The Eyes of a Fighter: A Serial Novel

Chapter 3

Ed Carter sat behind his desk. His face was blank. The light brown skin was a bit ashy and he had dark circles under his eyes. Those eyes drifted down to his closed laptop. A long list of things to do ran through his mind. He thought of the emails that were stacking up in his inbox, teachers he needed to observe, and of the hallways that were about to be filled with students. Students that were his responsibility. He had to keep them safe.

His stomach was also uneasy. That and the dull ache in his head lurking behind his eyes were last night's scotches reminding him he overdid it. He had woken up in his recliner with the empty glass in his hand. The sun was just coming up. It was all he could do to put on clean clothes. At least he hoped they were clean. They had smelled ok.

A fresh stubble was on his cheeks and chin. He rubbed his eyes and his chin for a few seconds, then refocused on who was talking to him. His small office was down a cramped hallway in the school's main front office. It was already full with a desk, two chairs, and a small table by the window. Stuffing four grown adults in there meant it was packed. The fact that three of them two of them were wearing police uniforms added a level of stress. The detective had on the standard suit and tie.

Ed faced them and it seemed like they were all talking at once. He blinked his eyes and tried to clear his head of the hungover fog. He needed a bottle of water. Or better yet, another coffee. Yes, that would do. A mug of strong black coffee to get his body and mind working. He eyed the doorway. The detective was standing in it, blocking Ed's escape route.

"So what do you think of that, Ed?" An officer's voice broke through his haze. He had to refocus on the discussion. He wasn't sure which one had said it. He focused on Tania McCoy, the officer he knew, hoping it had been her.

"You'll have to explain it again," He said, trying to cover the fact that he had missed the last minute or so.

"Did you sleep last night Ed?" Tania said. She leaned forward and put her hand on his messy desk. He looked down at it. She has nice fingernails, he thought. How would you keep them so nice with the job she has? Must have to fire a gun, tackle people, that kind of stuff. Shows she cares.

"Ed? Listen, I know this is tough to think about, but I think an increased police presence here is what we need. This is the fourth time we've been called out here this month. The second time for a firearm. I mean, something needs to change." Tania had an apologetic tone to her voice.

Ed exhaled loudly with a sigh. He put his hands up in a gesture of defeat. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want you here. It intimidates the kids and my teachers. It makes everybody uncomfortable and sets them on edge. We have trouble enough keeping people's opinion of the cops somewhere above "kill them all". You patrolling around my hallways isn't going to help."

The belts and radios of the officers creaked as they moved in their chairs and looked at each other. They didn't want to be in the meeting as much as Ed. A silence hung in the air as both sides sat on either side of the argument. The detective finally broke the silence.

"Ah, hey I know I'm new to this. And thank you for having me out to your school, really a great place." Ed rolled his eyes over toward him. The detective coughed and cleared his throat, knowing he was caught in a little lie. Everyone knew the school's reputation.

"Ah, yeah, so like I was saying, it's my first time up here.I gotta say I think some presence is needed. Beyond the detectors and security at the front door. I mean, that .45 got past them somehow, right? Someone is bringing firearms into this school. We have a serious thing going on here. Ed you want to be on the right side of this mess if it all goes south. You'll want to say you did what you could to prevent it. I know it's difficult to hear, but I think it's necessary."