The Beginning of the End

The Beginning of the End 13

The Chief pushed through the gaggle of reporters and spectators, a few of his officers trying to clear him a path, when he finally reached the door, he slung it open and stepped into the cool foyer of City Hall. The mayor had called him herself wanting him to be in her office by eight, it was now eight thirty and his mood matched the weather outside. When he reached the mayor’s outer office the secretary had him wait while she announced him, when she returned, she asked him to have a seat and wait, the mayor was busy and would be with him shortly. He was almost over come with anger at this point, but he held his tongue and walked over to the window to look outside at the gathering crowd of people and reporters.

At nine o’clock the Chief was shown into the mayor’s office where he was asked, yet again, to have a seat and wait, she was on a very important call and would be with him shortly. He did as asked, growing more irritated with each passing second. Finally, the mayor hung up the phone and gave him a long hard stare, “Chief,” she said leaning back in her chair, “We seam to have a growing problem in our sleepy little town. I believe I asked you to be here by eight this morning, it is now after nine.” He began to open his mouth and she held up a hand to cut him off before he could get started. “I will talk, you will listen, then you will leave. Chief I have let you slide on a lot of crap, but this situation is quickly becoming a very very big problem, we have a school shooting, which is bad enough, but last night one of Your officers was murdered in the middle of my town. No witnesses, no suspects, no idea as to what is going on. You have exactly forty-eight hours to shut this down, get someone arrested, and put under the jail. If you have not, I will bust you down to a patrol officer and have you walking a beat in the train yard, now get the f**k out of my office and get me some results.” He was dismissed and, barely controlling his rage, stormed back out of the office. ‘Heads will roll before this is over,’ he thought to himself, ‘No one talks to me like that, not even that uppity b***h mayor.’

Aspin made her way through the crowd of angry and scared citizens and finally got into the police station, as soon as the doors closed on the noise of the crowd she looked around, her eyes finally stopping on the Chief’s closed door. ‘This isn’t good,’ she thought to herself as she walked to her desk and powered up her computer. She immediately began a background check on Katz, she wasn’t sure how, but she knew in her bones that he was involved in this somehow. All of these tragic deaths happened when he just happened to be in the vicinity, first his classroom where the students were killed, then last night not half a block from the dinner where he was eating one of her friends was murdered, his head almost twisted off. What was she missing, she looked at the computer screen again, the back ground check would take time and she was unsure what to do while she waited on it. She got up and was headed to the break room to get a bottle of water when she heard someone bellowing her name, ‘Damn, the Chief is in and doesn’t sound happy.’ She got her water and headed for his office.

She walked into the Chief’s office and Lt. Langley, his assistant, was in the corner looking through a filing cabinet. The Chief motioned her to a chair as he looked at something on his computer, she sat silently in the chair just waiting for the coming explosion. “Aspin, where are we on these murders? Never mind, I want to know who the suspects are. You have exactly twenty-four hours to get me either a solid suspect, or a solid arrest. Now get out of my office and get me some results.” This meeting was a lot calmer than she had expected, she thanked her lucky stars that he didn’t explode. She was always worried that he was going to stroke out in the middle of one of his many rampages. She got up and walked out of the office, she would go talk to Katz yet again. This time there would be direct questions no more of this beating around the bush, she needed, and wanted some answers, and she knew in her gut that he had the answers. One way or another she would get them.