Operation: Kill a Cop
Chapter 03
3.1
Officer Eve Whitfield entered Ironside's office and came down the ramp. She looked around. The smell of fresh coffee was in the air. Mark had placed coffee cups around the table for four. He poked his head out from the kitchen and said, "Coffee will be ready in a minute."
The door opened and Sgt. Ed Brown entered the office. "Is the chief in yet?"
Mark brought the coffee pot to the worktable and poured coffee for Ed and Eve. "No, not yet but he should be here any minute."
Eve frowned. Ed noticed and asked, "What's the matter Eve?"
"I don't know Ed. It's probably nothing but when has the chief ever not been ready for work when we come it? He is always up, dressed and waiting for us when we get here. He's a firm believer in setting the example. The only time I can think of is when he is sick in bed. So where is he?"
"Shall I spell it out for you?" Ed threw Eve's own words from the night before back at her.
"No Ed. Last night was different altogether. That was after hours, this is not. Even Barbara could not keep the chief from coming to work. You know that."
Ed sat down at the table and took a sip of the coffee Mark had placed in front of him. He checked his watch. It was exactly nine o'clock. Eve was right about the chief always being ready for work. He had felt good this morning when he came in but Eve had just killed his mood.
Mark poured a cup a coffee for himself. "Which one of you would like to call Barbara's and ask the chief why he is late?"
When Ed said nothing, Eve asked, "Do I take it both of you think I am just being paranoid?"
"I would like to say yes," Ed said, "but since you have mentioned it, I don't like the feeling it has conjured up."
"Well I am not calling him," Mark said.
"Let's give him a while longer." Ed picked up a report that was sitting on the table.
"That's the autopsy report on Timothy Powers," Mark told him.
Ed read the report. "This report says Powers was hit by something that punctured the skull. That was the blow to the back of the head. The wound was extremely deep."
"There was nothing in that bathtub that could have caused a wound like that," Eve said. "It was not an accident."
"I think we were already pretty sure of that," Ed replied.
"Yes, but this report substantiates it," Eve pointed out.
The phone rang. "Maybe that is the chief now," Mark said as he picked up the phone receiver. "Chief Ironside's office?" He listened for a moment. His face was full of concern. "Thanks Carl, we are on our way."
Ed and Eve both look at Mark. "What is it Mark?" Eve asked.
"Carl said the chief just called for police back up and an ambulance. He was was under fire."
"An ambulance?" Eve asked. "Where is he?"
"The address he gave was Barbara's," Mark answered.
"Who is the ambulance for?" Ed questioned.
"I don't know but we aren't going to find out what is going on sitting here," Mark told his associates.
Ed and Eve got up and followed Mark out of the office.
3.2
Ironside felt Barbara give his wheelchair a hard push and heard the painful sound of a gunshot. He wheeled around back toward Barbara as she fell toward him. He reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into his lap. With his right hand, he reached into his suit coat and pulled out his service revolver. Holding on to Barbara, he positioned his wheelchair at the edge of the van and returned fire. Their assailant shot back at him. Ironside fired several more shots and then reloaded.
Ironside wheeled backwards and pushed the button on the side of the van. The lift lowered to the ground. He backed onto the it and pushed the button. It began rising into the air carrying both him and the woman he loved. Several more shots were fired at the van and then silence prevailed.
He gently laid Barbara down on the seat in the back of the van. He then noticed he was covered with blood. Checking Barbara for a gunshot wound, he discovered she had been shot just underneath her arm. The area must have been exposed when she shoved his wheelchair behind the van.
Barbara began to stir. "Easy baby, don't move," Ironside told her. "I am going to get help. He grabbed a hand towel out of an overhead compartment, placed it over the wound and told her, "Hold this tight against the wound. I am going to get us out of here." He wheeled his chair into position and started the van.
More shots were fired and Ironside felt the front driver's tire go flat. He grabbed the police radio receiver. "This is Chief Ironside. Shots have been fired." He gave Barbara's address and added, "I need backup and an ambulance for a victim with a gunshot wound. All available units."
Ironside rolled down the passenger window and fired his revolver in the general direction of the assailant. He could not see him. He knew he had been the target of the shooter. If Barbara had not shoved his wheelchair and momentum had not carrier her into the line of fire, he would have been shot instead of her. She had just possibly saved his life by giving hers. No, he could not think about that. He had to get help for her.
He wheeled back to Barbara. He took her hand in his, kissed it and said, "Hang on baby. Help is on the way."
She looked up at him and smiled. She said weakly, "Whatever happens, always remember I love you, Bob."
"Nothing is going to happen. You are going to be fine," he said as his voice choked. He tighten the grip on her hand and rubbed her palm with his thumb. He used his other hand to apply pressure on her wound to try to stem the flow of the bleeding.
Sirens roared in the background. The shooting had stopped. Ironside spotted police vehicles racing toward them. An ambulance was coming from the opposite direction. Several more patrol cars raced into the area. They began positioning the vehicles around Ironside's van. Police started pouring out of the vehicles, heading in a protective perimeter around the police department's top cop.
The ambulance was pulled up on the grass beside Ironside's van. Lt. Carl Reese's opened the driver's door and entered the vehicle. He was followed in by two paramedics.
"Chief, were you hit?" Carl asked.
"No Carl, but Barbara was. She needs medical attention fast."
"That's what we are here for," one of the paramedics said. He walked around Ironside who still did not let go of Barbara's hand.
"Chief, you need to get out of the way," the paramedic said. When Ironside continued to hold her hand the paramedic pushed his chair back. "Chief, you have to trust us. Let go."
Carl moved into the back of the van. He put his hand on Ironside shoulder, "Chief, let him do his job."
Ironside backed up. The paramedic went to work. "I need more light in here."
Carl opened the back doors. The morning sunlight shined into the van.
Another paramedic entered the van from the back. He placed oxygen in Barbara's nostrils and placed the plastic tubing around her ears while the other paramedic continued to try to stop the bleeding.
Once the oxygen was in place, the paramedic took her pulse and checked her other vital signs.
"Ok, I have the bleeding under control for now. We can move her."
"We have to move fast. I'll get a stretcher." He pushed his way past his partner. Over his shoulder, he called out. "Lieutenant, if the chief is going to the hospital, move him to the ambulance now on the double."
Carl wasted no time. He grabbed Ironside's wheelchair and quickly pushed him onto the lift. He hit the button and jumped off the lift to the ground in front of Ironside.
Ed's black Ford sedan screeched to a halt. He, Mark and Eve got out of the Ford and raced over to the chief. "Are you all right," Mark shouted.
"I'm fine. Barbara has been shot. Ed, you and Eve stay here. One assailant shooting from that direction." He pointed. Barbara saw him. She saved my life. I shot back blind. I could not see him. I was trying to protect Barbara."
The lift reached the ground and Carl began wheeling Ironside away as fast as he could. The paramedics were carrying Barbara by stretcher to the ambulance. Carl had Ironside in the ambulance when the paramedics placed her inside. One paramedic joined her and Ironside in the ambulance. The other got behind the wheel. The ambulance sped away from the scene with the sirens wailing.
"Ed?" Eve pleaded with her superior officer.
"Take my car. Stay with the chief. I handle things here. Mark, I could use your help here."
"Ed?" Mark questioned.
Ed tossed his keys to Eve and then walked over to Mark. "You know the chief. He doesn't want sympathy. What he needs right now is the feminine touch. He needs Eve, not us. Especially if the worse….," he trailed off. "I want to be with him too Mark but I know he doesn't need us there. He needs Eve. She is his best medicine right now."
Mark nodded. "How can I help you?"
"Go into Barbara's apartment building and find out if anyone saw this man," Ed said. Mark left Ed and headed to Barbara's apartment building.
Carl approached Ed. "Whoever he was, I don't think he is around now. We are checking every apartment in the building and making a house to house search of the area."
"I sent Mark into the building to start questioning the renters," Ed said. "Let's check out the area the chief said he was shooting from."
Carl and Ed started walking in the direction to which the chief had pointed. Both men continued barking orders at the police officers in the area. When they arrived to where they believed Ironside's assailant was shooting, both detectives started looking around.
Several minutes later Ed called out to Carl, "Over here!" Carl stopped what he was doing and joined his associate and friend. "Look," Ed said and pointed to the ground. "The chief may have been shooting blind but he hit his target."
Carl kneeled down and touched his finger to the red spot in the grass. He looked at his finger and then sniffed the red substance. "It's definitely blood." Carl shouted to an officer. "Get the team over here!" Carl then pointed, "Shells." He pulled out a police evidence bag and picked the shells up with a handkerchief from his pocket. He placed them in the bag and handed the bag to Ed."
Mark Sanger was walking in their direction. With him was an elderly woman whom was holding onto Mark's arm. When they arrived, Mark said, "This is Agnes Pope. She has something to tell you. Mrs. Pope, this is Lt. Reese and Sgt. Brown. Please tell them what you told me."
"Well it is like I told this young man. I have a Pekingese dog. I took him out to do his business at six o'clock this morning. I always take him out early. Pekingese do not handle the heat well so I like to get him out early in the morning for a walk. You see it is just too hot for Pekingese to go for a walk later in the day. Anyway, when I took him out at six I noticed this man sitting in one of those bug cars."
"Bug cars?" Carl asked.
"Yes, you know those ones where when you see them, you slug the person with you and say slug bug beetle."
"A Volkswagen," Ed said.
"Yes, that's the one. Anyway, I noticed him but I did not pay that much attention to him. I took Gizmo for his walk and this man was still there when I came back. He was sitting in the car reading a newspaper. I do not think he noticed either time when I went by."
"What color was the vehicle?" Carl asked.
"It was red. Candy apple red," she answered. I wrote down the license number." She handed a small piece of paper to Ed. "It is a good thing I did because when I heard the first gunshot, I looked out the window. He was shooting at my neighbor and her man. She is dating a man in a wheelchair. He's a big man….a good looking man. I think he spent the night with her. His van was parked over their all night."
Ed cleared his throat as Carl tried to suppress a smile. "Yes, well can you tell me what he looked like?" Ed asked.
"I did not get a very good look at him. He had a newspaper in front of his face and I was not trying to be nosey or anything like that. After all, I always mind my own business. But he had brown hair. I would say he was a bit older then you young man," she said to Ed. "He was closer to your age," she told Carl. "I wish I could tell you what his face looked like but I really did not get to see it clearly. I do believe he wore a beard….you know the kind men wear on the end of their chins."
"Is there anything else you can tell us about this man?" Carl asked.
"Oh, I forgot, when I left he was talking on a cell phone and he was saying something about putting another pig out of his misery. I think he might have been a pig farmer," Mrs. Pope said.
"If you think of anything else that might help us find this man, please call us at this number." Ed took one of his business cards out of his suit coat pocket and handed it to the elderly woman.
"I will young man. Can I go now? I have to feed my Pekingese," she said.
"Yes, and thank you for your help," Ed said. Ed nodded at Mark. Mark took the old woman's arm and led her back to the apartment building.
"What do you think?" Carl asked Ed.
"It's our cop killer and the chief was his target. I don't understand how he missed the chief and hit Barbara," Ed said.
"The chief said something about Barbara saving his life. It sounds like she might have stepped in front of the bullet."
"How bad is she, Carl?" Ed asked.
"It's not good. Those paramedics were working as fast as they could to stabilize the wound to get her to the hospital. I'm not a doctor Ed, but they looked worried to me. And the chief…..I have never seen him that way before."
"He loves her Carl," Ed said to his friend.
"Yea, and to have this happened after the night the two of them must have had last night…it's a shame. Ed, how did the chief's first wife die? The only thing I have ever heard is that she died. I have never had the guts to ask the chief."
"She was killed in a car accident," Ed answered. "Only the chief has never believed it was an accident. There was a big case that was being investigated at the time. It involved the mob. The head of the particular crime family the chief was going after. told him to back off or he would pay for it. The chief told him that threatening him would not get him to back off. Gambini said to him…..who said I was threatening YOU? The chief believes to this day that Gambini messed with her car. He could not prove it but he believes that is what Gambini meant by that statement. Anyway, we got the proof we needed to arrest him for drug trafficking. When we went after Gambini, he got by us. But the chief was covering us. Gambini tried to shoot his way past him. The chief shot and killed him."
"And now this," Carl shook his head. "I hope she pulls through, not just for herself but for the chief."
"Yea, me too. Well, let's see where this plate number leads us," Ed suggested.
"I can answer that without checking," Carl said cynically.
"A stolen car," Ed surmised.
"This guy would not have brought his own car for someone to possibly get the plate number. He wants to kill as many cops as he can."
"All the more reason we better find him and fast," Ed said.
3.4
The station nurse entered the waiting room with a pot of coffee and two cups on a tray. She made her way over to Ironside and Eve Whitfield. "I thought you might like some coffee, Chief Ironside."
Ironside looked up. "Thank you. Is there any news?"
"No sir. I am sorry. She is in surgery. It could take quite a long time. We could call you at your office if you would like to go back to work."
"I am not going anywhere. I will be right here. Please come here with any news you might hear," he told her.
"Yes sir, I will." She placed her hand on his shoulder for a moment and then left the waiting room.
Eve poured him a cup of coffee and then one for herself. She handed one cup to her boss.
Ironside took the coffee from his policewoman and took a sip. "It is not as good as yours," he said. He set down on a nearby table.
Eve smiled. She watched her boss. She had seen him worried on many occasions but the last time she had seen him in this kind of mood was on the plane on the return trip from Barbara's. She had lost her memory of him after a fall and Ironside thought he had lost her. As fate would have it, her memory returned and it led to their reunion. Eve could not believe that after everything this man had been through where Barbara was concerned that the possibility existed he could now lose her forever. Eve thought back to the day Barbara asked for her help in maneuvering the chief into stepping up their relationship.
The door to Chief Ironside's office opened. Barbara Jones came down the ramp.
She looked around. No one appeared to be around except Eve. Perfect, she thought.
She was the one Barbara wanted to see. "Where is everyone?" she asked Eve.
"Actually, I don't know. There is a note here for me to pull some files for the
chief. It says I can go home when I am done."
"Good. I wanted to talk to you alone," Barbara told her.
"What about?" Eve asked.
"About your boss," she answered.
"What about him?"
"Eve, you must know by now that I love Bob."
"I have never doubted that Barbara. Why do you bring it up?"
Barbara sat down beside Eve. "Well, when two people love each other as much as I believe Bob and I do their relationship naturally moves to the next plateau."
Eve realized what Barbara was getting at. "Do you mean to say you and the chief have never…"
"That is exactly what I mean to say," Barbara interrupted Eve to save her from any embarrassment it might cause her. "He has been a total gentleman and it is driving me crazy."
"Have you talked to him about it?" Eve asked.
"Well no. I have not thought of a way to bring it up to him. I have laid down many hints but he either has not picked up on them or has ignored them. I was wondering if you knew…well whether or not he is….well capable of…well you know what I mean."
Eve laughed nervously, "It isn't exactly something that he would discuss with me."
"No I suppose not. I just know he feels close to you. I could not go to Mark or Ed. You are the only one besides them that really knows Bob."
"Barbara, I have a suggestion," Eve said.
"What is that?"
"Seduce him," Eve said. "I can help you if you like.
"Just what do you have in mind?"
"Find a nice dark, romantic restaurant. Have a few drinks of wine. Find a way to bring up your concerns. Invite him back to your place, claiming no pressure and then seduce him. He's a man. He loves you. He might be feeling a bit self-conscious because of his disability. Put him at ease about it. Maybe he is waiting for you to make the first move to know you really want him too. Look, I can pick out a suit, tie, shirt…clean socks underwear, shoes, a razor, shaving cream, after shave. You know everything he will need in the morning to come to work."
Barbara smiled. "You would do that?"
"Of course. Anything for the chief's happiness. That is what is most important to me. God knows he has lived through and put up with some of my love affairs. He has been my rock while I figured out what to do. He's more like a second father to me than a boss. I would love to help him whether he wants it or not," she smiled.
Both women laughed. "Come on let's get started. We'll want to get everything you need to have for him before the chief gets back. If he doesn't have a spare of anything, I'll give you the brands and you can pick them up at a store."
Eve looked at her boss. Her heart was breaking for him. She knew how much pain his love for Barbara had cause him. Just when he was reaping the benefit of it, this had to happen. She had to find a way to comfort him. She walked around behind him, put her arms around his neck and held him tight. Eve kissed his cheek and whispered, "She is going to be just fine. You have to believe that. Besides, I did not go to all that work for nothing." She kept holding him and placed her cheek up against his. She could feel the slight smile breaking on his face against hers.
"You conspired with Barbara against me," he said softly.
"For you," she corrected. "Besides, for a detective that has a reputation for solving the most cases the fastest, when it comes to love a snail could beat you."
Ironside chuckled slightly. "It was perhaps one of the best nights of my life. And here I thought women liked a gentleman. Boy, either times have changed or I am out of practice."
Ironside and Eve laughed together. Ironside took both her hands in his, kiss one and then the other. "You always seem to know how to make me feel better," he said.
"That is because for all the shouting, grumping, roaring and acting like a tough guy….you really are a marshmallow," she whispered.
He chuckled again, "Don't you believe it Officer Whitfield. I could have you doing traffic control tomorrow."
"Chief, do you realized how many times you have threatened to reduce officers to traffic control and you have never done it one single time," Eve pointed out as she continued to hold him tightly.
"There is always a first time," he said.
Eve smiled and kissed his cheek again. Ironside squeezed her hand in return.
"You don't have to wait here with me. It may be hours before I hear anything. Why don't you go back to the office."
"I am not going anywhere Robert Ironside. So don't bother issuing an order you will force me to disobey." She felt Ironside tremble slightly.
"Eve?" He said.
"Yes Robert, "she said softly, breaking with protocol to use his first name.
"I can't lose her now…not now," he said as his voice choked off.
"You won't. You will have many more nights like last night. You will see." Eve held on tight to the man who long ago had won her awe, respect and her love. No, she would not leave him alone, not for a minute. For right now, he needed her. He was always there for her and she was not leaving him alone to face whatever the future held.