“Who is the we you are referring to?”
“Miles, Mavis Poladin and myself.”
“I see. Now, tell me what happened.”
“Pardon me?”
“I’m sorry Detective Law. About the events leading up to the shooting.”
“Miles and I had been on stakeout for about three and a half hours. It was strictly routine. A little before 2 a.m., Miles caught a glimpse of a shadow over by the alleyway across the street. He went over to investigate.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
“I asked Miles if he wanted any back up but he said no. He assumed it was just a kid or a bum that we had seen earlier that night.”
“I find it a little strange that you didn’t back him up.”
“Obviously you’ve never been out on the streets, Mr. Harping. Miles was an experienced detective. If he thought it was routine, that was good enough for me. At the time it made sense for one of us to stay with the cruiser and monitor the radio.”
“Go on, what happened next?”
“Miles walked across the street and disappeared around the corner. Then I heard a shot go off and caught sight of the muzzle flash in the alleyway.”
Harping was feverishly scribbling my responses on a yellow pad. Without looking up from the pad he shot out his next question. “How did you know it was gunfire?”
What a stupid question. I wanted to get out of the bed and put a nickel in his jukebox, but I had to remain cool, couldn’t tip my hand on what the Sarge had told me. Although he was pushing me to my snapping point, I kept my composure and responded in a measured tone. “Ten years of experience.”
Harping looked up from the pad and nodded, “Continue.”
“As I said, as soon as I heard the shot I grabbed the car radio and called it in.”
“Why didn’t you wait for the dispatcher to confirm your location?”
“I felt time was of the essence. I made a judgement call.”
“What happened next?”
“As I approached the alleyway, I caught sight of Miles down on the ground. I immediately raced to his side. He was bleeding from the head but very much alive. Then I got cold cocked from behind.”
Turning to the suit from Internal Affairs, Harping barked, “Mike, maybe you’ve got some questions for Detective Law.”
An icy current was now in the room. Harping had set the tone but at least his questions had been civil. I took the measure of Alcala as he moved closer to the bed. I’d seen plenty like him before, cocky but inept. Then he started to speak in a raspy tone. “Yeah, I’ve got a lot of em. First, why did you call in 13th Street instead of 31st?”
“Did I? Then how the hell did they get to 31st Street.”
“An anonymous phone call from a pay phone. Regarding your first question; yeah you did call in 13th Street instead of 31st. We’ve got ya’ on tape.”
“In the heat of the moment, I made a mistake. Did you ever think the real killer could have called it in. Next question.”
“Why didn’t you wait for confirmation from the dispatcher?”
“I’ve already answered that question.”
“So you did. How do you explain the drugs found in your system?”
“I have no idea.”
“Detective Law, don’t you have a history of drug addiction?”
“A long time ago. I’ve been clean for over eleven years.”
“You used to have a drinking problem as well. Didn’t you?”
“Ancient history, next question.”
“We’ll skip over the alcohol that was found on your cloths for now. I’m more interested on why you went into a hot area before you knew it was safe?”
“I screwed up. My first concern was my partner.”
“I call that pretty shoddy police work for a ten year veteran. If you expect me to believe your story, I’ve got to believe you picked that night to forget the basics they taught you at the Academy. You understand that’s hard for me to swallow, don’t ya? It’s not like you’re a goddamn rookie; you’re a ten year vet. You know better than that.”
“Mr. Alcala, I don’t really care what you believe. You asked, I answered. Did I screw up? Yes. Did it cost Miles his life? Probably. Understand he was like a brother to me and I’ve got to live with it for the rest of my life and it ain’t going to be easy. I don’t appreciate your questions or your tone. You’re treating me like a suspect and I don’t like it. Now, I’m a little tired of this bullshit. If you want to charge me, do it. Any future questions will have to wait till I have an attorney present.”
Alcala looked over at Harping with a self-amused expression. Harping returned the gaze and then stole a quick glance over his shoulder at the chief. Looking down at me like a vulture over dead prey, he smiled one more time before talking. “Detective Law, we have reason to believe that you murdered your partner. An armed guard will remain on your door while you’re in this hospital. Consider yourself under house arrest. As soon as you’re released from the hospital, you will be taken down to the Thirteenth Precinct Jail, where you’ll wait until you’re arraigned. I suggest you read him his rights, chief.”
The chief nervously started to Marandize me, but I cut him off quick. “No need, I know it by heart. The next time we talk, I’ll have an attorney present. Now if you have nothing else, get the hell out of here.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
After they left the nurse came back in and checked my vitals. Not surprisingly my heart rate and blood pressure were both elevated. “I don’t like this,” the nurse muttered.
“Ignore it, it should be high.”
“Why?”
“Those clowns that just left here have just accused me of murder. How’s that for a reason.”
“Pretty good. I’ll stop back in thirty minutes, try and relax.”
“Yeah right, thanks.”
She hustled out of the room and left me with my thoughts. The IA man Alcala’s last comment was haunting me. Although harsh and unthinking, they were true, I did screw up. If only I’d followed procedure Miles may not have been killed. There was no way of hiding from the consequences of my actions. I knew in my own mind’s eye that I was destined to be haunted and disfigured by the deed for the rest of my life; powerless to make up for the biggest mistake of my life.
A little past 2:30 p.m. I was still wrestling with the past. I needed to find a way to break free from my guilt, had to get on with
