Case of the Parole Officer Ch. 02

A female patrol officer, Julia Rodriguez, was on duty as Weston's assistant. I simply walked by her to the closed office door and opened it.

"Hey! Stop! You can't go in there!" the patrol officer shouted, rising out of her chair to stop me. Susan Weston was behind her desk, just rising from her chair as I came in. I whirled on the young patrol officer, whose right hand was just about to draw her service weapon from its holster.

"Yes I can." I said, thrusting my badge in my left hand almost into her face. When she read the small print on top that said 'Commander', her eyes widened in shock.

"It's okay, Julia." said Weston. "This is the Police Commander."

"Good thing you didn't draw your weapon, Officer." I said, displaying my backup gun in my right hand, finger not on the trigger. "I'd've had to shoot you if you did." Leaving the Patrol Officer in deep shock, I closed the door and confronted Precinct Captain Weston.

"What is this, Commander?" said Weston. "Rodriguez is new, she doesn't know who you are. And why are you barreling past her like that, even if you are the Police Commander?"

"Just an inspection of Precinct 3, Captain." I said. "I was not stopped at the entrance to the Jail, nor at the Duty Desk. You have some things to work on, here. But that's not why I'm here. I want to know why you went over my head to the Chief and complained about Captain Ross. And worst of all, threatened to file a Union grievance. Do you realize how hard I'm going to snap your head back for that?"

"Uh, sir, I didn't go to the Chief... he called me." said Weston, her face showing pure shock, as well as fear.

"Come on, Captain," I said, "do I really look that stupid to you?"

"No sir!" she practically shouted. "I know full well who you are. I'm serious; the Chief called me this morning about the time you left, and asked what the row with Captain Ross was about. I told him... and I also told him you'd intervened and quelled it. And he asked if I was going to file a grievance with the Union, which was the first thought I'd even had of something like that."

"So who called the Chief?" I asked, my eyes boring into Weston.

"I don't know. Check the phone logs." she replied. "He called me, I swear to God."

I nodded, realizing she likely was telling the truth, though she could've used her personal cellphone to call the Chief first. "Okay, Weston, in any case I've had about enough of your antics. Whatever your beef with Lt. Perlman is, I suggest you drop it, and fast. Remember that I'm on her side at all times in any dispute with you, even if she's the one in the wrong."

I then said "I also suggest you get this Precinct cleaned up, and fast. I am on the verge of demoting and replacing you, so it would be a really, really good idea that I don't have any more problems with you at all. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir." Weston said, practically shaking with fear now. I approached her desk.

Speaking much more quietly, I said "Captain Weston, you have a chance to do a good job in your position and really make a mark for yourself. I actually think you're the right person for this position... if you just stop listening to the shit Brownlee is pouring into your ears and just do your current job in the here and now."

I continued: "I will also tell you that you will never be Captain of the Detectives while I am employed by this Police Force... and you won't want that job if I am not here. And whatever that slug Brownlee promised you ain't worth shit. *I* make things happen in this Police Force, not that paper pushing dirtbag. Think about it, Susan." I turned and left, closing the door and leaving a totally shocked Precinct Captain behind me.

As I'd exited, Officer Rodriguez had stood up. "Carry on, Officer." I said, then stopped and peered at her. "I perceive that you were in the military, Officer Rodriguez?"

"Yes sir." she said, surprised.

"What branch?"

"Army, sir." she replied. "2697th M.A.S.H. I was in the Nursing Corps."

"That's a big hospital unit, 500 beds at least? Not like the small T.V. show unit." I asked.

"Yes sir." she said.

"Why did you become a police officer instead of an EMT?"

"Uh..." she said, then gushed "I was told, sir, that I'd have much better opportunities in the Police Force than the EMS here, sir."

I nodded. "Okay. And thank you for your military service. Carry on." With that, I left Precinct 3. As I got back into my SUV, I got a surprise text...

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

"Thank you for seeing us today, Mr. Burke." said SBI Agent Carter Fischer.

"No problem. What can I do for the State Bureau of Investigation?" asked Todd Burke. He was sitting behind his desk at BOW Enterprises, wearing a very well-tailored suit and silk tie. He looked like a young executive, and radiated both confidence and a sense of power which contrasted sharply with the young Agent Fischer and the inept Agent Greenwalt. And they could feel it.

"Have you heard of the death of Henry R. Wargrave?" asked Fischer.

"Yes, of course." said Todd.

"Have you heard of the details of the circumstances surrounding his death?"

"Only what I saw on television." said Todd. "He committed suicide. The FBI was after him, so it looks to me like he took the easy way out."

"Mr. Burke," said Agent Fischer, "the story is that Mr. Wargrave jumped from the window of his office and fell thirty floors to his death."

Todd did one of his uncle's favorite tricks: he said nothing, waiting for Fischer to finish or ask a question. The silence in the room became awkward.

"Is there a question in there somewhere, Agent Fischer?" Todd finally asked.

"You don't find that unusual?" asked Greenwalt, looking stupid and as if he didn't know why he was asking the question.

"I guess it's not normal for a billionaire to jump out of a tall window to his death." said Todd. "But he did. What am I supposed to find unusual about that?" Fischer was trying to watch Burke's face, but he was seeing nothing but boredom in Todd's features.

"Mr. Burke," said Fischer, "are you aware that Mr. Wargrave had bulletproof windows in his office, windows that were designed to withstand the impact of a small airplane or small missile?"

"No, I wasn't aware of that." said Todd.

"You don't find Mr. Wargrave jumping out that window unusual?"

"Okay, guys, let's stop wasting my time." said Burke. "Get to the point of your questions. What am I supposed to find unusual about this?"

Seeing their game wasn't producing good fruit, Fischer said "Mr. Burke, the windows were sealed shut, they could not be opened from the inside nor the outside. The window Mr. Wargrave jumped through was shattered... but as I just told you, those windows are made to withstand pretty big impacts. Now how did Mr. Wargrave shatter that window?"

"I have no idea." said Todd Burke. "Now gentlemen, if you'll excuse me..."

"We're not finished yet." said Fischer, trying to take control. Todd stood up anyway.

"Yes, you are finished if you're going to continue wasting my time with these useless questions."

"Is your Chief Research Officer, Barry Oliver here?"

"I don't know." replied Burke. "He doesn't have to clock in with me."

"Will you make him available to us for questioning?"

"No, I won't." said Burke. "I don't know what the bullshit point of this is, but you've tired me of it. Now I'm not answering any further questions from you without a lawyer present. You may not speak to any of my employees or partners without a Court-issued warrant and without them also being represented by legal counsel."

Todd pressed a button and two security men appeared, ready to cause trouble if necessary. "Butch, escort these SBI Agents off the property, and no SBI agents except my uncle and his police partner are to come on to the property again without Court-issued warrants. Shoot to kill if necessary."

"Mr. Burke," said Fischer. "What are you trying to hide?"

"What are you trying to hide?" retorted Todd. "Butch, get 'em out of here."

They didn't even make it off the property before Todd was texting his uncle...

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

My lovely and very competent assistant Helena French spoke on the intercom at 4:15pm. "Commander, an Officer Julia Rodriguez is here to see you, without appointment."

"That's fine." I said. "Send her in." Officer Rodriguez came inside. Cindy was sitting on the sofa.

"Sir, I came by to apologize." Julia said. "I did not realize who you were, and I was overly aggressive."

"No need to apologize, Officer Rodriguez." I said. "Please, sit down." Julia sat down, nervously looking at me.

"Officer, what is said in here will stay in here, so please speak freely and frankly to me." I said. "What's going on in Precinct 3?"

"There's no security there, sir." she said. "The Duty Desk doesn't even watch who's coming through, they don't keep good logs and don't notify Headquarters when cases need to be sent along. I've done half of that myself."

"So that's why you're gun-happy?" I asked.

"Sir, I really am the last and only line of defense to Captain Weston." Julia said. "If someone was seriously trying to come in and kill her, they would get as far as you did today."

"Thank you for telling us that." I said. "Just one more thing: can you be more specific about the EMS problems that caused you to choose the Police Force over them? Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"I just know that my friend Maria, who was in my M.A.S.H. unit and came here a month before me, told me that I should apply for the Police Force, because the EMS people got treated like shit, excuse my language, and if I got fired from there, I couldn't apply for the Police later and work for them. So I applied for the Police, and Maria is working for the Public Health Department."

I pressed a buzzer, and Helena appeared at the door. "Helena, I need to write a commendation for Officer Rodriguez. During an inspection of 3d Precinct, I found her to be efficient and on guard, surpassing her normal duties. Send me a template for that, please, and I'll fill in the details."

"Yes sir." said Helena, smiling. Everyone was aware I'd done that to praise Rodriguez publicly.

"As Captain Ross will tell you, Ms. Rodriguez," I said, "I'll put you in for a Commendation Medal, the Council will reduce it to an Achievement Medal, but expect to be present on the August 1st Ceremonies Day. And by the way, I wasn't going to shoot you."

"What if I had tried to shoot you, sir?" asked Julia.

Cindy piped in: "Crowbars hurt, Officer Rodriguez. Nuff said."

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

"That's it!" Cindy said as we sat in the office just minutes after Julia had left. "I just realized what is wrong about the Myers burglary!"

"And that is?" I asked.

"The garage door, for one thing." Cindy said.

"Yes." I said. "And?" I looked at her encouragingly as she thought about it. The light was coming on behind her ice blue eyes.

"Yesssss..." she said, more to herself than me. "The safe. The safe." I just smiled. My cousin was on point. Learning that she was a Michaux had her confidence as well as her mental acuity blooming.

"Anything else?" I asked.

Cindy thought again, then said "Ohhh... the items that were stolen."

Oh yeah, she was all over it like white on rice. "Just one more thing, and you're there." I said.

"Three out of four is good in baseball." said Cindy. "Give me a hint?"

"Sure." I said. "Why was the alarm manually defeated, and then reset?" Cindy gaped at me, then began thinking about it...

Part 9 - Allegations

"Sarah Carter was promoted in May." said Cindy in the late afternoon. "She's now more of an overseer of other parole officers, including Ryan Frost. Here's her photograph." Sarah was a black woman in her thirties, not bad looking, her body a bit voluptuous. Her ass was nice and big and round, and I was thinking I'd love to massage and squeeze those asscheeks while fucking her brains out.

Cindy brought me back to the present, saying "Frost also had two allegations of trying to force female parolees into performing oral sex upon him. One complaint was withdrawn, but the girl was found to have violated parole and sent back to State Women's Prison, where she remains now. The other complaint was allowed to languish when the girl making the claim was found dead in the Tenderloin District of a drug overdose, which was ruled 'accidental' by the Coroner at the time."

"And understandably so. Only the current knowledge of the accusation makes it suspicious now." I said. "What about other female parolees under Frost?"

"Myron says they're not keeping particularly good records down there." Cindy replied. "Closed case files get archived, and that's as paper files. Not too many computer records, and the ones that aredigital are recent."

"And we're not exactly as small as Apple Grove's paper files collection in their Courthouse basement." I said.

"All is not lost, however." said Cindy. "There's one woman, a Diane Butterhof, a.k.a. 'Diane Buttercup'. She was a prostitute and was arrested for being a courier of drugs. She got off parole three weeks ago, but only after her parole was extended due to bad reports ...from..." She paused to let me fill in the blank.

"Ryan Frost." I said, playing the game.

"Give the man a crowbar." Cindy replied. "She also had been under Carter before Carter was promoted. We have an address on her, and perhaps you should be along for the interview."

"No doubt." I said.

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

The apartment was on the lower west side, south of Downtown but not quite in the bad areas of Town. Cindy and I went in a big Police "black" SUV, an unmarked vehicle that had audio and video recording equipment.

Knocking on the door, it was answered by a very beautiful blonde woman. She was now in her thirties and had long, cascading blonde hair. Her lips were full, a bit too full if you ask me, but her eyes were warm and sensuous. She was taller than Cindy and still had a great body.

Cindy said "Diane, we're with the TCPD. Can we talk to you for a few minutes? You're not in trouble; we just need some information." Diane looked at us nervously and invited us in. Once inside, I put my finger to my lips in a 'hush' sign, and got out my bug detector. I found a bug on a living room lamp of the small apartment, one in the light fixture above the table in the kitchen/dining area, and one in her bedroom.

Again, putting my fingers over my mouth in a hush sign, I wrote on my notebook "Please come to our car." Diane did. She was in the backseat with me as Cindy sat in the driver's seat. Once in the car, I spoke.

"Diane, I am Commander Troy, and as you can see, your home has been bugged."

"I know who you are. You're the Iron Crowbar." said Diane. "But why is my house bugged, and who bugged it?"

"I hope to find those things out." I said. "Captain Ross and I are investigating Ryan Frost, who was your parole officer."

Diane's face fell. 'I... I can't talk about him..."

I said "Diane, I'm sure he and maybe Sarah Carter threatened you. But I can protect you. Tell us what you can, testify against them, and I'll help you disappear and find a new life elsewhere. He's probably doing the same thing to other women that he did to you, so help those other women, even if your own parole is over."

Diane gave this story, which I have cleaned up as it was interspersed with a good bit of tears and emotion:

"Sarah Carter was my first parole officer." Diane said. "I went to every appointment every two weeks, took all my drug tests and stayed clean, did everything she said do. A few months ago she told me that she was being promoted, and I'd be assigned to one of her parole officers, Ryan Frost."

"He was a really disgusting guy." she continued. "At my first appointment with him, he stood in front of me and opened his pants and took out his cock. He told me to suck it. I said no fucking way, and he said he's send me back to prison if I didn't. I got up to leave, and I was going to go to the Police, but at that moment Sarah Carter came in and said I'd better do what he said, or she would say I violated my parole and send me back to prison. So I had to suck that little bastard's prick with her watching."

"Sarah told me that if I ever told the police or anyone, I'd go back to prison and I'd be murdered inside. I believed that; two women I knew inside that had their paroles revoked were gang-raped and then murdered by the guards, and the going rumors were that they'd pissed off someone on the outside."

Diane continued: "They came to my apartment twice, about midnight. The first time, they went through all of my stuff, looking for drugs, and of course there weren't any... but Sarah had a bag of weed and said she'd plant this and have the cops find it if I didn't do what she said. She stripped naked and got on my bed and told me to eat her pussy. I didn't have any choice, but I'm okay with muffdiving so I went down on her. It was while I was doing that, that that bastard Frost got behind me and tried to put his cock in me. I jumped up and said no fucking way he was going to fuck me, and Sarah said that if I didn't let him, I'd be found with drugs, my parole violated, and I'd be in shit creek in the big house again. So I had to let that bastard rape me from behind while I ate out Sarah."

They left me alone for a couple of months, but about six weeks ago they came into my home again. My parole was supposed to be over, but they'd extended it a month, telling me it was a warning and a sign of what they could do. They said they were going to fuck me this one last time, and if I went along, they'd let my parole end and I'd be free... but if I ever said a word, I'd be murdered."

"Did Frost come inside you?" Cindy asked, "Or did he use a condom?"

"He didn't use a rubber," said Diane, "but he didn't come. He was getting close, he only lasted a couple of minutes, and Sarah told him not to blow inside me. So he got on her and they 'fucked to pop'. That was the first time, and that ended the night. The second time, Frost tossed my salad while I ate Sarah. I had to keep eating Sarah while that little shit tongued my ass. Then he raped me again, in my pussy, and he put his finger in my ass. He shot his load in Sarah's mouth that time."

"All right, let's go upstairs and you pack a bag of clothes and other items you want to take. Don't say anything that the bugs might pick up. We're going someplace safer, and after you testify, the FBI will hide you somewhere. Any place you'd like to go?"

"California. Los Angeles." said Diane.

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

It was nearly midnight, and Mary Mahoney came up to the punk club entrance in the Tenderloin District, dressed in her normal 'punk' clothing with some embellishments.

"Private party. You're not on the list." said the doorman, a young black man in a nice suit, but plenty fit and ready for a fight.

"Here's my invitation." said Mary, holding up her Police I.D. badge. She was certified as a Detective and qualified with a gun.

"Where's your warrant?" the doorman said.

"Cooperate with them, Jerome." said the man coming up to them. It was T-Mac, lieutenant of the rapper T-Square. "They're keeping things cool and on the down-low instead of making a scene. We'll work with the I.C. here." Behind T-Mac was a large man in a trenchcoat, Tilley hat, and carrying the ubiquitous red crowbar.

"Yes sir." said the doorman dispassionately. He nodded at Mary. She went inside and to a table where a woman with dyed purple-red hair, cut in a mohawk, was sitting. The woman was wearing a leather vest that did not do much to hide her breasts, as nip-slips were happening. The woman was smoking a cigarette and downing a whiskey.