Eve's Photo Album
Author's note:
Warning for all Chief-only fans: he won't be in every single picture!
Chief Ironside
It makes sense to start my album with this picture – or rather these pictures.
They date from my last year on Robert's team, 1971, and they remind me of a hilarious story.
Robert was a demanding, sometimes gruff boss. But on the other hand he was incredibly witty and liked to make some really funny pranks, like this one at Fran Belding's expense:
He had known Fran since she had been a kid, because Captain Dave Belding, her father, was a good friend of his. At a fairly young age she applied to the police academy. Of course the Chief got to know that she was accepted before she knew it herself.
When she got the good news she stormed up to his office – for the first time ever – to tell him. He was 'very impressed' and congratulated her.
"Listen, Fran," he said thoughtfully, "I have a problem here. And since you will be a colleague of mine soon, I'd like your advice."
Of course Fran was flattered and eager to oblige. "If you think that I can be of any help..."
The Chief pulled out three pictures, the three I'm sticking into my album now, together with one of a grinning Chief. "See, we have three suspects of a felony. I know that you haven't had much of a psychological training. This is yet to come. But just look at these pictures and tell me what you think of them. Which one or which ones would you think could be culprits in a murder case?"
Highly interested she looked at the three pictures. They showed three very different young people:
A blonde girl clad in... not much actually, but wearing too much make-up instead. She had to be a dancer in an oriental bar or something. She was posing for the photo in a very sexy, challenging way.
The second suspect was an Afro-American. He had a black eye, a torn shirt and was looking grimly at the camera.
The third one was a tall, lanky Caucasian, standing in a lineup of suspects.
Fran tried to be impartial.
"I would like to rule out the woman, but she seems to have a work which could get her in contact with all sorts of people. She could be at risk of being sexually assaulted, the way she is dressed. Could she murder an assailant? Maybe.
"It's always a danger that one prejudges Afro-Americans. This one looks as if he was in a fight. It may have been a deadly fight, we don't know that.
"The white man looks fairlyharmless, but that doesn't mean anything. He was in a lineup already. Nobody could identify him, otherwise you would not call him a possible suspect. But since you show me his picture he's still a suspect, right?
"I would like to take a very close look at each of them and grill them thoroughly."
"Unfortunately the young woman is not available right now, but you may do that with two of them. Meet my friends, Ed Brown and Mark Sanger!"
The door to Mark's room opened and out came two of the 'suspects', grinning widely.
"Chief, that was wily of you to take a picture of me after that little run-in with an old neighbor," grumbled Mark mockingly.
Ed was surprised at the picture someone had taken of him when he had been a suspect of the murder of Frankie Baum*.
"Eve looked great as an oriental dancer though, didn't she?" laughed Mark.
"Hi, Fran. Congrats on your success!" said Ed.
It hit Fran like a blow when she understood that the Chief had set her up. Yet she was too happy to bear a grudge against anybody.
"Everything you said was correct, Fran, just the premise was wrong. This leads to the fact that you will soon have to work in the same department as these dubious characters. I want you to remember this: Always keep an open mind." Sternly he turned towards his amused staff members. "That goes for you too!"
With that, Fran's honor was restored, and she was solemnly invited to a big bowl of chili.
* S3 "Seeing Is Believing"