Chapter 15: "Who Are You?"
[Author's Note: Just so everyone knows, after this chapter is posted, I'm going to need to take it easy for a while. On May 27, I'm going to be going in for a surgery and will need a few weeks to recuperate. I plan on bringing my computer to the hospital so I can get some writing done, but who knows how I'll feel after the operation. I just feel very lucky and blessed to even be getting this surgery despite the pandemic. Don't freak out if the next chapter doesn't show up as quickly as the other ones have up to this point. Thank you so much to all of you for your interest in and support with this story so far, and thanks in advance for your understanding.]
Owl Motel
Parker Square
6:00 AM
Harrison was in the process of dressing for work while sitting on his unkempt motel bed when his cell phone rang. Seeing Detective Asher's name on the caller ID, he smiled and answered the call.
"Hey kiddo!" he said warmly, "What's up?"
"Hey Troy", Asher greeted back, "You're the first one outside of my squad to know. Ernie and I are being detailed for an undercover assignment, so we'll be going away for a while."
"Okay", Harrison replied, "Is there anything I can do for you while you're gone?"
"That's why I wanted to talk to you", Asher said, "I'm not entirely sure how long we'll be gone for, so do you think you can feed my fish for while I'm gone?"
Harrison chuckled at the unique request. "Sure", he said, "I'll just make a detour on my way home after shift for a while. It's no problem."
Asher then chuckled herself for a moment. "Awesome", she said contentedly, "I really appreciate this, Troy. Thank you so much."
"You're so welcome, honey", Harrison said, "Where do you live again?"
"I live on West Sunnyside Avenue in Sheridan Park", Asher replied, "I actually left a copy of my apartment keys and some written instructions with Lieutenant Broussard, so be sure to stop by her office before you clock out tonight, okay?"
"Absolutely", Harrison said, "When do you guys leave?"
"This afternoon", Asher replied, "I obviously can't tell you exactly where we're going, but the lieutenant will be able to get word to us in case of any emergencies."
"Good to know", Harrison said, "I've got to get going, but I want to tell you something first."
"Shoot", Asher said.
Harrison sighed while trying to find the right words. "Just in case the unthinkable happens", he finally said, "I want you to know how proud I am of you and how much I love you as a friend, as I always have."
He could tell that Asher was smiling on her end. "I love you too, Troy", she replied warmly, "Take care, okay? I'll come find you when I get back."
"Please do", Harrison said, "You stay safe, and tell Ernie I'll kick his ass if something happens to you."
Asher scoffed. "I'll do that", she said, "See you soon."
"Bye for now, sweetie!" he said before hanging up.
Harrison then tucked his cell phone into the side pocket of his leather jacket and stood up from the sitting position he had been in on his bed. He crossed to the nearest window that overlooked the motel's parking lot and pulled the somewhat grubby brown curtains open to let the sunlight in. It was then that he saw Aiden Pearce walking across the parking lot toward the stairs, presumably going toward his own room upstairs.
Though hesitant, the detective ended up realizing that if he wanted to start getting to the bottom of whatever his mysterious neighbor was up to, it was pretty much now or never. He grabbed his CPD Detective's badge and clipped it to the waistband of his jeans and put on his leather shoulder holster containing his Sig-Sauer P-226 handgun. He managed to obscure his holster and gun with his jacket before grabbing his handcuffs, clipping the leather sheath in which they were held to his back pocket.
Harrison then left his room and hurriedly but inconspicuously managed to jog part of the way across the outer edge of the parking lot to the stairs. He soon ascended them with an equal amount of stealth, making it to Pearce's door in no time. He knocked twice before the evidently ajar door slightly came even more open with a sharp creak.
Harrison sidestepped quietly through the slightly open door into the room. He was taken aback by how much computer equipment and related technology occupied the room, noting the presence of both a very high-tech projector and an oversized projection screen against one of the back walls.
"Mister Pearce?" Harrison called out. He assumed that his neighbor was in the bathroom, as that door appeared to be closed and locked. "Mister Pearce?" he called again, "It's Troy Harrison from downstairs! I hope I'm not disturbing y…"
Harrison's words stopped short when the inquisitive detective noted the shadow of someone holding some sort of blunt weapon above his head being illuminated on the floor. With quick reflexes, he managed to grab the hand of his would-be assailant with his right hand and pulled hard, sending whomever it was rolling over his own arched back and onto the bed in front of him. Aiden Pearce fell onto the dingy motel room mattress with a bouncy creak against the well-worn bedsprings. Harrison now held the man's weapon, which was apparently some sort of collapsible black baton, which he promptly threw to the floor beside him and drawing his own gun.
"Who the hell are you?" an intense-looking Pearce shouted.
"I was about to ask you the same thing, asshole", Harrison replied as he held his gun on Pearce. With his free hand, he pulled his jacket aside, revealing his CPD badge. "I guess I should reintroduce myself first", he continued, "Detective Troy Harrison, Chicago PD." He took his badge and police ID and threw them over to Pearce. They promptly landed beside him on the bed.
Grabbing the items, Pearce stood up and held Harrison's CPD identification card under the light from the projector for a moment, illuminating the ultraviolet watermarked seal that proved the legitimacy of his ID. "Okay", he said, "This checks out. Why are you here, Detective?"
Harrison shut the room's door and sat at the desk beside the projection screen, sighing deeply. "I work for the Homicide Unit at CPD's District Thirty-Four", he explained, "But I also work for Blume's CtOS Task Force. Your name has come up in some of the investigations I've been working on."
"What investigations?" Pearce asked.
"The murders at May Stadium the other night", Harrison replied candidly, "and the blackout that followed them. Not only that, but there's a guy at Chicago Med with a broken arm and a skull fracture. I have it on good authority that he's the one who harassed your sister, Nicole."
Pearce nodded knowingly. "You work with those two detectives who stopped by her house the other day", he said.
"That's right", Harrison replied, "Detectives Dobbs and Brooks. They were assigned to work the man's assault case. I'm going to keep it real with you, we're looking at you as the main suspect."
"Am I under arrest?" Pearce asked.
"I have no direct evidence tying you to Frank Janson's assault at the moment", Harrison said, "but I am going to have to take you into custody for trying to coldcock me just now. I'll make sure you're treated fairly. You just have to talk with Dobbs and Brooks, they'll assign you a court date, and I can try to get you back here by tonight."
Aiden Pearce then stood up and placed his hands behind his back, walking backwards until he was in front of Harrison. The detective then handcuffed the man and read him his Miranda Rights accordingly before grabbing his phone out of his pocket. He dialed the OEMC Dispatch Center.
"This is Detective Troy Harrison", Harrison said into the phone, "CPD Homicide, badge number Three-One-Two-Five-Five. I have a suspect in custody on a Code Five-Eddie at the Owl Motel in Parker Square. I need an area unit for transport to the Thirty-Fourth District, please, Code Two."
CPD District 34
Intake Area
20 Minutes Later
Aiden Pearce was escorted into the ground-level Intake and Booking Area at District 34, brought in by both Harrison and two uniformed patrol officers. Desk Sergeant Debbie Mahoney met them at the door.
"Hey Sarge", Harrison said, "I have Mister Aiden Pearce here to be booked on a charge of assaulting a police officer. He tried to take a swing at me with a collapsible baton when I went to interview him about his possible connection to a case."
Mahoney nodded. "Okay", she replied as she took ahold of Pearce by his handcuffs, "I'll take him in and get him processed. Has he been searched?"
"Yes ma'am", Harrison replied as he motioned to the pair of uniformed officers, "By both myself and these two patrolmen." He then retrieved Pearce's baton from his back pocket carefully and handed it to Mahoney. "This is the weapon he tried to use on me earlier", he continued, "It's all he had on him. No wallet, no driver's license, nothing like that. Could you do me a favor and hand him off to Dobbs and Brooks when you're done? He's also a suspect in a case they're working. They'll want to talk to him."
"You got it", Mahoney replied, "And speaking of Brooks, the Commander wants to see you in his office."
Harrison nodded and politely stepped past the Sergeant, heading inside the district. He immediately headed upstairs to Commander Brooks' office, located at the end of the second-floor hallway near the Homicide and Narcotics squad rooms.
"Come in", the Commander said from the other side of the door.
The detective did so and courteously entered the office, shutting the door behind him. "Good morning, sir", Harrison said, "Sergeant Mahoney said you wanted to see me."
"Good morning, Detective", Commander Brooks replied as he motioned to the small leather chair positioned in front of his desk, "Have a seat."
"Thank you", Harrison said as he sat down in the chair and pulled it slightly closer to the desk.
"I know you have a busy day ahead of you, Detective", Commander Brooks began, "So I'm going to cut to the chase. I overheard the radio traffic about your arrest of Aiden Pearce on the Citywide radio channel earlier. I hear he tried to strike you, is that correct?"
"Yes sir", Harrison replied, "He tried to strike me with a collapsible baton when I went to his motel room to speak to him about his possible connection to some cases we're working on. Fortunately, I was able to block his attack and subdue him before the weapon actually made any impact."
The Commander nodded. "I see", he said, "And these cases you think he could be connected to. Remind me, which cases are those?"
"The murders that Detective Asher and I stumbled onto the other night at May Stadium as well as the subsequent blackout that happened", Harrison explained, "Another informal joint inquiry by my squad, the Narcotics detectives, the Gang Unit, and the CtOS Task Force exposed Aiden Pearce's potential connection to an assault case that Detective Dobbs and your son assisted the Thirty-First District with yesterday afternoon."
Commander Brooks skimmed through the case file documents in front of him for a second. "Ah yes", "The complainant in that case was a Mister Frank Janson", he said, "I see here in Dobbs' report that he is also a suspect in some kind of harassment case. Is that right?"
Harrison nodded. "Janson had apparently been paid an, as of yet, unknown amount of money by an outside party to harass Aiden Pearce's sister Nicole Pearce with a barrage of threatening phone calls", he said, "Who that outside party is, we unfortunately don't yet know."
"Where is Mister Pearce now?" Commander Brooks asked.
"He's downstairs being booked by Sergeant Mahoney", Harrison replied, "Afterwards, she'll take him upstairs to be formally interviewed by your son and Detective Dobbs. I don't know if he's the type of guy who's apt to spill his guts in the box, but I guess time will have to tell."
The Commander then flipped to the last document in the case file. "I see you've included an official request signed by you in your capacity as a member of the CtOS Task Force", he said, "You want to make Aiden Pearce an official informant?"
Harrison sighed, now knowing how asinine that request sounded, considering that Pearce was a potential assault and murder suspect. "Yes sir", he said, "My superiors at the task force normally would sign off on such a request themselves, but since I'm a CPD officer and Aiden is in my official custody, they asked that you co-sign the paperwork before anything officially goes through."
"You realize that this man could've possibly attacked someone?" Commander Brooks sternly reminded Harrison, "And that he could've been present during a series of brutal murders?"
"Yes, I do realize those things", Harrison replied candidly, "But with all due respect, Commander, I believe that despite whatever faults or shady history he may have, Aiden Pearce appears to have substantial insights into some very nefarious things that could be going on in the City of Chicago. If we can use whatever insights and intelligence he has to protect and possibly save people, I'm all for that, and you should be too."
The Commander sighed deeply before grabbing a pen. "Point made, Detective", he said, "I'll co-sign this request. But so, you understand, that means I have to vouch for Mister Pearce's validity with both the State's Attorney and the US Attorney. Your informant, your responsibility."
Harrison gleefully stood up and extended a hand to Commander Brooks. "Understood, Commander", he said, "And I so appreciate your support."
The Commander reciprocated the detective's gesture, shaking his hand firmly. "You're welcome", he said, "I want to be kept in the loop at all times. Any problems, you go to Captain Broussard or whomever you report to at the task force. Make sure all official paperwork on this gets copied to me."
"Yes sir", Harrison said, "Thank you."
Harrison then left the office and headed down the hall, managing to manifest a very satisfied smile as he did so.
