Prodigal Son
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"How you holding up, Peter?"
"Not bad considering. They've got me in isolation. I've had a lot of time to meditate."
"You haven't tried escaping like you told me your father did once?"
Peter gave Kermit a broad grin. "No. I thought I'd see what you'd come up with."
"Well, I think I've found a loophole. For one thing, all the evidence is circumstantial. All they have is a possible motive."
"Motive? I have no motive," Peter insisted.
"Masterson trying to kill you twice wouldn't lead you to consider killing him?"
"No," Peter said being careful with his words. He knew that the walls had ears, having been a former cop. "I would do everything in my power as a priest not to kill him. I might think about it, but I wouldn't act on it. I even went to the prison three time to try to help him. The man was filled with such anger."
"You sound just like your father."
"Thanks," Peter said. Silence flooded the room like dusk at the end of a long, tired day. Rather then continue to discuss the situation that he was in, Peter changed the subject at hand. "Have you found out anything about my grandfather?"
"He came out of surgery about an hour ago," Kermit replied. "I got a call from Chief Strenlich. He'll be in recovery, then they will assign him to a room."
"You've got to get me out of here, Kermit."
"I'm working on it."
At that moment, Sergeant Mason came into the room carrying a folder. "Just so you know, you've got two minutes. The detective that's supposed to be listening in, I told him he had a phone call. I managed to get this off Captain Waters' desk, but I don't know how long it will be until he'll notice it's missing. Make it quick."
"Thanks. Kermit placed the folder on the table and pulled out his cell phone. He opened the folder and found what he was looking for. He read the note then dialed a number. "It's what I suspected." He then took his cell phone and snapped images of several sheets of paper. "I hate to have you go against your own Captain, but if this goes to trial, we may need you to testify."
"My Captain is a good man," Mason stated. "I won't go against him. You're going to have to find another way."
"Fair enough," Kermit stated, then gave the folder back to Mason.
Once the Sergeant left, Peter asked, "What are you planning?"
"Don't worry, Peter. With what I know, you'll be out of here by the end of the day. I've got a feeling the Commissioner is going to wonder where all that money came from once he learns it was sent by a dead man. I'm certain he'll have a talk with Captain Waters soon after."
Peter gave Kermit a puzzled look, "I do not understand."
"I better not say anything more. It might compromise the investigation."
Several hours later, Kermit was true to his word. The young Shaolin was released without so much as an apology.
"Whatever you said to them, they weren't happy," Peter smirked.
Kermit filled Peter in while they drove to the hospital. "I learned a few other things as well. Seems Captain Waters was jealous over Blaisdell's command. He was hoping to get the captaincy at the 101st, but was turned down. Blaisdell picked his own replacement. Also, any homicide that the 84th precinct investigated would take at least three times longer for them to solve. The Commissioner was on them more than any other precinct, and the only one working homicides was his own son, Thomas Jefferson Kincade."
"I wonder why that was?"
"Blaisdell's team was just too good. And when you have a team that works, someone takes notice. It was the Commissioner that insisted that the 101st be involved with every murder case. It seems the Commission and a certain ex-police captain go way back. Now Captain Karen Simms continues to establish the 101st as one crack team of officers."
"I still don't understand why I was arrested," Peter admonished.
"That was Masterson's doing, again. You see, along with the letter that I found, Masterson sent a series of reports that he had been keeping. How he managed to get them signed by the Captain, I don't know. They were fake disciplinary reports, supposedly on you."
"Me?"
"They were supposedly showing that you were a hothead and didn't follow orders, and always badmouthing other officers."
"That sounded more like Masterson than me," Peter observed.
"They were. Apparently, he made copies of his own reports and simply doctored them up. Some of them, however, were new reports that tipped me off. You hadn't been a cop for a year. The last report showed you were still a cop six months ago. Captain Simms was livid when she saw those reports."
"Not to mention everything else he did."
"Captain Waters didn't want to believe that the son of a supposedly decorated police officer was really a murderer. Once faced with the truth, he realized he had nothing to hold you on, and had to let you go."
"Looks like Masterson lost for the second time," Peter quipped.
After that, both men lapsed into silence. The drive to the hospital was uneventful. Kermit watched his friend out of the corner of his eye as Peter turned inward to meditate. It was strange to see, since Peter wasn't usually the one to stay quiet or still for very long.
"Can you sense anything?"
"Only that my father is relieved, for both of us."
"I'm going to go to the precinct and take care of the rest of this, file a report. I'll come by and see how Matthew is doing."
"Thanks Kermit. You've been a big help. I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."
Kermit left Peter standing at the curb of the hospital and drove away, breathed a deep sigh. There were other things that needed taking care of, things that were of an internal matter. He would tell Peter of them later. As his thoughts drifted back to his friend, he continued to wonder whether Peter shouldn't return to the force. They made a heck of a team, and with the pending dismissal of two possible officers, they were going to need all the help they could get.
Concludes with Epilogue
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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