Rollins Hates Cops

Marsha told me that once Jennifer started talking they couldn't shut her up. About the only thing she didn't tell them, was who killed cock robin. Jennifer explained that she would never have talked, if Herb were still alive. She had become very frightened of him and his associates. Too bad she hadn't thought of that sooner.

The only real problem was that the pictures didn't show the South American gentleman's face. Being a half assed photographer I noted the absence of any negatives. I waited until Jennifer got sprung before I asked her.

"So Jen, where are the other pictures and the negatives?"

"What do you mean?" she asked while standing in the doorway of here apartment.

"The pictures you gave up showed your boss' face but not the other guy. Now if you were blackmailing your boss, you were planning to dip into the South American gentleman's pocket as well."

"What makes you think that?" she asked nervously.

"Blackmailers are a greedy bunch. I would think that after Pat you would have decided that it just ain't worth it."

"Ron why don't you help me. The man in the pictures has a ton of cash. He comes to the club about once a month and picks up a suitcase full. I know that if we can find out who he is, we can take him off for a mint."

"You don't know who the South American is?"

"No but you can help me find out. Herb would never tell me anything about him, but I'll bet you can find out."

"Okay let me see the pictures," I demanded.

"Then you are going to help me?"

"Sure," I said knowing it was a lie. I was getting involved only because the next man coming for me might be a pro. The chances of survival if a pro is after you, are pretty damned slim.

"I left the other pictures in a locker at the bus station. We can go pick them up now, if you would like." she informed me.

"I would like that very much," I replied.

I saw the pictures at eleven a.m. I immediately recognized the South American gentleman. "Jennifer do you have anywhere you can go? I mean somewhere out of town. Somewhere no one here knows about?"

"I got a brother, but I ain't leaving you to make the score."

"There is not going to be a score. This gentleman is no gentleman. He is going to kill us both. The only reason he didn't do it before is that he didn't know about the blackmail. He knows now. If you go home, you are going to die. Drop me off at the apartment and run like hell. Call me in a couple of days. If it's over, you can come back then."

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to try to stay alive." I expected she could tell that I wasn't kidding. I damned sure wasn't. I was absolutely sure that if I couldn't get him first, he would kill us both. He sure as hell knew where to find us. Anyway she dropped me in the parking lot then took off. She was off to her brother's I presumed.

I was torn between getting my .45 from the false bottom of the land cruiser, or calling Marsha. I decided to call Marsha. I could only hope to stay alive long enough to take out the drug dealer. Getting caught with a concealed weapon wouldn't do me any good at that moment.

"Marsha we need to talk."

"Sure come on in to the station," she suggested.

"Don't think so. How about you and I meet at the Sanitary for lunch?"

"Do you still eat there. I'm surprised you haven't had a bypass yet. You haven't have you?"

"No and this is serious. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Ron, I'll be there in thirty. Got a report to write."

"Make it the fifteen Marsha, I'm about to make you a sergeant."

"I am a sergeant," she replied.

"Then I am going to make you a general. Just get your butt down to the Sanitary."

Twenty minutes later found me seated in a booth at the rear of the smoky restaurant. I looked up as Marsha slid in across from me. "What the hell was so important that you had to drag me to this greasy spoon. Did you come to your senses and decide to finally have a quiet little affair with me?"

"Not yet." I said that as I moved the envelope across the table. "Something you should see."

Marsha took a few minutes to look at the shots. "Where is Jennifer?" she asked.

"Gone, she doesn't know who the man is."

"So what are you going to do about this?"

At that moment I realized it went deeper than I had thought. "I'm going to stand up and walk out the door. Then I am going to drive to the DA's office."

"Don't do it Ron."

I stood to leave.

"Ron please don't do this." she had moved her hand closer to the Glock.

"You going to shoot me in the back, in front of all these witnesses?" I asked that as I walked out of the restaurant. My knees began to knock when I seated myself behind the wheel of the land cruiser. It took me a couple of seconds to get the car started. I was shaking so hard that getting the key into the ignition switch was difficult.

I drove carefully but quickly to the DA's office. I sure as hell didn't want a traffic stop. The receptionist recognized me from my cop days I supposed. "I need to see Joyce,' I said to the youngster.

"Sure what is your name again?"

"Ron Rollins, she will know me I think." It looked as though the kid didn't remember me after all. As a matter of fact I didn't recognize her either. She was probably one of those people who pretend to know everybody.

Joyce I did recognize. "Ron, what the devil are you doing here?"

"Got to see you Joyce."

"God Ron, I haven't seen you in years. What can I do for you, fix a ticket?" She asked that after she closed the door.

"I wish. This is going to be a hell of a mess." I tossed the envelope with the pictures on her desk.

She looked at them for a long time before she asked, "Is this what I think?"

"If you think that it is the assistant chief of police selling drugs, then it's what you think."

"God how could Alverez be so stupid?" she asked herself.

"You mean to get his picture made, or sell the dope?"

"Frankly either, how bad is it going to be Ron?"

"If he took it from evidence, which I expect he did, then it is going to be hell on wheels. Every dope bust for the last ten years is going to be suspect. The court of appeal will have to put on a second shift."

"'Son of a bitch, what am I going to do?"

"I got an idea, but you ain't going to like it." I said that with a smile. I spent the next twenty minutes explaining my idea to her.

"I can't have any part of that. What you are talking about borders on illegal. Besides I don't sleep now just from the plea bargains."

"Oh, I'll take care of it. Course you can just bust him and call the papers."

"That is going to be my last resort. You can try it your way. If he don't go for it, then it's the papers and the cops."

"Well don't count on a lot of help from the cops. If you can find some who didn't get involved, they aren't going to want to lose their busts because Alverez tampered with the evidence."

"So what do I do first?" she asked.

"Call Tommy here and let me talk to him."

"I do hope you don't plan to enjoy this Ron."

"Hey, I am the messenger not the perp."

Alverez showed up half an hour later. It was well past noon when we finally sat down to talk. "So Tommy how you doing?" I asked.

"It's Chief Alverez to you Rollins. Why the hell am I talking to you anyway?" He said that preparing to leave Joyce's office.

I tossed the photos in front of him. "You take a real nice picture Tommy." I truly enjoyed his discomfort at my calling him by his given name. Not to mention the expression on his face when the photos hit the table. "I guess you didn't know that the hostess of the titty bar was a camera buff. She did right well for an amateur. The composition could have been better but the lighting and focus is just fine.

Alvarez took a few minutes to think it all through. "So Rollins, you don't think the cops are going to do anything about this do you? They might fire me, but they don't want to lose all those cases. The chief is going to bury this, and you."

"That might happen except that I am a writer. You did know that I write for trashy magazines these days. If the DA don't prosecute you, I am going to write a really interesting piece for the Southerner. No Tommy, you are going to do time for this. I am going to help put you in the joint."

"Has anybody else seen those?" He pointed to the offending pictures.

"Just me and you Tommy boy."

"Why did you show them to me, and why here?"

"Because Tommy I am going to give you a chance to make the decision for yourself and your family. This is going to be pretty tough on your wife and kids. You got a teenaged daughter don't you. It will be real good for her to go to central prison to visit you. Then there is you wife trying to live on her salary. You did know that you don't get a pension from prison."

"Rollins would this go away, if I were gone?"

"That's the deal, here Tommy. I tossed a legal pad on the desk. I am going across the hall to see Joyce. When we come back you are headed for prison." I walked from the room, then stood talking to the receptionist. If Tommy found his balls, I wanted an airtight alibi.

The single shot came about five minutes later. It took him that long to screw up his courage. I followed the receptionist to the doorway. I opened it to find most of Tommy slumped in his chair. There was about two pounds of brains and blood on the wall.

I held the receptionist up. She was trying to faint and I wouldn't let her. I needed her for my alibi. She wouldn't be much good to me unconscious.

I left her to keep everyone out of the room. I made sure the note said what I wanted. If it hadn't, it would have found its way into the trash. Tommy had said the right things to his wife so I left it.

It took almost an hour for everyone to come and go from the DA's office. Finally the Captain of detectives came into the interview room where I was being held. "Okay Rollins, I'm going to spring you now."

"Good," I replied standing to leave.

"Ron, I know you had a hand in this." I started to protest but he held up his hand. "I know you got the perfect alibi, but you are neck deep in this."

I shrugged and headed to the door. "Ron one more thing. Is this over now?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know what I mean. Alvarez fired you, are you finished now. Everybody knows you got the patience of Jobe. You waited three years to get Alvarez when he least expected it. So are there more?"

"You worried Cap?" I looked and saw that he was. "I would be too, if I were you."

I left the DA's office then stopped at the Sanitary for dinner. I held the pork chop down in spite of the memory of Tommy Alvarez's brains on the wall. When I got home, I found a message from Marsha. "It wasn't what you think."

"Maybe not," I thought. "But you are still a cop and I still hate cops." I don't really know why I went to that particular restaurant on that particular day. I expect it was just because my usual hangout was closed. I had been to the restaurant on a few previous evenings. The Sanitary Café was closed after three in the afternoon. They had a hell of a breakfast and lunch crowd, so I guess they figured they didn't need to be open at night. Even if they were open, half their customers wouldn't have shown up. The Sanitary was in a neighborhood best stayed away from after dark, at least if you are white. Since half the customers of the Sanitary were white, it made sense for Miss Naomi to close in the afternoon.

Anyway, I was sitting alone at the booth, where I probably shouldn't have been in at all; booths were saved for couples, when a woman at least fifteen years younger than me approached. I could tell when she was twenty feet away, that she was headed for my booth. I tried to place her but I hadn't a clue. She didn't look at all familiar to me.

"Mr. Rollins?'' It came out of her mouth as a question.

"Yes ma'am,'' I said as I stood to greet her.

"Please sit down.''

"Would you like to join me?'' I asked even without knowing who she was.

"If you wouldn't mind.''

"Not at all, I hate to eat alone.''

"You don't remember me do you?'' she asked with a smile.

"No ma'am I don't.''

"Well, I sure remember you.''

I was almost afraid to ask why. "Really, then we have met before?''

"You might say that. You were married to my sister.''

"My God, are you little Janet?'' I was surprised that I hadn't remembered her, at least a little.

"That's me,'' she replied.

"I will be damned.''

"I would ask what you have been up to, but I already know.''

"You do?''

"Sure, I see your tapes all over the place. I can't go into a convenience store without seeing a rack of them.''

"You aren't the one who bought a tape are you?'' I asked with a smile.

She laughed gently. "Actually I did buy one once. I'm afraid your tapes ooze testosterone. It's a little much for me.''

"That is true, I never learned to write for women.''

"Sure you do. I can recognize your humor pieces in the magazines.'' she replied. "Now those I like, why don't you do some of that on tape?''

"To tell you the truth, it is hard to write humorously for more than a thousand words. Ten thousand and I get down right maudlin.'' I paused a few seconds before I asked, "So Janet, how old are you now?''

"You are as blunt as ever. You aren't supposed to ask a woman her age.''

`Let me see, you were in college when Maggie and I called it quits, so you must be close to thirty.'' I guessed.

"Just about,'' she lied.

"So, where is your family?'' I asked.

"Mom and Dad still live in Andrews. No other family, there used to be a husband but I kind of misplaced him.'' she said grinning broadly.

"I was just about to order, if you haven't eaten yet, why don't you stay and eat with me.''

"Actually I finished my dinner, but you go ahead. I would kind of like to talk to you.''

"If you are sure you don't want anything, I think I will. I skipped lunch today.''

"Old habits are hard to break.'' She saw my curious look. "You were always forgetting to eat. Maggie thought that was a great joke.''

"I expect there were many things about me Maggie found humorous.'' I said with a bitter edge in my voice.

"Well she doesn't talk much about you anymore. So maybe she doesn't find you so funny these days.''

"I know you are dying for me to ask, so how is Maggie.''

"She and the lawyer are fighting like cats and dogs, but they will stay together. He can't afford a divorce and Maggie likes to spend his money.''

"Did she ever have any kids. I really haven't heard anything about her since the divorce.''

"She has two and they are both terrors. Why haven't you heard anything about her, I mean she only lives thirty miles away.''

"I never get over to Andrews, unless it is to work. I just don't run in her crowd any longer. Speaking of that, what are you doing in our little town anyway?''

"I live here now. I work for the court system,'' she replied.

"God, not another lawyer.'' The distaste was evident in my voice.

"No, I'm a court reporter.''

"Then you're a state employee?''

"Lord no, I work for myself. All stenographers do.''

"I didn't know that. So how do you like it?''

"I have to like it; it's the only thing I know how to do. Look, let's talk about you.''

"A pretty boring subject.'' I suggested.

"I doubt that. So tell me, how did you go from magazine stringer to producing those tapes.''

"You left out horrid and ghastly from your description of the tapes.'' I smiled at her and she returned my smile. She also didn't deny those were her opinions. "I have always tried to write fiction. I met my partner in the tape business five years ago. Marty is a sound man for a country band. I was covering a bluegrass festival for a magazine. We got to talking and one thing led to another.

I write the stories and then read them into a tape recorder. Marty cleans up the tape, and then copies it. He is also a damned good salesman. He has some really good ideas, most of which require me to work,''

"What kind of ideas?'' she asked.

"Oh, tomorrow for instance, I am going to be autographing tapes. Marty read about authors who have book signings, so he thought we should do it.''

"So where is this tape signing, I might want to get your autograph?''

" It is at the mall in Asheboro. You can have my autograph right now and save a long drive.''

"Actually, I might want to buy one of your tapes. I have a present to buy for a friend at the courthouse. He would probably like your tapes.''

"I have plenty of them to sell.'' I replied with a smile.

"Actually, I'll bet you sell plenty of them. Almost every new car comes with a tape player now.''

"Between the commuters and the joggers we sell one or two.'' I admitted.

"So how many different tapes do you have?''

"Let me think a minute. I have four novels, six novellas and about a dozen red neck mysteries.''

"You are still writing for magazines?'' she asked.

"Sure, that is how I pay the bills, the tapes are really more for fun than anything else.''

"I always wanted to ask a writer, where do you get your characters?''

"Most of them are loosely based on people I have known, or at least people I meet.''

"Is Maggie in any of your stories,'' she asked with a curious smile.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that. Maggie and her husband would sue my ass off.'' I said breaking into a laugh.

"They probably would at that,'' she agreed.

"So, when did you move here? I know your family all live in Andrews.''

"I got the contract for the courthouse a few months ago. I moved last week.''

"Then bumping into you is the worlds biggest coincidence. I would have expected it to take a least a month.'' I laughed. "This is the worlds smallest medium sized town.''

"I know, I already heard, that if you wanted to know anything about anyone, just ask the first person you see on the street.'' We both laughed gently.

"That's about the truth. So where are you living?''

"I rented an apartment at the Pines.''

"That's a nice safe place. You shouldn't have any problems out there.''

"What kind of problems would I have anywhere?''

"This town has a pretty high burglary rate, probably because so many people work in Andrews. You know, they aren't really from here, so the burglars seem to feel it's okay to steal from them. The people who work in Andrews, tend to stay there to socialize, so they don't really get known as residents. If you removed them, the population would fall by about half.''

"I have seen a lot of B&E trials since I've been here. I hadn't thought about how many though.'' She paused for a long time. I sensed she had more to say so I sat quietly. "Your name came up at the courthouse last week.''

"Nothing good I'm sure, gossip is the lubricant of the court system.'' I said it as a joke. I'm afraid I didn't make her laugh.

"The policemen don't much like you,'' she said it as if she were informing me of some new fact.

"I expect, that's because I don't much like them.''

"I heard that too. So how's your love life?'' she asked changing the subject.

"If I had a love life, which I don't, I don't think I would discuss it with you.'' I grinned to show her that I was kidding.

"Then I guess I will make something up. I have to tell Maggie about this meeting. I want to make it sound really good.''

"Now, why would you want to do that?'' I asked.

"Come on Ron, what could be more fun than pulling Maggie's chain?''

I gave it a moments thought, then said, "Okay, then you have my permission to make up the most dreadful lie you can think of.''

"I think, I will make her a wealthy country club type. Maybe Buffy, yeah that sounds like a good name for your girlfriend.''

"You know, Janet, you have a mean streak. I think I like that about you.''

"Why thank you sir,'' she said in a southern bell accent. "So I know you are signing books tomorrow, but what are you doing the rest of the weekend. You do know it is a holiday.''