Forever Knight
"Knight. My office. Now." Captain Joe Stonetree shouted as Nick Knight tried to slip unnoticed into his desk.
He had received a traffic ticket earlier in the evening. 'Stopped In A Moving Traffic Lane' was the official reason. In truth, he had 'zoned out' at a red light. He tried to talk his way out of it. That went over like a lead balloon. He tried other methods, but the issuing officer, one Tracy A. Vetter ... < Any relation to Commissioner Vetter? > ... turned out to be a resistor.
The officer behind the payment window in the Traffic Violations Department did not have a sense of humor either. To make things worse, he too, was a resistor. So it ended up costing him fifty dollars. He had spent forty five minutes trying to get it straightened out. The same forty five minutes that he was now late.
He winced. This was his fifth late start in as many weeks. He was almost certain to pull an extra shift for that. Maybe two. It all depended on how pissed off Stonetree was. From the sound of his voice, he was plenty pissed.
Stonetree held Nick's time sheet in front of his detective.
"Captain." Nick said. "I can explain ... There was … "
"I don't want to hear it, Knight." Stonetree interrupted. "You may have a perfectly valid excuse … this time, but the fact is, you're late … again. You're one of my best officers, but you aren't doing me any good if you're not here, are you, Detective?"
Nick lowered his eyes. "No, Captain."
"We've had this conversation before, haven't we, Detective?" When Stonetree ended every sentence with 'Detective', that was not a good sign.
"Yes, Captain." He knew from experience that was the only answer that Stonetree wanted to hear.
"In fact we've had this conversation many times since you came to the 27th, haven't we, Detective?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Do you know how many extra shifts have you worked because of tardiness, Detective?"
"I don't know, Captain." Nick's perfect vampire memory knew the answer exactly. Eleven.
"Let me refresh your memory. Three in this quarter alone. Does that tell you anything, Detective? It tells me that working extra shifts isn't going to solve the problem, is it, Detective?
"No, Captain."
We're going to have to try something else, aren't we, Detective?"
"Yes, Captain."
"It just so happens I have a request here from Superintendent Jacobs of the Police Academy. He wants me to send one of my officers there to give a series of talks for the next three weeks. He and Commissioner Vetter feel that hearing about police work from the men in the field would make a stronger impression on the cadets than reading about it, or hearing about it from the instructors. Don't you agree, Detective?"
"Captain ... I ... I don't think I ... "
"This is not open to negotiation, Detective. However, because I'm in a particularly generous mood tonight, I am going to give you a choice. You can give the lectures, or you can take a three week suspension. Without pay. Which will it be?"
< Some choice. > Nick lowered his eyes. He really couldn't spare three weeks for either scenario. Not now anyway. The Cavanaugh murder case was about ready to break wide open. It was his case all the way. He had done the initial investigation. He had done all the digging and the legwork. He had come up with all the clues. He had zeroed in on the probable killer. Now, someone else would get the collar.
"The lectures, Captain." He said in almost a whisper.
"I thought you'd see it my way. Your first lecture is next Monday at 9 PM. You see, I even took into account your little ... sun allergy problem. Superintendent Jacobs is expecting you. Your first lecture is Responsibility of Officers to Follow Police Regulations. By the way, there is a regulation about being on time for your shift. Just in case you didn't know. That will be all, Detective."
"Yes, Captain." Nick turned to leave.
"Oh, and Knight. Give all your notes on the Cavanaugh case to Detective Don Schanke on days. I told him to stay over to get them from you. He'll be working your caseload until you get back."
**********
Nick grimaced as he gathered his notes into a folder. < Don Schanke! Of all people, why him! > He fumed. < The man is rude, loud, uncouth, sloppy, and he eats that #$%& souvlaki like it's going out of style. I'll be lucky if I don't retch just standing in front of him.
It's a good thing Stonetree lets me work alone. If I had Don Schanke for a partner, I'd be sorely tempted to drain him. But then, I'd probably get sick from all that garlic. >
**********
< Knight! > Don Schanke groused. < There are twenty three detectives on three shifts in this precinct. Why did Stonetree pick me to handle his cases? He's a glory hog. A loose cannon. Definitely not a team player. Yet the bigwigs slobber all over him like he was some kind of a ^$@% minor deity. He's only been here eighteen months, and already he's got more commendations than half the precinct combined. I've slaved my tail off for over twelve years and what do I have to show for it? A 'No Sick Leave Used' certificate from four years ago. >
He shoved the folders that Knight had left for him to the bottom of the basket. < I've got cases of my own to work on. Detective Nicholas B. Wunderkind Knight can just cool his heels until I get around to working his stuff. If I ever get around to it, that is.
I'm just glad that he asked to work night shift permanently. I think I'd have a real hard time stomaching him if we had to work together. >
**********
Nick Knight stood outside Superintendent Jacobs' office. From the scuttlebutt among the officers that had gone through the academy under him, he was a stickler for procedure. Unfortunately, that was not one of Nick's strong points. As far as he was concerned, certain rules could be circumvented when circumstances required it, as long as the actions taken weren't overtly illegal.
Nick had studied the manuals and textbooks. As much as he could tell, the outline he had submitted for the lectures was constant with department policy.
"Come in, Knight." Jacobs called. He sounded like a hanging judge in some B western.
Nick swallowed hard as he entered the office.
"I understand you are going to be teaching the class on police regulations." It sounded like an indictment rather than a statement. "Frankly Knight, you are the last person I would have picked for that assignment." Jacobs held up a manila folder. "I have your record here. You have been counseled on several occasions about following established procedures.
I will be watching you closely. As far as this outline goes ... It is satisfactory. You had better follow it to the letter. I do not want you giving any erroneous information to my cadets. Is that clear, Detective?" He said coldly. When it came to threatening, Jacobs made Stonetree sound like a wuss. Nick supposed that he could even give LaCroix a decent run for the money.
**********
Nick looked at the class seated before him. Twenty three eager cadets getting ready to embark on their careers. They were so naive and innocent. They had not yet encountered the evil and horrors associated with the path they had chosen. He both envied them and felt sorry for them at the same time.
In the back of the room, he spotted Superintendent Jacobs. He was making good on his word.
Nick swallowed. "Hi. I'm Detective Nick Knight from the 27th precinct ... "
**********
Tracy Vetter turned on the faucet in the woman's washroom. Nina Parkinson came up behind her.
"Tracy." Nina said as she turned on the water in the next sink. "What are you doing back here? I thought you graduated this spring?"
"I did, but I have to requalify with my new weapon. I've gone from a .32 to a .9mm and Captain Berenstein wants me to do it all over again." She made a face. "I guess he wants to be sure Daddy Dearest doesn't have anything to rake him over the coals about when it comes to his precious daughter. Like I'm going to get into a lot of shoot outs directing traffic."
"Think of it this way. You won't be in traffic forever. At least not if your father has anything to say about it."
"Don't get me started on that subject, Nina. You know how I feel about using my name to get ahead. If I get anywhere, I want it to be because I’m a good cop. Not because I’m Commissioner Vetter’s little girl."
"I know how you feel, but since you've got it, you might as well use it." She finished washing and started toward the door. "If I had any kind of pull at all, I'd be using it to the hilt to get ahead."
"Besides, if my dear father has anything to say, my next assignment will be something non threatening, too." Tracy shut off the water and reached for a paper towel. "Something like Computer Fraud or Public Affairs. I can see it now. Me, giving a talk to second graders. 'Hello, boys and girls. I am a Police Officer. Can you say Police Officers are your friends … ' " She said in a sing song voice. "Me, I want to do real police work. Like in Homicide or Robbery."
"Speaking of Homicide. Have you met Detective Knight yet? He's in Homicide. He's teaching one of our classes."
"Yeah, I met him. In fact I gave him a ticket the other day."
"You didn't! He's a fellow cop. You don't ticket your co-workers!"
"He was stopped in the middle of the street for over five minutes. Had the entire intersection gridlocked. He looked like he was in a trance or something. I called to him any number of times before he even answered me. I was just about ready to call the Emergency Squad. I thought maybe he had a stroke or a heart attack or maybe even dead. All of a sudden, he just like came around as though nothing was wrong. Then he tried to ... I don't know what he tried to do to me. Anyway, that's when I gave him a citation."
"He could try anything he wants with me. He's so cute. How could you possibly ticket a gorgeous hunk like him?"
"I would and I did. After what I've heard about him from some of the other officers at the 27th, I don't think I could go for him. He's definitely not my type. In fact, I’m not sure I’d even want to work with him, let alone get involved with him."
"I would like very much to get involved with him." Nina sighed blissfully. "Well, I've got to get back to class. I don't want to miss a word of Knight's lecture. He's so cool. Good luck on the shooting range."
**********
Nick watched as the cadets filed out of the room. < One week down. Two to go. > So far, no word from Superintendent Jacobs. Since no word is a good word, to paraphrase the saying, he would take it that he was doing everything correctly. It wasn't easy. So much of what was written in the manuals looked good on paper, but in the real world, it wasn't worth spit. In fact, if a police officer followed some of the procedures to the letter, he or she could get seriously injured or even killed. He wanted to tell these cadets just how it was, but with Jacobs scowling from the back of the room, that was impossible. He had tried to discretely interpret the manual whenever possible.
He looked up. Cadet Parkinson was standing at his desk.
"Yes, Cadet. What can I do for you?"
"I just want to clarify a point, Detective Knight ... May I call you Nick?"
"I think you had better stick with Detective Knight."
Nina Parkinson had been sitting in the last row when Nick had started the class. With each session, she had moved up until now she was sitting directly in front of him. She gave rapt attention, but Nick had the distinct feeling that her attention was not so much on his words as on his body.
"Yesterday during one of the breaks, I overheard you talking to one of the other instructors. I wasn't eavesdropping, you understand. I just happened to be close enough to hear." Cadet Nina Parkinson was always within three feet of Nick whenever possible. "You mentioned that an officer involved in a foot chase could use whatever was on hand, short of excessive or lethal force, to bring the suspect down.
Yet, chapter 27, section 4, subsection 3a to 3f, of the Police manual clearly states that the pursuing officer must give the suspect ample opportunity to surrender peacefully. He must shout a warning, and if force is necessary, he must fire his weapon twice into the air before attempting to do anything else. Given that, how do you justify your remarks?"
This was one of the gray areas where policy and real life conflicted in his mind. "There are some areas, Cadet Parkinson, where the manual can only be used as a guideline. When you have had much more experience than you now have, you will come to know where, what and when that applies." He picked up his papers and started to leave the room.
"In the Stevenson case, you captured the killer by throwing him into a dumpster. And in the Blatenberg case, you hung the suspect from a light pole while you went after his partner. Would you consider that to be excessive use of force as defined in chapter 31, section 9, subsections 2 through 6?"
"Cadet. It is late. I'm very tired and hungry." The tha-thump of her heartbeat echoed in his ears. < It would be so easy. > "We will continue this discussion at a later date." Nick turned and walked away.
"Yes. Sir." Nina Parkinson hung her head and sighed heavily. Was there nothing she could do to get his attention? Then she looked up and smiled broadly. < Later. He wants to see me later. > No one seemed to notice that she was walking two feet off the floor.
**********
Don Schanke looked up as the cadet came to him. "May I help you, Cadet …. " He read the nametag. " … Parkinson?"
"I'm looking for Detective Knight." She said. "He said he wanted to discuss some of the details of his cases with me before class."
Something wasn't quite right. Knight was notoriously closed mouthed about his work. Outside of what was in the official reports, no one knew what his thought processes were or just how he reached some of the conclusions he did. All anybody knew for sure was that he was right 99.44/100 % of the time. < Just like the soap. > <Why would he be opening up to a cadet of all people? >
"Which ones did he say he wanted to discuss?"
"Actually, he didn't say which ones. I've studied all of his cases. He's sort of a role model for me. I want to find out all that I can about him. Maybe when I graduate, they'll partner me with him. I think we'd make beautiful partners, don't you?"
"I think you'd better leave that up to your supervisor ... After you become a detective. That could be a long way off. I really don't think you'd like being partnered with Knight. He's a loner. Not good team material. Tends to go off on tangents. That's why he doesn't have a partner yet."
"Thanks for your input Detective." Parkinson's face dropped at least two feet. "I've got to get back to class. If you see him before I do, will you tell him I was here?"
"I'll do that." He watched the cadet walk out of the bullpen. <Knight … with a partner? … That's a good one. > The thought made Schanke wince mentally. < And especially someone like her. He needs a strong hand to keep him on the straight and narrow. Someone with years of experience. > He studied the ceiling intently. < Someone like me. > He thought some more. < Schanke and Knight? > He shook his head < NAH! >
**********
"Here. Try this." Natalie Lambert said as Nick entered the morgue. She was holding a plate with something brownish layered between two slices of bread.
"What's that? It looks like something Sidney hacked up."
"Don't be funny. It's hamburger. Very rare. I barely cooked it over the Bunsen burner. I figure you should be able to keep it down that way."
He let his fangs drop and sank them into the meat.
"Uh-UH! Buster. Eat it the regular way. Take a bite. Chew it up and swallow it."
He took a small bite. He made a face, gagged, and spit it out. "I think I'd rather eat one of Sidney's hacks."
"Well, at least you tried. Got to give you credit for that." She threw the rest of the hamburger into the hazardous waste bin. "Now. What's your problem?"
"How did you know I had a problem?"
"I figured you didn't come all the way over here just to sample my incredibly superb cuisine. And since you don't have any cases outstanding, the reason must be a personal one. Ergo, a problem. Amazing deductive abilities, wouldn't you say?"
"Her name is Nina Parkinson. She's one of the cadets in my lecture class. She has this crush on me and I don't know what to do about it … "
**********
Nick entered the bullpen. Although, technically there was an hour before his shift began, he was glad to be back in harness again. He had even braved the last waning bits of daylight to arrive while Detective Schanke was still on duty. He wanted to get back to his own cases as soon as possible. Especially the Cavanaugh case. He had been keeping tabs on it through the grapevine. So far, no arrests had been made. < Schanke must have been asleep at the switch on this one. I had it all tied up pretty as you please. Even wrapped a bow around it. All he had to do was follow through. >
"Well. Well. If it isn't Professor Knight. Back from the halls of learning." Don Schanke said. "Tell me, what's it like up there in the rarified atmosphere of academia?"
"Cut the sarcasm, Detective Schanke. Just give me my case files and let me get back to work." If there was one thing Nick did not need, it was this detective's ridicule.
While they hadn't exactly been the longest three weeks of his eight hundred years, they were definitely in the running for the top ten.
Although he hadn't said a word, Nick knew that Superintendent Jacobs had him under the microscope the entire time he was there. He was in the back of the room for every class. He never said a word. He just sat there. Watching. Listening. Dissecting every syllable. Looking for errors in his presentations. Nick knew he had found them, too. It was impossible for anyone to be perfect every second of the time. Jacobs was probably on the phone to the Commissioners at this very moment critiquing him.
Then there was Cadet Nina Parkinson. This was another matter that did little to ingratiate him to the head of the Academy. She followed him around like a lovesick puppy dog. He had tried ignoring her. That didn't work. He had tried talking to her. That didn't work either. He had even tried whammying her, but like so many others he had encountered lately, she was a resistor. So even that didn't work. He was glad that he only had to be there three weeks. Any longer and he would have been sorely tempted to drain her.
"Oh. By the way, Detective Knight." Schanke shoved a stack of call messages to him. "Your ... groupie called. At least every hour on the hour."
"Groupie?" Captain Joe Stonetree asked as he came to the duo. "You have a groupie?" Nick thought that sarcasm fairly dripped from his words. "Next thing you know, there will be a Detective Nicholas B. Knight Fan Club operating in the Toronto area. Maybe even Province wide."
"No, I don't have a ... groupie. Or a fan club." Nick replied. Even his superior was mocking him. It was almost as if everyone knew that this was a raw point to him and they seemed to be rubbing salt in his wounds. "It was just one of the female cadets that apparently had a crush on me."
"You didn't do anything to encourage her, did you?"
"Never fear. I have done everything in my power to discourage her." < And I DO mean everything. >
"Good. I don't need Superintendent Jacobs on my tail because one of my detectives was coming on to one of the cadets."
**********
It was good to be back on the streets. The word was that the prime suspect in the Cavanaugh case was ready for plucking. As a precaution, Nick had requested that a stakeout be put on his apartment, and Stonetree had readily agreed. So far, there was nothing unusual to report, but Nick was on his way over there anyway. This was one pigeon he did not want flying the coop.
"81 Kilo." The radio squawked. "Meet with 24 Juno on channel 2." 24 Juno was the call sign of the team that was on stakeout. He switched the radio to channel 2.
"I think we have activity." Detective Jacobrie said. "It looks like he's about to make a run for it."
"I'm less than a block away. I’ll be there in about a minute." He turned the corner and pulled behind the unmarked car.
"Let's go get us a perp." He said to the detectives. "I've got the arrest warrant right here." Nick held up the paper. He glanced at the apartment building. The suspect exited and started toward the back. Nick started on an intercept course. Detectives Jacobrie and Henderson were right behind him.
"What the? … " Nick almost yelled as a figure stepped out of the shadows between him and the suspect.
As the suspect reached his car, the figure approached him. "Freeze!" It was a female voice. "You're under arrest for the murder of James Cavanaugh."
The man turned, a gun in his hands.
Nina Parkinson calmly stared at the man. "You don't want to do that." She said slowly and deliberately. "You want to give me the gun and let the other officers take you to jail."
"You're out of your mind, bitch." The man said angrily. "You ain't taking me nowhere." He leveled his gun at her.
At the same instant, Nick dove for Nina. There was a series of shots. Nick felt the burning sting as two of them passed through his abdomen. At the same time, Jacobrie and Henderson brought the man down in a hail of bullets.
In seconds, Henderson was at Nick's side as Jacobrie went to the suspect.
"He's dead." Jacobrie said. "I'll call for the coroner and the Emergency Squad."
Nick looked at Nina, nestled in his arms. She was in obvious pain. Blood spread from the hole in her shoulder onto her shirt. "Did we get him?" She said weakly.
Nick smoothed the hair from her face. "We got him."
**********
Nick stepped through the door to Nina Parkinson's hospital room. Her injuries were not serious, but the bullet had nicked the brachial nerve. For all practical purposes, her left arm was paralyzed. Although the doctors were certain that the condition was only temporary, she faced months of rehabilitation.
"I guess you heard." Nina said. "I've been washed out of the Academy. On top of that, Jacobs reamed me a new bunghole for my interference in the Cavanaugh case. I don't understand. You've used that technique in at least a dozen cases and it worked for you. The suspect went meekly and quietly to jail. He didn't pass go. He didn't collect two hundred dollars. Why didn't it work for me?"
< Because you're not a vampire, that's why. > "That's one of the techniques that only comes with years and years of experience." <About 800 years worth. >
"You were right about that. I shouldn't have gone off half cocked. I should have waited until I graduated and earned my detective's cert before even attempting to do what you guys do. I guess I learned that lesson the hard way. I just wanted to impress you, and I ended up getting the suspect killed, and nearly bought it myself.
I can't say it's been a total loss, though. I have been offered a job as a civilian dispatcher in the radio room. So, in a way, I'll still be in police work. Maybe I'll even get another chance to apply to the Academy. Just think. Someday, we might even be partners. Wouldn't that be great?"
Nick rolled his eyes to the ceiling. That was one area where he didn't even want to think about going.
The End
Detectives Knight and Parkinson
Has a nice sound, doesn't it?
Almost as good as
Detectives Knight and Schanke