by John Foxjohn
“Where’d I make my mistake?”
“You shot me, killed Ronny Hemes, and shot Inspector Patterson.”
The killer snapped his hand down in disgust like a cat clawing at a moth. “You know what I mean. How’d you figure it out?”
David scrutinized the suspect. He didn’t have his uniform on, but he had a gun somewhere on his person. Watch his hands. “You made several mistakes. Getting away from the police cordon at the restaurant was one.”
With his hands on his hips and a confused look on his face, he said, “How’d that make you suspect me? Carlin didn’t have an alibi.”
David shivered. He had never wanted to kill anyone after Viet Nam—until now. “I know. That’s another mistake. Inspector Patterson taught me a long time ago, detectives don’t look for people without alibis. They look for the ones with alibis.”
His eyes locked on David’s right hand where he held his gun.
David took a deep breath.
“So?” the imposter’s voice cracked with tension.
In short, clipped words, David said, “Only one way the shooter could’ve gotten out of that building after taking the time to clean up and make it through the barricade. He had to be a cop.”
With a vicious laugh the killer said, “Hemes always told us you were smart.”
David’s eyes narrowed, and his voice plunged almost to a whisper. “I have a question for you. How’d you get in the academy?”
“You mean you haven’t figured it out?”
“Yeah, I have Benton, or should I call you Phillip Belford, Jr.?”
Belford wiped his palms on his shirtfront. Sweat burst out on his forehead. “So, you know who I am. Phillip, since that’s my name.”
“How?” David’s voice cracked like a whip.
“That was easy. I went to a party where Paul Benton was running off at the mouth. We went to high school together. He bragged about going to the police academy in two days. We were the same height, same age, and had the same hair color. I took his driver’s license and social security card and went in his place. They’d already done all the paperwork, fingerprinting, and background checks. I walked in and answered roll.”
“And the real Benton didn’t mind?”
“Nope,” Belford grinned. “I never liked him. He’ll never mind anything else.”
David cocked his head, looking at Belford with a raised eyebrow. “Benton’s parents never missed him?”
“Sure they did. They even filed a missing persons report.”
“That’s another mistake you made.”
He frowned. “How was that a mistake?”
“His parents came to my office yesterday looking for Detective Mason.”
Belford stomped his foot and David almost jerked his gun up to shoot.
“I should have killed them, too.”
They glared at each other for a long moment. Belford’s eyes again strayed to David’s right hand. He was wondering if he could get his gun out in time. David needed to stall. He wanted everything on tape, and he hoped Belford would make a mistake.
“You said I made several mistakes. What else?”
“You gave too much detail in your statement after the shooting. People who find what you did don’t remember as much detail as you gave us.”
“What detail?” Benton asked, confused.
“You told us the make and model of the vehicle you’d stopped right before you found Ronny’s body. Any normal person would’ve forgotten those small details.”
Belford frowned. “Didn’t think about that.”
With a cracking voice, David said, “One other question, Belford. Why?”
“That should be obvious. You, Hemes, and Patterson are responsible for my father’s death.
Anger boiled inside David like a volcano raging, about to burst out. “Belford, I’m alive. Inspector Patterson’s alive. He’s going to make it.”
“You’re lying, Mason. He’ll die. You’ll die, too.” His voice ricocheted off the walls.
“You failed, Belford.”
“I’ll keep trying.”
“That’s why you shot the inspector?” David asked.
Confusion played across Belford’s face. He paused for a long moment before speaking. “Yeah. But I had to before I was ready. He recognized my eyes. I saw the look when he walked away.”
David wiped his mouth with his left hand, tightening his grip on his gun. He’s crazy, but he’s not stupid. He’s figured out I’m up to something. He’s not going to take the chance and go for his gun. David couldn’t let him not take a chance.
David nodded. “One thing’s for sure, Belford. You’re just like your old man.”
Belford’s eyes narrowed to pinpoints. “How’s that?”
David hesitated. This conversation was on tape. How far could he go without getting his butt in a crack? He looked at Belford, who sneered at him. Forget it. “He was a sorry, good for nothing coward, too.”
Hatred exploded in Belford’s eyes, and he was going for his gun.
David snapped his .45 up.
As Belford’s service revolver came up, David yelled for the tape, “Drop it, Belford.”
With the front sight aligned on Belford’s chest, he squeezed the trigger.
Instead of an explosion, an audible click interrupted silence. What happened?
David dropped to a knee as something snapped by his ear.
He pulled the trigger again. Another snap.
He threw himself sideways as another round exploded.
His eyes stung from powder smoke strangling the room. His heart pounded in his ears.
David dropped his gun, and his hand streaked for his vest pocket.
Before he got his derringer out, a shot exploded from the doorway. David flinched.
With a stunned look on his face, Belford staggered forward. Blood soaked his shirt. Wounded by someone, Belford raised his gun, pointing it at David.
David’s derringer exploded in his hand as another shot from the door hit Belford.
Flung backwards with a ragged hole in his throat, Belford’s feet kicked air. David moved positions. He swung his gun to the doorway.
Henry stood, his service revolver in his hand.
David blinked to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, but jerked his gaze back to Belford.
He was dead.
David tried to stand, but all energy left him. He sank back on the floor with his head hanging, derringer on the floor beside him.
Sirens blasted the air, drawing closer, and David looked up. “How’d you get here?”
“I followed you. You’re going have to tell me how you figured this one out.”
Chapter 34
David met Beth after a hectic day and told her the story from the beginning. She went with David to explain to Gail what had happened.
“Ronny had tremendous respect for you,” Gail said. “He loved you like a brother.”
David’s eyes burned with tears. “Someone else should’ve been assigned to this investigation. I almost missed everything.”
“You might have almost missed it,” Gail said, “but you didn’t. You found Ronny’s killer, and that’s what’s important.”
“She’s right, David,” Beth said. “Henry’s a great detective, but he wouldn’t have connected all this because he didn’t know the background. No one could’ve cleared this but you. Inspector Patterson knew what he was doing when he assigned you.”
Several phone calls came from police officers telling him what a good job he’d done and he deserved a medal for shooting Belford. David wasn’t impressed with the calls. He figured the calls came from the same officers who had been calling to threaten him.
As he strode into police headquarters the next morning, he stopped suddenly. With his feet wide, hands on hips, a big officer waited.
“Mason. I’ve never had any respect for you desk jockey detectives. Patrolmen do all the work and detectives take the credit.”
Without saying anythin
g, David stared the officer in the eye.
“I’ve been on this police department for twenty-two years and I’ve never done what I’m about to.” He strode forward and extended his hand, and the two officers shook. “Ronny Hemes was a darn good judge of character and he was right about you.”
Patrol Sergeant Lark O’Brein strolled from the building.
David wiped his eyes. Yep, O’Brein, Ronny was a good judge of character. David’s concern—would the shooting board have the same opinion. Belford was guilty without a doubt, but would they find David guilty, too? He had goaded Belford into reaching for his gun.
Henry and David sat outside the room, waiting. Henry turned. “Something has me
bothered. How did Ronny and Inspector Patterson figure it out and you couldn’t?”
“That worried me too, for the longest. I only saw Belford for two days when he trained me. Ronny and Inspector Patterson saw him often. They recognized the eyes. His eyes bothered me, but I hadn’t seen the father enough to connect them to the son.”
The board called Henry in, leaving David lone, replaying the case in his mind. He’d taken his .45 to a gunsmith who looked at it and told him it had a broken firing pin. He asked if he’d dry fired it recently. David remembered checking his ammo and dry firing the gun. That was stupid on his part and could’ve gotten him killed.
When Henry came out thirty minutes later, he gave David the thumbs up sign and told him the board would be ready for him in a few minutes.
As minutes passed, he wondered what they were discussing that long before he went in. Assistant Chief Edward Spainer headed the review board, and this was what worried David the most. He’d never seen a shooting board with such a high-ranking officer.
Of the old school, Spainer had been on the department longer than the chief, and he was a figurehead waiting for retirement. Spainer did the chief’s bidding in areas the chief didn’t like—public relations, media, and internal affairs.
Going over every single detail, the committee kept David in the room for almost two hours. When they finished, they asked him to step outside for a few minutes. The wait seemed like hours, but in reality it was about five minutes before they called him back in. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath when they told him they’d ruled the shooting justified. He was to resume his duties.
He leaned his head against the wall when he trudged out. They’d cleared him, but didn’t tell him how to live with what he’d done. He was going to have to think about his actions. He couldn’t have taken Belford in alive. Too filled with hate and revenge, Belford had intended to take David with him.
Did he do what he’d condemned McMillian and Brophy for? Had he wielded his own brand of Texas justice? Was he as guilty as Belford of violating another code: the Code of Deceit?
He’d lost his best friend, and the inspector would be laid up for a long time. The world was better off without Belford. However, he wished the world had more people like Ronny Hemes.
David realized he had one more task to complete before he put this behind him. With tears running down his cheeks, he smiled. Ronny would approve. He was going to ask his best friend to marry him.
The end