by Iris Bolling
The agent did a quick assessment of him, then requested identification. Nate complied and the agent disappeared. In his mind, Nate was trying to understand why a Secret Service agent was at the Chief’s home.
“Have you had breakfast, Detective Reigns?” The female voice from the dining room to his right called out.
Holy crap, Nate hoped his eyes did not give him away. The mother of the President of the United States was at the Chief’s house. Okay, that was not his business. “No, ma’am.”
“Have a seat.” Martha Harrison smiled. “I will get you a plate.”
“Please, don’t go to any trouble,” Nate gave the mannerly response hoping she would ignore it. The aroma of the food was reminding his stomach that he had not eaten.
“Nonsense, have a seat,” she replied then walked off to what he believed was the kitchen.
“Chief?”
“You heard the woman.” Chief Williams pointed. “Have a seat.”
The two men walked into the dining room then sat at a table lined with a white lace, linen tablecloth. Across from him stood an oak China cabinet with dishes, knick-knacks, and pictures. The walls were covered with paintings, family photos and commendations. All the markings of a well lived in family home.
The Chief continued his breakfast as he asked, “What brings you here Nate?”
Nate leaned forward. “Chief a few months ago I had a case that was connected to judges taking bribes. Do you remember the case?”
“I do,” the Chief nodded.
Mrs. Harrison came out of the kitchen, placed a cup of coffee and a plate of heaven in front of him.
Nate smiled up at the woman. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“You are welcome. Enjoy your breakfast,” she said, then leaned over and kissed the Chief. “I’m going to get out of your way. Dinner at my place tonight.” She waved as she and the agent walked out the door.
Nate was watching the woman and agent out the window until the Chief spoke.
“Grown folks’ business,” the Chief teased. “Say your grace and eat your food.”
“Yes, sir.” Nate’s attention went to the food. “You don’t have to tell me twice.” He bit into a biscuit, then savored the taste. “Mmm, this is superb.”
“Secondary to her other talents.”
Nate almost choked on the coffee he had just sipped. “Grown folks’ business,” Nate said as he placed the cup down.
The Chief chuckled. “What about the case?”
“I think it’s connected to Alex Burnett’s murder,” Nate said as he ate.
“How so?”
“I don’t know, Chief. Last night as I went over my notes, a connection between the woman found at the scene and the Centerville Correctional Facility appeared. Centerville Correctional Facility was one of the prisons the judges were being paid to send inmates to. It’s owned by Peaceful Intervention Emergence. My end of the investigation closed with the of the death murderer, but it is my understanding that it did not end there. You and Alex continued with the investigation of the organization. Can you share any of your findings with me?”
“No.”
The blunt reply caught Nate off guard as his fork paused halfway to his mouth.
The Chief put a finger to his lips then pointed to the chandelier above the table. Nate glanced up. At first, he did not see anything, but a second look caught the small device.
The Chief stood, walked into the kitchen, then came back with a piece of paper. He held the paper out to him.
Nate read what was on the paper. It was an address and a time to meet. The two held a long stare. Nate got his full meaning. He followed the Chief’s lead, took one last bite of food, then stood.
“I thought you would be able to help me. My apologies for disturbing your morning, sir. Thank you for breakfast, Chief.”
“Not a problem, Detective. I’m leaving for the office. Shall we?”
The two walked out of the house to the front porch.
“Your home is bugged?” Nate asked once the door was closed.
“Only certain rooms. Most of my nights are not spent here. We decided to leave them in place to use to our advantage.”
“What’s going on, Chief?”
“I cannot share any of our findings with you. However, I will tell you to be careful. There is more to that organization than meets the eye. I believe them to be dangerous in a way that could be catastrophic to the department.”
“RPD?”
“Yes.”
Nate held the man’s stare for a minute. “An Officer Arthur Mosley was tainted by Wyatt Chambers. He was an executive member of Peaceful Intervention Emergence. Do you believe there are others?”
“I do.”
Nate nodded. “I think there are too, sir. Were you and Alex working on identifying who some of these officers maybe?”
“You need to think broader.”
“Okay.” Nate nodded as he thought. Chief Williams was trying to tell him something without spelling it out. “Is it possible officers in RPD are not the only ones tainted?”
“Now, you’re getting warmer. However, I am not at liberty to discuss any further details about this issue. Continue on the path. I will let you know when the time is right for us to talk more. When I do, it will be at the address I gave you. It is a clean space where we can speak freely.”
“Thank you, sir.” Nate nodded as he walked away.
“Detective Reigns,” the Chief called out. “Be selective in who you share information with.”
Nate nodded. That was the second time someone had made that suggestion. What had he stumbled into?
36
Nate walked into the office with a sense of direction. He finally had a break in the case they could explore. After his meeting with the Chief, his first call was to Jarrell. If the Chief’s house was bugged, Nate was sure Jarrell knew the reason why.
“Did you get some sleep?”
“About as much as you did,” Jarrell replied with a yawn. “What’s up?”
“Are you in the lab?”
“Yep. Found something interesting. You want to hear about it?”
“The Rooftop in fifteen.” Nate disconnected the call.
“Drinks before 9 am works for me.” Jarrell stated as he hung up.
Nate walked over to Tony’s desk. “Let’s take a walk.”
Tony looked over his shoulder. “Where are we off to, kid?”
“We are visiting the case of the superior race.”
Tony laughed out loud causing other occupants of the room to turn their way. “Not them again. Are they going to brainwash my mind?”
Nate patted him on the shoulder. “I got your back. I like your brain just the way it is.”
Richmond Police Headquarters building was located on Grace Street in downtown. The traffic was busy during the mornings with commuters vying for parking spaces and people on sidewalks opening their businesses. Nate and Tony stood on Grace Street waiting for the traffic to slow down before crossing to walk down the side street over to Franklin where The Graduate hotel was located.
“You know I’m not into walking, kid,” Tony advised. Where are we going?”
Nate smiled. “We’re going to the rooftop at The Graduate.”
“Coffee with spirits early in the morning? I’m good with that.”
Nate inhaled as they walked, giving himself time to come to a final decision on how much he would share with Tony. “A number of things came to light last night and this morning. Our friends from Peaceful Intervention Emergence may be involved in Alex’s death. What do you remember about them?”
“The weirdos? They are dangerously committed to their ‘superior’ way of life.”
“The Chief believes some of them or people who support their way of thinking are within the department. I believe he’s right.”
Tony stopped walking to stare at him.
Nate turned to face him. “What do you think?”
Nate watched the emotions that played over
Tony’s face.
“I don’t want to believe we have racists within our midst, but I can’t say it would surprise me.” Tony inhaled then started walking again. “During my early days with the department, it was acceptable to have one way of policing Blacks and another for Whites. It took a lot of work to change mindsets, but I believed we made a turn for the better. That’s not to say we don’t have room for improvement, because we do.”
“We can always do better. The major concern is bringing the mindset of Peaceful Intervention Emergence into the department could create an atmosphere of hate and distrust,” Nate stated. “I had trust issues coming into the department because of my previous profession. But, until now, I was not concerned with people’s views on race. Now, I have to wonder if I call for backup will the officers arriving be gunning for the suspect or me.”
“I can understand that,” Tony nodded. “How did they get into Alex’s investigation?”
Crossing Franklin Street they entered through the front door of The Graduate Hotel. Walking through the lobby, Nate nodded at the clerks at the front desk. Taking the elevator to the top floor, the men stepped out onto the rooftop. The backdrop of the city of Richmond from all directions could be seen. There was a sitting area with two long sofas with a table between them to their left. As they walked further out, there were sets of bar height bistro tables with two chairs along the perimeter and another sofa and table set at the opposite end of the area. The bar was to their right, where Jarrell was seated and waiting for them.
“Whatever he’s having, I’ll have,” Tony said as he started to take a seat at the bar.
“Let’s take a table, where we can talk without being heard,” Nate stopped him. “I’ll take a green tea with whatever he has,” Nate said to the bartender.
Tony looked around. “There’s no one here, Kid,” Tony chuckled. “It’s not even ten in the morning. We’re the only ones in the bar.”
“Table.” Jarrell moved to a table at the far end of the rooftop. “We need privacy for this.”
Tony stared at them both. He took the cup of coffee the man behind the bar offered then followed. “Hey, two tall Black men and a short White man enter a bar. How many jokes can we start with that?”
“About as many as I can start with two Jews and an Asian man walking into a bar.” Jarrell said as he took a seat.
“That brings me to my point.” Tony took a seat next to him. “There is some bias in all of us. It is human nature.”
“That’s true.” Nate nodded. “However, when one feels that their bias is superior to others, and said bias begins to impact how you see or treat others you believe to be inferior, the result is racism.”
“Do you think that is what this case is coming down to?” Tony asked.
“If it is, it may be up to us, the two tall, good-looking Black men, and the short, balding White man to find a better ending to the jokes.” Jarrell nodded.
The bartender brought over a cup of tea for Nate.
“Thank you,” he said to the man.
“I have an update on Mosley.” Jarrell took a sip of his coffee. “Not only is he talking to Internal Affairs, but he is also working with them to identify others.”
“That’s why he still has his badge,” Nate nodded in understanding.
“Arthur Mosley, from the Chambers case?” Tony asked.
“Yes,” Nate acknowledged. “Let me bring you up to date on things. Tess found a chip in the woman found in Alex’s bed. I gave the chip to Jarrell to see what he could find out about it. He discovered a serial number that led us to believe it was manufactured by the U.S., meaning the United States.”
Jarrell picked up the conversation. “I shared that number with a person connected to the Pentagon which earned me a visit from a number of brass heavy weights from DC.” Jarrell took a drink, then continued. “After a boat load of asinine questions, they stated the chip was property of the government and was not available to the public.”
Nate jumped in, “That chip had information on the woman connecting her to Centerville Correctional Facility. At the mention of that name, I pulled my notes from the Chambers’ case, and low and behold, Peaceful Intervention Emergence arose.”
“If I remember correctly, they also had another facility,” Tony added.
“Right, Peace Reliance,” Nate nodded. “But there is more of a connection. Yesterday, after the incident with Kavanagh, I received a call from Tess. The woman’s body, and the other two women connected to her, were taken from the morgue.”
Tony sat up. “Dead bodies?”
“Yes,” Nate acknowledged. “While we were there, Internal Affairs shows up to interrogate Tess about her romantic connection to Alex. They indicated Officer Arthur Mosley was assisting them to identify other officers who were on the take.”
“Arthur was another connection to the Chambers case,” Tony nodded.
“Two connections are not a coincidence. Peaceful Intervention is connected to our case.”
Nate took a drink of his tea. He frowned, surprised to find there was no alcohol in the drink.
“Surprised? I know,” Jarrell nodded. “I thought I would be drunk by now too after last night. But we are going to need clear heads to work through this shit.”
“I see they are connected to the women, but are they responsible for Alex’s death?” Tony asked.
“There is one more piece,” Nate stated. “I went to see Rachel Fontaine. She told me after we closed the Chambers’ case, Alex and the Chief continued the investigation into the judges’ bribery case. I dropped in on the Chief this morning, told him what we had come across and asked him about his investigation.”
“What did he say?” Tony asked.
“He cut me off. Pointed to a device in his lights.” Nate sat back.
“Listening device? In the Chief’s house?’ Tony asked.
“Yep, been there for months now,” Jarrell stated.
“You know it’s there and haven’t removed it? What in the hell is wrong with you? You can’t let a listening device stay in the Chief’s house!” Tony hissed.
“He requested we leave it in place,” Jarrell explained.
“Why, for God’s sake?”
“Use it as a tool to give information and see how it flows back and to whom,” Jarrell explained.
“It takes big balls to bug a Chief of Police’s house,” Tony mused as he looked at Nate. “Who do you think we are dealing with here, kid? DeFazio has balls, but he also has limited access. I don’t see him going that far. Do you think it’s the Peace people?”
Nate raised an eyebrow at the name. “The Peace people?”
“Yeah, that name is too damn long for me to remember much less keep saying it,” Tony smirked.
Nate inhaled as he thought. “After leaving that facility that time I was there with Rachel, it felt as if there was something…”
“Dangerous,” Tony filled in.
“More than dangerous,” Nate shook his head. “Demonic, is more like it.”
“Now we’re dealing with demons?” Jarrell chuckled.
Nate thought for a long while then glanced at both men. “Not in the sense of mystic powers, but in their thoughts on humanity, social status and worth, I have a feeling we are dealing with people who want to take us back years, if not centuries in our history. You know, how things used to be.” He nodded. “In that sense, yes, I think we are dealing with spawns satan, pure evil.”
“You are thinking White supremacy?” Tony asked.
“Yes, I am.”
37
“How was your discussion with the Assistant Attorney General?”
Skylar looked up from her desk to see AUSA Peters standing in her doorway.
Skylar sat back then sighed. “Having the same face as my sister at times can be a curse. Men tend to think we are one and the same.”
“So, the visit was personal?” Peters inquired.
A frown appeared on her face. “Concealed in questions about the traffi
cking case.”
“The Assistant Attorney General of the United States traveled from D.C. to Richmond to hit on you?”
Skylar thought about his statement, understanding he was fishing for information. None of which she had plans to share with anyone other than Reigns until she could uncover more facts. But she had to give him something believable that would not be an outright lie. “Honestly?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Honestly,” he replied.
She smirked. “I think he was in Richmond to meet with other people, had some time on his hands, and wanted to see if the rumor was true.”
“Rumor? What rumor?”
“If Tylar, the model,” she used air quotes with a disgusted look on her face, “‘really worked in the department.’ I swear there are times when I think men’s common sense takes a back seat when it comes to women. Let me tell you, we are not all the same. A few compliments here and there do not drive up my sexual desires. In fact, you know what it does, especially when I’m asshole deep in the middle of a case, it pisses me the hell off.”
He held up his hands, before she could continue. “I get it.”
“No, I don’t think you do, AUSA Peters.” She started to drive the point deeper to keep him from asking more questions of the ‘angry Black woman’. That stereotype came in handy at times like this. “Yes, I am a woman and I, like any other, enjoy the sweet words. But if you really want to impress me, come at me with your mind, not your dick. I can go to the corner drug store and get a stiff one of those any day.” Her eyes left Peters’, then focused on the man who appeared behind him. “And who in the hell are you?”
AUSA Peters turned with a relieved expression on his face. “May I help you?”
“Seems as though I came just in the nick of time to help you.” The drawl in the man’s voice indicated he was of southern heritage. “William Whitaker, one of the stiff dicks that seems to be widely available at the local drug store. Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand.
Skylar assessed the man as he exchanged pleasantries with Peters. Tall, 6’1, slim, close to 180 pounds of the all-American good looks of blond hair and blue eyes. Isn’t that special, his name is William. That was the second strike against him, the first was the fake southern gentleman persona he was attempting to display. She immediately pegged him to be cunning and untrustworthy.