Vox Populi Vox Dei Ch. 01

"I disagree, Your Honor, and the plea deal is none of Commander Troy's concern------" started Munson, but Folsom cut her off.

"The Prosecution is correct that Commander Troy is an Officer of the Court, and entitled to be here." Judge Folsom said. "But if the plea deal breaks down and we begin trial phase, he'll have to leave until called as a witness."

The facility proved to be a sticking point and a deal breaker for the plea deal. Judge Folsom had the attorneys meet with him in his Chambers. While they were out, I stepped out of the courtroom and into the anteroom hallway, whereupon I texted Lt. Myron Milton: "Get everything you can on Sunnydale Prison, and see why Amber Harris is trying to be sent there instead of a minimum security prison."

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

"Your Honor," said Paulina, "we don't understand why the Defense is insisting on a much harsher facility for a longer term, when the minimum security facility is more like a summer camp than a prison, and the facilities would be better if the Defendant has her baby while incarcerated. We don't understand why the Defense insists upon the Sunnydale facility in particular, and until the Defense can offer you a satisfactory explanation of that, we believe you should reject that as part of any plea deal."

"That is strange." said Folsom. "What, Ms. Harris, you have the secret escape plans for that facility?" The joke fell flat as Amber Harris said nothing, upon her attorney's earlier instructions.

"So, Prosecution, you'd rather go to trial than concede the point of the facility?" asked Folsom.

"Your Honor," said Paulina, "what we're offering is even more generous, and we even offered to accept their worse terms except for that one point. At this point, we have to insist they take our deal or reject it and go to full trial."

"Your Honor," said Gwen Munson, "it would be silly to allow that kind of expenditure when my client is ready to plead guilty in a very reasonable plea deal, provided my client is sent to Sunnydale, and that there is no parole..."

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

11:00am, Friday, August 9th. ADA Paulina Patterson came into my office. She did not look happy. Cindy was sitting on the sofa.

"I have no idea what's going on." said Paulina "They absolutely insisted on the Sunnydale Facility, but wouldn't explain the reasons beyond some crap about it being a better facility for pre-natal care and having her baby."

"Which is not true." said Cindy. "Midvale is a far better facility for that."

Paulina nodded, then continued: "I finally just said that the Defense's terms were not acceptable, especially considering that we were offering even better terms, and that I was ready to take it to trial Monday. And that's when Folsom started getting snippy about it. He made his own plea deal with them: 1 year at Sunnydale, 1 year on probation. And they took it!"

"They took the parole?" Cindy asked, looking stunned herself. "Wasn't that her lodestone? No parole?"

"Maybe a little bait-and-switch going on there." I said. "Amber's too stupid to figure out something like that, so it has to be Munson behind it."

Paulina said "Amber and Gwen 'discussed' that. Amber did not want the parole, but Gwen finally convinced her. Most of that conversation was not within my hearing. By the way, Don, how did you get out of there? The reporters were waiting for you like rabid dogs."

"I took advantage of the fact that I'm an Officer of the Court," I said with a grin, "and went through the Bailiff's side door and through the restricted-access areas. The Press didn't even know where I was until my SUV was pulling out. And they didn't recognize the vehicle until it was too late, because it's new."

"Heh." said Cindy.

"So... any idea at all what it's about?" Paulina asked.

"Not yet." I said. "I egregiously stole Lt. Myron Milton from Commander Ross here, and asked him to dig into it. And that reminds me... does the D.A.'s Office have Investigators?"

"Like formal ones?" Paulina asked. Several States and jurisdictions within them allow the D.A.'s Office to hire Investigators, technically LEOs or 'Peace Officers', as Malinda Adams liked call them, with badges and limited law enforcement powers.

"No." said Paulina. "The Sheriff's Department has a 'Peace Officer', and under him are the Bailiffs. Also under him are two Deputies that have acted as Investigators for us if we've needed them, mostly for data research. Additionally, we've always had a close working relationship with you and your Detectives, particularly with Theo and Franklin being brothers. Why?"

"In doing all my research for the Charter Commission," I said, "I was reading about how different places structure their Government entities. And as we were talking here, it struck me that this 'strangeness' with Amber is just something a D.A.'s Investigator could be looking into."

Paulina nodded. "You know, that reminds me of something else. As you know, I'm an Assistant District Attorney, as is Franklin Washington, Savannah Fineman, even Dwayne Gregory. And that was fine, when we were the small unit we've been. But we're starting to grow, and for most places, an ADA is a supervisory position while most of the Prosecutors are Deputy DAs, or DDAs."

"Uh oh." I said, almost under my breath."

"Yep, you're seeing it." Paulina said. "Hannah Doss, who you met this morning, was brought in as a DDA. And I think Miriam is doing this so she can demote me to DDA and elevate Savannah to ADA supervising the MCD crimes, while Franklin will remain ADA for the Vice crimes and get DDAs under him."

I nodded. "I had not heard that yet," I said, "but I wouldn't be surprised"

Cindy said "That's not right, what Walters is doing to you, Paulina. What are you going to do about it"

Paulina shrugged "What can I do?"

I said "I know what you can do. But I can't say it out loud in front of the TCPD Deputy Chief."

Cindy pretended to be miffed. "Well!" she said, getting up. "I'll just go make myself useful somewhere else!" As she went to the door, she said "I'll check with Myron on that Sunnydale research."

"Thanks." I said as Cindy exited my office, closing my door behind her.

Paulina said "You're thinking that if Miriam demotes me, I should file a racial discrimination complaint against her?"

"Yes." I said. "I know you would not like doing that, and you know I'm not the one for those games, either. But if Walters is going to play cronyism to help her buddy Savannah by kicking you down... then you have to fight back with everything you have. And as hypocritical as I'm being for saying this, one of those weapons available to you is to file a racial discrimination complaint."

"Franklin and I have had some long conversations about it." Paulina said. "He's feeling what you're feeling, and a lot more than I am. I think Miriam is just trying to prop up Savannah so she can run for Solicitor against Mason."

I replied "And Walters is taking you down a notch in case you try to run for Solicitor or even D.A. again. But selfishly for me, that's not the most important thing: it's not just hurting you... it's hurting me, both personally and professionally, and it's hurting my Detectives that bust their asses to make arrests and get evidence that will support convictions, only for the D.A. to put less than the best ADA on those cases to ensure convictions."

"Well," Paulina said, getting up, "I'll head back to City Hall, and get ready for our next case. One silver lining to Miriam trying to give Savannah all the MCD cases is that I have time to prepare to counteract what that U.S. Attorney is trying to do regarding the Blassingames. You better get ready for that, too..."

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

I knocked on Cindy's door and went in upon being invited. "Sorry about that." I said as I closed the door behind me. "No offense to you intended."

"None taken." Cindy said. "And in spite of your Captain of Operations's beliefs, I'm not that bad a Detective. You wanted to suggest to Paulina to file a racial discrimination complaint, but you didn't want witnesses. I don't blame you."

I nodded, and Cindy continued: "I would offer this suggestion: maybe you should let others handle this situation. You need to have good relations with the D.A., Savannah is on your Charter Commission, and everyone knows how close you are to Paulina."

"And you have something in mind on how to handle this?" I asked.

"Maybe." Cindy said. "There's almost nothing that can be done where Walters won't think you're behind it or connected to it in some way. But the general public won't have to know."

"All right. It's your ball. Run, Barry, run." I said, making a 'Flash' reference...

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

2:30pm, Friday, August 9th. Cindy asked me to come into her office. When I did, I saw that I.T. Lieutenant Myron Milton was there, and his computer hooked up to Cindy's monitor. I sat down in the lumbar-support chair, Cindy's equivalent of a 'hot chair', next to Myron, and watched the screen.

"Ma'am, sir," said Myron, "I've been melting the wires on this, and I'm not sure what we have. I first tried cross-referencing Midvale's list of inmates, guards, and staff, to see if someone had some problem with Amber Harris in the past, or she with them. Nothing came up, at all."

I said "Amber, and her attorney Gwen Munson as well, were focused on Sunnydale more than just being opposed to Midvale. Anything about Sunnydale stick out?"

Myron replied: "As of now, I'm finding no connection between Amber Harris and any inmate, guard, or staff person at Sunnydale. Gwen Munson was the defense attorney of several of the female inmates at Midvale, and was able to get them Midvale instead of Sunnydale or worse. She has... no clients at Sunnydale, and... a couple at Women's Prison in Madison County." Myron named names, none of which were familiar to me.

Cindy had been quietly contemplative the whole time, but now she spoke up: "Can I see the inmate list at Sunnydale?" she asked. Myron handed her a printed copy of the list, and she perused it carefully.

"Anything?" I asked.

After a moment, Cindy shook her head and handed the file back to Myron. "No, it's nothing. None of those names are relevant to me."

"Oh, I think this is where I get to reverse roles." I said with a grin. "You've got some idea in your head. Spill it, Crowbar 2!" Myron laughed. Cindy just shook her head.

"No... it's nothing." she said.

Myron was excused and he left, saying he'd keep working on it. Cindy and I sat and contemplated.

"There has to be something to it." Cindy said.

"I think you've become more obsessed with it than I am." I said, meaning to needle my cousin about it. But Cindy took it seriously.

"You had a 'Spidey-sense' about it when you first saw it." Cindy said. "And I'm getting a vibe about it myself."

"We should tell Carole about it." I said, again jokingly. "She might figure it out over dinner, like Encyclopedia Brown." I was referring to the character created by the late Donald J. Sobol.

"Like father, like daughter." Cindy said. And then she went into a bona fide, no-shit reverie. When she came out of it, I was resting my chin on my hands, my elbows on her desk, just staring at her. This was 'payback' for previous 'reactions' to my reveries.

"Very funny." Cindy said. "Okay, I've got work to do, so scoot."

"Not going to tell me what it's about?" I asked as I stood up.

"No." Cindy said. "Plausible deniability, dontcha know."

"And payback, dontcha know." I said. "Okay, let me know if Myron finds out something."

As I left, I heard Cindy pick up her phone and call Myron, saying "Myron, check something out for me. See if any new inmates have very recently arrived at Sunnydale, either by sentencing or transfer. And see if you can find out who if anyone will be arriving in the near future..."

Part 5 - Standing for Justice

7:00am, Saturday, August 10th. I stood in the early morning light with Sheriff Griswold at the gravesite of his son Charlie, who had died one year ago this day. (Author's note: 'Fathers and Sons', Ch. 03-04.) We had laid our bouquets of flowers upon his tombstone.

"Hard to believe it's been a year." said Sheriff Griswold. Then he became more contemplative. "And that really has been a short time. The doctors believe the shock of Charlie coming home to us, then dying, was what induced my wife's Alzheimer's. But they originally said she'd deteriorate slowly, over two or three years. Seems a lot faster than that, though.

"How is she?" I asked. "What stage?"

"She can't tell time," said the Sheriff, "she can't read, half the time she doesn't remember who I am, and half the time of that she thinks I'm either Charlie or her father. She's becoming much less mobile, and she's... beginning to lose control of her bladder. And I have to help her get dressed."

"Someone with her now?" I asked.

"Oh yes, of course." said the Sheriff. "The Presbyterian Ladies and the Ladies Auxiliary Club have been very good to us. Someone is always staying with her, and the doctor has gotten her on a Medicare hospice care program, as well."

Being married to a doctor, I knew that hospice program bespoke a much worse situation than the Sheriff was letting on. And I think he knew I realized it. "Why don't you come back home with me for breakfast, Crowbar."

"Sure, sir." I said. We left Charlie's place of eternal rest and walked down the hill to my Police SUV parked on the road.

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

"My..." Mrs. Griswold was saying, holding up her left arm and looking at it.

"Your arm?" Laura asked as she sat beside Mrs. Griswold.

"Yes... it hurts at times." Mrs. Griswold said.

When Sheriff Griswold and I had arrived at his home, Mrs. Williams had Mrs. Griswold suitably dressed to receive a visitor. When I came in, Mrs. Griswold did not remember my name, but she said "You're Charlie's friend, aren't you?"

"Yes ma'am." I said, feeling a pang of emotion.

"It's so nice of you to come visit him." Mrs. Griswold said. I observed her moving her left arm and rubbing her shoulder, and I asked if she felt okay. She said 'it' hurt, not remembering the name 'shoulder' or 'arm'.

"Why don't I call my wife, the doctor." I said.

"You're married?" Mrs. Griswold said. "At such a young age?" I couldn't help but grin at that, and I called Laura and asked her to come over the mountain to see Mrs. Griswold.

As Laura talked to Mrs. Griswold, Sheriff Griswold and I made breakfast for everyone in the kitchen. "We need Carole in here to help." growled the Sheriff. "She's going to be a great cook one day." I didn't know if that was politeness or a genuine compliment, as Carole's cooking exploits were family legend... and not in the best way.

"Her great uncle Harvey Eckhart is a preposterously good cook." I said. "Maybe she'll take after him." Then I said in a whisper "And not her mother." The Sheriff barked a laugh at that.

The five of us sat and ate, and Sheriff Griswold was helping his wife, practically feeding her. Laura was watching them with 'professional' interest. I talked with Mrs. Williams about Charter Commission stuff and the ambush on me in my vehicle, which she asked about with seemingly morbid interest.

After breakfast, I cleaned the dishes, ordering the Sheriff to talk to Laura and let me do the work. Then Laura and I left for home. Once we got to The Cabin, we sat down on the deck outside with mugs of coffee while the dogs did their business. Tiger Mom came out and walked along the rail, then sat down, studying us.

"She's getting bad." Laura said, about Mrs. Griswold. "It's not my area of expertise, but this is more than just standard Alzheimer's. And her overall health is getting worse, too."

"Aren't arm pains a symptom of heart trouble?" I asked Laura.

"They can be." Laura said. "Her blood pressure is elevated, but she had just taken her medication, so it hadn't kicked in yet. And it's also possible she just slept on it wrong, and she was feeling the circulation come back after she got up. But I'm glad you called me to go see her. I'm setting up an appointment with Dr. Searles for her for next week."

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

"That's my Police iPhone." I said. I took the call. It was FBI EAD Owen Lange.

"Don, can you come down to your Headquarters?" the EAD asked.

"Yes sir." I said. "I'm on my way."

"And while you're driving over," said Lange, "you might want to call and increase the security on Peter Blassingame..."

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

I arrived at Police Headquarters, and was asked by the Officer on duty at the employee's entrance to go to the Main Conference Room. In the room was Chief Moynahan at the near end of the table. To his right, his back to me as I entered the room, was Sheriff Griswold. To the Chief's left was EAD Owen Lange, and to his left was another man I didn't know.

The newcomer was wearing a brown suit, brown-gold shirt, a very dark brown tie. He was fairly tall and broad-shouldered, but his waistline was starting to grow. His head was roundish with brown hair, a mustache, and thick-framed eyeglasses.

"Commander Troy, this is U.S. Attorney Richard Baldwin." said the EAD. I almost recoiled as if I'd just nearly stepped on a coral snake.

"Nice to meet you, Commander." said Baldwin perfunctorily.

"I don't think I can say the same," I said, "if the rumors I've been hearing are true."

"Have a seat, Mr. Crowbar." said the Chief. I sat down to the Sheriff's right, my back to the door, which I normally did not like to do. "Yezzz, I'm sure you've figured out why U.S. Attorney Baldwin is here."

"I'm hoping I haven't." I replied.

"I'm here to discuss transferring Peter Blassingame to Federal custody." said Baldwin. "We only have to work out the details------"

"That's not going to happen!" I thundered. "You have no jurisdictional grounds to take Federal custody of Peter Blassingame."

"Commander," said Baldwin, "you're the man that arrested Edward Blassingame after that amazing sting your Detectives pulled off. You know how enormous that arrest was. You also have been instrumental in the shutdown of Superior Bloodlines and several rogues within the Federal Government. You're believed to be behind the Guardians of Justice, who exposed serious corruption in Washington. So you know how important it is that we get every bit of information out of Blassingame that we can."

"I'm also the man that solved the crimes leading to the arrest of Peter Blassingame for rape and double murder." I said. "And those crimes are not Federal crimes, but State crimes."

"Commander, are you aware of just how big a deal it would be if Edward Blassingame turned and gave us everything he has on the corruption that good people like you have been fighting for years now?" said Baldwin, trying to be persuasive. "We could take down dozens... hundreds... of corrupt Federal officials as well as corporate elitists, like those that were in league with Mitt Willis. All that, in exchange for a plea deal for his son?"

"I don't care about any of that." I said. "if you can't bust them without Edward Blassingame's help, then you're not a very good U.S. Attorney. But I digress. There will be no plea deals of any kind for Peter Blassingame. I intend to see that murdering, raping bastard brought to trial for his crimes, do my part to obtain his conviction by a Jury of his peers, and, Lord willing, watch him be executed by the State, put to death, at Jacksonville State Prison."

"And you feel so strongly about that," said Baldwin, trying to make his voice sound like he just couldn't believe my position on this, "that you would let this chance slip through your fingers? After all the work you did to put Edward Blassingame in prison? To arrest Mitt Willis? To clean up the Swamp in Washington? Don't tell me you don't know how big a deal this is."