Little Red Haired Girl

This story is part of an ongoing series.

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.

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

Dedicated to Charles M. Schulz, author of

Peanuts

comics. And yes, the author knows that the little red haired girl in

Peanuts

is named Heather.

Part 1 - Prologue

Tuesday, February 12th. Rain was falling steadily, adding gloom to the chill of the night. The wet streets glistened in the streetlamps as the Audi sedan drove up University Avenue, then turned left onto Jefferson Avenue.

"Why can't I get a dog?" said redheaded, ten-year-old Frieda Franklin, sitting in the back seat, looking out at the rain-swept streets.

"Because your grades aren't good enough." replied her mother acidly.

"They're all 'A's." said Frieda.

"They're not all '100's." her mother replied.

"So if I make all '100's, I can get a dog?" Frieda asked, hope surging in her voice.

"I didn't say

that

." her mother replied.

"Well, when

can

I get a dog?" Frieda asked.

"When I say so, and not before." said her mother, running out of reasons for saying 'no', and so just trying the direct 'bear down' approach."

"You're never going to let me get a dog, are you?" Frieda said, figuring it out and calling out her mother on it.

"Don't you backtalk me." said her mother sharply. "That's another reason you're not getting a dog. You're not minding your manners and your not minding your parents. Now don't say another word about it. Ever."

Frieda felt as bad as the weather outside, a tear running down her cheek as she looked out into the gloomy night. She didn't make friends in school very well; they teased her over her pure red hair color, and they hated her for being smart. She wanted a dog, someone who would be a friend to her, someone to play with and to love. But her mother hated dogs, and was fiercely determined to deny Frieda a canine companion.

"Why are we going this way?" her mother asked her father, partly to change the subject, and partly to let Frieda know she was not the object of conversation anymore.

"I want to ride by the warehouse." said Frieda's father. "I've been hearing some rumors that people are slacking off." As he drove by one of the industrial sites not far from Ward Harvester Park, he slowed down to look and see what was happening. He did not intend to stop with his family in the car.

Frieda was looking out the right side back window at another warehouse. As the car drove by, she saw what looked like a well-dressed man in a suit in the shadow of a door, talking to a shorter, very mean-looking man in workman's clothes and a toboggan cap, and an Asian woman in coveralls. When the well-dressed man turned and looked at the car, their eyes met, and stayed locked together for a long second until the car was well past the building...

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

I looked over at Cindy Ross, who was sitting next to me in one of the chairs along the wall in the private Chamber of the Town & County Council.

"You getting a vibe?" I whispered, seeing her face and introspective look.

"Yeah, a strong one." she replied. "Did you feel it?"

"Yeah, I sure did." I replied. "Any idea what it's about?"

"No." Cindy whispered. "But something just happened... something big." I nodded, feeling the same thing in my inner soul. But no time to worry about that now...

Part 2 - Commissioned Into Service

The 'Committee of the Whole' was meeting, and hearing Sheriff Griswold's plans for the Public Safety Department, which had been interrupted before by the destruction by fire of State Senator Katherine Woodburn's home. With me was the Police Chief, Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, Deputy Police Chief, and the Fire Marshal.

The Council Members and some of the others in the room were absolutely stunned by what they were hearing from our duly-elected Sheriff. "You... you..." spluttered Kelly Carnes "... you want to

bring back the EMTs?

Are you freaking kidding me?"

"No ma'am." growled Sheriff Griswold, who was standing at the podium. "The University's ambulance service is slow to respond to calls, and I'm very concerned with the level of the abilities of their paramedics. And since the idea of having ambulances parked at Firehouses was scrapped, due to strenuous and I believe legitimate objections of the Fire Department as well as others, the idea of a new EMS with their own stations in strategic positions around the County, and not as a part of a Firehouse nor part of the Fire Department, would best serve our Citizens."

"But... but..." stammered Carnes, "the law requires the EMS to be part of the Fire Department, and for the Fire Department to have total control over the EMS. You really want that back?"

"Sheriff," said J.P. Goldman, "if I might interrupt you for a moment, this might be a good time for me to bring up an overall issue that will very strongly affect your suggestions, as well as answer Mrs. Carnes question."

"Please do." said Griswold, who came over and sat down beside me. I was perhaps the only person besides Griswold and Goldman who knew that that little repartée had been scripted and orchestrated.

Goldman spoke from his chair: "Ladies and gentlemen, there are a number of issues that have come up which have some of us, especially the old-timers here who went through the Town and County merger process, realizing that the Town & County Charter, which was the basis of the merger agreement, needs to be re-written completely."

"We've passed a number of codicils to it in the past," continued Goldman, "and they are cluttering up the overall document. Furthermore, we have issues with the U.S. Department of Education over the Board of Commissioners acting as the School Board, the overall situation regarding the Board of Commissioners and Boards of Inquiry, the rank structure of the Fire Department, and to a lesser extent the Police Force, and now a potential new EMS Service that the Sheriff would like for us to consider."

"So..." said Goldman, "I will be proposing at the next Council meeting that a Working Group be formed to re-write the Town & County Charter. I would also recommend that the Public Safety Charter be a separate document, so that we don't have to make codicils to the overall Charter just to clarify a rank structure in the Fire Department, to use that as an example."

"Would these be us, the Council Members, on this Working Group?" asked Sheila Sorrells.

"Not necessarily." said Goldman. "We could definitely have some outsiders, if not everyone on the panel be outsiders. I definitely have one outside person in mind, and I'm sure Mr. Lewis and Ms. Adams have their own ideas."

"So would this be a Commission?" asked Dagmar Schoen.

"It could be." said Goldman. "In technical terms, a Commission is usually independent, and it's final product would be what would go to the voters without going through the Council. If that is what the Council here decided to do, I'd be fine with that."

"It might even be the best thing." said Daniel Allgood. "Once the Study Group wrote something and submitted it to the Council for approval, you guys might never reach an agreement on it, or you might try to re-write it, and thus make the Group's work obsolete and a waste of time."

"I resent your remarks." growled Kelly Carnes.

"I don't care if you do." replied Allgood flatly. "It's true: this Council is as divided as it's ever been, and either you have to take yourselves out of it, or it's not going to ever get done. And with the DOE and the NEA all over us, it needs to get done."

"It's not going to get done, anyway," declared Reginald B.F. Lewis, "unless I have a say in it, either on this commission or through the Council itself. I am not going to let you continue to discriminate against People of Color like the Merger did."

"You gotta be kidding." said Edward R. Steele. "The Merger did not discriminate against anyone------"

"Like hell it didn't!" snarled Lewis. "Just when the Town Council was going to go majority black, the County suddenly agreed to merge, to keep the blacks suppressed."

"That's ridiculous." said J.P. Goldman. "The merger led to the Town Assembly, which has equal-weighted districts and is very fair to blacks, who are represented in proportion to their percentage population in the County------"

"All right, all right." said the Mayor. "Let's get back on track. First of all, any Commission's proposals would have to be rubber-stamped by the Town & County Assembly, so it's not like the Commission is going to have the final say-so before the Voters vote. Second, let's let Sheriff Griswold finish his proposals, hear from our Police and Fire Department guests, then bring this back up...

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

11:30pm, Tuesday, February 12th. I trudged into the Mountain Nest. Laura came out of the Computer Room, took one look at me, and said "I'll make it a double. Scotch?"

"Bourbon, please. Thanks." I said as I took off my Uniform Jacket and hung it up in the closet. As Laura made the drinks, I sat down in the rocking chair, which helped support my aching back. A handsome white dog jumped into my lap.

"Hi, Bowser." I said as I petted him. "Why aren't you upstairs in your basket?"

"Couldn't get him to stay in his basket in Carole's room." Laura said as she came back with our drinks, handed me one, then sat down on the far-side sofa against the wall, next to my chair. "He's been waiting up for you."

"You're a good dog, Bowser. You know I needed to pet a dog tonight." I said, rubbing the right side of his head, which he loved, while I took a big swallow of my drink. "Ah, that's good. I really needed this."

"The drink, or petting the dog?" Laura asked, meaning it humorously.

"Both." I said, somewhat glumly.

"So what's got you down?" Laura asked, having astutely observed me.

"Government of the People, by the People, for the People." I mused, thinking that that was an appropriate comment, since this day was Lincoln's birthday, his real birthday, not the Holiday. "The Council is forming a Commission to re-write the Town & County Charter. And guess who they named to be the Chairman of the Commission?"

Laura couldn't help but grin. "You, of course. But how did they trick you into accepting it?"

"Oh, they ambushed me good." I said. "And the hammer... er, crowbar... they used on me was that newly-elected Sheriff. I could tell the Council 'no'. But I couldn't tell Sheriff Griswold 'no'. And then I realized that maybe if I'm part of the thing, I can stave off any ugly things being done to the TCPD."

"Like three precincts?" Laura asked. Now how did

she

know about all that, I wondered to myself.

"And much worse, dispersing the Detectives to them." I said.

"What about bringing the EMS back?" Laura asked.

"That's what Sheriff Griswold wants." I said. "And that's what started all the talk about re-writing the Charter. Reginald B.F. Lewis was adamant, as always, that we have three precincts again, and then that bitch Kelly Carnes started pushing for dispersing the Detectives."

I continued: "I was about to go off on her, and accuse her of deliberately trying to harm the Police Force. Fortunately, the Sheriff intervened... by threatening to sue the Council over that. He correctly said that the Council can make law on what the Police structure would be, but they cannot tell him who to put where. He said he could put my office in any Police building, as an example, and then he said he was prepared to take the thing to the US Supreme Court."

"Like father, like son." said Laura. "You guys don't play around." I was struck by Laura's words, stating out loud what we all knew Griswold and I essentially were to each other.

"Yes." I said, petting Bowser some more. "Anyway, I agreed to chair the Commission, as long as I had some measure of veto power over who else was on it. I know Lewis and Malinda Adams will get proxies, but so will J.P. Goldman and Daniel Allgood."

"How many people on it?" Laura asked.

"Five, including me." I said. "I told them that too many cooks would spoil the broth, and I didn't need a Council-sized circus to deal with."

"Like Tanya Perlman says," said Laura, a hint of a smile on her lovely face accompanying a huge twinkling of her eyes, "all that power... in

your

hands. Shaping our County's government for probably decades to come."

"And as I tell Ms. Perlman," I said, "it's more about the power of the Crowbar in my hands." I put Bowser down on the floor, then stood up. "I'm going to take this dog out, and then come back and show you the power of a horny husband using his crowbar to make love to his beautiful wife."

"Mmmm, sounds like a campaign promise I'm going to make you keep." Laura said...

Part 3 - Morning Coffee, Morning Grind

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Channel Two News!" shouted the lovely redheaded reporterette at 7:00am, Wednesday, February 13th, from in front of City Hall. "The Mayor and the Town & County Council have become beehives of political activity!"

Bettina began: "Mayor Daniel Allgood has pledged to work with the U.S. Department of Education, the State Education Board, and the NEA, the powerful Teacher's Union, on solutions to their complaints, as well as a lawsuit filed by the NEA demanding a separate Board of Education in our County. Roll tape."

Tape showed Mayor Allgood saying "I have two goals. First, to reach an accommodation with the Federal and State Governments and the Teachers Union for equitable and responsible school administration here in our County. Second, to make sure all our County schools are funded fairly and funded well. I'm concerned that some southside schools are not being adequately funded, and we're going to make sure that gets fixed."

Back to Bettina live: "School officials in the Booker T. Washington High system praised Mayor Allgood's comments, but Eldrick X. Weaver did not share the praise. He issued a statement saying 'Majority black schools in this County have been underfunded for years, and only now does the illegitimate Mayor give lip service to it. It's 'deeds not words', and we are seeing no deeds by the Mayor and his almost-all-white Town & County Council and Board of Commissioners.'."

More Bettina: "The Town & County Council is also forming a Commission to re-write the Town & County Charter! With many changes to the structure of many elements of the Town & County government structure, and with looming changes to the Education System, the Council has decided to simply start fresh and completely re-do the Charter that was ratified by the Voters when the Town & County merged their governments. And in the most shocking move of all, Mayor Allgood announced that the Chairman of the Commission will be Police Commander Donald Troy!"

Bettina went on: "And in State news: with the Legislative session for the year nearly half-over, our lawmakers are no closer to a Budget bill than they were on the first day of the year. And with the passage of a Budget an absolute necessity to avoid a tremendous disaster for the State, the pressure is mounting on the Legislators as well as

deeply unpopular

Governor Val Jared to come up with a solution."

"Along with the pressure of the Budget issue," continued Bettina, "Governor Jared faces continued scrutiny by the State House Judiciary Committee. The Democrats on the Committee have threatened to subpoena the Governor's tax returns, and they're also demanding that the full report of State Independent Counsel Robert Mullen be given to the Committee. By law, Grand Jury proceedings and testimony

cannot

be released, but State House Judiciary Chairman Justin Madoff of the City has said that if Governor Jared and Attorney General Karl Handel do not release the Grand Jury testimony, they will be held in Contempt of the Legislature and criminally prosecuted."

Bettina then smiled brightly as she said "And the State Bar has declined to disbar attorney H.J. Lynch of Chase, Lynch & Berry, P.C. after a referral by Police Commander Donald Troy. However, Commander Troy's lawsuit against Lynch for slander and defamation of character continues to move through the Court system, and if that lawsuit finds for Commander Troy, then the State Bar could re-examine Lynch's status..."

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

"Who convinced you to take that job, re-writing the Charter?" Teresa all but exclaimed as the Sheriff, Command Group, and my Angels drank coffee in the Chief's Conference Room.

"This guy right here." I said, lightly tapping Sheriff Griswold on the side of his shoulder with my crowbar as he sat next to me.

"Har!" growled the Sheriff, his mustaches twitching merrily. "You know you're the best man for the job, and the only man in this County for it, Crowbar." I just shook my head.

Cindy said "I noticed that Bettina was giving Mayor Allgood a lot of credit for working with the Education people, as well as playing that sound bite about making sure minorities get their proper cut of the education pie."

"Very true." said Chief Moynahan. "He worked that political angle verrry welllll, as well as working to solve the education issss-uuuuuues. And you're right: it

was

good of Mizzz Wurtzburg to report that."

"Random act of journalism." I replied acidly. "Accidentally swerving into the truth, and giving someone proper credit. I'm sure Eldrick X. Weaver will read Bettina the Riot Act over that."

"You just won't give the Press credit when they do something right, will you?" Cindy asked me, peering at me. It was an accusation. I wasn't brooking much of it. I stared right back at her.

"As Chief Moynahan will tell you," I said flatly, "in the Army we had a saying that

it takes a whole lot of 'attaboys' to equal one 'ah, shit'

. It's going to take a LOT of the Mainstream Media doing 'right' for me to think they've really changed in any way." Cindy just shook her head.

"How are things with the HOA going, Teresa?" Tanya asked Teresa, to change the subject in the face of the increasing tension in the room.

"Good and bad." Teresa said. "As part of her plea deal, Jennifer Martin called for a special election of the Board, and authorized the HOA's attorney to manage spending on things like lawn and gardening and security. But Gus Bradshaw's attorney filed suit to stop it. So it's in limbo right now."

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

"Would someone please explain to me," said Catrina Pierce as we watched the KFXU morning show during the Angels meeting at 8:00am, "how they can hold the Governor and AG in Contempt of the Legislature for

not

breaking the law? The Democrats are saying

'If you don't break the law and release the Special Grand Jury testimony, we'll hold you in Contempt of the Legislature and try to have you imprisoned.'

. How can that possibly be legal, much less legitimate?"

"It's obviously optics." said Greg Wallace, political reporter for KFXU. "The Democrats are making it sound like the Governor is breaking the law by setting up an impossible situation for him, where no matter what he does, it will be described as wrong. But as long as he obeys actual law and does not release the Grand Jury testimony, I would expect the Courts to take his side."

"Is this going to affect the Budget battle?" asked Catrina. "I mean, they're getting short on time in this Legislative session. Someone has to find a compromise solution, and these theatrics don't help."