their crack team. If Krasney personally helps, that'd be great; he's a total buffoon."

"Don't underestimate Ms. Patterson." said Wargrave, a bit surprised by Katherine's racist language. "And KSTD is ready to begin the police abuse chant, and to try to make it resonate with the Black community, but only after the trial. Dog abuse is a tremendous headwind for us in this case. People love dogs."

"I hope we can make the police abuse case resonate with the Blacks also, Henry. I've been talking to Reginald B.F. Lewis extensively about it." said Katherine. "So what was your second question of me?"

"Ah." said Wargrave, very slightly put off by Katherine's directness in coming to the critical point of the meeting. "The SBI battles are coming in the Legislature. What is your goal there? And what is your strategy for implementing that goal?"

"I am working with more senior colleagues on those issues." said Katherine. "We hope to increase the SBI's presence in all areas of the State, and to make sure the SBI always has jurisdiction over the Counties and any local law enforcement agency in the State."

"The Governor is in opposition to that, as well as the grassroots groups around the State." said Wargrave. "Are you prepared to deal with them?"

"I'll crush them as I crushed that TEA Party Extremist John Cummings." said Katherine Woodburn. "It's time these 'Constitutionalists with guns' learn that we are in power and in control of them, not the other way around. And we will use the power of Government to exercise that control, beginning with our broad, far-reaching legislation to strengthen the police power of the SBI."

Wargrave could feel the woman's deep passion for this issue as she spoke. "Well then, I wish you the very best of luck with it." he said. "Shall we have some lunch? There's a great new restaurant in Westphalia, just south of the City here. I might be biased in my opinion, of course, as I am the majority owner of it..."

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

Returning from his lunch, Wargrave sat behind his desk for some time, lost in thought. As he looked out over the City through the windows of his office, seeing the stark grays and black contrasts of the buildings in the cold, pale light of the day, he considered his plan to keep the Iron Crowbar off guard during this very busy time in the Legislature, and in his own plans. Things were reaching a head, and the time for action was near.

"You wanted to see me, Hank?" asked Austin L. Murphy as he came in the door, having been called in by Wargrave and admitted by the secretary.

"Yes, Austin." Wargrave said. "We have to put some things together. Things will be moving soon, and we need to make sure the Iron Crowbar has plenty of distractions. I want you to find that guy we call 'Skinny Beard'. I want him to get some of his associates to create some mayhem in the Iron Crowbar's county."

"Yes sir." said Murphy. "But before we do that, there's something I need to tell you. Seems Conrad King and his group have gotten his son Jack out of the country; Jack is in France now. But they're wanting to make a move in Alabama. With Malone's death, they have some cleaning up to do, and they want Skinny Beard to be part of those clean-up operations."

"Yes, that has to be taken care of, and I can't be anywhere near it." replied Wargrave. "We'll just have to hope the Iron Crowbar is distracted with all the Legislative crap as well as the Thatcher trial."

"Yes sir." Murphy said. "By the way, after getting tips that the Governor wants Troy in Midtown to work on the SBI legislation for his, the Governor's, team, I checked around... but I can't find any hotel reservations for Troy. Is he going to commute every day?"

Wargrave smiled. "Austin, Austin, I'm disappointed. Think about it... who will the Iron Crowbar be seeing in his spare time while he's in Midtown?"

"I'm sorry, Hank, I'm not getting your drift on this one."

"His son, Austin. His son. Family." Wargrave said. 

"Ohhhhhh..." said Murphy, realizing what Wargrave was getting at. "Well, that makes him off limits to us, then. I'm not fucking with his kids, especially after what happened with that fire at his home. I don't know who did that, but it was sheer stupidity."

"I entirely agree. It was a mistake on that person's part." said Wargrave. "I'm just glad the Iron Crowbar knows it wasn't me that was behind that fire..."

Part 3 - A Police Force Retirement 

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" blared Bettina on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 5th. "The Police Department has announced the retirement of their longest-serving drug dog, Sergeant Laika. Laika as been with the Force for a very long nine years. She will now live with her handler as a retired civilian pet dog, enjoying her remaining years with her favorite toy tennis balls."

The screen was filled with images of the lovely Joanne Cummings petting and cuddling Laika as the dog's handler looked on and Bettina said "Here Laika is posing with Detective Joanne Cummings of the Town & County Police Force. Laika will continue to make appearances at the local elementary schools, helping with the Drug Awareness Education Program for kids in the County. This is Bettina Wurtzburg, wishing Laika a happy retirement, and KXTC News will bring you breaking coverage when it happens..."

"Oh, she's such a wonderful dog!" Joanne gushed as she lovingly petted Laika after the cameras had turned off. "I'd love to help you and Laika at the schools if I'm off duty or can get the Commander to let me go with you."

"I think we can arrange for you to make a few appearances with Laika, if her owner is good with it." I said as I petted the German Shepherd, always enjoying spending a few moments with our excellent K-9 officers. "I think if Laika didn't already have an owner, Detective Cummings might just steal her away."

"I would love that, but she's Tom's dog." Joanne said wistfully.

"Come visit, anytime." said Tom, Laika's handler. Laika happily looked up at him.

"So, Commander," said Bettina to me as she watched the outpouring of love for Laika, "speaking of dogs, are you ready for this dog abuser trial coming up?"

"I think the District Attorney's office has it well in hand." I said.

"I heard that Katherine Woodburn has really been working the Media to say that the Police abused and even tortured Thatcher during his arrest." said Bettina.

"Seeing that you are the Media, Bettina, you'd know more about that than I would." I replied, getting one over on the lovely redhead reporterette.


Pale Morning Light Ch. 01



She smirked, then asked "So between us, you're not concerned that they'll accuse you of police brutality during Thatcher's arrest?"

"Are we speaking for the record?" I asked, not fooled by Bettina. "If so, then I have no comment except to say the Police acted properly and even with restraint."

"And if we're not speaking for the record?" Bettina tried.

"We're never not speaking for the record, now are we Ms. Wurtzburg?" I replied with a gleam in my eye. Joanne managed to stifle a laugh at my adroit handling of the formidable Bettina...

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

Dr. Laura Fredricson looked out the nearest window of her office, seeing the overcast morning. The cloud cover was continuing, with neither storm nor sunlight allowed to come through, as if the weather could not make up it's mind what to do. 'Board of Regents weather', she had said to Dr. Wellman the previous day, evoking that sinister laugh of his.

She was typing on her 'secure' laptop, the one she used for her CIA communications. She was writing an email which informed her (very few) superiors in The Company that information had come out about some of the drugs Ned and Skinny Beard had been working on: specifically that there was another batch that her husband had not known about and had not destroyed, that the formula for making more of these drugs was believed to be with the vials, and that criminals in the area were attempting to secure the drugs. After checking it over, she sent the email.

Moment later, her assistant Gayle Roberts came into the office. Gayle was looking lovely in her pale green dress and high-heel nude/tan pumps; her legs were looking smoking hot. As Laura idly thought that both she and her husband Don would enjoy fucking the delicious-looking Gayle, and soon, she simply said "What is it, Gayle?"

"Ma'am," Gayle said, "that email you just sent... it was on the '2aab' encryption code from last autumn, and our cyber-security people think it might have been compromised!"

"Oh really?" Laura said, trying to hide a grin. "Well, that is just... unfortunate, isn't it?" Understanding began to creep onto Gayle's attractive face: Laura wanted this particular piece of information to leak out.

"Come on in here, Gayle." Laura said as she got up and began sweeping her office for bugs. "I need to tell you what we're going to be doing once the bad guys try to make a move to get the drugs and their recipes." Gayle was dying to ask if those drugs really existed as the bait for Laura's trap, or if it was all a lie, but she didn't: Laura would tell her everything she needed to know about this, and no more...

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

Austin R. Murphy groaned as his cock plunged into the buxom redhead beneath him on the bed. He fucked her with deep, hard strokes, eager to work out his nut and pump his semen into the tip of the condom that sheathed his man-tool. The woman groaned beneath him, pretending to enjoy his fucking, especially since he'd paid her very well for the privilege of using her body for his sexual pleasure.

She felt the combat veteran's body shiver as he reached the crest and climaxed. Her hands clutched his ass, and she could feel the scar tissue on one of his buttcheeks from where shrapnel had hit him. She moaned, pretending to come with him.

"That was good, baby." he said as he recovered. "Even better than last time with you and Dawn together."

As his penis slipped out of her well-used cunt and he collapsed to the bed, the woman rolled over on her side and snuggled into him. "So," she said, as if not interested, "what really happened to Dawn? All we've heard is that she was murdered. It's kind of scary." The woman was employed by the same escort agency that had employed the recently deceased Nicole Stanton and her still-living friend Cherie Ward.

"I don't know." said Murphy. "I heard what you heard... someone killed her by the side of the road-"

*BRRINGG! BRRINGG! BRRINGG!*

It was Murphy's cellphone ringing, and that particular ringtone meant that the phone call had to be taken: it was Henry R. Wargrave."

"Great news, Austin!" Murphy heard Wargrave's voice say. "We've gotten some information that those drugs the Iron Crowbar's nephew had been making might still exist."

"They weren't destroyed?" asked Murphy.

"This is apparently an unknown, extra batch," said Wargrave, "and the recipes for them might be intact. I need you to come in right away." With that, the line went dead.

"Okay, baby, gotta go." Murphy said, getting out of bed. The sight of the big-breasted redhead lying on the bed 'threatened' to arouse him again, and he wished he could stay and throw another hard fuck into her.

"It must be important." said the prostitute as she pulled her head up, leaning on her elbows, her body distracting Murphy.

"It is." Murphy said. "If it's what I think it is, it's going to mean a lot of money for me. And then maybe I'll buy you that Jag you've been wanting."

"Ooooh, that sounds nice." said the woman, flashing a brilliant smile at her patron. "Arms control not in the works these days?"

Austin laughed at the joke as he dressed. "This isn't that." he replied carelessly. "It's about some serious chemicals that some people would pay a lot of money, and I mean a lot of money to get their hands on. Okay baby, I gotta go. I'll call you." He leaned down and kissed the redhead on the mouth, then hurried out the door.

The woman casually got up and dressed, then took her cellphone from her purse in the corner of the room and dialed a number...

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

"Interesting." said the man as he returned his cellphone to his pocket after taking the call. He was known to his three partners in the room as 'Number Four'. They were in Thaddeus Ward's office at Ward Harvester and it was very late at night.

"If it's interesting to you, it must be fantastic for us." said the beautiful Karen Warner. Normally she would rather be on her back on a bed somewhere, taking a large cock balls-deep in her burning hot, soaking wet pussy, but it looked like something big was happening.

"It is." said Number Four. "I've just learned that not all of the drugs Elizabeth's son made were destroyed, and that we might get not only a sample, but some recipes as well." He looked over at the attractive woman wearing glasses, sitting next to Karen. Ned was Elizabeth's son, of course.

"Oh really?" Elizabeth said. "I could have sworn that my dear brother destroyed the last remaining samples of my nasty son's work. How did this batch come to light?"

"A CIA email was intercepted." said Number Four. "Dr. Fredricson has apparently found another batch." His words got Elizabeth to thinking.

"Wasn't that email encrypted?" Elizabeth asked skeptically.

"Why, yes it was." said Number Four, his eyes locking with hers. "But some of our Russian friends broke that code, and translated the message for us."

"So my dear brother's wife used a compromised code to transmit that message?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes showing her understanding.

"Oh, this is great news!" said Karen Warner. "If we can get our hands on this, there's no telling how good it'll be for us!"

"Yes." said old man Ward from his chair behind his desk. "Some fresh pickings would be nice."

"Don't get your hopes up." Elizabeth said shortly. Number Four was impressed with her; those great brains to go with those beautiful legs, he thought to himself as he admired her shapely calves.

"What do you mean?" Ward asked.

Number Four spoke up. "She means that this is obviously a trap. Dr. Fredricson did not use a compromised code to transmit this information by accident. She did it on purpose. I'll check to see if those chemicals really do exist, but I'm suspecting that we should let this one go and not expose ourselves."

"So what are you going to do?" asked Ward.

"I think..." said Number Four, "that we'll let Mr. Wargrave handle this one." Only Elizabeth was able to work out in her mind what that meant: that the great billionaire Henry R. Wargrave was being thrown under the bus.

Part 4 - Trial of a Dog Abuser  

"Please state your full name for the record." stated ADA Paulina Patterson.

"James Donald Troy." I replied from my seat on the witness stand. It was Tuesday, February 10th, and we were in the Old Courtroom of the Old Courthouse, which was bigger than the Courtrooms of the newer Courthouse on the Square. The windows on the sides were large and tall, reaching nearly to the high ceiling. The light coming in was pale and seemingly cold; the cloud cover had persisted from the week before.

The trial had gone very well, so far. Jury selection had been remarkably easy, though the defense lawyers constantly tried to ask potential jurors if they would consider police abuse a mitigating factor in the case, which would cause Judge Watts to admonish legal beagles.

Once the Jury was seated, the Crime Lab and Animal Control officers had given their testimony, complete with the gruesome pictures of the abused dogs and the squalid living conditions of the house and kennel. The testimony had been virtually unimpeachable and the defense team only gave token effort to poke holes at non-existent inconsistencies. Then there were witnesses that testified to hearing the sounds of crying dogs in the night, the yelps of pain coming from the kennels in the Thatcher house's backyard. The next morning, it was my turn.

"What is your occupation, and rank and position within it?" asked Paulina.

"I am employed by the Town & County Police Department." I stated. "My rank is Commander, and my position is called 'Police Commander', which is second-in-command of the Police Force after the Police Chief." I was wearing my formal Duty Dress uniform with the rows of ribbons over the right jacket pocket, and the Medal of Valor around my neck at Paulina's insistence.

"Your Honor," said Paulina, "I would like to read the Commander's police record of medals, commendations and honors into the record-"

"Objection!" yelled the defense lawyer. "It is sufficient that the witness's occupation be given, nothing more is required nor relevant to this trial."

"Miss Patterson, are you going somewhere with this?" asked Judge Rodney K. Watts, knowing full well that Paulina was going somewhere with this.

"Yes, Your Honor." said Paulina. "I wish to establish the impeccable record of this police officer before continuing with the questioning of the witness."

"Objection overruled." said Watts, giving Paulina a clear victory. The defense lawyer's face turned red with furious anger as the judge said "Proceed." Paulina then read my record out loud, emphasizing my promotions as well as my Purple Order, Medal of Valor, and Orange Order recognitions. After going through the sequence of events at the time of the arrest, Paulina got to the nitty-gritty of demolishing the Defense's attempt to make me the issue:

"Commander Troy," said Paulina, "your officers are normally equipped with batons, colloquially called 'billy sticks', aren't they?"

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"You yourself, as well as one other officer, have been known to carry a metal crowbar with you, is that correct?"

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"And you carry this in a manner and means similar to most other officers carrying batons or other weapons as a means of defense, is that correct?" Paulina asked. I was surprised the defense lawyer didn't object; Paulina's question was 'leading' in nature.

"Yes ma'am, that is correct." I said.

"Have you used your crowbar for other purposes, Commander? And if so, for what other purposes?" Paulina asked, spoon-feeding this to the jury as she was required to do. Having been prepped, I answered accordingly.

"Yes ma'am." I said. "I've used it to pry open a car door at the scene of an accident, to get the occupant of the car out. I've used it to pry open doors when we have a warrant to enter a location, and to open containers to discover evidence."

"Commander, are officers trained in the use of their batons?" Paulina asked. She was using my title as often as she could, I noted. Paulina was a damn good ADA, as well as being one of the sexiest and hottest women that I'd ever had the pleasure of penetrating sexually...

"Yes." I said, trying to stop thinking of Paulina in a sexual way.

"Have you been trained in the use of that crowbar as a means of defense, and if so, what means were those?"

"Objection as to form!" yelled the defense attorney, finally realizing what was going on. How could such an experienced attorney only figure it out now? I wondered.

"I'll re-state, Your Honor." Paulina said. "Commander, have you been trained in the use of your crowbar as a means of defense?"

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"Would you please tell the Court the nature and extent of that training?" Paulina asked.

"One of my Police Lieutenants, Cindy Ross, has two black belts in various martial arts. She and I have trained extensively with these devices for effective but non-lethal use for defensive purposes. She also has trained many of our officers to properly and effectively use their batons."

"Are batons, and your crowbar as a substitute, used to subdue suspects resisting arrest?" asked Paulina.

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"Have you used your crowbar to subdue a suspect resisting arrest in the past?" asked Paulina.

"Yes ma'am." I said.

"Commander, would you please explain what 'resisting arrest' is?" asked Paulina.

"Objection, Your Honor." said the defense lawyer. "The witness has not been shown to be an expert witness on this matter."

Paulina fired back: "Your Honor, as cited in his record, the Commander graduated the basic and advanced Police Academy courses with honors, he graduated Military Police Officer Basic Course with honors, he has been extensively trained in the law regarding police matters, and his position and experience as the Police Commander more than qualifies him as an expert witness."

"Objection overruled." said Watts, cutting off further debate immediately. "You may answer the question, Commander."

"Resisting arrest can be fighting with police officers or using physical force." I said. "But it can also be passive, such as lying motionless and refusing to move when told to, or refusing to cooperate with police officers' instructions while making the arrest."

"Did the defendant here resist arrest at the scene of the crime he is alleged to have committed?" asked Paulina.

"Yes he did." I said.

"And did you use your baton or crowbar to subdue him or control him?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Did you strike him multiple times?" Paulina asked.

"Yes."

"How many times?" Paulina asked.

"I am not sure of the exact number. Three or four, which was necessary to subdue him while he continued to resist arrest."

"And this is standard police procedure, based upon your basic as well as more extensive training?" asked Paulina.

"Yes ma'am."

"Your witness." said Paulina. The defense lawyer got up.

"Commander, I'd like to ask you to reaffirm your testimony: did you strike the defendant with a crowbar on the night he was arrested?"

"As I said before, yes I did." I said.

"Did you beat him with it in a manner beyond necessary force to subdue him?"

"No."

"Did you strike him repeatedly with your crowbar, Commander Troy?"

"Objection, Your Honor." said Paulina. "The witness has already answered that question."

"Sustained." said Judge Watts. "Counsel, cover new ground with your questions and be careful as to their form."

"Your Honor," said the defense counsel, "I am trying to establish that this police officer used excessive force beyond what was needed to-"

"Objection, Your Honor!" cried out Paulina, knowing what the defense lawyer was trying to do.

"Sustained! Approach the bench." said Watts. As the lawyers got to the bench, Watts hissed to the defense counsel "Watch yourself, Counselor. Your efforts to create a mistrial or taint the jury won't work with me. I'll have you in contempt and behind bars, not to mention disbarred, if you try that crap again, do you understand me?"

The lawyer was red-faced with fury. "I'm going to appeal this, Your Honor." he said. "We have a right to establish our case."

"Not like that, you don't." said Watts. "You know the rules of this trial Court. One more breach and I'll have you arrested and removed from the Courtroom."

Paulina then brought Cindy to the stand, and had her confirm that she had trained me and other officers, that she was a two-time black belt, and that she did not see any abuse of the defendant during his arrest but that he was non-cooperative and resistant to being arrested. She also testified that he'd fallen off the porch. She denied that anyone pushed Thatcher off the porch when the defense lawyer insinuated that he'd been 'helped' off the porch with a push to the back.

Then came Sergeant Rudistan. I only hoped that his testimony would agree with mine.

"Yes ma'am." he said, trying to hide his joviality, but unable to completely do so. "The defendant resisted arrest several times and refused to obey instructions."

"Did you or Commander Troy strike him excessively."

"Not excessively, ma'am." said Rudistan.

The defense lawyer tried a tactic. "Sergeant, it must have been psychologically tough at that crime scene, with those dogs there. Was Commander Troy angry at what he was seeing?"

"Objection, calls for speculation." said Paulina.

"Your Honor, I am trying to establish the state of mind of the arresting police officer, Commander Troy, during this time, and establishing that his mindset led to excessive use of force-"

"Your Honor," said Paulina, "Commander Troy is not on trial here-"

"Bailiff, would you please escort the jury out of the room and give them a ten minute break?" Judge Watts said. Once the jury was out of the room, Watts turned his ire onto the legal beagles. "People, I will not tolerate this any further. I am going to allow Sergeant Rudistan to answer the question, but I agree that the Police are not on trial here. Defense counsel, if you think there is police abuse, that if for a separate accusation and separate trial. I will not allow you to attempt to acquit the defendant by the proxy of putting the Police on trial, here, Counselor. Do I make myself clear?" The defense lawyer grumbled acquiescence but was still agitated and furious with anger.

Once the jury was back in, Sgt. Rudistan was directed to answer the previous question. "The Commander was in control at all times that I saw him." he said.

"Well, let's just suppose hypothetically that Commander Troy was deeply angry about the scene." said the defense lawyer. "Hypothetically, has he ever given any sign of losing control or being angry?"

"I can't speak for 'hypothetically'." Rudistan replied. "In actuality, I've never seen the Commander lose control of any situation, no matter how bad the circumstances around him were... including, hypothetically of course, the time he was shot and wounded while rescuing three kidnapped little children-"

"Stop, stop!" gasped the exasperated defense lawyer. "No more questions of this witness, Your Honor..."

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

The final summations were key. The defense lawyer couldn't be stopped from making statements that the defendant cooperated with police but that the police were 'overzealous' in the arrest and that they got physical. However, Paulina got the last word, and she used it to devastating effect.

"Look at these photos, ladies and gentlemen of the jury." she said as photos flashed on a projector screen in front of them. The pictures were heartbreaking and gruesome, showing abused puppies. "Eight of these twenty dogs did not make it, they did not survive Bryan Thatcher. This case is not about the police making the arrest, ladies and gentlemen, it is about what that man sitting there did to these poor dogs, it is about him committing these horrible atrocities with no compunction at all. To this day the defendant has expressed no remorse at all for what his actions that led to the pain and suffering... and death... of these poor, defenseless animals. There can only be one verdict here, ladies and gentlemen, and that verdict is 'guilty'. I asked you to deliver that verdict."




Pale Morning Light Ch. 01



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

I talked quietly with Paulina and Cindy as we waited for the jury to come back with a verdict.

"How do you think it went?" I asked.

"Good." said Paulina. "But the defense was really laying groundwork for an appeal. Judge Watts shut down the police abuse angle, but an activist judge might say it should've been allowed."

"Let's hope not." said Cindy. "I can't believe this guy could possibly get away with this."

"This really is not the case to use to go after the Police." said Paulina. "The dog abuse is too disturbing. The Jury was obviously moved by those photographs..."

I looked over at the defense table. The lawyer was talking with Thatcher, and was animated and red-faced as he did so. "They're going to fight like hell." I said. "Even though this might be the worst case in history to try to get people to take a defendant's side against the Police, that lawyer seems to want this one as if he himself is on trial."

"Maybe he's related to Thatcher, or hates dogs himself." Cindy said. I suspected more, far more, but I decided to not say anything.

Thirty minutes later the Jury came in and the verdict was swift and certain: "We the Jury find the defendant Bryan Thatcher guilty of eight counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, twelve counts of cruelty to animals, three counts of resisting arrest, and one count of lying to police."

Thatcher's eyes cut over to me. They were sharp and had an intent and purpose. The defense lawyer also looked at me with a look of as deep fury as I'd ever seen on a human countenance. I stared back just as hard, finding myself hoping he'd try to physically assault me, so that he could come to understand what a crowbar beatdown felt like...

Part 5 - A Family Addition 

Late in the afternoon of Tuesday, February 10th, I was called by the Animal Control Department. I hurried down to the pound, the part where animals needed as evidence were kept.

"Okay, he's no longer needed for evidence." the woman said. "He's nine months old, and he's fully recovered. He's had all his shots, so he's ready to go."

The handsome puppy was still relatively small due to the malnutrition in his early puppyhood, but his eyes were now bright and his yellowish-white coat nice and glossy. He looked like he was mostly a yellow lab, but maybe some 'mutt' was in him, too. When he sniffed my hand his tail began wagging very hard and he got excited.

"I don't know if he remembers you from that night." the woman said. This had been the little creature that had sniffed and licked my hand the night we'd arrested Thatcher. I was overjoyed that he'd survived, and even happier when my application to take ownership of him was approved.

"What's his name going to be?" the woman asked.

"You look like a 'Bowser' to me." I said to the pup. He wagged his tail some more. "I think 'Bowser' it's going to be." I affirmed.

I had told Cindy and Daniel that I might not make it back to Headquarters that day. I took Bowser and put him in my Police SUV, and we drove home to the Mountain Nest. Laura had not been exceptionally thrilled when I told her we had a new family member, but she'd acquiesced and was waiting for me at home when I called to announce Bowser's homecoming.

I got to name him 'Bowser'... but the moment I walked into the den, I no longer owned a dog.

That honor belonged to my daughter Carole. As soon as she and Bowser laid eyes on each other, it was love at first sight. I put Bowser on the floor and he padded over to Carole and began licking and sniffing her. Carole began laughing, and soon peals of laughter could be heard as Carole tumbled over, with Bowser sniffing at her and continuing to play. I had to admit, the laughter was infectious, and I soon was chuckling also.

Laura finally got Carole up, and Bowser continued to pay rapt attention to her. As the day went on, wherever Carole went, Bowser went. When Laura or I was holding Carole, Bowser was right there. We taught Carole to pet Bowser carefully and gently, and she was fascinated at the feeling of his fur and his head as she petted him.

Bath time was an experience. Bowser wanted no part of getting wet, and Carole insisted on flicking water his way, accidentally doing so as she tried to reach out to pet him or bring him into the tub with her. He found a safe distance and continued his observations from there, but didn't leave.

Bowser did let me pet him while Laura was feeding Carole and then getting her ready for bed, but if I ever took him into the other room, like to the bed I'd prepared for him, he'd yip in protest, and once released he would bound out and back to wherever Carole was. He paid some attention to little Jim, but it was clear Bowser knew where he was supposed to be, and with whom...

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

At 1:00am, I woke up from a fitful sleep. I got up and began looking around the house. Downstairs, the bed I'd made for Bowser, a basket with a big, deep, red pillow cushion, was unoccupied. I began looking around the house.

When I came to the baby's room, I peered in. Carole was asleep in her crib. Then I saw the movement under the crib: Bowser was on the floor under the crib, peering up at me. I knelt down and petted him, and he was happy to see me... but he was not going anywhere else with his charge asleep in her crib above.

Moments later, Laura came out of our bedroom as I ascended the stairs with my package in tow. "What are you doing?" she asked sleepily.

"Surrendering to the inevitable." I said. Laura followed me as I took the basket to Carole's room. I put it under her crib, and Bowser got right in and settled down on the pillow... but maintained watch. "Good dog, Bowser! You keep watch, okay?" I whispered, petting him. Bowser wagged his tail happily.

Laura and I watched as Bowser settled down, then headed arm in arm for our own bedroom. For some reason, I felt that my daughter was a bit more well protected right now... and would be from this time forth. Carole and Bowser were inseparable, and would remain so for the next fourteen years until Bowser would finally pass on of old age...

Part 6 - Mayhem in Midtown 

"Okay, Don," said Sheriff Allgood on the morning of Thursday, February 12th, "it's quiet up here, and the Governor has called me already. You're on paid leave and will report to the Governor as an SBI Reservist just as soon as you can get there."

I had packed a bag already. Laura would be called to Washington for meetings over the weekend, but wasn't leaving until the next day, Friday the 13th. My mother would be staying with the kids (and Bowser). Teresa also volunteered to stay and was going to be in the guest bedroom starting tonight. She was becoming good friends with Bowser, who still would not leave Carole at any time except on those occasions where he needed to answer the call of Nature. He was already housebroken, and had a spot at the far edge of the property marked for his usage. He did not seem to mind new people, as long as Carole was happy and safe.

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

I arrived in Midtown just after lunchtime and headed to Molly's house. Letting myself in with the key Molly gave me, which happened to be the very same key I'd had on my key-ring for years when I lived in that house with Melina, I put my suitcase in the guest room and then called Molly on the cell phone. She told me to come down to her Midtown Police precinct.

"Ah, so it's 'Captain' Moynahan now, I see." I said as I greeted Sean "Cav" Moynahan, who was still the leader of Molly's Homicide unit. I was also re-introduced to Detective Frank Soltis and the Captain brought us all into his office to talk.

"Yeah, and I see you leapfrogged me by going straight to 'Commander' up there." Moynahan said jovially. "By the way, I'm supposed to still be mad at you for taking 'Coldiron' Masters away from us, but it really was a good opportunity for him."

"He's doing well at the new job, too." I said. "So, anything exciting happening here? Besides Detective Evans here being promoted?" I had observed Molly's suppressed excitement, as well as a new deference towards her by other officers as she escorted me to her office area.

"How did you know?" Molly gasped. "I was going to surprise you with that." Soltis and Moynahan laughed.

"I promise I didn't tell him." Captain Moynahan said. "Yes, Don, Molly is taking over Masters' slot as Detective Sergeant. We were going to promote Masters to Lieutenant and bring Molly up, anyway. Now she's up for the Lieutenant slot and Frank here will be our Detective Sergeant, but that'll be a few months off. We'll need some new people, and that new crop out of the Academy that you gave some extra training to look like they're going to be good. So how are things up in your corner of the woods?"

"Okay." I said. "We just went through the Thatcher trial, though. That was horrendous. It feels good that it's over in the way that getting hit by a hammer feels good when it stops hurting."

"We were following the trial of that dog abuser." said Soltis. "Senator Woodburn has been all over the Media about that down here, but it looked to be a big ado about nothing, and the jury convicted him."

"Took 'em less than an hour to bring back a conviction." I said. "I'm not sure why Woodburn chose that case to try to bring down crap on the Police Force, but it didn't work."

"Well, let me tell you a couple of things, which is why I brought all of you into the office here." Captain Moynahan said, straightening up in his chair. "As you know, we never really stopped looking into the murder of that young CIA agent that we refer to as 'Mike'. After you crushed that bastard Corrigan and his treasonous cell, we took the case back over as a murder in our jurisdiction. We didn't find much, but we did explore a few links to the Oldeeds Organization, and we're working with your friend Jack Muscone of the FBI on that."

"And then we caught a break." said 'Cav'. "Seems people aren't killing people as much around here and we were twiddling our thumbs, so our Chief gave us a RICO case to look into. It involved State Senators Cerone and Langdon and the late Senator Nathan Allen. Evans, pick it up from here."

"Yes sir." said Molly. "Political influence peddling. They also had a number of parties where high-class call girls were used to provide entertainment... as well as gather information for the Senators' uses..."

As Molly talked, I was perusing the report. Something caught my eye. There was a rather small notation about one woman in prison whipping a guard who tried to make the woman go on one of Langdon's 'chain gangs' as a prostitute. Langdon had then ordered the woman to be murdered, but she'd been gotten out of prison just in time... by the executive clemency of the Governor.

When Molly paused in her narrative, I said "Let me ask you something about this note here." I said. "Langdon ordered a woman murdered when the woman refused to go along as one of his prostitutes, and the woman even whipped a guard?"

"Well, he tried to have the woman killed, but she was taken out of the way." Molly said. "She was in prison for drug distribution, and all I could find out was that she was given clemency in exchange for cooperating with law enforcement on her drug operations- er, why?" Molly had noted the hard look settling onto my face.

"If you get a free moment," I said cryptically, "look up that woman's maiden name." I said. "Oh well, enough of that. So what can you do about Langdon and his cabal?"

"The break in the case," said Captain Moynahan, "was that we began establishing a connection with these Senators to one Henry R. Wargrave, and that they and Wargrave had a quid pro quo going that allowed Wargrave to launder money as well as smuggle materials through the State's transportation systems, rail, trucks and air, that Senator Cerone once controlled while he was the Mob's Boss of Bosses in Southport. Mr. Muscone of the FBI was especially excited about it, and has taken the lead on the continued investigation..."

I barely heard him. None of the Detectives in the room had realized who the woman was that resisted Langdon's attempt to force her into prostitution, but I did... and if they did choose to look up the woman's maiden name, they would find that it was 'Troy'. The woman was my sister Elizabeth.

And no matter how bad the woman was, she was my blood kin. Senator Langdon would be paying a heavy, heavy price for attempting to force my sister into prostitution. A heavy, heavy price...

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

"Oh, what a day." Molly said tiredly as we entered the house. We'd picked up Ross from the daycare center, and I was carrying him. "By the way, Don, the Captain gets very impressed every time you come down here. The pointers you gave us on some places to look in our investigation may already be paying off."

"Good." I said. "Let me know how it goes, and maybe my Police Force can help with some things."

"Sure." Molly said. "And since you're happily feeding your son, I'm going to go do something I haven't had a chance to do for quite a while... use that hot tub upstairs and have a nice, long soak."

"Want some company after I get Ross changed and ready for bed?" I asked, letting my eyes enjoy the sight of Molly's body.

"He's going to be awake for a while, so you'll be having some playtime with your son. I'll be out of the tub by then." said Molly. "I'm just happy to see how well he takes to you, even though he just doesn't get to see enough of you."

"That's true." I said. "And I'm looking for ways to improve on that, believe me. Okay, you head on upstairs, I'll take my medicine and be up there in a while."

"What medicine is that?" Molly asked.

"Laura calls it a 'gray viagra'." I said. "It basically works like viagra, and I'm going to need that boost tonight in order to give you what I've been wanting to for all these weeks. Laura is having me take them even when I don't need them... like right now while I'm looking at you."

"Do what your doctor tells you." Molly said. "I'll see you in a while." With that, the lovely blonde walked up the stairs, my eyes following every sashay of her hips and ass. A vague memory of Melina walking up those stairs came to me, but it was dispelled as Ross became fidgety. I carried my son to the kitchen to get his bottle...

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

It was more of a collision of our bodies than a slow buildup to our mating.

"Give it to me, hard and fast!" Molly demanded as she pulled me into bed. "We'll slow down later; now I want you to fuck me!"

I suited the deed to the word, and I was slamming my cock nuts-deep into Molly with very brutal thrust; she was pushing up to take every stroke as we matched each other's rhythm perfectly. We fucked like the sex-starved lovers that we were: powerfully, athletically, vigorously.

I didn't last long that first time. I slammed my mouth down onto Molly's our tongues twining harshly as I shoved down hard and she wrapped her strong legs around me. With a moan into Molly's mouth, I came. Spurt after spurt of thick, ropy jism fired out of my cock and into the depths of Molly's fertile, eagerly receptive cunt...

Part 7 - Sexual Research 

Dr. Laura Fredricson drove her gray Mercedes into the gated neighborhood in the most exclusive area of the County, just north of Town. The car was the replacement for the one that had been lost in the fire at The Cabin. Cars can be replaced, Laura thought, children cannot. That included the son of the woman Laura was coming to see.

"Hi Laura." Sharon Eastwood said as she admitted Laura into the house. Sharon was the injured football player Nick Eastwood's mother, and she was the definition of a 'trophy wife'. She was 43 years old, just a couple of years younger than Laura, but (like Laura) she could easily pass for a woman in her thirties. Her hair was dirty blonde, naturally so though she would lighten it up with some highlighter. Her face was beautiful in a regal, handsome sense, her lips not too full but just right. Her breasts were large, with just a bit of additional surgical 'help' to make them stand out just a bit more proudly underneath her tight black sweater. She was medium height, and her legs were shapely and toned by exercise. She was what any high school or college stud would consider a 'MILF Hottie'.

Sharon was wearing a tight black sweater, a brown and black plaid skirt, sheer black pantyhose and soft black leather boots with a block heel. Laura was wearing a 'medium' blue sweater, the color matching the University's blue color, a black heavy woolen skirt, sheer stockings that had a bluish hue, and blue Pour La Victoire Kerr pumps that had a black rubber sole... excellent for traction in icy or wet conditions.

Laura hugged Sharon warmly. "How are you?" she asked. "How have things been for you?"

"Good." said Sharon. "I'm so glad Nick is nearly healed up and will be out of that brace for good by the end of the month. He's moving around well, but that thing irritates him." Just before getting to the closed door to Nick's bedroom, Sharon said quietly "I'm going to leave you alone with him while I do some shopping. He hasn't had a release since yesterday morning. He is really ready to see you."

"That's good." Laura said.

Sharon knocked and opened the door to Nick's bedroom to admit Laura. "Honey, I'll be back in a couple of hours. Dr. Fredricson will be here with you."

"Thanks, Mom." Nick said as Sharon shut the door. His eyes took in Laura's lovely body as he lay under the sheet of the bed. "Hi Laura."

"Hello, handsome." Laura replied. Nick pulled the sheet away, exposing his totally naked body. His huge, thick ten inch cock was hardening fast, pulsing with the desire to fuck the beautiful sex professor. Laura smiled as she admired the sight of Nick's hard, muscular body, still in great shape despite the nearly three months of inactivity since his injury against State Tech. She began slowly removing her clothes, letting Nick watch her striptease until she was wearing only the stockings, held up by the garter belt, and the high heel pumps.

Moving to the bed, she straddled Nick, letting her exposed pussy rest just above Nick's throbbing cock. She leaned down and kissed the young blonde stud deeply on the mouth, their tongues twining as they sensuously slid their lips against each other's.

"Mmmm," Laura said quietly as she felt Nick's strong arms wrap around her. He was trying to get his now-erect cock to the folds of her sopping wet pussy, but she was hovering just above him. "I've missed you, stud." she said between warm kisses. "I've been dreaming of this big cock every day."

"I've been thinking about you, too." Nick said. "I'm glad you're here... ohhhh..." He groaned as Laura reached between their bodies and grasped his huge cock. She fit it into her labes, letting Nick push upwards to drive his thick meat into her vaginal opening. He managed to slide almost half of his tremendous size up into the beautiful woman, but she did not push down to sheathe him completely, instead hovering above him, holding out as she deeply kissed him again.

"Here, suck these big tits." Laura said, raising up and letting her left nipple strike young Eastwood's ruggedly handsome face. His lips closed upon her long, distended areola and he sucked hard, the mother's milk spraying over his tongue. Laura was still nursing, her breasts full of milk, and they would continue to produce milk long after her children were weaned. She would bottle the milk and giving it to the Hospital to feed the newborns there, and her husband would love getting a good feeding every day, as well. But for now, it was the young stud Nick Eastwood feasting upon her luscious breasts and their warm liquid bounty.




Pale Morning Light Ch. 01



Nick was still trying to push up into Laura and she was rocking above him, letting about half of his magnificent cock slide in and out of her warm, clutching cunt. It felt very good, and Laura wanted to take his entire length balls-deep, but for now she had other plans.

"When did you last come?" Laura asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yesterday morning." Nick said. "Mom made me save up for your visit."

"Mmmmm, I'm soooo glad she did." Laura moaned. "Tell you what, I'm going to suck your big, beautiful cock, and I want you to come inside my mouth. Don't try to hold back, just come when you're ready. And then I'll ride you until you shoot your second load into my pussy..."

Laura moved down, settling herself between her young lover's legs. Looking up into his smoldering eyes, she licked and kissed the huge, spongy cockhead, then slid her mouth down half of his shaft, tasting her own cunt juices as well as the pre-cum that her hand milked out of the long, thick shaft. As she began to give Nick head in earnest, sucking almost all of his length deep and hard, her head bobbing slowly up and down, she thought of the events over the past couple of months...

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

Laura had been visiting Nick Eastwood regularly at University Hospital, and often at odd, late hours so that she could give him blowjobs. She had heard that several nurses, many of them married, had been requesting night duty on the floor containing Nick's room, and she knew he was getting a good release at least once a day, even as he lay immobilized in the hospital bed.

But Laura had not been prepared for what would happen about a week before Christmas, just after her husband had solved the Christmas mystery at the Libertines' stage play. She had gone to Nick's room, and happened to look into the glass window in the door. She saw Nick's mother Sharon in the room with him. To Laura's shock, she saw Sharon bend over and take her son's huge cock into her mouth!

Laura watched the incestuous blowjob for a long moment, then used her master key to quietly unlock the door. She slipped inside, closing and locking the door again as Sharon looked up, shock and the horror of being found out crossing her lovely face.

"It's okay." Laura said as she quickly moved the mobile partition in front of the door to block the view. "Don't stop now." But Sharon was immobilized, so Laura walked up to the bed, on the other side from Sharon, and said "Well, if you're not going to suck him, I will." With that Laura had bent down and began sucking Nick's cock right there in front of his mother.

Laura coaxed Sharon into sucking Nick, who was enjoying the double-decker blowjob immensely. Finally he came in his mother's mouth, Sharon greedily swallowing her son's enormous load. Laura then had Sharon come with her to a private, empty room down the hall.

"I'd like to sign you up for my research project." Laura said. "Totally anonymous, your name will never be written down or mentioned, you're given a secret code number. I could pay you, but you don't need the money, of course." Sharon had been apprehensive, but finally agreed.

Through numerous interviews, Laura learned that Sharon had been making love with Nick for years, that she had taken her son's virginity and taught him everything she could about sex. Her husband didn't know anything, either.

"I was still in college when I got pregnant and 21 years old and when I had Nick." Sharon said in one interview. "Do you know Bob French?" Laura nodded; she knew Guy French's brother, and Bob had a reputation for being a stud and seducing beautiful young women. His wife Elaine was beautiful and a hottie, and also one of the most sexual women in the county, fucking men and women alike. They were not in the Libertines, as they were too crudely sexual; but they were part of the Hedonists, and had enjoyed raunchy sex sessions with the late Trish Donolan as well as many other hot wives and couples.

"Bob French knocked me up when I was in School." Sharon said. "He wasn't much older than me, but he was already married. He was one hell of a fuck, and I had no regrets having his baby."

"Does your husband know?" Laura asked.

"Yes." Sharon said. "He adopted Nick when I married him. But he doesn't know that Nick and I are having sex."

As Laura sucked Nick's cock, feeling him near his climax, she remembered the times she had watched as Sharon had mounted her son and ridden him, Nick's huge hard cock sliding deep into his mother's wet pussy, Sharon moving her ass and hips to vigorously slide up and down her son's shaft as they copulated. Nick had come inside Sharon, and both women had cleaned the young stud up, often sharing kisses.

And on several occasions after servicing Nick, Laura and Sharon had retired to her bedroom and made love with each other. They'd shared their first kiss in Laura's office during one of the interviews, and Sharon had admitted that eating her son's cum out of Laura's pussy was incredibly exciting. Laura had liked cleaning Nick's spunk out of his mother's well-fucked pussy, also.

"I haven't been with a woman since I was in college." Sharon said as they women cuddled after an intense hour of soixante-neuf. "I didn't think I was a lesbian, until I realized how much I wanted you."

"You're bisexual, and you definitely enjoy men as much as I do." said Laura...

Laura's reverie was interrupted by Nick's groan, followed by his big cock blasting a huge load of semen into the back of Laura's throat. The beautiful professor swallowed every drop of the several spurts Nick shot into her mouth, savoring the taste and loving the feeling of servicing a handsome young man and his large weapon of lust.

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

Laura was riding Nick's cock, sliding her cunt up and down, taking every one of those ten thick, meaty inches into her womanly depths. Nick loved fucking Laura for that reason; no woman could take his size like she could. The fact that she was married to another man aroused Nick, as well. He loved cuckolding other men by fucking their girlfriends and wives.

"I can't wait to get out of this brace." said Nick as Laura pushed down, burying him balls-deep inside her. "I want to be on top of you, fucking your gorgeous brains out."

"Mmmm, that sounds good." Laura said. She preferred being the passive recipient of a man's aggressive, confident, hard fucking. "And you know what else, don't you?" Laura continued as she kissed Nick's mouth. "I still owe you a hot ass fuck. Once you're able to, I'm going to take you nuts-deep into my tiny little ass, Nick. Would you like that? Would you like to fuck my ass?"

"Oh baby, oh God! what you're doing to me!" Nick said, the thought of sodomizing Laura arousing him to the point that he could not hold back. He gripped Laura's waist and pushed her down hard as he drove up into her, and began firing his second load of the day deep inside the beautiful woman's hot, clenching cunt...

To be continued.



Pale Morning Light Ch. 02



The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series, The Eightfold Fence series.

Pale Morning Light, Ch. 01-02.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.



Part 8 - Legal Shenanigans 

Judge Leahy of the State Appellate Court was a very large man, not fat but simply large, and still his head looked large on his body, so large it was. His thin gray hair was combed to the sides. His watery eyes fastened firmly onto the freshman State Senator in front of him, enjoying the sight. They were in his Chambers during the afternoon of Thursday, February 12th, he behind his desk and his guest in a comfortable chair in front of the desk. The lights were focused in a way to be in the guest's eyes and the Judge's large head was in relative shadow.

"So, Senator Woodburn," said the Judge, "you believe that Mr. Thatcher's rights were abused, that his defense was not allowed to bring up the police abuse during his arrest, and you'd like Mr. Thatcher to get a new trial?"

"Yes, Your Honor." said Katherine Woodburn. She knew that Judge Leahy was the most left-wing, activist judge in the entire State at any level, that he'd (literally) been a card-carrying member of the Communist Party of the USA when he was a younger man, and that he hated the Iron Crowbar with as deep and abiding a hatred as anyone, save perhaps herself.

She also knew that it was being arranged for Judge Leahy to be the appellate judge in this case. "Your Honor," she said, "we'd just like for him to get a new trial, and get bail while awaiting that new trial. Totally overturning the verdict would create too much public anger."

"I agree, I agree." said Leahy. "So... what's in it for me?"

"Sir?" Katherine blurted, caught off guard by the question. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't quite hear you clearly." Regaining her composure, Katherine said "Seeing that I am just a freshman Senator and you're a man who has everything, I'm sure there's little that I can provide you. So I can only offer this: Mr. Thatcher's release is an integral and vital part of our plan to destroy the Iron Crowbar... who, in his capacity as an FBI consultant, has been glancing into your role in keeping John Cummings from successfully challenging my election to the State Senate. So Mr. Thatcher's release will help both of us."

Leahy gave what was for him a smile, a hard thin line on his face. He knew he was dealing with someone green and totally inadequate at the game she was trying to play. Fortunately for her, his plans had long since been made for him, and by much more formidable antagonists. "Fortunately for you, Senator Woodburn, there are others far more influential than yourself that want the same things we do. So consider everything to be in good hands. And I do have an excellent reason for my decision... they changed judges without giving the defendant's team time to prepare for the change. I'm going to come down on those County assholes like a ton of bricks."

He cut off further discussion. "I'm sorry, but I have to be getting back to a couple of important cases. Thank you for coming by today, Senator." Katherine took the hint. Rising, she thanked the judge and quickly exited the room.

Judge Leahy opened the drawer on the left side of his desk and stopped the recording machine. Rewinding the tape of the old-fashioned device, he began playing back the conversation that would put Katherine Woodburn totally in his power.

But there was only static on the tape. The judge rewound it, played through it again, shocked at the failure of his equipment. Then he looked up at the door through which Katherine had exited... and realized that perhaps she was a more worthy player of the Game than he realized.

Katherine made her way out of the building and to her car. She reached into her purse and turned off the device that had scrambled the tape. Ah yes, she thought to herself, I did learn from the Iron Crowbar's visit to my newspaper office that night. He's not the only one that can obtain and use a device like that...

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" yelled the lovely redhead reporter at 7:00am on Friday February 13th, yes, Friday the Thirteenth. "Channel Two News has learned that an expedited emergency appeal of Bryan Thatcher's conviction for dog abuse has been acted upon by Appellate Judge Leahy, and he has overturned the verdict! Judge Leahy has ordered a new trial for Thatcher, and has also ordered that Thatcher be released on bail, with ankle monitoring, while awaiting a new trial. Judge Leahy stated in his ruling that Judge Rodney K. Watts committed errors in not allowing Mr. Thatcher's defense to present evidence of police brutality against Thatcher by Police during Thatcher's arrest, and particularly the abusive actions of now-Commander Donald Troy..."

"Shit." Lieutenant Cindy Ross said simply as the shocked Detective Corps listened to the stunning news in the MCD room. Cindy took out her cell phone and called her boss in Midtown, who had just learned the news himself.

Part 9 - A Death In The Family 

On Saturday morning, February 14th, St. Valentines Day, I was in anything but a loving mood. I was sitting in my office at Town & County Police Headquarters, watching tapes of the news coverage of Thatcher's release upon Judge Leahy's orders. Thatcher's lawyer had raged from the podium about the police in general and me in particular, and there were several spots of State Senator Katherine Woodburn screaming from a podium in Midtown about the Town & County Police, and their Commander in particular, brutalizing Bryan Thatcher... never mind what he'd done to the dogs.

"So, what do we do?" said a voice as my door opened. Town & County Sheriff Daniel Allgood strode in, closing the door behind him.

"I cannot see how any of this is going to turn the Citizenry against the Police nor myself." I said as I clicked the TV off. "Then again, I may be biased and not seeing the forest for the trees."

"The DA's office is handling the flak for us." said Daniel. "They're ripping Leahy's decision and saying they'll immediately appeal, which they've already done. Legally, this won't hold up at all. It's the publicity I'm worried about. Any ideas you want me to give Scott Peterson?" Lt. Peterson was the Media Relations Officer for the TCPD.

"Tell him to mention the words 'dog abuse' as many times as possible. Every other word out of his mouth should be 'dog abuse'." I said. "But Daniel... obviously there's a lot more to this... and by that I mean going forward. The bastards are up to something, and this is part of it."

"I almost called you yesterday and told you to stay in Midtown." said Allgood. "The Media is watching the Station from all angles, and Lieutenant Croyle had the FBI arrest two reporters from KSTD who were hiding near your home. They're obviously hoping you'll give their cameras something."

"Hmmm." I said, thinking. "Yes, that has to be part of it. The Media is fully alerted and they're watching me. Bettina Wurtzburg has called twice, trying to get a response out of me about it. They want me to react. I think they're going to try to do something to get me upset and try to catch me beating somebody up with my crowbar, or something like that." I said. "Sheriff, I'm going to need a couple of patrol officers guarding my house."

"You think they'll go after your family?" Daniel asked. "Do you think they're safe?"

"It's not the kids I'm worried about." I said. "It's my new dog Bowser. Thatcher may go after Bowser."

I got out my cellphone and called home. My mother answered. I was greatly relieved when she said that Bowser was right there watching over Carole and Jim. I told her my suspicions, and she said she'd be on watch. I felt relieved.

"So, Sheriff," I said, leaning back in my chair, "we're just going to have to wait for them to move."

"We're tracking Thatcher's ankle monitor continuously, and have patrols following him, the Press be damned." said Allgood. Even with the precautions, we both knew we were helpless to act preemptively, and would have to wait. 

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

The wait was not long; the Enemy's action was swift in coming. Though Thatcher's ankle monitor signal showed him to be at home, at 10:00pm that Saturday night I got a call to come to a home in Town where middle class people lived, including many police officers. I felt sick to my stomach when I heard the homeowner's name. I rushed over.

I got to the scene and was met by Cindy Ross at the front door, her ice blue eyes blazing with suppressed fury. She led me around to the back yard. I took in a very sad scene.

Detective Joanne Cummings was sitting on the back porch, crying bitterly and uncontrollably, not caring a shred about decorum. Vice Detective Julie Newton was sitting with her, trying to console the young blonde woman. The owner of the house, who was retired canine Sergeant Laika's handler, was also crying as I moved to the small cluster of officers. They were Crime Lab officers, with Tanya Perlman leading the gathering of evidence. As I approached she looked up at me, a look of deep anger on her normally cherubic face that I had rarely viewed before and did not care to see at any time.

On the ground I saw the object of the crime scene. Laika, the retired police drug dog, was lying on her side, dead. I shall not describe the scene here except to say that it reminded me of what had happened to Carroll and Blondie in the 'Black Badge' case. A crowbar lay on top of the dog's body, black with a poor attempt to paint it red. A note was attached that read "This is for you, shithead Iron Crowbar. Come and get me." and was signed "Bryan Thatcher".

"The red paint was not fully dried." said Tanya. "We've already photographed the prints and sent them to Headquarters. Definitely Bryan Thatcher. I've already called Paulina for a warrant to arrest him." Everyone was looking at me, wondering what I was going to do.

I felt the anger welling up in me, a deep fury that cried for action. I wanted to leave this place and go over and use my real red crowbar to beat Bryan Thatcher to death. As my vision blurred, I felt my hand gripping my crowbar so tightly that I thought I might crush the thick metal.

And then... I made it back. I took a deep breath, exhaling long and hard. Another deep breath. I fought to bring myself under control and not let the emotions overcome me. I still gripped the crowbar, but now more for mental support. I had won the battle and conquered... conquered myself. The rest would be relatively easy.

Yes, I was furious with anger. But I also realized what the Enemy's game was. The gears had been turning in my head since I'd seen Joanne Cummings crying. Oh yes, they were going to pay for this, but on my terms...

I quickly turned and found Sergeant Rudistan, looking anything but his normally jovial self, awaiting orders. "Sergeant, put out the word that no Town & County Police Officer is to approach Bryan Thatcher. Keep him under surveillance, but do not approach him. The Media would just love it if we did. We are not going to give them the pleasure of any attempt to entrap us into a brutality charge."

"Sir, how are we going to arrest him?" Rudistan asked. The yard was utterly silent.

"We're not." I said. "I'm going to have the SBI do it." I could sense the relief in my officers as they realized that I was under control and in charge, and that nothing rash was going to happen.

With that, I got out my cell phone. I called SBI Agent Ted Crenshaw and explained the situation, asking him to gather agents, arrest Thatcher when the warrant was issued, and to incarcerate Thatcher at either the State-owned Campus Police Headquarters or, more preferrably, the State-owned Asylum in Coltrane County. My officers began to understand as they continued their duties. I finished the phone call and hung up.

"How is it that Cummings was allowed to see this?" I asked Cindy and Tanya a few minutes later. They understood what I meant, remembering how I'd stopped Tanya from seeing Pete Feeley's crime scene.

"She was the first Detective to respond when the call went out. She got here before we did." Cindy said.

"Well..." I said with a sigh, "maybe it's for the best." I went over to Joanne Cummings. "You okay, Joanne?" I asked.

"No sir." she replied sullenly. "I want to kill the bastard that did this with my own hands."

"So do I." I said. "But we're not going to fall into the Enemy's trap." Joanne began to understand through her grief.

"Commander... do you mean to tell me that the bastard butchered that poor dog just to try to get you to beat him up and be charged with police brutality?" Joanne asked, disbelief in her voice. "They did... that... just to get at you?"

"I suspect that's the case." I said. "Julie, take Joanne home." Detective Newton escorted the still sobbing Detective Cummings away.

"I don't mean to be brutal, Commander." Cindy said. "But she's going to have to toughen up." Tanya said nothing, but her eyes showed agreement.

"She will, Lieutenant." I said. "And it's this crime scene that's going to do it. Ross, get on the radio and re-iterate my orders to not approach Thatcher. I'm sure you see what's going on here."

"Yes sir, I do." Cindy said, her face a mask of stone, letting my example of leadership calm her down and function as she should. She hurried away. As I watched the Crime Lab complete its work, Sheriff Allgood came up to me. I apprised him of the situation, as well as my actions in bringing in the SBI."

"I know you hated to do that," said Allgood, "but it's actually a brilliant move on your part. I have to admit I was concerned about you, and what we were going to do about this."

"I'm under control, Sheriff." I said. "Pissed off, but under control."

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

The Media got all-too-excellent coverage of the SBI making a raid of Bryan Thatcher's home, led by Agents Crenshaw and Orosco. They obviously had known to be in position and to lie in wait for Thatcher's arrest. I also knew SBI Director Jack Lewis might make political hay of this, but I also knew it was far more important to avoid the trap that had been set, with the killing of canine Sergeant Laika as the bait.

As to the Media, they were obviously deeply disappointed. I could see it on Bettina Wurtzburg's face as well as Priya Ajmani as they interviewed me. In response to their questions of giving way to the SBI, I said into their microphones: "The recent political climate around Thatcher's trial and accusations by his attorneys was such that I felt it best for all concerned that an outside agency come in to make the arrest of Thatcher for this... which in my view is nothing short of the murder of a retired police officer. Mr. Thatcher will pay for his crime, but bringing in the SBI removes any heated emotions from the case."

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

"God damn it!" Katherine Woodburn all but shouted as she watched Bettina's broadcast at 7:00am, Monday February 16th, from her office in Town. She'd been on hand, ready to spring to the Media microphones to accuse the Iron Crowbar of police brutality. She'd been sure he'd go personally to make the arrest, especially with Thatcher being given a crowbar and told to leave it at the scene. "I can't believe the son of a bitch called in the SBI!"

"He's smart." said SBI Director Jack Lewis, watching the broadcast with Katherine. "He didn't overreact, didn't give the Media... nor you... a thing to work with. It was a nice try, Katherine, but it didn't work."

"Shit." Katherine muttered, then turned to Lewis. "At least you get to make inroads into the County, take credit for the arrest that the Iron Crowbar was too much of a coward to make himself."

"Yes. Yes, sure." said Lewis placably. He did not tell Woodburn that, upon hearing that the victim was a retired police dog, he would not be taking advantage of any political opportunities on this one, as much as he wanted to. Lewis was ultimately a policeman himself, and he loved dogs. That outweighed the politics, much less the chess battle with the Iron Crowbar...

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

"Wow." said Henry R. Wargrave as he and his guest ate breakfast in his office, watching Bettina's broadcast that was being transmitted by the local City news affiliate. The stunning news of the brutal killing of the police dog Laika was being covered State-wide.

"I'm shocked that the Iron Crowbar did not go and kill Thatcher on the spot." said Wargrave.

"I can see that Commander Troy is a smart man... a smart, smart man." said the guest, peering at the television set. "He easily saw through Ms. Woodburn's plan and kept his cool. I was hoping his emotions would get the better of him, especially as it was a dog being killed. It's funny how men will kill other men without compunction, but will cry like babies over the death of a pet dog."

"Yes. Well, it didn't work." said Wargrave. "Do I need to clean this up for you?"

"Perhaps." said the guest. "Thatcher is now a huge liability. He must be eliminated as quickly as possible."

"He's at the Asylum now." Wargrave said. "I'll take care of it."

"No, Henry." said the other man, changing his great mind. "I'll handle this one by other means... if the Iron Crowbar doesn't get to Thatcher first. In any case, this is not something to which you should devote your energies. It would be like a triphammer crushing a nut. The nut is effectively crushed, of course, but it is beneath your immense talents to worry about a small matter such as this."

"As you wish." said Wargrave. "It's just as well. I've gotten some intel that some of those drugs we thought were destroyed may actually still exist. I'm bringing in our friend 'Skinny Beard' to obtain the drugs, and I'll be working on that exclusively for now." He detailed his plan, which the guest approved with a few nods of his head.

They finished their breakfast as they talked of other things, then the guest left. As always, Wargrave felt a little bit relieved to be safely out of the fearsome presence of the man that the underworld called 'the Shadow Man', and the Iron Crowbar called 'the real Moriarty'.

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

"Commander, I want to apologize." said Joanne Cummings in my office later that morning. "I was... unprofessional in my conduct Saturday night. It won't happen again."

"There is no need to apologize." I said. "You now know what the rest of us felt at the first Thatcher crime scene, and then some. But do steel yourself, Detective Cummings. You're going to see some grisly, ugly things as a Police Detective."




Pale Morning Light Ch. 02



"Yes sir." Joanne said. "I've seen some things already, and the human deaths don't bother me nearly as much as seeing..." She did not finish, and did not need to. I understood.

"All right, go see Lieutenant Perlman for an assignment." I said.

"I asked her to let me work with the Honor Guard team for Laika's ceremony." Joanne said. Laika was going to be cremated, then buried at the Pet Cemetery that was east of Cemetery Hill, where several other police dogs were interred. I just nodded and dismissed Cummings to her duties.

The MCD team was working to clean up the details of the case. Thatcher had been equipped with a device that mimicked his ankle monitor, allowing him to leave his home undetected. He had been supplied with a crowbar and red paint, and he'd managed to slip out of the surveillance of my officers.

Later that day, SBI Agents Ted Crenshaw and Ted Orosco came to our Police Headquarters. Detective Parker of MCD had been assigned as the liaison to the SBI in this case, and was also present. The Sheriff invited Lieutenant Ross, Lieutenant Perlman and myself into the Chief's office to hear their report.

"Thatcher has been singing like a bird." said Crenshaw. "He really wanted us to know that he did it, and in retaliation for what he said was the beating that you, Commander Troy, gave him during his first arrest. He kept telling us over and over how happy he was that he'd gotten to kill a police dog, and that it was all the Iron Crowbar's fault."

"Yeah, right." I said. "So did he say who put him up to this?"

"We might have pressed him a little bit on this one, but you didn't hear me say that." Orosco said. I just grinned; the SBI was extracting a confession from Thatcher just as I might have... by administering physical pain to Thatcher's body. Cindy's eyes flashed her own satisfaction. Daniel Allgood looked like he wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else at this moment.

"He said that he was with his lawyer in the lawyer's office when Katherine Woodburn came in." Orosco continued. "She gave him the details of the plan, and told him that the same judge would get him off again after the Iron Crowbar came to arrest him. She told Thatcher to do whatever it took to make the Iron Crowbar beat him down, even to attack Commander Troy, and that he, Thatcher, would be very well paid once he was back out."

"Does Thatcher not realize that if I had gone there, I likely would've murdered him?" I said, not caring if the I.A. microphones got that. I had my 'bug-killing' device activated in my pocket.

"I don't know, Commander." said Crenshaw. "But as the interrogation went along, I think he started realizing he was being hung out to dry. His lawyer didn't show up as promised, leaving him alone, and we made sure to tell him that Senator Woodburn had no intention of helping him nor paying him. He said that the black crowbar was given to him by the lawyer, but the only hardware store that sold a crowbar in this County recently said that a youngish man bought it. When we showed the store owner this picture, he said the guy in the picture was the buyer."

The picture Crenshaw showed us was a handsome young man that I recognized as Katherine Woodburn's personal assistant. "Oh, that's Woodburn's assistant." I said. "He's been down in Midtown with her during the legislative SBI negotiations."

"How are those going, Commander?" asked Crenshaw, taking an opening to satisfy his enormous curiosity. "We thought Director Lewis would be all over the TV sets over this, but he's taken a back seat. Governor get to him?"

"I doubt it." I said, giving them a little bit of information. "Lewis is not afraid of Jared... you're hearing it here first, but I think Lewis might run for Governor in the next election. And I agree with you in that I thought he'd make hay of this situation, too, and I don't know why he hasn't yet." I wanted to contemplate that, but we had to move on. "So it's Woodburn behind this?"

"From Thatcher's confession, it is." said Crenshaw. Cindy got up.

"I'll go ask for an arrest warrant." she said.

"There's a problem, Lieutenant Ross." said Crenshaw, stopping her. "First, the Legislature is in session, and Senator Woodburn is immune from arrest while it's in session."

"You're kidding." said Cindy Ross, her face a mask of open shock.

" 'Fraid not." I replied laconically. "It's in the State Constitution."

"And second," said Crenshaw, "it's too thin a case, even with Thatcher's confession. Her defense lawyer would poke holes at it. We've heard Thatcher's confession, but he wasn't really consistent in the details, and we only have Woodburn's assistant buying a black crowbar as any kind of connection. Technically and actually, the assistant is the only one we could go after right now."

"Can we arrest her after the Legislature ends its session?" Cindy asked. "Paulina has made good circumstantial cases in the past."

"It's in the State Attorney's hands now." I said. "I doubt they'd want to touch this one. It's politically radioactive. Thatcher could recant his confession at any time and take the Fifth, and then we could only convict him, and only on the forensic evidence we got at the scene. Woodburn goes free, Lieutenant Ross. She is going to get away with it."

I said the last sentences to make the smoldering fire inside Cindy burn a little hotter. And it worked: I could almost read what was formulating in my Lieutenant's mind at the moment. Her ice blue eyes were flashing cold fire.

"All right guys, thanks for the information." said Sheriff Allgood, drawing the meeting to a close. "I can also tell you the local politics: the Council and the D.A.'s office both want to see Thatcher burn, but they don't want to take on Woodburn in a legal case we likely won't win. You guys at the State level will have to catch her at something else..."

Part 10 - Revenge 

As we left the Sheriff's office and I was just about to enter the anteroom to my office, I grabbed Cindy's arm and whispered "Just make sure that I have plausible deniability." I then gave her a meaningful glance and went on into my office. Cindy continued down the hall, her ruggedly pretty face chiseled in stone.

She turned into the MCD office instead of going into her own. "Where's Cummings?" she asked.

"In the back parking lot, practicing for the burial ceremony tomorrow." said Martin Nash, the only person in the room at the moment.

Going out back, Cindy watched as Joanne practiced leading the drill and ceremonies. Cindy was impressed: Joanne was doing well. After they finished, Cindy called Joanne over.

"How are you feeling?" Cindy asked.

"Still angry, ma'am." said Joanne. "Like a little fire in the pit of my stomach. I want vengeance."

"Good." Cindy said quietly. "So do I. Here's the plan..."

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

It was a gala evening at the home of University President Sidney P. Wellman and his wife Sally. Since Laura was out of town, I was the official escort of Lt. Tanya Perlman, who had brought her baby son Pete along for the occasion. Fortunately, he slept peacefully through much of the ooh-ing and ahh-ing bestowed upon him.

This was an event for fundraising for the State Police Charity Organization, which helped the families of fallen police officers at the local and State levels. Chief Emeritus Griswold and his wife were there, as well as Sheriff Daniel Allgood and his lovely wife Melina. 

I also saw Lt. Claire Michaels and Sergeant Hugh Hewitt of the SWAT team, and realized I hadn't had a good conversation with them in a while. I noted that Claire was really toned and fit.

"You're looking very in-shape, Lt. Michaels." I said to her after introductory chit-chat. "Working out a lot?"

"Yes sir." said Claire. "I intend to win the Police Boxing Matches this summer, and take the title." The Police Boxing Matches were an annual event of boxing, but in the past few years an event had been added where one used billy sticks and plastic body armor. It was pretty much 'anything goes', within bounds of reason and safety. Do I even need to say that the reigning champion was one Cindy Ross?

"I'm gunning for that title, too." I said. "What about you, Hugh?"

"I have no illusions, sir." said Hugh. "And with all due respect, I hope you'll be happy with no more than a bronze medal." I couldn't help but grin at that one.

Also in attendance were Henry R. Wargrave and his pretty wife Lilly. She was wearing her hair short and combed across the side of her head something like a man would, but on her it looked good. As always, I admired her very shapely legs, wondering what it'd be like to have those long, sensuous stems wrapped around me while my cock was balls-deep inside her.

Wargrave and I had made strong eye contact as we shook hands while part of an impromptu receiving line, but had no further chance to talk. In those brief moments, I could tell that Wargrave was not his normal self, that there was something going on in the back of his mind. And that, of course, had my 'spidey-sense' on complete alert.

At the right time, Dr. Wellman began the ceremonials of the evening. He announced the very large amount of money raised for the Charity, then had Henry Wargrave come forward for an announcement.

"Just over a year ago, our Police Force lost a young Corporal, Pete Feeley." said Wargrave. "He left behind his fiancee and a now-born son. In addition to my other donation to the Police Charity, I've arranged for two trust funds to be established at the J.P. Goldman Bank. The first will provide for a scholarship for Pete Feeley's son, as well as the orphaned children of any other police officers or fire fighters in the Town & County." There was enthusiastic applause.

"The second trust fund is to establish a scholarship here at the University, the Peter M. Feeley Scholarship, which will pay tuition, books and on-campus expenses (i.e. dorm and food) for the recipient, who must be a Criminal Justice major." There was more applause as Tanya brought up little Pete and received a piece of paper for the photo-op.

"That was very generous of you, Mr. Wargrave." I said to Wargrave as he and I spoke for the first time a few minutes after the ceremonials ended.

"It's the least I can do for the Police Force and those who have lost their lives serving it." said Wargrave. "It's fortunate that your children aren't the named recipients, from what I understand. That rogue CIA cell really was coming after you."

Now why did Wargrave bring that up, and now? I wondered, but I did not let that show as I said "Yes, I've had to learn how to duck. Of course, two of my officers were wounded last summer deliberately getting between me and flying bullets. I'm appreciative of them, but not the attempts to kill them." Mine was a direct message to Wargrave, who may have had a hand in that attempt to grab Ned and shot up Cindy and Sgt. Charles in the process.

"We're all fortunate that they survived." said Wargrave. "I'm also glad that your family survived that devastating fire at your home. I was disgusted to hear of your children being put in such danger; I can't imagine anyone stooping that low to get at you."

"Neither can I," I said, knowing Wargrave was not behind it and that he was now conveying that he had nothing to do with it and was not happy about it, "but there are some very evil persons walking this earth, Mr. Wargrave. Very evil, indeed. I am sure that a man of your stature and position in the world is aware of that, and that even you could be targeted by such evil. Any ideas who might have been so evil to set that fire?"

For a fleeting second, Wargrave's face showed pure shock... followed by recognition. I had just given the man a clue, a clue that might save his skin if he chose to understand. Just then, his wife approached us.

"Why hello, Commander," she said in her soft voice, her eyes sparkling as I took her hand and kissed it, slightly pulling her towards me, all but openly flirting with her in front of her husband. "It's such a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise, Mrs. Wargrave." I said. "You look lovely tonight--" Unfortunately I didn't get to go further with my flirtation, as Sally Wellman brought Tanya and Pete over... and I knew Sally was doing it to break up what I was doing with Lilly Wargrave right in front of her wealthy but impotent husband..

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

It was nearly midnight, and Katherine Woodburn was tired. She'd been fielding calls from her wealthy constituents and other politicians almost non-stop since attending the United Negro College Fund gathering at the Hyatt Hotel. It was either that or the Wellman's event honoring the Police, and Katherine didn't want to see that bastard the Iron Crowbar right now; she preferred pretending to be a civil rights supporter and listening to all those disgusting speeches by the Black political leadership.

She was in the room of her home here in Town that served as her private office. It was in a gated community, inside the fenced and video-monitored grounds of the property, with the best security system money could buy.

*Clink!*

She heard the faint sound and stopped, listening hard. 

*Creee-eek!*

Was that a door being opened? she asked herself, still straining to hear, fear gripping her.

"Clark, is that you?" she asked. Standing up, she peered out at the darkness. She still did not see the masked figure until the intruder was suddenly upon her!

"Unngh!" she gasped as the perp rushed her and punched her hard in the stomach before she could react. As she doubled over in pain, another driving blow smashed into the side of her head, knocking her against the desk. The intruder was wearing all black, including a full face-and-head mask. She couldn't even see any eyes behind the mask, but she did catch something else... a flash of blonde hair coming out the back of the mask.

She didn't have much time to see more; the intruder grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up, then delivered another staggering blow to her midsection. Pain exploded in her as she went down again, followed by more sharp spikes of pain as the intruder kicked her hard in the ribs and belly with boots, the toes reinforced with steel.

Katherine felt herself losing consciousness as the intruder knelt down and smashed a hardened fist into Katherine's face several more times, leaving the woman bloodied, then delivered more body blows...

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

"Easy, Senator, just relax." said the voice. Opening her eyes, she realized that she was in the Emergency Room at University Hospital. "You've got a couple of fractured ribs, and your jaw was nearly dislocated."

She looked up into the face of the doctor, then past him to the shocked face of her assistant Clark and what looked like a plainclothes police officer.

"Who did this to me?" she asked.

"We don't know yet." said the plainclothesman. "I'm Agent Greenwalt with the SBI Reserve, ma'am, and I'm here investigating the attack upon you."

"Wh... what time is it?" Katherine asked.

"It's nearly six o'clock in the morning." said Agent Greenwalt. "Your assistant Clark found you at midnight and called for an ambulance. Did you see your attacker?"

"He... I guess it was a he... was wearing all black." said Katherine, remembering. "Oh... wait... I think I saw blonde hair under the back of the mask."

"Sure it wasn't a woman?" asked Greenwalt.

"I... I don't know." said Katherine as the pain began creeping back into her injured body. "It could've been... how badly am I hurt?"

"You need to rest, but you'll recover soon." said the E.R. doctor. "You'll have to wear the binding on your ribs, and you'll show outward bruising as the bruises come from inside to the surface, but other than that you're not seriously injured. We're monitoring you for a concussion, also."

"It's the damned local police, the Iron Crowbar did this!" Katherine suddenly shouted.

"That's why I'm here, ma'am." said Greenwalt. "We've been called in to make sure it wasn't the Town & County Police. The Commander has an airtight alibi, though; he was at Dr. Wellman's home until after midnight for an event there."

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

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" blared Bettina at 7:00am on Tuesday, February 17th, from outside the State Building in Courthouse Square. "Channel Two News has learned that State Senator Katherine Woodburn was attacked in her home last night. Police say she was not sexually assaulted but was badly beaten by the intruder. Commander Troy of the Town & County Police Department has called in the State Bureau of Investigation to handle this case, citing Ms. Woodburn's status as a State Senator, and also to investigate and make sure that none of his police officers were involved in this attack in light of the recent tensions over the Bryan Thatcher case and the recent killing of retired police dog Laika."

Bettina continued: "The intruder or intruders were able to penetrate and defeat both the gated community's systems and Senator Woodburn's home security systems. Nothing was stolen from Senator Woodburn's home. Police and the SBI believe the attack was personal in nature, but a more specific motive is not known at this time..."

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

At 11:30am, Myron Milton was the center of attention in Classroom 'E' of Police Headquarters. Several monitors had been set up, and he was showing data to a group of officers and SBI Agents, as well as FBI Agents Sandra Speer and Eduardo Escobar, who I'd asked to be present to monitor the situation... and keep the SBI in line if need be.

It was I who had called in the SBI Reserve almost immediately after hearing the first police reports of the Woodburn assault at 12:30am the night before. I had instantly realized that this could become a huge political hot potato, and began working immediately to defuse any unwarranted accusations that might come against my Police Force. So in the room were SBI Director Jack Lewis, SBI Inspector Britt Maxwell (looking very beautiful, I might add), SBI Reserve Agents Grigsby and Greenwalt, who'd investigated the missing morphine at University Hospital some months back, and two SBI I.T. Agents to handle the evidence Myron was giving them.

Molly Evans was also there, but she was not allowed to be there as an SBI Reservist because of a certain family relationship with one of my Lieutenants. Last but not least was myself... sitting back and quietly letting them do their work.

Virtually every officer had been accounted for by the SBI, including myself as having been present at the Wellman party during the time of the assault, and the GPS of my Police SUV showing me going straight home from there to the Mountain Nest. They'd have to interview Bowser if they wanted to know my movements inside the house.

The last two officers, and the biggest suspects, were Lieutenant Cindy Ross and Detective Joanne Cummings. Both were blonde-haired and there was the well-known animosities and feelings after the death of Sergeant Laika.

"Okay," said Myron to Director Lewis, who was sitting next to Myron and looking on with interest, "this is the GPS of Lt. Ross's SUV. She and Detective Cummings were riding together on a training patrol. They were on the west side of the Town the entire time, and the GPS says the vehicle did not come anywhere near the north side of Town, where Senator Woodburn's home is."

"That's good," said Director Lewis, "but Woodburn is just going to say that there were imposters in the car, driving it around."

"Yes sir." said Myron. "Which is why I've been working with the FBI and their facial recognition technology on some video footage we have from several traffic intersections." Myron showed the footage. The driver was reasonably clear in a couple of shots, and the video not only looked like Cindy to us, it looked like Cindy to the FBI's sophisticated programming as well. There wasn't much on the other blonde in the car, and the facial recognition software couldn't make a clear pattern, but our eyeballs thought it looked like Joanne Cummings's blonde hair and a bit of her face.




Pale Morning Light Ch. 02



"That's pretty good." said Director Lewis. "I'm convinced. Inspector Maxwell?"

"Yes sir, I think this is pretty strong material to show these two officers weren't involved." said Britt Maxwell. "At the very least, even if they did do it, this would be more than 'reasonable doubt' in any trial."

"Okay, Commander." said Director Lewis. "My report, which will be verified by Inspector General Maxwell and delivered to the State Attorney General and the Governor, will state to the Press that your guys were not involved." He got up. "I guess I'll be seeing you in Midtown, Commander."

"Yes." I said. "Thank you for investigating this for us, Director." I said. I hated having to work with Lewis and he didn't like exonerating my Police Force, but it was a political trade-off... he gets the kudos for getting to come into our County and investigate, and I got my people cleared. It was the kind of trade-off I thought Chief Griswold would be reasonably happy with me about.

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

At 2:00pm Molly and I went to Todd's house, where he and Jeanine were keeping my and Molly's son Ross.

"Todd has done all the feeding and diaper-changing himself." Jeanine said with mock exasperation. "Won't let me hold him. He adores Ross as much as his other cousins."

"That's good." said Molly. "Thanks for keeping him."

"How did the investigation go?" asked Todd, still holding Ross.

"Good." I said. "The SBI has already announced to the Press that the TCPD and every officer in it is exonerated in the Woodburn beating."

"That's good." said Jeanine. "So Todd, how did I look as a blonde?"

"Hot and sexy, just like you look now." Todd replied. Smart kid, I thought, then thought of the night before: when Molly wore a blonde wig that looked like Cindy's hair, the sisters looked too much alike behind a car door window for even the FBI's facial recognition system to distinguish between them. Jeanine buried her face in her blonde wig while riding 'shotgun' in the car, making sure her face was not too close to the window.

Cindy and Joanne had changed cars in a 'dead zone' in the County, and Cindy and Joanne had proceeded to the north side of town in an old Toyota Camry. They defeated the security systems with the knowledge given them by a former security systems specialist (that being me, Your Iron Crowbar), then one of them stood guard while the other exacted violent, physical revenge for the death of K-9 Sergeant Laika.

I made sure that Tanya and I were in a very public place at the time, the Wellman party, and Teresa Croyle also made sure to be seen with Vice officers at a drug raid on a bar in the Tenderloin District at the same time. They were early and missed the drug deal, but the timing could not have been better for exonerating them from the Woodburn crime...

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

On Wednesday, February 18th, a small contingent of police officers buried Sergeant Laika with full honors, with KXTC and KSTD cameras recording it all. The senior officer present was Detective Joanne Cummings, and I was very pleased to hear later that she led the ceremonials with crisp orders and strong efficiency, showing good leadership potential.

That same morning at the State Asylum, now a more basic men's prison, 'Big John' Skutnik was brought into the interrogation room. He was a large, muscular man with a bald head and a big mustache. After he was handcuffed to the table, a tall man with reddish hair, wearing a trenchcoat and full-brim hat, entered the room. He placed a box full of cartons of cigarettes on the table.

"You know I don't smoke." Big John said, looking up at the man bearing the gifts.

"They're not for you." the man said quietly, so quietly that only 'Big John' could hear him, and just barely at that. "They're for your buddies that are going to help you with what I want you to do."

"And what's in it for me?" Big John asked, his own voice dropping, as the man in the trenchcoat sat down on the other side of the table, remaining wary of the dangerous criminal despite Big John being manacled to the table.

"A conjugal visit with your boyfriend out there." the other man said from under his hat, the silver metal of the Parachutist Badge affixed to the hat glinting in the light. Big John looked past and saw a younger muscular man with several prison guards. Big John's eyes lit up.

"Okay, what do you want us to do?" he asked.

"You love dogs, don't you?"

"Yeah, dogs are cool." said Big John. He loved dogs.

"And if some piece of shit abused and killed dogs, he wouldn't be your friend, now would he?" the man asked.

"You mean like that piece of shit that just got a new trial on some bullshit?" Big John asked, his voice low. "Yeah, it wouldn't be good for him if I knew where he was."

"No, it wouldn't. I'll tell you where he is: he's here, at The Asylum, in Punk City awaiting a new trial. He thinks homosexuals are punk faggots, too." the man in the trenchcoat said. Big John smirked at that, but said he'd take care of everything. Once done, the other man left, continuing his drive down to Midtown to resume the political SBI battles...

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

Bryan Thatcher was in the isolation section of the Asylum, kept away from the other inmates as he awaited his new trial. He was in 'Punk City', protected from the rest of the prison population, and given amenities that pre-trial detainees were allowed but convicted criminals were not. He was outside, shooting baskets alone for the half hour allotted to him.

On the other side of the double fence were several criminals, most of them Hispanic, members of one of the most insidious gangs in the Nation. As a shot from Thatcher clanged off the side of the goal and bounced towards the chained gate in the fences, he trotted over to retrieve it. At that moment, the gangsters burst through the seemingly chained fence doors, which were actually unlocked.

Within seconds, Thatcher was surrounded. Guards were only just realizing something was wrong as one criminal produced a 'shiv' and sliced Thatcher open from his belly to his chest, similar to Thatcher's actions in killing the dog Laika. As Thatcher's insides spilled into his clutching hands, other knives stabbed into his body, in the chest and neck regions as well as one in the groin. Just as the alarms began going off, the criminals hurried back onto the other side of the fence and dispersed into a larger crowd that was gathering to see what was going on.

It was way too late by the time the guards arrived on the scene. Leaving the world no poorer, Bryan Thatcher was dead. Just as in the case of Katherine Woodburn's beatdown, no one would ever be formally charged for this administering of vigilante Justice...

Part 11 - Politics 

"Okay, we meet with them again in an hour." said Governor Val Jared as the group ate breakfast on Thursday, February 19th. "Both sides want at least a framework by Friday afternoon. What do we have so far?"

We were in the Governor's 'public' office, a large room with a (very clean) desk at the end, and a large conference table filling the room in front of the desk. Inside the room were several State Senators and State Representatives, the Governor's Chief Of Staff, the State Attorney General (who was ostensibly over the SBI), SBI Deputy Director Tom Conlan, and myself, Your Iron Crowbar.

Everyone in the room was on the same side of the SBI political battle. In an hour, SBI Director Jack Lewis, the head of the Police Chief's Association, State Senators Katherine Woodburn and Dick Langdon and other legislators would come in. They were all opposed to us.

"As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee," said Rep. Wilson Hammonds, "I can tell you that our budget constraints could become difficult. Money is allocated for the two branches of State law enforcement: the SBI, which controls criminal investigations; and the State Highway Patrol, which oversees transportation issues that cross county lines. The other side is threatening to block funding for the State Highway Patrol if they don't get their way, which could severely impact our revenue generation from commercial transportation licenses and confiscation of illegal shipments of various products."

"We can't give in to them, though." said Sen. Sean Stockton, the minority leader on the Senate Justice Committee, which had oversight of the SBI. "The SBI was originally created to give support to local law enforcement jurisdictions, not to override them and especially not to come in and bully the local LEOs."

"True." said the State A.G. "But not every county in this State has an Iron Crowbar. And that is where the SBI began encroaching: on these smaller counties that don't have the means to properly investigate sophisticated crimes. Also, as drug distribution became more rampant, the Narcotics Task Force began throwing their weight around more and more, to the point where they intimidate local law enforcement if they don't bow to the NTF's wishes immediately. In fact, with the exception of the City, Commander Troy is the only local police leader to really stand up to the NTF."

"Firing a machine gun over their heads tends to do that." said State Representative Williams from my district. He was a 'country boy' type, and often shot out a remark without thinking. This particular comment got him some looks from the others; it was not the best thing to bring up at the moment. For myself, I let it pass; the memory of doing that warmed my heart.

"Things are changing, though." said Deputy Director Tom Conlan. "More and more locals are standing up to the authoritarian control of Jack Lewis and the Narcotics Task Force. And that's one reason we're here now: to further curtail those abuses and put things in a proper place that allow for cooperation between State and local agencies." Everyone understood the shot Conlan had just taken at Lewis; they'd become more outspoken in their criticism of each other in recent weeks and months.

"I for one want to diminish the power of the Narcotics Task Force." said Rep. Johnny Perdue, the Representative who was the Libertarian standard-bearer in the State. "If we'd stop this wasteful so-called 'War on Drugs' and legalize drugs as they should be, we wouldn't have this problem now, and we wouldn't even need a Narcotics Task Force." The room became uncomfortable; no one else shared Rep. Perdue's relatively radical position, and everyone wished we didn't need Rep. Perdue's help on this... the other side loved to use his pro-drug statements to hurt all of the rest of us.

"Well, that's not going to happen." said the Governor, his voice meant to convey a heavy hammer. "We've got to deal with the reality of the current situation, and work out a deal we can actually make happen. So... let's hear your final ideas before the other guys come in..."

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

Katherine Woodburn was wheeled to just outside the hallway in front of the conference chamber room in a wheelchair. She did not want to be exposed to the Media, but knew she had to make a public appearance so that the Media wouldn't report that she was intimidated into not showing up. Now that she was on the other side of Press Relations, she found herself becoming more irritated at those whose profession she once shared.

She had sunglasses and heavy makeup on to cover up the bruises, and she mustered up her strength to walk straight into the chamber, even though the 30 foot walk was painful. Once inside, another wheelchair took her inside the office.

"We're delighted that you've recovered and could make it, Senator Woodburn." said Governor Jared to Katherine as everyone took their places. All of my compatriots were now on my side of the table, to the Governor's left; Director Jack Lewis and his allies were on the other side. Once Katherine was out of her wheelchair and into a regular chair, the Media was allowed in to record the first few moments of the conference, which was nothing more than the Governor saying that he appreciated their coming. The rest of us were watching the Governor, pretending the cameras weren't there, even when one of them got within a foot of my left ear. They couldn't find my crowbar, though; it was secreted under the table and out of sight.

The Media was kicked out and the real meeting began, and Katherine Woodburn did not waste time taking her anger out on me.

"Yes, Governor, I made it... despite the efforts of this guy and his thug police. Clearly we need a strong SBI after what this bastard," she said, pointing at me, "and his police force did to me, and to Bryan Thatcher."

"Young lady, watch your language." said a senior Senator on my side of the table, a man with decades of political experience. "I would recommend that you make no accusations without the proof to back them up."

"Katherine," said Jack Lewis reassuringly, "I've already exonerated the Commander and his Police Force from involvement in what happened to you. And what happened to Thatcher was 'prison justice', and no evidence exists to prove any involvement by the TCPD." Lewis still didn't know what interfered with the cameras and microphones that would've shown my presence there with 'Big John' Skutnik, and no prison guard could recollect any features of the visitor that morning. He didn't care either; Jack Lewis loved dogs, and Bryan Thatcher was a despicable piece of shit that got what he so richly deserved.

"Yeah, right." said Katherine, staring daggers at me. I did not give her the courtesy of a response; I was staring my own daggers at Senator Richard Langdon. He felt my stare, and acted like an uncomfortable dog when stared at by his master.

"Okay, folks, let's get on with this." said the Governor. "Now we've made some progress. We've got the basic framework for a bill. The Narcotics Task Force is preserved, and the rights of local Sheriffs and Police are respected. We'll be able to investigate crimes at the State level, while letting local law enforcement do their jobs as their communities expect..."

No one was believing a bit of this double-speak, I thought as I listened. And as I watched the proceedings, I decided to give my powers of observation a workout. I was surprised at what I saw: the ones on both sides that were truly passionate about their positions seemed ill-at-ease and frustrated; but the experienced, long-time politicians on both sides were comfortable with the double-speak, the contradictory statements that came out of their mouths, seemingly not at all concerned about the actual positions. The outcome did not seem to matter to them: they seemed to play the political game for its own sake, not to improve anyone's lives or accomplish anything. Politicians, I thought. No wonder they're one of the most disrespected class of people on the face of this earth.

Finally, after two hours of debate with neither side willing to give an inch, and indeed the other side all but openly expecting my side to lay down and capitulate, the Governor looked down the table at me.

"Commander," he said, "we've not heard from you yet. What is your input?"

In response, I brought up a sheaf of papers. "This is the framework bill that your staffs have been working on." I said as I passed out the papers. "I've tweaked a few things here and there, but it's a compromise that none of you will like, but will be the most fair to the most people and also actually allow us to get our jobs done." 

As the politicians read the document, I heard various comments such as "No way!", "Oh, my people will never go for this.", "We can't agree to that!". The experienced politicians began haggling about it, again playing the game rather than really being interested in the possible solutions.

Finally, Senator Sean Stockton spoke up. "Yes, there are some things neither side will like," he said, "but this is the best compromise framework that I've seen. If we work together, I think we can make something out of this that will be acceptable."

"Even Director Lewis might find something of value in it." I said.

"I already do." said Lewis as he looked at his copy, "There are some okay ideas in here."

"Wow, Commander Troy is being nice with Director Lewis." said Representative Justin Madoff from the City, a deeply corrupt and virulently left-wing politician. "Guess you know who you'd better kiss up to when the rubber hits the road, eh, Troy?" Katherine beamed at the blatant show of disrespect by the snotty politician; I just rolled my eyes as if at a child saying something very stupid out of total ignorance.

"I agree with Director Lewis." said Senator 'Coffin' Cerone. "It's a step forward."

"With respect, Senator Cerone... no, it's not." said Katherine Woodburn in a loud and clear voice, which she heightened as she continued: "All I'm going to say is that I am not accepting anything from the other side. At all. It's our position, or no position. We have the whip hand, gentlemen; they have nothing at all. The SBI should be the controlling law enforcement agency in this State; every county agency should be subordinate and subservient to the State and the SBI. If that is not the case, then there is no point in having an SBI at all, which none of you want."

"I do." said Johnny Perdue, the Libertarian. "And I see no reason why law enforcement should not be left to the lowest possible levels first, and only brought to the State level when cross-county enforcement is absolutely needed."

"Good luck getting a dime of State money for that." said Woodburn. To the shock of several, nearly everyone on her side agreed. They were digging in.

"I totally agree, Senator Woodburn." said Sen. Langdon in his shrill voice. "Either accept our position, or we pull all money for the State Highway Patrol as well as the SBI. If you want to leave law enforcement in the hands of local Sheriffs and Police Commanders, then by all means we can arrange that." Langdon was looking at me as he said that, and used 'Commanders' instead of 'Chiefs' as he should have. I stared back at him.

"Let's go, people." said Langdon. He and Katherine Woodburn quickly got up, forcing the others on their side to follow. They all walked out of the room. After a few minutes of discussion of their helplessness, the others also left the room, with only myself and Governor Jared remaining.

"Well Don," said the Governor, "it was a good try. A really good try; I like what you've put together here. We've just got to get both sides to accept it and work from it. I think they will, too... they just need to do their horse-trading first."

"With respect, Governor," I replied, "no they won't. Woodburn and Langdon are dug in now. They really do mean to have their way and leave the other side with nothing. The way it's going at the national level in Congress, I'm surprised these guys at the State level haven't capitulated already." The Governor frowned at that; it was way too direct and honest for a politician to hear.

"I hope you're wrong, Commander." he said. "It's our job to find a way, and we will." He got up, and therefore I did as a matter of polite respect. "Let's go get something to eat, shall we? I want to discuss your points in this bill more thoroughly."

Part 12 - Troy Family Values 

"That was a disaster." said Senator Richard Langdon. "An absolute disaster." He passed out drinks to the others in his office: Senator Jimmy 'Coffin' Cerone, SBI Director Jack Lewis, and Representative Justin Madoff, who was from the City and one of the most deeply corrupt politicians in the State House. Katherine Woodburn had not been invited to the conclave.

"Why is that, Richard?" asked 'Coffin' Cerone.

"We should not have needed Katherine Woodburn to state the obvious." said Langdon. "We shouldn't even be talking to those pussies on the other side. They've never stood up to us before; why are they suddenly growing spines now?"




Pale Morning Light Ch. 02



"Because you-know-who was in the room." said Jack Lewis. "And he's got more spine than all of the rest of them put together."

Madoff added "Those of them that are Republicans have always whined about law enforcement and respect, but when we start shouting just a little bit, and then threaten to get violent, they cower like beaten dogs and capitulate. They will this time, too."

"Don't bet on it." said 'Coffin' Cerone. "The Iron Crowbar doesn't play by their rules. He punches back... hell, sometimes he punches first. That Narcotics Task Force disaster in his county... any other cop shooting a machine gun over the SBI's heads would be dropped dead in ten minutes, and that's why no other cop has the guts to do what he did. And if the SBI had tried to shoot back, he'd have waxed them in a heartbeat, without compunction."

"So why don't you go in there and make an example of him?" asked Justin Madoff.

"I'll answer your question this way: why don't you do it... personally." said Jack Lewis, who was growing tired of Justin Madoff's whiny attitude. "I'll deputize you into the SBI Reserve, and you can go in and put cuffs on the Iron Crowbar yourself. How 'bout it?"

"Your agents should be doing that." said Madoff, knowing that he was being called out as the coward he was. "I'm a Representative for my district, not an SBI agent."

"All right, guys." said Langdon, getting control before things got out of hand. "By the way, Jimmy, why were you being so agreeable about the Iron Crowbar's compromise framework?"

"Best way to kill it is to take it in and 'consider' it for a long, long time." said Cerone. "But I don't agree with Ms. Woodburn and you, Richard. We can't kill off the SBI or hold it and the Highway Patrol to ransom. Hell, the Highway Patrol were my best people when I was shipping stuff in and out of Southport."

"The Commander's plan wasn't all that bad." said Jack Lewis. "I was surprised at how much State power he left intact."

"That's true." said Cerone. "And listen, gentlemen, this is a give-and-take game here. We can take the Crowbar's framework, then start taking out the stuff we don't like, leave in what we do like, and it'll become what we want but with his name on it. Then he can't complain about it... because it'll be his piece of work."

"No, we can't give them even any part of this." said Madoff. "And Katherine Woodburn is accumulating allies, and she'll be able to form a block that can keep any compromise from going forward. She's hell-bent on her 'our way or the highway' position."

"Or in this case: 'our way or NO highway'." joked Cerone, garnering laughter. "Richard, what do you want to do about this? The vast majority of us are going to follow your lead on this."

"I'm inclined to agree with Woodburn." said Langdon. "But I'll give some thought to it tonight. Now let's go eat dinner; I'm starved."

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

Dr. Laura Fredricson returned to her home, the Mountain Nest in the late afternoon. Her meetings in Washington had gone well, but she was looking forward to getting back home, sleeping in her own bed, fucking her husband, and of course seeing her beautiful, wonderful children again.

When she came in, she heard two things simultaneously: Carole yelling "Mommy!" and Bowser barking happily at her appearance.

Laura sat down on the sofa in the den and took Carole in her arms, exchanging a warm hug with her baby girl. After talking with Carole for a minute, she asked Phyllis "So how was everything?"

"Oh, wonderful!" said Phyllis, then said pointedly "And Bowser is such a good dog, too. He plays with Carole, goes outside to potty, keeps watch at night."

"Bowser." Carole said, pointing down at the dog. He was looking up at Laura, hoping for some attention. And with even Carole pointing him out to her, Laura knew that showing Bowser some love was the right thing to do.

"Hey Bowser." Laura said, petting him on the head, then 'skritching' under his jaw, rubbing his neck and upper chest. He wagged his tail happily in response. "Have you been a good boy? Have you been taking care of my girl?"

"Bowser." Carole said again, more breathing the word than saying it.

"Just like her father." Laura said. "She loves that dog."

"He's a sweet dog." Phyllis said. "I know you don't want to admit it, dear, but I think your husband made a wise decision to bring him into the family."

"I'll admit it." Laura said. She reached down and petted Bowser again. She'd never been especially fond of dogs, but Bowser was a worthy addition to the family.

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

It was nearly midnight and State Senator Richard Langdon was in his official office. He was tired. It had been a long night of phone calls and political maneuvering. The SBI bill was reaching a crisis level, as both sides were leaking to the Media and chaos seemed to rule the Capitol Building. Threats and counter-threats abounded.

Langdon smiled to himself. He had already arranged a little party, and had sent word for the State Women's Prison to send some of their better looking women to be 'comfort women' for his loyal friends; after a long, hard day of political work, he was going to have a long, hard night pumping his cock into some worthless bitch.

Then... he became aware that he was not alone in the darkened room. His guards, disguised as 'staff', had not made a sound, but as he turned around he realized that the very large man in front of his desk was not friendly... and indeed, the red crowbar in the man's hands bode ill.

He rushed to grab the telephone but the man was faster. He grabbed Langdon's wrist and literally pulled the thin Senator out of his chair and over his desk, papers flying everywhere.

*THUMP!*

The first blow of the crowbar was to the middle of Langdon's back. As he cried out in pain and half rolled over, the next solid blow came to his lower left ribcage.

*SMACK!*

Langdon screamed in pain, but no one came inside to help him. He was at the mercy of the Iron Crowbar, and was about to endure a beating... why, he did not know, but would soon find out.

"You pathetic piece of shit!" I hissed at him as a crowbar blow landed on his thigh. Then I grabbed the dirty Senator by the collars of his shirt, using my knuckles to half cut off his ability to breathe. "You think you can make my sister one of your filthy whores? Then try to kill her when she fights back?"

More blows, with my fists, and then a kick to Langdon's testicles. "You gonna fuck with my sister, then try to kill her?" I grunted. "It's payback time now, bitch. And you are going to fucking pay for fucking with my blood, you piece of pig shit!" More powerful blows and kicks were administered. Langdon was whimpering in pain now, and probably believing he was going to die. And if he wasn't careful, he would die.

"I... I didn't know she was your sister!" gasped Langdon, an outright lie born of sheer desperation. "And one of my clients asked me for her specifically. That's all, just doing what my client asked!... OOOMPH!" Another vicious kick to the groin was my answer.

"What the fuck do you want?" Langdon cried out, seeing as I was saying nothing but readying to continue beating the shit out of him. I reached down and grabbed his collars again.

"I'll tell you what I want." I said. "And if you don't do it, you'll be dead this time tomorrow night. And if you think you can get someone to kill me, or try to stop me from killing you, just look over there." I pointed to my left, and Langdon saw the shadow of another tall man with broad shoulders and an even better physique than mine come forward. "And he will really fuck you up like I only wished I could." I stated. I saw Langdon's eyes widen as he realized I was playing on the same level he was used to playing, and that I was winning at his game.

"Now here's the story." I said. "You will accept the compromise bill. You will get your political friends to accept it, as is, no changes towards your way. You'll change sides, get others to, and you'll do it with a smile. Do that, and you get to live. Fuck up, and your last sunrise is this morning's. Are you understanding me, faggot?"

"Yeah... yeah." said Langdon. I could feel his body relaxing in capitulation. I got up, retrieved my crowbar, and with my bodyguard in tow I left the Senator groaning in pain on the floor.

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

2:05am, Friday February 20th. TCPD Vice Detective Lorena Rose was deep undercover.

She was at one of the smaller clubs in the Tenderloin District, one which catered to a seedy bunch of younger people, some dressed in what would be called 'punk', others dressed like what once would be called 'Madonna Wannabees'. They were dancing and occasionally doing some drugs, looking for the next pickup, a few hours of sexual relief and comfort before beginning the next day with little hope or expectation in their lives.

Lorena was here for two reasons. One, this was one of T-Square's smaller clubs, where people who did not want to be seen at the larger, more brightly lit clubs would come. Second, there had been some underground chatter that someone wanted by Police might be coming by, expecting to cut a deal on something big.

So far, nothing had happened, and Lorena was going to leave pretty soon. She had arranged for Senior Patrolman J.J. Perry, who went undercover as part of the 'Punk' scene and was called 'Ice Cube', to come pick her up as if to take her home for sex. If she didn't let herself get picked up from time to time, people would get suspicious of her reasons for being there.

She was at the corner of the bar, the back left as one looked from the front of the room. Looking to her right, she saw a young man with a thin beard and goatee. A shock of recognition went through her. She quickly took out a cigarette, and her right hand went to her pocket. A second later a lighter came out, but not before she'd pushed the little button in the pocket that activated the hidden camera in a button of her shirt. Several pictures were taken.

"Gotta take that smoke outside, honey." said the bartender, an older woman with dark red hair, dyed that way, who looked like she'd seen a lot of nasty things in her life.

"Yeah, sure." said Lorena. As she got up, she approached the young man. "Hey, wanna buy a girl a drink."

"Sorry, but I'm waiting for someone." the guy said.

"All right, but if you change your mind, I'll be right outside smoking this." With that, Lorena sauntered for the door. 

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

Molly and I ate breakfast as Todd fed baby Ross at 6:00am on Friday, February 20th. As usual, Todd was his immature self:

"Uncle Don, you had to let off some steam last night, didn't you?" my nephew said, grinning. Molly grinned in understanding, also; she knew Todd had heard me fucking the hell out of her just a few hours before.

"He gets hot after getting to use his big crowbar." Molly replied. "He has to put his little iron-hard crowbar to use, too."

"Keep that up, Uncle Don," Todd said, "and I'm going to have another cousin to feed within a year's time."

"That's my plan, anyway." Molly replied, her eyes boring into me, smoldering with lust. I was just eating in silence as I pretended to read my emails, trying (and failing) not to grin as I just listened. Molly then said "So, do you think your mission went well? Will it pay off?"

"I think so." I said. "Langdon was scared for his life when I mentioned I was there to whip him for trying to make a prostitute out of my sister."

"Yes," said Molly, "when I did what you said and went back to find out her maiden name, I thought the computer was fucking with me when it came back and said 'Troy'. I couldn't believe she was your sister."

"And my mother." said Todd. "Why didn't you let me have a shot or two at him, Uncle Don?"

"You'll get your chance." I said. "I'm just taking a pound of flesh and getting what I want from him for my own political gain. At the right time, you're going to have your own revenge for what he tried to do to your mother."

"Yep." Todd said, and then looked around. "It's funny, Uncle Don... that this is the house where all that crap with Mom and Ned started. Remember when we showed up that day, and Aunt Melina was fired-up mad at Mom?"

"Oh yes, I remember." I said, not really wanting to, but remembering all the same. And then it hit me, and I went deep inside my mind...

Todd was telling Molly about how he and Ned had come here for summer vacation less than three years before after Elizabeth had basically dumped them on his uncle and then-aunt, then how the camping trip had led to Ned's arrest and the beginnings of all those issues.

"Amazing what all has happened since then." Molly said, sipping her coffee. "Don, what do-- Don?" She stared at me, but I was deep in a reverie... one of the most significant of my life.

"Todd..." I finally said... "you and Ned... pulled up in that sports car..."

"The convertible." Todd said, his look at me becoming more wary. "Yeah, I've still got that car. What of it?"

I allowed my head to clear, so much more in place now than before. "Nothing." I said. "I was just remembering it. Okay, guys, let's get going. Molly has to go to work, I have to call the Station at home and make sure they're still standing without me..."

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

Lieutenant Teresa Croyle knocked on the door of Lieutenant Cindy Ross's office and was admitted immediately.

"Lorena got these last night at the punk club." Teresa said. She handed Cindy the photographs, and took some measure of secret delight in seeing Cindy's eyes widen.

"That is him, isn't it?" Cindy said in a low voice. "So what happened?"

"Lorena saw him, took these pics, then went up to him to see if he'd buy her a drink." Teresa replied. "No loss of bravado in her. Anyway, Lorena went outside to smoke, and 'Ice Cube' came up to her like they do from time to time to pretend he's picking her up for sex. They have code words she can use if something big is going down, so she gave the code and then asked him to come in with her. Once they were inside, our man in the picture here was gone. He may have gone into a back room while she was outside."

"And they couldn't get word to the rest of us?" Cindy asked.

"Not without blowing her cover." Teresa said. "And anything untoward might have alerted and spooked him or anyone else of interest to us. She did all the right things, here."

"Okay, let's go talk to the Sheriff. He's in the Chief's office." Cindy said. "He's forbidden us from calling the Don while he's in Midtown, but this is big."

As they got to the anteroom, they saw Martha, Chief Griswold's longtime secretary, sitting at her desk.

"What's wrong, Martha?" asked Cindy, seeing that Martha was stressed to nearly the breaking point. Martha merely shook her head and Teresa nudged Cindy; she had seen Deputy Chief Brownlee at his desk, staring at them.

The Command Suite had three offices: the Chief's in the middle, and offices to the left and right for the Commanders that were never appointed until the Iron Crowbar had achieved the rank some months before. The room on the right had been converted to the small conference room, and the one on the left had been a storeroom of sorts, but Deputy Chief Brownlee was insisting on using it.

Cindy got the message and said "I'll have you come to my office and we'll talk later, okay?" Martha merely nodded her head. "Meanwhile, ask the Sheriff to let us see him; it's important."

"Lieutenant Ross!" Brownlee said from inside his office. As Cindy looked toward the door, Brownlee said with something of a smug scowl on his face "I understand you have a medical problem. You need to be on restricted duty until the doctor clears you."

"He's already cleared me, I never was on restricted duty, and that's for my Commander to call, not you." Cindy retorted, completely unafraid of the total asshole Brownlee.

"Remember your place, Lieutenant." Brownlee snarled. "I'm not a patrolman you can disrespect like that--"

"Ladies, go on in my office." said Sheriff Allgood, coming up behind Cindy. "I'll be there in a second." Allgood proceeded to go into Brownlee's office and close the door.

"Robert," said Sheriff Allgood, "First, she's right: her direct chain-of-command boss has already determined she is fit for duty, and it's not your call nor your business at all. Second, this isn't the military: you may outrank her, but you better be damned careful about throwing your rank around like that, especially since you're not her direct chain-of-command."

Brownlee replied, as if he were the superior officer in the room: "Sheriff, you're right: I do outrank her, and I expect respect from subordinate officers. I disagree with you in that I think her medical issue is absolutely my business. I also expect you and the Chief, whoever that will be, to back me up in these situations. Do we have protocol and order here, or not?"

Allgood worked hard to keep his temper down. "I'll try this one more time, Deputy Chief Brownlee." he said formally. "If you have an issue with any of Commander Troy's Detectives, you're to come to me until we get a new chief. If you get in a pissing match with someone like Cindy Ross, I'll tell you straight up that I'm not going to take your side just because your shoulder boards have a higher rank. Furthermore, if she chooses to whip your ass, as she is very capable of doing, I'm going to get the fuck out of her way and let her."

Allgood then leaned in close, lowering his voice to let the quietness serve to add menace. "And Robert, just between you and me, I'd rather get shot again that piss off the Iron Crowbar by fucking with his people. Be careful, Robert. That man is 'Old School', and there are times when he simply does... not... care."

"Is that a threat, Sheriff?" snarled Brownlee. Daniel did not let himself rise to the bait, but just formed a calm smile on his features.

"No, Mr. Brownlee," the Sheriff said, "that is a prediction. Consider yourself warned. Good day to you."

With that, Allgood turned and went back to the Chief's office. "Sorry for the delay, ladies." he said, sitting behind the Chief's desk and having Cindy and Teresa sit down. First of all, if that bastard gives you trouble, you have carte blanche access to me, especially while the Commander is in Midtown. Now, what can I do for you?"

"Thank you, Sheriff." said Cindy Ross. "You asked us not to bother the Commander while he was in Midtown, but something really big has come up. Really big." Teresa handed the Sheriff the pictures taken by Lorena Rose.

"Who is he?" Sheriff Allgood asked, not familiar enough with the situation to recognize the man.

Cindy replied "He's the man who was in the room with Barry Bounel when we caught Bounel with some bad-shit drugs. He is the man we believe injected the poison that helped kill Pete Feeley, and he is definitely the man who injected the poison into Hugh Hewitt's body, which required Dr. Fredricson's knowledge and abilities to save Hugh. He was involved with that rogue CIA cell, and may have been involved with Don's-- er, the Commander's nephew Ned. The Commander calls him 'Skinny Beard'...

To be continued. 



Pale Morning Light Ch. 03



The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

Todd & Melina series, Interludes 1-5, Sperm Wars series, Russian Roulette series, Case of the Murdered Lovers series, Case of the Murdered Chessplayer series, The Swap series, Interludes 6-10, The Murdered Football Player Series, Case of the Black Widow series, Teresa's Christmas Story, The Case of the Black Badge series, A Case of Revenge series, Teresa's Summer Race, The Trilogy series, Dark Side Of The Force series, Caught In The Act series, Case of the Murdered Bride series, The Credit Card Caper series, The Hot Wives Investment Club series, Seriously Inconvenienced series, Case of the Paper Trail series, Christmas Mystery Theater, The Porno Set Mystery series, The Medical Murder Mystery series, The Eightfold Fence series.

Pale Morning Light, Ch. 01-03.

Feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated, and I encourage feedback for ideas.

This story contains graphic scenes, language and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racial language, violence, rape or violence against women, and any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.



*****

Part 13 - Resolution

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Jimmy 'Coffin' Cerone when he entered Richard Langdon's office on the morning of Friday, February 20th. Langdon was sitting at the table eating breakfast, but it was obvious he'd taken a hard beating. "You look like Katherine Woodburn!"

"Yes," said Langdon, "I got a visit from the Iron Crowbar last night."

"That son of a bitch!" Langdon said. He pulled out his cellphone. "He won't be alive tonight when I get done-"

"Hold it, hold it!" gasped Langdon. Cerone shut off the phone as Langdon said "If you put out a hit on him, it'll start holy hell... and the man has backups ready to kill me if we go after him. Every one of my bodyguards was taken out by some very well trained bastards wearing all black. I swear to God I thought they were Japanese ninja."

"Wow." said Cerone. "That man don't play right. He's more like one of my old enforcers in Southport."

"Yeah. But that's not all of it." Langdon replied, then confessed: "To be honest, Jimmy... I had it coming."

"What the fuck?" gasped Cerone.

"Come over here and eat some breakfast." Langdon said. As Cerone sat down, Langdon explained: "I didn't know it at the time, but one of the women in the State Prison was the bastard's sister. You know our friend up in his County? Well, he asked for the woman specifically, said he wanted to fuck that specific bitch. But when they went to get her, she fought back, broke a guard's arm or something. So I did what comes next: I put out a hit on her. But they got her out of there. I'd forgotten about it... until last night, when Iron Crowbar gave me a very painful reminder."

"All the more reason to fucking kill him." said Cerone. "He can't fuck with us like that."

"It's like you said, Jimmy," Langdon replied, "the Iron Crowbar don't play the way the pussies do. He plays our game, and for keeps. And I realize now that the man up in his county has double-crossed us, played us for fools. So I'm going to stay alive and give the Iron Crowbar what he wants, at least for now... we're going to let him win the SBI battle. And you're going to help me bring everyone to my bidding on this."

Cerone stared at Langdon for a long moment, then said "All right. But one day I'm going to take that son of a bitch Troy out for this. I mean really take his ass out."

"Sure, but only when his guard is down." said Langdon. "Right now, he's winning a hand or two, but we've got a lot of chips left for later rounds..."

Cerone said nothing, knowing that there was more to this. One man, even one with the most famous crowbar in the State, did not break this man this convincingly. Richard Langdon was one of the most brutal, ruthless, and feared criminals in the State. Yet he was now practically whimpering like an Ohio Republican Congressman after just one visit from a man who purported to be a cop but made that movie cop Dirty Harry look tame by comparison. Cerone wondered what else was going on, what the real threat to Langdon had been that had the man so utterly defeated.

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

"What?!" screamed Katherine Woodburn. "You're capitulating? You son of a fucking bitch!"

"Miss Woodburn," 'Coffin' Cerone said quietly as Katherine glared at Langdon with furious hatred written all over her attractive face, "calm yourself down and keep it respectful. I know you're angry and I'll let you get by with that one, but remember your place here." It was a direct threat, but Katherine was not intimidated nor mollified; she continued to glare at Langdon.

"Miss Woodburn," Langdon said, "After you were beaten down a few days ago, how did you feel?"

"Furious." said Katherine. "Jack Lewis might say it wasn't the local cops, but I'm sure it was. And when I get the proof, I'm going to hit 'em back so hard their heads will spin."

"Spoken like a true media reporter." said Langdon. "And I mean that as a compliment, I truly do. But you can see what happened to me last night... and I can tell you right now that there will be no retaliation. Some days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you. Last night the bear got me. We're going to give him this one, then get him back later at a time and by means of our choosing. For the time being, we need you in with us."

"Not on this." said Katherine, standing up. "I'm not with you. I won't support any compromise, not on this, and especially not with him. I'm going to fight you on this, and I'm going to fight like hell, both behind the scenes and in front of the cameras." With that, she left the room.

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

"This is Amber Harris with your 10:00pm news for Friday, February 20th on KXTC Channel Two News!" came the voice of the lovely blonde anchorwoman. "In an absolutely shocking development at the State Capitol today, a legislative agreement on the SBI bill was announced. Here with the details is KXTC Senior Managing Editor, Bettina Wurtzburg. Bettina, what happened here?" the blonde asked, turning to the lovely older redheaded reporterette sitting next to her at the anchor desk.

"It truly was a shock, Amber, but an agreement has been indeed been reached." said Bettina. The camera began zooming in on Bettina as she looked into it. "Senator Richard Langdon of Madison County had been the leader of the so-called 'strong SBI' cabal inside the State Senate, pushing for the SBI to have more authority. He was strongly supported by Senator Katherine Woodburn, who is the former owner of KXTC and the successor to the late Nathan Allen as your 1st District State Senator. But in a shocking reversal, Senator Langdon accepted a compromise proposal from the Governor's office, and Channel Two News has learned that Town & County Police Commander Donald Troy, who is also with the SBI Reserve, worked with the Governor to author the compromise bill."

Bettina continued: "In the bill, the SBI will have 36 regions or zones, generally corresponding to each State Senate district but not including the City, which remains autonomous regarding law enforcement issues. Each SBI district will have two or more agents permanently assigned, and these agents will assist local sheriff and police forces, and will coordinate investigations that extend across county lines. Part of their mission will be to forge good relationships with local law enforcement and the people of their local communities.

"In addition, the SBI Reserve will be strengthened, with local law enforcement able to call up Reservists from other jurisdictions to assist in investigations. The local LEOs can also have the SBI Reservists stand down and the LEOs take back jurisdiction over an investigation. Previously, the SBI would assert and retain jurisdiction once called in; the new law will stop that practice and keep local law enforcement fully in control of their jurisdictions."

Amber Harris said, per the previously-written script template: "Bettina, this sounds like a big win for Commander Troy and other local agencies that did not like the SBI's heavy-handed manner in taking over jurisdiction of cases. Or is it?"

"Yes is is, Amber," said Bettina, "but it's not all one-sided. On the other side, the SBI's Narcotics Task Force has more jurisdictional authority than before. The new law spells out their requirements for entering a jurisdiction for open investigations or making arrests, and this will hopefully avoid more incidents like the firefight with our own TCPD a few months ago. Under the new statute, the NTF must inform a jurisdiction at least two hours in advance, and must also forward their previously-obtained warrants before coming into a jurisdiction... and they must inform the on-duty local jurisdiction, such as our TCPD's Duty Desk; they can't just call the closed Accounting or Media Relations office at 2:00am and leave a message on an answering machine.

"However, if they do comply with the requirements of the new law, they'll be able to conduct drug operations without further permission or cooperation, and they also can do more undercover work without informing local authorities, provided that they do inform the local county's State Highway Patrol as their liaison. The idea is that the State will be better able to work on cases that cross county lines without having to go through a lot of red tape, but local jurisdictions don't get ambushed... literally... again like what happened here previously.

Bettina continued: "I have talked to several sources, and they all say that this only puts a band-aid on the situation, and better State-Local relationships are imperative for making this work. That's why there's going to be core SBI Agents in a region; hopefully those agents will forge good relations with their local authorities, and there will be a spirit of working together instead of wrestling for jurisdictional control."

Amber asked "What about the SBI structure itself? That was such a big issue in Midtown this legislative session."

Bettina replied "That's very true, Amber, and Channel Two News has learned that SBI Deputy Director Tom Conlan will be made Director of the SBI Reserve Program and its agents. There will also be a Deputy Director for the core SBI Agents, and a Deputy Director overseeing the Narcotics Task Force. SBI Director Jack Lewis will retain his current position, and Inspector Britt Maxwell, formerly of our University Campus Police, will have further duties as Inspector General of the SBI. She will oversee an office that will be more autonomous and be like an SBI and State-wide Internal Affairs department. She'll answer to the State Attorney General, but can also go straight to the Governor himself if the situation calls for it.

"Finally, the last new post is one of an outside Advisor to the Director of the Reserve Program, and the Governor announced that he has 'persuaded' Town & County Police Commander Donald Troy to accept this advisory role, though Commander Troy will need the Town & County Council's permission to accept the State role. This role would essentially be one representing the various police officers that comprise the SBI Reserve Program.

"Finally, SBI Reservists are no longer limited to 60 days per year of SBI active duty, but cannot serve more than 30 days consecutively without permission from the State Attorney General, and must 'show cause' and receive permission from the Governor to remain on SBI active status more than 180 days of the year."

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

Saturday morning, February 21st. I was at breakfast in the private back room of the Country Breakfast Diner. Owner John 'Jack' Colby and his fellow T&C Councilperson Dagmar Schoen were there, along with Chief Emeritus Griswold and Sheriff Daniel Allgood, and we were discussing the recent SBI deal.

"So, Don," said Colby, "who won?"

"Hell, I can't even figure out if I personally won or lost." I said. "They want me to be a one-man Union for the Reservists. Is that a good or bad thing?"

"It's good you're in a position to be involved and in the loop." said Dagmar Schoen. "Don, you have a level of political access and influence that some politicians would literally kill to get... and you don't even use it."

"Count your blessings for that." I said with a grin, which made Chief Griswold grunt with amusement. "Seriously, I agree that being involved is good. As to who won, I think both sides got a lot of what they wanted, but they'll never admit it while they're complaining about what they didn't get, which is a total win over the other side."

"I think you did an amazing job, Crowbar." said Griswold. "Absolutely amazing. And don't try to deny it. I have it straight from Val Jared's mouth that it was your compromise bill that they accepted pretty much verbatim."

"So tell me this." said Colby. "Why did you give Jack Lewis so much? Just to get them to agree to something?'

"That's some of it." I said. "The truth is that Katherine Woodburn was rallying her troops so hard around a scorched-earth, dig-in, no-compromise policy that I really thought the other side was going to cave in. She was forming a coalition to block the whole thing. And I also knew that in any real compromise, something has to be traded."

I continued: "In this case, it's realistic that the SBI, particularly the Narcotics Task Force, have jurisdictional authority when county lines are crossed, and they often are crossed in the areas of smuggling, drugs and fleeing arrests. So I can concede what logically should be conceded. What I really wanted to stop was the bullshit the NTF did last year, walking in on our raid and shooting at us. I don't care what anyone else says; that was no accident, the SBI was there with the intent to shoot and kill TCPD officers, not the drug smugglers. At least if they try that now, they'll be breaking the law and I can put them in my jails for it."

"What about Tom Conlan?" asked Dagmar. "How did he take it?"

"I talked to him personally about it." I said. "I told him that I was not the one that added those new Deputy Director positions, nor did I mention him in any way. I told him that I was as disappointed as he is that they essentially demoted him. And that's the truth; I certainly didn't have anything to do with that. The Governor told him that, also, so he's not mad at me, at least I hope he's not. But he's not thrilled about it."

"Well, he wanted the Reserve Program and the Reservists, and at least he has them now." said Colby.

"Yes, but this was a clear win for Jack Lewis over him." I said. "And it's one of the things our legislative guys had to concede to the other side. One of their lodestones was putting Lewis in position to run for Governor in the next Election."

Chief Griswold added "I can tell you this much: it cleaned up a few things, tied off a few loose ends, but everything is about the same. This will depend on people doing the right thing and working together. Now that dirtbag Jack Lewis and I were never going to work together, but word is already going around that he's fearful enough of the Iron Crowbar to watch himself, and that is a good thing even if for the wrong reasons. But Don, do take every opportunity to work with other people, and crush them only if they don't work with you in return. Dagmar is right: you're in a position that most people really envy; use the power wisely, but don't be afraid to take advantage of your opportunities if it's to do good."

I nodded. The Chief was right, as always.

"Don must've done something right." said Dagmar Schoen. "He got Richard Langdon, one of the toughest and dirtiest bastards in the State, to come correct and compromise. Don, how'd you do that?" The Chief had this knowing look in his eyes at that question.

"In some things..." I replied, "... only the Shadow of the Crowbar knows... only the Shadow of the Crowbar knows..."

Part 14 - New Troubles

As the breakfast meeting broke up, Sheriff Allgood said quietly to me "Come back to Headquarters with me; I've got something very important to show you. Go into your office and I'll bring it to you so you can access your computer."

As I drove to Headquarters, I noticed that the light of the new day was pale and cold. I felt that chill deep into the core of my very being, though I wasn't sure why. Once inside Headquarters, as I sat down behind my desk, my eyes were inexorably drawn to the Police Shield of Corporal Peter M. Feeley that hung on the wall next to the desk. A further weight seemed to grasp at my soul as I contemplated it. A moment later, Daniel came in with a folder... and with Cindy Ross and Teresa Croyle in tow. I asked them all to sit down.

"Vice got this early Friday morning." Daniel said, handing me the folder. "Ross and Croyle brought it to me. I had told them not to call you about anything while you were in Midtown, so yell at me, not them. In the meantime, we're on the lookout for the guy now, but Ross suggested we not put out a formal, public APB just yet."

I looked at the pictures and I'm sure my eyes must've been wide as saucers. When I looked up, Cindy and Teresa both were trying to suppress grins and giggles.

"Yeah, I see why you didn't want to put out an APB." I said. "He'd probably find out about it pretty quickly. Anything new on him?"

"I had Lorena go back in there last night." Teresa replied. "And I sent a few other people in at intervals so that we had constant coverage. Skinny Beard never showed up. I had Geiger go in as an 'obvious mark' and ask a question or two." An 'obvious mark' was the name we called someone that would be spotted as a cop quickly, but someone we didn't mind if they spotted him or her as a cop. Geiger was pretty obviously a cop.

"We also had him ask around, and a woman that only we know is Lorena said she saw him for a minute and he turned her down, and that she left while he was sitting at the bar and she didn't see him again." said Teresa. "That whole show was to protect Lorena, if anyone was keeping an eye on her, but we hoped it'd get others to talk. But no one did, and probably no one saw or remembered anything."

"Good enough." I said. "Now this club is a place where mid-level people come in to make drug deals?"

"Maybe." Teresa said. "Let me put it this way: we think people would come in from time to time to make deals of different kinds. Maybe drugs, maybe some guns or other stuff. But then the clientele changed and the punks came in, so non-punks stood out too much. We now think the main thing going on is someone comes in, drops off a note that gets back to T-Square or one of his minions, and a contact is made or a meeting is set up somewhere else. Yes, they can do that at one of T-Square's other clubs, as well."

"Skinny Beard probably was a bit out of place at this club, then." I said. "So he probably left a note, or else went to the restroom and on into the back of the building and exited that way. We can watch the place, but I doubt he'll come back."

"We're trying to get a warrant under seal to get a camera up to watch the doors of the place." Cindy said. "The judge understands the need to have it under seal, but he's worried about the open-ended nature of the surveillance."

"Okay. If we don't get it, I'm not going to cry about it." I said. "Anything else?"

"I daresay." came a voice from the doorway as it opened. Special Agent in Charge Jack Muscone of the FBI came into the office. He shook everyone's hand.

"Seems someone came back to Town, Jack." I said, handing Jack the file.




Pale Morning Light Ch. 03



"So I've heard." said Jack, quickly looking at the information. "In fact, that's what I came over to tell you, and that means all of you: there is chatter all over the place about not only this guy coming to the City then to Town here, but about another buddy of yours, Don: remember Fred Dixon?"

"Yeah, I sure do." I said.

"He was in New York, last we heard of him." said Jack Muscone. "Next thing I know, a DEA agent calls me and asks why Agent Dixon is in the City. First I've heard of it, I tell him. Now I find out that at least four DEA agents have been sighted here in this Town and on the University campus, and that Fred Dixon might have been seen in Town also."

"Wish I had your eyes and ears." I said, meaning Jack's contacts that were getting him this information. Jack looked surprised for a second, then said "Well, we'll talk more of that later. In the meantime, I'll treat everyone in this room to lunch at 11:30 at the Cop Bar."

"I better call the owner and make sure he has extra double-cheeseburgers available." I said, teasing Jack. He just smiled happily. Nothing makes Jack Muscone as happy as eating a double cheeseburger at the Cop Bar.

"In the meantime, Don, if your Sheriff will take you off the leash, come on over to my office when you get a chance." Jack said.

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

Once I was at Jack's office, he said "You said you wish you had my eyes and ears. Well, you do... your wife is the one who told me about the DEA agents in Town."

It was my turn to look surprised. "Oh really?" I said. "No, she didn't mention it to me. We've both been kind of busy and I've been in Midtown, so maybe she didn't get a chance to tell me."

"Could be." Jack said. "Don't tell her I told you she was my source."

"I won't." I said. "So what else is going on?"

"First," said Jack, "that was a good job you did in Midtown, getting the SBI issue settled."

"I'm not sure it's actually settled, but thanks." I said.

"Second," said Jack, "let me put this in the form of a question: what do you know about Michael Burke?"

"Hmmm." I said. "I know he's Todd and Jack Burke's father, Eleanor's husband, he ran Burke Enterprises for some time, and had several other companies he would start up and either merge into Burke or sell off. Fairly big-time businessman, nothing illegal that I know of. He was obsessed with finding out about his son Jack, as was his wife Eleanor."

"So you don't know anything about his connections with Henry Wargrave?" Jack asked, peering at me.

"Only that I think Henry Wargrave was the one who gathered all the information about Michael's son Jack and gave that information to the Burkes." I said. "Why? What's up?"

Jack sat back in his chair. "As you know, I've been probing to find something, anything, on Henry Wargrave. And just between us, Don: I know you think there's another entity out there, a 'real Moriarty', but you're almost the only one who believes it. My boss thinks Wargrave is the guy, the top dog. He's had people probing hard to find any connection to another guy, and has come up totally empty."

"I'm not a bit surprised that he hasn't found a thing." I said. "I just hope he didn't tip off the real Moriarty in the process of not finding out anything about him."

"So you don't think he's right that Wargrave is the big guy?" Jack asked, peering at me some more. I just smiled briefly.

"Your boss is entitled to his opinion, and I respect it." I said.

Jack laughed sardonically. "Well, we'll see. Meanwhile, as you said when we were investigating the Dawn Starrett murder, there is a tie-in with Michael Burke and Henry Wargrave. I'm hoping it's the thread that will deliver Wargrave into my hands."

"I'll do what I can to help you." I said. "Now... I've been in Midtown, so why don't you fill me in on what's going on with 'Skinny Beard' and all this other stuff..."

Part 15 - The Dead Reckoning

Skinny Beard woke up from a fitful sleep on that Saturday morning, February 21st. He was in a small room above a garage, which was now used mostly for storage. The cot had been better than the floor but certainly was not a bed, and his sleeping bag had been barely adequate against the cold. He looked out the small window, which faced north; the light was pale, as if the sun were giving off light but had become too cold to warm anything.

Wearing a toboggan cap and his typical military-olive-green coat, he snuck out of the little attic room and out the door of the garage. The owner of the house had left it unlocked, though making sure any entrances to the house were fully secured from entry. He made his way along the streets to the main bus station, which was just off University Avenue near where the road turned left to go west and meet the road out of Town... the road that Skinny Beard's comrades of the Corrigan Cell had driven into the County only to meet their destiny at the hands of Takaki Taichi... may he be damned for all time, thought Skinny Beard.

At the bus station, he put his sleeping bag and a few items in a locker and secured it, taking the key and securing it to a soft wire necklace around his neck. His only other possession was the burner phone. He powered it up. No message yet. He cursed as he turned the phone back off.

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

"We've got a ping!" Myron Milton almost shouted with happiness. "Bus Station tower!"

Myron Milton had acquired a lot of burner phone data from the FBI over the past few months. Though the data was spotty, he was able over time to find patterns based upon the assumption that the Corrigan Cell teams had bought a bunch of the burners from the same place at the same time. The FBI had acquired data on the phones, such as manufacture information, SIM cards and other unique signals that ran in batches. The FBI said they'd gotten the data only after obtaining warrants.

Using the data obtained, Myron and Mary had put together an algorithm that searched for specific codes in specific signals. And now it had paid off. A blip, just for a second, showing a connection, had appeared on Myron's computer.

He called up to the MCD room. Only Martin Nash was there at the moment, and Myron relayed the information. Nash then called Precinct 1's Duty Desk, wherein lay the Bus Station, and told them to increase patrols in the Bus Station area, that 'Skinny Beard' had activated a cell phone in that area. Nash also made other phone calls: he put out word to all the precincts and patrols to be on the lookout for 'Skinny Beard', then called the University Campus Police...

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

Jack Muscone looked like he was in heaven as he ate his double cheeseburger at the Cop Bar. Sheriff Allgood could not join us, as he and Melina had to attend a Lions Club function, but Cindy and Teresa were there.

"Having a kid changes things." said Cindy. "Tanya would probably be here with us, but she spends all her spare time now with the baby."

"Can't blame her for that." Teresa replied. "I've kept her in the loop, told her about Skinny Beard being in Town. She asked me to let her know if we get on his scent, but otherwise she was rather... casual about it-"

"So, Jack," said Cindy, stepping over Teresa's comment, "any new word on that murder up at Lake Amengi-Nunagen?"

"Not much." said Muscone as he finished up his cheeseburger. "We've been trying to trace Dawn Starrett's movements for the past several months, to see if anything comes up. It's been tough: her agency doesn't want to help us because they fear her clients will be investigated if not harassed, and of course her clients value their privacy..."

Something in what Jack had just said resonated with me. Clients... prostitution clients... Richard Langdon had said that a specific client wanted him to procure my sister Elizabeth for prostitution services... I went into a reverie.

"Don...Don?" I heard a voice say, calling me back. It was Jack Muscone.

"Uh, sorry." I said. "I was just thinking about something else."

"Do I need a blue crowbar to pry it out of you?" asked Cindy.

"It was about something in Midtown." I said. "So yes, you'll have to bring the crowbar to bear, and I'll be fighting you every step of the way..."

Just then my police cellphone went off, as did Cindy's and Teresa's. "Myron got a ping on Skinny Beard. Main Bus Terminal." Cindy said.

We headed back to Headquarters, Cindy and Teresa taking Jack in Cindy's SUV while I drove in mine. On the way, I got out my personal cellphone and called my nephew Todd...

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

Skinny Beard powered up his phone as he walked down the street. This time he had a text message, telling him where to go. He powered off the phone and began walking, unaware that his cell tower ping had been picked up and was being triangulated.

As he walked down the street that bordered the back side of the First Baptist Church property, with the Old Courthouse further down the way, Skinny Beard saw a police car coming. He loitered behind a tree as the police cruiser passed, then continued on his way. Then he noticed another police car coming down the same street the other way, and he realized he needed to get off the streets very quickly. He hurried down the sidewalk to a building and down some steps at the side of the building that led into a basement room.

Inside the small basement storeroom he found the clothing and tools that had been left for him, as well as a key. There was also a typewritten note that said that if he found the chemicals then he should bring them back to this basement room and leave them, then get out of Town quickly. He'd be paid at the usual drop-off location in the City.

He changed clothes quickly, thankful that the headgear included flaps over his ears that also covered his beard. He took the tools and the key and exited back outside, making his way back down the street. He saw five police cars as he walked towards the University, and he realized that he was either being paranoid, or the police had an idea he was in the area and were looking for him. He hoped it was the former; he knew it was the latter.

As the Police looked for an unkempt man with a thin beard, they didn't take much notice of the County Sanitation Worker in his uniform, picking up trash with a stick with a spike nail in one end, nor that he was working his way towards the University campus...

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

"Got another ping, and this time there was a text message downloaded." said Myron. "Tracing that phone number back... damn, it's a burner, too."

"Where is it coming from?" asked Cindy as she and I watched Milton and Mary typing furiously at their stations.

"It pinged..." said Mary, who then paused a moment. "Ah shit. Nearest cell tower is the Heritage Cloister Country Club tower. Three dead zones in that area, including the golf course itself."

"Have someone call 'em up." I said to Cindy. "Find out if anyone is playing golf in this weather, and if they've seen anyone in the area they're not supposed to be seeing."

Unfortunately, the effort was fruitless, and we had no leads on who had sent Skinny Beard the text message. Meanwhile, our patrols still scoured the area.

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

No one really paid attention to the Sanitation Worker near the University Bell Tower near the main north-south road that marked the border between the School and the Town. No one really noticed him taking a key and opening the door at the base of the Bell Tower and going inside.

Once inside, Skinny Beard was able to sit down and rest for a while. It would be getting dark in a few hours and he'd be better able to move. He had been stunned by the number of police cars he'd seen cruising around the area; he thought that they must be on to him for sure.

He made a mental note to let his boss and patron know that they might've clued in on him just from his two brief cell phone checks. He remembered Professor Marvin Milton, the brilliant Mathematics professor at the University; the man's son was now the Iron Crowbar's best computer expert. Professor Milton had hated the CIA; Skinny Beard wondered if the professor or his son had helped destroy the rogue CIA cell Skinny Beard had worked with so profitably. Hmmm, maybe he should kill Professor Milton and his bastard son... but not until the present mission was completed...

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

I sat in my office, waiting to hear more information. I was in and out of 'reverie' status, trying to put together the pieces of what was going on here. 

I pulled out my computer upon which I did FBI consulting, and plugged it into the secure internet portal. The computer had extra layers of encryption, as well, enabling me to bring up classified information safely. I searched for data on Skinny Beard, but also what technologies had brought him into my Town again. I found information on the CIA email that had been sent by compromised encryption, and who had sent that email. After one more reverie, I understood. At least I thought I understood.

Just then Cindy Ross came into the office. "Here." she said, handing me a gray capsule. "Your wife suggested I take these vitamins while my lung was healing up last month, and she said for you to take one now."

"Glad to know my wife loves me and is watching out for my health." I said. I took the pill with some water. "Okay, I'm going downstairs and bother Myron and Mary again. Stay up here and let me know if Jack Muscone or anyone else calls in about this prick Skinny Beard."

Cindy looked at me funny but said "Yes sir. I'll be in my office if you need me. I do need to leave for a little while at sunset to run an errand, but I can come back if you need me."

"That'll be fine." I said. When she left, I typed a few more instructions into my computer. then I went downstairs into the secure areas, my bug-scrambling device on full power, just hoping it would defeat the camera systems. I did not go into the I.T./Data quadrant, but into the Evidence Rooms. No one else was there at the moment. I hurried back into the furtherest corner of the weapons evidence room and checked the sealed package I'd left there long ago. Inside was the gun case, and inside that were the last of the chemicals taken from Barry Bounel. Still intact, undisturbed, I noted. I re-sealed and replaced the envelope, and headed back out, going into I.T. to see what Myron had.

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

The sun was set and the light was ebbing fast. Skinny Beard moved to the secret panel in the wall of the Bell Tower. Once inside the secret corridor, he put on the night-vision goggles that had come with his clothing as well as a flashlight that gave off a very small amount of light; it was just enough to allow the night-vision goggles to actually work.

He and negotiated his way along the musty passage, knowing that it led to the lab under the Pharmacy Building that Henry Wargrave had dismantled, leaving behind the lifeless body of Professor Heinz.

He reached a set of stairs that led upwards. Climbing them, he pushed back a sliding panel that was part of the wall in the hallway leading to the lab. It should've been totally pitch dark, but there was a low, eerie blue light in what had been the office area. Skinny Beard moved towards it.

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

"Come on in, Cindy." Laura said as Cindy came into the lovely professor's office in the Psychology Building on Campus. Tanya Perlman was already there.

"How long before the guy gets here?" Cindy asked.

"I set electric-eye sensors in several places down there." Laura said. "As soon as he trips one, we'll know he's there."

"So you're going to call Don and have him come over when that happens?" Tanya asked.

"Once our prey enters the office room and the electric-eye trips, he'll be sealed in the room." Laura said. "Then I'll call Don and have him go down there, and let him know that only one of them can come out alive."

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

I drove in my Police SUV to 1st Precinct Headquarters and parked there. I did not go into the building, but instead walked over to the University campus. I had on my trenchcoat, Tilley hat and carried my crowbar, but underneath I was wearing all black clothing that allowed freedom of movement. My 'ninja' suit, as it were. I suspected I'd need to be able to have free movement tonight.

I'd surmised that this was some kind of trap my wife had set for Skinny Beard, and that Cindy Ross was very much a part of it. And why Laura and Cindy were not including me on this was something that had me thinking to the limits of my abilities. I did have a guess... but it's bad to guess without data.

But I also remembered my wife's last grand scheme, to make the Corrigan cell think Jack Muscone's FBI team had been wiped out. That plan had failed... no, actually it had worked out exceptionally well, but not in the way she'd intended. Still, I knew that the great mind directing Skinny Beard would probably be one step ahead of us, if not three, and I had to anticipate that.

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

As Skinny Beard looked into the office room, he saw the sole piece of furniture in the room, a desk with a lamp on it, the lamp giving off the eerie blue light. He saw four vials in a leather holder on the desk as well as a note. He was about to take off the night-vision goggles and enter the room...

... when the goggles detected the faint light of the electric-eye device. He looked around, seeing that the device was connected to wires, and then he saw how the door would slam shut and locked if he tripped that sensor. He looked around and saw the other electric-eye devices.

It was easy enough to get past the crude setup and get to the desk. He saw that the vials were empty, and the note next to them said "Go to the professor's office." That had to be Dr. Fredricson's office, he realized. He also realized the nature of the trap set for him... and then grinned as he realized the note had not been left by Dr. Fredricson! He realized that he could turn the tables, trap the trappers. He was going to make them pay.

Working his way back to the secret passage, Skinny Beard hurried along back towards the Bell Tower. He was going to ambush Dr. Fredricson in her office, and he could only pray that the Iron Crowbar was there also... he had prepared the tools that he would use to send the Iron Crowbar to the same death Pete Feeley had been subjected to, he thought with glee...

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

"How long do you think it will be?" Cindy asked.

"I figure that he'll try to access the Pharmacy Building lab as soon as it gets dark." Laura said. "Time will be of the essence, as I put out a message that we'd be transporting the chemicals at 10:00pm tonight."

"What if he doesn't show up?" Cindy asked. "He might get suspicious and bolt."

"Yes, he might." Laura said. "But you said the police found his locker at the bus station and they're watching that, as well as all the roads. If the trap doesn't get him, it's likely the Police will pick him up." She hoped that Cindy and Tanya did not realize how full of holes her plan was, but the trap was set and baited, and the die was cast.

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

I was sitting at my vantage point behind a tree, watching the Bell Tower. I remembered what had happened on the day of the Triathlon the previous summer, how an assassin had used the Bell Tower in an attempt to kill Teresa Croyle, only to be intercepted by some 'unknown' friends.

That caused me to remember the next day, when Cindy had been shot and nearly fatally wounded, and how those wounds were costing her the chance to defend her triathlon title. I remembered how P. Harvey Eckhart had been at the race, and I suddenly realized why he was there, what with my newfound knowledge of how things were- oh, wait, something just moved!




Pale Morning Light Ch. 03



My momentary lapse of concentration had nearly cost me. A shadow had come out of the Bell Tower door! Now the figure was moving quickly towards the Psychology Building. As he reached the door and went in, I sprang into action, red crowbar in hand.

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

Skinny Beard exited the door of the Bell Tower with the night-vision goggles on. He looked around carefully, and saw no one in the immediate vicinity, no one watching. There was a big oak tree near the Psychology Building, and he couldn't see through it... and therefore could not see the man behind it who'd been distracted by his own thoughts and therefore was not moving and was not seen.

Entering the building, Skinny Beard made his way to up the stairs and down the corridor, exulting in the anticipation of killing, which he loved to do. He heard the voices in the room that was the office of Dr. Laura Fredricson. He gripped the revolver with his right hand, and the other device with the left hand.

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

Laura was at her desk and Tanya was leaning on the side of the desk to Laura's left. Cindy was in a chair on the far side, near the window.

"I wish we could order some Chinese take-out right now." Cindy said. "After this is over, I say we go to the All-Night Diner and have- ohmigod!" Tanya let out a yelp and Laura stood up. They were seeing Skinny Beard enter the room, revolver in hand pointing at them!

"Okay, nobody move." said Skinny Beard. "Get your hands up, slowly. Anyone reaches for a gun and I start shooting."

"What the hell do you want?" Laura asked angrily, as if the intruder were some common burglar.

Skinny Beard laughed. "Come on Doctor, I saw your little trap down in the old lab. It wasn't even a very good one, and the Shadow Man figured you were going to try some little trick like that. So, where's your husband, Doctor? I have something for him... a nice little injection. You know, Detective Perlman... the same drug that I injected into your fiancé before Angela fucked him and my buddy crushed his skull with the baseball bat... oh yeah..."

"You fucking bastard." snarled Tanya Perlman, hatred for the bastard perp on her face.

"Yeah, it was fun watching Pete Feeley die. I enjoyed every minute of it." Skinny Beard ranted, hurling the words at Tanya. "I almost got that second cop, too, but you guys got lucky and got there in time." Skinny Beard said. "Fortunately, I heard you coming and slipped out the back. So I owe you a big one, Doctor... for saving him and ruining my handiwork. And you're going to pay. The only question is whether to kill your husband in front of you, or kill you in front of him..."

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

I got to the door of my wife's office just in time to hear Skinny Beard make his threats to Tanya and Laura, then follow up by ranting "I'm going to kill all of you, just like I killed Pete Feeley..."

I don't remember a lot of what happened next, but over time I remembered that I charged into the room as fast as I could with the crowbar ready. Skinny Beard whirled to fire at me but the crowbar knocked the gun out of his right hand... but that gave his left hand a chance to jab at my ribcage. He made contact, and the inoculation-gun injected a chemical into me.

"Aaugh!" I gasped as I felt fire in my chest as the crowbar knocked the device out of his hand. It was like the night at Ward Harvester, when Ned's accomplice had injected me with chemicals. But I didn't have time to think: the scumbag Skinny Beard tried to throw a punch but I parried it and shoved him hard, he went falling to the floor on his belly. I was above him quickly, and somehow in that instant remembering the baseball bat blow that had been delivered to Pete Feeley's head, I swung the red crowbar down with all of the sheer power that I could muster.

It connected with the back of Skinny Beard's head and smashed deep, practically cleaving his head in two. I pulled up for another savage blow as a cloud of red spewed up everywhere, then realized that another blow was not needed.

Skinny Beard, the last of the Black Widow's team that had murdered Peter Feeley and the last of the rogue Corrigan Cell, was dead. By my hand, with no regrets.

Part 16 - The Long Hard Night

Blood had spurted out onto the nearby wall and all over the hardwood floor, some of it spattering onto my black clothing. The fire of the drug injection was spreading inside me as I knelt down and began searching his clothes. Within seconds, Tanya had my red crowbar and was wiping it down with Clorox, cleaning it of all traces of evidence of what I'd just done to Skinny Beard with it.

"Ah, cellphone." I said, staggering towards Laura's desk. "Ladies, get this to Myron immediately."

"Doctor, I think Don got injected with something." Tanya said as she wiped down the crowbar.

"It wasn't a full shot." I said, lying like a dog in the shade. "It'll be okay. Now go, ladies, go! Time is of the essence and we need this bastard's contacts. This is two-man-control evidence, so you both have to go. Get this phone to Myron... NOW!" 

"Yes, ladies, go." said Laura. "I'll take care of Don and this mess." Finally, the two ladies left, glancing back at me as if to make sure I was okay. I could tell Cindy wanted to stay, but my glare suggested she get her sexy ass moving with a purpose. 

"How do you feel?" Laura asked.

"Thirsty." I said. "And I've gotta piss."

Just then, an unbelievable moment occurred. The door to the office opened. I steeled myself, my hand instinctively going for my gun. And then I saw the shock of white hair.

"Ah, good evening, Commander, Doctor." said the gravelly voice of Dr. P. Harvey Eckhart. He entered the room along with four of his acolytes from 'The Vision'. They began working to clean up the mess I had just made.

"Ah, Doctor, if you don't mind," said Eckhart, "I'll spare you the trouble of contacting your Agency's 'cleaners'. My people will have this office spotless in no time, and that piece of excrement on your floor will be fertilizer for that cooperative to the north of my property by morning."

"Thank you, Dr. Eck- er, Harvey." I said. I felt myself getting dizzy.

"I'll leave you to it, then, Doctor Eckhart." Laura said. "I've got to get my husband to the back."

Laura took me to the back area. I went to the bathroom and began pissing into the toilet. It was a long stream that just would not stop. Meanwhile, Laura had brought me a large cup of water and I gulped it down, followed by a second one.

Not three minutes later, I had to pee again, but Laura said "Lie down, I'm going to catheterize you. I'm also going to start an I.V. or you'll dehydrate."

I lay back on Laura's examination table, which was more like a leather-covered hospital bed. Laura gave me an injection of something, and I began falling asleep.

I remember having dreams. Sometimes very vivid dreams. In one dream I was in a field, running with Bowser and Carole, who seemed older than she really was. And then I was lying on a table, sort of like the table I really was on, hearing voices talking as multi-colored lights flashed, and a voice that was Eckhart's saying "He's under, the spell is working...". Then I heard more voices, and realized that people were there with me, talking, but I couldn't really make out what they were saying.

Then I saw and heard Officer Pete Feeley standing next to me. "Thank you, Commander." I heard him say, almost as if he were really there, as vividly real as anything. "Thank you for avenging me." Feeley was saying. It was reminiscent of feeling Gloria Searles in my bedroom at the time she was killed, but Feeley's presence seemed much closer, much more real...

I let my mind think about the Shadow Man, the 'real Moriarty', and I could see his influences in this case, as well as those before. But how to take him down? I thought to myself, and I saw the enormous problems that would have to be solved before I could begin to take him down. I then saw The Cabin on fire, remembering that horrific night... and then I was designing the new Cabin in my head, how it would look on the outside and inside, the floor plan just seeming to put itself together in my head as I dozed...

When I opened my eyes, I saw my wife standing over me. Cindy Ross was there, also.

"How do you feel?" Laura asked.

"Tired." I said. "And thirsty."

"Here, drink this." Laura said. It wasn't water, but some kind of medicine, and it tasted sugary sweet. I drank it down, then another cup of water. 

"Four big IV bags of saline solution." Laura said. "And three very large bags of liquid waste through your bladder that will get every chemical analysis that I can think of. Your kidneys are probably exhausted, but they processed the drugs out of your system."

"Those drugs couldn't have been the poisons that killed Pete and nearly killed Hugh..." I said. And then I had an insight...

"No, they weren't." Laura said. "This potion wasn't as strong, and it was mostly the hallucinogenic components and sexual arousal drugs, similar to what you were injected when by Ned at Ward Harvester. I don't think Skinny Beard had access to the stuff he previously was compounding..." I closed my eyes as I listened to my wife...

When I opened my eyes again, Laura and Cindy weren't there. Tanya and baby Peter Donald Feeley were.

"Ah, there you are." Tanya said. "Pete, tell Don thank you for exterminating one of your daddy's killers." Baby Pete just looked at me and then broke out into a smile... a smile that I felt deep inside. I felt his father's presence through him...

"Hi Pete." I said. "We got him. We avenged your daddy."

"Yes, yes you did." Tanya said. "And momma thanks you, too. How do you feel about it?"

"Well..." I said, contemplating as I sat up, "it doesn't bring Pete back, does it?"

"No," Tanya replied, "but it's the next best thing. That's how I felt when I was aiming at Angela Harlan, knowing it was the best I could hope for."

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

Laura took me home, where I spent most of my time drinking water and liquid food products, and peeing. By nighttime that Sunday, I was feeling well enough to hold and feed little Jim while watching Carole and Bowser play. Just as I would escort Bowser outside to do his business, he would escort me to the bathroom and wait patiently in the hallway by the door until I finished, then escort me back to the den.

The next morning, Monday February 23d, I made it into the office. I felt absolutely exhausted, but I was there. I sat behind my desk and did little, but I was there. I heard the story of Brownlee's confrontation with Cindy, and an admonition from the Sheriff to not overreact. I also discussed with Daniel and Jack Muscone the true Skinny Beard situation. The official public word was that Skinny Beard had disappeared again. He would never been seen alive again, and I suspected that the food being grown at that cooperative in Coltrane County was indeed being fertilized by some things we should best not contemplate.

During that day, I looked over at Pete Feeley's badge that was framed on my wall. No, killing Skinny Beard had not brought him back. The extermination of Angela Harlan had not brought him back. But, as Tanya said, it was the next best thing.

It would have to do.

Part 18 - Troy Family Values, Redux

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" blared the lovely redhead reporterette at 7:00am on Wednesday, February 25th. "Channel Two News has learned that the Governor will sign the Budget Bill as well as the SBI Bill today. State Senator Katherine Woodburn's efforts to block the SBI bill were defeated, but she has been named to an Oversight Task Force created by the State Attorney General to monitor the SBI and local law enforcement agencies throughout the State for abuses of their police power."

"In other news, for the past week the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have worked hard on their drive to raise funds for a new police drug dog, and yesterday Henry R. Wargrave announced that he would match the amount of money collected. Sheriff Daniel Allgood says that more than enough money was collected, and the new K-9 drug dog will be named 'Laika II' in honor of the recently passed drug dog Laika."

That was the good news. The bad news came at Headquarters. I arrived at 10:00am after meeting with the Precinct Captains at the Precinct 1 Headquarters. I planned to rotate the locations for these weekly meetings, with the one week at my Headquarters and one at each precinct.

"The Sheriff asked for you to come to the Chief's office when you arrived." said Helena, who had long since learned to tell me quickly of such things. She then told me what it was about, and my heart sank.

Going into the Command Suite anteroom, I saw the empty desk, the belongings packed. Knocking on the door, I entered the Chief's office. Inside were Sheriff Allgood and Martha, who had been Chief Griswold's secretary for years and years.

"Sheriff, I was happy to help Commander Troy until he brought in Helena, and she's a wonderful lady." said Martha, her voice conveying tears. "And I was willing to stay on and help you. But I just cannot work with that odious man, Commander Brownlee. He is the meanest, ugliest man I have ever met in my life, and I will simply not stay another day with him in there."

"I understand." said Sheriff Allgood, being as smooth and gentle as he could be. "I'm just sad to see you trying to resign instead of retire, like you should."

"What?!" I almost roared. I grabbed the phone and asked Captain Della Harlow to send her retirement person to the Sheriff's office immediately. Within minutes, Senior Patrol Officer Janice Holloway was there with the paperwork.

"I'm sorry to see you go, Martha," I said, "and I greatly appreciate all the help you've given me, even before Chief Griswold retired. But you are not going to resign, you are going to retire and get the pension you deserve... no, I'll not hear another word... Janice, would you please help Martha with her retirement paperwork, and tell Martha to not risk the wrath of the Iron Crowbar by not retiring properly. And that means a cake and party this afternoon, too... on my tab..."

Later, as we sat in my office, Daniel Allgood told me how Brownlee had been treating Martha like crap, yelling at her for the slightest problem or delay of any brusque orders he'd give her. Then I heard a commotion in my own anteroom. Even though not fully recovered, I felt the fire in my soul for some action.

"You will do what I tell you." shouted Robert Brownlee at my secretary Helena. "I give the orders around here, and until I get my own secretary, you're expected to fill in and help out-"

"As you were, Paper Pusher!" I yelled right behind him. He ducked as he whirled, as if expected a Crowbar blow to his head... and I longed to give him one.

"Helena is my assistant, not yours, Brownlee." I said. "And to make very sure you understand: Helena, this is a direct order from me to you, to be followed soon by the same in writing: you are not to take orders from Robert Brownlee, nor help him in any way, nor do anything for him without my personal permission. If he orders or asks you to do anything, you are instructed to tell him that you must obtain my permission first. If he harasses you in any way, you are to let me know immediately, whereupon I will beat the living shit out of him. Is that clear?"

"Crystal clear, sir." Helena said, her pretty eyes boring hatefully into Robert Brownlee.

"Get out of my office, Paper Pusher." I said.

"Sheriff..." said Brownlee, turning to Allgood.

"You heard the Police Commander, who is still Acting Chief of this Police Force, Robert." said Sheriff Allgood, stopping Brownlee from embarrassing himself any further. "Now come with me. You're not staying in that office next to the Chief's..." 

Brownlee was about to be moved into another office... next to Jenna Stiles's office, with that office between Brownlee's and the Command Suite. It was actually bigger than the one in the Command Suite, and closer to the Admin areas of the building. But Brownlee wasn't happy about it.

As they left, Helena said to me with gratitude in her voice "Thank you, sir."

"No problem, and do let me know if he gives you so much as a dirty look." I said, then exhaled. "It's going to get ugly around here. There will come a day... there will come a day..."

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

After the confrontation with Brownlee, I felt the tension in my body and I knew I needed a release. I was just surprised how it happened later that day.

Todd called me and told me to come to Room 202 of the Sunrise Hotel south of Town. When I got there, Todd was finishing getting dressed, but I was not noticing. In the room with him was his mother and my sister, Elizabeth. She was just finishing putting her clothes on, also. The bed was messed up, and the unmistakeable odor of sex permeated the air. It was no major feat of deduction to determine that an incestuous coupling had just happened here.

"Okay, Uncle Don, you said you wanted to talk to her, and she wants to talk to you." Todd said. "I'll be going. Bye, Mom!"

"Au revoir, Todd." Elizabeth said, her eyes locked with mine. Then the door closed, and we were alone in the room together.

"So, dear brother," Elizabeth said, "I heard that you took up for me with that asshole Richard Langdon."

"Yes, and I rather enjoyed it." I said. "I just wanted to ask you one question: do you know who wanted him to bring you to his party, the client who wanted to use you as his sex toy?"

"No," Elizabeth said, "I don't. All I knew was that bitch guard that came for me, and then me having to be taken to another cell block before someone murdered me. The next morning I'd received my clemency and was out of there."

I nodded, seeing that she was telling the truth. I was surprised when Elizabeth said "Sit down, brother, sit down." I did so, sitting in the chair she pointed out. Again to my surprise, Elizabeth knelt on the floor in front of me, between my legs.

"I appreciate you taking up for me." Elizabeth said as she reached for my pants and opened the zipper. "I owe you this." Her hand fished out my cock, which was beginning to harden. "And I have to admit, I've been wanting to suck your hard cock for quite a while, dear brother."

With that, my sister lowered her head and slid her lips over my cockhead and down the shaft. She began to fellate me, sliding her lips up and down rapidly, sucking hard as she came up off of it. It was incredibly good head; my sister was much better than my mother and most women at fellating me, even as good as my wife. (Please don't tell my wife I said that.)

"Geez, that's good." I moaned. My cock was iron hard and throbbing by now as Elizabeth sucked it.

"Mmmm, yes, you are the hardest cock I've ever had." my sister said. "I've never felt one this iron hard. You deserve your nickname." She sucked me some more, then said as she licked up and down the shaft and over the taut helmet of my cockhead "I'll bet you love having me on my knees in front of you, brother."

With that I pulled her head of my cock and bent down. I mashed my mouth to hers, deeply kissing my sister. She sucked hard on my tongue as I explored her mouth. It was one hot, tasty kiss. Maybe it being my bitch sister made it all the hotter, but I reveled in it, as did Elizabeth, who kissed me back as hard as she could.

Finally, I broke the kiss and sat back. Elizabeth went back to work on my cockmeat, sucking me hard and deep, steadily bobbing her head as her lips glided up and down the shaft. I felt my nut rising.

"Hold back, dear brother." Elizabeth said. "Try and hold out, make it last as long as you can." I did so, fighting the desire to come. As a result, the incredibly intense blowjob lasted a full ten minutes, but like all good things it had to finally end. Unable to hold back, I finally came, my man-lava erupting into my sister's incredibly talented mouth. She sucked my juices right out of my balls, greedily swallowing my full load, then sucking for more before finally cleaning me up with her tongue and putting my softening dick back in my pants. I was spent. Totally spent.




Pale Morning Light Ch. 03



"Mmm, very nice." she said. "Okay, dear brother, you'd better go. I'm going to clean up, and you don't want to be seen on the cameras outside leaving with me..."

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

The sun was setting as the hotly rutting couple on the bed fucked passionately. Teddy Franklin groaned as he sank into the hot mature woman beneath him, enjoying her saucy body even more than the college women his age. Teddy had fucked some really beautiful women, but he found tremendous pleasure in the way older women fucked him back, really put out hard for him... like Benjamin Franklin had said, they seemed so grateful.

Phyllis was beneath Teddy, taking the young stud's huge cock balls-deep as he plunged into her again and again, her legs spread wide and in the air, hooked under the young man's strong arms. She was naked, wearing only high heel slides on her shapely feet. Only her gray pussy hair and some gray in the hair on her head gave away her age at over 60... most men thought she was in her early 50s at the oldest.

Teddy eased his slender, muscular frame down onto Phyllis, and his mouth nuzzled her neck, jaw and ear as he slid his hands under her and clutched the firm cheeks of her succulent ass. He began pounding harder and hard into the older woman, feeling the intense pain-pleasure of his climax building. For herself, Phyllis had come hard twice already, and just lay back and enjoyed being fucked by a young man as Teddy climbed her all the way.

"Oh, God damn! I'm going to fucking COME! AUUUGHHH!" Teddy gasped out as surges of pleasure coursed through his loins, coupled with a feeling of release and lassitude as spurts of hot semen fired deep into Phyllis's clutching womanhood. She grasped Teddy's hard asscheeks, massaging them as he pumped his full load into her. Finally, the young man was spent.

"Jeez..." Teddy gasped, letting his hands slide up under Phyllis's back, his mouth finding hers and giving her several warm, wet kisses, "I think... that was the best sex... I've every had... You are... one hot lady..."

"Mmmm..." Phyllis replied, kissing Teddy back, "you're... one hell of a stud, too... young man..." They cuddled and kissed for long minutes before Teddy finally rolled off of Phyllis's firm but mature body.

"Are you sure you want me to try to start dating that skank bitch Karen Warner?" Teddy asked. "She doesn't date men... she just fucks them and moves on to the next cock. She's absolutely insatiable."

"Yes, she is." said Phyllis. "And from the demonstration you just gave me, you're going to be more than capable of handling that slut, and untying the knot in her 'jade gate'. Now here's what I want you to do..."

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

"Ohhhhhh, God," gasped Priya Ajmani, the sexy Indian KSTD reporterette, "that feels so fucking good! Nobody fucks me like you do, Todd... oh yessss..."

Todd was mounted on top of the Indian beauty, lying between her shapely, spread legs, shoving his huge cock into her with hard, deep strokes. Waves of pleasure washed over him. He loved fucking his wife and Teresa Croyle, and he'd loved fucking Melina in the past... but for sheer physical pleasure, Priya was about as hot and nasty a fuck as he'd ever had.

"Gonna come, baby." Todd gasp. "Gonna fill you up with my load, you hot fucking bitch!"

"Oh yes, come inside me Todd!" Priya gasped happily wrapping her brown legs tightly around the young stud's muscular white torso as he plowed her harder and harder. "Oh God! nobody fills me up like you do! Oh yeah, drive that big nasty cock balls deep into me and come! Give me your sperm!" 

Todd suited his deed to her words. With a painful jolt, he shot his first huge wad deep into her pussy. His second spurt followed as he went balls deep, and he felt the heat of his semen leaking back along the sides of his shaft. He did not bottom out as more spurts followed, leaving plenty of semen deep inside her even as the back of his cockhead swept some of his jism back up and out of her well-fucked, spasming cunt.

He collapsed next to her and they spent a few minutes recovering. Snuggling into him, Priya tried to keep her voice sounding uncaring as she said "So, what juicy tidbits did you have for me? Besides the fact that you're the best fuck I've ever had?"

"This is on deep background at best." Todd said, remembering fully that he was talking to a reporter. "There are a couple of places you can investigate. One of them is a murder up near Lake Amengi-Nunagen. The FBI isn't really working very hard at it." 

"Wasn't she just a prostitute?" Priya asked.

"Check it out and see." Todd said. "The second thing..." He paused.

"Is?" Priya asked expectantly as Todd turned to look into her dark eyes.

"Is something that is going to blow your fucking mind..."

Part 19 - Epilogue

At dawn on the morning of Saturday, February 28th, I was out in the back yard of the Mountain Nest, looking over the Town. Bowser was looking and sniffing around his territory, then he moved towards the back corner area to do his business.

I sat down on the metal bench on the patio and contemplated things. First, I genuinely had no idea if it was Cindy or Joanne that had beaten the shit out of Katherine Woodburn. Nothing more had been said by anyone about that. With the training Cindy had been giving Joanne, and both of them deeply angry over K-9 Sergeant Laika's death, either could've done it. I didn't know which one it was, and I didn't want to know.

Second was who had wanted Langdon to bring Elizabeth for the sex... or was it just a ruse to get her out of prison? Elizabeth didn't know who the 'client' was, but clearly the 'client' had an ulterior motive in those actions, and it wasn't just to fuck Elizabeth. Langdon had been manipulated, and Elizabeth was quickly out of jail and working with Karen Warner and others... something I needed to investigate much more closely.

Third, I had let Laura and Cindy and Tanya believe that their plan worked, that she had lured Skinny Beard in so that I could exterminate him and thus expiate my shame for my failure in the Black Widow case. That 'vitamin' that Cindy had brought me had not just been a vitamin... it had been an antidote in advance, and helped me fight off the effects of Skinny Beard's drug injection. And they thought I had no idea about any of that... tsk tsk, I thought to myself. Who do they think they are dealing with? Robert Brownlee? I laughed at my internal joke about that joke of a cop.

Of course that had been my wife's concocted plan, and it had also served to trick the DEA and others into showing their hands in their zeal to lay hands on those drugs. So we (meaning the FBI and CIA) now knew who might be corrupt within some Federal agencies on these matters. Beyond that, however, I still had to wonder why those drugs were considered so important, and if I should go ahead and destroy that last samples that I had hidden away.

And the funny thing was that even though Laura's last couple of schemes had not worked like she hoped, they would prove to be far, far more successful than she ever realized, and hopefully more than the 'real Moriarty' realized. But Laura's plan had nearly backfired, she had put herself at too much risk, and she had not considered that a greater mind was opposing hers, a greater mind that even the brilliant mind of the Deputy Director of the FBI didn't want to believe even existed.

Indeed... nobody but me seemed to be sure that such a great spider was at the center of a huge web of crime. No one knew who he was; they just knew of a 'Shadow Man' that lurked and worked with them without them knowing who he was or that he was working with anyone else. Only I had any idea, and it was a lonely job I had undertaken to try to defeat him. As the fire at The Cabin had shown, this man would stick at nothing. He would even throw his friends and partners under the bus to save himself. He was consummate Evil, personified.

I did have to admit, it felt much better knowing that I had avenged Pete Feeley by taking out the last of his killers. I could face his child and say that I had done my part to avenge his father's murder. But killing Skinny Beard did not bring Peter M. Feeley back, and it did not dismiss my shame and failure. I had much work to do before that vindication would come. The 'real Moriarty' would have to fall, and there was oh so much to do before that could happen.

Bowser trotted up and jumped onto the seat next to me and sat down, looking over the scene before us as I was doing. I reached my arm around him as he pressed his side into mine, and my hand scratched his chest as he liked me to do. Yes, Bowser, you and I have work still to do. We have these people to protect and serve, I thought as man and dog looked out over our Town in the pale morning light...

Finis... for now.