Chanello said nothing as detective’s Friske and Johnson drove him to the police station. As they pulled up to a stoplight, he noticed a minivan beside him. The two children in the back were fighting and their mother was turned around, yelling at them. Chanello wanted to tell them about what had just happened so that they would appreciate and love each other more because life is fragile. “It probably wouldn’t matter though,” he thought. People don’t realize the good they have until it is gone, and familiarity breeds contempt, especially among family members."
“Also, among fathers and sons,” he thought as images of his own father were coming to him. He was remembering how rich his father was and how he used his money to try and control him. His two brothers and sisters hated him as well, but they wanted that money so badly that they always did what he asked of them. Not Chanello. He told his old man to kiss his butt and hadn’t talked to him in years. Then the old man died. It became too late. There was no chance at redemption. The bitterness had creeped into his soul and now he was up the creek. Bitterness is a cancer that affects other areas of a person’s life and causes one to make bad decisions. Did bitterness cause Chanello to make this bad decision?
After they walked into the police station and sat down detective Friske asked Chanello if he wanted anything.
“No,” said Chanello.
“I have to tell you we are going to videotape this interview.”
“I know,” said Chanello as he lit up a cigarette. “I’ve done this with suspects many times before.”
“Do you want to tell us what happened,” asked Detective Johnson?
“I messed up.”
“Why would you use another officer’s child as bait,” asked detective Friske?
“I thought Mr. Massey’s child was about to leave the country. Once that happened, I knew it would be a long time before he came back. I needed him now. I am trying to solve a murder investigation. In case you don’t know two women have been killed and one child was raped and is barely alive."
“We know about your investigation, and Kate informed us about the details,” said Friske.
“You still haven’t answered the question,” Johnson thundered. “Why use children?”
“It was the only way to get Mr. Massey’s child. I didn’t think there would be any danger. Officer Morrison’s son had played over there before, and Mr. Massey’s own child was in there so I thought he would be safe. The thought of a rogue bodyguard didn’t cross my mind.”
“Wait a minute here,” asked Friske.
“You think Mr. Massey killed two women, and raped a child and tried to kill her too, and you don’t think about a possibility for violence?”
“Not to mention Mr. Massey is probably in the mafia,” added detective Johnson.
“I see your point,” Chanello said as he looked down at the ashtray in front of him and was playing with his cigarette. “I guess I didn’t think it through. It’s clearer now, but I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. I blew it and I’m assuming it’s over for me.”
“The chief is hot, that’s for sure, but you do have twelve years of exemplary service. You made a bad decision, but I am personally going to try and keep you on the force," said detective Johnson.
“Thanks man.”
There was a silence and Chanello wouldn’t look at the detectives. They kept staring at him, wondering what went wrong.
Detective Friske leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. “I can’t believe you did this, Chanello.”
“Look, detective Morrison’s kids went to school with Mr. Massey’s child. They had played football together during P.E. class. Kids go to their friends' houses every day. All I did was put some surveillance equipment on them to confirm Mr. Massey child was in the house. If Morrison had stayed in the van like I told him to, his child would still be alive. This was well planned.”
“I don’t give a crap how well planned it was, you don’t use children in an investigation,” detective Friske was yelling.
“I know, I know,” Chanello was shaking his head in agreement. I just wish.”
“You just wish what!” Friske was yelling.
“Screw you Friske. I don’t know how that moron got on the force. First there was the fiasco over the C.B. and now this.”
“Neither of those incidences compare with what you have done. You know the chief would never have allowed this. To top it off you didn’t just make yourself look bad, you made the whole PD look like a bunch of child killers.”
“And it’s not like we don’t already have an image problem,” detective Johnson interjected.
Chanello took one last swig of his coke and smashed the can with his hand. He took the cigarette from the ash tray and threw the can in the wastebasket. Seconds of silence ensued.
“I don’t know,” Chanello said, looking at the table just shaking his head. “I guess it might have been my conversation with Mr. Massey. He has gotten away with so much. He is an arrogant s.o.b. and I hate rich people who think they can buy their way out of anything. Mr. Massey should have been put away a long time ago for extortion and racketeering and murder. Now this. All I wanted to do was check his body for bite marks and get a blood sample. Is that really interfering with his rights?”
“It sounds to me like you are taking your job too personally.” '
“I do take my job personally. It is the reason I am a good detective…or…It’s the reason I was a good one. I am not sure anymore.”
“Our job is to collect evidence and submit it to judges and juries, but they get to make the final decisions. Whether you like it or not that is the way it is. If they disagree with us, we have to move on.”
“Besides, Mr. Massey will come back into the country sooner or later. I guess what I am asking you is what is this between you and Mr. Massey? You want to beat him just for the sake of beating him. What’s going on here?”
“I think it’s because he reminds me of my father. I hated that man. He was a drunken fool. Late at night he would come home and prance around like he was God. If you knew how many times he boasted that he got a guilty man off. He loved it. He said that was why America was great. Can you believe that? After he drank, he would talk about what was on his mind. I got to know the evil that was inside him and it drove me crazy. Defense lawyers and rich people infuriate me.
Mr. Massey is wealthy beyond imagination, and he started challenging me. I had to make a decision. Once I found out he knew we were going to get his kid the following day at school I thought it was all over. I had to act because I knew he would hide his child somewhere.”
“How did you know that someone had informed him of your plans,” asked Friske?
“I am not a fool. I just got it,” said Chanello.
“We need to know who told you,” said detective Johnson.
Chanello was stuck in a bind. If he told them, Mr. Massey might find out. If these particular detectives didn’t tell him they would still certainly tell someone, and word would eventually get back to Mr. Massey. This could cause another dangerous situation. On the other hand, if he didn’t tell they might recommend he be fired. He decided to lie, well, it might not be a lie.
“It was a girl named Sonia at child protective services.”
“Sonia told you,” asked Friske like he didn’t believe him.
“Yes,” Chanello was wondering how Friske knew Sonia. “Maybe Kate told him, or worse, he is one of Mr. Massey’s inside connections,” Chanello thought.
Chanello really didn’t believe he was lying. He knew Dr. Jones found out from Sonia. Mr. Massey would kill the Dr. if he knew it was him, but he might not kill Sonia. His eyes were hardening. When Sonia told Mr. Massey of their plans, this is how all this mess got started. If she wouldn’t have told him, officer’s Morrison’s son would still be alive and Chanello would still be a good cop. If she wouldn’t have told him Mr. Massey’s son would have been picked up the next day while being dropped off at school. The thoughts just kept flowing. The “What-If’s”
Detective Friske returned to the interrogation room after a brief break. “I think that is all we need now. You are free to go.”
Chanello left knowing his hell had just begun. He would have to face the chief, review boards, civil and maybe even criminal courts. Hell is a long road that never ends.
Detective Friske spoke to detective Johnson. “I just got off the phone with Mr. Allen. He said a girl had called around noon and told one of Mr. Massey’s associates that they were coming to get his child. It must have been Sonia. Then...”
“Wait,” said Detective Johnson! It was around that time Dr. Jones came to the office looking for Chanello. After that meeting with Dr. Jones, Chanello was all riled up and there was some secret plan about to be implemented. Later they stormed Mr. Massey’s house. Dr. Jones must have been the one who told Chanello.
“I’ll call Mr. Allen.”
After stopping at the gas station to fill up Chanello bought a case of beer because there wasn’t any reason to go drinking with his buddies. He didn’t have any more friends. He started drinking by nine p.m. and was very hungry by two a.m. He got off of the couch and stumbled over to the freezer where he pulled out a frozen meal. He put it in the oven and set the timer. After thirty minutes the buzzer went off. Chanello did not get up. He was out cold.
Someone was lurking outside Chanello’s house. The pale moon gave off a small amount of light in the darkness, but this block was closed down and would stay that way until sun break. Everyone was asleep, except for this person. He had a small flashlight in one hand and a wooden bat in the other, and a hunting knife in a holster. As he peered in through the window, he saw Jim lying on the couch. There was a beer bottle on the table in front of him. The man in the darkness smiled as he heard the buzzer and realized Chanello was out cold. Arrogance consumed the person because taking advantage of people was what he enjoyed. He walked over to the back door and tried to open it. The door was locked. He took out a wrench from his pocket and broke the glass next to the knob. The breaking sound was not loud enough to wake Chanello up. He just moved around in his recliner. The person smiled because this was just too easy. He reached in and unlocked the door and walked over to the recliner where Chanello was lying. He got the bat in position. Goodnight forever, detective Chanello.
Later that night a man walked up to the house on Cherokee Avenue. A black Land Rover was in the driveway and all the lights were off at Dr. Jones’ house. The man pulled out a knife that cuts through the window screen easily. By a twist of luck, the window was unlocked. “Dr. Jones, you are going to make this easier than I thought.”