Murder in New Eden

by Charles C. Cole

Table of Contents

Chapter 8: The Mayor’s Special Liaison

Chief Schiavelli and Sergeant Cody, still in his dress whites, enter the mayor’s home. Even though there’s furniture in every room, there’s a distinct impression it’s all for show, that none of it has ever been used. Inside, Toby Pelkey has obviously enjoyed a head start on some exotic and fragrant cocktails.

“Nice uniform! Chief, your friend looks exceedingly dashing. I’ll bet he sells a lot of ice cream.”

“Good evening, Toby. We’re here to see the mayor.”

“Can I get you anything to wet your whistle?”

“This is strictly business, I’m afraid.”

“His Holiness would like you to join him on the patio outside. He says the insides are too damn gaudy for working-class company, or something like that. Go through that door. And don’t let the harp hit you on your way out.” The front door rings. “A party crasher, just what we need. I’ll take care of him. Don’t wait for me.” But they do, more out of a morbid curiosity than politeness. Pelkey opens the door to receive Officer Petrillo, who has changed into a rented white tuxedo.

“Good evening, Director Pelkey,” says Petrillo. “The mayor is expecting me.”

“Officer Petrillo!” says the chief.

“More police? He must be expecting an unruly crowd. I swear I’ve only had two drinks, though they were strong ones on an empty stomach. We’ve been under some stress lately.” To Cody: “You’ve probably heard of the incident on the promenade.”

“I have. Sorry I missed it.” Pelkey doesn’t quite get it.

Schiavelli steps forward to shake Petrillo’s hand. “I believe congratulations are in order, Nicolas. Unless I miss my guess, you have a new master.”

“Due to the enormous publicity around this investigation, Mayor Brandt requested a second set of eyes. I told Lois to pass the word along, but I guess you’ve been out. Work, work, work.”

“So do I answer to you now?”

“I think we’re more like equals.”

“Good to know.”

“Who’s your friend? I don’t think we’ve met, as odd as that sounds.” Petrillo reaches by Schiavelli to shake Cody’s hand. Cody hesitates, awaiting Schiavelli’s tacit approval.

“It’s okay; you can always wash your hands afterwards. Officer Petrillo’s on our side. Sergeant Cody here, like you, is a part of the additional reinforcements requested in this exceptional case.”

They shake.

“Nice to meet you.”

Pelkey makes a sweeping gesture toward the back door. “If you gentlemen will follow me.”

“I know my own way, thanks,” says Petrillo. He leads onward without the slightest hesitation.

“Been here before, I’d guess,” says Schiavelli.

Pelkey shrugs at the other guests and follows Petrillo closely, calling over his shoulder, “Try not to get lost; it’s a big place. Rank has its insufferable privilege.”

Cody whispers to Schiavelli. “The man all in white...”

“Officer Petrillo.”

“I take he’s not a g—”

Schiavelli quickly interrupts him. “No, he’s definitely not. Watch yourself around him. And don’t reveal more than you need to.”

“Understood.”

Outside, the guests stand rather scattered as Brandt finishes his routine of evening laps in his private pool. When he returns to the shallow end, he drops his feet back down and walks out, refreshed and clear-headed. Pelkey greets him with a towel, a terrycloth robe, and a tall amber drink.

“Either I’m late or you’re punctual. No matter.” Noticing: “Nice tuxedo, Nicolas! Way to step it up!”

Brandt throws on the robe and dries his hair, then takes the drink and raises it in a toast, though nobody else has a glass.

“Gentlemen, to my new favorite boys with their newfangled toys!” He drinks, then notices. “Am I the only one with a drink? Toby, there’s a tray with four poured glasses over there. Go get it, would you?”

As Pelkey turns, Brandt kicks him into the pool. “Sorry, Toby, but I felt self-conscious. If I’m going to be wet, you’re going to be wet. Anybody else?” The others back away, smiling uncertainly. “He’s all right. It’s just a little water. And it’s warm. Isn’t it, Toby?”

Toby is walking along the shallow end, on his way out. “Not bad at all, considering I wasn’t dressed for it.”

“Go find some dry clothes, Toby. We’ll wait.”

Toby drips and squishes his way toward the open patio door of the apartment.

“Dry off first,” says Brandt, tossing his towel. Toby wraps it around himself and continues. “Don’t worry about him; he’ll be fine. I’ve done worse to him, and he’s still loyal. He wants my job so, every now and again, I have to remind him I’m still in office. He wants your job too, Chief. And Officer Petrillo here also wants your job. Sorry, Nicolas, he’d have figured it out sooner or later; he’s one of the smart cops. And then we have the new guy in town. Hello, new guy!”

Petrillo makes a confused face.

“Nicolas, you were introduced when you came in, surely.”

“Sure. Sergeant Cody, from somewhere.”

“You’ve never met him before today, have you? But how can that be? You know everyone. Don’t you? Surprise. He still has that fresh-out-of-the-box crispness. And what’s with the Good Humor man uniform? Didn’t they know how to dress soldiers back in your day?”

Cody speaks up, dryly. “I’m a good guy, so I wear all-white.”

“He speaks! Of course, to impress me, it would have been better if you’d said, ‘I’m a good guy, Your Honor.’ That’s the protocol around here. Without protocol and rules and regulations, we’d have chaos, am I right? Am I right?”

“You’re right, Your Honor.”

“Good job! Sgt. Jefferson ‘Jeb’ Cody, a soldier from another century awakened from a long sleep to save our civilized biscuits. You’ve got a good mentor in the chief. He’ll keep you on the straight and narrow. Just do what he says, and you’re halfway there. Also, do what I say and do what Toby says. But mostly do what I say. You think that’s doable?”

A little too enthusiastically: “Yes, Your Honor!”

“Great! Troops dismissed. I just wanted everyone to meet, and now we’ve met. Thanks for making the effort. Any questions?”

Officer Petrillo raises his hand tentatively.

“Nicolas, the new Mayor’s Special Liaison to the Chief of Police, I’ll catch you up after our other guests have left. Thanks for bringing our salvation to the door, Chief. Now that we’ve met, he’s a little more human and a little less legend. I won’t have to use my depraved imagination. He’s one guy, right? You’re just one guy. We can manage that. Sorry I didn’t have any dinner made, but I know the police officer’s work is never done. And rumor has it, you have some training to attend to. Good luck with that.”

Pelkey returns. He has a robe on, bare legs and bare chest somewhat exposed.

“Toby, where’s your clothes?”

“In the dryer. What’d I miss?”

“Everything, but I’ll catch you up. You gentleman can find your own way out. We’ll talk more soon. Thanks for stopping by. Your first time, right, Chief?”

“My first time.”

“Close the case, as they say, and I’ll invite you over again, even let you use the pool. You too, Cody, if you’re still around.”

The chief and Cody wave and leave the party. They appear a little shaken up, especially Cody, but smile politely.

Cody whispers, “Where would I go?”

“Nowhere, if I have a say in it. I think he was teasing. I hope he was.”

* * *

A high school gymnasium, early evening. Faded red wrestling mats cover the floor. About two dozen police officers in hooded gray sweatshirts and loose sweatpants, looking like a bottom-ranked adult men’s basketball team called in for a special pep talk, sit in the retractable wooden bleachers, waiting impatiently for their unspecified instruction to begin. Most are well-mannered enough to keep their dissatisfaction to themselves.

Sergeant Derek Ambrose, a seven-year vet with a three-year old marriage, elbows the fellow to his immediate left.

“This is stupid, am I right?” he asks. “Why are we sitting here? My wife’s been home with two crying kids all day. If I don’t get home soon, she’s gonna lock the door and I’m going to have to bunk at your house, indefinitely!”

Officer Petrillo, also in sweats, leans over Ambrose’s shoulder. “Don’t be an idiot. The world you knew is over. Something awful’s going on. We saw it up close and in living color: friends being cut down for no rational reason. We’re going to be the first line of defense. I’m all for it. How about you? If you want your wife and kids safe, shut up and pay attention. Or I’ll have you tossed out of the unit.”

“On what authority?”

“The authority of the Mayor’s Liaison to the Chief of Police. Maybe you saw the memo.”

He suddenly remembers the memo and his place in the local pecking order. “I did, sir! Yes, sir! My apologies, sir!”

“That’s better.”

* * *

Chief Schiavelli and Sgt. Cody leaning against the hood of the chief’s Hudson just outside the gym. The artificial daylight has dimmed almost by half: interstellar dusk.

The chief offers some words of encouragement. “I think they’re going to get tired of waiting pretty soon, son. Most of them have already worked a full day. They’re not all rested like you.”

“What if I’m not the right man for this?”

“Is there another option? Let me see: I suppose I could talk the perps to sleep with a dry meandering lecture on right versus might. That might work on the kids, but not so much on the adults. I thought you were the badass guy in charge of a squad of badass guys.”

“My specialty is lethal combat.”

“That’s exactly what we need right now. That’s why we thawed you out. Contrary to Lois’s rumor mill, it was not just for your good looks.”

“But this isn’t my place. And you aren’t my people. I could really hurt someone.”

“We’re all that’s available, take it or leave it.”

Cody stands. He’s made his decision, but... “If I do this, if I train your men, can you take me to mine?”

“Putting my back against the wall, aren’t you? This wouldn’t be an ultimatum, would it?”

“Look at me. I’m a team leader without a team. It doesn’t feel right.”

“This is the proof of concept, remember? Then we’ll talk about phase two.”

“I’m not talking about letting them out. I’m not an idiot; I can see how a team of soldiers could upset the balance of power around here. I just want to see them, my guys. We were a unit for a long time, Chief. We survived things we shouldn’t have survived. We were tight, like family.”

“I get it.”

“So?”

“The mayor will have my head, no lie.”

“If he finds out. He hasn’t explicitly said that I can’t visit them, has he?”

“No. Because it’s such a dumb idea, who would ever think of it?”

“I’ll make it worth your while. Give me time and I’ll transform your ‘goody two shoes’ police force into a super-squad of super badass soldiers.”

“Tempting. Very tempting.”

“Like ice cream in the park?”

“I like where your head’s at, son. That uniform suits you.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“We’ll have to take every precaution, you know that. We lead you blindfolded with your hands cuffed behind your back. It won’t be comfortable.”

“Trying to discourage me?”

“You won’t know where you are or how you got there, so you can’t double back later. You’ll have to trust me completely.”

“You gave me a solemn promise that if I watched your back, you’d watch mine.”

“That’s right.”

“Then I trust you.”

Schiavelli steps up to him and wraps an affectionate arm around his shoulders, starting their walk up the path. “You are going to be the death of me, kid.”

“That’s a joke, right?”

“It better be. For now, first things first.”

“You won’t be sorry.”

“My great-grandfather wasn’t.”

“Vincent Schiavelli was an honorable man. Never forget that. I would have gladly sacrificed my life for his, and the world would have been better for the exchange.”

Schiavelli pauses at the closed door. “But then we wouldn’t have you now, would we? To save us from this ugly, unreasonable violence that’s bubbling up in our fair city. The one thing we are unprepared for. This is the world that he built. He may not be here to share in it, but it wouldn’t be here without him. I get the feeling you feel you owe him for something that happened over a hundred years ago. That’s got to be an enormous weight to carry, so pay him back, unburden yourself, and we’ll do what we can to accommodate you. You have my word.”

“You speak like him. You probably don’t know that. I’m sure he was long dead before you were born. Even though you don’t look like him, I can hear him through you. I’ll do whatever you need me to do. And if I get nothing back in return, I’ve lost nothing: we’re even.”

“So, enough talk. It’s time for you to show off. It’s time to give back. But don’t kill anyone, if you can absolutely help it. As for Officer Nicolas Petrillo, your new best friend and the Mayor’s Special Liaison to the Chief of Police, if he happens to wake up in the morning feeling like he’s had the worst workout of his life, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Got me?”

“Got you.”

To be continued...

Copyright © 2018 by Charles C. Cole