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Going Rogue Ch. 01

By: WifeWatchman



The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

 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 

(Author's note: this story is a lot of laying groundwork for the future, something like an Interlude. Thanks in advance for bearing with it, and be assured that cluuuuues are being inserted.)

 Monday morning, October 5th. Having spent the weekend with Laura and the kids at The Cabin, I was leaving in my Police SUV. The driveway to the road went north, and as I looked forward I saw a strange, new set of lights on the northern end of the University's property. I stopped to peer at the lights, and saw that construction was starting up.

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

 My cellphone was ringing and I answered it. It was my wife.

 "Is everything okay up there?" she asked. She and the kids were in her Mercedes behind me. My sudden stop, which blocked her behind me in the driveway, necessitated her call.

 "Uh, yeah, sure." I said. "Do you know what that new construction is?"

 "No." Laura replied. "I'll check on it when I get to my office."

 I drove on down to the road, then north along it until it turned downhill to meet the main roads. Seeing the construction to my right (and the University football stadium to my left), I decided to pull over and see what it was about.

 No sooner was I stopping near the trailer that housed the site office, when a man in construction attire practically flew out of the trailer and walked rapidly towards my Police SUV.

 "Hey!" he barked, "This is a closed site! What are you doing here?"

 "I'm the Police Commander in this Town." I said in a friendly voice. "What's this construction about?"

 "This is State property!" the man barked again. "You have no jurisdiction here. If you don't have a State warrant, get out of here!"

 I was taken aback at the man's vehemence as much as his confrontational attitude. And though I was an SBI Reserve Agent, I knew he was technically right.

 "What's your name?" I asked, in a more authoritative voice.

 "That's none of your god-damn business!" the man snarled. "Now get out of here. Jeb! Round up our guys, tell 'em to bring the shotguns!"

 "Coming right up!" a lanky man at the door of the trailer said before ducking back inside.

 "All right, I'll go." I said. "But the Sheriff does have jurisdiction here. Expect a visit from him soon." With that, I backed out and headed down the road and through Town to Police Headquarters.

Part 2 - Dogs In the Night-Time 

 "This is Betting Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette at 7:00am. "Channel Two News is following the developing news of a series of dog killings in several neighborhoods around Town. This weekend the crimes occurred in neighborhoods in the southwest of Town. Channel Two News reached out to Precinct Two Captain Damien Thompson for comment, but we've received no response."

 "Typical news media." said Theo Washington as we drank coffee in MCD and watched. "They call at 5:00am when no one is home, then say we're not getting back to them."

 "I thought Bettina was getting better about that, Don---- er, Commander." said Lt. Tanya Perlman.

 "She was." I replied, not chastising Tanya for her slip, at least not in front of the others. "So for her to do that is a cluuuuue that something is going on here. In addition, if a perp is killing dogs, I want to find that perp and... well, let's just say I don't carry that crowbar around just to look good." There was mild laughter.

 "In other news," Bettina said, "the groundbreaking ceremony for the new State Crime Lab took place at the University on Saturday. University President Sidney P. Wellman and SBI Director Jack Lewis, who is running for Governor, participated in the ceremony. The new State Crime Lab is a joint venture between State law enforcement authorities and the University's Criminal Justice Department. Students and Campus Police Cadets will learn Crime Lab techniques in a first-class facility, and Director Lewis says the region will be served much more efficiently by the Crime Lab in their local area."

 I glanced around, wondering why all pairs of eyes were on me. "What?" I asked. It was Tanya Perlman who had the nerve to say something.

 "They're building a State Crime Lab in our backyard, Commander." she said. "When our own Crime Lab is the best in the State by far, and we have contracts with all the counties in this region."

 "Well," I said, "it's not like I have some kind of magic wand and can stop it."

 "Sir," said Martin Nash, "I think we're all wondering why they're doing this, and what your reaction is going to be."

 "My reaction," I said as I poured coffee into my 'U.S. Army Airborne School' mug, "is going to be to have another cup of coffee, then go get the Precinct Two duty logs and see if I can get more about these dog killings from Precinct Captain Thompson than Bettina did." Fortified by the caffeinated product, I took leave of the MCD room.

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

 The morning meeting of "Crowbar's Angels" was cut short by a call from the Sheriff. I asked Cindy, Tanya, and Teresa to step out of my office so that I could talk to Sheriff Daniel Allgood in privacy.

 "Hello, Sheriff." I said. "How was your weekend?"

 "Good!" Daniel said. "The woods around Lake Amengi-Nunagen have turned Fall colors, and Melina harvested a deer. Paper-plate center shot at 300 yards." By that, he meant that a deer's vitals (and a human's for that matter) are in a circle about 8" in diameter, the size of a paper plate, and Melina of course put her shot dead in the middle at 300 yards. No big deal... for her.

 "Cool beans." I said. "I called you this morning because I stopped by that construction site on the north side of the University this morning, and I got a rather rude reception." I explained what had happened. "I was wondering if you might want to stop by there. And maybe take a couple cars of very well-armed reinforcements."

 "I'll check into it." said Daniel. "My chance to channel my inner Crowbar."

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

 The Old Mill Building had a much more comfortable feel to it now that it had been a Police Precinct Headquarters for several months. The Officers there were a bit surprised when I showed up with Detective Theo Washington in tow, but they seemed to be doing their jobs efficiently and everything looked good.

 Precinct Captain Damien Thompson met us at the Duty Desk and escorted us to the Conference Room. It was about the size of a classroom at my Headquarters, and the exposed brick back wall and polished floor planking gave it a certain charm.

 "Yes sir," said PCpt. Thompson, his gold Captain's bars reflecting the overhead lights, "I was reading the logs about it. Four calls came in on Saturday. All of them in one area, in adjoining neighborhoods. Two calls came in Saturday morning, when families got up and found their dogs dead in their backyards."

 "How were they killed?" I quickly asked before Thompson could move on.

 "Shot, both dogs. All four dogs, actually." said Thompson. "Officers went door-to-door, but no one claimed to have heard anything. I might add that the neighborhood is relatively quiet, but once you get onto main roads, it starts touching the area we call the 'Southwestern Ghetto'. Gunfire and cars backfiring can be heard frequently, and kids will set off fireworks sometimes."

 I did not have to be told that these neighborhoods were predominately black, lower middle income homes. I also did not need to be told that people in these neighborhoods made a point to not see or hear anything.

 "What breed of dogs were they?" I asked as I took notes.

 "Mutts." said Thompson. "Patrolman Culver made some good observations and notes. He said one looked like a terrier, not very big, and the other looked like a boxer, but not as big as a normal boxer."

 "I see. Okay, what about the other two?" I asked.

 "Those were called in later that afternoon, and one of those was witnessed." said Thompson, looking at notes as he talked. "Twelve-year-old kid named Jerome -----. It's not clear if the dog was his or not. He said..." He paused, and I noted a look of tension on Thompson's face.

 "What?" I asked, peering hard at him. "What is it?"

 "Commander," said PCpt. Thompson, "the kid said that the man who shot the dog was a police officer."

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

 Theo and I followed in my Police SUV as Precinct Captain Thompson drove in his Police Cruiser through the neighborhoods where the crimes had occurred. We stopped in front of a house that was old but in decent repair. Tricycles and toys were in the front yard.

 "Hi, Jerome." said Thompson to a twelve year old black boy sitting on the front porch. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

 "I already told the other cops everything." said Jerome.

 "You know who the Iron Crowbar is, don't you?" asked Thompson.

 "Yeah." said Jerome, his eyes widening just a little.

 "Good." I said, coming around the back of my vehicle. "Will you talk to me for a minute?"

 "Oh wow...." Jerome said, his eyes widening a lot more and his voice almost a whisper as he saw me walk up with the red crowbar in hand, Tilley hat on my head. "You are real!"

 "Yes I am." I said. I went up and sat down beside Jerome, who was too stunned to move. "Tell me what happened with the dog, Jerome."

 "I was riding my bike up and down the street." said Jerome. "Dog was on the porch. A police car came up and stopped right in front of me. Cop got out and asked me what my name was. I told him 'Jerome', and he said 'Is that your dog?'. I said he just hung out here sometimes. So the cop went in the yard up to the dog, pulled out his gun and shot the dog." Jerome looked disturbed at the memory.

 "Was the dog barking, was he going after the cop?"

 "Naw, man, Dog didn't make a sound. Just sittin' there." Jerome said.

 "What happened then?" I asked.

 "I yelled out 'Whatcha doin', man?' and the cop pointed his gun at me." said Jerome. "I thought I was dead, but he just said 'Say anything to anybody, and I'll kill you.' Then he got back in his cop car and drove off."

 "Anybody else see it?" I asked.

 "People started coming up after the cop left." Jerome said. "I don't know what they saw."

 "Jerome," I asked, "was he wearing a uniform like mine, or like Captain Thompson's here?" We were both wearing light blue shirts with dark pants.

 "Naw, he was wearing a dark blue cop shirt, like the street cops." Jerome said. "And a dark blue cop hat." By that he meant the standard police officer's highwall cap.

 "Was he tall? Short? Skinny? Fat?" I asked. "White? Black?"

 "He was a crack---- uh, white." said Jerome. "Not as tall as you, I.C., but tall. I couldn't see much of his face and he was wearing shades. Kind of a mean looking face."

 For some reason beyond my kith or kin, I had an insight as I looked at the police cars. "Jerome," I asked, "what did his police car look like? Did they look like those?" I was pointing at my silver SUV and Thompson's all-bluish-gray police cruiser."

 "Naw, his car was black and white. Black front and back, white doors. Police badge on the sides."

 "Like my badge?" I asked, letting him look at the 5-pointed gold Star with an encircling wreath.

 "Not on the car. The badge on the car was like the cops on TV wear, big and silver."

 "I see." I said. "What about the badge on his shirt?"

 "Yeah, it was sort of like yours," Jerome said, "but it wasn't gold, more between gold and silver, like faded gold."

 After a few more minutes with Jerome, I told him I'd do what I could to find the guy and kick his ass for killing the dog, then we walked back to the cars.

 "Damien," I said, "let's go to the neighborhood where the first killing was called in."

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

 I looked around the site. The dog had been in a fenced-in backyard. The owners said they'd heard no barking out of him the night before, and had found him dead on the back porch that morning. The dog had been shot near the fence line, and had made it to the porch before collapsing and dying, so I could see from the blood trail.

 It was not the owners I really wanted to talk to, but the occupant of the house to their right. Knocking on the door, I was admitted by Mrs. Campbell, the owner, an elderly black woman.

 "I don't know about this." she said. "The Iron Crowbar in my house is an omen. You know I shouldn't be talking to you. My people and the cops don't have a good history. But the big man around here, T-Square, he says you are the real deal, so I'll help you if I can."

 "I appreciate that." I said. "So you were a teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, were you not?"

 She looked at me as if incredulous that I would know that. "We-el, that is right. Thirty-seven and a half years. I had to retire three years ago, when I had to have hip surgery. It hasn't been right since, and I can't get around like I used to."

 "I understand." I said. "And your nephew is T-Mac, who is a friend of T-Square, I believe?"

 "Yes, that's true." she said. "That boy is in and out of trouble. And that's how you know about me, I guess... checking up on my nephew."

 "Don't worry, he's definitely not my biggest problem in this Town." I replied. "But what I wanted to ask you about was what happened last night. Sure you didn't see or hear anything?"

 "I told those other police that I didn't hear or see anything." said Old Mrs. Campbell, "because that is what we tell the police. We don't want to get involved, it just brings trouble. But I will tell you, Mr. I.C. Yes, I heard the shot. Not really loud, kind of muffled. But I heard it, and looked out the window. The moon was out, so I could see a man in a police uniform. He was walking out of the yard to his police car."

 "Could you see any badges or patches on it?" I asked.

 "No sir." she said. "But he had a cop hat on, just like all the cops wear. And he had a big belt with a gun and handcuffs and a radio. I could see the shadows of those."

 "What did the police car look like?" I asked. "By that I mean the colors, if it had a lightbar on top, and such."

 "Well," said the old woman, "it was all black, or looked black in the darkness. There were lights on the top but they weren't turned on."

 "Okay." I said. "I appreciate you telling me this. If you see what you think might be that car or that man again, give me a call. Call 9-1-1 and when the Duty Desk answers, tell them you need to speak to Commander Troy personally about the dog killing, and they'll transfer you to me or my message inbox. And if you hear of any more dog shootings, let me know. I really want to catch this guy."

 "I'll do that." said the old lady. "You are the real deal in this Town, just like my nephew and T-Square said..."

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

 "What do you make of it, sir?" asked PCpt. Thompson. We were in the Precinct Two Conference room again. I had called Captain Cindy Ross to come down, and she was present with us.

 "I don't know." I said. "The TCPD doesn't have any black-and-white police vehicles. They're all blue-gray, with some silver and some all-black SUVs. And they don't have any badge emblems on the sides, though they used to."

 "Think Jerome was lying?" PCpt Thompson, who was black himself, asked.

 "I don't know." I said. "From your other reports, anyone who actually did comment said that they only saw the back end of a black car. I don't know why Jerome would make up something like that, though."

 Cindy asked "What about the badge on his shirt?"

 I replied "Jerome said the man's badge was what he called 'faded gold'. Sounds like that material they make high school class rings out of."

 "Didn't we have someone impersonating an officer a few years ago?" Cindy asked, "Had a badge like that?" She meant the perp we caught in the Evidence Rooms, who'd committed suicide by cyanide... and was wearing a fake badge with my number on it.

 "Yes, I remember that." I said. "And that is causing me to wonder if we have someone impersonating a police officer, going around and killing dogs."

 "Why would anyone do that?" Theo Washington asked.

 "That is what you are going to find out, Detective Washington." I said. "You are the lead investigator of this case, as of now. Captain Ross, inform Lt. Perlman of my egregious pulling of rank and interference with her Department."

 "With pleasure, sir." Cindy said, totally deadpan. PCpt. Thompson laughed heartily, then his humor vanished.

 "Sir," Thompson said, "we have to consider that this is a real police officer doing this. Do I need to call Internal Affairs?"

 "Yes." I said. "That's good thinking. Yes, go ahead and call Internal Affairs, inform them of the situation. Theo, you also contact I.A. and tell them separately."

Part 3 - The Sheriff is in Town 

 At 10:00am six cars belonging to the Sheriff's Department pulled up at the construction site just north of University Stadium. They happened to be all six cars that the Sheriff Department owned. Eleven Deputies got out of the cars, followed by Sheriff Daniel Allgood, who made it a compliment of twelve men. Their duties at the Courthouse were being temporarily filled by TCPD Police Officers.

 The foreman came out of the trailer, the same guy who had been a bit "touchy" with the Police Commander earlier in the day. He saw that the Deputies were very well armed, had their armor vests on, and were very ready for trouble.

 "Good morning." said Sheriff Allgood, wearing a Sheriff's uniform and his Stetson hat, his armor underneath his shirt. "Are you the foreman here?"

 "Who wants to know?" the man said.

 "I do. I am Sheriff Daniel Allgood----"

 "You got a warrant to be here?" the man snarled.

 "I don't need one." said Daniel. "As Sheriff, I have full jurisdiction over State property within this County. That includes the University and this piece of property here, and I don't need a warrant to be here. What is your name?"

 "I think you have to have a warrant to be here." snarled the man. "If you don't have one, get the hell out of here."

 "And who are you going to call to enforce that?" Allgood asked. "*I* am the Law here. Now show me your I.D."

 "You can go to hell."

 "Deputy, place this son of a bitch under arrest. Take him to County Jail. No calls to a lawyer. He can sit and rot in there until he identifies himself." Deputies moved to enforce the Sheriff's orders.

 "All right, all right." the man said, reaching for his back pocket. Twelve guns were drawn and aimed at him.

 "What the fuck is going on with you people?" the man gasped. "I'm getting out my wallet."

 "Do it slowly, buddy, or you might end up shot dead." said Allgood, his own gun inches from the man's head. "My Deputies are just looking for an excuse to blow you away for being a fucking asshole with me; and quite frankly, I'd be very happy if they did just kill you now and save me any further trouble."

 The man was in shock as he produced his I.D., which Allgood examined. He also noticed that several of the construction crew had gathered around, and some were trying to conceal the fact they had weapons.


Going Rogue Ch. 01



"Deputies, watch those guys." said Daniel. "They're armed. If any one of them draws a weapon, shoot to kill all of them. Every last one of them."

 "Geez, you mother fuckers are high-strung." said the foreman.

 "Call me that again," said Daniel, "and you'll go to jail right now... and you won't survive it."

 "Are you fucking kidding me?----" the man started, but Allgood cut him off.

 "No I'm not kidding." said Daniel, channeling his inner Iron Crowbar. "You told us to go to hell, you've been uncooperative... and you say we're high strung?"

 After a pause, the Sheriff said "So your name is Bert Jones?"

 "Yeah, what about it?"

 "Okay, Deputies, we're going to do this the hard way." Daniel said. "Mr. Jones, I want to see every one of your required permits. Every last fucking one, from the State and the County. If even one word is misspelled, I'm going to shut this operation down so hard it'll make your head spin."

 Daniel took copious amounts of time going through the books, looking at every permit, even calling the Town & County Permits Office to make sure some of them were legit. Two Deputies were inside with Daniel and the foreman, hands on guns, while outside the rest of the Deputies had acquired shotguns and were essentially holding the construction workers in place.

 Finally, Daniel and the Deputies came out. "I'd suggest, Mr. Jones, that you become more cooperative, especially with the Police in this County. I can take you to jail, fuck with you and your crew... but the man you flipped off early this morning... you do not want to find yourself on the business end of his crowbar."

 "The Iron Crowbar, huh?" snarled the man. "I don't give a shit about him. Let him come here again. We'll gang rape his ass and then kill him. And you can tell the mother fucker I said that."

 "Oh, I'll be sure to." the Sheriff said, then turned to his Deputies. "Okay, let's go!" They got in their cars and rolled out, leaving behind a very angry foreman and a disgruntled crew. The TCSD cars got out of there just in time; a KSTD News van was rolling up to the construction site...

Part 4 - Media Relations 

 Still Monday, October 5th. At 10:30am I agreed to a sit-down interview with Bettina Wurtzburg in the "Press Interview Room" at Police Headquarters. It was simply a well-lighted room next to the office of the Press Relations Officer, Lt. Scott Peterson, and the Press Interview Room had some plaques and photos of previous Chiefs of Police and such.

 In agreeing to the interview, I told Bettina that I wanted to get some information out about the dog-killer, and in exchange she would get to ask me some questions about the Town & County Council's 'Study Group' that was looking into changing the rank structure and status of the Detectives. Bettina was pretty good and fair about things like this; I would never trust KSTD and Priya Ajmani with an interview of this nature.

 "Okay, let's start off." said Bettina, who then turned to her cameraman, Scott Turnbull. "This is Bettina Wurtzburg with Town & County Police Commander Donald Troy. Commander, thank you for sitting down with me today to discuss these issues." I knew Bettina had a show script prepared; ergo, the nature of her comments.

 "Glad to be with you, Bettina." I replied, knowing that mentioning Bettina's name a lot would make her very happy... and maybe get me a hot redheaded reporterette piece of ass sometime in the future.

 "What have you discovered about these dogs that were killed, Commander?" Betting asked, throwing me an open line. I took advantage of it.

 "Bettina, our investigation has discovered that someone may possibly be impersonating a police officer in the commission of these crimes. My real police officers will be attired in proper uniforms, or will show their identification if they are in plain clothes. I also urge citizens to keep an eye out for their pets, and to not let their pets roam freely outside their homes or yards. I would urge owners to keep their dogs inside or in garages overnight until we find out who has been killing these dogs."

 "Commander," said Bettina, "nationally there have been problems with police officers killing dogs indiscriminately, even if the dogs are not attacking police nor are a threat to police. What is your Department's position on this?"

 "My position, which is my Department's position," I said, "is that dogs should not be harmed in any way unless the dog is actually attacking someone and the only way to stop the attack is to kill the dog. I would add that any time an Officer draws and fires his weapon, no matter what he or she is shooting at, creates what is called a 'serious incident' and triggers a Board of Inquiry investigation. The Town & County Police Department takes any such situation seriously."

 "Thank you, Commander Troy." Bettina said. She looked over at Turnbull and said "Cut." Turnbull turned off the camera, though I did not trust the mike to really be off.

 "Okay, Commander," said Bettina, "I'm going to lead in with a comment, then turn to you and ask about the Study Group."

 "Okay," I said, "but you do realize I'm not part of it and really can't speak for it."

 "Of course." said Bettina. I started getting concerned. She turned to her cameraman and nodded her head, and he began recording.

 "I'm talking with Town & County Police Commander Donald Troy. He was Acting Chief for several months after Chief Griswold retired, and he currently supervises the overall Operations of the Police Force. Any action by the Study Group will surely affect his Unit's operations." She turned to me. "Commander, the Study Group is looking into streamlining the Police Department's operations, as well as those of the Fire Department. Are they communicating with you on their plans?"

 "My boss, the Police Chief, is part of the Study Group." I said. "And of course I have frequent conversations with him about the Police Department's operations at all times. That's our job, of course."

 "Certainly," said Bettina, "but are you aware of the Study Group's ideas?"

 "I'm not part of the Study Group," I said, "but I've had some talks with some of its members. What was said in those discussions is private, of course, but I have some idea of what they're looking at, at least as far as the Police Force is concerned."

 Bettina said "There has been some talk of your Detectives being divided among the Precincts. How would that affect your Department's operations?"

 "First of all, Bettina," I said, "it is way premature to talk of such things. I would also add that Police Departments all over the Nation, and indeed the World, operate in generally the same way. The Council may take some actions for accountability and streamlining, but I don't expect our overall actions to be impacted. Our Police Force, and especially my Detectives, have done and are doing an excellent job, and I will do everything in my power to make sure they continue to have everything they need to solve crimes and serve the Citizens of our Town & County."

 I realized that Betting was asking for others beside herself when she asked "Commander, you were not yet with the Police Force when the Town and County's units were merged. The Study Group is considering that the rank structure was good at the time of the merger, in order to facilitate a smooth transition, but that changes are needed now. Do you believe changes are needed? And what would you recommend?"

 "Do not edit this reply." I said, then continued: "I think what we have now works very well. Of course I am an employee of the Town & County Police Department, and I will do what the Council and my superiors tell me to do regarding any changes." I had said that about editing so that Bettina wouldn't cut it up to make me sound rebellious of the Council. She knew that TCPD cameras were also recording this, and that for her to attempt to edit that line after I told her not to would be most very bad for KXTC vis-a-vis Police Force relations.

 Just then, there was a knock on the door. "May I come in?" asked Sheriff Daniel Allgood.

 "Certainly, Sheriff!" Bettina said, beaming at the potential opportunity. "Can I get a few words with you about the Study Group?"

 "Sure!" said Daniel. I moved over so that he could sit next to Bettina, noting that Daniel was treating this situation easily, handling it like a practiced Sheriff... and politician. I'd done right to have him run for the position, I thought to myself with a pat on my own back.

 Bettina got Turnbull ready, then started "Sheriff, you are part of the Study Group, are you not?"

 "Yes, I am." said Sheriff Allgood.

 "Can you elaborate on any of the changes the Group will be recommending, and how they will affect the Commander's operations with the Police Force?"

 "As you know, Bettina," Daniel said, "you've had many opportunities to report upon the tremendous successes of Commander Troy and his Detective Teams in solving some difficult crimes. The TCPD is the best Police Force in the State, and I'm sure the Council would not do anything to diminish nor make more difficult the job that Commander Troy and his Team are doing..."

Part 4 - Dogs in the Daytime 

 After Bettina wrapped up her interview with Daniel and me, the Sheriff turned to me and said "Let's go to your office." I would now find out why he was here, and why he actually barged in on the Media interview.

 Once in my office, he sat down in a "hot seat" chair while I sat behind my desk. He refused my offer of coffee, which did not prevent me from pouring a cup for myself.

 "Thanks for rescuing me from the clutches of Ms. Wurtzburg." I said.

 "I'd like to think I've learned a little bit from you." Daniel said. "So when I see you agreeing to be interviewed, I know you're at work steering things your own way." I chuckled and Daniel grinned.

 "That's what you get for hanging around Melina. After eight years, you'll be solving all the crimes and I'll be obsolete." I said, referring to my former wife of eight years and Daniel's current wife. That got a chuckle from Daniel, and then I said "So what brings you to my humble office?"

 "I went by that construction site," said Daniel, "and I'm glad I took your advice to treat it as a hostile situation. Those guys were really belligerent, and the foreman pretended to be shocked when we stood up to them. So I took the time and effort to go through every bit of their paperwork and permits."

 "And what did you find?" I asked.

 "They're pretty much on the up and up." Daniel said. "After I got back to my office, I began checking on who'd hired them and who was behind the construction. KXTC had it right: the State is building a new State Crime Lab, on State property adjoining the University."

 "Right here in our backyard." I said, understanding. "So did you find out anything about the construction company?"

 "Sure did." said Daniel. "They're based in Southport, which means they're Mob-controlled. The company belonged to State Senator Jimmy 'Coffin' Cerone before he sold it when he ran for State Senate. This company has a number of contracts with the State, and I doubt the Open Bidding process was conducted with total honesty and transparency."

 "And this guy... Bert Jones, you said he was?" I asked. "You know, I've heard that name before."

 "He was the Security Coordinator at Crown Chemicals when they had that bad situation with Proactive Citizens of Greenworld." said Daniel. That caused me to remember the cold case my mother and Cindy had investigated, which they jokingly would say was part of their 'Phyllis Files'.

 Daniel went on. "After that debacle, he left the County. Lived in Midtown a while, then Southport. I still don't understand his hostility, especially to you when you stopped by this morning."

 "I'll just say," I said, "that a cynical, even paranoid mind like mine can see threads running all the way from failed Security at Crown Chemicals to Jimmy 'Coffin' Cerone, if you get my drift."

 "Not really." Daniel said, who wasn't as informed of the Crown/PCGW case as I was. "Anyway, I can look further into the building of the Crime Lab, or pass it on to you----"

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

 It was my personal cellphone, and it was my wife calling.

 "Hello, Beautiful." I said.

 "Hello yourself, Darling." she replied. "Busy?"

 "I'm just talking to your brother about that construction." I said.

 "That's what I was calling about." Laura said. "Can you take me to lunch? I don't want to talk on the phone."

 "Sure." I said. "Can Daniel come along?"

 "Yes, if he wants to." said Laura. I asked Daniel if he'd like to join us for lunch and he said he would.

 I should note... that my wife Dr. Laura Fredricson is one of the highest-level officers of the Central Intelligence Agency. And if she doesn't want to discuss something on a cell phone, it has to make you wonder why... and if your own cellphone communications are safe and private. Just sayin', is all....

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

 Cindy also accepted my invitation to lunch, so it was her, Daniel, myself and Laura at Laura's favorite Soup & Sandwich restaurant. The restaurant was north of the construction site and the Town on a little man-made lake nestled under the rising hills towards Daniel and Melina's house. It was chilly outside, so we sat inside at a table with a good window view of the lake.

 "I asked Dr. Wellman about the construction this morning." Laura said. "He expressed surprise that I didn't know what it was about, and said he figured that you, Don, knew and had told me. He also had a look on his face that I've come to know that he'd not wanted us to know what it was about."

 "And I can understand why." I said.

 "Why a State Crime Lab here?" Cindy asked. "When we have already have a better one and the University has a fully operational one, as well?"

 "I'll answer that in a second, but let me tell you this first." Laura said. "Once I got to my office, I started checking into it. Guess what bill authorized the construction of this project?" We all looked blankly at Laura, so she said "The SBI Authorization bill from last Winter." 

 At that point all eyes were on me... as the author of the compromise bill that was passed. I said "There was nothing in the draft I put forth, and I don't remember hearing anything about it when it got to the floor. I'm sure the Governor or Billy Williams would've told me if it was." Williams was the County's State Representative.

 "It must've been added later on," Laura said, "but it apparently wasn't as an amendment. It was in the main body of the bill the Governor signed."

 "Oh... wait a minute." I said as it struck me. "Well, I'll check on something then tell y'all if I'm right. So the funding is in that bill?"

 "Yes." said Laura. "There were three locations authorized, with the Governor and SBI to determine which one. One was the property here that it's being built on. Another is Madison County, near the Women's Prison. And the third was next to State Tech."

 "That would make far more sense." Cindy said. "State Tech doesn't have a School Crime Lab, and could use one."

 "And to answer your questions from a moment ago," said Laura, "Dr. Wellman told me a few things. He said the University's Crime Lab was going to suffer budget cuts. As bad as we know he really was, the late Henry R. Wargrave gave tremendous funding to the University Crime Lab, as part of the University Hospital grants he'd endowed us with. He also made sure that equipment that was being replaced would go to the Town & County Crime and Arson Labs, which gave you guys some great equipment at no taxpayer expense."

 "That's true." I said. "And I've heard rumblings that Brownlee wants to start squeezing our Crime Lab's budget. What do you think of coincidences, Captain Ross?"

 "People in my family think very little of them." Cindy replied adroitly.

 "Well, just between us, and don't let this get out," said Daniel, "the Council has asked me about it, too. They know the School and Wargrave were pretty generous to our Crime Lab, and they know you and Dr. Woodrow run it very efficiently. But they are concerned about the cost of upkeep."

 "And if I only get one guess who on the Council is asking those questions," I said, "I'll still be right."

 "That's nothing." said Daniel with a grin. "You're always right anyway. So let me ask: do you think this is coordinated between Brownlee suggesting to cut the Crime Lab budget and the State wanting to build a Lab here?"

 "And a certain SBI Director running for Governor on top of it all." I replied. "But I don't understand Governor Jared agreeing to it, and certainly not without telling me... or others who would then tell me. Well... I'm not going to make any judgments until I get some facts----"

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

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

 Both my and Cindy's Police cellphones were going off at the same time. As we answered, both our eyes widened in surprise in a manner that would make one think we were blood-related...

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

 "North of Town. River Valley district." Cindy said as we sped to the scene in my Police SUV, with Laura having agreed to give the Sheriff a ride back to Headquarters.

 "Third Precinct." I said. "Well, this whole thing is about to piss me off." I said as I drove with blue lights flashing and siren wailing.

 The call from the Duty Desk had informed me that there had been a report of two more dogs being shot dead in their backyards by a police officer.

 "Theo is on the way, and will meet us there." Cindy said. "I've already called Myron. He's securing camera footage from the area. Lt. Masters had the Duty Desk to put out the word to all Precincts and patrols to be on the lookout for an odd looking police car."

 "Oh, was one spotted?" I asked.

 "I don't know." said Cindy. "Lt. Masters and I were being proactive, based upon this morning's shootings."

 "That's good thinking." I said. We were arriving at the scene, which was in the neighborhood adjacent to the River Valley Country Club. There were three patrol cars present and a blue-gray Police cruiser, belonging to Third Precinct Captain Susan Weston.

 "Hello, Captain Weston." I said as we got out of my SUV and she fell in with us as we walked. "What happened here?"

 "I'm just getting here myself, sir." Weston said.

 "Hello Sergeant Irwin." I said as we came up to the officers. There was also a small crowd of citizens from the neighborhood that were being interviewed by Uniformed officers. "What's going on?"

 "Good afternoon, Commander, Captains," said Sergeant Irwin. "Two dogs were shot in this neighborhood. One up the street where those officers are, and this house here. The house up there has nobody at home, and the house here has a Mrs. Beverly White inside. Mr. George White, her husband, is at work. His occupation is Regional Manager for Kroger in the Tri-County area."

 "What information do you have?"

 "Only one witness, so far." said Sergeant Irwin. "Older lady, named Mrs. Veasley. She lives across the street and two doors down. She's an invalid, pretty much wheelchair-bound, and she was sitting by the front window, reading a book. She said she saw a TCPD Patrol cruiser drive down the street and around the curve."

 I looked to where Irwin was pointing, where the road curved to the right... just past the other house where a dog shooting had occurred as he continued: "She said she saw a police officer in a standard dark blue uniform and hat walk up the road. He stopped at the other house then he came up to this one and peered over the fence. Mrs. Veasley said she did not hear anything like a gunshot, but the officer then walked quickly away back toward his car. She said the car did not return this way. That's possible, as the road loops around."




Going Rogue Ch. 01



I went to the backyard through the now open gate. Theo Washington was looking around. I saw a pool of blood in the middle of the backyard, with a couple of Crime Lab people taking samples. Another crime lab technician had a metal detector, looking for a bullet that might have lodged into the ground.

 The dog, which looked like a King Charles Spaniel, was lying at the steps to the back door, being examined by an Animal Control Officer.

 "Two bullets, sir, in the chest and side." said the man. He fell there in the yard and bled, then managed to get up and make it to here."

 "Oh geez." I said, feeling sadness and anger as I looked upon what had once been someone's family member, and a good looking dog. I thought of my own Bowser, and what Bryan Thatcher had done to him and other dogs. Your Iron Crowbar loves dogs, and I was a very upset Police Commander right now.

 "Theo, have you talked to the owner yet?"

 "Just said hello." Theo said. "She's pretty upset, so I came out here to look around and wait for you.

 "Okay." I said, not really happy with Theo's lack of initiative. "Let's see what Beverly White has to say." I said, leading the way.

 "I'll go talk with Mrs. Veasley." said Precinct Captain Weston.

 "No!" Cindy said, her voice almost a shout, causing both Weston and myself to look over at her. "Come with us. We'll talk to Mrs. Veasley together after we're finished here."

 "I... I thought we might save time..." started PCpt. Weston, but Cindy interrupted her.

 "You need to be watching and learning from the Iron Crowbar, Ms. Weston." Cindy said authoritatively.

 "Captain Weston, come on with us, then we'll go talk to Mrs. Veasley." I said, trying to make my voice nice. Susan Weston looked very miffed, but came inside with us, as did Theo.

 A woman in her upper 20s was sitting on the sofa with Officer Lydia Green. She had been crying. As I came up, both women looked up at me.

 "Hello." I said. "I'm Commander Troy. I'm very sorry about your dog. Do you know what happened?"

 "No sir." said the woman. "Charlie was inside and went out through the trapdoor to the garage. I thought he needed to use the bathroom. I needed to go myself and went in there..." she pointed to a small half-bath.

 "Did you hear anything?" I asked, "any noises at all?"

 "I thought..." said Mrs. White, "I thought I heard Charlie yelp, and I heard... well, I thought I heard something like a door closing, like a garage door in the neighborhood hitting the ground when it stops dropping. I didn't think much of it, but when I came out of the bathroom I looked outside in the backyard and saw Charlie..." She began sobbing. I couldn't blame her; I felt very bad myself.

 "Ma'am," I said, "I am going to find whoever did this, and it will not be a good day for him. Again, I am very sorry about Charlie. Detective Washington will be wrapping up the scene here. Okay, Captains, let's go." Cindy and Susan followed me out the front door of the somber house, with Theo staying behind. 

 Sgt. Irwin came up. "Sir, the other house is unoccupied. Empty." he said. "Neighbors said there was no dog living in the backyard, but there is a dead dog in that backyard now."

 "Keep it in place until I get there." I said. "Captain, let's go talk to Mrs. Veasley, then we'll go down there."

 "Yes sir." Cindy said. We went to Mrs. Veasley's house, where an elderly lady admitted us.

 "Why, hello Mrs. Williams." I said. "I believe I saw you at the Park a few weeks ago."

 "Oh yes, Commander!" Mrs. Williams gushed, happy I'd remembered. "And you had your lovely little daughter with you. And I believe Captain Ross was there, also."

 "Yes, ma'am." said Cindy. "Is Mrs. Veasley able to see us?"

 "Oh, of course." said Mrs. Williams. "I was just here helping her with some housecleaning and lunch. Please, come this way."

 We were escorted into the living room, which had a very large front window. Mrs. Veasley was sitting in her motorized wheelchair in front of it.

 I had to be very careful about name usage. Many years before, my sister Elizabeth had had a "Mrs. Beasley" doll, which had glasses and short hair drawn down the sides of her head. Mrs. Veasley looked almost exactly like that doll... octagonal glasses and short blondish-gray hair down the sides.

 "Hello, ma'am." I said. "I am Commander Troy, and this is Captain Ross and Captain Weston. Can we talk to you for a moment?"

 "Of course, Commander." said Mrs. Veasley, whose voice carried authority and control despite her physical shortcomings. "You will be wanting to ask me about that other police officer I saw."

 "Yes, ma'am," I said, realizing for the first time that a great deal of mental energy was pouring out of this woman... an energy that I had felt in only a few people, a few times before. "Before I ask about him, what did the police car look like?"

 "It was grayish-blue, like that car out there behind the SUV." Mrs. Veasley said, referring to PCpt. Weston's cruiser. "It had 'Town & County Police' on the side, like the other vehicles."

 "I see." I said. "And the Officer, can you describe him?"

 "It was a bit distant," said Mrs. Veasley, "and I could tell he was making an effort to hide his face under the bill of his hat, and he kept his face turned, almost unnaturally, from the houses on this side of the road. He was a white man, he had sunglasses on, and from what I could tell, which isn't much, his jawline looked like what I would call... chiseled, if you know what I mean. Angular lines along the jaw and cheekbones."

 "I understand." I said. "Was he tall? short? fat? skinny? in between?"

 "He was tall." said Mrs. Veasley. "Not as tall as you, Commander, but tall, about six feet. He was slender. 'Lanky', we would call him in our day."

 "The same as we would call him in our day." I replied with a smile. "Would you be able to recognize him if you saw him again?"

 "Maybe, but I can't be sure." said Mrs. Veasley.

 "Did you happen to see the badge on his uniform?" I asked.

 "Yes, it was like all of yours." the old lady said. "Maybe not a pure yellow gold as yours, though."

 "A bit pinkish, or just dull?" I asked.

 "Kind of dull." she said.

 "What about the rest of his uniform?" I asked. "Anything out of place?"

 "No, Commander, I don't think so." said Mrs. Veasley. "He had a gun belt on, holster on the side, handcuff pouch in back like the other officers have. But I see that most of you, even you, Commander, have a radio on your belt, and he did not have that."

 "Ah, interesting." I said. "Did he have a nameplate over his right pocket, like I'm wearing?"

 "Yes, I think so." said Mrs. Veasley. "But of course I couldn't read such small print from here."

 "Of course not." I said. "Any rectangles above the nameplate? Like the red and purple ones Captain Ross and I are wearing?"

 "No, no sir. I don't believe so." she said. "By the way, what do those rectangles stand for? And why are some of the metal frames around them silver, and some gold?"

 "Well, ma'am," I said, "the purple ribbons are for the Purple Order, which is awarded to Officers who are wounded or killed in the line of duty. Blue ones are for the Distinguished Service Award, and red ones for the Medal of Valor. The silver frame is for the first award, and the gold frame for multiple awards. Some Officers have more than one Purple Order, but I doubt you'll ever see a gold-framed red ribbon."

 "We shall see." Mrs. Veasley said, somewhat strongly, her eyes boring into me. She then turned to peer at Cindy. "You, Child... so you are the daughter of Doctor P. Harvey Eckhart. A wonderful man, he is."

 Cindy was not the only one stunned by that one. "Er, yes ma'am, but how did you know that?" my partner and cousin asked.

 "I keep my eyes and ears open, Child, and I learn things." she said. "And if you use those ears of yours to listen to your father's teachings, you will learn a great many things, also...."

To be continued.



Going Rogue Ch. 02



The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

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 6 - Power of the Mind 

"This is Amber Harris, KXTC Channel Two News!" said the lovely athletic blonde reporterette from the anchor desk of KXTC at 10:00pm, still Monday, October 5th. "Tonight we have a special report on the dog killings that are terrifying the County tonight. Our Senior Managing Editor, Bettina Wurtzburg, is here with a special report. Bettina?"

"Thank you, Amber." said Bettina. She was sitting next to Amber at the anchor desk, and the camera began zooming onto her older but still very attractive face as she spoke: "Channel Two News has learned that six dogs have been killed in separate parts of Town. Four dogs were killed in a neighborhood in the Southwest of Town, while two other pets were killed in a neighborhood north of Town." 

The camera showed the fourth dog lying dead in the backyard of the unoccupied house. My investigation of that crime had shown that the dog had dropped dead on the spot where he'd been shot. And unlike the other three dogs, this one was emaciated, as if he hadn't eaten well for a considerable time.

Bettina continued: "I spoke with Police Commander Donald Troy this morning." The TV screen showed snippets of my interview with Bettina, and I was glad to see that they showed the parts where I asked Citizens to keep their dogs watched and indoors as much as possible.

Bettina added to it by saying "Tonight the Police continue to urge citizens to keep their pets indoors or in closed and locked garages as much as possible, and to also call the police hotline if they see any suspicious activity." The screen showed a number, which was actually to the Headquarters Duty Desk, where an extra Officer was stationed to handle calls.

Bettina added: "Sheriff Daniel Allgood has asked that Citizens also be on the lookout for someone who might be impersonating a police officer. Real police officers will be properly attired, wearing their badges and name tags, and will have identification they will willingly show you. Also, if you see a Police car that does not look like the real TCPD Police Cars or the University's Campus Police cars..." the video showed what our real cars looked like, "then please call the hotline. The Police are asking for your help to solve these horrible dog killings, and a reward is being authorized for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the criminals involved in these crimes."

"Think that'll help?" Laura asked me as we watched the evening news together. I was holding a sleeping baby Jim. Carole was in her crib upstairs, also sleeping, and I need not mention that my own dog Bowser was in his basket under my daughter's crib.

"I hope so." I said. "If people are aware, and keep their dogs safe, maybe we won't have any more killings."

I then said "I talked to Bonnie Karpathian today, too. About serial dog killers and what it means. She said that children hurting animals is a warning sign they may grow up to be serial killers of humans. She's going to look into our data and see if anything pops out that will help us."

"Good." Laura asked, seeing that I was distracted. "By the way, did you find out any more about that State Crime Lab?"

"Yeah. I called Tom Conlan." Conlan was the Deputy Director of the SBI, and Director of the SBI Reserve Corps. "He looked into it and called me back. I've heard of this happening before with the U.S. Congress, and asked him to see if it had happened: sometimes a bill is passed by the Legislature, but aides will actually add stuff in or change wording before the bill goes to the Governor's desk for signature."

"Can they do that?" Laura asked.

"They shouldn't be able to," I said, "but unless we can prove they changed it, we have no basis to challenge it in Court... and what the Governor signed is what the law is today. Apparently someone stuck it in the bill to add the University, or at least that property just north where the construction is happening, to the list of possible places. Originally, the Legislature only passed the Madison County location, or an upgrade to the current facilities in Midtown and Eastphalia. The whole paragraph was changed."

"Oh, wow." said Laura. "Did Jack Lewis know about this?"

"He had to have known." I said. "He had to approve it. Theoretically the Governor had a say-so, but apparently the State Attorney General, who oversees the SBI, agreed with Lewis on the University spot, and just told the Governor that it was decided. Chief Griswold talked to the Governor this afternoon, and the Governor is not amused and feels tricked. He's probably going to ask for the State AG's resignation, but that won't stop the construction; it's underway."

"Wow." said Laura. "That's really bad. What will it mean for the County's Crime Lab?"

"I am fortunate to have foreseen that there might be efforts to undermine our Crime Lab." I said. "By bringing in the Arson Labs and consolidating with the Public Health Department, our Crime Lab will still get funded. We will continue to serve Nextdoor County and Coltrane County by fiat of the contracts we have with them. But I've heard that the State Legislature might move to make those contracts null and void, and require the State Crime Lab to be used by them if they don't have their own facilities." 

"Getting uglier by the minute." Laura said. "And don't ask Dr. Wellman for help: he says the University is going to get money so their Criminal Justice majors can intern at the State Crime Lab. Basically, the University Crime Lab is going to be shut down, and we'll be dependent on the local State Crime Lab."

"In other words, and in politically incorrect and offensive language," I said, "Dr. Wellman is being paid off by money flowing in to his University." I said.

"Not much gets by you, darling." Laura said, a bit sarcastically though meant to be humorous.

"I try." I replied. "Anyway, it's pretty obvious that this thing has been in planning for a long time. The money was allocated last Spring. What I just don't understand why they didn't start on it until just now."

"Is that what has you lost in thought tonight?" Laura asked.

"That's some of it." I said. "The dog cases are bothering me, too."

"I thought Cindy's response tonight was interesting." said my wife.

Cindy and her fiancée Jenna Stiles had come to supper with us. Carole had been delighted to see Cindy, and they had talked and played. Bowser usually just sits back and watches over Carole, but on this night Cindy called Bowser to come up on the sofa with them, and Bowser agreeably hopped right up next to them.

"Bowser is a good dog." Carole said, quoting her dad, as she softly petted Bowser. I observed that Cindy was also petting Bowser with a little extra love. Cindy would later look at me and say "How can anyone want to harm good dogs like this?"

"I don't know." I said. "And God have mercy on whoever is doing this..." I then went into a reverie, not realizing that Cindy had some things on her mind, as well...

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

After getting off duty earlier that day, Cindy had changed to civilian clothes. She drove back to the River Valley neighborhood and to the home of Mrs. Veasley. The woman's words about Cindy's father had rattled her earlier, and she wanted to have another conversation.

Her ring of the doorbell was answered by an elderly lady. Cindy was shocked at the woman's presence, but the woman was not surprised at all. "Come in, my dear." she said in her scratchy voice, a shawl over her head.

Cindy came into the living room, seeing Mrs. Veasley sitting next to a lamp. The drapes had been drawn shut in front of the large window, securing the room from any prying eyes outside. Cindy then noticed three place settings at the table in the dining room.

"Yes," said Mrs. Veasley, noticing Cindy's glance, "the Widow Jones told me that you would be joining us for dinner, and here you are."

"I..." gasped Cindy, "I'm having dinner with my boss and his wife tonight. I'm afraid I can't stay."

"Ah," said the Widow Athena Jones, "we're not going to be having too much. Consider this an appetizer for your dinner with Commander Troy."

"So," said Mrs. Veasley as she drove her wheelchair to the dining room, "you have come for answers about your father, and my knowledge of them."

"And they've been answered." Cindy said, looking at the Widow Jones.

"Yes, Child." said Mrs. Veasley. "Mrs. Jones was kind enough to tell me of your discovery of your relationship with Dr. Eckhart. I had the privilege of studying with him a number of years ago. His meditation techniques are so powerful; I can feel the energy coming into my mind. You also have that energy, Child, if you will only harness it, use it."

"My father is teaching me." Cindy said as she sat down at the table, practically forced by the Widow Athena Jones, who then served the light meals before sitting down herself. Cindy then said "But what I came to ask was about this dog case. It is clear to me that you are not only very observant, Mrs. Veasley, but you weren't just idly sitting in front of the window. You expected to see something, ma'am."

"Ah, your insight serves you well." said Mrs. Veasley. "I did go to the window, feeling that something was not quite right. And that is when I saw what I reported earlier. I could feel that something wrong, something sinister was happening, and that great Evil was in our midst."

"Yes, Evil indeed." said the Widow Athena Jones. "What did you observe about these two dog killings, my dear?" The question was to Cindy.

"The one in the empty house has me baffled. That dog looked malnourished. If he'd been there a long time with no one to feed him, why didn't other neighbors call for Animal Control to come and get him?"

"Are you sure he was always there?" asked Widow Jones, looking at Cindy. Cindy peered back, the gears in her mind trying to turn.

"And I will offer another question." said Mrs. Veasley. "Did your Commander not ask Mrs. White exactly why her dog was targeted?"

"He did not ask her while I was present." Cindy said. "But we did tell her, and her husband later, to be sure to lock all the doors, and the Commander suggested he keep his gun nearby and ready, that killing the dog may be a precursor to a home invasion attempt."

"Wise advice." said the Widow Jones.

"True," said Cindy, trying to think, "but it does not explain the second dog shooting down the road, at a totally empty house which could easily be burgled without the canine theatrics, and with nothing to gain except maybe the copper wiring and the thermostat controls and such stuff."

"And as you think of that and talk with the Commander," said Athena Jones, "perhaps the answers will come to you..."

Part 7 - Puzzle Pieces 

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, October 6th. "Channel Two News has learned that there were no reports of any dogs being killed last night. However, the hotline has been called with several tips of suspicious activity, which Commander Donald Troy says the Police are investigating. Commander Troy has also asked KXTC to pass along his thanks to you, the Citizens, for your alertness and your help in solving the dog murders, and in helping to prevent future killings."

"In other news," said Bettina, "reports are coming out of Midtown that the SBI legislation passed last Winter did not have funding authorization for the State Crime Lab being built next to the University Campus, but that Legislature aides slipped it in before the Governor signed the bill. Governor Jared has ordered an investigation, but he admits that nothing can be done now to overturn it. Governor Jared has also asked for the resignation of his State Attorney General over the matter, but it is not known if the A.G. will comply."

"Where is the Commander?" asked Martin Nash, looking around the room as they watched the broadcast and drank coffee.

"In his office." said Lt. Tanya Perlman. "The Duty Desk told me he rolled in here at three o'clock in the morning, and he went by all the Precinct Duty Desks before coming here. The third shifts got some shock treatment, but I didn't hear of anyone getting a Crowbar beatdown."

"Should've been in the gym this morning." said Captain Cindy Ross as she came into the room. "I got one. I was on the defensive all morning in our workout battle in the ring. He really let off some steam. I think he's really pissed about dogs getting killed. He loves dogs."

"As Bryan Thatcher found out, the hard way." said Martin Nash. Seeing everyone staring at him, he said "Oh come on, it's in the past and nobody will ever prove a thing."

"No, no they won't." said Tanya. "So let's say no more about it."

"I for one am very glad Bryan Thatcher is dead." said Joanne Cummings. Part of the shock was the venom in the pretty young woman's voice, considering that she was very Christian. But Joanne had been at the scene of retired Police Dog Laika's death, and she was not in a forgiving mood over that.

"Changing the subject," Tanya said, a bit more forcefully, "here's the question I have: why is Commander Troy the spokesman for the Police Force again? It's like the time he was Acting Chief. Shouldn't Chief Bennett be on the cameras over all this?"

"That is a good observation." said Cindy, sitting down in a chair and sipping her coffee. "I'll tell you guys this, but keep it under your hats: Jenna says there are rampant rumors in the D.A.'s office, City Hall, and the Courthouse that Chief Bennett may be looking to leave."

There were gasps in the room. "Why would he do that?" asked Theo Washington.

"I have no idea." said Cindy. "And Jenna didn't know what job he would be taking. And folks, it's just a rumor..."

"That's right." said a voice behind them. Strolling into the room was Your Iron Crowbar, ready to fill my mug with that Elixir of Life, coffee. As I poured my cup full, I said "And you should never believe rumors... unless *I* tell them to you, of course."

Laughter erupted as I pulled up a chair and sat down. "I'll just point out this one thing." I said. "This State Crime Lab was authorized last Spring. Yet there was no construction in May... June... July... August..." After a pause, I said "Now why do you suppose that is?"

"Sir," said Tanya, "I don't know why not until now, but wouldn't they have to start before January 1st? The State Constitution requires allocated spending like that has to happen before the calendar year is out, or it would have to be re-authorized next year."

"That's true. And good information, there, Tanya." I said, praising her. "So, they could've just not started the project. But they choose to now. Now why is that?"

Joanne Cummings astutely asked "Commander, are you suggesting there is a correlation between that construction beginning, and the rumors of the Chief leaving?"

"Who me? Would I ever suggest something like that?" I asked with very much mock shock in my voice. "And I can't correlate my daughter's feeding times, much less anything else."

"Yeah, try telling the Silverfish that." said Martin Nash, his voice deadpan flat. A clamor of agreement rose up at the memory of my correlation of the Silverfish's bank heists to the late Reverend Jonas Oldeeds' speaking tours.

"So there is a correlation." said Cindy, her voice a very hopeful whisper.

"Time will tell." I said. "Time will tell. By the way, everyone, the reports of the Animal Control Department's autopsies of the dogs are in your email inboxes, having been forwarded there by Yours Truly. I commend them to your reading attention. Especially yours, Captain Ross. Especially yours..." 

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

At 7:30am, the Police Commander's Special Assistant for Data and Technology, Master Technician Mary Mahoney Milton, came into Classroom 'E', where I was waiting. I called Cindy and told her to get Myron Milton and Theo Washington, and for all of them to join us in the classroom.

As we waited, I said "You're looking very good today, Mary. Very Goth." Mary had black leather pants, boots and jacket on. The shirt under her jacket was also black, and her hair was combed straight back, with Emo eyes and heavy lipstick. "What's the occasion?"

"A celebration, sir." said Mary. "Of good times to come. By the way, sir, you're looking pretty good yourself. I observe and deduce that your wife got a good pickle tickle last night." I laughed out loud at that one.

"As did you, judging from Myron's look." I said. Myron had just appeared at the door. Mary smiled at me and winked. A moment later, Cindy and Theo joined us.

"Okay, Mary," I said, "you were looking into the families whose dogs were killed. Any correlations?"

"Not that I can tell, sir." said Mary. "I also checked back on previous owners of the empty house. The man who lived there was a factory manager at BigPharmaCorp. He got a promotion two months ago, but at their plant in Colorado. BigPharmaCorp bought his house from him to facilitate his move, which is standard for them for executives. They haven't sold it yet, and just had it listed with a real estate agent a few days ago."

"Who was that agent?"

"Leanne Quinlin Gonzales." said Mary. "Daughter of the Fire Chief."

"Yes, I know her; she was the agent for the folks that sold me The Cabin, to my eternal gratitude." I said. "So the house was empty. From all of the reports filed, including those of the Crime Lab and Animal Control, and from my own observations, I would say that the dog was brought into the location only recently. Would you agree, Captain Ross?"

"Yes sir, but perhaps you should elaborate for the others." Cindy replied.

"Certainly." I said. "First, there were no dog droppings anywhere in the backyard. I know from watching my own dog that dogs have a certain area for using the potty, and they go there. There was none of that in that enclosed yard. Second, if that dog was not fed and watered, he'd be dead in a few days, not several weeks going on months. Third, no one heard any barking or other noises from that house in the last two months. Ergo, he was brought in, and then shot."

"But why do that?" asked Mary, peering at me with fascination.

"To answer that, let's look at the other northside dog killing." I said. "At the Whites. Now in a total vacuum, I'd think that dog killing was someone who intended to break into that house. Taking out the first line of defense, the dog, would be the expected first step... except that in such cases dogs are usually poisoned instead of being shot, to make it seem more natural or at least less sinister, to keep the owners from being more on guard."

"True enough." said Cindy. "But the other house is empty; therefore, no need to kill the dog. And now you're saying that the dog wasn't there very long to begin with."

"Yes." I said. "That dog was brought into the location. And that leads up to what I asked you to do, Myron: canvas back several days of camera coverage, if you could. Did you find anything?"

"No sir." said Myron. "Tapes had been overwritten, as there was nothing special going on before the dog killings. I had video from about 24 to 36 hours prior, but there was nothing unusual, and no police cars in the neighborhood at all."




Going Rogue Ch. 02



"So Mary," I said, "we got away from your report, there. So no correlations?"

"No sir." said Mary. "Mr. White is a regional manager of a grocery store chain. No financial issues, no big credit card debts. Mrs. White is very active in the community and volunteers for many charity events; Mrs. Myrtle James spoke highly of her when I called and asked about Mrs. White."

"Good source, Mrs. James." I said. "What about the four killings on the southside?"

"The kid Jerome has been hanging out with the wrong kind of people." said Mary. "I'd expect we the Police Force will be getting to know him a lot better in the next couple of decades."

"Yeah, he knows T-Mac and T-Square's names too well." I said. "I'm betting he's transported some drugs on that bike of his, right under the TCPD's noses."

"He's been a person of interest several times." said Mary. "The dog wasn't really his, but would hang out at his house part of the time, and then was seen at another house in another neighborhood to the south. Jefferson Creek separates the neighborhoods. It runs west to the River, and it's hardly more than a deep culvert and storm drain creek now."

"That's not surprising, about the dog." I said. "Dogs are territorial, and operate within rough circles. If they get out of that circle, they might not go back home, but create a different circle with a home base within it. So if this dog crosses the creek, he's in a second territory, and he'd go to his home base depending on which side of the creek he is on."

"That's interesting." Theo said. "Heck, even dogs can't commit crimes in this County. The Iron Crowbar would be all over them, too."

"And I'm on the dogs' side on those issues." I said. "So whose house does... or did... this dog go to when it was south of the creek?"

"Kid named Marquis. About Jerome's age. They'd hang out, dog would hang out with them. The dog was more Marquis's than Jerome's." said Mary. "Marquis has no criminal record, and he lives in a two-parent home. Father works at the Crawford Mattress factory, mother is a school teacher. They don't have much, but their only debts are a car payment and their house payments."

"Mrs. Campbell was a retired teacher." said Cindy.

"That's true." I said. "Mary?"

"The other dog that was killed at the same time Marquis's dog, we can't find any owner for." Mary said. "That dog had no collar and no rabies tag. Then there's the two done in the night. The owners of the house next to Mrs. Campbell's were a retired and elderly black couple. He had worked at King & Ebenezer Food Industries, then retired when Mr. Colby sold it. She had been a nurse in the Free Clinic for years, meaning she was technically an employee of the Town & County Public Health Department. She was forced into retirement during budget cuts a few years ago, but she has a full pension."

"And the last dog," Mary said, "that was killed in the night was a pitbull. But he was apparently a docile and friendly pitbull to those in the neighborhood that knew him. He did do some barking before being shot. No one heard the shots that killed either dog."

"That's weird." said Theo.

"Weird, and therefore a strangeness and a cluuuue." I said. "Okay Mary, Myron, thank you very much. You can go. There is one other thing I'd like you to do, Myron. I want to know where every Police patrol was at the general times of these dog killings. You are authorized to access the GPS logs and any other information to create your report for me."

"Sir, do you think a real Police officer is doing this?" asked Myron.

"It's a possibility."

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

Once Myron and Mary were gone, I said "Let's talk about this case, guys. What do you think? Theo, you first."

"Sir," said Theo, "I don't see any patterns in these killings. But it did occur to me that we may be looking at two or more people doing it."

"That's a nice point." I said. "Lead me down that rabbit hole."

Theo said "Jerome and Mrs. Veasley's descriptions of the perp they saw matched fairly well. But different cars have been described. And if it were just one person, he'd be moving around from place to place in a short amount of time, and when Police move quickly, people tend to take notice and see them."

"Not bad." I said. "Captain, what do you think of that?"

"I actually have an idea that Theo might be right." Cindy said. "The reason is the dog killing at the empty house. It occurred to me that someone brought that sick, emaciated dog there and put him in the fenced-in yard. Then along comes this guy in the police uniform, who shoots the dog and then walks up the street and shoots the dog at the White's home." 

Cindy continued: "The why of it escapes me; one dog killing could be to confuse us about the reason for the other. But if that rogue cop did not bring the dog to the empty house, a second person did. And therefore, I'd agree with Detective Washington about multiple perps."

"That's good thinking, both of you." I said. "And I'll add these things: first, Mrs. Campbell said the shadowy police figure she saw had a radio on his belt, while Mrs. Veasley made a point to say the police officer she saw in the daytime did not have a radio on his. Both are observant ladies, and I'm taking their descriptions at face value. Jerome is not so trustworthy, I'm afraid to say. He talked to me because I have developed a certain reputation in the Tenderloin District and Southwestern Ghetto areas, but that does not mean he told me the truth."

I continued before the others could say anything: "Another inconsistency in all this is that one police officer had no problem at all showing himself, shooting a dog in front of a kid, pointing the gun at the kid and threatening him. Then the northside police officer acted in broad daylight, where he was easily seen. By way of contrast, there were several dog killings at night, so that the perp or perps would not be seen. What does that suggest to either of you?"

Theo said "That there's two of them?"

Cindy said "I'd say that even if there was one guy, he's changing up his pattern, and on purpose. He suspects or knows that we are going to be analyzing these crimes for patterns; ergo, he deliberately puts out different patterns to confuse us. And that includes killings in two different areas of Town."

"That sounds like Iron Crowbar thinking, there." I said. "Okay guys, let's get back to work. Theo, keep following leads and looking for patterns. Dig deep in the logs to see if there have been reports of dog disappearances, dogs barking in the night, any incidents involving dogs. We may be just arriving to this party." 

"Yes sir." said Theo.

"Okay, I've got to go ask Myron to do one more thing, then I'll meet with you, Captain, in my office."

Part 8 - Bear Trap Brutality 

At 10:00am, I got a call from Governor Jared, asking if I could come down to Midtown the next morning for a meeting with Republicans. They wanted my input on who to put up as Governor against Director Lewis. I told the Governor that there was no way I was going to run, and it would be pointless for me to come down if that was their intent. The Governor assured me that they were not going to waste my time by asking me to run, so I agreed to go.

As I hung up, my lovely assistant Helena French buzzed me to tell me that Captain Ross and Lieutenant Masters wanted to speak with me. I asked her to send them in. 

Lieutenant Wes "Coldiron" Masters had been doing a very good job with the Uniformed Officers since coming up from the Midtown Police Force. He still talked in his clipped, fast way, and Sergeants had gotten used to it. His personnel assignments to the Precincts had been logical and efficient, so for the very most part I left him to his work. For him to be here now bespoke an issue.

"Commander, Lt. Masters has an issue that he and I both thought you need to know about." said Captain Cindy Ross in introduction.

"Don't keep me in suspense." I said as they I waved my hand for them to sit down.

"Sir" said Masters, "I've been getting some input from the Sergeants. A good number of Officers are either confused or unhappy about your comments regarding dogs on the News Media yesterday."

"Which comments?"

"About shooting dogs and having it treated as if a human being were being shot." said Masters. 'About undergoing a full Board of Inquiry for shooting a dog."

"I think the policy is clear." I said. "So what are the real, underlying issues here?"

Lt. Masters normally kept his cool, even look on his face, but at that question he winced as he said "Sir, you may be aware that Police are being taught informally, if not outright formally, to shoot dogs pretty much on sight. During any raids, they're taught to just kill the dogs, even if the dogs are chained in the basement. They're taught to seek out dogs and kill them." 

Masters continued: "Some of them believe that killing dogs is not only policy, but good and proper policy. They don't see shooting a dog as an incident or a problem, under any circumstances."

"And this was expressed to you?" I asked.

"The best way to say it is that my Sergeants are asking for clarification and direction." said Masters.

"Well, I'll damn well give them that, then." I said, feeling a bit angry. "Lieutenant, at 4:00pm today I want every Uniformed Police Officer on the Town & County Police Force in the Main Auditorium. Every officer, from every Precinct. Call up the third shift officers and tell them they are to report at 4:00pm for this briefing."

I was not finished: "Captain Ross, every Detective and Data Group person is to be in that auditorium for this briefing. I will call Captain Harlow and instruct her to have every Administrative Officer in that briefing. I mean loddy-doddy-everybody, and any absence will have to be formally explained. Do I make myself clear, people?"

"Yes sir." Cindy said. It took Masters a second to say "Yes sir." as he was stunned by my orders.

Just then, the Duty Desk Sergeant's head appeared in the doorway. "Commander, we just got a call of another dog killing."

"Thank you, Sergeant." I said. "Ross, get Washington. Masters, you can return to duty."

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

University Avenue is the big four-lane road that runs north-south and separates the Town from the University. On the west side are bars, eateries, strip malls, First Precinct Headquarters, and the Bus Station where the road turns west to head towards the River and to the State Line. Behind those bars and businesses are a number of apartment complexes, some which house University students and some young people starting out in life.

I walked along a shaded courtyard between two apartment buildings, which had some large trees and a grassy walk. One would not believe in this tranquil setting that a busy street, restaurants and bars, and a busy road were just yards away. 

I saw a group of people near a big bush between the sidewalk and apartment building. A young white woman was near the group, crying, and a young man with darker skin and a large amount of hair in something like an afro was comforting her.

"Over here, Commander." said Sergeant Rudistan, waving Cindy and myself over. I went over and looked under the bush, and saw one of the most brutal scenes of my life.

There was a circle of piled leaves and brush. Inside the ring a huge bear trap, with steel jaws and a powerful spring, had been set up. On the circular plate that would trip the trap was a large helping of dog food. The triangular jaws of the trap had been sharpened to razor-sharpness. 

A white-haired poodle had stuck her head in to smell and taste the dog food, and the trap had snapped shut with powerful force... right into the poor dog's neck, essentially decapitating her.

"Oh my fucking God..." I gasped. I could handle the grisly scene; what made furious anger well up in my soul was the sheer brutality of what someone had done to this poor dog.

As I stepped back to gather myself, Cindy peered at the scene. She came out of there looking shocked. Her eyes were blinking, and then I noticed that she was going into deeper thought, like a reverie.

"Are these the owners?" I finally asked, nodding towards the young grieving couple.

"Yes sir." said Rudistan. I walked up to them.

"Hello, I am Commander Troy. Was this your dog?"

"Yes." said the woman. She still had some babyfat, but looked pretty athletic underneath it. The guy was slender but athletic, and sported a Fu Manchu beard and mustache as well as the mane of hair.

"I am very sorry for your loss." I said. "What are your names?"

"I'm Nikko Sexton." said the guy. "And this is my wife Jessica." The woman nodded.

"And you live in these apartments?" I asked. Nikko and Jessica confirmed it.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I brought Frizz out for her morning walk." said Nikko. "She's good about hanging around so I didn't keep her on the leash. She usually walks along the sidewalk ahead of me, finds a tree and does her business. We have to curb our dogs, so I had a plastic bag to collect the poop and put it in the trash can."

"So there are other people with dogs here?" I asked.

"Yes sir." said Nikko. "This is one of the few apartments in the area that have a good pet policy without too much of a deposit. So there are several dog owners here." I asked Nikko to keep going with the story.

"Well, Frizz went sniffing under that bush, there, and went on under it. About the time I got there I heard the snap and Frizz yelped. I went under and saw... well, I tried to open the trap but couldn't get a grip on it, but it didn't matter..."

"I understand." I said. "Let me ask, did you see anyone walking around here that you normally don't see? Anyone suspicious, acting suspiciously?" Both said they had not.

"Have you heard anyone say derogatory things about dogs, about wanting to kill dogs?" I asked. Neither had. I thanked them and told them I would do everything I could to find whoever did this.

"Rudistan," I said, walking back up to him as the Crime Lab finished up with the scene, "canvass these apartments and the neighborhood. See if anyone has seen or knows of anyone acting suspiciously. Also, tell the officers to ask if anyone in a Police uniform has been seen walking in this area, acting abnormally for a police officer."

Cindy came up as Rudistan went to give the orders. "I called Myron." she said. "He's getting video footage."

"Call Paulina or Jenna, too." I said. "Get a warrant as fast as you can to get these apartments' video footage. Get the warrant first, then barge in and take it. I don't want them to have any chance to erase or fuck with the footage. Go, do that now. Time is of the essence."

As I looked around the scene, I felt deep anger. That much brutality bespoke a level of evil that I had not encountered since... Bryan Thatcher. He was dead... but P. Harvey Eckhart had suggested he had had a partner... a partner who hated dogs, and enjoyed torturing dogs...

After giving the area a good look around, Cindy and I got into my Police SUV to drive back to Headquarters. It was a somber ride, and Cindy spoke up.

"Someone who hates dogs, Commander." she said. "Mrs. Veasley said to listen to my father's teachings. And he told us that a certain someone hates dogs, tortures dogs..."

"Yes." I said. "The dog at the empty house starts to make sense. Emaciated, not fed for days, then put in that yard and someone comes along and shoots him dead..."

"Sir," Cindy said, "what I saw of that poor poodle is beyond evil. I thought the Black Widow was the worst, but... well, she's a saint compared to whoever did that..."

I could not have agreed more.

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

At 3:00pm, I sat in my office as Rudistan gave his report, with Cindy sitting on the sofa behind him, listening in. Myron Milton was also present.

"No one saw anything strange, sir." said Rudistan. "No police officers at all. It's possible to walk through there from the streets, but one has to go out of their way to do it; it's not a convenient shortcut."

"Myron, anything on the tapes?"

"Not in daylight, sir." said Myron. "The problem is that it is very easy for someone to play the shadows and get to that bush without being seen. I looked at the street footage to see if anyone entered that courtyard area, but no one did from the streets. The courtyard is surrounded by a high, wrought-iron fence, with a lot of old shrubbery growing in and around it. It'd be difficult to try to enter from anywhere but the gates."

"Another thing to consider," I said, "is that there are several people with dogs in these apartments. Someone could've walked their dog earlier, and if the trap were there before sunrise it is likely a different dog would be dead now."

"Either that," Cindy said, "or it was just plain bad luck for poor Frizz."

"What did you find out about Nikko and Jessica Sexton, Myron?" I asked.

"Young couple, he's 26, she's 25. She waits tables at a couple of the bar-restaurants on 'the Strip'. He's involved in some kind of sporting goods thing, selling bags and backpacks with a small startup company." Myron reported.

"Debts?" I asked.

"Credit cards are starting to get a bit on them, and they are making just over the minimum payments. His business is a startup, and they have mostly private investors." Myron said. "I don't know what those arrangements are, so he could be up to his eyeballs in debt. They don't have any student loans or debt that way, though."

"I am wondering," I said, "if that area is the normal place a dog is taken to do its business."

"I've got that for you, sir." said Rudistan, with what would've been joviality but for the somberness of the occasion. "I talked to the apartment staff. They say that they discourage walking the dogs in that closed area. There's a park not too far down the road, and most people take their dogs there. There's also a service road right behind the building across from the Sexton's, across the courtyard there. It's fenced on the other side, so people will take their dogs there and let the dog walk along that little service road unleashed, and the dogs do their business and come back."

"Okay." I said. "Thanks guys, you can go. Be sure to be at the 4:00 briefing." 

After they left, I said to Cindy "Well, what do you think?"

"First Precinct." she said. "Dogs killed in every part of Town. Just one, this time, not two or four. Perp not seen at all, and in spite of us actually having a bit of camera coverage. Not shot this time, but using a truly hideous, filthy way to kill a dog. But no pattern to it with regard to the others."

"You're right." I said. "No pattern at all."

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

"Captain, I'm ordering you to tell the Administrative Officers to remain at their desks and not go to the Commander's briefing."

The voice was a furious Deputy Chief Robert Brownlee. He'd heard of Commander Troy's orders to attend the 4:00pm briefing, and he was doing everything he could to countermand it.

"Commander Brownlee," said Captain Della Harlow, "the Police Commander is in charge of every individual Officer on the Force... including you. If Commander Troy tells me to have all of my people in that auditorium, then their place of duty at 4:00pm will be in that auditorium."

"Listen, you bitch," snarled Brownlee, "I am going to haul your fat ass before a Board of Inquiry for insubordination. *I* am in charge of Administration, not Troy, and if a single one of your people attend that meeting, I'll bring you and every one of them up for disciplinary action, including firings."

"Is there a problem here?" asked a voice. Della Harlow turned to see Captain Cindy Ross in the doorway to the office. A blue crowbar was being exhibited. Cindy continued "We can hear the unprofessionalism all the way down the hall."




Going Rogue Ch. 02



"Get out of my office!" snarled Brownlee. "I'll give my people orders any way I see fit."

"Captain Harlow," said Cindy, "Commander Brownlee cannot bring you up on disciplinary charges because you're a Captain. It'll have to go through the Chief, and then the Sheriff. And you're right, Della, Commander Troy in in command of the Officers, not this paper-pusher."

Brownlee's face was almost purple with rage, giving Ross time to escort Harlow out of the office and down the hall to the Commander's office...

Part 9 - Putting It All On The Line 

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Police Commander!"

It was Lt. Wes Masters that had called the Force to attention as I walked in the door of the auditorium to the side of the stage. Nearly two hundred officers came to attention as I strode onto the stage and came to a stop behind the lectern. Only the Chief, Deputy Chief, and a few Officers that had been excused for personal reasons or vacation were not present.

"Take your seats." I said into the microphone. I then clipped a smaller microphone to my shirt collar so that I could move around and my voice still be clearly heard. The Force sat down and I looked down the long hallway at the rows of Officers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I said, "I have called this briefing because of the situation of the killing of dogs in this County, but more to address this Police Force's policy on dealing with dogs."

The room was utterly silent but for the echo of my voice as I continued: "We have a situation where someone is impersonating a Police Officer, at least I hope it's just someone impersonating an Officer, and that perp is killing dogs all over Town. One of these killings was done in front of a child. Not only do we need to work to solve this case and find out who did this, we need to make sure we are following policy in doing it. 

"Now if there is a rogue Officer going around killing dogs, I need to know about it. This is not about 'circling the wagons' because we're all Boys in Blue: when a police officer goes bad and does really bad things, it stains all of us. So if there is someone out there who is hurting our Police Force by committing these filthy crimes, do the right thing. You can call the hotline and be anonymous, if you feel you have to, but do it for the Force and the good guys you work with and have your back every day."

I paused, then said "Okay, I am not worried about you in that regard, but I do have another issue, and I want to make this one crystal clear:

"I am aware that different Police Academies teach different things. I am also aware of an unwritten code among some officers that dogs are to be shot on sight, shot on any raids no matter the threat, and sometimes even shot in front of owners for no reason. I am aware of postings to Facebook and other Social Media of police officers killing dogs for no reason at all.

"I saw one Facebook post where a dog behind a fence was shot by an officer... in front of a six year old child. The dog was no threat, and the child's safety was endangered. Now I understand that if a dog becomes a threat to either yourselves or other persons, you must do what you have to do. I get that. What I do not want is to see is the Town & County Police on Facebook as having officers that shoot dogs for no reason, that put people in danger in doing so.

"I have instructed the SWAT and Vice Squad teams that do raids that they'd better not shoot any dogs unless that dog is a threat. And believe me, people, I will investigate dog shootings, and I will know if someone tries to cover up an unjustified shooting. That also goes for any dog shooting. If it's justified, fine. But do not think you will be able to fool me by an attempted cover-up. Do not think getting other officers to lie for you will help you if you do the wrong thing. I will know, and I will get to the Truth."

The entire Force knew of my reputation, and no person present wanted to challenge it at this moment.

"I want to be exceptionally clear." I said. "If you draw your gun to shoot any threat, be it a human or a dog or another animal, it generates a serious incident and a Board of Inquiry. I think all of you know that in every shooting we've had, at least every one that I can think of, the investigation has been fair and thorough, and the correct result obtained. I want you to do your jobs without having to look over your shoulder, so if you are justified in your actions and in the use of lethal force, I will have your back and this Police Force will have your back."

I could feel some stirrings of unrest as I continued: "But make no mistake about this: in my opinion, which counts a lot around here, drawing your weapon to kill a dog is like drawing one to kill a person. If it's justified, I'll be the first person to defend you. But if it's not justified, I will do everything in my power, both personally and as the Police Commander, to end your career with this Police Force or any other Force. And that goes double for any attempt to cover up or lie about it." 

I walked out to the side of the lectern, tapping my red crowbar in the palm of my hand as I continued speaking.

"Now some of you out there may not agree with me, and may think shooting a dog is not like shooting a person. I don't agree, but to be clear: the issue at hand is your authority as a Police Officer to use deadly force, your misuse of that authority in situations that do not justify it, and the trust and confidence of the Citizens of this Town & County, not to mention your fellow Officers.

"Therefore, be aware that killing dogs or other pets without justification is like killing someone's family member. The Media just loves to smear you, and therefore the entire Force, with stories of killing dogs; but more importantly, *I* will not tolerate it as the person responsible for every single one of you and your actions. If you kill a dog without justification, you will answer... to me."

Still tapping the crowbar, I finished up: "And ladies and gentlemen... if you do not agree with this policy, you can leave your resignations with me, and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Do I make myself clear?"

There was a murmuring. I said very loudly "I can't hear you! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir!" the Force shouted as one voice.

"Lt. Masters," I said, taking off the microphone and walking towards the side of the stage and the door, "dismiss them to their duties."

"Police Force, attention!" shouted Lt. Masters. Everyone rose as one body and stood at attention as I walked out the door.

Lt. Masters then took the lectern. "Stand at ease. Remain standing, though, as this will take only a minute. Ladies and gentlemen, do your jobs. Continue to do your jobs without feeling you have to look over your shoulders. If you act decisively, with confidence, and with professionalism, the Commander will have your back, as will I. If you do the right thing in the performance of you duties, we will support you. Okay, head on out, report for your duties and assignments." Officers started moving out, some rapidly, some slowly as they talked...

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

"Mixed results, sir." said Lt. Masters as he, Cindy, and I sat in my office. "You put the fear of God into them, but in terms of leadership you might have lost some loyalty."

"You may be right." I said. "I sure didn't like having to tell them that one of them may be bad, and I especially hate telling anyone to snitch. Nobody likes a narc."

"I think you did what you had to do, sir." said Cindy Ross. "And I don't say that just to kiss your ass. I'm worried about Public perception of the Force, as well. Priya Ajmani has called me twice asking for an interview."

"Yep." I said. "Okay, guys, I will not be here tomorrow morning. The Governor of the State has required my presence in Midtown. So Lt. Masters, keep the guys from revolting. You can go, I need to talk to Captain Ross for a minute." Lt. Masters got up, made his farewells, and left.

"So, are you going to give Priya that interview?" I asked.

"Yes, tonight. I think I should." said Cindy. "Before she goes to that piece of dog shit Brownlee. God only knows what he'll say."

"Oh, she'll go to him anyway." I said. "But don't worry about that. You're going to be in charge while I'm gone. I am hoping and praying that we have no more dog attacks, but if we do, call me. I love dogs more than I love the Governor, or politics."

"Wilco, sir." Cindy said. "Have you cleared it with the Chief about going to Midtown?"

"I sent him an email, cc'd to the Sheriff." I said. "Daniel will run any interference for me if it's needed. And if either the Chief or Brownlee give you shit while I'm gone, call Daniel right up."

"Yes sir." Cindy said. "By the way, I've observed and deduced something. I think you believe that it really is a rogue cop doing this. I doubt you would've given that speech the way you did unless you suspect that deep down."

"There's definitely more than one person involved," I said, "but yes, I do think one of them is a Uniformed police officer. I have no idea who, at least not yet. What do you think?"

Cindy sighed. "I... I just don't know. I try to use your methods, I try to use my mind and mental energy... and all I come up with is that I am still the Junior Troy around these parts."

I smiled, then said "You're doing fine; just great, in fact. I'm the one fucking up... I think Masters might've been right about that little speech I just gave. So what are your thoughts on the crimes?"

"It's so random, it's almost on purpose." Cindy said. "By that I mean the randomness, the lack of consistency is intentional, done that way by pre-planning and orchestration. And so I very much suspect whoever is doing this was advised by a certain... Consultant of Crime. His paws are all over this one."

"Junior Troy, my ass." I said. "Those are outstanding observations! So what do you deduce or infer from them?"

"That's where I fall short, and the Blue Crowbar defers to the Red one." Cindy said.

"I'm a bit stymied, myself." I said. "I'll just say this... I get the feeling that this is being done... to distract us. Our time and energies are being occupied. Someone's right hand is saying to us 'Look over here!' while their left hand is saying 'Just ignore what is going on here'. So be on the lookout tomorrow, while I'm gone."

"Don," Cindy said, "how are you going to catch this bastard? The dog killer, I mean."

"Well, I hope to have some data in from Mary and Myron soon." I said. "And if it confirms what I am thinking..." My blue eyes looked into my partner's as I said:

"... then I'll just have to go rogue, myself."

To be continued.



Going Rogue Ch. 03



The chronological order of my stories is now listed in WifeWatchman's biography.

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 10 - Memories and Politics 

Wednesday, October 7th, 6:30am. I walked through the empty rooms of the house, letting the memories flow. 

I had driven down to Midtown, leaving home at 4:00am for the two hour drive. After a quick stop for breakfast, I came by the house to check up on it. Molly had moved out when she moved up to Nextdoor County. I was tremendously happy to be seeing a lot more of her, and especially my son Ross, with another boy on the way.

But as I walked through the now bare rooms, I was remembering the years spent here with Melina. My life had been so different then, drudgery in labs, going to Army Reserve weekends, starting up the security equipment business that hadn't done badly... until the CIA had tried to force me to become a vendor to them.

And then that fateful day Todd and Ned had shown up, and my whole world changed. I wasn't complaining; indeed, I felt nothing but gratitude for my beautiful wife Laura, my wonderful kids, having Cindy and Molly and Ross in my family, and of course Bowser.

But still, the memories were there. I looked into the master bedroom, seeing the sitting room that Melina had really loved, remembering the many times she and I had made passionate love in this room... and then I heard a sound, downstairs. Someone else was in the house!

Making my way down the hall, I peered down into the living room. I was faintly shocked to see Chief Griswold in the greatroom, looking around. I came on down the stairs without saying anything.

"Ah, there you are." Chief Griswold said. "So this is where it all started, eh?"

I smiled. "Yes sir." I said. "This is where Melina and I lived. And then we went on a camping trip, then had to bring Ned to the University to turn him in to the police..."

"And thank God for that." the old Chief said. "Do you believe in predestination, Don?"

"No sir." I said, knowing the Chief was a Presbyterian. "But I do believe in karma."

"Same thing, really." said the Chief. "Whatever you believe in, you were meant to be where you are now, doing what you are doing. And so it was, and so it shall be."

"You planning to become a preacher in your retirement, Chief?" I asked in a joking voice. "You can tour with Robert Patterson of the Oldeeds Group, or fill in for Pastor Westboro at First Baptist from time to time."

"Or become a Police Chaplain, like your buddy Steven Ikea." teased the Chief, giving it right back to me. "But I think the Good Lord put the fish in Lake Reservoir for me to catch, so I'll do my duty. So... are you and Molly going to sell this house?"

"No sir." I said. "We've talked about it. It somehow managed to get paid for. I suspect a man with great... 'Vision'... that has untold amounts of money and just looks for ways to spend it on his relatives."

The Chief smiled as I continued "So Molly and I were talking about renting it, especially to someone in the Midtown Police Force that needs a home. Or we could make it something of a gasthaus, where people could stay temporarily from time to time, including me if I have to be down here for any length of time."

"Not a bad idea." said the Chief. I showed him around the house, including the fenced-in backyard. Not too small, but not all that big.

"Yes," I said, "I always thought Melina and I would have kids and a dog running around in this yard. But I'm not complaining. I like how things have worked out."

"The view at The Cabin is much better." said the Chief, with a lot more meaning in his words than the short sentence would indicate.

"So, Chief," I said, "I take it you're down here for the meeting with the Governor?"

"Not much gets by you, Crowbar." growled the Chief affectionately.

"If you'd have let me know, I'd've given you a ride down here." I said.

"I came down last night." said Griswold. "My wife and I spent the night at the Governor's mansion with Val and his wife, and we're planning to stay tonight, as well."

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

At 9:00am, Chief Griswold and I presented ourselves to the Governor of the State. He greeted us warmly and had us sit down for some breakfast before the meeting began at 9:30. As we ate, Gov. Jared talked of what was going on.

"Don, we've looked into that matter of them slipping that mickey into the SBI bill. We think the aides to Senator Katherine Woodburn of your District and Senator Langdon of Madison County are the culprits. Unfortunately, they covered their tracks well enough that we can't prove the bill was tampered with, so it remains law, and the University gets a new State Crime Lab."

"I wish it were the University's." I replied. "But that land is just State property that is not part of the University's land. So it's just the State Crime Lab... and out of the reach of my influence."

"Why do I think that's not true, especially since it's still in your County?" mused the Governor. "But the good news is that the State Attorney General did tender his resignation to me. He was a possible contender for Governor, but that's all over now." 

"So before we go into the meeting," I said, "who are you guys looking at to run? Since I'm not going to, it must be Chief Griswold here." The Governor chuckled; Chief Griswold stared daggers at me.

"You'll be Governor before I ever will, Crowbar." said Griswold. "The only thing I'm governing is my fishing pole."

"And your computer at home." I replied, which got my old Chief staring in amazement at me.

"Nothing gets by the man, Val." said Griswold to the Governor.

"Yes, so I've been told." Jared said. "To answer your question, Don, we're actually at something of a loss. We need a candidate by the end of this month, that's for sure. But the State GOP has done an exceptionally poor job of grooming any candidates." 

"Not that I'm complaining, as this breakfast is delicious," I said, "but why bring me down for the meeting?"

"Because some of my people think you're our good luck charm." said the Governor. "We know you're not running, but you have this way of getting ideas out there that somehow come to fruition. I know you're no friend of Jack Lewis, so maybe you'll help us find a candidate that can crush him."

Your Iron Crowbar is no part of any Agency of the Weak Minded. I knew something was up about all this; it was only a matter of time to find out what it was...

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

At 9:30 the Governor led me and Chief Griswold to another room in the State Capitol building. It was where the Republican Caucus of the State House would meet. There were several small offices off this room, and we went into one of them.

Inside the room were several staffers of the various politicians that were gathering. Among those politicians were my State Representative, Billy Williams; State Rep. Wilson Hammonds, Chairman of the State House Ways and Means Committee; State Sen. Sean Stockton, the minority leader on the Senate Justice Committee; and State Rep. Johnny Perdue, the most Libertarian in the State House. The same guys that I'd worked with on the SBI bill, I noted...

Also joining us was SBI Deputy Director Tom Conlan and City Mayor Lucian Phelps. Phelps was 'tight' with the Governor and Chief Griswold, I knew, as I got up and began going around the room.

"Find anything?" asked Griswold, knowing what I was doing. I was looking for bugs... and I found one, secreted as a button in the seatback of an upholstered chair. The entire group looked at me and the bug in total shock.

"Let's get out of here." said Governor Jared. That prompted a processional column back to the Governor's suite in the State Capitol, where we settled into a smaller conference room. My sweep for bugs found none.

"Wow," said Sean Stockton, "the Iron Crowbar doesn't fool around."

"No sir, I do not." I said as I sat down after my search. "Maybe it's being a police officer, or maybe that I once sold security equipment, but I'm cynical to the point of paranoia."

"It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you." said Chief Griswold. "And you found one bug already, Crowbar." 

"Thank you for that, Commander." said the Governor, with a grin that reminded me of University President Sidney Wellman's sinister smile. "Okay, let's get down to business, shall we?"

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

Meetings like the one I was in make me appreciate having a police job that challenges my mind. It was as if these Republicans were trying to see who could be the most numbingly boring. And as the meeting wore on, it was no great feat of deduction to see that the State Republicans were in total disarray.

It was a big political circle-jerk. One guy would say "Why don't you run, Mr. A?" and then another person who was opposes Mr. A would say "He can't win with (insert group here)." At some point in time Chief Griswold started watching me, to make sure I didn't get... impatient, for lack of a better term.

But then I observed a ray of hope. One youngish, nerdy looking man, a member of the Governor's budget staff, who was also tasked with polling, got my attention as he could go through different sets of paperwork and then his laptop console, correlate the information from them, and give a crisp answer to the Governor. But even more interesting was that I was sure I'd seen him before... in my class at the Police Academy.

"Why don't you just run again, Governor?" said SBI Deputy Director Tom Conlan. "You're not term-limited."

"An excellent idea." growled Chief Griswold... who then glanced sideways over at me.

"I ran for Governor last time," said Jared, "saying that I only wanted one term, and that still holds. And if I did run, the Democrats would use that against me." Was it my imagination, or was he glancing over at me for my reaction, as well?

The Governor then said "Look guys, we're in a total mess here." He turned to the nerdy looking guy and said "David, would you please give these guys the full picture?"

"Yes sir." said David. He said "Our polling indicates that the Republican Party in the State is badly split, just as the national Party is. The Conservatives and the Grassroots are very angry with the Establishment Republicans for promising to fight the Democrats, but then turning around and agreeing with the Democrats on big-spending budgets."

"I hate the fucking Grassroots!" growled Wilson Hammonds, a longtime Establishment Republican in the State House. "They're idiots. They have no idea what is going on, what we do up here."

"Don't worry about them." said Sen. Sean Stockton. "They have no choice but to vote for us if they don't want the Democrats to win. We can urinate in their faces, tell them it's raining, and they have to lap it up with a smile. They have no place else to go."

"Did you really just say that out loud?" asked Rep. Johnny Perdue, who was a Libertarian in his actual political leanings. 

"Sure I did." said Stockton. "What are they going to do? The Media gins them up, then calls them the 'angry' people. They're just a bunch of whiners, though. And they vote for us in the end, because we're they're only true alternative to the Democrats. They're nothing. And what's more, the Libertarians are just a one-percent fringe party. The Libertarians are less than nothing, Perdue. Less than nothing." 

Perdue looked furious at the blatant, direct insult, but said nothing. If Stockton had called out my manhood like that, there'd be a crowbar beatdown going on right now... but I held back, listening with nauseated fascination...

"That's true." said Hammonds. "The problem is that those Grassroots and TEA Party bastards don't understand politics. It's a give-and-take game out there. We have to give some to get some. We have to work with the other side to get stuff done."

"Except that the Republicans give away the store and never get anything back in return." said Perdue, finally showing some courage. "And the voters see that. You call them 'angry' as if it's a bad thing, as if it makes them wrong... but righteous anger at the attack on Pearl Harbor won World War II for us against the Japanese."

"Gentlemen," said the Governor, "let's table this until David finishes his report. David, please continue."

David said "Thank you, sir. As I was saying, polling indicates a problem when any of the leading names are mentioned vs. Jack Lewis. Senator Stockton would lose by ten points, Rep. Perdue by twelve, and Mayor Phelps by nineteen."

"What about Tom Conlan?" asked Wilson Hammonds, mentioning the SBI Deputy Director, who was sitting right next to him.

"He does a little better, sir." said David. "Five points right now, sometimes it's four and around the margin of error."

"So, why not you, Tom?" asked Hammonds. I knew Hammonds and Jack Lewis had a personal dislike of each other, as Conlan and Lewis hated each other within the SBI.

"Sir, if I may..." said David before Conlan could answer, "the problem for Deputy Conlan is not the overall numbers, but the issues themselves. One reason Jack Lewis is doing well is because he's seen as a law-and-order candidate, a good administrator of the SBI, and someone who can work with those on both sides of the aisle. Deputy Conlan is seen as a decent administrator, but only as Lewis's assistant in the SBI, carried along by Lewis's greater stature. Deputy Conlan is seen as law-and-order, but has been painted as combative after the SBI Bill battle last year, and as not willing to work with the other side."

"Sorry, Chief Griswold," I said out loud. "No way I could win if that's a problem." There were chuckles in the room as the Chief nodded.

"No doubt about that, Crowbar." said Griswold, his mustaches twitching. "So what I'm hearing is that Lewis and Conlan are seen as very similar, but on the differences Lewis wins with the electorate?"

"Yes sir." said David. "Mr. Lewis is considered the more trustworthy candidate."

"No accounting for taste in the voting Public." growled Griswold. "How does Lewis get away with the SBI shooting at Town & County Police Officers on a botched raid, and the PED scandal, the Asylum atrocities... but people think he's the good guy and Conlan is the bad guy?"

"That is thanks to a Media that has worked closely with the Democrats, and worked very hard for Director Lewis." I said. Have I mentioned that I have a deep hatred of the Press?

I continued: "David, I know I've met you before and I apologize for not remembering your last name..."

"'Krueger', sir. Not to be confused with 'Freddie' from the movies." said David, drawing laughter.

"What I want to ask you is this." I said. "Who does have a shot at Lewis?"

David answered "Commander, you're in a statistical tie with him. The whole State knows you, knows of your successes. Your negatives are some rumors of overly aggressive actions towards some criminals, but your stature is high. I know that you are not running, though. The State Attorney General was only two points behind, but after this latest thing with the State Crime Lab, his numbers are likely to fall."

"And I can assure you," said Governor Jared, with considerable feeling, "that he would not have my support nor the support of any of my political friends."

"Yes sir." said David Krueger. "You, Governor Jared, would be two points ahead of Lewis. Your popularity and job satisfaction numbers are high. And last but not least is John Cummings, who many people feel was robbed in the State Senator election last year. He's four points ahead of Lewis."

"That's an idea." said Sean Stockton. "Let's get Cummings to run."

"He's no longer a resident of this State." I said. "The requirements for Governor include State residency for at least one continuous year at the time qualifying paperwork is filed."

"Oh, we can get around that." said Stockton enthusiastically. "Put his uncle's address from your County down."

I peered hard at Stockton. "Sir," I said in my authoritative voice, "that is illegal."

"So what?" said Stockton. "The Democrats do this crap all the time, and it's nothing either side hasn't done before."

"Mr. Stockton," I said, "are you aware that you are speaking in front of not one but three police officers in this room?" Stockton gaped at me as I called him out. Everyone else looked around, confused. Who was the third officer? they were wondering all but out loud.

"What are you saying, Commander Troy?" Wilson Hammonds thundered, challenging me directly.

"I am saying that if you tried to run John Cummings by falsifying documents of his residency, I will personally arrest you. I'll also be the first to bring suit against it in Court. And despite my hatred of the deeply corrupt, biased Media, I'll work with them to make sure the story gets out."

I could feel the resentment of me building amongst the Establishment Republicans in the room. At me. By way of contrast, Chief Griswold was beaming at me under those big handlebar mustaches, and the staffers were looking at me with part amazement and part appreciation.

"Doesn't John Cummings's cousin work for your Police Force?" asked Stockton, as if playing his trump card. "What she going to say if you fuck up her cousin's chance to become Governor?"

"What's she going to say if I let you get away with breaking the law?" I thundered back.

The Governor intervened in the awkward silence. "The Commander is right; we're going to do this the right way. So, Commander Troy, before we conclude the meeting and let you get back to your duties at home, what is your advice?"

"Well," I said, "I'll just say that I now understand the three reasons why I was invited here. First, to find the bug in the other office. The Governor has been desperately searching for the leaks that are giving the Democrats advance information, and now he knows."

The Governor grumbled, reached into his pocket for his wallet, and took out a $100 bill and passed it to Chief Griswold, who chuckled.

"It's easy money when the Iron Crowbar is at work." Griswold said merrily.

"You're taking me to lunch with that money, Chief." I said, then turned back to the group. "The second reason I'm here is to tell you how to do what you want to do... which is to tell you how to enable Governor Jared to run again without it looking like he is breaking his one-term promise."

"Wow, you are good." said Perdue. "So, what do we do?"

I spent a few minutes giving them my ideas for paving the way.

"So, Commander," said Sean Stockton with acid in his voice, "what was the third reason for bringing you down?"

"Testing my integrity over John Cummings." I fired back. "And it's obvious you did not like the answers I gave you. Do not play poker with me, Mr. Stockton. You'll find bankruptcy a hard thing to bear..."

Part 11 - Employee Relations 

As the meeting broke up, I hurried to get David's attention.

"Mr. Krueger." I said, coming up to him. "I remember that you were in my Police Academy class. I'd like for you to have lunch with me and Chief Griswold."

"Thank you, sir, but the Governor might need me..." said David.

"Aw, go ahead." said the Governor, who had heard us. "I've got to meet with the Planning Committee..."

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

"So you two were in the same Academy class?" asked Chief Griswold after we'd ordered at the restaurant near the State Capitol.