Case of the Paper Trail Ch. 04

Now why would Nurse Ratchett risk her career and her freedom by stealing that morphine and giving it to Coach Harlan's nurse? I wondered to myself. I knew that I was witnessing something very important, something that was a clue to me for future consideration...

Part 18 - Epilogue: The Final Gauntlet

Monday, December 15th, 4:00pm. I was sitting in front of the Chief's desk in his office as he sat behind it, signing copies of a document. His assistant, Martha, stood to the side of the desk, trying not to cry. Daniel Allgood, wearing the uniform of a Police Lieutenant, was sitting next to me.

"Okay, that's it, my last official act as Chief." Griswold said. "It makes you Acting Chief for the rest of the year, Don, and leaves you in command next year until the Sheriff or Council appoints a new Chief." He handed one copy to me and the rest to Martha.

Tears escaped her eyes as she left the room. The Chief knew that she collected Wedgwood pottery, and earlier this morning he had given her a fairly rare and expensive piece for her collection as a token of his gratitude for her years of devoted service to him. She had begun crying, the finality of the Chief's retirement hitting her, and she had been emotional off-an-on for the rest of the day.

It was Chief Griswold's last day of active service with the Town & County Police Department. He was going to be on vacation for the rest of the year, and his retirement would take effect with the ringing in of the New Year. As I sat in the office with him, I felt some strong emotions at losing the man who was my mentor and like my second father. But I knew that must be nothing compared to what he was feeling.

He had gone around the Headquarters all day, thanking everyone, and I think he had made an effort to shake the hand of every police officer, staffer and civilian police employee that he could. Departments had cakes ready for him, and I was sure that he'd become diabetic before the day was through, what with all that sugar being consumed.

"Okay, guys, it's your Department now." said Chief Griswold. Daniel Allgood stood up, knowing that it was time for him to excuse himself.

"I'll leave you two to finish up." Allgood said. "It's been an honor working for you, Chief." The Chief shook hands with Daniel, told him to call when Daniel and Melina's baby was born. Allgood promised to do so, then left the office. It was also Allgood's last active duty day with the Police Department; he would be preparing for his role as Sheriff when he was sworn in on New Years Day.

Now it was just the two of us left in Chief Griswold's office, and I could see that the moment was finally, unavoidably hitting him. "Well, it's been a good run." he said, looking around the office. "And I know I'm leaving this Force in good hands, Don. I know you'll take care of these guys. Daniel Allgood will be a good Sheriff, too."

"Yes sir." I said. I did not know what else to say.

"This Town is lucky as hell to have you, Crowbar." the Chief said, then added, somewhat cryptically, "I know you'll come visit me any time you feel the need to talk, and when you root out the Evil that has been so deeply embedded in this County. Success is not far away for you."

"I hope so, sir." I said. I did not know what else to say.

"Okay, that's it. Let's go." he said, standing up. I was in my 'Duty Dress' uniform, and I would've worn my Medal of Valor if he'd not specifically ordered me not to. The Chief was also in his Duty Dress uniform, the rows of ribbons substituting for and denoting his many medals on the right side of his jacket above his nametag. He'd earned every last one of them, and I knew I had a long way to go to match the sterling record of this police officer.

He came around the desk and extended his hand. I was working hard not to get emotional, but our handshake turned into a hug anyway. "Come see us, Chief Emeritus, and don't have too much fun in retirement." I said.

"I'll stop in sometimes." said the Chief. "Good luck, Crowbar. You've got this now."

"Let me get the door for you, Chief." I said. I went to the door, opened it, then came to the position of attention.

"Police Force! Attention!" Lt. Cindy Ross called out from the hallway, and her place in the line. As the Chief looked out, he saw the two rows of police officers, standing shoulder to shoulder, facing inwards. They were forming a gauntlet, from the edge of the door frame and out the anteroom door into the hall.

The Chief looked up at me as I held the door, but I would not look down at him. Finally, he said "Walk with me, Commander.", then he stepped forward out of the office. I fell in behind him.

He walked down the hall between the rows of officers, smiling at them, telling them goodbye and best wishes. I walked silently behind him, feeling extremely honored that he had asked me to escort him on his last journey out the door. The looks on the faces of the officers in the rows were those understanding the solemnity of this occasion; even Sergeant Rudistan was solemn today. I saw Lt. Allgood standing amongst the officers in the rows, knowing this was why Daniel had come in today: this was his last act as a Town & County Policeman, honoring our retiring Chief.

As Griswold got to the turn to go out the side door, he saw Captain Charles and stopped, shaking Charles's hand. That turned into an emotional hug between two battle-hardened policemen that had seen years of service together, then Captain Charles walked with the Chief and myself into the little hallway leading to the outside door to the secured employees parking lot.

At the desk by the door, Precinct Captain Damien Thompson had been placed on duty by me, having asked for the honor of this task. The Chief shook Thompson's hand, then turned in his badge and gun. Thompson handed Griswold his Chief Emeritus badge and ranks in a plastic sleeve, and gave him his gun back.

Outside, rows of officers were formed in a circle around the Chief's civilian car. The Media was filming from just outside the gate. As he was about to get in, Captain Charles called out "Present... arms!" Everyone saluted. The Chief saluted back, then said loudly "I know that you'll continue to do the excellent work you've done for me all these years! Thank you, and best wishes to all of you!" As he was about to lose it, he quickly got into the car. In a moment, he was no longer there. It was not really much different, but for me everything seemed to have changed, like going through a time warp.

"Police Force!" called out Lt. Ross. "Return to duty! Dismissed!" Everyone began moving, and the crowd dissipated. I remained standing where I was, the enormity of what I was now responsible for hitting me fully.

"Come on, Commander." said Cindy, gripping my arm. "We've got work to do." I allowed my partner to guide me back into the building. Yes, we had work to do.

Finis... for now.

*****

The chronological order of my stories is as follows:

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

Case of the Paper Trail, Ch. 1-4.