The Pact

This story is part of an ongoing series.

The chronological order of my stories is now 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.

All characters involved in sex acts are over 18 years of age.

Part 6 - Death and Data

*WHAM!*

It was 7:30am, Saturday, May 26th, and the loud noise had been something striking the glass window of the back wall of The Cabin. Molly restrained the dogs as Carole and I went out onto the back deck to investigate.

"Look, Daddy." my daughter said. "It's a bird." Indeed a brightly colored redbird had slammed into the window, and was now lying on the deck. It was a male, as male redbirds are bright red feathered while females are a dull, almost brownish red. From the angle of his head, it was clear that this poor guy had broken his neck; he was dead. He must've seen his own reflection in the window and attacked it.

"Why isn't he moving, Daddy?" asked Carole. "Why doesn't he get up?"

"I'm afraid that he died, Carole." I said.

"Oh." said Carole, processing that. "So once something dies, it can't be alive again?"

"No, it can't." I said.

Carole contemplated the bird. "That's very sad." she said. "He was just flying around, then he hit the window, and now he's dead forever."

"Yes, that's true." I said, realizing this was one of those 'epiphany' moments in my daughter's life: awareness of life and death. "And very sad."

"Can we bury him, Daddy?"

"Sure." I said. "But don't touch him with your bare hands. Birds have little bugs on them that don't hurt them, but can make us humans sick." I got latex gloves and an evidence bag from my pocket, and I secured the bird in the bag. We went through the house, got a shovel out of the garage where the Black Beauty was, then went around front and over the edge of the hilltop into the woods. The dogs had been kept inside, and Jim, Ross, and Ian had come with us.

I dug a hole about two big shovelfuls deep, then poured the bird into the hole and we covered it up. Carole got a rock from nearby and used another rock to write "BIRD" on it, and set it down over where we buried the bird.

We came back inside, where Carole asked a lot of questions about how birds lived in the wild. And I would see her over the next few weeks watching birds fly around. The cycle of Life and Death continued on...

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

Saturday, May 26th. At 10:00am, we had a meeting in Classroom 'E'. Attending were Chief Moynahan, myself, Captain Perlman, Captain Croyle (at my request), Detective Davis, Detective Parker, Detective Warner, Detective Washington, Lainie Everett (data guru), and Bobby Patrick as the CSI Team representative. Also present were Dr. Laura Fredricson and Dr. Tom Yates, psychiatrists both.

Bobby had been a Crime Lab tech for a while, and Captain Perlman had decided to give him a shot at leadership, as Mark Walker didn't seem to be embracing the leadership role to suit Tanya's liking. Bobby was young, in his mid-20s, and was not unlike J.R. Barnes: not the very best tech, but good enough, and willing and able to take charge and correlate others' activities.

"Okay, Bobby," I said, "start us off. What have the CSIs found, so far?"

"The rape kit was sent to the State Crime Lab across Town." said Bobby. "So were the sheets and pillowcases. We also vacuumed the floor in the bedroom where the perps were said to have stood for periods of time. We're hoping the Crime Lab can get some evidence of them, even though they limited their own exposure by wearing full body suits, gloves, and condoms."

"No pubic hairs recovered?" I asked.

"No sir," said Bobby. "And Mrs. Clarkston said, and Dave Clarkston confirmed, that the perps had completely shaved their pubic hair and any hair on their legs and abdomens. So there might have been nothing to leave behind."

"And no identification of hair color, either." I said. "And they also used condoms, so not much hope of DNA from a semen sample?"

"We're hoping to find some bodily fluids like saliva on the pillowcases or sheets, sir." said Bobby. "Or maybe one of the condoms leaked. But they forced Dave to have unprotected sex with Mrs. Clarkston, and forced him to climax inside her, so his DNA is likely going to overwhelm any other slight amounts we might have found."

"Well, Dr. Christina Cho is very, very good." I said. "Let's hope she can come up with something for us. Okay, Lainie, tell me about the Clarkstons."

Lainie gave the basic financial information. The Clarkstons had been married nearly 19 years, and Dave was 18, so we could figure that out. Richard Clarkston's contracting business was doing well. He and his wife were not big spenders. They had large education funds for their children's future college expenses. Mr. Clarkston had a large variable whole life insurance policy that was extremely over-funded; that was his equivalent of a retirement account. Nothing else stood out.

"Okay, before I get to Detective Davis," I said, "I'd like Dr. Yates and Dr. Fredricson to tell us about their interviews with the family."

Dr. Yates went first. "Marcia Clarkston was fairly composed when I talked with her. She seemed to be more worried about how her daughter was, and also how her son was after they forced him to have sex with her. Richard Clarkston seemed shocked by everything, and also a bit humiliated. I'd say his reaction is very typical of husbands who have been forced to watch their wives being raped."

He continued: "Tiffany, the daughter, was more hysterical over what had happened to her mother. Dave was shocked, but was very composed, and said he did what he had to do to keep his mother from being hurt much worse. He seemed to be handling things in stride, but he may break down some over the next few days, so I expect to talk with him again."

"Thanks, Doctor." I said. "Dr. Fredricson, I asked you to come here because you talked to the family, but also because of your general knowledge of sexual matters involving incest. What is your evaluation of this situation? Are attacks like this normal?"

"No, they're not." Laura said. "Mother-son incest is pretty rare, and I generally have had to hunt for examples of it to study, and then convince the mother and son to talk confidentially to me about it. As to forcing a son to have sex with his mother, that is also not very common. There are a few examples here and there of black gangs forcing a mother and son to have sex, and a few examples of Latino gangs doing that. Most often, the victims are also tortured and murdered. I'm beginning to search for examples similar to what happened last night, but so far have found none."

"What about the Clarkstons?" I asked.

"As Dr. Yates said," Laura said, "Marcia was holding it together for the sake of the children. I'm going to be having some sessions with her alone, and with her and Dave together; how they react over time is going to be more critical for their well-being. Richard was in shock, but I understand he lashed out at his daughter verbally, and that

someone

got between them." I smiled; that would be me that intervened, there.

"So I really pressed Marcia, Tiffany, and Dave about Richard, asking if he was ever verbally or physically abusive." said Laura. "Marcia said they had 'normal' married-couple arguments from time to time, mostly over how strictly the kids were being raised. Dave generally confirmed that. But Tiffany said her father was way too strict with her, was overbearing, and would often yell at her for things like coming home late, to a level Tiffany considered verbally abusive at times. She also said that Richard had never physically assaulted her, nor had he gotten physical with her mother or brother, and that Marcia really gave it back verbally when she and her husband argued."

"Ma'am," said Teresa Croyle, "is what Tiffany describing something we have to act upon? Is it verbal abuse, or a typical teenage daughter responding to having to live by house rules? I ask because when Richard got in his daughter's face like he did, it seemed not only out of place, but it was very intimidating. And it was actually probably very good that Tiffany had

not

been at home at that time, but he was still fixated on her being late."

"Even more," said Laura, "Marcia said she'd given Tiffany permission to spend the night at her friend Jenny's house, and that's where she was when the Police picked her up. Marcia said she and Richard had argued about it, and Richard was actually leaving to go get Tiffany when the perps captured him."

"And that is why I asked Captain Croyle to come in to this meeting, so that all of you hear this at the same time." I said. "We need to review proper procedures for domestic abuse calls. It is State Law that when Officers are called to a domestic disturbance case,

someone

has to be arrested and taken out of the home. There is no choice for the Officers: they

must

make an arrest. Richard Clarkston almost crossed the line last night. If there are any future incidents, there, Captain Croyle, spread the word that an arrest will need to be made, and it most likely will be Mr. Clarkston visiting our Headquarters."

"Yes sir." Teresa said, making notes.

"Okay, Davis." I said. "What do you have for us?"

"Not much yet, sir." said Jerome. "The neighbors that we talked to said that Richard Clarkston was not a sociable guy, and his wife was better but no social butterfly herself. Dave is considered to be a cool guy, though a bit quiet. Tiffany has the reputation around the neighborhood of being full of herself. 'Stuck up' was the phrase I heard from the old-school residents. We're going to go back and interview Jenny and see if we can find other young people to talk to about Tiffany."

"Why is that important?" asked the Chief. I knew he knew the answer. This was 'teachable moment' time.

"Anything we can get to start a suspect list, Chief." said Jerome. "If some guys didn't like her, maybe they were breaking in to go after Tiffany, and it was just lucky she wasn't at home."

"Good thinking." said the Chief. "Who else might be sus-pects?"

"We're going to do the same for all the Clarkstons." said Jerome. "Find out who their friends are, what people think of them, and see if we come up with anything. Of course, this could've been a crime by strangers, and the Clarkstons were the unlucky losers in being chosen as victims."

"You agreeee with that, Commanderrrr?" asked the Chief, looking over at me.

"I dunno, sir." I said. "I think we need more data... and we have the Police Boxing Matches to attend in mere moments."

"Well, Heaven forbid anything get in the way of

that!

" said the Chief with no small amount of acerbity in his voice.

"Those of you with matches today, get out of here." I said. Teresa, Theo, Joanne, and Jerome complied... swiftly.

"The rest of you, keep at it." I said. "Monday is Memorial Day, so get what you can through tomorrow..."

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

The gym was full of Police Officers as the participants prepared for their rounds. This was the Final Eight, and would be the Final Four by the end of the day. Your Police Boxing Matches Final Eight were (in seed order): Teresa Croyle, Cindy Ross, Jerome Davis, Joanne Warner, Micah Rudistan, Theo Washington, Hugh Hewitt, and Roy McGhillie.

That's right, Your Iron Crowbar had set those brackets up just right. The Elite Eight I'd started with were indeed the Final Eight. There has been few upsets at all along the way, mostly those achieved by Patrol Officer Julia Rodriguez.

Getting to this point, Teresa had faced a tough battle against the upstart Julia, who'd remembered her military training on her way to the Sweet Sixteen. Julia fought a tough battle against Teresa, taking the Defending Champion into the third round before Teresa found a weakness and exploited it, forcing Julia to yield after executing a strong Aikido move.

I congratulated Julia afterwards. I also told her that I wanted and expected her to apply for the Detective positions that would soon be opening. She was enthusiastic.

I also noted that Teresa's right arm was not fully recovered. She had suffered nerve damage in her Christmas Eve rescue of my daughter, and she was still not 100%. Most people did not even realize it, and the few that might have had been unable to exploit it. But Cindy Ross had been watching every one of Teresa's matches with avid interest, and I knew that the Green Crowbar would not be missing a thing.

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

Teresa Croyle v. Roy McGhillie: Teresa was in white plastic protection with red trim and a red football helmet, and McGhillie was in blue trim. Teresa's crowbar was international orange; McGhillie's was light blue.

McGhillie had recovered from his wounds sustained during the 'Night of the Cobra' operation at MLK Park, but he'd had a fairly tough slog getting to this point. Teresa did not take him lightly, and after one round of stalemate, she began pressing an attack in the second round. McGhillie over-extended, and was taken down.

Cindy Ross v. Hugh Hewitt: Against anyone else, Hewitt might've been able to put his tactical training to work. But Ross was on a mission. Her light blue crowbar administered punishment to Hewitt's body armor, and then she began methodically taking advantage of his errors. After repeatedly being thrown and taken down, he declined to answer the bell for the second round.

Jerome Davis v. Theo Washington: This was the match of the Matches. Both had trained hard and were good. And as Detective v. Detective, a lot of banter had been exchanged, and a lot of pride was on the line. Jerome had the orange crowbar; Washington, the neon green crowbar. The sounds of iron on plastic was heard many times.

Though shorter than Theo, Jerome was able to get inside him and deliver blows. When Theo extended to use his arm length, he found his position awkward and himself off balance. Jerome used some simplified Aikido I'd taught him, and it was enough to put Theo on the floor and pin him for the three-count in the early part of the third round.

Finally, Joanne Warner v. Micah Rudistan: We learned something. The sweet, cheerful, Christian Joanne had one hell of a potty mouth when she turned it on. And against Rudistan's trash talk, she turned it on in spades. At one point she was asking Rudistan how a 'disgusting fat-body' like him could even hope to stay on his feet against her, and then she demonstrated it with a few fast moves that suggested to me some tutelage by one Cindy Ross. After the second round, Rudistan said "she's out-insulting me, too!" and conceded the match.

It was set for next Thursday, May 31st: Croyle v. Warner. Ross v. Davis. And then the Final on June 2d. It was going to be... legendary.

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

Monday, May 28th. The American Flag in Courthouse Square flew at half-staff during the morning hours. I went by the Cemetery, where those who'd been in our military services had small American flags in front of their tombstones. Mrs. Veasley's memorial headstone had a flag, to which Cindy Ross added flowers. We then went to Mr. Davis's grave, where I added flowers to his tombstone and American flag.

There is another tradition, where coins are found on the graves of military veterans. Legend has it that leaving a penny simply means you visited and wanted to thank the veteran for his or her service. A nickel means you trained at boot camp with the deceased, while a dime suggests you served with him or her. Finally, a quarter signifies you were with the soldier when he or she passed away.

I didn't really serve with Mr. Davis, though we both wore the uniform of the Army, he helped me defeat Pastor Westboro, and we were side-by-side as we opposed Thomas P. Cook at the Widow Grissom's home. A penny just was not enough, so I left a dime on his gravestone, all the while explaining to Cindy the tradition. She promptly went back and put a quarter on Mrs. Veasley's headstone.

After all, Cindy had been with Mrs. Veasley when she had died...

Part 7 - Affairs of Internal Affairs

"This is Bettina Wurtzburg, KXTC Fox Two News!" shouted the redheaded reporterette at 7:00am, Tuesday, May 29th. "The Town & County Police will be making an announcement this morning, and Fox Two News has learned that it will be to name their new head of Internal Affairs!"

Bettina: "Sources tell Fox Two News that SBI Lieutenant Ted Orosco will be hired for the Internal Affairs post, and will begin June 1st. Lieutenant Orosco worked for Commander Donald Troy as part of the SBI-SIS group, which is now defunct."

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

"We are glad to have someone of Lieutenant Orosco's experience and integrity to lead the TCPD's Internal Affairs team," said Sheriff Allgood in making the announcement that morning at City Hall, "as well as be part of Inspector General Horace Wellman's I.G. team for the County at large."

"I'm very impressed with Lieutenant Orosco's record and his abilities." said I.G. Wellman, looking just like his brother University President Sidney P. Wellman as he spoke at the microphone to the assemblage of the Press, except I.G. Wellman's hair was dyed solid black. "This was another excellent hire by Sheriff Allgood and the Town & County Police team."

Orosco was brought out and made the obligatory statements about being grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to getting to work. Barely had he finished his statement when the Press began yelling questions at him, hurtling words at him with no decorum whatsoever. He was quickly taken away into the hallways of City Hall...

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

"That wasn't too bad." Cindy said as she and I watched on TV in my office. "I think Orosco will work out pretty well."

"Until the Press starts going to work trying to grind him down, and the Independent State Counsel goes after him." I replied.

"Why would they do that?" asked Cindy.

"To impugn the credibility of a certain local Police Commander by suggesting that this hire is not aboveboard. Just watch... just watch..."

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

We were not long in waiting. As 'Days of Promise' was beginning at 1:00pm, KXTC broke into the soap, Bettina coming onto the air. This is from my viewing of the DVR'd newscast:

"We interrupt this program with breaking news!" shouted Bettina. "Independent State Counsel Robert Mullen has just issued a subpoena for SBI Lt. Ted Orosco, who has just been hired as the TCPD's Internal Affairs leader! Let's go to Mr. Mullen's press conference in Midtown!"

Mullen was shown at the podium in a press room inside the State Capitol Office Building. "Yes, I have subpoenaed Mr. Orosco. He once worked directly for Commander Donald Troy, and on the cases we're investigating Commander Troy for now. We want to know if Commander Troy hiring Mr. Orosco is a

quid pro quo

in exchange for Mr. Orosco's silence on the Braselton-Rodman case. We find it highly irregular for this hire to be made by the Town & County Police Force."

Back to Bettina: "Social Justice groups are decrying the hire. Jay Swenson of the Citizens For Police Accountability issued a statement saying, quote, 'Commander Donald Troy has hired a former subordinate to the Internal Affairs position that might be investigating him, Commander Troy, in the future. The stench of corruption and a

quid pro quo

arrangement permeates the Town & County Police Force and follows its Police Commander wherever he goes. We demand the TCPD rescind this hire!', close quote."