Blue Justice (2 page)

When it came to work, Charlotte did her job efficiently. I knew she was waiting to hit me up for some questions.  She looked at me and I looked at her and gave her the call me signal with my thumb and little finger to my head.  She then left with the others.  The helicopters still circled the area, which I didn’t mind because we needed the spotlight to help the K9 units.

It started to rain.  I knew once the rain fell the dogs would lose whatever scent they had of the suspect and the integrity of the crime scene would be ruined.  Officers hurried to gather what evidence they could and the Medical Examiner recovered the body.

The rain covered the parcel of ground where the body lay. I recalled all the events taking place from the moment of the gunshot to the time I tripped and discovered the body in case I might have missed something.  My mind was blank.  I had almost forgotten the incident at the courthouse that brought me here in search of the judge.  The vibration of my cell phone released me from my deep thoughts.  

I figured it might be the chief with his great expectations for me in the morning before he does a press conference.  I looked at the number but didn’t recognize it.  I answered.

“Hello,” I said.  I waited on a response.  Often we detectives get calls from citizens who see our numbers on Crime Stoppers and believe they have information that can help us solve crimes.  The phone was silent.  I said, “Hello?” a couple of more times and then gave my name.

“Hello,” this is Detective Jackson, are you there?”

A cold shiver raced down my spine to the end of my toes at the robotic voice on the other end.

“I’m here, all right, Detective. The Reaper. This is just the first. Many more to come, Detective Jackson.
Many more.”

Chapter Two

The rain pounded her windshield.  Charlotte Reed opened the door of her Nissan Maxima and deployed her umbrella.  She quickly closed her door and ran up to the front porch of her parents’ house.  They lived 10 minutes outside of the city and had been in the same house since Charlotte was born.  She had been staying with them since she had lost her apartment due to the tornado that had ripped through parts of Tuscaloosa four years before.

Since then she had been able to save her money and in turn help her parents.  She planned to buy a home as soon as she saved enough but both her parents were of the age that she felt she needed to be near them.  Her dad, Jimmy Earl, still went out in the mornings to get eggs from the hens, slop the hogs, and tended to his meager crops in the field.  Her mother, Ruthie Lee, still made sure he had a hot meal for breakfast and dinner and kept the house clean.  The elder Reeds never missed a Sunday at church.

Ruthie
was sitting on the porch as she came up shaking the rain from her umbrella and her coat.

“Girl, you go’n catch a cold in that mess out there.”

“I know ma, I know,” she replied as she closed her umbrella.  “Did I get any calls while I was out?”

“No, not a one today,” she said fanning herself with a paper church fan.

“What--you s’pecting that bald-headed, handsome detective to call?  I forgot his name.”

“Maaa!” Charlotte smiled. Just thinking about Jared made her smile, and she knew her mother’s teasing was her way of bringing up a subject they had discussed many times.

“Honey look, I might be old but I sure ain’t blind, at least not yet anyways, and besides, I hope you two do get together,” she snapped, rolling her eyes at Charlotte.  “Besides, your daddy and I are in our late 60’s and would like to see all of our grandchildren someday.” 

“Momma, I’m not ready for any children; I still got things in my life I want to do and kids will just hold me back,” she said. “And besides, you already got grandchildren; remember Sandy is married to a preacher and living in New Jersey?”

They looked at each other and started laughing. It was the same old conversation.

“I left your plate in the microwave, girl, now get out of my face.”

“Ooh, I am so hungry, Momma, thank you.”

“You welcome, child,” Ruthie said shaking her head.  “Somebody got to feed your skinny self.” 

Charlotte kissed her mom on the cheek and told her she loved her. 

“Uh huh, I love you too baby girl, don’t wake your daddy up; this my quiet time.” Ruthie said, turning her head so that her daughter would not see the worry in her eyes. She continued to fan herself, harder now, to help her fight back tears. 

Charlotte went into the kitchen and opened the microwave.  She pulled out a plate of fried chicken, collard greens with green peppers cut up in them, macaroni and cheese, candied yams, and cornbread.  As much as she wanted to devour all of it, she knew that going to sleep on that heavy a meal at this time of night would not be a good idea. She put two chicken wings onto a napkin grabbed a coke from the fridge and joined her mother back out on the porch.  She checked her cell phone for any missed calls.  There were none.  She leaned back in the swing set next to her mother to eat.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as the raindrops bounced off the tin roof of the chicken coop. 

“This is some good sleeping weather here, Momma,” said Charlotte with chicken in her mouth.

“Hush up now girl, GOD is doing his work.”

“This is some good chicken too.”

Charlotte wanted to ask her mom why she wasn’t in bed, but decided against it.  It was better to just sit in the quiet and listen to the rain.

“Charlotte?”

“Yes Momma.”

“I have something to tell you and I don’t want you to tell nobody else, you hear?”

Charlotte stopped eating and looked up, all ears.  Her mother looked at her.

“What is it, Momma?”

“I really don’t want you to tell nobody, you promise?”

“Momma, you scaring me, what is it? Are you ok? Is Dad ok? What?”

“Promise me, ok?”

“Ok, Momma, I promise,” sensing something so terrible she began tearing up.

“You remember that check-up appointment you took me to last month?”

Tears rolled down Charlotte’s face in anticipation of what her mother was about to say.

“Yes momma, I do.”

“The doctor ran some test on a lump he found under my breast.”

Charlotte covered her mouth, “Oh God, Momma!”

“Shhh!  Don’t wake your daddy.”

“But Momma--”

“But nothing, now listen.”

She grabbed Charlotte’s hand.

“I have some more tests to do before it can be confirmed but I wanted you to be aware of this just in case…” she paused. 

“Just in case what, Momma?”

Ruthie sighed. 

“Just in case, your daddy needs you to help take care of him.”

She held onto her mother’s hand tightly and laid her head on her mother’s lap like she had so many times as a little girl. 

She looked out into the sky as the heavy rain poured, unaware that her phone was vibrating, alerting her of an incoming call.

*  *  *

I looked at the caller ID.  The number was anonymous.  I tapped the call back button.  Damn, Nothing.  I knew it would be a long shot but it was the only shot I had.  I quickly called dispatch and gave them the number and told them to contact the wireless service provider and see if we could triangulate where the call came from.  I hoped that we could trace the number to the serial number of the phone, and then to the store of purchase and find out who bought it and if they have surveillance cameras. It was thin also but worth a shot. 

“Well, well, how’s it going, Jared?”

I turned to see the last person in the world I would ever want at my funeral.  I couldn’t stand him and I’m sure the feeling was mutual. Detective Harry Burncutt got out of his unmarked car and walked over to me, buttoning his coat.

“I’m headed over to Judge Middlebrooks,” I said, “Later!”

I started walking to my car.

“Now that’s a coincidence, I was just told to go do that myself.”

I turned around.

“Burncutt, what the hell you want?”

He put his hands up in front of him.

“Hey! Whoa, compadre,” He gestured surrender with his hands. 

“I just wanted to touch base with you before I head over to the judge’s house.”

He lowered his hands and put them in his pockets.

“And besides, I just got a call from Capt. Davis and he wanted me to relay a message to you.”

My shit-o-meter was going haywire.  I gritted my teeth.

“What’s the message?”

“I’m in charge of this case and I, that is, we will inform him about his wife’s demise.”

He crossed his arms.  “I would assume it’s because you are a hothead with a conflict of interest and the department doesn’t need any more… uhm….bad publicity.”

“We?” I asked. 

“Oh I forgot to introduce you to my new partner Detective Cheryl Glass.  She is sitting in the car.”

She got out the driver side and stood beside the car.  I guessed her to be about 5’6, short brown hair and fair skinned.  Her boyish appearance gave me the impression she wanted to prove herself better than any man. She extended her hand in greeting and spoke with a high level of confidence in her voice.

“Pleased to meet you detective, I’ve heard a great deal about you.” 

I snapped my eyes at Burncutt. 
Son of a bitch!

“I’m sure you have.”

His smile was like a hyena about to eat a lame lion.

“Well now that we are all acquainted, and you now know that I’m running the show, I need to know everything you know.”

I wanted to kick his teeth to the back of his head and beat that smile right off his face, but I needed to be in on this case because whoever it was that killed Mrs. Middlebrooks needed me in the game and not this clown.

“Ok Burncutt,” it’s your case but now I need to let you know something.” 

I paused to let his confidence level get real high before I cut him down.

“Your killer just called me.”

“Wh-what do you mean the killer just called you?”

“Just what I said, He just called me and told me that he’s not through and that this murder is one of many more to come.”

“I don’t believe you,” he said, looking knowingly at Detective Glass.

“Dispatch has everything I know and I really don’t give a shit if you believe me or not!”

I got in my car and drove off.  It felt good to put that bastard in check.  Now he needed me.   

I looked at the time.  11:00pm. I dialed Charlotte’s number.  She didn’t pick up.  I assumed she probably got tired of waiting and went to bed.  That sounded like a good idea about right now.  Crime scenes drain a lot of energy from a person.  I figured a good hot shower and a late night snack would help prepare me for the morning meeting.  The chief probably ordered the captain to give the assignment to Burncutt.  I didn’t mind at all.  However, I couldn’t wait to see their faces in the morning after Burncutt told them about the killer calling me.  It was a small personal victory that was short-lived.  There was a killer out there somewhere who directly called me disguising his voice and threatening to kill again. 
Many More
!

I had to get this bastard.  I tried Charlotte’s number again.  She picked up.

“Hello?”

I heard sadness in her voice.

“Hi Charlotte, are you ok?”

It sounded like she was fighting tears. “Oh yes, yes, I’m ok.  What’s up?”

She tried to hide her crying by pretending to have a cold.

“Hey if it’s a bad time, I could call you back later.”

“Oh no-no,” it’s alright, I’m glad you called. 

“Jared?”

“I’m here, Charlotte.”

“How about lunch tomorrow at Johnny’s, is that ok with you?”

“That would be fine Charlotte.  Besides, you have to be at the press conference in the morning. I looked at my watch.  It was after midnight.  “And we need our sleep.”

“Ok baby, I’ll see you there.”

She hung up before I could kiss or say “Ok.  Bye.”

Something was wrong, but I respected her privacy.  I liked Charlotte and I wanted to always be there for her if she needed me.  I placed my phone in the console and turned the radio up to catch the news.  92.9 WTUG was playing the quiet storm.  Peabo Bryson’s “
Can You Stop the Rain from Falling
,” was playing.  How ironic I thought considering my windshield wipers were working fast and hard to clear the pounding rain from my windshield. 

I was concerned for Charlotte but my focus was on this case. Whoever this guy was, he was very bold. 

                                                             Chapter 3

The morning came fast.   I woke up to the Isley Brothers song, “Voyage to Atlantis,” playing on the radio.  I always kept the alarm clock set for the radio to wake me up so I could catch some of the Tom Joyner Morning Show.  Tom Joyner is a civil rights activist and along with Sybil Wilkes and Comedian J. Anthony Brown, they bring News, Entertainment, and Good wholesome fun to every household. They bring news and entertainment to radio every weekday morning.  As Tom was giving out the lucky numbers for his yearly Fantastic Voyage cruise, I got up and stretched, loosening my joints up for some calisthenics exercises, hoping to strike it lucky for the umpteenth time.  After I was done, I turned on the coffee pot and then went into the bathroom and started the shower.  My face felt like an SOS pad.  After I showered and shaved, I put on my black Ralph Lauren knockoff Polo shirt with the embroidered badge, my 511 Khaki pants, and my black low quarter tactical boots.  I poured myself a cup of coffee and turned on the TV to see if anything about the murder last night made the headlines.  It did.