Cover Design by TEN 21 Design Company
Copyright © 2012 by TEN 21 Design Company
Partners
A Short Story
By
Christopher Lee Cousino
PUBLISHED BY:
Partners
A Short Story
Copyright © 2012 by Christopher Lee Cousino
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
“The profound moral question is not, "Do they deserve to die?" but "Do we deserve to kill them?"
Sister Helen Prejean (1939-present)
PARTNERS
Chapter 1
Detective Herbert Vale wasn’t stupid. He’d heard all the snickering, the wisecracks. Knew what everyone said behind his back. There goes ol’ “no arrests” Herbie. That old quack loses more suspects than the whole precinct combined. Why do they even keep that guy around? I don’t care if he used to be a good cop or not, he sure as hell is a liability now. I heard he has dirt on the Chief and that’s why we’re stuck with him. What a loser. If I ever become that pathetic someday, put me out of my misery. When was the last time he actually solved a case? How does he let so many suspects get away from him? Maybe he should lay off the donuts. The fat old bastard needs to lose a few pounds so he can chase them down. And the list went on and on, but Herbert didn’t care. All that mattered to him was catching bad guys, and he didn’t need to arrest them to do that.
Herbert had been a detective in Detroit for a long time. Next month would give him 27 years on the force. He’d seen Police Chiefs and Commissioners come and go. Seen street cops and detectives be promoted, be transferred, retire. He’d seen many good men lose their lives, seen many good friends die. Through it all, he’d learned there was far too much political bullshit, too much red tape. But to top it all off, the thing that just set Herbert off more than anything was what happened because of all that red tape. The thing he had seen most through the years, unfortunately, was far too many bad guys go free.
There was a time when Herbert believed in the system, believed that if he arrested a crook, then the piece of trash would come to justice. But time after time, he saw bad men walk free. Whether it was because of who they knew or who they were related to, whether it was because of some stupid technicality, a problem with evidence not being “properly obtained” or some lawyer not being able to prove “reasonable doubt”, or some stupid jury just wanting to get back to their lives and not giving a shit. It didn’t matter what the reasons were, point was Herbert had grown sick of it. He had his own way of dealing with criminals now. Let everyone talk, the grizzled old detective could care less.
Herbert sat at his desk, tapping his fingers as he listened to his “partner” talking to an informant on the phone. Studying the much younger homicide detective, he let his inner cop kick in. Walter Ryan, 30 year old African American male. Graduated near the top of his class from the academy in 2005. Was a city cop for 7 years, working the streets. Highly decorated, he was promoted to detective this year. Partnered with veteran detective Herbert Vale. Herbert was told it was strictly procedural, made sense to put the newest guy with the most experienced guy. But “the most experienced guy” was good at hearing what wasn’t being said, and that wasn’t the real reason. The real reason was that they wanted someone they could trust to be partnered with Herbert, to try and figure out why the hell his cases were never solved…and why his suspects always tended to disappear into thin air.
Walter seemed like a nice kid. He was married, had a couple rugrats, a boy who was 6 and a girl who was 2. Smiled most of the time, good with people, had guts and was good with his gun. Was big into sports, loved to talk about the Detroit teams with Herbert. Good looking, 6’4” with a lean, athletic build and healthy skin. Dark hair, crew cut and he had trustworthy brown eyes. Herbert actually liked the kid, thought he was one of the good ones. Not too many good cops these days, especially in a corrupt city like Detroit. But he didn’t think of Walter as his real partner, just as he didn’t think of any of the others before the kid as his real partner. Herbert told the Chief he preferred to work alone, but that wasn’t true. He already had a partner, but no one could ever know about him.
Walter thanked his informant, then hung up and gave Herbert a thumbs up.
“Got it Herbert. My guy says he saw our suspect at a friend’s party last night. Said his friend and our suspect go way back. Think it’s time we talk to this friend.” Herbert stopped tapping as he stood up and grabbed his coat.
“Sounds like a plan, kid. Let’s go.” Herbert headed for the door as Walter fumbled for his badge and jacket, quickly following after the veteran detective. Just before reaching the door, another detective called to Walter.
“Hey Ryan, good luck out there with old Herbie. Make sure he doesn’t lose your suspect. I hear he has a hard time keeping track of his partners too, so make sure you two hold hands so no one gets lost.” This got some chuckles from a few other detectives nearby. The comedian was Oliver Briggs, resident asshole in the homicide division. Walter glared at Briggs, but Herbert just sighed, pushing open the door and leaving the room. His young partner came out after him, still agitated.
“Don’t let it get to you Herbert, Briggs is just a prick.” Herbert pulled his sunglasses out of his coat pocket, placing them onto his face as he responded.
“I never do, kid. I never do.”