Little Red Haired Girl Ch. 04

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, 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.

Part 21 - The Warning (continued)

I came into the Barker home at 4:10pm, having violated more than a few traffic laws to get to the residence in record time, blue lightbar and siren burning. Mrs. Barker was talking to Sr. Patrolman Johnson, and other Police Officers were beginning the process of securing the scene for the CSIs.

In the dining room was Commander Cindy Ross, kneeling by a whimpering, shivering Barky. She looked up at me as I came in.

"Oh my God." I whispered, anger and pain welling up inside me at the sight of the injured dog. "Why hasn't he been taken to the vet?"

"We were afraid to touch him. He's hurt pretty badly." Cindy said. "I'll call Animal Services."

"To hell with that." I said. I then yelled out: "Somebody get me a box with a towel in it!" When nobody moved, at least not quickly enough for my liking, I flew out the door to my Police SUV. Grabbing the box of tools that I kept in the back, I emptied the contents and ran back to the house.

"Mrs. Barker, can I borrow one of your towels?" I asked. As she said "Yes", I was already running to the bathroom, getting one of the hand towels and lining the box with it. Going back to the dining room, I let Barky sniff my hand, and then I picked him up as carefully as I could and put him in the box. Fortunately, he did not try to bite me, but he yelped in pain as I set him down in the box.

"Will you take Barky to the University Vet School?" I asked Cindy. "Tell them he's a new Police K-9 dog; they'll treat him for free."

"Sure." said Cindy, picking up the box and its precious canine cargo. She burned the lightbar and siren as she tore out in her Police SUV.

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

Other Police and CSIs were at the home. Captain Croyle had been dispatched to collect Frieda Franklin, who had been in school aftercare with Susie Haskins and other children.

Mrs. Barker had run into the street, where Officers down the street had seen her and had come running. They'd cautiously entered the house from the open front door and had cleared it, per procedure. Unfortunately, no one had covered the back door, and the perp had gotten away.

"We will need a thorough internal review of this." I told Captain Croyle when she arrived. "They did everything properly... except no one covered the back door."

"Yes sir." said Teresa, knowing that the asschewing part of my comments would wait until we were in private.

"Sir," said Lieutenant Irwin, coming up to us, "can you come up to the master bedroom?"

"Sure." I said. Teresa and I followed him up. He led us into the bathroom. Teresa gasped when she saw it.

Written in lipstick on the mirror where the words "I will kill her no matter what you do Iron Crowbar."

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

At 4:25 an email appeared in my inbox. It was from Commander Cindy Ross, and was to Personnel & Records, with copies to the Police Chief and myself. It read: "Effective 12:00noon, 26 February (of this year), I hereby commission Barky, owned by Frieda Franklin, into the TCPD K-9 Corps with the rank of Corporal, with all the rights and privileges pertaining thereto, (signed) Cindy Ross, Deputy Chief, TCPD."

"Just like she did Bowser." I said. "And she has the right, as a member of the Command Group."

"Tsk tsk, letting all that power go to her head." Teresa said. I just hope the dog is okay."

At 4:50pm, I got a text from Cindy. It said: "Barky has soft tissue damage and a hairline pelvic fracture. They're holding him overnight." I replied, thanking Cindy for taking Barky to the vet, and for inducting him into the K-9 Corps.

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

"Where's Barky?" Frieda cried out as she was brought to the home. "Barky!" She began running around, looking for her dog.

"Frieda, listen to me." I said. When I finally had her attention, I said "We took Barky to the vet. He defended your new mom and was injured, but he's going to be okay."

Frieda began crying, and Mrs. Barker hugged her, then held her. "Can we go see Barky?" Frieda asked.

"In a few minutes." I said. "We've got to get you and your new parents to a safe place. After we figure that out, we'll go see Barky, okay?" Frieda nodded.

I felt terrible for the little red-haired girl. She'd witnessed Officer Barker's death even as he'd saved her; she'd witnessed her parents's death, trying unsuccessfully to save her mother; now she was being attacked again, and her little dog, who was the son of my dog, had been badly injured in defense of his humans.

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

6:00pm, Tuesday, February 26th. A meeting was being held in the Main Conference Room. Present were the Chief, me, Captain Croyle, Captain Perlman, Sheriff Griswold, Captain Damien Thompson, FBI Special Agent In Charge Jack Muscone, and FBI Special Agent Martin Nash.

"The Barkers and Frieda are staying at The Cabin." I reported. "I'll let Captain Croyle report on the Police security for the family, but as most of you know, when I rebuilt The Cabin I built it to be a fortress. It would literally take a military assault to get in there."

"We have two Officers in a Patrol cruiser parked in the driveway there." said Teresa. "Another Patrol cruiser is parked by McGhillie's Golf Course on the road that leads around the mountain and past The Cabin. There is the equivalent of a DUI checkpoint there, and we'll say we're searching for someone if anyone raises any ire over it. Another Patrol cruiser will do the same on the road coming from the University."

Teresa continued: "Commander Ross is taking Frieda to see Barky at the University Vet School, then she will take Frieda to The Cabin, where she and Callie Carrington will stay overnight. Also staying there, Commander, is your next-door neighbor, that being me."

"You don't have to do that." I said. "I can stay there."

"No sir." Teresa said, surprising us. "You are assigned to your other home, where you will guard Barky's father as well as your own family. We are concerned, sir, about that message left for you at the Barker home."

"I think you have your orrrrderrrrrs, Commander." said the Chief affably.

"Yes sir." I said. "And I think I just got thrown out of my own house." Everyone chuckled briefly.

"On a more serious note," said the Chief, "I agree that that message left for you personally is very disturrrrbing. I have two questions: first, was it this 'Paco' person that did this?"

"We the FBI believe so, Chief." said Jack Muscone. "And we think this shows he's still in this area."

"I don't think the Iron Crowbar agrees, though." said Tanya Perlman, contradicting her fiancé Muscone, her eyes gleaming just a bit as she looked over at me.

"I do have my doubts." I said. "I think Paco has been trying to kill Frieda, not warn her nor us, but kill her. To this point, he's tried to use surrogates to kill her, to keep from getting his own hands dirty. And that damage to the Barker's back door... Paco is reportedly very skilled in martial arts, but whoever kicked the door in required multiple kicks to break it down. Ergo, he didn't really know how to break a door down with a kick; ergo, he's not good enough to be Paco."

I continued: "My other doubt is the fact that this perp came over while Frieda was not at home. Again, Paco wants to kill Frieda. This perp let Mrs. Barker run out of the house, then made a point to injure the dog, then left me a message... all while Frieda was not there. That contradicts what we know about Paco."

"And it brings up my second question." said the Chief. "Why did this perp leave that message? Was he trying to goad you, Commander? Or scare you off?... not like that would work..."

"I don't know, Chief." I said. "And it somewhat ties into what I was just talking about: if Paco wants to kill Frieda, I'd think he'd like to get it done as quickly as possible, and with as little interference as possible. Goading me like that is the opposite of what I'd think he'd do. So that leads me to conclude that it's not Paco but someone else, and the reason is to distract me from something by forcing me to concentrate on Frieda."

"And what is he trying to distract you from?" asked Jack Muscone.

"Not to get snarky here, Jack," I said, "but if I knew what that was, I'd be there fucking up the perps right now. I will say this: Captain Croyle, make sure the drone and other surveillance of that warehouse we have suspicions of continues in force tonight and for the next few nights..."

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

"We gave him a mild sedative to let him get some sleep." said the vet, a University grad student, as Frieda, Susie Haskins, and Cindy Ross looked into the cage that contained the redoubtable Barky.

Frieda was in tears at the sight of the little dog with his chest wrapped tightly in a bandage. She was allowed to pet Barky. He remained asleep as she softly stroked his head and the back of his neck.

"We'll check for any internal bleeding in a few hours, but right now all we can do is try to keep him from moving around too much." continued the vet. "By the way, how did he get these injuries?"

"We think he tried to stop a burglar and the burglar kicked him." said Cindy.

"I hope you catch him." said the student vet. "Anyone who hurts puppies like that should go to jail for a long, long time."

"You got that right." said Susie Haskins darkly.

"Yeah." agreed Frieda.

"Believe me," said Cindy, "if my Police partner catches him before anyone else does, jail will seem like heaven..."

Part 22 - Taking Council

"There being no more public business," said Mayor Allgood, "I'll entertain motions to go into Executive Session."

That started an uproar in the packed audience chamber. "We demand to speak!" yelled Crispus Appling. "We demand to be heard!" Mr. Appling ran the Appling Ace Hardware store on MLK Jr. Avenue, and this was not the first time he'd led protesters against the Council. He was also a friend of Eldrick X. Weaver. (Author's note: 'Summer In The County', Ch. 01.)

"You've been heard!" retorted the Mayor. "For several meetings in a row. As I've said several times, a motion regarding a third Police precinct has been made, and has been laid upon the table. It will not be picked up again during this two-year Council session, or unless and until the Commission re-writing the Town & County Charter addresses it."

"That doesn't mean these people cannot air their grievances over it!" started Reginald B.F. Lewis. "These people have the right------"

"I move to go into Executive Session." said John Colby loudly, stepping all over Reginald B.F. Lewis.

"I second that motion." said Edward Steele.

"There is a motion on the floor." said Mayor Allgood as Lewis tried to start up again. "The Councilman Mr. Lewis will suspend his remarks." The vote to go into Executive Session passed 7-3, with Carnes, Lewis, and Adams voting against the measure.

Once in the private Council Chamber on the 2d floor, everyone seated themselves, including the two invited guests: Sheriff Griswold, and me, Your Iron Crowbar.

"Before we begin," said Daniel Allgood, "I need to formally address an issue that keeps coming up. As I said in the public Council Meeting, a motion on three Police precincts has been made, and has been laid upon the table. I am not sitting in that room for four hours listening to people who obviously were brought in to whine about three Precincts when absolutely nothing is going to come of it. I am tired of the political games, Mr. Lewis, and I am going to ask that a point of order be made to hold you, Mr. Lewis, out of order and in contempt of the Council rules of order if you continue with these shenanigans."

"You're an illegitimate Mayor, Allgood!" thundered Lewis. "And I have every right to speak, as do those citizens!"

"No you don't." said J.P. Goldman. "The Mayor is right. The issue has been formally dealt with, and no amount of bullying us with these artificially created bullying tactics is going to work. And there will come a time when you cross the line, Mr. Lewis."

"Then I'll see you in Court over it." said Lewis. "I would walk out of here right now, but I want to make sure that the voices of legitimate citizens are represented here when Commander Troy brings up the names of his Commission, so that the illegitimate Mayor's voice does not drown out theirs."

"Point of order." said Jack Colby. "The Mayor was legitimately elected despite attempts to defraud him of his rightful win, and comments the he is 'illegitimate' are untrue and constitute slander. As such, those comments are a violation of the Council rules of order and procedure as well as a breach of decorum."

"I have the right of free speech, and will exercise it." said Lewis. "Your racist attempts to silence my voice and my correct assertions that Daniel Allgood stole the election from its rightful winner, Eldrick X. Weaver, will not work, and again will result in a lawsuit in Court if your bullying tactics continue."

"Then do it." I said, speaking up and out of turn. "Go file your lawsuit. Bring it on. Keep it up. You'll lose, you'll be humiliated publicly. But stop with the threats and either go do it, or don't."

"You're out of order, Commander Troy." snarled Kelly Carnes.

"No, you're out of order. This whole Council is out of order with these crap optical tricks!" I said, keeping my voice fairly level and even-tempered. "I'm here at your invitation to get business done, I've got important Police work to do to keep a young girl alive, and I don't have time to waste listening to your drivel. The Election is 'ovah', Mr. Lewis. Mayor Allgood won despite attempts to defraud him and those who voted for him, the Court ruled in his favor. So shut the fuck up about it, at least in my presence."

"And what are you going to do about it, Cracker?" Lewis snarled. I heard gasps in the room as Lewis crossed yet another line.

I just gave one of 'those' smiles as I said "If you think I won't place you under arrest, right here and now, for racist hate speech, slander and defamation, as well as disorderly conduct; cart you off to County Jail; put you through full booking; and release your arrest photo mug shot to the Press for wide dissemination, then you've got another 'think' coming."

Sheriff Griswold's mustaches were twitching most very merrily. John Colby and Edward Steele were not succeeding in suppressing grins. Kelly Carnes was not succeeding, because she was not trying, in keeping a look of ugly hatred off her face. Everyone else was in some degree of shock... or anticipation, seeing what Lewis would do next.

"O-kayyyy." said the Mayor after a long pause of silence where I won the 'blink' contest with Lewis. "Let's get our business done so we can all go home to our families before midnight. There is old business on the table regarding creating a Commission to re-write the Town & County Charter, chaired by Commander Donald Troy. He has presented four names for consideration to this Commission."

Daniel continued: "Those names are: the Reverend Joseph E. Williams of the A.M.E. Church, schoolteacher Edna Carter, Councilman Edward R. Steele, and ADA Savannah Fineman. I have personally spoken to all five of these people, and they have all agreed to serve on the Commission should the Council approve them. Is there a motion on the floor regarding these names? Mr. Colby?"

"I move to accept these four names, and form the Commission with Commander Troy as Chairman and these four as Members of the Commission."

"I second the motion." said Dagmar Schoen.

"Hold on!" yelled Kelly Carnes. "You are not going to just ramrod this through the Council like this! I absolutely will sue if you do, and I'll tie this goddamned thing up in Court for years!"

"Point of order as to language." Dagmar Schoen said.

"Go fuck yourself, Schoen!" Carnes snapped back.

The Mayor tapped his gavel. "Keep it clean, Mrs. Carnes." he said. "Seriously, why can't we get through even one Council session without all this garbage?"

"Because we have an illegitimate Mayor." snarled Reginald B.F. Lewis. I stood up at that.

"Hold on, Commander." said Susan Weston, seeing my movement. "I'm sure Mr. Lewis understands that you're serious, but please just let it go."

"It's all right, Crowbar." said Sheriff Griswold. "We have witnesses in this room, and you can swear out a warrant and arrest him at any time. Let's finish the meeting."

There was no one else on earth that could've stopped me at that moment, but since it was Sheriff Griswold asking (more like ordering), I returned to my seat, my gray eyes still blazing.

"Just to make sure you understand, Lewis." growled Griswold. "If you do say that about the Mayor again, the Commander won't have to arrest you because I'll arrest you myself. I'm just as sick and tired of the manure I'm seeing and hearing in here as he is."

Now if only we could do this to a few members of Congress in Washington! I thought to myself. The Council chamber was silent, most of the Members openly shocked at what I and the County Sheriff had just done.

"All right, let's continue." said the Mayor. "We have a motion on the floor and seconded. Let's go around the horn. Ms. Sorrells?"

"I would like to ask Commander Troy to explain why he chose these names." said Sheila Sorrells. The Mayor asked me to come to the podium and explain, which I did.

I began: "The Reverend Joseph E. Williams is pastor of the A.M.E. Church. He is respected by not only the minority communities, but by everyone. He will represent the interests of minorities, and in a fair and honest way."

"Mrs. Carter is a teacher at Thomas E. Williams Elementary School, which is part of the Booker T. Washington High School system." I continued. "I chose her because most of the changes I expect to make in the Charter will regard the Education system of the Town & County, and will be watched closely by the U.S. DOE and the State Education Authority, as well as the NEA, the Teachers' Union. Her input and expertise will be invaluable to me."

"I chose Councilman Steele as the representative of you here in the Council," I said, "but also as a representative of the business interests of our County. I have gotten to know Mr. Steele very well the past few years, and I appreciate and respect his wisdom and expertise on all things involving County Government."

"And I chose ADA Fineman," I said, "because of her legal experience, and we will need someone with a thorough knowledge of the law to actually write the language of the new Charter."

"Only five people?" asked Kelly Carnes, trying to keep her voice level and not vicious like it usually was. "I would suggest at least two more, to get more representation of all aspects of the County, including the University and the northern suburbs."

"It is up to the Council to determine how many," I said, "but my caution on that is having too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak. This is going to be a document of governance, of who has the authority to tax and to spend, who will make the laws, who will execute the laws, and who will respond to the Citizens for the redress of their issues. It should be simple, and the fewer the people on this Commission, the simpler, cleaner, and more efficient it will be."