Chapter 9
By the time Ed pulled up to the grey plank apartment building on Union Street, Steve was up the stairs and in the process of locking up for the evening. The detective watched as the drapes were drawn and the lights turned on, casting a golden glow over the apartment's sparse balcony.
Ed sighed to himself. Besides paperwork, a lengthy stakeout was the number one complaint of all police officers, including the detectives. Sergeant Brown was no exception. He thought of the many cases where he sat, either with the Chief or with his colleagues, outside of a home, warehouse or office building waiting for something to happen.
It was unusual to stake out a colleague, but in this case it was necessary. Steve wasn't thinking of his own safety, but instead was grieving over the loss of two longtime friends. His partner and mentor, Lieutenant Mike Stone, was indeed worried about the young man and in some ways, it was better that he was back at the station tending to a caseload that was not as personal.
Ed met Mike years ago not long after he had joined the force. While nearly twenty years older, Ed and Mike shared something in common beyond police work. They were both veterans who proudly served their country, albeit during two very different wars. Mike had seen action in Japan thirty years before and came back to victorious and celebratory times, including a ticker tape parade on VJ Day in downtown San Francisco. Ed had completed a tour of duty in Vietnam with the outcome not as clear as years before and life much more complicated for the returning soldiers.
As Ed graduated from the Police Academy, Mike introduced himself to the young man congratulating him on the accomplishment and thanking him for his earlier service. Then entrenched in the Homicide unit, the Detective had his eye on young Brown, thinking he would make a solid addition to his young team that comprised of Healy and Haseejian. That thought was quickly dashed when Chief Ironside selected Brown to be his right hand man.
A few short years later, another young man would be selected from the Academy to join the ever growing Homicide team. That man, Ed thought as he glanced around the apartment building, was no more than 100 feet away and probably unaware that he had someone watching over him.
After three hours of waiting, a car pulled behind Detective Brown. A petite figure exited, walking up the sidewalk and into the passenger side of the policeman's car.
Fran Belding entered the car and sat next to her coworker, handing him a small brown bag.
"What's this?" Ed asked as he shot a quick glance to the young brunette.
"From the Chief. He thought you might get a little hungry," she smile mischievously.
"You're kidding. I'm not used to having a stakeout catered like this. What is it?" Ed eyed the contents suspiciously.
"What do you think it is?"
"Well, I see the crackers and the plastic bowl, so I would assume that it's the Chief's specialty."
"Always and forever," Fran answered with a wink. "Have you seen anything going on here?"
"No, it's been quiet," Ed commented as he opened the plastic tub. "But I agree with the Chief. Something is going to happen. That pair is out for revenge and have no qualms about finishing the job."
Fran agreed. "That goes along with what the Chief's been finding out from the authorities in Mississippi. Apparently, they found letters that Harper Dean wrote his brother. He blamed Joplin, the Professor and Keller for his imprisonment. Said they should have minded their own business."
"And they let him out anyway?" Ed asked.
"Well, he was up for parole and no one knew about his plans. His brother picked him up, they checked in with the authorities, so they were under the radar for a bit. But the plan was in place all the time to do this," Fran added.
"I think the Dean brothers are going to make it a trifecta before they leave town and take Keller out."
"Trifecta? Hitting the horse races lately, Detective?" Fran smirked at her straight-laced colleague.
"You know better than that. I have better things to do with my money." Ed scraped the last of the chili from the plastic tub. "Chili on a stakeout. I'm an ulcer waiting to happen."
The pair sat in companionable silence for another hour when they saw a car pull around the corner and park directly in front of Steve's apartment building.
"What do we have here?" Ed muttered. The pair watched as the driver of the car stayed put with the engine running and the headlights out. "Can you make the plates?"
"I can do at least a partial. Let me call it in," Fran added.
Ed studied the car as Fran contacted Dispatch. "There's a label in the window. I can't quite make it out."
"Dispatch, I need you to run plates on a late model, four door Ford sedan. Color: green. Partial plates, 'CPE 93', that's' Charlie, Peter, Edward, nine, three.' I can't read the last number. Respond immediately."
Dispatch answered quickly that the car was property of Bay Side Rentals. Ed nodded his head. They had expected the Dean brothers were renting a car. "Call Lessing over in Homicide and see if he can raise someone over at BSR. And see if we can get a back-up."
As Fran picked up the mic, both detectives jolted as they heard a gunshot coming from Keller's apartment. The pair watched as the front door of Keller's apartment burst open and a man stumbled out from inside.
"That's not Keller," Brown commented as he opened the car door. "Call for back-up!"
