Chapter 28
“He called you and made a threat against your sister?” Barry rubs his forehead and closes his eyes while trying to find his happy place. He places his other hand on his belly; it helps.
“That's right.” Max stands, somewhat sullen, on the other side of Barry's desk along with Alan, Earl and Carl. On arriving back at the office Earl made a line straight for Barry’s office to let him know about the new incident.
“Do we have a trace on Max's phone?”
“We’re getting approval,” says Earl.
“And Heath's number?”
“Same again.” Earl, again.
“Is he likely to call back, Max?”
Max remains sheepish, “Couldn’t say.”
Earl snaps back, “Well that really depends on why he called in the first place and whether Max is keeping anything else from us.”
Max moves in to Earl personal space, “Who are you to...”
“Shut up!” Barry yells.
“Earl, you have all those Investigators under you to get one job done - stop bickering like children. Max, you should still be suspended and that may yet happen so tread the ground you walk delicately. Where's your statement?”
Carl hands over a piece of paper which Barry reads while quietly rubbing the bald patch on his head. He reads slowly, leaving the four detectives standing awkwardly, wondering if they should have left by now. Barry finally breaks the silence, “This is everything?”
“That's right,” says Max, with a nod.
Barry points at Earl and Carl, “You two, get to work and catch this guy.” They both leave without further prompting. “Alan, you keep your colleague in line and remind him, daily, if necessary, that he is on a short leash. Max, is there anything else you want to share?”
After a moment’s thought Max shakes his head.
Barry signals his desire to end their meeting with a wave of his hand and says, “Get back to work.”
As Alan leads the way out of Barry's office their path is blocked by a tall man in his late fifties. The awkwardness of his unusual height is exacerbated by his also being painfully thin and sporting a shiny bald head. Alan involuntarily says to the man, “Chief Commissioner,” and steps back so the tall and bony Overlord can enter Barry’s office.
The Chief Commissioner’s beady eyes look between the three men in the office before resting on Max and smiling bitterly, “You must be Max Myer.”
“That's right,” is Max's slow and quiet response.
“We need to talk.” The Chief Commissioner takes a seat as Max looks to Alan who just shrugs and leaves, closing the door behind him.
Barry sits back down after having stood for the Chief Commissioner's entrance and Max quietly finds his way to the seat next to the Chief.
The skinny Overlord turns slightly toward Max, “You are one half of the pair responsible for the investigation and arrest of Steven Cooper, correct?”
Max almost smiles with relief, “Yes, Sir. That’s right.” He’s just glad he’s not being yelled at.
“I followed your work on that case. He was usually meticulous in covering his tracks and keeping his hands clean but you found a way to get him despite all his hard work.”
Max is beaming, “Well it was a team effort for everyone involved.”
“I also read that you chased him down six floors and got hit by a taxi to arrest him.”
“I figured we had come too far and I didn’t want to let him go after all my hard work. I jumped over the taxi.”
The Chief corrects the young detective, “It was a team effort though.”
“Of course. All of us together.”
“I read recently that you sat on the information about your brother for over a week.”
Max’s smile disappears, “In my defence I had no real evidence to suggest…”
Max is cut off by an indignant hand placed in the air by the Chief Commissioner, “Max, I’m not an idiot. There's no need to sing that song to me while pretending a part of what you do isn't intuition. That feeling you had at the bottom of your stomach when you first considered your brother won't help in court but it will push you along when something might otherwise seem pointless.
“Of course, the big issue here is, clearly, the murderer was sending you a message. He made it personal. He not only denied his victims the right to live in safety, he delivered a final indignity by carving your name into their bodies as though they were nothing better than a piece of paper. After this conversation I’ll be speaking with your boss here about why you weren’t arrested for obstruction of justice. And why at the very least you haven't been suspended pending the results of the investigation into your actions by the Police Conduct Unit. But here you are working on illegal arms dealing. How’s that going?”
Max balances his expression between a refusal to answer the question and not wanting to seem too disrespectful. He’s already in enough trouble. “I had been suspended, Sir.”
The Chief is surprised and turns to Barry to ask, “Really? For how long?”
Barry is equally as sheepish as Max, “Two weeks.”
The Chief turns back to Max, “Made any head-way on your cases?” he says.
More silence from Max, who can tell his method of protest is starting to irritate. He continues. “You've only been a detective a few months, isn't that right?”
Max gives in and provides a slight nod after a glance at Barry whose raised eyebrow is all Max needs to know he's alone in the room. “Almost a year, Sir.”
The Chief continues, “I'm starting to wonder if we promoted you too soon. Maybe a few more years in uniform will give you the experience you need? Or maybe you can give me a reason to let you keep your job at all.”