by Ladew, Lisa
Seth nodded.
“Here we are, that’s the alley right there.” Kara pointed, then turned the vehicle into the alley. A short, stocky man wearing a long green trench coat was standing in the alley watching them, his hands in his pockets. “Tell him to take his hands out of his pockets first,” she told Seth quietly, watching the man closely. All of her senses were on high alert. She hoped he didn’t have a gun in either pocket. He could be shooting at them through his coat before either one of them even knew what was going on.
She stopped the patrol car and watched the man closely as Seth opened his door and stood up.
“Sir, take your hands out of your pockets please,” Seth commanded him in a clear, authoritative voice.
Kara blinked, impressed immediately. Maybe Seth would graduate field training after all. She had her doubts every time she heard him stutter, and she frequently wondered how he had made it through the recruit class. But he did and he was here, so she was doing her best with him.
The man in front of them pulled his hands out of his pockets and held them in the air. They were empty. Kara breathed a sigh of relief and divided her attention between Seth and the man. As Seth stepped towards the man, Kara got out of the car and approached him too. The man’s face was pocked and lined by years of hard living. He looked to be anywhere between fifty and a hundred. Definitely homeless.
“Can I get your identification?” Seth said.
“Gotta put my hands back in my pockets for that,” the old man responded, his voice harsh.
“Do it slowly,” Seth said. Kara smiled indulgently, like a proud mama watching her son traverse the jungle gym for the first time. He was doing a really good job.
The man pulled out a state ID and Seth looked it over. He turned to Kara. “I’ll r-r-run wants and w-warrants.”
Kara nodded and Seth retreated to the patrol car. She watched him go but didn’t say anything to their man. She wanted to let Seth handle this completely if he was able to. The old man fidgeted and looked in the dumpster and down the alley and anywhere but at Kara.
Seth came back from the patrol car within a minute. “N-n-negative,” he told Kara. He turned his attention to the old man. “What you doing back here, grandpa? You d-don't belong here.”
“It’s a free country!” the man cried, his voice thin and wavering. “Isn’t it? I’m still in America right? Or Is this Russia? That it? You a commie?”
Kara sighed. This guy was so out of it he didn’t even know that Russia and the United States were allies now. It was terrorists everyone had to worry about these days, not commies.
Seth sneered at the old man and advanced toward him quickly, aggressively.
Kara glanced at Seth. His face showed anger. What in the world?
“I asked you a question,” Seth said, his jaw set, his hands reaching up to grab the old man’s overcoat by the lapels. Kara stared at Seth, unable to comprehend his behavior. He was a recruit on his third day on the road. What in the world made him so aggressive already? Was it because he had been a prison guard before? Was he already done to the eyebrows with a hostile public? But that was no excuse. He couldn’t act like this. This was how things got out of hand and police officers ended up facing excessive force charges. She stepped in between them in an instant, knocking Seth’s hands away. She put one hand on the old man’s chest, just to keep him where he was and with her other elbow, she pushed Seth back, then neatly plucked the ID out of his hands. “Go sit in the patrol car,” she told him. New anger flashed in his eyes, but as quickly as it had come it was gone. He was slow, stuttering Seth again. He turned and did what she asked him too.
Kara looked at the old man’s ID card, then handed it back to him. “Look, Mr. Jones, this alley actually belongs to the businesses in these buildings.” She pointed to the buildings on both sides. “They want you to leave and not come back. There’s not supposed to be anyone here. It’s a safety issue. Do you have somewhere to go?”
The old man softened and muttered then nodded his head.
“Okay, that’s great, you clear out of here and we’ll leave you alone.”
The man nodded and shambled out of the alleyway, turning right on the sidewalk beyond. Kara watched him go and then went back to her patrol car. She slid behind the wheel and turned to Seth.
“What in the hell was that about, Howell?” she yelled, her own irritation getting the better of her for a moment. She didn’t let him answer, just plowed on. “First of all, where do you get off calling him grandpa? Just because he’s homeless doesn’t mean you can call him whatever the hell you please. Second, you got angry out there. For what? For nothing! So he spouted off? So what! You’re going to hear a lot worse than that. You should know that already. You’re going to get spit on, screamed at, people are gonna try and hit you and even shoot you … and you’re going to get pissed off because some old guy says a few harsh words to you? Get a handle on yourself and act like a man - not a two-year-old who can’t control his emotions. When you ride with me, you show respect to the people we deal with and you don't ever act on anger. If you can’t control yourself, you’re going to end up on the news.” Her voice softened. She tried to look him in the eyes, but he avoided her gaze as usual, his mouth twisted and upset. “You know that right? You know that the days of cops always having the last word and treating people however they like is over, right? We don't take any shit, but that doesn’t mean we act like savages either. There’s rules and there’s proper behavior and I expect you to conform to both. Got it?”
Seth nodded and Kara wished he would look at her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking or where his mind was. The radio squawked on the dashboard, the dispatcher looking for a clear unit, and Kara let it go. “Call us clear,” she told Seth, “It sounds like they need us.”
Kara reversed the car out of the alleyway and immediately, they were sent downtown, to a man standing on a ledge.
Seth’s behavior was perfect for the rest of the day, and she didn’t have a chance to think about the incident with the old man again. It turned out to be one of those days when she didn’t even have a chance to eat, the city was in such an uproar. The full moon was coming or something. After the man on the ledge had been talked down, they had three shoplifting calls, a domestic violence where the woman had finally had enough and buried a steak knife into her husband’s chest, a robbery complete with a car chase, and a bad traffic accident.
When the workday was finally over, two hours later than it should have been, Kara drove home slowly, trudged to her bedroom, and dropped into bed, her mind unable to focus on anything but her need for sleep. She had to do it all over again in only ten hours.
Chapter 18
Kara walked in to work the next day, having just pulled herself out of bed an hour before. As soon as she entered the receiving area the desk sergeant caught her attention. “The AC wants to see you.”
“Which one?”
“Foley.”
Kara stopped short for a second. Assistant Chief Hunter Foley was in charge of operations, not personnel, so she didn’t know why she was supposed to see him. She didn’t mind though. He had been her Field Training Officer when she was a brand-new police officer. She liked him and respected him as a good guy, as someone who always had the officer’s back, not one to bow down to the bureaucracy.
She turned around and headed to the elevators, riding them to the third floor, then heading straight to Assistant Chief Foley's secretary. “The Chief wanted to see me?”
His secretary nodded. “You can go right in, he’s expecting you.”
Kara passed the secretary’s desk, pushing open the door to the office. She’d never been in this office before. It was roomy and full of dark wood and leather chairs. Assistant Chief Foley sat behind his desk on the phone. His words carried out to her as she pushed the door open. “I love you too,” he said, his voice soft and mushier than she’d ever heard it. She raised an eyebrow at him. He was involved with someone? His face colored immediately an
d she almost laughed. She’d never seen Hunter Foley blush before. He hung up the phone quickly and shuffled some papers on his desk.
“My, uh, mom.”
Kara bit back a grin. There was no way that had been his mother. She knew he loved his mother, but she also knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t be blushing if that were true. But that was none of her business. He was the assistant chief now and she could get herself in a lot of trouble for even thinking of teasing him.
He motioned for her to sit down and cleared his throat. His face became solemn, the blush fleeing. “I had a visit from Sgt. Gale yesterday. She’s been briefing me, Chief Powell, and Assistant Chief McCormick on your case since she got it. We tried to pull you off the road yesterday, but apparently they couldn’t spare you. I hope you don't mind that we had a patrol car watching your house all night.”
Kara felt fear and indignation spike equally through the center of her. “What? Why?”
“Because we weren’t able to talk to you yesterday. Sgt. Gale said you left the meeting with the criminal profiler before you got one important piece of information. The profiler is worried about these pictures.” Chief Foley pulled a batch of pictures out from under a pile of paper on his desk. Kara saw herself sleeping and her mind swirled dangerously. How many cops were going to have to see that picture of her bare ass before this was over? Now her cheeks were the ones coloring.
“The profiler said that he showed his hand by letting you know he was able to watch you through your phone - and that means either he has another way to watch you or he’s planning something big soon. Some sort of contact with you.”
Kara shuddered. Great.
“We want to send a team to your house to sweep it for bugs and devices.”
Kara felt her heart sink. Just one more indignity. When would this be over? “When?”
“I can send them over there right now if you can go with them.”
“I start work in ten minutes.”
“It won’t take more than twenty once they get there. You can clock in but tell dispatch you are unavailable until they are done.” He considered briefly. “Also, what kind of locks do you have?”
She waved a hand at him. “Normal locks.”
“You should stop at a hardware store and get some door braces, make it hard for someone to get in while you’re there at least. Or maybe you should just go stay with someone until this is all over?”
Kara leaned back in her chair, unable to believe this was happening to her. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling and tried to calm her nervous system. “I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to hide.”
Chief Foley sighed. “I didn’t think you would, but I had to suggest it. There’s no shame in it.”
Kara didn’t bother to answer. Of course there was shame in it.
Chief Foley leaned forward and looked at her piercingly, waiting until she returned his gaze. “So how are you, Kara? This has got to be hard on you.”
Kara nodded and felt a lump in her throat. It must’ve shown on her face because Chief Foley rounded the desk immediately and pulled her into a hug. Kara felt tears form in her eyes and she tried hard to blink them away. There was no crying at the police department.
Chief Foley held her at arm’s length and looked her right in the face. “Kara, it’s me, Hunter. You can put away my Chief title for a bit. This is why I asked to be the one to talk to you. Because I know you – you hold everything in for way too long. You put on your strong face and don't let anyone see your weakness. But I know what this has to be doing to you. And I know that you will make it through and be fine, but for once in your life, just let someone comfort you.”
He pulled her in to a hug again and Kara felt something break inside of her. She cried ugly, sloppy, mostly-silent tears, because she couldn’t stand the thought of the secretary hearing her. Finally, when her shaking had subsided, Hunter held her at arm’s length again and looked at her closely. “Better?”
Kara nodded and he handed her some tissues. He sat back down at his desk and Kara sank back into her chair. “Sgt. Gale has been worried about you.”
Kara stifled a laugh. “She hates me.”
Hunter cocked his head like he was confused. “I don't get that feeling from her at all. In fact, I thought she was quite fond of you.”
This time Kara did laugh. “Are we talking about the same Sgt. Gale?”
Hunter continue to look puzzled. “We are. I’m telling you, she likes you. She spoke very highly of you. She called you ‘very put together’ and ‘hard-working’.”
Kara shook her head, not believing what she was hearing. “She always seems so angry at me.”
Hunter leaned back in his chair. “Well, I think she’s got something going on right now. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, but something is bothering her. Something personal. She’s not ready to share it, but take my word for it, she likes you.”
Kara couldn’t think of anything to say. So she sidestepped it. Since she was here, she suddenly remembered that she had something to ask the brass. She switched Hunter back to assistant chief in her mind. “Chief Foley, I’ve been meaning to ask you. I don't want to sound nit-picky but I always get a female recruit, and this time I’ve got a guy …”
Chief Foley nodded. “I noticed that too. I asked Chief Powell and he said the order came from above.”
“Above? Who’s above Chief Powell?”
“Lots of people. The mayor, the police commissioners, the civil defense commander. I’m not sure exactly who he meant by above when he said it though. He’s got a lot going on right now and I could tell it wasn’t high on his priorities.”
Kara nodded distractedly, mulling this over. Could this be personal?
Chief Foley stood up and looked at the clock on the wall. “I’ve got to meet with someone else in two minutes, but you be careful, and let me know if you need anything. And stop by if you need to talk, got it?”
Kara knew when she was being dismissed. “Got it.” She pulled the door open and stepped out of it, then leaned back in. “Thanks, Chief.”
“Anytime. You know that.”
***
Kara raced downstairs, already late. She found Seth, grabbed a radio and some keys, and told dispatch what she was doing, then raced to a car so she could try to beat the tech team to her home.
Within ten minutes, she was at her own front door, unlocking it for the two tech officers. Duke ran out immediately, licking everyone’s hands and whipping them all with his tail. The officers got down to business immediately, checking all the rooms in her house for bugs or cameras.
Duke ran past her to the patrol car, where Seth was sitting in the passenger seat with his door open. She could see his face through the window. She frowned at the expression on his face. He looked quite nervous as Duke approached. Duke sniffed him once, then stepped backwards and ran back into the house.
“I-I-is that your dog?” Seth asked.
“Yeah, his name is Duke. He’s a sweetheart.”
The look on Seth's face clearly said he didn't think the words dog and sweetheart should be used in the same sentence.
“Don't you like dogs?” Kara asked.
“Uh, yeah, th-they’re alright.”
Kara decided to let it go. “Sorry I had to drag you over here, would you like to come in for something to drink?”
Seth nodded and looked at the grass beside her feet. Kara took him inside and sat him down at the dining room table, then opened the fridge for some ice tea. Duke shot into the room, almost getting his head into the fridge. Kara wrestled him away and took the iced tea to Seth, who was watching Duke closely. She could hear the two officers talking and joking in her bedroom, and she wondered if she had any underwear or bras laying out in the open. She bit the inside of her lip. It was too late to tidy up now.
The radio on her belt kept up a steady patter of background noise, giving her something to focus on. She heard Ivy’s voice, clearing a call and immediately being sent to anothe
r one. Ivy and Joe had been just as busy as she and Seth were yesterday, and she hadn’t had a chance to talk to either of them.
The two tech officers tromped down her hallway, the younger and shorter one walking right to her. “The house is clean.”
“Really? Are you sure?” Kara asked.
The other officer nodded. “As a whistle. There are no cameras or listening devices anywhere.”
Kara didn’t know if that was bad news or good news, especially since the profiler had said it meant he was planning something big. And it was going to come soon. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, for now, and thanked the two officers. They both scratched Duke’s floppy ears in turn, and clumped outside.
Kara put the two glasses in the sink, said goodbye to Duke, and headed outside after double-checking the lock. Seth had already slipped out the front door and was waiting for her in the car.
Kara called them in service and concentrated hard on doing her little mental flip trick where she put her own issues aside so that she was able to give one-hundred percent to the job. Officers who got distracted got killed. She didn’t want to disappoint her stalker by going and getting herself killed because she wasn’t paying attention. He had games to play with her. Kara shook her head at her bitter humor and concentrated harder.
Chapter 19
Kara woke up the next morning to the sound of her alarm blaring. She blinked her eyes and tried to rub the sleep out of them. She would’ve loved to have slept for another hour but she needed to head to the hardware store and pick up the door braces the chief had told her to get. She looked around at the empty room and said a small prayer of thanks for another incident-free night. She was trying very hard not to feel a sense of impending doom, and she did alright when she was at work, but when she came home and was all alone (except for Duke of course), and had to sleep, she had to admit that she did feel nervous.
