I drove the car to the end of the street and then took the turn to go down the alley before waiting for the suspect to arrive. It was the only way he can run out of the back alley with Sam in pursuit. I looked out the car window but I can't see the two of them. That's bad, as I have a partner on his own there. I got out of the car and ran to the back of the unit which we were to apprehend the suspect. It was a three level building and the suspect was on the ground level. The strategy was Sam goes in, and declared his intention. I expected the suspect to run by the back door and since the alley was blocked the other end, he would run towards my car. I get out and apprehend him. Simple strategy and I don't get to wet my shirt.
But not this time.
I heard the gun shot, and I barged in through the back door. It was a used cooking oil storage area. There were drums of oils which are brought in and recycled before they are converted into 'green' oil or bio-diesel oil. I was now in the rear storage area and the front of the shop was in front. I ran past that and opened the door to the front shop. There I saw Sam standing over the suspect with his gun smoking at the barrel. I looked down at the suspect and saw that he was not going to run anymore. I walked over to Sam and calmly told him to out away the gun. It was then Sam saw me, and stepped back but he also raised his gun. It was pointed at me now.
"Jim, I did not intend to do it." Sam was quivering in his speech. "He had a gun, and I shot him in self defense."
I seen the signs before. The rookie had fired his weapon for the first time but unfortunately he killed the man. Or allegedly killed the man. I had to get the gun off him or there would be another one lying down there. I slowly made my way towards him, holding out my right hand with the fingers extended.
"Sam, its okay." I sounded like St. Peter then; all angelic and pure. "I am stepping over and you would hand me the gun."
Sam took another step back but he was still on the edge. I took another step and then was when the uniformed guys came in. They had responded to a 10-71; shooting involved. Once the two uniformed stepped in with their guns drawn, Sam reacted by turning towards them. It was my best football tackle in years, as I lunged forward and grabbed the waist of the younger man to wrestle him down. We knocked into the uniformed guys and ended up in tangled arms and legs. It would had been fine, but another shot ran off.
This time Sam got it in the left thigh; courtesy of mis-fire by one of the officer's gun.
"Aargh! I am shot." The rookie screamed out, and started hollering for assistance. I pulled myself up and kicked at the gun dropped by Sam. The uniformed guy who shot him was Brian but he had fired one too many before. He saw the rookie on the ground holding onto his thigh; and he called for assistance. I pulled up the other uniformed officer and told him to keep an eye for the ambulance.
I got Brian to get the aid kit while I attended to Sam. The rookie was in pain and was releasing his emotions on me. There goes my shirt from being wet.
Later at the Medical High, I took my first cup of coffee since we left the Precinct the suspect. The Captain walked up to me and hauled me inside one of the empty rooms.
"WTF happened?" The Captain did not mince his words in the semi-darkened room, while I held onto my cup off coffee.
"I don't know. I came in and he was holding a gun. He panicked on seeing the blues but I wrestle him down. The gun from Brian went off and Sam got shot." I tried to complete my statement before the Captain grabbed my coffee. He does that in the office. He did it again now.
"Jim, this was a trained cop. He does not get stunned or panicked on a gun shot." The Captain retorted back to me before he sipped my coffee. "Get to the bottom of this before the IA picks up the trail."
The Captain hands me the coffee back before walking out. I can agreed with him on both; the IA are a bane, and the coffee bad. Di Angelo served better ones.
I was in Di Angelo three hours later after a grueling two back breaking hours of searching the shop for the gun allegedly had on the dead suspect. I could and neither have the uniformed who had searched found any gun. So Sam could had imagined the gun or the gun gone missing. Either way, Sam was in trouble.
"Coffee bad?" Di Angelo took it personally if someone does not touch his coffee within serving time of one minute. He claims it his way of telling the good or bad customer. We are in the first category as we never complained on his coffee or left it untouched over a minute.
"Coffee's fine." I replied even though I knew at this late hour, Di Angelo had recycled the pot too many times. "I am
thinking of Sam."
"Nice kid. Tough break." Di Angelo remarked back. "Do you remember me telling you....."
"Not today, Di Angelo. I am going back." If I left Di Angelo to speaks of his past; I would need to crawl into the bedroom by then. I drove on home and found my dinner in the microwave with a note; 'the dishes like to be cleaned.'
I took my food and guzzled them with two pints from the pack. Then I walked to the bedroom before stripping off my working clothes. I looked at myself in the mirror and then looked down at my belly. I can still see it in its lazy mode; so I am not obese. I turned around to looked at Jenny sleeping on the bed. If I woke her up now, there would be demons to pay entrance to watch my fight. It would be better than what they can get there. I took myself to the cold shower and tucked it all in the clothes I wore to bed. I saw my service gun by the dresser. I took it up and placed it in the shoebox in the cupboard. Anyone coming to stalked me would be met with a pillow tonight instead of the M1911.
I met Dan at the Coroner Office the next day. He was in cheerful mood as he had five dead ones; four of which are in pristine condition except for gun shots or blade wounds. He had just removed the liver of the suspect Sam shot.
"Hum, good condition with no fatty liver on it." Dan commented as he out away the liver onto the pans, before retrieving the spleen.
"Dan, tell me what was the cause of death?" I asked him as I flipped through the folders for the diagnosis.
"Jim, don't touch my stuff." Dan can be very possessive of his work area although he may be a good friend. He placed the spleen off and shoved me with this shoulder.
"Bullet penetrated his heart and he went down." Dan was in his foul mood now. No wondered he wrote on the notes wrong; the liver was recorded as cirrhosis when we saw it looking good. It was an observation which I was to know much later the meaning.
"Here is the bullet. 9mm and its bended." Dan show me the smashed bullet in the container. "It could had deflect off the ribs. I am still checking so F off."
I knew it when Dan said that, you find nuclear shelter or get barred from his Morgue. I offered to take the bullet casing to Forensics. On the way there, I was tempted to discard it but I was still binded by rules. After handling over the casing, I made a beeline to Frank.
"Jim, the IA ( or Internal Affairs ) coming over tomorrow to visit Sam at Medical High." Frank was sober like the pastor at the funeral. "Get what you can before then."
I looked at the Sargeant. I had just handed over the casing which would implicate Sam and his Glock. I have no weapons pointing to the suspect. I wished I was a hermit on the hill, deprived of all material needs. I walked back to my desk and looked at the case folder. Suspect was a arms dealer and also collector of guns. He boasts of having the actual guns from WWII armies, including those used by the Chindits in Burma. I looked through his list of collections.
There was a gun; a pistol to be exact. 9mm Luger. The suspect carries it with him but we cannot find the gun at the crime scene or on him.
So where was it? Did he not take it? Or dropped it?
I rounded up Brian and checked who was with him in the post shooting search. He gave me four names excluding himself. I knew one of them very well; Martinez Lopez, amateur gun collector 9mm series.
"C'mon, detective." Martinez denies any wrongdoing. "I did not find any 9mm there. What's this about a Luger?"
The Luger 9mm are still available on the auction rounds, but the ones owned by ex-Wehrmacht or Nazi officers were valuable to collectors. The suspect had one which belonged to a Nazi General with his personal insignia on it.
I left Martinez and went over to the crime scene. I passed the IA officers who had just arrived. They are here earlier than expected. I need to get out or I would be locked in by them. As I was driving to the scene, the portable rang but I ignored it. I walked into the shop again, and looked at the mess done by the search. They may had searched the place but they hardly had arranged it all back. They did find some weapons placed in plastic bags immersed in the drums. It was how the suspect shipped out his guns to the buyers.
I saw the dark markings of the suspect frame on the floor. I tried to picture how he could had been shot and how he fell. It was all speculation then, and I saw the drums. They are all around and some are uncovered.
Could the gun have dropped into the drums?
I looked into the drums and noted that its beyond description. I am off any fried stuff from now. I counted three possible drums and they had their cover opened. I got a long handle sieve and went through the oils. It was a dirty task and there was no one to helped me.
I found nothing of interest. Maybe one dead rat and some unknown substances dissolved in the oil. It was getting to be a dead end. I was out of ideas. Then its dawned on me.
Maybe there was no gun. But something else. Sam could had panicked and thought he saw a gun. Maybe he saw was gas nozzle; they looked like a gun in the semi-dark environment. There was one on the floor near the drums; it was without the flexible pipes attached to it. I took it and rushed to Forensics.
They found the suspect's print on it.
The IA could not find full evidence against Sam for manslaughter but he was charged with weapon discharge. They dropped the charges and took his badge. I was there to consoled him.
"There are other professions beside being a detective." Sam left for greener or better pastures that day.
Two days later, Frank cornered me. He showed me a Luger 9mm; Martinez took it that day but he felt guilty now. He wanted to do his part. If not for Frank, I would had shoved the gun into Martinez. I kept the gun for two months before throwing it into the river after knowing there would be no re-opening the case. Let them close the case forever; no point presenting new facts and dragged the rookie through hell again.
I also sworn off fried stuff during the same period. It insulted Di Angelo when I came in with my peanut and jam sandwiches, although I still drink his coffee.
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