Ethical Dilemmas Ch. 02

"Boynton?!" exclaimed O'Brady. Dooley was also shocked.

"Sure looks like it." I said, with Cindy nodding vigorously in agreement. I then went through the chain of my thesis.

"That definitely explains everything." said O'Brady. "So how do we put this guy behind bars?..."

Part 11 - Plans

"O'Brady has been very cooperative, reasonable, and deferential." said Cindy as we drove towards home. "All I ever heard was how arrogant he is, but I haven't seen it."

"He's one of the good guys." I said. "Dooley, I'm not so sure about, though. That's why I didn't say much of our plan to sting Boynton in front of him."

"Think it'll work?" Cindy asked.

"Yeah..." I replied...

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

"...but it's potentially dangerous." I said as we sat in TCPD Headquarters's MCD room with the Detectives. It was nearly 4:00pm, Wednesday, August 29th.

"I'll be glad to do it, sir." said Joanne Warner. "I'm sure Seth would be willing to do his part, too."

"No, Seth is not a Police Officer, and not under any kind of indemnification nor insurance protection." I replied. "Detective McGhillie," I said to Roy, "you may have thought that leaving Vice meant no more undercover jobs for you, but I have news. Your experience will serve us well for this mission."

"I'm ready to go." said Roy enthusiastically.

"Okay, here's the full plan." I said. "Myron is going to slip a case into the Palmyra System dockets. A Mr. Charles McSwain has been found guilty of McSwindles, but has not been sentenced yet. Mr. Redmond, one of the prosecutors down there, is going to help us, as is the Bailiff, who has had his suspicions of Judge Boynton for a while."

"Roy, you'll be Mr. McSwain." I said. "Joanne, you'll be Mary McSwain, sitting behind your 'husband', not quite holding back tears for him. If things go right, the Judge will see you, delay the sentencing for a day, then call you to meet with him. We think it will be in the tropical park near the Courthouse; if not, persuade him to meet you there."

"You'll be wearing a wire." I said. "We'll be stationed close by. But the part of this plan I don't like is that you won't be able to wear any armor. So if he pulls a gun, you better do the best Police Boxing Matches move you've ever made to give us time to get to you."

"I'll be fine, sir." said Joanne, a little more brightly and carefree than I wanted to hear.

"Also," I said, "I won't be down there right away. I'm going to be talking to the NCAA people to try to save our friendly neighborhood University from the ugly rumors the evil Press has been spewing out. So Joanne, if Boynton wants to meet you before I get down there, stall him until early afternoon. If I'm not down there by lunchtime, then Commander Ross will run the show."

"God help us." muttered Lieutenant Rudistan, who'd just snuck in. He got an ugly look from the Green Crowbar even as the rest of us laughed.

"And why are you here, Mr. Rudistan?" Cindy said icily.

"Commander Troy asked me to stop by, ma'am." said Rudistan with great joviality.

"Yes. Yes I did." I said. "Let's go to my office, Rudistan. Ross, would you show McGhillie and Warner the lay of the land of the so-called tropical park?"

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

"Whaddya got?" I asked as Rudistan and I seated ourselves in my office.

"We did some plainclothes patrols around your wife's place of work, both your houses, the Police Station, and Eastside Elementary. We also had some foot patrols around the school, and talked with School security." said Rudistan. "There were no issues around there."

"But we did start seeing the same three cars going by your wife's office, parking nearby, and illegally I might add, and one of them followed her part of the way home." Rudistan continued. "We didn't know if they were friend or foe, so we didn't interdict them. But we got the license plates and ran them, and we gave the information to Mary Milton for processing."

"Good." I said. "Excellent work. Tomorrow, the NCAA and half of the world's Press is going to be on the University campus, so you guys check around Callie Carrington's place, which is also the home of the Commander you just mortally offended in there," I was grinning as I said that, "and also watch and see if anyone is tailing Sheriff Allgood or his wife."

"Yes sir." said Rudistan.

"By the way, how is Lt. Abram doing as Acting Precinct Captain?"

"Very well, sir." said Rudistan. "I'm taking it easy on him, too. But he's made some good changes, and the energy around the Precinct is picking up."

"Good." I said. "He thinks highly of you, as well. You guys keep it up. We're going to need 2nd Precinct to be in peak condition for the coming season..."

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

"I needed this beer." Cindy said as she and Teresa enjoyed beef nachos along with the ice-cold adult beverage. "It's been a long day."

"And I bought you that beer to bribe you into telling me what's going on." Teresa replied. "So, whassup?"

Cindy filled Teresa in on the Leigh Lance case. Then she said "I talked to Don as we drove down about the Press situation. Well, I tried to..."

"Speaking of the Press," said Paulina Patterson as she came out of the Cop Bar onto the deck, "may I join you?"

"Sure." said Teresa.

"I'll pay half the tab for the beer and nachos." said Paulina.

"No you won't." said Teresa. "It's my party tonight. So, what happened with Amber Harris?"

"What did happen, there?" asked Cindy. "I was out of Town all day."

Paulina drank some beer and then said "Amber was restricted to the County limits, but she went over to the City to be on the 'Point Taken' show. U.S. Marshals were called in to arrest her and bring her back. Which they did. On live television."

"Oh my God!" Cindy gasped, a smile on her face.

"So then what?" asked Teresa.

"I sincerely believe Nance is a secret operative for the other side." Paulina said. "I argued like hell to revoke any bail and put her in jail. Instead, that old bastard set bail at $100,000, which KXTC paid immediately. He did require ankle monitoring, which is a small win for us."

"Wow." said Cindy. "Why did she go out of the jurisdiction?"

"Nance actually asked her what she was thinking when she did that." Paulina said. "Amber actually said she was doing her job as a journalist and had First Amendment protection of the Press in doing so. Even Nance is not so rabid a Socialist to accept that, and he cut her to ribbons on it. My own comment is that Amber and the rest of the Media are so arrogant that they literally think they are above the law and can do whatever they damn well please."

She and Teresa both noticed Cindy's face fall. "What?" Teresa asked.

"I was just telling Teresa before you came up, Paulina," said Cindy, "that I talked to Don about his Press feud with them. It... didn't go well."

"His feud is my feud." said Paulina. "Lester Holder called my daughter a 'half-breed', and he's still working at KXTC, no reprimand, no punishment. I've bitched like hell in public and private about it, even threatened to sue him and them, but it's for nothing. They don't give a shit. It'd be racism if either of you called Tasha a name like that, but it's just fine if it's one of them, the Press, and if it's about Don Troy's daughter."

"And that's part of the problem." Cindy said. "The rhetoric has ratcheted up so much that I'm scared that something might happen. You know John Hardwood tried to murder Carole---"

"Really?" Teresa said with mock shock as she helped herself to a beef nacho. "I heard some rumor about that."

"I'm sorry, and I know what you went through." Cindy said. "And that's part of my point... Don went after Thomas P. Cook, he and Hardwood tried to murder Carole, and thanks to you, Teresa, they failed, but at the cost of great pain to you. Lester Holder, he's nuts, but Amber is worse: she's a fireball, and she really did try to commit some violence against Don the other night."

"And the flip side of that," Cindy continued, "is that I was the one that intervened, but if I hadn't have been there, Don could have broken her jaw in five places with one haymaker... or he could've punched her in the gut so hard that he would've ruptured her spleen. And do you think he wouldn't have, given the chance?"

"C'mon." Teresa said. "Give Don some credit. He's better than they are."

"I know," said Cindy, "but I don't want him put in that position in the first place. I tried to stop him from going in there, but he went right on in. I'm not saying he was wrong in any way, just that he's not going to do anything to help de-escalate the situation."

"So what do you want to do?" asked Teresa.

"Re-open the Press Room." Cindy said. "Tell them that if they behave like civilized people, it'll stay open, but I'll re-close it if they don't."

She looked at the other women, and saw that she did not have any support with them. "I guess y'all don't agree?"

"Well," said Paulina, "like I said: with me, it's personal. They attacked me, called my daughter racial names, destroyed my candidacy for D.A., and for what? Just to hurt Don. Just to cause him, and all of us, pain. I don't forgive it, and I'm not forgetting."

Teresa said "I understand what you're saying, Cindy. But I don't understand why you think they'll change their ways. They already expect the Press Room to be open, they'll only see you re-opening it as doing what they think you're supposed to be doing. And they won't back off Don one inch; as long as he's perceived as a friend of Val Jared, they're going to continue to attack Don as hard as they can."

"What does Don think of your idea?" asked Paulina.

"I haven't mentioned it to him yet." said Cindy. "And I'm not going to ask him to speak to the Press, nor forgive them in any way. But someone has to take the first step to try and calm this down. Before someone gets hurt. Seriously hurt."

"In that respect," Teresa said, "the scar on my back and the tingle in my right arm and hand tell me it's already way past that point. They were so bitterly disappointed when Jared wasn't harmed in that Wentworth gas explosion that they couldn't help but show it. And they were more upset that Don tricked the hell out of them... for the second time... than they were that someone had tried to murder the Governor of the State. They're not going to change, Cindy. So don't give in to them."

"Maybe you're right." Cindy said, which Teresa knew meant Cindy thought Teresa was wrong. "Thanks for the beer and nachos. I'm going to head on home." With that, she made her way out and to her vehicle.

"Captain Thompson told me that she was angrier at the Press than Don was." said Paulina. "What changed?"

"I dunno." said Teresa. She did not, and would not, say out loud that she thought Cindy was trying to keep Don from getting in trouble by going to far in attacking the journalists. And maybe Cindy was right: Don had not needed to intervene in that domestic dispute. And he was releasing the information he had on the journalists, exposing them one-by-one, taking them down one-by-one.

Right or wrong, ethical or not, Don was waging just as brutal a war on the Press as they were waging on him. And yes... it could escalate. Both ways.

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

"So how are you doing, Chief?" Cindy asked Chief Griswold as they sat in front of a small fire in the pot in the Chief's backyard, the lake shimmering a coppery-gold as the sun set on the other side of the ridgeline.

"I'm okay." said the Chief. "I'm more worried about Mrs. Griswold than anything else. She's not over Charlie's death at all. I mean, I know neither of us will ever be truly over it, but she's letting it hang over her. So... what did you want to talk about?"

Cindy gave a wan smile. "Not much gets past you, Chief." she said. Griswold chuckled, then Cindy told him of her conversation with Don, then with Teresa and Paulina.

"Yeah, I hear ya." said the Chief. "On the one hand, Don is absolutely right about the Press. They are totally out of control, holier-than-thou, and completely unchecked. They think they control our lives and our destinies. If a politician they don't like is elected, they'll stop at nothing to thwart the People's will and destroy that politician. The only thing to do is fight back. I believe Jared's biggest mistake is that he doesn't fight back hard enough. But Don... well, that's no problem."

"On the other hand," the Chief said, "you may well be right about the potential escalation. The Press is not interested in halfway, in armistices nor agreements; they intend to win by totally destroying their chosen enemy. That is the only acceptable outcome to them. I probably don't need to tell you that my election as Sheriff is all but assured, unless the biggest voter fraud in U.S. history occurs. But Daniel Allgood is in a close, tough fight. It will be all too easy to commit fraud for Weaver in that race. And the Press will help it along; they certainly won't do a damn thing to stop it."

"I'm more worried about physical violence, another attempt to harm Carole, or Tasha, or other members of Don's family... including you, and my mother, and Callie..." Cindy said.

"I know. I know." said the Chief. "I'm not sure how to advise you, except to keep your eyes open and be on high alert for anything. You have the Vibe; use it. Trust your instincts. As to re-opening the Press Room, my advice is to talk to Captain Thompson and then Chief Moynahan. They're both savvy young whippersnappers. Trust their advice."

"Thanks, Chief." said Cindy. They sat watching the fire and the dying light of the lake for a while, then Cindy said "So you're still in the race for Sheriff? We were afraid Charlie's death might take you out of it."

"And I did give that some thought." said Griswold. "But the Presbyterian Ladies have said that my wife shows glimmers of life and energy when they talk about helping with my campaign. Also... well, I told Charlie I was running for Sheriff, and he blinked that he would make an endorsement commercial for me, for the 'Morse-Code-enabled'. Jonathan Davis laughed at that, and I couldn't help but laugh, too. Charlie was excited for me to be running. So I can't stop now."

"No sir, you can't stop." Cindy said. "Charlie told us, me and Teresa, that he thought you were a good Police Officer, and a better dad. And he's right, you know."

Griswold had to wipe a tear from his eye as he said "Thank you. He also told me that I was a good Detective when he was growing up... but that Don was in a class by himself. I told Charlie that Don was the best Detective either of us would ever see in our lifetimes..."

"He asked us to tell him about you, and about you and Don, your relationship with each other." Cindy said. "I told him that you and Don were a great team. He blinked for me to stop holding back. So I told him that Don's father had died and you were the closest thing he had to a dad; and until he, Charlie, came back to us, Don was like another son to you. Charlie said he had a brother now."

It was getting emotional around the fire. Chief Griswold then said, his voice almost cold in its intensity.: "Don't worry about Don, Cindy. I know what you're thinking, but he won't pop off and do something stupid to any of the reporters... yet. But when he finds Charlie's killer... may the living God have mercy upon that poor person's soul..."

Part 12 - Judge Not (Lest Ye Be Judged)

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded MILF reporterette at 7:00am, Thursday, August 30th, from in front of the Courthouse complex. "Fox Two News has learned that the SBI has opened an investigation into several members of the State Medical Board and the State Bar!"

Bettina began: "The State Medical Board suspended the medical license of Dr. Laura Fredricson, head of the Psychology Department at the University, and also the wife of Police Commander Donald Troy. The Board did not give Dr. Fredricson their reasons, nor did they release those reasons to the Public. They also suspended her license without a hearing of any kind beforehand."

"The SBI's Office of Ethics and Review opened an investigation of the State Medical Board," continued Bettina, "and has found not only severe irregularities in their process in suspending Dr. Fredricson's license, but also that the Social Justice group 'Citizens For Ethical Standards' paid several Board members large sums of money recently."

"Additionally," said Bettina, "a similar pattern emerged as the SBI-OER investigated the members of the State Bar after the law license of Mike G. Todd of the Madison & Ives Law Firm was suspended. Mr. Todd is the personal lawyer of Commander Troy and Dr. Fredricson, and SBI-OER Inspector Britt Maxwell believes that the suspensions were not only related, but outright coordinated! And now, let's go to Sports reporter Nick Eastwood, for a report on the Bulldogs's problems with the NCAA. Nick!"

"That's right, Bettina!" said the handsome young blonde man, who was reporting from the Athletic Department offices on Campus. "Today representatives from the NCAA and the Conference will be here to discuss the growing Harlan/Gonzales sexual abuse scandal. Sources tell Fox Two Sports that former Bulldogs Head Coach Brian Harlan, who died of cancer, also sexually molested students who attended athletic camps hosted by the University."

Nick went on: "Fox Two Sports has also learned that Police Commander Donald Troy will be making a presentation to the officials. Commander Troy and the TCPD investigated Coach Willy Martinez and discovered a PED distribution scandal, for which Martinez was forced to resign from the Bulldogs coaching staff. Commander Troy also investigated the deaths of reporter Tim Dawdle, legal aide Rusty Dawson, and assisted in the investigation of the murder of Coach Willy Gonzales at a game between the Wildcats and the Eastern State Spartans."

Bettina: "Nick, do you know what Commander Troy will be telling the NCAA investigators?"

Nick: "No, Bettina, we don't know exactly what he'll be discussing. As you know, Commander Troy refuses to talk to the Press or give statements to us, and Sports reporters are included in that boycott. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs will play Mountain State this Saturday. State Tech will travel to the Wildcats for a now-non-conference game. Back to you, Bettina!"

"Thanks Nick!" said Bettina. "And finally, the lawsuit filed by multiple agencies of the Media will be heard today in the Courtroom of Superior Court Judge Patrick R. Folsom. Lawyers for the Police objected to Judge Harry Nance, citing bias, and the Press lawyers retaliated by objecting to Judge Rodney K. Watts, citing pro-Police bias. Judge Folsom said he would hear the case himself. Legal experts believe the Media will win a resounding victory..."

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

"Gots to loooooove those 'experts'." I said with asperity as we drank coffee in MCD. Cindy, Joanne, and Roy were missing; they were already headed down to Palmyra County.

The black SBI SUV that I'd used the year before to go down to Polk County (Author's note: 'Whistleblower'.) had been parked at the State Crime Lab garage, and was occasionally used for security functions, such as the Governor's recent visit to the Wentworth Tool & Die building. Now Cindy, Joanne, and Roy were using it.

As for me, I was wearing my Duty Dress uniform with 'all ribbons'. There are ribbons that represent medals, and ribbons that represent some kind of service, such as the basic Police Officers' ribbon, divisional ribbons (such as Detectives, or IT, or Uniformed Services, or Admin, etc.), school ribbons, and State ribbons if applicable (I had a Citation of Merit award). Normally, I did not wear the service ribbons, what with having plenty of ribbons representing medals. But today I wore the full 'fruit salad', to look just a little more impressive in front of the NCAA and the Conference.