Black and Blue Ch. 03

This story is part of an ongoing series. The chronological order of my stories is 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, racism, 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.

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Part 13 - Those Who Count The Votes... (continued)

"That won't do." I said, getting up from my chair. "You ready to do this, Sheriff."

"You bet your sweet ass I am." growled Griswold as he got up.

"What's going on?" asked the Chief.

"They're trying to throw out the poll watchers, then they'll sneak back in and resume counting without them." I replied.

"Not any more, they won't." said Teresa under her breath.

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

"Everyone go home! We're shutting down!" said the Election Chairwoman at midnight. becoming Wednesday, May 6th.

"Hold on!" Everyone turned to see Your Iron Crowbar coming up, followed by a large contingent of TCPD Officers and TCSD Deputies. I went up to her and said "I am Commander Donald Troy of the TCPD."

"And I am Sheriff Griswold." said Sheriff Griswold, who had come in with me. "We're going to search the building, to make sure no one remains inside. If even one person is still here, every poll watcher shall remain."

"We also will post LEOs at every entrance to this building, as well as on the roof." I said. "And we'll have infrared detectors sweeping the building to make sure nobody sneaks in by any abnormal method. No one will be permitted to re-enter until the poll watchers have been alerted and can come in with you."

"What the hell is the point of all this?" the Election Chairwoman.

"I'm making sure that every vote is counted only while poll watches are present." I replied. "You will not be permitted to sneak in and count votes without those poll watchers here to watch."

"You goddamned Crackers." the Election Chairwoman muttered under her breath. Then she said loudly "You've been hitting yourself on your own head with that crowbar if you believe that crap." Then to everyone: "Okay, everyone, keep counting the ballots..."

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

"We found eight people in a back office." said Senior Sergeant Roy McGhillie. "They said they were on break. There were no ballots in that room, but we've noticed several plastic tubs of ballots stuffed under the side tables out here."

"We should ask out loud about those." said the Sheriff. "See what that Chairwoman has to say about them."

"Yes, let's do that." I said. Then I said to Sheriff Griswold: "Clearly we were right; they were going to close down, kick out the poll watchers, then those people in that breakroom would come out and start counting again."

"Sir," said a Patrol Officer, coming up to me, "about twelve of the cars in the back parking lot had three or four people in them. We asked them why they were sitting there, and they said they were waiting to come back in and start counting ballots again after the poll watchers had left. They didn't even try to lie about it..."

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

Over the next hour, Officers were getting sworn affidavits... sworn testimony under penalty of perjury, mind you... of voting irregularities.

"There was one woman that kept running the same ballots through the machine." said one woman. "Ran one through ten times, and I was literally shouting at her. Then the Chairwoman came over with guys in uniforms, but they were security, not real cops, and she threatened to have me arrested and physically removed. A couple of real Deputies came over, but no one would do anything about the woman counting the ballot multiple times, and she did it two more times until that Deputy just stood right behind her..."

"I've been physically pushed back three times." said another poll watcher, a male. "We're supposed to be allowed within six feet, but they kept pushing us over until we couldn't see the monitors nor what they were doing. At one point they had us 30 feet away and to the side, and we can't see diddly without binoculars at those distances..."

"Well, Sheriff," I said, "it's gonna be an all-nighter for me, but if you want to go home..."

"Hell no." replied the Sheriff. "I'm staying, and mostly just in case any assholes from the USDOJ show up and try to start some shit with you..."

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

1:45am, Wednesday, May 6th. Catrina Pierce and and Priya Ajmani were at the Fox 8 Decision Desk. "And once again the latest news: County Sheriff Griswold and Police Commander Troy went to Election Headquarters, where they are reported to have stopped the Election Chairwoman from shutting down the vote counting."

Priya: "Reports are mixed and conflicting, but some are saying the Sheriff and Police Commander ordered the vote counting to continue, while others tell Fox Eight News that they only threatened to post Deputies at the doors and not allow the poll watchers to leave as long as so much as one person remained in the building. When Commander Troy said that his LEOs would not be leaving, the Election Chairwoman reversed her earlier announcement that vote counting would stop for the night, and the counting continues... with the poll watchers in place."

Catrina: "Several poll watchers have given sworn affidavits of voting irregularities, including ballots being counted multiple times each, and poll watchers physically intimidated and forced to places where they cannot see the vote counting taking place. However, since Sheriff Griswold himself showed up, and Police Commander Troy with him, there have been no reported irregularities..."

Part 14 - The Morning After

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, May 6th, from the rooftop of the building at Riverside and College, with City Hall in the background. "The votes have been counted, and primary winners chosen!"

Bettina began: "The votes have been fairly and accurately counted, and were certified by the Elections Board Chairwoman in just the last hour. In the primary for Malinda Adams's Council seat, Ms. Adams prevailed by a 51-49% margin. Stacey Jacobs refused to concede, saying that she believed there were voting irregularities and that not all black votes were properly counted."

Bettina: "And in the race to succeed Reginald B.F. Lewis on the Town & County Council, Edgar Silas has been declared the winner by 228 votes. This razor-thin margin will trigger an automatic recount, which will begin today at noon. Poll watchers and Deputy Sheriffs are already at the Election site to make sure the recount does not start without poll watchers present. This was ordered by the Sheriff after an issue broke out last night, when poll watchers were asked to leave but refused to after TCPD Officers and Sheriff's Deputies arrived and forced the vote to continue with the poll watchers present."

Bettina: "And in Statewide elections, Democrat Corey Coons won the nomination for Lieutenant Governor by his party, while Ruby Russell won the Republican nod. And for Governor, to replace lame duck, deeply unpopular Governor Val Jared, moderate Democrat Hoyt Stenson won the Democrat nomination, while Jared's racist crony Sharon Marshall won the Republican nomination by a surprisingly large margin over State Attorney General Karl Handel, who refused to endorse Lieutenant Governor Marshall. Roll tape."

Tape rolled, showing Handel angrily saying "The racist Grassroots voters have humiliated the Republican Party by voting for Val Jared's racist crony, Sharon Marshall! We cannot afford four more years of Jared's hateful policies that discriminate against hardworking undocumented workers! I urge the State Republican Party to renounce this embarrassing outcome, reject Sharon Marshall as the Party's nominee, and return our Republican Party to it's true values!..."

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

"This coffee is strong!" said Cindy Ross, looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as we watched the broadcast in the Chief's Conference Room.

"It's just right." I replied tiredly.

"Yeah it is." grunted the equally tired Sheriff.

"You guys didn't get any sleep?" Cindy asked.

"I got a few hours," growled Griswold, "but only because this young whippersnapper forced me to."

"Yeah I did." I said. "But I'm getting to be a not-so-young whippersnapper, and I had to stay at the Election Center until they finished the vote count around 4:30am. And then I came here and worked out and cleaned up."

"Couldn't the TCPD and TCSD Officers have kept watch through the night?" asked Chief Moynahan.

"No." replied the Sheriff before I could say anything. "The Election Chairwoman had her own Security there, and there were constant standoffs with the Deputies and Officers as they tried to keep the poll watchers from seeing what was going on. Only when Crowbar himself showed up, ready to bust some heads, would the Security people back down. They were scared of him, but nobody else."

"Your reputation precedes you, Don." said Cindy, and I felt like it was a sneering jab at me. I glanced most unfavorably in her direction.

"Good thing, too." growled the Sheriff. "It was clear they were trying to cheat, and only Crowbar's presence was keeping any semblance of order."

"Why? I mean why were they doing that?" asked Tanya P. Muscone. "It's not like this was the General Election? What were they trying to accomplish."

"While I was there, I got two impressions." I said. "First, they were testing us, just to see how far they could push, and would have to push. I did hear some talk about getting Judge Nance to issue an injunction to force us LEOs out of there, leaving the poll watchers to the mercy of the Security bullies, but someone mentioned the Christmas Eve rally, and they dropped the lawsuit talk." (Author's note: 'Christmas In The County'.)

"They realized you wouldn't follow an order from Nance, and wouldn't leave." said Teresa Croyle, making the correct deduction.

I said "I also go the impression they weren't showing their full hand. This was just a skirmish, a forward Cavalry raid. They'll go for the full meal deal in the General Election, and in districts more favorable to their antics. Anyway, my second impression is that they wanted to cheat to help Stacey Jacobs beat Malinda Adams more than any interest in the Williams-Silas primary."

"That makes sense." said Teresa.

I continued: "And they damn near succeeded. Malinda had been up huge in the polling leading into the race, then was up by several percentage point. And then all of a sudden, all these Jacobs votes started coming in. And that would happen when the poll watchers over the counters for that district were being harassed by the Security people. So I pretty much stayed over there, but then someone would gin up a confrontation elsewhere, I'd go over there, and time I got back, Jacobs had another half-percent made up."

"Why didn't they do the same for the Silas-Williams race?" asked the Chief.

"They may have, Chief." I replied. "Those numbers were fairly tight, but Dr. Williams was beginning to pull ahead a bit. Then there was a sudden jump in Silas's numbers, very similar to the Jacobs numbers, but not nearly as obviously fraudulent as the Jacobs fraud..."

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

"Hello and welcome to Fox University Sunrise!" said Catrina Pierce at 8:00am, Wednesday, May 6th. "After an eventful and sometimes controversial Election primary night, we have the results so far. For those, let's welcome my co-host, Meredith Peller. Hello Meredith."

"Hi Catrina." said Meredith Peller. "It was quite a night last night, and it's still not over. First, let's cover the big story of the night: The Town & County Police and Sheriff Departments were mobilized to monitor the election counting after reports of threats and intimidation against poll watchers by private Security hired by the Elections Commissioner."

Catrina picked it up: "The Elections Commissioner was going to stop the counting at midnight and send the poll watchers home. Sources tell Fox Eight News that after the poll watchers left, she was going to have some workers come back in and restart the count without the watchers present."

Meredith: "However, Sheriff Antonio Griswold and Police Commander Donald Troy appeared on the scene. While some witnesses claim that Commander Troy forced the Elections Commissioner to stay open until the ballots were counted, others say the Commissioner decided to keep the count going after realizing Commander Troy would not let anyone remain in the building without the poll watchers being there."

Catrina: "The results were certified very early this morning, and show that Edgar Silas has a 228-vote lead over Dr. Joseph E. Williams in the Council race primary to succeed Reginald B.F. Lewis, which will trigger an automatic runoff. But the big news of the night is that Malinda Adams won her Council seat's nomination by only two percent, 51-49%."

Meredith: "Stacey Jacobs has refused to concede to Adams, and has threatened to file a lawsuit in Court, saying that black voters in the district were disenfranchised. Adams retaliated with an accusation that she believed there were fraudulent votes for Jacobs, and that she, Adams, actually won by a much wider margin."

Catrina: "And State Attorney General Karl Handel is appealing to the State Republican Party to disavow the results of the primary that saw him defeated by Lt. Governor Sharon Marshall in wipeout fashion, and to make him the formal nominee of the Party for the Governor's seat. Ms. Marshall issued a statement saying that Handel had his chance to convince the voters to elect him, and the Grassroots soundly rejected him."

Meredith: "And the Lieutenant Governor's race should be a barnburner, as Ruby Russell, daughter of the late U.S. Senator Samuel Russell, who is revered by Establishment Republicans to this day, will face off against State Senator Corey Coons..."

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

"You guys think there was fraud in the Williams-Silas race?" Tanya Muscone asked as she, Teresa Croyle, and I sat in my office watching the KFXU broadcast to start the Angels Meeting.

"I do." said Teresa. "When big leads vanish so suddenly like that? And Todd's lobbyists told him Dr. Williams was pulling ahead in the last few days. Don? What do you think?"

I sat back into my comfortable 'Command Chair' and threw my arms out in a shrug. "I dunno. I dunno. It was close to begin with."

"What about Malinda Adams's race?" asked Tanya.

"Oh, I think there definitely was fraud there." I said. "I witnessed some of the attempts last night. They just didn't get over the finish line on that, and very likely because the Sheriff and I intervened in time to stop the fraud that was happening."

"So they really wanted the black candidate to win, and were willing to cheat to make it happen?" Teresa asked, her voice withering.

I replied "I'll refrain from saying it was purely race based, and just say they wanted the most far-Left candidate to win there. 'They' (air quotes), whoever 'they' are pulling the strings on this, wanted someone more reliably far-Leftist than Malinda Adams. Stacey Jacobs is rabidly, and I mean rabidly, far-Left in her views, just like..."

"Just like?" Tanya asked as she and Teresa peered at me.

"Just like Lionel Carmela." I said. "And I have a gut feeling who one of 'they' (air quotes) are that are pulling the strings... and Carmela is one of them."

After a few moments of silent reflection, followed by everyone getting more coffee, I said "Okay, what's happening in Chief Moynahan's Police Department that I need to be able to discuss with him?"

Teresa said "Something weird happened late yesterday, and I just got the report this morning. I still had a bee in my bonnet about who called in that fake abduction story that McElwane and Buchannan were a part of, so I asked Corporal Kirkpatrick to look into it, and to talk to Buchannan and McElwane. So he went to 2nd Precinct to talk to them, after informing Lt. DeLong, who was good with it."

Teresa: "They both came in, and Kirkpatrick said he had some questions about the incident. Buchannan was ready to answer questions, but McElwane asked for a Union Rep. Kirkpatrick said that he was not questioning anything McElwane did, that this was something else. Buchannan said out loud that McElwane did nothing wrong, as well. But McElwane just said he wanted a Union Rep, and would not answer any questions without one present."

"Sounds suspicious." Tanya said.

"Not necessarily." I replied. "Put yourself in McElwane's position. He didn't do anything wrong per se, but he's a white Officer that drew his weapon upon a black man who turned out to be unarmed, and in the presence of a minor child. And then a Corporal comes in with questions about the incident. So, Teresa, what did Kirkpatrick do then?"

"He just stopped talking to either of them, and called and asked me how he should proceed." Teresa said. "I told him to just let it go for now. So now I'm here asking you what you want me to do."

I said "Call 2nd Precinct and have them send Buchannan and McElwane here. Interview them in the Main Conference Room, and tape it. And here's how it should go..."

Part 15 - Issues and Answers

Patrolmen McElwane and Buchannan walked down the hallway to the door of the Main Conference Room. Buchannan knocked and heard a voice inside say "Come in."

Going inside, they found Lt. Commander Croyle sitting at the near end of the table. "Hi guys, thanks for coming. Have a seat." she said. They sat down in the first two seats to her right, their backs to the door.

Teresa said "I have a few questions about that situation you two had the other day."

"Ma'am," said McElwane, "I want a Union Rep present, and I will answer no questions without that Union Rep present."

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask." Teresa said. "This is not about you. You really don't need a Rep."

"With respect, ma'am," said McElwane, "it doesn't matter. I insist upon a Union Rep."

"Okay, then." said Teresa. "Get out of here. Report directly to Commander Troy in his office." McElwane got up and left the room. In the hallway, he saw me at the door to the anteroom of my office.

"Come on in." I said to him. He followed me in.

"Have a seat." I said as I went around my desk and sat down.

"Sir," said McElwane, "I want a Union Rep."

"Sit down, Officer." I ordered. When he didn't comply, I said "Sit. Down. I'm not asking you anything. Now sit down." When he finally complied, I expertly used the remote to turn on the monitor as I said "Let's watch some TV."

The image of Teresa and Buchannan in the Main Conference Room filled the monitor. "Okay, Kevin," said Teresa, "just to keep things tidy: that camera is on, and is recording this conversation. And I'll ask if you want a Union Rep."

"No ma'am, it's good." Buchannan said.

"All I want to ask you about," said Teresa, "is what you saw while you and McElwane was at the scene. Did you see any other people in the area?"

"There were people on the street, in the distance." said Buchannan. "None of them were very close to us, and nobody approached us in a way that appeared to be a threat."

Teresa nodded, then said "You didn't see anyone in the buildings in the area? No one looking out the window at you?"

"No ma'am." said Buchannan. "And I was watching to make sure a gun barrel didn't appear in a window to shoot at us."