Angels of Christmas Ch. 01

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10:00am, Monday, December 21st. Officer Mullen Grant was admitted to my office. He came to attention and said "Officer Grant reporting as requested, sir."

"Thank you for coming. Have a seat." I said. Teresa was sitting on the sofa behind Grant, who was in the near (to the door) side hot chair. Officer McElwane had come with him, and had been told to wait in the Main Conference Room.

"Do you know why I've called you in, Mr. Grant?"

Grant said "Captain Hewitt just said you wanted to speak to us about something that had happened Saturday night."

"That's some of it." I said. "You didn't file a Police report about the eight students you and McElwane talked to near the President's House on Saturday?"

"Er, no sir." said Grant.

"Why not?" I asked, rather casually.

"Er, I wasn't officially on duty at that time, sir." said Grant. "I was riding along with Officer McElwane to gain experience."

"How long have you been doing that?" I asked, again casually.

"About two months, sir." said Grant. "I've ridden along with other Officers, as well. Er, is that a problem, sir?"

I said "I can appreciate your initiative, but there could be possible issues if you're not officially on duty. On the one hand, there might be indemnity issues if there's an incident. On the other hand, no matter if you say you're doing it voluntarily, the Union might scream and holler if we're not paying you overtime for patrolling beyond your normal shift. So at the very least, you need your Precinct leadership's approval to be doing that."

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't realize that." said Grant.

"It's not a problem, and you're not in trouble." I said. "I also want to ask about Saturday night. You and McElwane stopped eight students near the President's House?" I named the time, as well.

"Yes sir." said Grant. "One of them was a law student, said we had to have probable cause to ask for IDs. That didn't sound right, but Officer McElwane didn't push it, so I thought that might be true. And then the Press arrived, and those students beat feet out of there."

I said "How did you get to that particular spot? Were you called in?"

"We were driving near there at the time." said Grant. "A radio call came in to be on the lookout for two people dressed as all eight of those students we stopped were, and we saw them pretty much right then."

"Where did they come from? Did you see?" I asked.

"No sir... er, come to think of it, they seemingly just appeared as we came around the curve." said Grant.

"As if they sprang out of the bushes or something, and just started walking?"

"I can't say, sir." said Grant. "I didn't see where they came from."

"Can you describe any of them?" I asked. "Anything about them or their clothes stand out?"

"They were all wearing hoodies, sir, so I couldn't see their faces all that well." Grant said. "McElwane had told them to keep their hands where we could see them, and they did. But there was nothing on any of them that stood out."

"Okay." I said. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Teresa was trying to get my attention. "Do you have a question, Commander Croyle?" I asked.

"Yes sir, if I may." Teresa said. When I nodded, she said "Officer Grant, did you ask Officer McElwane if you could ride with him, or did he ask you to ride with him?"

"Uhh... he asked if I wanted to ride with him, ma'am." said Grant.

"And that was the first time you've patrolled with him?" Teresa asked.

"No ma'am." said Grant. "But it was the first time he'd asked me if I wanted to patrol with him."

Teresa nodded to me and I said "What I need you to do, Officer Grant, it to file a Police report. Give as much detail as you can about everything you can. And don't worry, you're not in any trouble and won't be... unless that report doesn't get filed by end-of-shift today."

I continued: "Let me ask you this, Grant: what are your goals and aspirations with the TCPD?"

"With respect, sir," Grant said, "I want to be sitting in your chair behind this desk one day."

I smiled "And with that attitude, you very well might, one day. And again, I appreciate your initiative, but get with your Precinct leadership before doing any extracurricular patrolling. And last, but certainly not least, Officer McElwane is not someone you need to be working with if you want to learn to do things right. May I suggest that unless you are instructed to work with him, to avoid doing so."

"Uh, yes sir." said Grant.

"You can go." Grant got up and exited the room.

"Wowwwww." Teresa said. "Not that he doesn't deserve it, but you just threw McElwane clean under the bus. I don't think I've ever seen you do that, at least not like that."

"Yeah, I'm getting tired of McElwane." I said. "And that was really outstanding on your part, to ask if McElwane had asked Grant to ride with him. That changed some things. Okay, let's go talk to McElwane. Wanna bet a hundred he asks for a Union Rep?"

"No way in hell I'm betting against you, sir." Teresa said with alacrity, and very wisely. We got up and went to the Main Conference Room. McElwane was sitting at the seat nearest the door, to the right of the end seat, his back to the door. As we came in, he immediately said "I want a Union Rep."

I nodded to Teresa, then came on inside and sat down opposite McElwane, to the left of the end seat, saying nothing at all. An instant later, Teresa came in with the Union Rep, and had him sit down next to McElwane. Teresa came around the table and sat down to my left.

"Officer McElwane, I've read your Police report, and I have follow-up questions." I said. "First------"

"Wait a minute." interrupted the Union Rep. "What is this about?"

"What I just said." I replied. "I'm following up with McElwane about his Police report from------"

"You called me in here for this?" the Rep asked angrily. "You're wasting my time with this?"

"The first words out of his mouth when we came in were asking for a Union Rep." I said. "If you've got a problem with that, take it up with McElwane... after I've finished talking to him."

"No, I'm taking it up with you." snarled the Rep. "Croyle called me before you came in here-------"

"Listen you fucking asshole!" I yelled, rising to my feet and leaning over the table. "The last time we tried to speak to this Officer just to get clarifying information, he went screaming to the Union that we were abusing his rights. He grieved it, and you Union assholes bitched and moaned to high Hell, and dragged us through the mud over it, including making false allegations against me that we proved were outright lies on your part!"

I could feel the heat of the rage on my face as I jabbed my left-hand finger at the Rep as I continued yelling: "And like I just said, the first words out of his potty mouth were that he wanted a Rep. We've got that on the god-damned camera up there in the corner!"

I was pointing at the camera behind me, then returned my finger to jabbing across the table at the Rep: "He asked for Union Representation, and BY GOD we got him that representation: you! And you will sit there and represent him while I am questioning him. Do you understand?" When he didn't answer, I yelled "DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Preserve the recording." the Union Rep said. "Your Chief and Sheriff will be hearing about your abusive language and actions toward me."

"Go cry a river to the Chief or Sheriff." I said. "They'll tell you what I'm telling you, and will probably tell you some more things I won't say in this family atmosphere." I then won the 'blink' contest with the Union Rep.

"Okay, ask your questions and get it overwith." the Rep said, bitterness in his voice. "And McElwane, don't play around. Answer his goddamned questions."

"Okay," I said, "McElwane, I see in your report that you were driving along the road behind the University President's house, spotted the eight individual, stopped, got out and questioned them, is that correct?"

"Yes sir." McElwane said simply.

"Why were you driving on Campus?" I asked. "The TCPD does not routinely patrol on Campus."

"The radio call went out and we were on University Avenue, just before the turn to get on that road. So I turned onto the road." McElwane said.

"Did you ask for IDs for the eight individuals?" I asked.

"Yes, but one said he was a law student, and told us we had to have probable cause to ask for IDs." said McElwane.

"And he told the others not to show ID, is that correct?" I asked.

"Yes sir." said McElwane.

"Your descriptions of the eight individuals are vague to the point of non-existent in your report." I said. "Can you describe any of these eight persons at all? Faces? Hair color? Noticeable features on their clothes?"

"No sir, except that they were all white." said McElwane. "I made them show their hands, and they did, but they had their hoodies over their heads. They were also wearing very similar clothing, and I couldn't distinguish one from another in a lineup if I had to."

"Everything vague." I said, mostly to myself. "When you were driving and came up on these eight persons, how long a distance had they been walking before you caught up to them?"

"We came around a curve, and there were hedges along the buildings, fencing them in." said McElwane. "So they were just there; we were almost on top of them before we knew it. And we stopped them immediately."

"So you don't know if they'd been on that road for a while, or had just gotten onto the road from behind the hedges?" I asked.

"I don't know." said McElwane. That seems to be a common theme with this dirtbag, I silently thought to myself.

"Okay." I said. "Who were you patrolling with when you made the stop?"

"Rookie Officer Grant." said McElwane.

"Did he ask to ride with you that night, or did you ask him to ride with you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" snarled the Union Rep.

"Just answer the question, McElwane." I said, not even bothering to reply to the Rep.

"I don't remember." said McElwane. "He's asked to patrol with me in the past, to get some experience in. He's always asking questions on how to do things when he patrols with me. On that night, he may have said he wanted to come with me, and I may have asked if he was coming along that night. I just don't remember that particular night's conversation."

"Okay, then." I said "First of all, McElwane, you've had plenty of time-in-grade and experience to know that you did have probable cause to demand those students show you their IDs, that being the radio call to be on the lookout for people matching their descriptions, however vague. Even without that radio call, you could've asked for their IDs, and if they refused, you could've detained them and we even could've arrested them."

"He chose not to escalate it, like you always do." snarled the Union Rep. "He's done nothing wrong."

"That's debatable," I replied, "but my point is that he had an opportunity to show a rookie Officer proper interdiction and questioning of suspects, especially the first rule: to identify them. Therefore, McElwane, you are not to patrol with Officer Grant nor any other trainee, officially or unofficially, on duty or off duty. You will be assigned partners by the Precinct leadership, and you will work only with those partners as instructed. Is that clear."

"Yes sir." said McElwane, simply and unemotionally.

"Report to your Precinct Desk for your next assignment. Go." I said. McElwane got out while the getting was good. To the Union Rep I said "The Chief's office is right down the hall, in the corner. Let's go, Commander." We got up and left the room.

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"The nerve of that Rep." Teresa said after we got some coffee and sat down in my office.

"Duplicitous assholes." I spat bitterly. "They reaped what they sowed, and bitch about it anyway. They're almost as bad as the Press. Almost."

"At least McElwane answered your questions, and you didn't have to drag stuff out of him." Teresa said.

"Exactly." I said, peering at her.

"Uh, you meant something by that." Teresa replied, peering back at me.

"Yes, I did." I said. "McElwane gave full answers... well prepared answers. And on places where he might be tripped up, like who asked who for Grant to ride with McElwane, he obfuscated mightily to make sure he couldn't be held to account."

"And on top of that," I said, "he had no descriptions of the eight persons, not even the law student that spoke to him. And he made sure to go along and not press for IDs. As that sports show segment says: C'mon, man!" Teresa nodded vigorously in agreement.

"So he's turned full dirty?" she asked. "Should I call Orosco up here?"

"We need to make sure that he doesn't try to get Grant into any trouble." I said. "But yeah, let me call him up." I reached for my landline phone...

Part 5 - Deciding Fates

11:00am, Monday, December 21st. My assistant Helena buzzed me to say that Mrs. Myrtle L. James was on the line. With the possible exception of the Intendent, Mrs. Adele Peabody, Mrs. Myrtle L. James was the most powerful woman in the County. I took the call.

"Commander, I know you're very busy, and this is such short notice," said Mrs. James. "but I would like for you to come to the Ladies Auxiliary building for a small lunch. And bring Commander Croyle, since she is on the Hospital Board." I agreed to be there at noon.

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12:00 high noon. Dressed in civilian clothes and packing our service weapons, Teresa and I parked in the lot of the Ladies Auxiliary building. "Yep." I said, pointing at the other cars. "Some high level people are here."

"Is this about Dr. Wellman?" Teresa asked.

"And a lot more, if I don't miss my guess." I said.

"And you never do." Teresa said, right on cue. We got out and approached the back door of the building. Two men in suits and wearing shades and clear earpieces were on either side of the door.

"Commander Troy, Commander Croyle?" one of them said. "May we see your IDs please?" We showed our TCPD photo IDs that went with our badges.

"And you're security for the Governor-elect?" I asked back. They seemed to be surprised that I knew that.

"Yes sir." said the other man. "State Patrol, assigned to the Governor-elect's protection detail. She's waiting for you inside." He opened the door and we went in.

The Ladies Auxiliary clubhouse was like many others of the genre. Rows of tables lined more than half of it, with a head table at one end, an American Flag on a pole on the stand to its right. There were three tables, each seating four people, to the left side of the head table, along the right side of the others, and those tables had tablecloths and place settings. The kitchen was on the other side of the wall from those tables (along the back side of the building), and I could smell some good food being prepared.

We were the last to arrive. Already present was our hostess, Mrs. Myrtle L. James, who promptly brought us to greet the Governor-elect, Lieutenant Governor Sharon Marshall. Also present was Hospital Administrator Seth Warner, BOW Enterprises CEO Todd Burke, University Law School Dean Dr. Clarence P. Chase, Head of the Psychology Dept. Dr. Laura Fredricson, Head of the Mathematics Department Dr. Marvin Milton, Astronomy Professor Dr. Stephanie Steele, Town Councilman and University Trustee J.P. Goldman, and Trustee Harold Truelove.

Lunch was served quickly. Seated at one table was Lt. Gov. Marshall, me, Seth Warner, and Laura. At the next table were Myrtle L. James, Todd Burke, Dr. Clarence P. Chase, and Dr. Marvin Milton. At the third table were Mr. Truelove, J.P. Goldman, Stephanie Steele, and Teresa.

"How is the transition going, ma'am?" Seth asked Sharon Marshall.

"Very smoothly." she replied. "Val Jared always made sure to include me in everything he did, and we worked well together. Most of my staff is coming with me, and Jared's people have been able to find jobs."

"What about Corey Coons, and that transition?" I asked. Coons was the Lieutenant Governor-elect.

"In some ways, not that badly." Sharon said. "He and I have gotten along well, and as the incoming leader of the State Senate he's been meeting with Senators of both Parties. Where we've had some issues are with our staffs. Being black and a Democrat, of course he's bringing in black staffers. But some of them have been really rude to my people, calling them 'Crackers' and such stuff."

Sharon: "So my people have said they won't work with the rude ones anymore, and Corey's staffers retaliated by running to the Media and whining that we're racists because we won't help them. In fairness, Corey did try to tamp that down, and he's asked the Press not to make an issue of it. Of course they dutifully comply, since he's a Democrat."

Sharon Marshall then said "The reason I have the three of you at this table is so that I can pick your brains on issues related to University Hospital, since you're the Administrator, Mr. Warner, and you are on Staff, Dr. Fredricson. And of course I am going to ask Commander Troy to take the SBI Director job."

"No ma'am." I said. "I am more than happy where I am now... especially being Dr. Fredricson's devoted husband." Laura smiled at that one.

"He is a silver-tongued smooth talker, Ms. Marshall." my wife said.

"Yes," said Marshall, "and I hope he'll give me a few silver-tongued ideas on who I should consider for the SBI Director job. And Britt Maxwell has already said she wants to remain SBI Inspector."

I nodded. "I'll think about it and send you some ideas." I said, knowing it was be more appropriate to discuss those ideas in private. And Sharon Marshall got the hint.

"So let me ask this about the Hospital." Sharon said to Laura and Seth. "There is a group forming within the Legislature that wants to de-couple University Hospital from the School entirely. A counter-group wants to weld the Hospital much more tightly under the School's administration. What would you say about that?"

I said loudly "Before they answer, I want to say that if you do decouple the Hospital from the School, you should name the hospital 'Teresa Croyle Hospital'."

"You better not!" said Teresa, who was right behind me and of course heard the conversation that did concern her. Her outburst got everyone looking at us.

"One day, my Angel, one day." I 'threatened'.

"Not in my lifetime." Teresa replied. "Or I'll take your own crowbar away from you and beat you down silly with it." I was failing to suppress laughter, and Laura, Seth, and Sharon were grinning at our repartée.

"To that question, Governor Marshall," Laura said, "the Hospital has always been a teaching hospital for students of the University Medical School. For a while that's been lagging, but with Teresa's gift and the new research starting up, the Medical School has been getting a ton of applications. I'd hate to see that curtailed just as it's getting off the ground."

Seth said "As the Administrator, I'd like not being under the yolk of the School and subject to its whims. My concern is the profitability if we were to go it alone. We could withstand losing the money we get from the University, but it's the State dollars that really keep us being able to provide excellent health services to everyone."

"And another point to it." Laura said. "It ain't broke, so why are people wanting to (air quotes) 'fix' it?"

After everyone had eaten, and eaten well, Lt. Governor Marshall asked us to bring our chairs and form a circle, and we did so. "I want to thank Mrs. Myrtle James for putting this lunch together for us." she said. "The reason I've asked you all here is to discuss the situation with University President Wellman. Doctors Chase, Fredricson, and Steele are on the Ethics Board, as are Trustees James, Truelove, and Burke."