Genghis was still trying to get the sleep from his eyes. He firmly placed the pads of his back legs into the light-brown, shag carpeting. Then taking three steps forward, with just his front legs, he stretched and arched his back downward, while pointing his nose skyward. He yawned loudly, curling the tip of his tongue, straightened up, and vigorously shook his head, jingling his collar tags as he did. The shaking worked its way down Genghis’s body, from his head to his abdomen, all the way down to his nub of a tail. “Ahhhh. Yes! That felt good!”
“What the hell was that?” Trent asked, seeing this reaction in his partner for the first time.
“I don’t know, but I’ve done it about every morning since I’ve become a human canine. Feels really good, you should try it.” He entered the small kitchen, “You know, Codas canines would probably throw their backs out, if they tried that.” He reared up and placed his front paws on the counter. “So, how does this coffee machine work?”
After about ten minutes of putting their heads together, verbal commands, and then a quick drive to Dave’s to ask Monica, they finally figured it out. Monica also suggested that the next time, just call her. Exactly what that meant, they would have to figure out later. They brewed their first pot of coffee. It was extremely strong, but as the day wore on, they perfected the process.
Jeff was sitting on the couch with the TV remote in one hand and a coffee mug in the other. The mug was white with bold, red lettering, stating that he was the “World’s Number One Dad.” He was scanning the TV channels, not staying on one longer than thirty seconds. Genghis was sitting on his haunches, on the floor, back against the seat of the couch, with his front legs resting on the coffee table, so he could access the computer. Genghis's coffee mug was jet black, and had “Death Before Disco” emblazoned on it in bright, yellow print.
He had brought up several maps of the Compton Square area and selected other possible targets that would appeal to Colus Valda. “You know,” he pointed at the computer screen. “If we park about here, we could watch these two buildings on the left and this one down the block on the right. With all the sensing equipment on, we would be able to . . .” He looked up at Jeff. Trent’s eyes were fixed on the television. He had stopped channel surfing on the Cartoon Network, and was enthralled that Scooby Doo and the gang had just apprehended old man Johnson. Genghis looked at the show. Another big dumb drooling human canine, he thought to himself.
He lowered his gaze and shook his head in disgust. Then, looking up at Jeff and in a high-pitched voice, said, “Hey, Moe!”
“What?” Jeff said, coming out of his trance. “What were you saying?”
Genghis went over the maps once more, then hacked into the local police department’s computers and read reports relating to the arsonist. Confidence was high within the police force that the Compton Square Arsonist would strike again within the week.
They planned to set out that night, again around ten. The duffle bag was removed from Trent’s bedroom closet and packed with the usual equipment. Later that day, they turned off the television and retired to their rooms and slept for a couple of hours, preparing for the long night's vigil. At five past ten that evening, Trent opened the garage door and pulled the Thunderbird out. Genghis was already in the passenger seat, waiting to get on the road, before calling up the holographic computer screen. Trent got out of the cruiser and closed the garage door, then climbed back in. He put the car in gear and pulled out of the drive. Turning right, they passed in front of Mrs. Remke’s house. The curtains parted slightly as Mrs. Remke watched them pass. “Now where in the hell is that idiot and his damn dog going at this hour?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was two in the morning and quiet in the Compton Square district of Old Town. They were parked on the street in the shadows. The three buildings they selected to stake out were one block down, two on the left and the other on the right. The buildings were covered with graffiti and surrounded by trash.
Genghis was keeping an eye on the computer screen, while Trent sat calmly drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He looked around, then quietly went, “Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.”
“No, no, no,” Genghis said. “It’s a little more higher pitched and nasally, like this.” Genghis proceeded to do his own impression of Curly Howard.
Trent listened for a moment. “You think? I thought it was more like, Ny . . .”
Jeff turned his head toward the computer when he heard the alert tone. There was a car coming into the area. The first one detected so far that night. They were parked facing east on Anderson Road. The car that got their attention parked somewhere on 15th Ave, one block over. They could not see the car, but Genghis was able to scan it. “Nothing,” he said. “No flammable materials, two occupants. Haven’t a clue why they’re out here.”
“Possible local police also on a stakeout?”
“No, I’m not detecting any weapons of any kind. No advanced radio or computer equipment either.”
Trent thought for a moment. “Two occupants? Maybe they’re a couple trying to find a quiet place to park.”
“Geez O Cow!” Genghis said, while surveying his surroundings. “Couldn’t they have found a place a little more romantic then this crap hole?” Just then Genghis’s ears perked up, “Did you hear that?”
“No, not a thing,” Trent was getting used to his partner's new-found heightened senses.
Genghis shot his head toward the right. “There it is again. Sounds like a female. Possibly in distress.” Genghis got up, stood on the seat, hopped over the door, and landed on the ground on all fours. “Come on. Let’s check it out.” Jeff exited the Thunderbird and followed his partner.
They both walked across a small piece of property that once had a building on it. The small vacant lot had a partially bent, rusting chain link fence around it that didn’t do a good job at keeping anyone out. Streetlights elongated their shadows as they trekked the uneven landscape, which had patches of light color sand, long strains of grass and weeds, and a large amount of garbage covering the ground.
They proceeded toward the back of the two empty warehouses that faced 15th Ave.. Each warehouse had a five-foot high brick loading dock, where trucks once backed up to. Beyond that, the roll-up loading dock doors were rusted and covered with spray painted words and strange looking drawings. Windows were broken and wood rotting. A stray cat ran from the shadows when it sensed Jeff and Genghis approaching. Genghis had an odd sensation to pursue it, but shook that thought from his mind.
There was a small alley just six feet wide separating the two old buildings. Jeff removed his PK30A and motioned for Genghis to stop. Genghis sat and reached up with his hind paw to his collar. His Immobilizer was still securely fastened if he needed it. Genghis let Trent enter the alley first. It was dark with plenty of places to hide. They both slowly walked through, Trent leading with his PK30A, while Genghis sniffed the air as they went. Jeff now could hear voices. They were arguing.
The other end of the alley opened up to the 15th Ave sidewalk. There was a streetlight ten feet away that illuminated the alley entrance. Jeff quickly popped his head out between the buildings, scanned the area, then stepped back into the shadows. “There’s an auto-mo-bile in a parking lot across the street,” he told Genghis. The voices were louder now. Trent nodded to Genghis and they both stepped out of the alley.
The light blue 1998 Cadillac was parked haphazardly in a vacant parking lot. They could see the silhouettes of two people in what looked like a slight struggle. Just then the passenger door opened and a young girl stumbled out. “I said NO! You freak.” And slammed the door shut. That action was followed by the drivers side door swinging open. A tall thin balding man came out. “What the hell do you mean no!” He said in a deep voice. “I paid you already!” He crossed around the front of the Cadillac.
“Yeah, well I’m not doing that, asshole! You can have your money back.” She turned and started to walk away.
He moved quickly and roughly grabbed her
arm and swung her around. “Ow! Let me go!”
“You're going to do what I want.” She started struggling and twisted around to break his firm grip, but tripped over her own feet and fell to the ground. He raised his other hand and was about to swing . . .
“That’s ENOUGH!”
The tall thin man and the girl both were shocked at the fact that there was anyone else in the area and looked in the direction of the voice. There was a man in a black trench coat coming across the empty two lane road, the coat flapping behind him as he quickly walked. A large dog trotted next to him. What got the attention of the tall thin man was the large gun in the right hand of the approaching stranger. He held the weapon straight out at eye level, elbow slightly bent. “I think you're going to let her go now.”
Stunned, the tall thin man released the girl. “Ah, it’s okay, officer.” He nervously said and straightened up, arms slightly spread out. “We’re just having a little lover's spat, nothing to really worry about. It’s just a little disagreement.” He could see the angered look on the stranger's face as he got closer. The barrel of the gun looked huge and seemed to be pointed right between his eyes. Which it was.
“Keep your hands where I can see them,” Trent told him. Genghis quickly ran around the Cadillac and took up a position directly behind the tall thin man.
The thin man nervously looked over his shoulder when he heard the low rolling growl. “Hey now, hold on. I think there’s a misunderstanding here.”
“Speak when you're spoken to!” Trent did not remove the aim of his PK from the tall thin man's forehead. He could not take the chance that this was Colus Valda in human form. “Miss, are you harmed in any way?”
The girl slowly got up. “I’m fine. This is nothing.” She brushed herself off and said, “Last week, I had a guy pull a knife on me. I kicked him so hard in the nuts he puked up a chili dog.”
The tall thin man was beginning to sweat. “Officer, I can explain . . .”
“Do you have identification?”
“Yes, sir, I most definitely do in my back pocket.” He reached for his wallet and heard the rolling growl again. “Sir, I’m doing this very slowly.”
“Then — do it!”
“It’s just your dog. He makes me nervous.”
“He should! . . . ID!”
“Yes, sir. Here it is.” The tall thin man removed his wallet from his back pocket incredibly slowly. He then removed his license with a shaking hand and held it out for Trent to take.
Trent got closer, gun still trained on the tall thin man’s forehead and with his left hand snatched the license from him. Trent took a step back and looked at the ID. The identification card was much different from what the replicator produced for him. It had a photograph of the man standing in front of him on it. This couldn’t be Valda, this man was an actual human.
“Alright, Mister Edward Ko-wal-ski, what the hell are you doing out here with her?”
“Look, nothing happened,” he nervously said. “If my wife finds out about this . . .”
Jeff took two steps forward and buried the barrel of his PK30A under Edward's chin.
“Jesus Christ!” Edward said, with great fear, “You're not a cop!”
“Oh! I am,” Jeff said, with great intent. This was the second time Trent had witnessed the mistreatment of a human female on this planet and he was beginning to get a little concerned. “I’m just a little bit out of my jurisdiction. This is what we’re going to do, Eddie. You're going to hop into your auto-mo-bile and agitate the gravel.”
There was a moment of awkward silence, then Edward said, “Ah . . . what?”
“Cut out!” Again, silence. Trent started to think that this Kowalski fellow must not be up on the modern slang. So, Jeff motioned with his hand, “Hit the skids.” Kowalski started to comprehend when Trent said, “Just get in your auto-mo-bile and . . . just go!”
“Oh, okay, right,” Kowalski turned to go.
“But, Eddie, before you go I want to make one thing perfectly clear. You're never going to do anything like this again. Right? And you know why you're never going to do anything like this again, Eddie?”
“No, I . . .”
“Because I know your name, Edward Kowalski, and I know where you live, and the next time,” Jeff paused to make his point clear, “I’m not going to arrest you. I will put you in a medical facility.” Jeff handed the license back to him. “Now, make tracks and go home to your wife, Eddie.”
Edward heard the rolling growl once again and didn’t hesitate. He got into his car without looking back and started it up. The loose alternator belt squealed loudly as he hit the accelerator and quickly drove out of the parking lot.
Trent watched as the car went further down the road. Genghis walked over to his side. He and Genghis then turned their attention to the girl. Jeff holstered his weapon and Genghis sat on his haunches. The girl seemed a little shaken, and Genghis didn’t want to intimidate her.
She looked at Trent, then down at Genghis and nervously rubbed her left elbow with her right hand and said, “So, you a cop? Gonna arrest me?”
Jeff buttoned his coat to conceal the other weapons and took in the human girl in front of him. She was about 5' 5" and one hundred and ten pounds. She had long strawberry blond hair, parted on the side that cascaded over her shoulders and down the middle of her back. A very light complexion with a faint row of freckles across the bridge of her nose, and caramel-colored brown eyes. She was wearing a white cotton A-shirt that she affectionately referred to as her ‘wife beater.’ It was one size too small and showed off her petite round breasts. The red and black mid thigh plaid skirt had a brown belt tightly around her waist, and was short enough to enhance her shapely legs. And to top off the ensemble, calf high black army boots.
“Yes, we are cops,” Trent replied. “What were you doing out here with that man at this late hour? And on a school night.”
“Making a living,” she defiantly said. “Am I under arrest or what?”
“No, not at this time. What’s your name?”
“Jennifer Winkles, but all my friends just call me Twinkie.”
“Where are your parents?”
“Dude, I might look young, but I’m twenty-four, and I guess my mom and step-dad are still back in Des Moines.”
“Why are you so far from home?” Jeff wasn’t sure where Des Moines was, he was just taking a shot.
“I ran away from home. What of it?”
“And why would you do such a thing?”
“Oh, well, let’s see,” she had gone over this story many times before with law enforcement and could recite it in her sleep. “My mom loved her cocaine more than me and my step-dad, Doug loved me a little more than he should have.” She paused for a moment, “Can I pet your dog? Is he mean?”
Genghis thought to himself, “Yes, tell her I’m very, very mean.”
“Oh, go right ahead, he’s quite gentle.”
“Crap!”
She walked up to him and started to stroke his head. “He’s soft.” She looked down at Genghis and her mind went back in time. “I had a little dog when I was twelve, he was just a mutt.” She paused a moment, not sure why she was sharing this information with anyone for the first time. She hadn’t thought about it in years. “We did everything together, he was my best friend.” She glanced up at Trent and gave him a shy smile. Then back to Genghis. “I had this bike, with a wicker basket on the handlebars. When he was a puppy I could put him in it and we’d ride around, and just do stuff together. Then one day, I guess I was just starting high school or something, he got sick, and instead of taking him to the vet, Doug just took him into the backyard and shot him.”
Genghis looked up at Jennifer and their eyes met, “Lovely man.”
“So, one night a couple of years later, my mom was passed out on the couch and Doug came home drunk again as usual and had that look in his eyes. It always started out that way,” she said with a disgusted look on her face. “Then he would give me this
big creepy bear hug saying how pretty I was.” She didn’t take her eyes off Genghis, she just stroked his head gently while relating her story. “I had enough, I just . . . had enough. So I grabbed his bowling trophy and knocked him out cold. Packed my things, what little I had, took a couple of hundred bucks from Doug’s sock drawer. Bought a bus ticket and got as far away as possible.” She looked up at Trent. “Wow! That was almost six years ago.”
Jeff was quiet for a moment, then said, “Yes, unfortunately that happens where we come from too.” He followed that with, “I’m sure your mother has been looking for you all these years.”
She gave a snort. “Yeah, right.” She then muttered, “I should have burned that trailer down when I left.” She looked up at Trent. “Now what? Jail?”
“No, no, I said we wouldn’t arrest you. Where do you live? We’ll drive you home.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The three of them drove South on Compton Road and turned left into The Compton Apartments. Later, in news articles Jeff and Genghis would hear these apartments referred to as “Tenement Slums.” Built in the mid 1960's, all nine buildings were identical – narrow, three stories tall, and made of brownstone. Three faced west to Compton Road, four faced 11th Ave and two faced south toward Ninth Avenue. All were crammed into a one-block radius. The second of the four buildings facing north toward 11th was where Jennifer lived. Trent pulled into the parking spot in front of her building and shut the engine off. All three got out. “. . . what the hell!” Trent was saying, “Let's restore it back to its original condition and drive it around.” He made steering wheel motions with his hands.
The Interstellar Police Force, Book One: The Historic Mission Page 12