by J. J. Franck
The air was getting brisk as the wind quickly picked up. Fall seemed to be coming early that year, and she wished now she would have grabbed a sweater.
Kirt quickly took off his jacket and wrapped it around Avery’s shoulders. She glanced up at him. It felt good, and Avery wondered why she hadn’t met him years earlier. But that was not something she wanted to think about now.
Avery smiled again and said. “Do you realize that you are always asking questions. Besides, I feel like it’s the Inquisition.”
Avery hurried off with Kirt following close behind while he just raised his hands as if to apologize. “I’m sorry if I came across that way.”
Avery stopped at the crosswalk leading to the library. “I better get back to work,” she said glancing up at Kirt. “Are you spending the afternoon there?”
“I’m off duty now.”
“Lucky you.”
Avery took the jacket off from around her shoulders and handed it back to Kirt. Once the traffic cleared on West 4th Street, she stepped off the curb and left Kirt standing on the sidewalk. She was halfway into the crosswalk when Kirt yelled to her.”
“Will I see you again?”
Avery turned and smiled, “That depends if you get library duty,” she said and then quickly continued. “Or a library card.”
Avery turned around and hurried up the path to the library. Before she entered the employee entrance, Avery turned to Kirt still standing there on the sidewalk across the street watching her. He smiled at her as he waved farewell. All she could do was just shake her head and then turned and walked into the library.
* * *
Kirt walked the short distance to the 6th Precinct on West 10th Street. He was a fourth generation cop and proud of it. His father served at the 9th Precinct, but there were plenty of people who knew his father during his beat cop days. His father retired a few years back but still visited the precinct house because once a cop always a cop. He and Kirt’s younger brother Jake followed their father on the force.
Kirt crossed 10th Street and quickly entered the precinct house. He climbed the stairs to the second floor where the drug unit was housed. Once there, he hastily locked up his gun in his locker and then walked over to the desk he shared with other officers from different shifts. The desks were tightly fit in the large room offering no privacy. If anyone wanted privacy on a phone call, they usually used the stairwell and called out on their cell phone.
Granted Kirt was technically off duty, but he still had to check in once his shift was over to give the Captain his input on what happened at the library and fill out daily reports. It was a never-ending process.
Captain Elliott had been on the phone when Kirt walked in, so Kirt just busied himself on the computer writing up the days activity. He knew he would have some explaining to do, why he chose not to follow the two men versus the girl from the library. He would have to skew his report more toward the note and trying to find out where it came from. The two men would surely show up again at the library, and once the Captain got the surveillance tapes from the library, they would figure out their names from the mug books they had and in the end get their addresses without letting the perp’s know they were watched.
Captain Elliott slammed the receiver down and then got up quickly. He peaked his balky head out of his office and motioned for Kirt to come over. The Captain wore his displeasure openly for all to see.
Kirt knew by the looks of the Captain. It was not going to be good. Anytime he came to work without shaving and still had on yesterdays clothes, you knew things did not go well with the Captain’s home life. And this always spilled over to his work attitude the next day.
The Captain had been on the force twenty-five years. He knew Kirt’s father from their beat cop days. Kirt sensed he made special allowance for Kirt and watched over him. But when it came to his brother Jake that was another story. Jake tended to alienate most people by his attitude, and lately, there had been a lot of dissension about the job he had been doing. Jake seemed always to have problems with authority figures which was a problem given his profession.
Kirt quickly saved and closed down his notes screen for the daily report he was typing in. He would finish up the daily report later. Kirt got up and then hurried over to the Captain’s office. The Captain was already sitting at his desk. His belly hung over his belt contesting to too many bagels on his way in, in the morning. Once Kirt walked into the office, the Captain motioned Kirt to close the door behind him.
But before Kirt could sit down, the Captain quickly asked. “What do you have so far,” he asked.
“Not much.”
“What happened?”
“A librarian handed them a note, and they quickly packed up.”
“You think you were made?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll know more tomorrow.”
In all actuality, Kirt didn’t think the note had anything to do with his watching the men. But he wouldn’t stake his job on that fact. Time would tell, and if they showed up again at the library tomorrow which he was sure they would. Then the surveillance would continue as usual. This operation had been going on too long for them to pack so quickly. Besides, given the money that had exchanged hands in the past week, this location had become quite lucrative.
“Did you find out what was on the note?”
“No.”
The Captain stared at Kirt for the longest time. He knew there was something Kirt wasn’t telling him. He had been around enough young men to know when something wasn’t right.
“Who made you and be honest.”
Kirt just rolled his eyes. “One of the librarians. I guess if she’s smart enough to figure me out, I’m sure it won’t take long for the perp’s to do the same.”
“How did she do that?” the Captain asked.
“It’s a long story,” Kirt said and then quickly asked to change the subject. “Is Fletcher on this afternoon?”
The Captain glanced down at the duty roster and then nodded. “Anything you want to tell him?”
“Yeah, tell him to check out some books for starters.”
“Lot of good that will do him, I don’t think he can read,” the Captain snapped and then continued. “Maybe I should have had you guys pass as librarians.”
Kirt just shook his head as he crossed his legs making himself more comfortable all the while shaking his head. It was bad enough pretending he was a student at the university. He never was one for books and only read the required material and nothing more.
“Not on your life,” Kirt snapped and then quickly added. “You know how big that place is, not to mention the million of books they have. I would have been made the first time someone asked me where the Men’s John was.”
“You got a point there,” was all Captain Elliott said.
The Captain turned to his computer and quickly punched in the report Kirt was working on. He was scanning the document when Kirt quickly added.
“There’s a lot of activity going on. But I think we’re only seeing the little guys. We have to go after the supplier this time. Otherwise, they will just set up operations some place else.”
“That’s all we need, is for them to set up near one of the high schools in the area.”
“I’m just hoping they get sloppy this time.”
“Yeah, there were six deaths last evening, and if it keeps up, we will have an epidemic on our hands.”
“It’s too bad we can’t trust some of the workers at the library to point us in the right direction.”
“What do you have in mind?” the Captain asked.
“I’m working on an angle. I’ll let you know when I get it all figured out.”
The Captain quickly finished reading Kirt’s report and then shut it down. He turned to Kirt. “Should I call Fletcher off the case?”
“Naw, I want to see if the librarian makes him too.”
“You better hope she’s not involved.”
Kirt laughed while shaking his head as the Capt
ain reached for his pack of cigarettes, but then looked up at the no smoking sign and threw the bag down and opened his center desk drawer and took a stick of gum out instead. He quickly unwrapped it and stuck it in his mouth.
“Not everyone’s a criminal out there,” Kirt said in his defense of Avery.
The Captain just glared up while chomping on the stick of gum. “And not everyone’s innocent either.”
“So how is Jenna doing?” Kirt asked.
Captain Elliott just laughed. “After thirty-three years of smoking, she now wants me to quit. Says it bothers her.”
“Maybe she is just looking out for your health.”
“She made me an appointment with a hypnotist.”
“I could go with you and offer some suggestions for improving your disposition,” Kirt said with a grin on his face.
Captain Elliott was Kirt’s Godfather, and their families had gone way back and were more like family than his actual uncles.
Kirt got up slowly, he was about to walk out of the office, but then turned back to the Captain.
“Have you heard the outcome of Jake’s suspension?”
Jake had joined the Academy three years after Kirt and was a beat cop for all of one year before getting picked up in a sting operation by cops on the take. Jake swore up and down to Kirt that he was set up, but Kirt knew the police officers involved in the sting operation, and they were always on the up-and-up. Jake had a history of taking the easy way out whenever possible. He only joined the force to please their father not because it was a job he wanted to do.
Kirt couldn’t stop thinking of the number of times his father bailed Jake out of the trouble he had gotten himself into. As much as Kirt wanted to, he was not getting involved in helping Jake out of this mess. For his parent's sake, Kirt only hoped it wasn’t as severe as it first sounded. But the more details that were coming out of the investigation, the worse it seemed to be for Jake.
The Captain broke the long silence. “They’re still up there.”
“It’s hard to believe the charges.”
“It ain’t over till it’s over,” The Captain mustered up to say.
“But it’s tearing the family apart.”
“Not everyone is like you or your dad,” the Captain added.
“He’s my brother, Christ sake. They’re saying he’s on the take. How do you think that makes me feel, not to mention dad?”
“If he’s innocent he’ll be cleared.”
“Still sucks.”
Kirt walked out of the office. He really would have liked to ask the Captain to put a stop to the investigation of Jake but knew it was out of his hands. Besides, it wasn’t his place to ask him to do this and Kirt knew his father would never ask that of a fellow officer. Even though Jake was his son, if he were on the take, then he would have to face the consequences of his actions. Once Internal Affairs got involved, the dye was cast, and they would not let things go until they were entirely satisfied with the results of the investigation. No matter who’s son was involved and Blue Code was thrown out the window.
Kirt suspected his father now regretted all those times he got his son out of trouble instead of making him face the consequences of his action. It was a tough lesson for a father to learn. But that was life. In the end, Kirt only hoped that Jake finally learned his lesson. It wasn’t clear if Jake would just be suspended from the force or get jail time for his involvement. A plea deal was still being worked out.
While Kirt shut the door, the Captain’s phone rang. Kirt hoped it wasn’t Internal Affairs with their decision, because the longer it took, the better it would be for Jake. At least that is what he hoped for. Kirt had been around long enough to know how the system worked. As much as he would have liked to get involved, he knew enough to keep his distance. Internal Affairs was not a group of people you wanted on your tail. And he didn’t need to be dragged into the investigation by mere association.
It was bad enough that Jake was being investigated. He didn’t need for his father to find out that Internal Affairs was also investigating him. That would have torn his father apart inside. As much as his father wanted to believe in his son, he was finding it hard given he knew Internal Affairs didn’t go about their business lightly.
Kirt knew this was tearing at his father’s heart, not to mention how their mother was taking the latest antics of her youngest son. Jake had always been their mother’s favorite, and she tended to baby him and to give him the impression he was entitled. And no matter what kind of trouble he got himself into, she always made sure that their father would be there to bail him out. Which only made the situation worse because it caused a rift between Kirt’s parents and Jake never seemed to learn his lesson, reveling in the fact he got away with it once more.
It wasn’t so bad when he was younger, but the trouble he had been getting into in recent years tended to be harder to fix. Even for the elder McCauley and his many acquaintances on the force. And fellow officers were having a hard time looking the other way because of their relationship with Jake’s father. Code Blue and their wall of silence only went so far. And then some cops refused to look the other way, given their careers on the force were in jeopardy.
CHAPTER 6
That afternoon, Avery busied herself finishing restocking the books that she had cataloged that morning while Jessie was busy working on the new display for the winter season in the entrance to the library. Avery made her way back to the sixth floor near where Kirt was sitting that morning. In his place sat another young man who suspiciously looked out of place. Avery glanced around and noticed the two people at the tables near the window. It had been obvious now that more was going on at the library then higher learning. This bothered Avery wondering just how long this had been going on under her nose.
Now she was curious about what they were up to and given Kirt was undercover she knew it could not be good. Kirt really hadn’t told her much and the idea that there was something illegal going on at the library troubled her. She didn’t think it had anything to do with books that were housed at the library. Avery felt the administration department should have been informed with something like this and employees alerted as to what was actually going on.
The two men who had been there that morning appeared more conspicuous than before. They sat at the same tables by the windows but now had on different clothes and one was now wearing expensive sun glasses. That to her seemed odd, given the nature of most college kids. But she didn’t have time to think about what they were up to as she quickly shelved a few books, so as not to draw attention to her watching them. But it was hard now not to notice what was going on as she watched them while she shelved a few books. She was only a few rows away from them when she turned back to sneak a glance at them through the open slot between books. It gave her a clear view of what they were doing. It was then she caught a student making a buy confirming her worst fears. First the student dropped a book and as he was picking it up, the money was slipped into the hand of the man sitting at the table. The student then walked over to the other person who slipped the packet into the boys hand as he walked off. It irritated Avery that they were using the library to sell their drugs. And more notably that the employees hadn’t been forewarned that there were undercover cops on site because of it. But after thinking about it for a moment it made sense what they were doing.
Avery turned back to continue shelving books, her face flushed with anger. It was then she noticed a group of students huddled in the corner near where she had to shelf books. She slowly maneuvered closer to see what they were up to just in case they were doing drugs but as she got closer she suddenly became dizzy.
Avery quickly grabbed onto the cart and then reached into her pocket for the pill bottle. She struggled to open the small bottle fumbling with the cap because for some reason, it just wouldn’t open. But finally, once Avery had the cap off, her hand started to shake uncontrollably. Avery struggled to get a pill out of the bottle. The bottle suddenly dropped to the fl
oor sending pills scattering about. She knelt down and tried to pick one up but was having a hard time focusing. Everything became a blur unlike anything she had experienced before. Where there were ten pills, it now looked like thirty. After a few moments she was able to pick one up and then she quickly put it in her mouth.
Avery was in no shape to get up and walk over to the water cooler. She just stayed there on all fours and struggled to swallow the pill without water and once that was done she leaned up against the shelf of books until the medicine kicked in. All the while she did that there were only a few people who took notice of her, but no one ventured to assist her.
Avery was thankful for the indifference of people in the city. All she did was shut her eye because she knew it would take a few minutes for the pill to take affect. Avery took deep breaths and waited a few moments. A few students got up from their table and walked over to where she was sitting. One picked up the pills scattered about and put them back in the bottle and handed them back to Avery.
“You okay?” the student asked.
“Yes, just haven’t been feeling well lately.”
“Let me help you up.”
Avery shook her head. She knew it was not wise to get up too soon. All she wanted to do was sit there for a few more minutes until the dizzy spell passed, knowing once the pill kicked in, she would be well enough to get up. But not until then, not until she was ready.
“Just let me sit her for a while.”
One by one the students who gathered around Avery went back to their tasks. All she did was continue taking deep breaths and closed her eyes. After a short time Avery opened her eyes to tried to focus and gain control. It took a few more minutes for her to collect herself and finally she attempted to make it to her feet. She was fortunate it didn’t happen on the main floor. Being six stories up no one down there would be the wiser as to what just transpired. Avery turned to where the two drug dealers were sitting, but their table was now empty. The commotion she caused scared them into moving their operation possibly to another floor.