BLUE BLOODS: RETURN TO DUTY
CHAPTER 1
54TH PRECINCT DETECTIVE SQUAD:
Friday, April 1, 2016: 7:30 a.m.
Maria Baez entered the squad carrying her usual cup of Starbuck's Frappuccino, along with a cup of what she called Marine Motor Oil for her partner.
She handed Danny his cup.
"Really Reagan, how can you drink that, it's like tar." She commented.
He looked up at her and smirked.
"Tell you what Baez, go spend two years drinking Marine Corp coffee and then tell me if you have any taste for that fru fru crap you drink." He replied.
She simultaneously raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders before sitting down at her desk.
"Anything new?" she inquired.
Danny had two files laid out before him, each sporting the photographs and details of a murder committed within the past three days.
"Nada, nothing I can see here that connects these two incidents other than the manner in which the victims were executed." He replied as he rubbed the top of his head, a clear sign to Maria that his brain was in overdrive.
"Make it three Reagan." Lt. Carver called out as she dropped another file bearing the same details before him.
Danny opened the latest folder and read the summary before passing it across to Baez.
"Three victims, so now we have two men, one woman, one Latino, one African American, one Hispanic, different ages, different occupations, and they lived in different sections of the city." He stated.
"Each victim shot in the back of the head with a .22 caliber pistol, hands bound and the knees of their pants were all dirty, as if they had been forced to kneel before being shot." She observed.
"Who do we know that likes to kill their victims in this manner?" Danny rhetorically asked.
"The Mafia." Carver replied.
"Exactly EL TEE" he replied, referring to the letters "L" and "T" for Lieutenant.
"But the vics hardly seem like wise guys or the kind of people they would go after." Baez observed.
"There's a reason, we just can't see it yet." Danny replied.
"Come on, let's make another trip down to the M.E.'s office and get the info on the latest vic." He stated as he got up from his chair.
NEW YORK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
60 CENTRE STREET, MANHATTAN:
Friday, April 1, 2016: 8:25 a.m.
Erin Reagan entered her office to find her investigator, Anthony Abatemarco happily chewing on a glazed donut, while its twin rested comfortably before him on the edge of her desk.
"Anthony, I swear by all that is holy, I am going to put you on a diet." She fumed.
"Nah, if you did that, what else would I have to enjoy in life?" He inquired.
"How about having a life to enjoy?" She shot back.
"When you get my age, the best part of life is sleep and good food." He smiled.
"That" she said pointing at the offensive donut "is not good food. That is nothing but fried fat and I want it out of my office right now." She ordered.
"As you wish." He said before lifting the donut from her desk and devouring it in one bite.
Erin gave him an evil squint. "I swear you are no different than Danny." She spat out.
"Hey, I like your brother. We're cut from the same cloth, though he requires a lot less of it than I do." Anthony laughed as he patted his ample girth.
"About the same amount in the seat of his pants." A familiar voice retorted.
Erin smiled. "Jamie, what brings you up here?" She inquired.
"Court appearance in 30 minutes, so I figured I'd come say hello to my favorite sibling." He smiled.
"Good answer." She beamed.
Jamie nodded at Anthony who nodded back.
"Now here is someone who knows how to adhere to a healthy diet." Erin informed Anthony while pointing at Jamie.
"Yeah, but he's so skinny, nothing for his cute partner to grab onto." Anthony grinned back.
"Hey, my partner and I have nothing going on." Jamie defensively retorted.
"And I'm putting a hundred on the Jets to win the Super Bowl next year." Anthony guffawed as he headed out of Erin's office.
Jamie turned to face Erin who returned a knowing look.
1 Police Plaza:
Office of the Commissioner:
Friday, April 1, 2016: 9:30 a.m.
Garrett Moore and Lt. Sidney Gormley strode side by side past Detective Abigail Baker as they entered the NYPD's inner sanctum.
"Come on Garrett, nobody really wants us to pull out of the bad areas. Watch how fast calls will come in once the gangs start ramping up drug sales on the corners." Gormley stated.
"I'm not your enemy on this Sid, but the public and the press are having a field day with our resumption of Stop and Frisk." Garrett countered.
Frank Reagan looked up from his desk at his top two deputies.
"Stop, question, and frisk." He corrected. "Everyone seems to miss out on that middle word which determines whether or not the frisk is warranted."
"Whatever Frank, the point is, Potter and his ilk are once again claiming we are like a military occupation force in the poorer areas and that Broken Windows and stop, question, and frisk, are merely an excuse to harass minorities." Garrett replied.
"If you mean by minorities, blacks" Gormley countered.
"That tends to be Potter's constituency" Garrett responded.
"Enough." Frank stated, effectively ending the argument, for now.
"What about these three seemingly unrelated murders the Five Four is investigating?" He inquired.
"Detective Reagan and his partner are on it boss. So far, the only commonality is the method of execution, but the vics appear to be totally unrelated to one another." Gormley answered.
"I don't believe that for a minute, there is something there we aren't seeing." Frank stated, echoing his eldest son's earlier statement.
"It's starting to draw interest from the press." Garrett observed.
"We don't comment on active investigations." Frank retorted.
"For now." Garrett replied.
"Have OCCB look into it as well." Frank ordered Gormley. "Maybe they have an angle on this Detective Reagan hasn't pursued."
REAGAN FAMILY HOME:
Sunday, April 3, 2016
1:35 p.m.
"Attendance at church seemed light today." Henry Reagan remarked as he fixed Sunday dinner.
"Sunday after Easter Grandpa." Erin remarked as she prepared the vegetables.
"Like the Sunday after Christmas Mass, people feel they are good for a few weeks." Jamie responded as he fixed the salad.
"You're supposed to go every Sunday, not just when you're obligated to." Henry intoned.
"Different generation Pop." Frank remarked as he watched the goings on.
"I have a couple of Jewish friends. The only time they see the inside of a synagogue or temple is for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur." Linda remarked as she baked a pie for dessert.
"I don't particularly miss not going every week. Not sure Danny does either." Jamie replied.
"I know Joe enjoyed going." Frank stated.
"Joe found a certain solace in it, but he also questioned a lot about the organized church." Danny replied coming into the room.
"Which is your issue is with it as well?" Henry asked.
"Maybe, or maybe it's just that I've seen enough of the depravity mankind can heap on itself that I question the entire notion of this being the design of a supreme being." Danny answered.
"Daniel Fitzgerald Reagan, that's blasphemy." Henry called out, pointing his finger at his eldest grandchild.
"No Pops, that's me being honest." Danny replied.
"There are no atheists in a fox hole." Henry reminded Danny.
"No, but seeing what transpires outside of that fox hole can turn you into one." Danny retorted as he leaned against the counter.
"What about you Harvard, you still believe?" Danny asked as he reached for a piece of broccoli, only to have Erin slap his hand with her wooden spoon.
Jamie pondered the question for a moment and then answered. "I'd like to believe there is a design and plan for us, and that grandma, Mom, and Joe are in a better place and that maybe someday we'll reunite, or that they are watching over and protecting us, but the educated, practical, and rational part of me says that this is no dress rehearsal, so live life the best way you can because when it's over, it's really over. As for the Church itself, I agree there are many historical and political points which don't hold water."
"That's why it's called faith." Henry responded.
"I have faith that my weapon will fire when I draw it, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to clean and oil it and test it out at the range once a week, just to be sure." Danny responded.
"I have faith in the justice system" Erin began "but that doesn't mean I haven't seen it fail more times than I can remember, but it's still the best system we have."
"Like my faith in the medical profession, you do your best but there are some people you can't help." Linda intoned.
"Exactly." Danny replied.
"Best to rely upon yourself." Jamie stated.
"Or your partner." Danny snickered, only to draw a death glare from his baby brother, which did not go unnoticed by Frank or Erin.
-30-