Prodigal Son
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"Peter Caine is no murderer, Captain Waters."
"I never implied that he was."
"You had him arrested on suspicion of murder," Kermit Griffin countered.
"He was there at the scene."
"What scene, there was no murder scene at the hospital."
"It was reported that Peter Caine was at a construction site where there was a fight and one man died with a knife in his back," Captain Waters explained. "As it turned out, there are two dead men, one with a knife in his back and one with a bullet in his chest."
"I was there, so was his grandfather."
"That makes you a material witness."
"Just because I witnessed it doesn't make Peter Caine a murderer any more than it makes me. His grandfather also received a bullet in his side for saving Peter's life. Didn't anyone do ballistics or run the prints off that knife? You won't find any of Peter's prints on there. And you will find the bullet taken out of Matthew Caine will match the gun fired by the sniper set up to kill Peter."
"What about the bullet in the dead man's chest?" Captain Waters questioned.
Kermit threw his desert eagle on the table. "You can check that."
"You fired that shot?"
"I fired at a gunman who was bent on killing my friend. You had him arrested without even finding out the facts."
"He still may be guilty of manslaughter, even if he didn't put the knife in that man's back," Captain Waters said calmly. "There was a fight, and fights can get out of hand pretty quickly."
"The man wanted Peter dead," Kermit argued. "Read his file. Jack Masterson was an ex-cop who tried to kill Peter Caine and his father twice before . . . "
"A good motive for murder," Captain Waters said interrupting Kermit's diatribe.
"Masterson also killed a few other people and is an escaped convict," Kermit continued without stopping. "He's no big loss, and certainly not worth prosecuting over."
"What do you mean not worth prosecuting," Captain Waters added. "Caine probably kicked that man nearly to death and caused him to land on his own knife."
"How would you know, you weren't there. Peter Caine kicked the knife out of the man's hand. He didn't see where the knife landed. He defeated him. He didn't kill him."
"That's enough Detective Griffin!" Captain Waters rose from his chair, raising his voice. "This isn't the 101st. This is my precinct, and Peter Caine will remain where he is."
"Very well, but I'd like to at least see my friend. He also has rights you know. He has the right to one phone call."
"Suit yourself." Captain Waters entered the bullpen of the 84th precinct and called one of his officers. "Sergeant Mason, show Detective Griffin to lock-up."
As Kermit was led to where they were holding Peter Caine, he tried to engage Sergeant Mason in conversation. "Your Captain is pretty sure of himself."
"He's a good man. He's been on the force for fifteen years."
"So, I take it he's been involved with a number of interesting cases."
"You could say that," Mason replied.
"Doesn't the 84th Precinct usually let the 101st deal with most of the homicides, no matter the jurisdiction?"
"Sometimes, but this is a special case."
"How so?" Kermit asked, doing his best to be as cordial as possible.
"The son of a great man was murdered. Masterson was noted for his generosity around here."
"I wasn't aware of that. I didn't know John Masterson donated to police charities."
"You know John Masterson?" Sergeant Mason questioned Kermit.
"Only from what I read of his obituary and that his great-grandfather made his fortune from the railroad."
"His obituary?"
"Haven't you heard?" Kermit explained. "John Masterson was murdered, along with his daughter Sarah. His son was also a suspect, since he escaped from prison several days ago. I was put in charge of the case."
"I don't understand. John Masterson donated a great deal of money so that children's hospital could be built. He also just donated a great deal of money to the policeman's retirement fund in his son's name."
"I can believe about the hospital, but what about the retirement fund, when was that?"
"Just two days ago."
"John Masterson was murdered four days ago," Kermit pointed out. "Did anything else arrive from John Masterson?"
"Come to think of it, a note did arrive today. It was addressed to the Captain. I didn't open it, but I did notice that it was from John Masterson."
"I want to see that note," Kermit insisted.
"I'll see what I can do. It's in the Captain's office."
"I have a feeling about that note. That may be the only clue that will save my friend from a prison sentence."
Continues with Part 28
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2006.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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