A Day in the Life Ch. 01

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 1 - Prologue

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" yelled the lovely redhead reporterette as she stood in front of the State Office Building on the north side of Courthouse Square at 7:00am, Tuesday, September 8th, the day after Labor Day. "We are bringing you continuing coverage of the announcement over the Labor Day weekend by SBI Director Jack Lewis that he is running for Governor of the State on the Democrat ticket!"

We watched in the Major Crimes Division room as the television showed the taped announcement by Jack Lewis: "And if I'm elected, I can promise you that I will be cleaning up the corruption in this State, especially the corporate corruption of the super-rich such as the late Henry R. Wargrave!"

"Wow." said Detective Joanne Cummings as we watched. "And to think he wanted Mr. Wargrave to be his financial backer. Now... he attacks a dead man for corruption."

"That'll piss off Dr. Wellman." Lt. Tanya Perlman replied, referring to the President of the University, who had been a close friend of the late Henry R. Wargrave.

"Naah," I countered. "It's all scripted. Lewis is saying one thing on TV, then with a wink-wink and nod-nod behind the scenes, he'll take the checks of those same rich guys he's attacking."

"God, I hate politics." Captain Cindy Ross muttered. We turned back to the TV, as another clip of Lewis was being shown.

"I've been with the SBI for years, and have been proud to serve you as its Director these past few years." Lewis said to a crowd in front of Jacksonville State Prison. "But what happened to Lance Priemus, and his horribly painful death, has proved to us that the death penalty is Republican barbarism, and as your Governor I will end the death penalty in this State!"

As the crowd cheered, Martin Nash said "That'll get the far-left liberals on his side." We all agreed.

There was one more clip, with Bettina asking Lewis about his lack of political experience. "Director, you've never held elective office. Why do you think you would be fit as Governor without that experience?"

"Bettina," said Lewis, "I think the American People and the People of this great State are tired of the professional politicians that are beholden to the lobbyists, the special interests, the big corporations. I have plenty of experience with the politicians of this State on both sides of the aisle, having run the SBI for these past few years. But I am not beholden to radical business groups that support the Republicans, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce..."

Bettina came back onscreen, live: "The Republicans have not yet announced their candidate for Governor, and with the Election a scant fourteen months away, they'll have to name someone soon. This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News, and we will bring you any breaking developments as soon as we get them..."

"Sure you don't want to run for Governor, Commander?" asked Detective Theo Washington, flashing his 'movie star handsome' grin. It was well known in the Town & County Police Department that I'd been approached by the Republicans to make that very run, and I'd declined... just as I'd declined to run for Sheriff earlier, instead backing Daniel Allgood.

"Thanks, but no thanks." I said. "I would miss our morning coffee klatches too much." That drew some tepid laughter, so I said "And as you can see, my jokes don't get much laughter and they don't get better than that, so I think my career as a politician will remain on hold for a long, long time..."

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

"Okay," I said, "if there is nothing else, that should do it for this morning." I was in my office with my leadership team that had come to be known as Crowbar's Angels: Cpt. Cindy Ross, Lt. Teresa Croyle, and Lt. Tanya Perlman. We'd just finished our daily morning meeting.

I noticed Cindy was glancing over at the matchstick Trojan Horse on the low bookshelf behind my desk against the wall to the desk's right. Then she looked at the red crowbar, the first one, hanging on the wall. "Commander," she said, "can I have an extra moment with you?"

"Sure." I said. "Lieutenants, let's try to keep everything in our Town & County as quiet as it was over the past weekend." Tanya and Teresa agreed with my sentiments as they got up and left the office.

"Don," Cindy said once we were alone, "I'm getting a weird vibe about that crowbar on the wall, like it's going to disappear if you don't hide it or lock it up."

"Oh really?" I said, peering at her and not at the crowbar. "Think someone is going to come in and steal it?"

"I don't know." Cindy said. "I'm just getting that vibe. And considering where that crowbar came from..."

"Yeah, I know." I said. The metal in that crowbar had come from melting down the rifle that had assassinated the child-molester, the evil Reverend Jonas Oldeeds. I got up, took the red crowbar down, and locked it in the small safe in the corner of the office to the back left of my desk, where I kept some papers, an extra badge, and a couple of extra guns and ammunition. The crowbar barely fit, but I put it in there and locked the safe.

"I have an idea for a replacement." Cindy said. "The red-painted crowbar that Thatcher left on Laika's body can go on the wall. It'll remind you and all of us that we still have work to do to bring Thatcher's partner to Justice."

"That's a good idea." I said. "And I'll bet you've already taken it out of the Evidence Rooms."

"It's in my office." Cindy replied. "I"ll go get it. I've secured my first blue crowbar, also..."

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

Meanwhile...

The brightly colored flying saucer sailed through the air, spinning rapidly as it descended toward the chains hanging from the spokes attached to a pole in the ground. Striking the chains with a musical-quality chime, the disc settled into the wire basket beneath.

"Great shot!" yelled one of the college-aged students.

"Thanks." said the young man who had thrown the disc. They were at Ronald Reagan Park on the northwest corner of Town, playing the Disc Golf course. Hole No. 6 was on the southern edge of the park, going through the line of trees towards the pin, i.e. the basket. Behind the basket the ground dropped off fairly steeply to the riverbank and the fast-flowing River itself.

"Okay, baby, it's your turn." said the boy to his girlfriend. She pulled the disc across her chest in front of her large breasts, then flung it out towards the basket. It caught some air and sailed over the basket, and over the embankment.

"Aw, Valarie," said the boyfriend, "you overshot it."

"Too hard." said one of the other players as they walked up to the basket. The girl went to retrieve her disc, her breasts bouncing under her tight, clingy t-shirt.

One boy threw his disc into the basket, joining the one already thrown in by the other boy from 75 feet away. "Okay, that's birdie for you and par for me--"

"AAAAUUUUUUGGGHHH!!"

They rushed to the embankment, where the girl was running uphill as hard as she could, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"What is it? what is it?" yelled one of the guys.

"Look!" yelled the girl, pointing to the edge of the River. They looked down and saw what she'd discovered: a body had washed up along the bank, that of a naked young man...

Part 2 - Media Relations

That morning, Tuesday, September 8th, I was sitting in the television studios of KXTC. With me were Alison Sweet and Chris King, two 18-year-old high school Seniors that were taking a Journalism class at County High School. Alison had dirty blonde hair, a wiry frame, medium-sized boobs, and a cute, sweet face. Chris was a redhead, darker red than mine, had a curious face, and a fairly athletic body. I suspected my son Ross might grow up to look a bit like him one day. (No, no family relations there.)

Being exceptional students, they'd aspired to ask Your Iron Crowbar to follow me and work with my Team for a few days as their class project. Since they were 18 years old, I agreed to do it after obtaining the requisite permissions from the Chief and Sheriff.

The first part was an interview of myself before a live studio audience... namely the journalism class itself. A TV screen was just offstage, and I could see myself on the right side of it in a chair, with the 'kids' on a sofa on the left (to my right). They were opening the floor for questions from the audience, and I'm happy to say they were good questions, better than the idiotic ones the real (adult) Press likes to ask.

"What is the difference between Vice and Major Crimes?" one student asked.

"Good question." I replied. "Basically Major Crimes, which we call 'MCD', handles crimes of violence against other persons, or crimes of large size. Some Departments have separate Homicide and Robbery divisions, but we're not that big. Vice handles the traditional vice crimes: gambling, drugs, prostitution. But they also will handle white-collar crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, financial-type crimes. If a petty crime such as larceny becomes a big one, such as grand larceny or grand-theft-auto, then MCD may get in on it. Often both branches work together, as there can be overlap."

"How is the Town & County Police leadership organized structurally?" asked one kid, who looked like he'd be a math professor one day.

"We have the Chief, the Commander and Deputy Chief, then six or seven Captains, the seventh Captain being a Chaplain." I said. "As Commander, I'm the Operations Officer. I handle the Detectives, the Uniformed Officers, and the officers assigned to Internal Affairs. The Deputy Chief handles administration and supply things, such as Personnel & Records, Physical Properties, and Public Relations... which includes you Media guys."

I continued: "The Uniformed Officers handle things you see in public, like police car patrols, speeding tickets, traffic control, accident investigations, controlling access to crime scenes and such. They usually are the first at any scene. The Detectives are in charge of investigations of crimes. They actually spend a lot of their time at their desks on the phone, investigating leads, questioning witnesses, and of course actually solving the crimes."

I went on: "Our Police Force has Detectives at a special level, between Uniformed Sergeants and higher officers such as Lieutenants. Some Departments, most of them, actually, will have multiple Detective levels, and often below the rank of Sergeant."

"How do you choose who gets to be a Detective? Do they have to go to school, or have experience?" asked another student.

"Some of both." I said. "I was in the Military Police before coming to the TCPD, and some of my younger detectives were also prior military." I was thinking not only of Hugh Hewitt and his fellow SWAT members, but also Detective Joanne Cummings, who was serving in the Army Reserve.

I continued: "Some officers who have served for years and investigated crimes will become Detectives, but many of those Officers prefer to become Sergeants, and they still do some investigating while continuing to be leaders of the Uniformed Police."

Another question: "Is your job like what they show on TV?"

I smiled at that one. "It depends on the TV show." I said. "Some shows are halfway accurate, and some not at all. At times, real life police work is more tedious and routine than television. Another thing that we have to do, that they don't always show on TV, is that we have to build a case to give to the District Attorney's office that will let them get a conviction of the criminal."

I continued: "It's not enough to know who it is, it's not enough to make an arrest. We have to collect and preserve evidence at the crime scene, we have to get witness testimony, we have to do things in what is called a 'legally defensible' way. It can be very interesting, but it can also be painstaking. TV shows don't always show that in the one hour they have in their programs."

Just then my police cellphone buzzed. I took the call, hearing Captain Ross tell me of a body found at Ronald Reagan Park. "Okay, guys, I'm afraid I have to cut this short." I said. "Alison, Chris, come with me. You're about to get your first lesson in crime scenes."

Part 3 - The Crime Scene(s)

Alison and Chris had been given Police visitor badges which I told them to keep prominently displayed on their persons at all times. Wearing those, they were allowed to come with me inside the police cordon securing the crime scene.

"Lieutenant Perlman, this is Alison and Chris, who are following us around for their school project. Guys, this is my MCD leader, Lieutenant Perlman. Whaddya got for us, Perlman?"

"Like the old song says: 'down by the river-side'." Perlman replied in a sing-song voice. She led us down the embankment. Alison and Chris's eyes were wide as we approached the naked dead body. I began examining it.

"It hasn't been moved except for being turned over to examine his front side." said Tanya. "As you can see, he's either White or possibly Hispanic, early 20s. All body hair completely shaved off... head, eyebrows, eyelids, all body hair. His penis was cut off and put in his mouth. M.E. thinks that was done after he died. He was also shot in the upper chest and neck three times, small caliber bullets, and the M.E. thinks one or more of the bullets got an artery. More after the autopsy, of course."

"Slender build, not very muscular or strong at all." I said as I examined the body. "Were samples taken from under the fingernails?"

"Yes sir." Tanya said. "Also around the mouth and eyes. There are what look like chemical burns in splotches around his eyes, mouth, around the ears, and around his fingers and toes. Not enough to destroy fingerprints though, and the fingerprints are negative... this guy is not in our database, the SBI's or FBI's."

"Any idea of a time of death?" I asked as I sniffed around the face and head where the irregular splotches of chemical burns were.

"Martha the M.E. says that the body being in the water has messed with the rigor process, so she'll do more work at the autopsy. She also says the body was in the water for at least several hours, likely overnight. J.R. Barnes and I are thinking that the body was not placed in the River here but somewhere upstream, and it migrated to this spot. The rocks in the River and the currents tend to drive stuff towards this bank."

"Okay." I said. "Alison, Chris!" I called out. They came down. "Here's something we have to look at when investigating a crime scene. Why do you think I'm guessing this body was not dumped here, but was put in the River somewhere else and it floated here?"

"I have no idea, Commander." Chris said. Alison shook her head, almost overwhelmed by all she was seeing.

I said "Put yourself in the killer's place. There are no tire tracks on the disc golf course leading up to this spot. No real place for a vehicle, be it a car or golf cart, to get down here. So that would mean the body has to be carried and dumped here. Now there are a lot of other places along the riverbank much easier to get to than right here. So in addition to the evidence Lt. Perlman and her people are finding, I'm thinking that the body was dumped elsewhere and not placed here. Whaddya think, Perlman?"

"That's what Nash said." Tanya replied. "I put him in charge of the investigation, by the way."

"An excellent choice." I said. "Who called it in?"

"Those kids back there." Tanya said, pointing at the group of disc golfers, talking to Detective Martin Nash and the Uniformed officers watching over them. "They were playing disc golf and saw the body when retrieving a frisbee, and they called it in. We're checking up on their movements yesterday and today, but I'll be surprised if they're involved."

"One never knows." I said. "Alison, Chris, one of the most important things in a police investigation is to check out whoever reports the crime to the Police. It's not unheard of for the criminal himself or herself to call in the crime in an attempt to allay suspicion."

"And the Commander has solved a number of cases by following up on that." Tanya added.

Alison and Chris nodded and made notes as I asked Perlman "So, any reports at the Duty Desk of a shooting in the County last night?"

A voice called out: "Just one... but it was a woman."

It was Captain Cindy Ross, walking up to us. I introduced her to Chris and Alison, noticing Chris looking over Cindy... and Cindy looking over Alison.

Cindy then said "The Duty Desk got an anonymous tip fifteen minutes ago of a shooting on the West Side last night. Intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Riverside Avenue inside Town, just before crossing the bridge over the river to the bypass. There's a Quick Stop gas station next to a Hispanic nightclub, and we're just getting video of a shooting in the Quick Stop parking lot around 2:30am last night."

"Okay, Perlman, you and Nash wrap this scene up. I'll go to Headquarters and look at the film of the other crime." I said. "Alison, Chris, want to stay here or come with me?"

"With you, Commander." Alison quickly said, eager to get away from the dead body.

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

Sitting in Classroom 'E' was myself, Alison, Chris, Cindy, Detective Teddy Parker, and Supervisor Myron Milton. He began the video as he spoke.

"This footage is from a streetlight camera at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Riverside Avenue." Myron said. Riverside Avenue was the north-south street to the east of the River, the road that leads in front of Police Headquarters and behind City Hall, then down to Jefferson and Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenues. "It's not all that clear."

I watched. There was a group of Hispanics in the parking lot. A white and maroon van partially blocked the view, but I saw what was an altercation beginning, and people milling about in a circle. One man was very angrily gesticulating at a woman in a dress and high heel sandals, from what I could see on the video.

Then the guy extended his arm, there was a small flash of light and the woman crumpled to the ground. Then the guy leaned over and two more flashes of light showed where he shot her twice more. After more movement in circles, the body was put into the back of the van and everyone quickly hauled out of there.

"Anything better than this?" I asked.

"The guy behind the counter at the Quick Stop said the video cameras at his gas station weren't working." said Myron. "Technician Walker examined it under the warrant we'd secured to get the tape, and said the equipment was in working order. We think the guy destroyed the videotape, as the one in the machine was blank and unused."

"What did he say about the altercation?" I asked. "Don't tell me he said he didn't see it."

"No sir, he said he saw it." said Parker. "He told us that there were about eight people in the parking lot, some that had been in the van, and some in another car. He says he looked out the window when he heard shouting. A man was shouting and screaming at a woman, and she was trying to calm him down, trying to hug him and kiss him. Then he pulled out a gun and shot her. The shooter and another guy put the woman's body in the back of the van and left. Everyone else ran back to their cars and fled in them. His descriptions were pretty vague all the way around."