Chapter 14

Malloy and Woods had long finished with the booking of Joseph Rose, and the prime suspect in the attempted murder of Officer James Reed was moved into an integration room. His three cohorts from the bowling alley were relocated to nearby cells to sleep off the alcohol. Detective Jerry Miller settled across the table from Rose in hopes of extracting information out of him.

Miller pushed a pad of paper and a pencil in front of Rose. "OK, why don't you write out your full statement in the attempted murder of Officer Jim Reed?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Joey stood up and faced the back wall and decided that denying everything was the way to go.

"Come on, Joey. Sit down." Detective Miller tried to sound more like a friend than foe. "Let me be clear. You're in a lot of trouble." With those words Joey started to pace the small room. Jerry continued, "What is the point of denying your involvement? Joe, we have an eyewitness to the assault. We have the car that was used, and we have YOUR fingerprints on the steering wheel that puts you in the driver's seat."

Joey spun around and smarted off to Jerry, "Why do you need me to write anything down since you seem to have everything figured out already?"

"Sit!" Jerry ordered. A uniformed officer stepped up to the interrogation door holding something. The detective accepted two cups of black coffee from him. "Here, drink this." He offered one to Rose then sat one down on the table after taking a sip. "This will go a lot easier if you just tell the truth."

"The truth? What good does the truth do? So I hate cops. Who doesn't? That doesn't make me a killer."

An hour into the interrogation, MacDonald told Pete to go home. "I know you want to see this through, but it could take hours or even days, if we even get him to tell the truth. Let's just hope that Jerry can break him."

"Mac, you promise to call me when you get something?"

"I can do that. Now get out of here."

xxxxx

A couple hours earlier, a special delivery had occurred. A white bag was dropped off at the Central Receiving front desk. A wonderful smell wafted throughout the hall as a hospital attendant carried the bag up to Room 216. Officer Grant stopped the man before he entered Jim Reed's room. "What do you have there?" the officer asked.

"A friend of Officer Reed dropped by with some food. He said that he hoped a special Duke burger might cheer him up."

Grant looked over the attendant's ID badge wanting to be sure he was on the "up and up". "Let me inspect the contents of the bag." He peered in and saw a container of seasoned fries and what looked like a large burger wrapped up in paper. Some chili sauce seemed to be bleeding through the wrapping as well. "OK, I guess that looks alright. Actually, it smells really good." An instant reaction to the odor started Grant's stomach growling. "You wouldn't have another one of those would you?"

The attendant stated, "Sorry, I work here at the hospital. Not at the café."

"I was just kidding" the officer quipped. All joking aside, he asked, "Did you get the friend's name?" Grant's first guess would be that Pete stopped through.

"I think he said his name was Porter, yeah that's it, Officer Porter."

Porter … Oh yeah, he is a reserve guy. "Ok. Go ahead and take it in."

The attendant stepped into the room to make the final delivery. The nurse had just given Jim his medications, including a higher dose of injectable morphine for his level of pain. Seeing the bag of fast food, she commented, "I doubt Officer Reed's stomach will want that right now due to the meds."

"I'll just sit the bag here for now." He placed the grease-soaked bag on the tray beside the bed.

A groggy and hurting Jim had just closed his eyes as the warming sensation of the drug moved through his veins and began suppressing the deep aches. He drifted into a fitful sleep in which the familiar smell nearby induced an old memory that warped into a nightmare…

There he was pulling out a newspaper just across the street from Duke's Longhorn Café when a shot rang out. His stomach sank as he heard the man shout, "I've got a cop in here with a bullet in him." He had to act fast. He blocked out traffic then guarded the scene while he waited for his commander.

The SWAT team arrived in the large black sedan. Gus Barron asked him, "Is Pete your first partner?"

"Yes."

He was standing behind the Sergeant's wagon as his injured partner was paraded outside when Barron and MacDonald asked him, "What do you want to do?"

"He's bleeding. I want to get my partner out, but we can't let them go."

No bargain was accepted and Malloy was pulled back inside. Then Vince Warren gave himself up. The man came out with his hands up and shouting, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot me!"

Again Ryan pushed Pete out in front of the café. The escaped con held Malloy up by his collar. The man had a gun pointed at Pete. His uniform shirt was pulled open and red bloodstains stood out on his white undershirt.

Gus Barron slowly approached Ryan and Malloy with both hands raised.

Ryan shouted to Barron, "Stop right there!" Then he suddenly pulled the trigger. The gun went off and dropped Pete to the ground … dead!

Reed jerked and then groaned out, "No!" as he rolled in his restless sleep. The movement of his injured leg sent shooting pains up his body that startled him awake and out of the nightmare. Perspiration dripped down his forehead and his heartbeat raced. He opened his eyes and saw an empty hospital room. Jim took in a few settling breaths and then noticed the white bag on the tray. He instantly recognized the smell of the chili cheeseburger. Though he usually loved to eat, his stomach was churning, and he shoved the tray further away. "It was just a bad dream," he stated out loud to himself. He rubbed over his forehead and said, "Pete's fine!" Jim decided the drugs were messing with his head.

xxxxx

Malloy arrived at the hospital to check in with Jim. He wanted to update him on catching Rose before heading home for the night. "Hey Grant, how's it going?" he asked as he approached the room.

"Pete, it's all good. It's been pretty quiet around here."

"Has anyone been by?"

"Jean Reed and her father were here for quite a while. Uh … Brinkman and Sanchez stopped in while on patrol for a short time too." He paused, then remembered, "Oh, and Porter dropped off some food for Jim."

Pete made an inquisitive smirk. "Porter … Albert Porter, the reserve officer?"

"Well, yeah. I didn't see him per se, but a hospital attendant brought up the food from the front desk. He said Porter dropped it off for Jim."

Pete got alarmed. He pushed his way into Jim's room and immediately saw the white bag from Duke's. Grant followed him in and asked, "What's wrong Malloy?"

Pete didn't answer Grant, but spouted out the question, "Jim, did you eat any of this?" as he picked up the bag.

A bit tired and confused, Jim responded, "No. I guess I didn't have the stomach for it just yet. Why?"

"Good!" He put the bag aside and out of Jim's reach.

"What's going on Partner?" Jim pulled himself into a more upright position to present a more engaging front.

Pete took in one deep breath as he relaxed just a bit knowing that Jim was safe. "Well, I don't know for sure that it came from him, but I ran into Charlie Burnside earlier today in front of Duke's Café."

Grant asked, "Are you saying that he's behind the attack on Jim?"

Pete looked back at Grant and then to Jim. "We don't have any hard proof just yet on Burnside, but we have some leads pointing us in that direction."

Jim asked, "You don't really think he would try to poison me, do you?"

Pete shook his head. "I don't know. But I wouldn't put anything past him right now." An image of Burnside's face flashed before Malloy. "My gut is telling me that the man was up to something today."

Grant stepped over to the food. "Maybe we should get this analyzed for any toxins?"

Pete agreed, "We should, but we also need to find out if someone can identify the person who dropped it off."

Jim stated, "I didn't see who brought it. Grant did you see who it was?"

"A hospital attendant brought it to the room. He said it was from your friend Al Porter. I can track down the attendant to follow up."

"Al … Porter?" Jim closed his eyes and thought.

A look of worry crossed Pete's face. "Jim, are you alright?"

He opened his eyes and looked directly at his partner. "Let's just say it is Burnside behind all of this. If he did poison the food, would he be setting up Porter as the fall guy? Al was the first person to see through Charlie's facade. Or is he just messing with me?"

Pete voiced, "I don't know, but Grant can follow up here with the attendant, and I will track down Al tomorrow since it's getting pretty late tonight." Jim was relieved knowing Pete would touch base with his friend. Malloy then continued, "I did stop by tonight to let you in on some news. We apprehended Joseph Rose late this afternoon. Detective Miller is interrogating him as we speak. When I left the station, he hadn't admitted to the assault or if anyone else was involved though. At this point, however, we have enough evidence to charge him." This news brought Jim some solace. "Try to get some rest. I'll check in with you tomorrow."

"Pete, …" Jim paused. It took him a moment to find the words. "Thanks for staying on the case."

Malloy stepped up close and grabbed his friend's hand. "I'll do whatever it takes." Pete didn't need to say anymore. Jim understood. His friend and partner would catch this guy. Pete continued, "I know how frustrating it is to be sidelined, but put your energy into getting well." With a head nod to each other Pete walked out of the room with Grant following right behind. Pete asked, "Where is the nearest phone?"

"There is one down at the nurse's station." Grant walked with Malloy to the desk. "Pete, why don't you head home? I can call the station about the food and see what they want to do with it."

"Are you sure?" Pete was looking a bit worn out.

"Yeah, no problem."

Though a bit reluctant at first to go, Pete agreed and went to the elevator.

Officer Grant made the call and spoke with MacDonald. He filled him in on the questionable delivery to Reed. He also learned who would be arriving soon to replace him at the hospital to guard the room.

The long drive through the dense woods of Angeles National Forest gave Malloy time to rehash what Burnside's future moves might be. Proof or not, he knew in his gut Charlie was behind the attack on Jim. Pete's head was spinning with what he should do next. He was quite spent as he stepped through the front door of the cabin. He gazed down at Sadie welcoming him with her fast-moving stubby tail and uttered, "I wish I had your never-ending energy." He gave her a gentle pat and then called out, "Jenny?"

She walked out of the bedroom and greeted him near the door. "You're home." She gave him a much-needed kiss and then asked, "Can I fix you anything?"

He hung up his jacket on the wooden coat rack by the front door. "A cup of coffee would be great."

She gave a worried look to him. "Don't you want something to eat?"

"Oh, I grabbed a sandwich at the station then I swung by the hospital before heading home." He plopped himself down on the couch and kicked off his shoes as he settled in for the night.

Jenny carried over a cup of coffee and handed it to him. "So how is Jim doing?" She sat across from him at the other end of the sofa.

"I guess he is doing as well as can be expected considering the situation."

"Pete, you sound worried."

"Jim is dealing with so much pent-up frustration." Pete just shook his head. "It's really tough to be laid up like he is."

"Well, you have been through it yourself. I'm sure you can help him with it."

"On a brighter note, I do have some good news."

"What? What?"

"We took the man into custody that hit Jim."

"That's great news!" Then Jenny could see on Pete's face that he wasn't thrilled with this information. "What's the matter Pete? Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Of course, this man should go to prison for his part in the assault."

Jenny scooted closer to Pete on the couch. "Are you saying there is someone else involved?"

At first Pete was hesitant to say anything, but he knew she would learn of it soon enough. "Do you remember the cop that went to prison after he was caught being "badge heavy?" His name was Charlie Burnside."

"Oh yeah, didn't Jim bring up the charges against him?"

"Yes, he did. Well, he recently got released. The guy driving the car that struck Jim, Joey Rose, shared a prison cell with Burnside."

"That sounds pretty suspicious."

"Well, that's what I thought too. The only problem is proving it."

Jenny could see the exhaustion in Pete's eyes. "I think you should sleep on it. Maybe in the morning after a good night's sleep you will have some fresh ideas on how to handle the situation."

"Maybe you're right." He leaned over and gave his wife a kiss. As Pete sat back up he noticed something caught in her hair. "Hey, you didn't sneak out of the house today, did you?"

"Uh, what makes you ask that?" Jenny couldn't hide her sheepish grin.

Pete reached over and pulled out a piece of hay and presented it to her. "Maybe this!"

"OK. Guilty as charged. I went to the barn for a little while today. I was experiencing cabin fever."

"Oh really… cabin fever." Pete just shook his head. "And people say I'm stubborn."

She smiled and stated, "I like to think of it as determined."

In a funny tone he interjected, "You don't say. Come on, Lady. Let's head to bed." He helped her up from the couch and they walked arm and arm back to the bedroom.

She commented, "Those shoulders look like they could use a massage."

As they disappeared into the bedroom, he responded, "I accept."