Page 46 of Code of Courage

CHAPTER18

Danni pulled into her driveway still fuming over the encounter at the market. She got out and inspected the scratch in her hood. It was a good two inches long, and deep.

Those kids had zero respect, she thought, yet they also seemed to have free rein. What was going on?

Yen and Mel seemed fine with the new nonsense from the mayor. For a few minutes she stood outside her car and wondered about the implications of living in a test beat, not certain what it meant to her day to day. And police were not supposed to patrol the test beat. A part of the city police could not patrol.

It was crazy and made absolutely no sense. And seeing Leonard White get away with being a little thug bugged her even more. In the not too distant past a city councilman had resigned when his son was arrested for dealing drugs. He didn’t make excuses for the boy or try to get the PD to drop charges; he quit and said he obviously needed to spend more time with his family. Granted, being a nuisance was quite removed from drug dealing, but Danni got the distinct impression by the way Yen and Mel handled things that Mayor White would be making a lot of excuses for her son.

Removing her keys, she reached into the grocery bag next to her and pulled out the new collar. She had things to do and worked to put the parking lot incident behind her.

“Hey, Champ,” she cooed to the little dog. “Here’s your new collar.” She slipped it over his head and attached the leash. Lifting the dog out of the car, she walked him to the backyard. He did okay on three legs, navigating around with the cast, and didn’t seem to be in any pain.

Once he’d done his business, she put him in the house and retrieved the rest of her groceries from the car. She’d just finished feeding the dog, put her groceries away, and decided what to have for dinner when her phone rang. It was Lieutenant Gomez.

“Hmm, why are you calling me?” she asked, looking at the phone and debating whether or not to answer. In the end, she did. “Hey, boss, what’s up?”

“I hear you’re back.”

“Wow, already? Where’d you get your info?”

“In an offhand way, from the last person I’d want to hear from. Mayor Elise White.”

“Huh, just imagine.”

“It’s not a joke. She was angry, said you manhandled her kid. You were identified by the scar on your forehead. She couldn’t remember your name and I played dumb, telling her I’d look into it. I calmed her down because I know you, and you’re not heavy-handed. Can you tell me what’s going on? You’re supposed to be on medical leave. Why didn’t you tell me you were back?”

Danni fought the anger raging inside. Her father always said it was best to remember a Bible verse and recite it three times before responding in anger. Proverbs 3:5-6 came to mind, but Danni only made it through twice before responding.

“Hi, Go-Go, nice to hear from you. I got in after midnight. I haven’t had a chance to call you. I woke up to no food in the house, so I had to go to the market. My plan was to call you after I ate.”

“Oh, well, I see,” he said, sounding somewhat mollified. “I got an earful about your visit to the market from Mayor White. What exactly happened?”

Briefly, Danni told him.

Go-Go said something under his breath.

“Didn’t hear what you said.”

“I don’t want to repeat it.”

“What is going on with police not patrolling the beat I live in? And what is a test beat?”

“A lot has changed since you left. A test beat is a low crime beat, an area the mayor thinks would be better served by nonsworn, unarmed police partners. Leaving sworn police officers free for high crime beats. You’ll find a handbook in your mailbox when you return. If you return. Have you made any decisions?”

“I’d like to come in and talk to you in person.”

“I don’t like the sound of that. Tomorrow morning?”

“Yep.”

“Great, Danni. Even though you often give me a headache, I hope you’re coming back to work.”

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