Several patrol units radioed back in response to Vecchio's
call, saying that they were in the area and could help with the
chase. The units caught up to the GTO and began to box it in,
positioning themselves in front of and alongside it, with several
more joining behind the Riv. Ray winced a bit as he saw Bower begin
to ram the squad cars, denting and damaging the GTO's front end.
One of the units bumped the right side of the GTO and Bower lost
control, barely missing a telephone pole before skidding into a
parked car. He attempted to flee, but the uniformed officers quickly
surrounded him and took him into custody. The two Rays got out,
walked as far into the throng of officers as they could, and watched
as he was handcuffed and led to one of the cars.
Just as he was being placed into the car, he turned to look
at Ray. "If you think you've heard the last of me, you're wrong,
Vecchio!"
Vecchio gave Ray a confused look. "What the hell was that
about?"
"I arrested him before--back when you were in Vegas," Ray answered. "
He thinks I'm
you."
Ray walked over to his now sad looking GTO. As he surveyed the
damage, he realized why Vecchio had gotten so upset the several times
his own car had been destroyed. As he glanced into the window,
something caught his eye. Lying on the passenger seat, where it had
fallen during the crash was Fraser's Stetson, which the Mountie had
failed to put on before he and Ray began the chase that ultimately
ended Fraser's life. It seemed to Ray that every time Fraser parted
with that hat, something happened, and the trend seemed to have
continued that day.
Ray tried to open the GTO's passenger door but it was jammed
because of damage sustained during the crash. He opened the
undamaged back door, reached around into the front seat and picked up
the hat. Vecchio walked up behind him just as he closed the door.
"I don't know what it is about this thing," Ray said,
examining the hat. "Every time Fraser lost it, something happened."
"I know," Vecchio answered. "I can remember him being stabbed
once when he wasn't wearing it…. And then I shot him accidentally
when he was going to go with Victoria. And
After Ray had shown one of the officers the necessary papers
and information on the GTO, they walked back to the Riv. Vecchio got
on the radio and informed Huey, Dewey and the rest of the searching
units that the suspect was in custody.
Ray noticed that Dief was becoming more and more agitated in
the backseat. Thinking he probably wanted to relieve himself, or
perhaps he was just getting tired of being in the car, got out and
let Dief out, and stood outside to keep an eye on him. Dief began to
sniff and follow a scent, leading right toward the car where Bower
was being held.
The wolf stood by the car for a moment, then reared up and
put his forelegs on the door. He sniffed for a moment, then began to
snarl angrily.
Bower looked at the wolf warily, then yelled at Ray, "Get him away
from me. . . . I'll sue if he bites me."
Ray realized what was going on and made his way over to the car as
quickly as possible. He tried to restrain Dief, wrapping his arms
around the wolf's belly and trying to pull him back. As he did, he
caught a glimpse of Dief's eyes. Ray had never thought that dogs
could feel anger or want to exact revenge, but there was clearly
anger in the wolf's eyes. He wanted to avenge his friend's death.
Ray didn't blame him, as he wished he could do the same thing at the
moment. Dief strained and struggled, and Ray's strength was not
enough to hold him back. Vecchio came to help, but even the two of
them had an exhausting struggle trying to keep the wolf under
control.
Ray glanced at Bower. "He remembers what you did to Fraser"…
I'll try my best to keep him away, but I wouldn't blame him if he did
bite you."
Once Dief was finally back in the car, the two detectives drove back
to the station, where there was still more to be done. Paperwork, and
lots of it, had to be started. Later, there would be the shooting
board that was necessary every time an officer fired his weapon
outside the practice range. Luckily for Ray, this would not take
place until the next day. And both Rays would have to be questioned
and give statements the next morning also.
The detectives headed down toward the interrogation room,
where Bower was going to be questioned. Welsh intercepted them in the
hall.
" Will Vecchio and I be allowed to do the questioning?" Ray asked.
"No," Welsh answered. "For one, the normal protocol is for the
arresting officers to do it, and two, you two are stressed enough
over Fraser's death. Letting you question the guy that killed him
will only make the both of you angrier, and cause someone to lose
control and if that happens, someone will get hurt."
"But—" Ray started.
"You're to stay out of this, both of you, do you understand?
This case is already getting some media attention, and the last thing
I need is an excessive force case on my hands. When one of my
officers gets into something like that, the whole Chicago PD feels
the effects. Just let someone else handle it. Am I clear?"
"Yes," answered both detectives.
Ray struggled to concentrate on his reports, but it was a difficult
task. Scenes of the past few hours' events kept replaying themselves
in his mind. Francesca was sobbing and crying, just as Welsh
indicated she'd been doing ever since she learned of Fraser's death.
As Ray tried to tune it out, he became glad he wasn't in Vecchio's
shoes and didn't have to listen to that all night. Adding even more
distraction for Ray was that Dief kept trying to get to Bower in the
holding cells and to Fraser's body downstairs in the morgue.
Ray shoved the paperwork into a file folder, took a long
drink from the now warm can of pop on his desk, and silently waited
for Vecchio to finish his work so they could finally go home for the
night.
call, saying that they were in the area and could help with the
chase. The units caught up to the GTO and began to box it in,
positioning themselves in front of and alongside it, with several
more joining behind the Riv. Ray winced a bit as he saw Bower begin
to ram the squad cars, denting and damaging the GTO's front end.
One of the units bumped the right side of the GTO and Bower lost
control, barely missing a telephone pole before skidding into a
parked car. He attempted to flee, but the uniformed officers quickly
surrounded him and took him into custody. The two Rays got out,
walked as far into the throng of officers as they could, and watched
as he was handcuffed and led to one of the cars.
Just as he was being placed into the car, he turned to look
at Ray. "If you think you've heard the last of me, you're wrong,
Vecchio!"
Vecchio gave Ray a confused look. "What the hell was that
about?"
"I arrested him before--back when you were in Vegas," Ray answered. "
He thinks I'm
you."
Ray walked over to his now sad looking GTO. As he surveyed the
damage, he realized why Vecchio had gotten so upset the several times
his own car had been destroyed. As he glanced into the window,
something caught his eye. Lying on the passenger seat, where it had
fallen during the crash was Fraser's Stetson, which the Mountie had
failed to put on before he and Ray began the chase that ultimately
ended Fraser's life. It seemed to Ray that every time Fraser parted
with that hat, something happened, and the trend seemed to have
continued that day.
Ray tried to open the GTO's passenger door but it was jammed
because of damage sustained during the crash. He opened the
undamaged back door, reached around into the front seat and picked up
the hat. Vecchio walked up behind him just as he closed the door.
"I don't know what it is about this thing," Ray said,
examining the hat. "Every time Fraser lost it, something happened."
"I know," Vecchio answered. "I can remember him being stabbed
once when he wasn't wearing it…. And then I shot him accidentally
when he was going to go with Victoria. And
After Ray had shown one of the officers the necessary papers
and information on the GTO, they walked back to the Riv. Vecchio got
on the radio and informed Huey, Dewey and the rest of the searching
units that the suspect was in custody.
Ray noticed that Dief was becoming more and more agitated in
the backseat. Thinking he probably wanted to relieve himself, or
perhaps he was just getting tired of being in the car, got out and
let Dief out, and stood outside to keep an eye on him. Dief began to
sniff and follow a scent, leading right toward the car where Bower
was being held.
The wolf stood by the car for a moment, then reared up and
put his forelegs on the door. He sniffed for a moment, then began to
snarl angrily.
Bower looked at the wolf warily, then yelled at Ray, "Get him away
from me. . . . I'll sue if he bites me."
Ray realized what was going on and made his way over to the car as
quickly as possible. He tried to restrain Dief, wrapping his arms
around the wolf's belly and trying to pull him back. As he did, he
caught a glimpse of Dief's eyes. Ray had never thought that dogs
could feel anger or want to exact revenge, but there was clearly
anger in the wolf's eyes. He wanted to avenge his friend's death.
Ray didn't blame him, as he wished he could do the same thing at the
moment. Dief strained and struggled, and Ray's strength was not
enough to hold him back. Vecchio came to help, but even the two of
them had an exhausting struggle trying to keep the wolf under
control.
Ray glanced at Bower. "He remembers what you did to Fraser"…
I'll try my best to keep him away, but I wouldn't blame him if he did
bite you."
Once Dief was finally back in the car, the two detectives drove back
to the station, where there was still more to be done. Paperwork, and
lots of it, had to be started. Later, there would be the shooting
board that was necessary every time an officer fired his weapon
outside the practice range. Luckily for Ray, this would not take
place until the next day. And both Rays would have to be questioned
and give statements the next morning also.
The detectives headed down toward the interrogation room,
where Bower was going to be questioned. Welsh intercepted them in the
hall.
" Will Vecchio and I be allowed to do the questioning?" Ray asked.
"No," Welsh answered. "For one, the normal protocol is for the
arresting officers to do it, and two, you two are stressed enough
over Fraser's death. Letting you question the guy that killed him
will only make the both of you angrier, and cause someone to lose
control and if that happens, someone will get hurt."
"But—" Ray started.
"You're to stay out of this, both of you, do you understand?
This case is already getting some media attention, and the last thing
I need is an excessive force case on my hands. When one of my
officers gets into something like that, the whole Chicago PD feels
the effects. Just let someone else handle it. Am I clear?"
"Yes," answered both detectives.
Ray struggled to concentrate on his reports, but it was a difficult
task. Scenes of the past few hours' events kept replaying themselves
in his mind. Francesca was sobbing and crying, just as Welsh
indicated she'd been doing ever since she learned of Fraser's death.
As Ray tried to tune it out, he became glad he wasn't in Vecchio's
shoes and didn't have to listen to that all night. Adding even more
distraction for Ray was that Dief kept trying to get to Bower in the
holding cells and to Fraser's body downstairs in the morgue.
Ray shoved the paperwork into a file folder, took a long
drink from the now warm can of pop on his desk, and silently waited
for Vecchio to finish his work so they could finally go home for the
night.