Operation Kill a Cop

Chapter 11

11.1

Ed Brown completed his meeting with the officers just as the door opened and Mark Sanger wheeled Chief Ironside into the office. The chief wheeled down the ramp, slowing his speed as he traveled downward.

The officers immediately began shouting questions at him Ironside's patience and temper were short. "One question at a time!" He barked at his officers.

Captain Raymond Robertson put up his hand to silence the concerned police officers. "Chief, if you and your officers have not been able to protect the other officers, what makes you think you can protect us?"

Ironside's face did not show the anger that immediately started bubbling upward at the Captain's question.

"My staff has been working on this case around the clock. If you think you can do better than we have, you are welcome to join this investigation," he growled.

Captain Robertson's face turned red with embarrassment. "Chief, I'm sorry. I did not mean to imply that you and your people are not doing your jobs. What is it you expect all of us to do?"

"Stay alert and watch each other's backs. I am sure Ed briefed you on the fact that we believe the killer is an ex-cop. In other words gentleman, all of you must be more observant than usual. Pay close attention to any ex-cop who may approach you or even one you spot on the street."

"Chief, since the killer is going after those of us who have Robert as part of our name, could the killer have a grudge against you? Could he be killing cops to punish you? If it is indeed an ex-cop, he would know how protective you are of all the men in the department," Captain Robertson said.

"We are going on the possibility that the chief may be the killer's actual target," Sgt. Brown interrupted, "because of the attacks and murders of those whose names contain Robert."

"Since our lives are on the line here, can we would like to help you find this guy….that is if you want our help."

Ironside did not hesitate for a minute. "Absolutely. Ed is in the process of matching the bullets taken from his victims to bullets we have on file from the firing range. If any were kept when this man was required to qualify, we will know shortly who he is. In the meantime, whatever you boys can think of to check, do it. Be sure you coordinate with Ed so we are not covering the same bases."

"We'll get right on it chief," Robertson said. The officers filed out of Ironside's office.

"Mark, put on a pot of coffee, will you please?" Mark headed into the kitchen. Ironside looked over at Ed. "What are you still doing here? Get over to the firing range," he said.

Ed headed out of the office. "Eve, we still have not talked to Officer Hedison."

"We were pretty busy this morning. Would you like me to locate him right now?" Ironside just stared at her without answering. Eve nodded. "You would." She got up and went to the nearest phone.

The door opened and Vic Richards walked in. Ironside turned to see who had just entered his office. As Richards walked down the ramp, Ironside said, "Eve, go downstairs and locate Hedison. Mark will help you."

Both Eve and Mark knew the chief wanted privacy. They left the office together. "Vic, come in." Ironside pointed to a chair across from him at the table. Richards sat down. He could not meet Ironside's piercing eyes. Ironside said nothing. He waited for Richards to get his emotions under control.

Vic Richards lifted his eyes and looked directly at him. "I went into see Lois." He hesitated and then said, "Barbara." Ironside continued to remain quiet. "Her memory has not been affected by what happened as I am sure you know."

"Yes Vic, I am aware. I also saw and spoke with Barbara."

"She made it very clear to me that what we once had is over." His voice broke….he stopped. Ironside again remained quiet to give him time to recover. When he had done so Vic said, "She told me she loves you and that I had to accept that you are her life now." Richards looked away. Tears appeared in his eyes. "I have loved her all my life, chief. I don't know how NOT to love her."

"You have to give it time, Vic. A love that deep will not die quickly. I have always believed love is like a flower. If it is not nurtured, it will eventually die. Sometimes it takes a long time but it will happen. You must go on with your life. If it makes you feel any better, I will do everything I can to keep her safe and make her happy."

"I know you will. I came here to tell you that I will keep my word. I am flying home later today. Leslie is coming with me. Tracy would like to stay with her mother and of course you. If that is ok with you, I have told her she may do so."

"It's fine with me and I am sure it is fine with Barbara as well. Tracy can stay here with me until Barbara is back on her feet."

Richards looked away from the detective. Ironside could sense what was on his mind. "I am not trying to replace you in the girls' lives."

"I feel like I am losing them too."

"You're not. Leslie told me she wanted to stay with you. She is worried about you. They both love you very much. I can't thank you enough for helping them to adjust to this situation. Barbara has told me you did everything you could to make them understand the divorce and help them to accept me where Barbara is concerned. That could not have been easy."

"I thought then that I had accepted our divorce. My concern was with my girls. I did not feel it would be good for them to be bitter with you. Then Barbara was shot and I realized I had not accepted the divorce. I actually hoped Barbara would lose her memory. How could I say I love her and have wished for that?"

"Vic, you have to give it time."

"..and distance," Vic said. "I can't see her again. I would like you to tell her that. I cannot talk to her either. Please make her understand. Where the girls are concern, I would prefer she relays everything through you. As much as I have tried to hate you since she left me for you, I cannot. I know you have been caught in the middle of this mess just as much as I have been. Please chief, I will never ask you for anything again if you just make her understand."

Ironside watched Vic Richards and felt sorry for the pain he knew he was going through. He had no desire to hurt him. Ironside knew Vic brought this upon himself by coming here with the idea of convincing Barbara to return with him…hoping for more memory loss. He would not however, speak his feelings out loud. This man had suffered enough. "She already understands but I promise you, I will talk to her."

"Tracy is at the hospital with her mother. Leslie is outside the door. She would like to say goodbye to you."

"By all means, show her in," Ironside said.

Vic Richards went to the door to Ironside's office. He opened it and Leslie came into his office. Leslie squeezed her father's hand and then walked over to Ironside. "I am going back with my father. Will you keep me up to day on Mother's condition?"

"Of course I will," Ironside answered. Leslie put her arms around Ironside's neck and said, "Take care of her for me, chief." She kissed his cheek and looked into his blue eyes. "I will be back to visit." She hugged him one more time and returned to her father.

"Goodbye, chief," Vic Richards said.

"Goodbye, Vic," Ironside replied. He watched as the two of them walked up the ramp. Just before they disappear through the door, Leslie turned and smiled at Ironside and mouthed 'I love you'. Ironside duplicated her action with his own.

The phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Ironside."

"Chief Ironside. This is Doctor Shepherd. There has been a set back with Barbara Jones. We need you at the hospital immediately. There are some medical decisions you may have to make. Please come right away."

"What has happened?" He asked but the caller did not hear his question as he had hung up. Ironside dialed the phone and then hung up. He could call the hospital from the van. Calling from here was wasted time.

Ironside grabbed a tablet and wrote a note for his staff. He wheeled out of the office and rode the elevator down to the garage. He pushed the button on the door. The door opened and the lift lowered to the ground. Ironside backed in the lift and pushed the button. He pushed the button that moved the driver's set back and out of the way. Ironside got behind the wheel of the van and then locked the wheels of his wheelchair.

The passenger door opened and a man with a gun got in. He pointed the gun at Ironside. "Start the van, chief. Don't try anything. I would hate to have to kill you before I am ready."

11.2

Ed Brown walked into the office at the firing range. "Hey Davy, any luck on those bullets?"

"Hi Ed. No, not yet. I got started a little late. You would not believe the amount of bullets that they have stored here. It is ridiculous. What the hell are they keeping all of these bullets for?"

"They are supposed to keep those that are shot every time we qualify which we have to do once a year," Ed told him.

"Why?"

"I guess they want them on file from the gun that we are currently using. I don't know. Why does the department do half the things they do?"

"Does the chief really believe that it is an ex-cop doing the killing?"

"That is what is looking like right now. We do know he knew his way around the computer system and his shooting is as good as any cop on the force. Anyway, we will know as soon as you finish the comparison. How long do you think it will take?"

"Oh, I don't know….maybe today or tomorrow….maybe not for a week or a month. It is hard to say. It just depends on how lucky we get."

"The chief is not going to be very patient on this one Davy." Ed said.

"Is the chief ever very patient when he wants something?"

Ed chuckled. "No, he's not. So let's see if we can find it quickly and keep him happy."

11.3

"Mark, have you had any luck?" Eve asked.

"No. No one seems to know where Jeremy Hedison is."

"This is ridiculous. I cannot believe this." Eve walked over to the dispatch desk and picked up the receiver of the phone. She dialed the chief's office and waited for him to answer. The phone continued to ring with no response.

Mark noticed the look on Eve's face. "What's the matter?"

"The chief is not answering," Eve said.

"Maybe he's in the bathroom. He would not even try to get to the phone. Give him a few minutes and call back."

Eve nodded but she had an uneasy feeling. Mark's explanation was perfectly acceptable but Vic Richards was there. He wouldn't just go to the bathroom with someone in the office. He never did that. His disability had made the chief a very private individual. He did not even do that when she and Ed were in the office. No, she could not accept it. "Mark, you keep trying to find Hedison. I'm going to go check on the chief."

Mark shook his head. "You better have something figured out to tell him. He is going to want to know why you are back in the office without Hedison."

Eve heard Mark but did not pay much attention. She headed for the elevator. She got in and pressed the third floor button. When she arrived, she turned to the left and went up the ramp to the office door. Opening the door, she called out, "Chief!" She did not get an answer from the boss.

Eve walked through the office. "Chief!" She called out again. Still no answer. She noticed a tablet on the table and picked it up.

Complications with Barbara. Heading to the hospital. Will call when I know more.

Eve stared at the note. But Barbara was doing just fine. What possible complication could have happened? The phone rang. Eve reached for it and answered, "Chief Ironside's office."

"So what did you tell the chief," Mark said.

"He's not here, Mark."

"Not there? Where could he have gone?"

"He left a note. It says there are complications with Barbara. He went to the hospital."

"Hospital? Eve, that doesn't make sense. I just talked to Barbara. She called. I took the phone call down here when the chief did not answer. She sounded great. She wants the chief to call her."

Eve did not like this. "Mark, get up here. I'll call Ed." She hung up and then dialed Barbara's room at the hospital. When Barbara answered the phone, Eve said, "Barbara, is the chief there?"

"No Eve. I just called. Mark said he would have Bob call me. Why? What's wrong."

"When I got back here, I found a note. It said there was complications with you and that he was going to the hospital"

"What? Eve, I am fine. There is no reason for the anyone here at the hospital to call and make such a claim. Eve, I'm worried. Where is Bob?"

"I don't know but there is probably a logical explanation. So don't worry. I'll check it out and call you back. Just don't worry." Eve said goodbye and hung up.

Mark entered the office. "Did you call Ed?"

Eve picked up the phone and called the police firing range. "I need to talk to Sgt. Brown." Ed came on the line and Eve explained why she was calling.

"I don't like it. I would rather get reamed out by the chief if we are wrong then just ignore this. Eve, put an APB out on the chief's van. Tell them not to stop the van. I want it followed until we know the chief is not in any trouble. I am on my way back to the office." Brown hung up.

11.4

Ed entered the office. "Any word from the chief?"

"No." Eve and Mark looked to Ed for their next move.

"What about Jeremy Hedison?"

"We have not been able to locate him either," Eve answered.

Ed grabbed the phone. "Captain Smith, please." He waited a minute and Captain Jimmy Smith was on the phone.

"What does the chief need now?" Smith said cheerfully.

"Jimmy, the chief may be missing." Brown told Smith what had been going on.

"I'll send a couple men over to Jeremy Hinson's. Did you put out an APB on the chief's van?" Smith asked.

"Eve took care of it."

"I have a couple choppers put in the air to see if they can spot him. He has not been gone that long. Keep me inform Ed. I'll let you know what the boys find at Hinson apartment. Call me if you come up with anything."

11.5

"Just keep driving, chief."

"Where are we going?" Ironside asked.

"I have a car over by the Golden Gate Bridge. We have to ditch this van of yours. It is too easily spotted. You have a pretty sharp staff chief. I suspect it won't be long before they discover you are missing. With the van gone from the police garage, the first thing they will do is put out an APB on it. I also figure Brown will get Jimmy Smith to send up a chopper or two."

"Why?" Ironside asked.

"It took you long enough to ask chief," he said.

"You served your time. Got time off for good behavior. Why in blazes kill those cop?"

"Those were for you chief. I actually had several more planned but you figured out the link between them. Otherwise you would not have found Sanchez. Another hour or two and she would have been dead. But no, Chief Robert T. Ironside had to ride in on his white horse and save the day. It would not have been that much longer and you would have found me. So I decided to find you."

"Barbara…"

"She's fine. I had to figure a way to get you out headquarters. I was sure using her would work. It did.

"I still don't understand. Why did you kill those cops," Ironside asked, insisting on an answer.

"You ruined everything. I would have had enough money to be comfortable for the rest of my life. I did not want a lot, just enough so that I did not have to scrape by from paycheck to paycheck. You took it all away from me, Ironside. You destroyed my life. All I ever knew was working at headquarters. Now I can't even do that."

"You helped a group of men black out part of the city of San Francisco for the purpose of stealing what amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars from the federal reserve. You knocked out Sgt. Spangler and tried to use the micro film unit as a diversion. What the hell did you expect me to do?"

"You caught the guys who set it all up. You did not need to go after me."

"You were a civil service employee, Kinney. You crossed the line. You gave me no choice."

"Oh that's right, Robert Ironside never makes an exception does he?" Kinney

"You broke the law. That makes you no better than the criminals we put behind bars. In fact, you are worse. You were entrusted with police records. You had access to practically everything at police headquarters."

"I would not have had to do it if the SFPD paid a decent wage. I could not make it on that salary. I couldn't meet the bills. But you could not look the other way just this once. So…."

"So you decide you have to go out and kill five cops just because they happened to carry part of my name. Your beef was with me. Why didn't you just kill me? Why did you kill six cops who had nothing to do with it?"

"The only way to hurt you Ironside is through your cops. That's why. But don't fret. You are going to die. There up ahead. The blue Ford. Pull up beside it."

Ironside did as he was told. Kinney opened the van door while holding his gun on Ironside. "Now you just wheel that chair over near the car. Don't try anything or you will die sooner than planned."

When Kinney turned his head, Ironside grabbed his cell phone off the dash, silenced it and put it in his suit pocket. He got into the lift and pushed the button.

Ironside had no choice but to do as he was told until Ed and Eve could figure out where he was, hopefully before it was too late. In the meantime, he would have to find a way to keep Kinney from making good on his threat.