Corruption Among Us

The station has turned into a chaotic mess. People are shuffling in and out the doors while patrol hustles their suspects around. The desk sergeant is talking above everyone, hoping to be heard. The combined commotions have caused the noise level to reach the ear-shattering range. Jerry is eyeing the disarray when a deep gravelly voice catches his attention. Curious, he turns to see who it is.

"I'm innocent, I tell you, innocent," a tall, thin, tatted man declares on his way to booking. His skeletal-like appearance and premature aging tell the detective he's lived a hard life filled with booze and drugs.

You probably haven't been innocent since the day you were born. Jerry thinks. This is one of the many times he wishes he and his detectives had an office away from the daily grind. The current captain and numerous ones before him have requested the addition, only to be told the city doesn't have the funds for the costly expansion.

Jerry glances at his detectives. His eyes sparkle when he says, "This could be the biggest bust in Berryville history."

Rachel glances up from her desk. "It could be."

He admires the plaques neatly arranged along the wall. With a smile on his face, he says, "Wouldn't it be great if our pictures were on the hall of fame?" It's been a dream of his since he first began.

Containing a chuckle Rachel says, "We wouldn't have to worry about creepy critters anymore if you did."

"And why's that?"

"Your ugly mug would scare them all away." She laughs.

"You're hilarious, Rachel just hilarious."

"I think she is." Kirk snickers.

"Who asked you?"

Kirk glances towards his desk.

"I wouldn't have this opportunity if I'd taken my stepmom's advice."

A perplexed look crosses his face. Being from a family of cops, he would've thought she'd be all for the idea. "What did Bonnie say?"

"She tried to convince me that I wasn't cut out for the job. Saying I'd do better in a more controlled, less risky environment. Of course, my real mom and cousin Emma jumped on her bandwagon. Said I should go back to nursing where I'm safe." She laughs and adds, "They wouldn't think that If they saw what stumbles through the Emergency Room doors at 2 AM." It became so bad that the hospital administrator decided to hire additional security.

Jerry tilts his head to the side."When did she tell you this?"

"The year I kept getting injured on the job."

Jerry laughs. "I can't recall a year you haven't been hurt at least a dozen times or more."

A shocked expression crosses her face. "You make me sound like a klutz."

"You said it; I didn't." A few of her more recent accidents cross Jerry's mind. He smiles and adds, "But now you mention it, Grace..." Grace was a nickname Joe gave her after the first week on the job.

She straightens her uniform and says, "I may not be the most graceful person on this planet...."

"That's the understatement of the year." Jerry chuckles. He glances over at Kirk, who's trying hard not to laugh.

"I always manage to catch the perp, unlike some slackers I know."

"I let you, so you'll look good for your dad." Her father, Max Webb, is their District Attorney.

Walking up behind him, she pats Jerry on the back. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jerry."

He laughs. "I just found something interesting."

Rachel glances at his computer to find a spreadsheet pulled up on the screen. "What is it?"

"According to Romero's records, the bar is doing good, actually too good considering its location."

Rachel leans in closer but can't make heads or tails out of what he's looking at. "What kind of profit is he showing?"

"His nightly deposits average around two thousand on weekdays and double that on the weekends. I might believe it if it was in a big city in the middle of town, or if the bar was full every night, but it's not. Every time I go past it, I might see six or seven cars in the drive. I figure half of them are employees."

"Emma and I had a drink there a couple of weekends ago, and there's just a handful of patrons at the bar. The rest of the place was empty."

Kirk looks up from his computer. "I just checked into some of his off-shore businesses, and a majority of them appear to be shell companies, but yet his bank records show him receiving deposits from them every month." Kirk has been with the department for a little over fourteen years. Ten in the forensic department and four as a beat cop. His vast knowledge makes him a tremendous asset to the team.

"So, Romero is using the bar and the offshore companies to launder money."

Rachel straightens up. "Profits from drugs and god knows what else."

Keep digging; see what else you can find. Rachel, you run the list of names through the system."

She grabs a printed list off her desk and gets to work. A few minutes later, she glances up. With a terrified expression on her face, she says, "You're not going to like what I found, guys."

"What's wrong, detective?"

"Some of these people are elected officials. A few we work with every day."

Jerry scratches the stubble on his face. "Really?"

"I'm afraid we might cause an all-out war if we continue this investigation."

Jerry grabs the list and scans it.

"What do you want to do, Sergeant?"

Jerry pushes away from his desk. "I think we should tell the captain what we've found and let him decide."

Rachel and Jerry dodge around all the foot traffic towards the back. Making it to the empty hallway, Rachel scans the crowd. "I didn't think we'd ever get through there."

"Me, either."

"Well, let's find out what Joe, I mean, the captain wants to do." Rachel taps on the door. "We have something you need to see, sir."

Joe notices the perplexed look on his crew's face when he glances up. "What is it?"

"It's a list of Romero's associates." She hands him a piece of paper before she continues. "We might cause an all-out war if we proceed."

He reads through the names. "I never would've believed that some of them would associate with the mob." Some of them I've always admired.

"I didn't want to believe it either, sir, but we found evidence linking them to him."

"Do you want us to continue, boss?"

He tosses his glasses on the desk. Rubbing his face he says, "I have to put my personal feelings aside, do what's best for this town."

"Are you sure, Captain?" Rachel questions.

"They knew the consequences of getting caught when they agreed to work for him."

Rachel takes the paper from his hand. "You're the boss."

"When you do go after them, be sure to go by the book. I don't want anyone to get off on a technicality. And guys, you better duck because shit is fixen' to hit the fan."

***

Antonio's heart races as he continues towards his prey. I'm going to shut her up once and for all. Weaving around the slower traffic, he pushes the pedal down more.

Noticing an ambulance behind him, he pulls to the shoulder of the road. A slew of emergency vehicles follows their lights and sirens blaring. There must've been one hell of an accident.

"Continue south on I 44." the phone repeats.

He glances down and discovers Abby is just a few feet ahead. An evil smile creeps across his face. I bet she's in the middle of that mess. A horrid thought suddenly comes to mind. What if she's not? What if she is but somehow managed to survive? I better check to be sure.

When the last emergency vehicle passes, he pulls onto the road. Antonio hadn't traveled too far when he notices a woman on the shoulder of the road4999. A puddle of blood pooling around her. The woman looks like Abby, but I thought she had brown hair, not strawberry blond. Maybe she got a dye job, or she's wearing a wig. He compares the picture on his phone to the woman on the ground. "No question about it. That's definitely her."

A paramedic checks her and then shakes his head.

"Guess I don't have to worry about her anymore." He smiles.