Red Squad Ch. 03

Your Iron Crowbar: "Senior Detective Christopher Purvis is being assigned to the Intelligence Division as Lead Financial Crimes guru, which includes everything from laundering drug money to tax violations... and by 'guru' I don't mean he should become good at those crimes, just good at detecting and stopping them." There was polite laughter at the joke.

Your Iron Crowbar: "Joining Mr. Purvis are Senior Patrolman Goodwright, Senior Patrol Officer Penelope Scott, and Senior Patrol Officer Sidney Plant." Penelope 'Penny' Scott was short, attractive, and in good shape; she had been in the Military Police in the Army. Her hair was light brown going on blonde, and except for that (and her height) I could imagine Carole looking something like her when Carole reached adulthood.

Sidney Plant was a nerdy looking male with blondish hair. He was gawky, wore heavy glasses, and had barely passed the Police Academy. But he'd done a good job as a dispatcher and on desk assignments, and being a geek was not a bad thing for an Intel analyst to be. Mary, Tanya, and I all agreed that he would grow to be exceptional in the role.

"So congratulations to you all," I said, "and I believe we're going to have a great Intel Team." Everyone applauded, a bit more than politely this time.


"Okay," I said, continuing the meeting, "Senior Detective Joanne Warner is on maternity leave when she leaves today..." Joanne waved happily and was applauded by her colleagues. "... and Mr. McGhillie has moved back to Vice. So MCD is getting short-staffed. To fill those gaps, Detectives Roark Coleman and George Newman are transferring to MCD." More polite applause.

Your Iron Crowbar: "And the Vice team is now Detective Sergeant McGhillie, Detectives Grubby Paul and J.J. 'Ice Cube' Perry, Detectives Statler and Waldorf, and Senior Patrol Officers Laurer, Hardy, and Drew."

Joan Laurer was black-haired, tall, statuesque, well-built, in great shape, and had a fierce desire to move forward. Cindy had been working in the boxing ring with Joan, and it was our Deputy Chief that had championed moving Joan onto the Detective track and into Vice, and no one else had a problem with it.

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

4:00pm, in my office...

"I'm going to have Julia partnering directly with Jerome Davis." said Tanya Perlman. "Washington and Parker can partner up while Joanne is on maternity leave. Coleman and Newman were partners in Vice, and we'll leave them that way for now." I nodded.

Tanya: "In Vice, 'Ice Cube' Perry is the Invisible Man; we never see him. Grubby Paul is the only one who knows who he really is, and they've worked out a contact system. So they're partners. Hardy and Drew worked together on Patrol duty; they're formally partners now. Ditto that for Statler and Waldorf. That pretty much leaves Roy McGhillie with Joan Laurer."

"Think he can handle her?" I asked.

"In what way, sir?" Tanya asked with a wicked grin.

"You are just trying to get me caught up in a sexual harassment lawsuit." I said with a wan smile. "Seriously, Laurer is going to be a great Detective, but that powerful motor needs some restraining."

"The best female Police Officers on this Force have her back." said Tanya. "Cindy and Teresa will keep her in line and on the right path."

"And what about my very best female Police Officer?" I asked. "That being you?"

"Uh... sir?" Tanya asked, stunned.

"It's true." I said. "You do more from that wheelchair than most Officers do on all fours. And you've led the Crime Scene Investigators and the Detective Corps to be the best Detective team in the State, if not anywhere. Cindy and Teresa are awesome, but they're not the ones for whom I busted heads to get back onto this Police Force. We would not be what we are without you."

"Thank... thank you, sir." said Tanya, tears running freely down her face. I got up and went over to her and hugged her.

*KNOCK!* *KNOCK!* *KNOCK!*

It was Cindy knocking. "Turn on the TV." she said. I expertly used the remote to turn on the monitor.

"This is Priya Ajmani, Fox Eight News!" said the lovely Indian reporterette from the atrium of City Hall. "The Town & County Assembly has just voted on the final Budget, and full funding for the Police Department was restored! Again, the ten million dollars that 'Black Voices Raised' advocate Coretta K. Scott tried to have removed from the Police budget was restored!"

Priya: "The amendment to restore the Police funds was passed 17-13, as two Democrats crossed Party lines to join fifteen Republicans. None of the black Assemblypersons voted to restore the funds, and every black Assemblyperson voted against the Budget when the final vote was taken."

I turned over to KXTC, just to see what they were saying. Lester 'Penis' Holder was interviewing Coretta K. Scott, who said "Two traitors joined the white Republicans to give the Police the money they need to assault black citizens in the streets. This is a shameful day for those who falsely claim to support the Black Community..."

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

"Any issues on the streets?" I asked. "Particularly in minority areas?"

"Nothing at all, sir." said Teresa. "The Press is down there 'interviewing' people on the streets, which I believe is them trying to gin up something more than anything else, but nobody's biting the apple. I diverted a couple of patrols from the central Town areas to locations further south, but nothing seems to be brewing. It's peaceful, so far."

"Let's hope it stays that way." I said. "So, are you coming to Laura's party tonight?"

"Wouldn't miss it." Teresa said. "I especially want to see what happens when Cindy gives Laura her gifts."

"Uh oh." I said. "What's she doing?" Teresa told me. I whimpered.

"Well, I'll be sleeping on the couch with Bowser." I said. "By the way, that blue box on your uniform looks good. It's about time you got a DSM."

Teresa paused, then said "Sir, why did I get it? I know you advocated it to the Sheriff, and he said I'd just gotten promoted so he wanted to wait for a while. What changed his mind? You?"

I shook my head. "I was as surprised as you. I found out when the Sheriff handed me the box and said I was going to pin it on you. But theorizing without data... I think he saw how well you handled the Hospital situation when I was unavailable and worried about Laura. You rose to the occasion and then some. And you did well leading the Officers at Point Hollow, as well. You had it coming, and the Sheriff saw the light on it."

"I'm still giving you a lot of the credit for it." Teresa replied. "Thanks for asking him."

"You're quite welcome." I replied. "It's very well deserved."

"So how do we get Tanya one?" Teresa asked.

I sat back in my chair and said "This is just between you, me, and the katanas, and it shouldn't leave the room. I believe that one day, not like tomorrow but in the next few years, Cindy is going to vacate the Deputy Chief job. She will either become the Sheriff's Department Chief of Staff, or she will retire and go work for her father. When that happens, Tanya is going to be promoted to Deputy Chief, if she's still with the Police Force. And like Zoe Singer getting a DSM when she moved to the EMS branch from Fire Marshal, Tanya's move will also come with a blue-ribboned medal." Teresa nodded.


"As for you," I said, "your destiny is this office, and the Police Commander/Assistant Chief position that I currently hold. But don't start measuring for carpet and drapes just yet; I intend to stay here for a long, long time."

"I sure hope so." Teresa said. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am here to follow you. When you retire, I retire. If you die and I don't, I'll retire."

"You don't want to be Police Chief one day?" I asked with a grin.

"Not if you're not here, sir." said Teresa, with full seriousness and sincerity. "Not if you're not here..."

Part 18 - Party and Planning

Laura's party was at The Cabin, and it was going to be a big one. Molly and the boys, and Paulina and Tasha were staying for the weekend. Todd and Teresa and their boys, Melina and Daniel and their kids (but not Dorothy), Cindy and Callie and Maggie and Betsy, Tanya and Jack and Pete, the Steeles and Marie, and Sheriff Griswold were also expected to attend.

When Sheriff Griswold arrived, he said "I hope you don't mind me bringing along a friend." To our surprise, he had brought TCPD Captain (Ret.) Leslie Charles.

"Of course we don't mind." I said. "Good to see you, Captain Charles. Come on in."

"Thank you, Commander." said Captain Charles, looking at me with his baleful eyes like he always had when he was with the TCPD. "I hope I get a chance to talk with you for a few minutes, but let me go say hello to Laura first."

Everyone greeted Captain Charles enthusiastically. He congratulated Teresa on her Distinguished Service Medal, then went to greet Laura. He had brought a gift for her, and that got things started to settle in and for Laura to open her gifts. Captain Charles's gift was a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Reserve.

"I got some advice on that as a gift." said Captain Charles. "A mutual friend hooked me up with it."

"Wonderful!" Laura said. "Thank you so much."

Everyone else had gifts of varying degrees of expense and seriousness. Laura got a bottle of Grey Goose vodka from Molly; a gold bracelet from Paulina; a $50 gift certificate to Laura' favorite department store from Tanya and Jack and their kids; a $100 (50x2) gift certificate to Luigi's (and a reservation time) from Todd and Teresa and their kids; a bottle of expensive bourbon (not Pappy Van Winkle) from Sheriff Griswold; a gold-foil laced set of shot glasses for all that alcohol from Stephanie and Edward Steele.

Next came a coffee mug from Callie with the inscribed words 'Fifty is the Ultimate F-Word', which amused everyone. Maggie also gave Laura a coffee mug, which said 'I'm 25 with 25 years of experience', and also a card that had a list of things that had happened in Laura's birth year.

Then came a gold necklace with a Scorpio scorpion charm attached, from Melina and her family. Yes, Scorpio was Laura's Zodiac sign, but she and Melina both knew it was also representative of Laura's CIA codename: the Scorpion.

My gift was a ring. A diamond was the centerpiece, with two topaz (Laura's birthstone) stones on either side. I told everyone that the two topaz stones were for our two children, and everyone 'awwww'ed at the sentiments. I also told everyone that more gifts were coming Laura's way.

Then came Cindy's gift. "Carole, will you help me with these?" she asked.

"Yes, Aunt Cindy!" Carole said excitedly. A moment later, they brought several bags full of black sympathy cards. A lot of them. Condolence cards, sympathy cards. Cindy and Carole began dumping the cards into Laura's lap, inundating her with them, and making a mess... which was half the fun, of course.

"These were all over my office after the Bulldogs lost to the Wildcats." Cindy said. "So I'm re-gifting them."

"Oh my goodness." Laura said as she looked at some of the cards. "I guess I would've gotten these from my husband if the Wildcats had lost."

"Except that was never going to happen." I said.

"Yeah!" Carole said emphatically. "No matter what Uncle Todd said."

"I just hope the Bulldogs can beat the Wildcats by the time I'm 50." Todd said with his handsome grin. Laura laughed. Carole was having none of it.

The kids presented various presents, from homemade cards to posters with photos. Tasha's card had a photo of her, Laura, and Paulina, which Laura said she liked a lot. Ian, perhaps having his mom's help, gave her a card with a photograph showing Laura petting Bowser, who was looking up at her with pure love in his canine eyes. I told Laura I particularly liked that one. "You would." Laura said with the merest hint of acerbity.

Then came Carole and Marie's booklet. "Why 50 Isn't So Bad." Laura read. She opened the booklet and read: "There are 50 stars in the American Flag." The drawing showed a well-drawn head shot of Laura with the American Flag behind her. "50 is the atomic number of tin, like a Tiger Mom cat on a hot tin roof." The drawing showed Tiger Mom on a tin roof, little squiggly lines under the sun suggesting heat rising. Mind you that this was done by two six-year-olds.

"In the Jewish Kabbalah," Laura read, "there are 50 gates of wisdom." The drawing showed Laura opening a gate, with other gates behind it. "50 millimeters is the focal length of a lens in 35 millimeter photography." The drawing showed Laura using a camera to take a picture. I was now sure that Carole had enlisted some help in the creation of this booklet.

"Fifty is the speed limit in Canada on unmarked roads, which Mommy ignores." said the booklet. Everyone laughed. A drawing of Laura driving her Mercedes was shown. "And 50 is the number of the Golden Jubilee." A drawing showed Laura with a crown on her head.

"God save the Queen." muttered Cindy, meaning the real Queen.

"But most of all, 50 is not bad because Mommy is 50." the book said. A drawing of Laura with a birthday cake with 50 candles was shown. Everyone 'oooh'ed and 'ahhhh'ed.

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

"Okay," I said out loud, "I have to hijack this party for just one moment. I just want to say congratulations to Teresa Croyle for being awarded her Distinguished Service Medal today." Everyone cheered. "Let's all fill our drink glasses for a toast. Sparkling grape juice for you, Carole."

We all toasted Teresa, and Cindy called out "Speech!"

Teresa said "Thank you. I wasn't expecting this, and of course it's not something I ever thought about or sought after. And if it's okay with you all, I want to remember the first person who got all four boxes... Joe Smedley."

"I'll drink to that." said the Sheriff. Leslie Charles nodded vigorously in agreement.

Teresa nodded and said "Joe Smedley was very kind to me, and an inspiration to me. And he was a great cop, a great fireman, and an even better human being. So... to Joe Smedley."

"To Joe Smedley!" we all said, and drank to his memory.

As everyone started to dig into the food, Captain Charles and I went onto the back deck and sat down in front of the lit fire pot. He was to my left, but had pulled the chair close to my place on the loveseat.

"You know," Charles said, "you'd have had all four boxes, but they gave you a second MOV instead."

I nodded. "But like Teresa said, it's not something we aspire to. I will be very happy if I never have reason to be awarded a Police Cross. Anyway, I hear that your son is doing very well with Midtown SWAT."

"Yeah, he is." said Charles. "I'm proud of him. They're doing some good stuff down there, cleaning up that political cesspool. As bad as it once was here, it was never as bad as any given day in Midtown."

"I couldn't agree more." I said agreeably. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"About what's going on with that I.A. investigation." said Captain Charles. "I want to tell you about Red Squad..."

To be continued.