Not to the Swift

Chapter 17

"We go now to our Channel Five Live reporter on the street for public reactions to the Chris Washington case. Maria?"

Maria Melendez appeared before a busy intersection, long brown hair tossed about in the breeze, Our Mother of Mercy Hospital down the street filling up the background. "This is Maria Melendez live on Main, where I've been talking to average citizens like you to see what people think about the situation in Stapleton."

One middle aged black woman bobbed her head back and forth as she spoke. "You can't tell me the police didn't know nothin' about Chris Mason's past. That the kind of guy they bring down here, and you think that's for no reason? They knew he gonna kill somebody—they let him do it. We don't matter to them."

Next, a white-haired Caucasian man in a leather jacket looked up into the sky behind mirrored sunglasses. "I'd like to think," he said, "that when all the facts come out and all the evidence gets reviewed, the guilt or innocence of that officer will become clear to everybody. But it doesn't make sense to rush to judgment. So all this going on in Stapleton? Everyone needs to calm down and let the process work."

An Asian woman in an apron with the business logo blurred out said, "I know the kid didn't have weapons, right? But he was there same time as those two gangs. How do they know he wasn't part of the shootout?"

An Arab man with a shaved head came on next. He shook his head back and forth. "Some of these guys online and on the news, they want to discuss the evidence and wait until everything becomes clear. Don't you people get it? It's not going to come clear. The system doesn't work to reveal the truth. It works to hide the guilt of those in power and pin blame on those who can't fight for themselves."

Maria's voice came through on the audio of the clip. "So you don't think the investigation will do any good?"

He laughed. "The police are investigating the police. You think that's gonna work? You gotta be kidding me. That guy Mason filed a report about his partner Kaz-what's-his-name being a racist pig. Then Mason goes shootin' this kid. I'm sure they'll be fair and objective."

Maria's face appeared onec more. "Lots of anger and a variety of opinions on this volatile subject, especially with the recent news stories broken by your very own Channel Five Live. Last night saw the first city-wide protests, mostly peaceful, but some of which escalated to minor skirmishes with police. Will tonight hold more of the same? Stay tuned to Five News."

* * * * *

Captain McCullough paced the open welcome area at the front of Precinct One Twelve's headquarters building. Candida Rodriguez sat at one of the waiting area chairs thumbing through one of the provided fashion magazines. By all outward indications, she studiously ignored the police captain and focused on her reading.

"You'll wear yourself out before they even get here, Mike."

"Aww hell," he said. "Whose idea was this? You want a shmuck like me interacting with the grieving family? I don't know how to talk all nicey-nice and dignified. I'm just gonna piss 'em off by sayin' something wrong."

"We rehearsed this," Candida reassured him. "You'll do fine. Stick to the facts, present the evidence, think of both us and them as part of Team Chris, working together to make sure such a tragedy never happens again."

McCullough scoffed. "Nobody's gonna buy a line of BS that obvious."

"I don't care about what they'll believe," she replied, eyes still on the page. "It's about what they could find fault with. What they believe doesn't matter so long as you—and, by extension, the city—don't get sued for malicious intent or systemic negligence."