Cool For The Summer Ch. 02

Gwen turned to go, and Teresa looked at me, her eyes just begging me to have her stop Munson. But I had to disappoint her by shaking my head, allowing Munson to go.

"Why'd you let her go, after she slipped up like that?" Teresa asked as soon as the door closed behind her.

'It'd be hard as hell to prove at trial in Court." I replied. "And I really want McCombs to tell us who is pulling his strings. Rattling Munson without making her dig in is the way to do that..."

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

6:00pm. Chief Moynahan made his goodbyes and left Headquarters, freeing the rest of the Police Leadership to do likewise, if we so desired. I so desired, and began putting papers away and shutting down my computer when Teresa appeared at my door.

"Going to the Cop Bar tonight?" the Iron Wolf asked. "We're going to have celebratory beef and nachos, and maybe a dram of a good single malt Scotch."

"Sounds good." I said. "I'll call Laura and let her know---"

I was interrupted by the Duty Desk Sergeant coming up behind Teresa. "Sir, ma'am," he said, "McCombs just yelled something at the camera, and when a couple of Officers went to see what was the matter, McCombs asked to speak to you, Commander Troy... in the Interrogation Room. And he said not to call his lawyer."

"Some kind of trick?" asked the ever-skeptical Teresa.

"Only one way to find out." I said. To the Duty Desk Sergeant I said "Have them bring McCombs to I-1, and send a Uniformed Officer in to watch. I'll come down when they're ready..."

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

Teresa watched from the anteroom, and Tanya and Jerome Davis were watching in the Monitor Room as I went into I-1. McCombs was sitting at the table, and at the doorway to the 'jail side' was Patrolman Sims, who moonlighted as Security at Eastside Elementary. (Author's note: 'Schoolhouse Rock', Ch. 01.)

I got out the card to re-read McCombs his right, but he said "I know the rights. Just give me a second to tell you why I asked you to come in."

"Okay." I said, my voice skeptical.

"Look, Commander," said McCombs, "I still have Federal charges against me for that incident with that (n-word) and his boy, and they could re-file the local charges after the mistrial. You're familiar with this: you were pardoned for the State crimes in that Morelli case, but the Feds could still bring charges. So you have to maintain your Fifth Amendment rights. Well, so do I. " I nodded.

McCombs: "So I want to talk to you about a... 'hypothetical' situation. I'm not confessing to anything, I maintain my rights to silence. Just a 'hypothetical'."

"And you don't want your lawyer here for this?" I asked.

"No." said McCombs. "She'd try to keep me quiet. If she knew I was talking to you now, she'd go ape-shit. So, do we have a deal? I give you a 'hypothetical', and then that conversation never happened?"

It's times like this where good Detectives make their money and earn their stripes, or higher. I've always hated 'hypotheticals'; they often taint any evidence we find based on them, and then our case gets thrown out of Court. And it was walking on quicksand to even be talking with McCombs without his lawyer present.

So my first instinct, and what almost any other Detective would do, would be to contact the ADA in charge of the case, or at least insist the suspect have his or her lawyer present. But then my second instinct kicked in: that I might learn something important, here, and that knowledge of that information might be more important than the legal case.

"All right. You've got a deal." I said.

"Okay," said McCombs, "what if someone... hypothetically a Police Sergeant... hypothetically was told to contact Archie Brody at BOW Enterprises, give him a device and tell him it's a tracking device, and have it installed on Captain Muscone's wheelchair. You'd hypothetically want to know who that Sergeant's contact was... the person who gave the Sergeant that device, and the forged letter, and the instructions, wouldn't you?"

"Of course." I said. "So... hypothetically... who is it?"

McCombs's eyes glanced furtively around, and then he said "What if it hypothetically was Officer Jeremy Hatch?"

"It makes sense... hypothetically." I said. "Was Hatch hypothetically the one that had you arrest Toddler and his crew?" (Author's note: 'Black and Blue'.)

"I've said all I'm going to say." said McCombs. "And don't ask me to testify against him, about anything. I'd be dead before the next sunrise."

Mind you, that would be an outcome perfectly suitable to Your Iron Crowbar, as I despised this dirtbag that had stained the TCPD Badge. But I digress...

"Do you know who is hypothetically pulling his strings, as well as yours?" I tried.

"Hypothetically, I would have no idea of that." said McCombs. "And that's all I'm going to say about any of this."

"All right." I said. To Sims I said "You can take him back to his cell. Make sure he gets there, put him on suicide watch, make sure no one else goes in his cell." Sims escorted McCombs out, and after they'd left and the door had closed, I exited out the anteroom side.

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

"Wow." said Teresa as she, Tanya, and Jerome Davis sat in my office, discussing what we'd just witnessed. "Why is he giving up Hatch like that?"

"If I may, ma'am." said Jerome Davis, and we nodded as he said: "I'm not sure we can trust what he says. He may be doing this to worm his way out of what we have on him, and distract us from what he was doing."

"First," I said, "Jerome, this is an open discussion; you can speak relatively freely. Second, you've made an excellent point, but let's parse it down."

Your Iron Crowbar: "Let's look at this from a larger perspective. Do any of you guys think McCombs is the true leader of what is obviously a sophisticated operation of a size possibly larger than a collection of a few dirty cops?" They all shook their heads; no, they did not think McCombs was capable of that.

Teresa said "To that end, McCombs was the one that created that situation with the black man and his son. The top General would not do that. An expendable grunt would be ordered to do it."

"I agree." I said. "I'm also remembering that Hatch is the one that planted the gun on the Toddler Crew, and Hatch was the one that secured the McDonalds bags full of money. So McCombs may be right to the extent that Hatch is the boss of him, in the criminal perp sense."

"What doesn't make sense, sir," said Tanya, "is that we'd believe Hatch is anything but one of the dumbest and worst Police Officers on the Force. You've written him up a couple of times, he's constantly watched by Internal Affairs, and he's not permitted to be on field assignments; he's relegated to desk duty and tasks like taking documents to the Courthouse... and he can barely get those tasks done."

"Exactly, sir." said Jerome. "That's why I'm wondering if McCombs is pasting Hatch with this to distract us and waste our time looking into it."

"I hear you." I said. "Let me counter with this idea: what if Hatch is playing dumb, and has been playing dumb all these years, but in reality is a lot sharper than we've given him credit for?" You could've heard a pin drop.

"Wowwwww." said Teresa, breaking the silence. "How long has he been here?"

"Over six years, at least." I said (Author's note: 'Case of the Black Badge', Ch. 01, for Hatch's first appearance.) "He came up on I.A.'s radar in the 'Black Badge case. He's simply never done anything egregious enough to get himself fired, and of course the Union always protects him and fights for him to the last ditch"

Your Iron Crowbar: "But the second McCombs said Hatch's name, it hit me that Hatch playing the fool is a perfect cover... and would require someone with brains to make work out. 'Ice Cube' Perry was our deep undercover guy for a long time, because he had the brains, street smarts, and cunning for it. Hatch plays dumb and incompetent, and we not only don't question that, we assign him courier duty... where he can and probably does look at everything we send over there, and therefore gathers intel on our operations."

I finished up: "Let's keep what we know confined to this room. Commander Croyle, take Hatch off courier duty. Put him on Desk Duty here at Headquarters until further notice. I'll contact Ted Orosco with Internal Affairs, and give him an edited version of what is going on. You can go now. So can you, Lieutenant Davis, and that was some good mental work you've done today. Captain Muscone, stay here one moment." Teresa got up first, then Jerome followed her in both leaving the office.

I said to Tanya: "This is one of the reasons I told you not to tell even your husband about any of this. Now I need you to call him and ask him to come in, so I can talk to both of you at the same time."

Part 10 - Loyalties

When FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone got to my office, I did not need Carole's power of the vibe to see that he was not happy.

"All right, Dog," he said as he sat down next to his wife, "you need to come correct with me."

"Yes I do," I said, "and that's why I asked Tanya to get you to come over. Here's what we know about the bug planted in her wheelchair." I gave a summary of what we'd found, leaving out Archie Brody's name. And I could see as I spoke that Jack knew more about it than he should... had Tanya talked to him despite my instructions to the contrary? I wondered.

"Who is the guy who actually planted the bug?" Jack asked levelly, his beady black eyes trying to stare right through me.

"I'm not saying, at least not until I've consulted with the District Attorney's Office." I replied. "And I told Tanya not to say anything to you, party because I wanted this to play out, and get past him. I think he's innocent and was tricked into planting the bug. We also believe there was and may still be a relay vehicle in the parking lot, suggesting an inside TCPD job. And last but not least, I don't think this is the Swamp Frogs nor any Federal Agents; I think it's a local thing."

"Are you sure of that?" Jack asked. "We've had a lot of Swamp Frog activity in this area, especially in the last few months. You barely still have a home, a dog, and a daughter, and you don't have an Impound Yard anymore." (Author's note: 'No Way Out', 'Power of Love'.) "And that issue with McCombs and Hatch arresting Toddler's Crew was a front to start up racial issues to help politicians at the national level and their Media allies."

"What I'm sure of," I said, staring right back at Muscone, "is that if I give you the name of the person who actually installed the device, you'll go after him. You'll arrest him and file Federal charges against him, then you'll interrogate him in typical Federal fashion. You won't get any more out of him that we have, and you'll totally destroy his life, much less his career. So I'd appreciate it if you would trust me on this, and let me handle it."

Muscone clearly did not like that. I glanced over at Tanya, seeing that she was just listening and would give me no help. Jack finally said "What about McCombs? Can we get a few minutes with him?"

"He has invoked." I said. "He gave me what I got on a 'hypothetical' basis, pretty much off-the-record. So sure, you can talk to him, but Gwen Munson will be right there getting in your face. And before you ask, I don't want you going after Hatch, either. If you do, he'll clam up, he'll know we're onto him, whoever his handler or his boss is, they will know, and we won't be able to check further into him and then possibly use him to our advantage."

"All right, I get it." said Jack. He turned to Tanya and said "If the Iron Crowbar is done talking to you, why don't you go get your things, and we'll head on home. I need to talk to Don for just one more second." I nodded to Tanya, giving permission for her to go, and she exited the office.

"I need to ask you one thing." said Jack. "Are you going to fire Tanya?"

"Not only 'no', but 'hell no!'." I replied, a bit shocked. "Why would you even ask that?"

"I know there have been issues between her and her subordinates over working with the FBI." Jack said. "I understand the reasons. I also know that there are times you want her to keep Police business things from me. If there's a problem, both she and I need to know about it."

I said "Tanya is not going anywhere, unless she resigns purely of her own accord. I want her in the TCPD for as long as she wants to be."

Then I added "Having said that, it is possible that she could leave the Captain of Detectives position... by being promoted."

It was Jack's turn to be surprised. "Promoted?" he asked sharply. "To where?"

I said "The two likeliest places would be Chief of Internal Affairs, which is a Lieutenant Commander position, or Deputy Chief, which is a Commander position."

Jack openly gaped at me. "Do you expect either of those positions to become open?" he asked.

I said "Keep this between you and me, but if Sharon Marshall wins the Governorship and Curly Goodwin wins the I.G. post here in our Town & County, and I believe he will, the SBI Director position will become open. And if you don't weasel your beady-eyed self into it, it is possible that both Orosco and Cindy Ross would be considered for the job, opening up a position. But that is not a done deal by any means, so don't even tell Tanya about it for now."

I added: "And I'll also say this: there are times I will indeed ask Tanya to not tell you some things. And I'm not sympathetic to any complaints about that. I've been married for seven years to one of the highest-level CIA Officers in the Nation. We've never talked 'shop', and there are things we both understand we must keep from each other. Hell, Laura didn't even tell me she was in the CIA; I had to tell her that I knew." (Author's note: 'Interlude', Ch. 09.)

"I get it." said Jack. "And I might as well touch the third rail... what about the situation with the Miltons? I know they don't like the FBI nor any Federal Agents, and I understand why after Myron's father was beaten nearly to death." (Author's note: 'Falsely Accused', Ch. 03.)

Jack: "But it's pissing Tanya off that they're practically insubordinate to her in their refusals to do any work that you might give to us. So what's the real story with that? Are they being insubordinate?"


I just looked at Jack as I said: "I appreciate all of my good Police Officers, and the jobs they do, and do well, for me. And I love my Angels, all three of them, like my closest family. But I have rarely seen two people more indispensable to any job than Myron and Mary Milton are to this Police Force in their respective positions. Losing them would be absolutely devastating to us."

Jack got the message. "Okay, then. I'll hold off making any arrests. But keep me in the loop on this." I nodded and he got up and said "I'll leave you to it. Have a good night."

"You too." I said. As I watched him exit the office, I wondered if I'd just torn open a breach I'd never be able to close...

Part 11 - Legal Choke Points

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the redheaded MLF reporterette at 7:00am, Thursday, August 13th, from the roof of the building at Riverside and College, with Police Headquarters in the background. "The Police Union files another grievance against the TCPD!"

Bettina began: "Yesterday, Pottsville Police arrested former Police Sergeant McCombs based upon an APB and warrant issued by the Town & County Police, and the State Patrol brought Mr. McCombs back to this jurisdiction. The warrant named Mr. McCombs as a person of interest in an incident of a listening device being found on the equipment of a Police Officer."

Bettina: "Sources tell Channel Two News that the piece of equipment was the wheelchair used by Police Captain Tanya P. Muscone, and that the bug was planted by a BOW Enterprises technician, who has so far not been charged with any crime."

Bettina: "The Police Union, which is still fighting to have Mr. McCombs restored to the TCPD, claimed in their grievance that the Police are accusing Mr. McCombs of a crime to harass him, and that they have no evidence to show that Mr. McCombs had any role in the planting of the listening device. The Union cites the fact that the TCPD has not arrested nor charged the BOW Enterprises technician as solid proof that they are focusing on Mr. McCombs as an act of harassment and retaliation."

Bettina: "And in other news, White Nationalist Conservatives are outraged at candidate for Governor Hoyt Stenson's proposals for reasonable gun control measures. Republican candidate for Governor Sharon Marshall, who is a close crony of deeply unpopular Governor Val Jared and supports his racist, White Nationalist policies, issued a statement demanding that Hoyt Stenson debate her publicly in front of live cameras and a live audience..."

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

"Good grief." said Lt. Commander Teresa Croyle as she, ADA Paulina Patterson, and I drank coffee and watched in my office. "How did Bettina learn about all of that?"

I was tapping away on my computer, then made a phone call to the Duty Desk. Upon hanging up, I turned to face the ladies on the other side of the desk.

"Okay," I said, "no one visited McCombs last night. Gwen Munson did not come to Headquarters at any time. The duty logs are issued to the Press once a day... usually at 8:00am after I've reviewed them. Yesterday's duty logs have not been officially issued to the Press."

"So we have a mole?" asked Teresa.

"Probably," I replied, "but the Press would've heard about the APB and the arrest. And unlike the past, they'll share information rather than try to scoop each other, in order to cause maximum damage to us, the Police."

Your Iron Crowbar: "So KXTC hears about it, and starts investigating. Bettina reported what they have, which is in the public record, for the most part. I wouldn't be shocked if someone wrote in a document that the wheelchair is what was bugged. I would imagine they've called Gwen Munson, and they also have a mole in BOW Enterprises; ergo, they know from that, too."

"Bettina didn't mention the technician's name," Teresa said, "but she was really pointing out that he hadn't been arrested... and then pointed out that that was the Union's reason behind their grievance."

"Can the Union grieve that, considering that McCombs is not a Police Officer now?" Paulina asked.

"I don't think so." I said. "And I'll be bringing up some ideas to respond to that with the Sheriff and Police Chief. But the most damaging thing about all of that... is that Hatch and whoever is pulling his strings now know that we're aware of the bug in Teresa's wheelchair. Any element of surprise we had is now lost."

"That bites." Teresa said.

*BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!* *BRING!*

It was my landline phone, and I answered it. After hanging up, I said "That was Chief Moynahan. He wants you and me, Teresa, in his Conference Room. Bring your coffee mug..."

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

Sheriff Griswold was in the Chief's Conference Room, and Commander Cindy Ross walked in just in front of us. We all took our seats.

"Mighty exciting news report this morning, Mr. Crowbarrr." drawled the Chief. "First, fill us in on everything." I told everyone everything that had transpired the afternoon and evening before, including my 'hypothetical' meeting with McCombs at his request.

"We'll hear no end of that." growled Griswold. "Gwen Munson will be screaming at us until she's hoarse."

Teresa said "Sheriff, I have affidavits from all the Officers that McCombs asked to meet Commander Troy, and specifically without a lawyer present. Also, I've preserved the tapes of their discussion, showing Commander Troy about to read McCombs his rights again, then McCombs reiterating he didn't want the lawyer present, then their agreed-upon hypothetical conversation."