Questions and Answers

"Questions That Answer"

"You're right, kid. I do want to win. And I'm not about to be here all day shooting the shit with you" said an angered Samuels. "We canvassed the area. We spoke to anyone we could in the area. On Pacific and Palm, a Mexican man that sells tacos on that corner said he saw someone that fits your description jogging in the area while he was setting up for the day, during the time of the shooting"

"Of course, I fit the description" scoffed Chris

"You fit the description because it was you! KO!

Chris gave him a menacing glare

"I know why you hate that nickname. You were the weird, quiet kid but if someone messed with you, a friend, or family member you would lose your shit and knock them out. Bravo. But one day some kid was bullying your little cousin and you knocked him out so bad that he had to take the short bus the rest of middle school. Then all of a sudden, the quiet playground hero, became the weird monster who knocked a kid retarded. And that shit followed you. Through middle school, high school, and I'm sure some of your classmates at Valley College are still afraid of you. And I bet you're studying to be a Special Ed. teacher. So, neighborhood knock out, what did you see when were jogging the morning of the shooting?"

Chris looked at Samuels dead in his eyes. Samuels noticed the fire in his eyes. This was a police tactic to get an interrogation suspect off balance.

Chris continued to stare into Samuels' eyes for a few more seconds. He then stood up, finished his coffee, threw it away in the nearby trashcan and sat back on the bench

"Great detective work, Sergeant Samuels. I see you used that 24 hours well. Yes, I was jogging in the area near the time of the shooting" said Chris, very calmly

"Thank you, Chris. But you could've said that yesterday and saved us some time. So, what did you see?"

"Quid pro quo"

"What?" said Samuels

"Quid pro quo," said Chris slowly "I'll answer all of your questions if you just answer a few for me"

"Chris, I think you and I have done enough bantering. This is a murder investigation. You need to tell me what you saw, or I will bring you in on obstruction of justice charges"

"Ok." Said Chris as he stood up, turned his back to Samuels with his wrists together "Take me in"

"Are you serious?" said Samuels in an exhausted tone "You rather get cuffed than just tell me. I gotta play your little game first. Fine. What're your questions?"

"Port, Katz and Davies"

"What?"

"Former Detectives Raymond Port, Michael Katz & Your old boss Sergeant Matthew Davies. You know. Your old unit"

Upon hearing those names, a shiver ran down the back of his spine

"I learned a lot about you in the last 24 hours as well. It's 2020, Walt. It wasn't hard to find out who you really are"

"You don't know what you're talking about, kid"

"I don't? Even though it was just a footnote in the local paper it still popped up on google. I guess because San Bernardino is a republican county The Sun Newspaper doesn't take too many shots at the police but this one was so egregious that they had to at least write something"

"What do they have to do with right now?"

"I'll tell you. After you came and threatened me through my mother, I decided to look you up. You don't have an Instagram; your Facebook is pretty bare but on page 5 of your google I read the article: 'Highland Police Detective Promoted Amidst Corruption Scandal.' And there you were, with a big ol' smile on your face. Then I read deeper. Those cops and your old boss were bigger criminals than most of the thugs in 'Dino. Port was a drunk. He should've been locked up for DUI dozens of times but since he was a cop, you all just looked the other way. Not only that, he was paying off the cop in charge of the evidence locker to get a cut of the local pills and powder you fine officers had taken off the streets. And let's not forget that he spent most of his free time on the stroll over on Mount Vernon making hookers give him freebies so he wouldn't take them in. And then there was Katz from Redlands. He wanted to be the next Duncan Hunter. He figured if he looked the other way or took enough money from the most powerful people in the Inland Empire, he could just walk right into politics. He was essentially a fixer concierge service for the movers and shakers. Counselman caught with coke, call Katz. Needed code enforcement investigations to go away, call Katz. You need INS to look into the competition or better yet look the other way for cheap construction labor, call Katz. But I guess he really fucked up when he helped the local RNC chair by threatening the girl he was cheating on his wife with to take an abortion pill. They would've probably gotten away with it if the pill didn't cause her to hemorrhage. Luckily, she got to the hospital on time or they would've had to maneuver their way out of a murder charge. And last but not least your former Sergeant. The man whose job you have now. He was basically a mob boss. He had a cut of every illegal activity in the area. Drugs, guns, girls. If it made money, he wanted his cut. But I was most surprised when I recognized Katz and Port. They were bagmen for Davies. I've seen them a few times in my neighborhood talking to the dealers. I just thought they were fiends who copped in my neighborhood but turns out they were getting Davies drug money"

Samuels remained quiet, but never took his eyes away from Chris'

"Nice investigative work, Chris. Like I said earlier, you should consider a career in law enforcement. But you left out the part where those cops were caught, fired and prosecuted" said Samuels in a blunt tone

"Yeah, right," said Chris with an eye roll "Probation and times served for Port and Katz. Five years at club fed for Davies"

Samuel was now visibly irritated

"What's your point Chris!" said Samuels emphatically

"How do you expect me to snitch when you wouldn't," said Chris. Bluntly

Samuels was rendered speechless

"I know you knew what they were doing. You and Port were friends. Good friends. You never deleted the pictures of you and him having your weekly drinks at The Belle. #FridayNightDrinks, right? You didn't have much on your Facebook, but you had pictures of you two together. Going to each other kids' games, dinners, and the #ThrowbackThursdays pictures of both of you graduating from the academy together. So, you mean to tell me you had no idea of his crimes? Fuck outta here! I'm sure you helped cover up most of his DUI's. and if you two were that close then you had to know about Katz and Davies. Yeah you're a 'clean' cop. The only reason why you didn't turn them in is because you knew that they would eventually get caught. They were in too deep. And you knew that they would promote the golden boy of the unit that stayed out of it. Also, if you had snitched and lived to tell about it, your name wouldn't be shit in that department. You'd be a pariah. The blue wall of silence, right? That's law enforcement's number one rule. Don't SNITCH on your fellow officers or suffer the consequences. How do you think it is out here? You think I'm going to risk my life to 'do the right thing', please. You didn't. So don't expect me to"

"None of this matter to me, kid. What happened, happened. But what's going to happen is that you're going to tell me what you know about the shooting" said Samuels, through a clenched jaw and teeth

"Ok. Last question"

"No! No more questions!" said Samuels as he walked towards Chris unclasping his handcuff case

Before Samuels could get to him Chris quickly stood up, put his hands up, and took one step back

"Tell me what happened to Fields," said Chris with his hands up

Samuels stopped in his tracks "What did you say?"

"What happened to Officer Fields?" said Chris as he slowly lowered his hands "Because I think I know. 'Anonymous source'. That's what it said in the paper. It wasn't hard to figure out it was a cop who snitched. The FBI wouldn't have taken a civilian seriously. Then I just had to look at cops who transferred or quit around the time of the trials. Public servants have public records."

Chris stood there and Samuels took a step back

"When Fields got wind of all the shit Port, Katz, and Davies were doing, he didn't waste his time going to the police chief or even Internal Affairs. He went straight to the FBI. As corrupt as they are, they love taking down corrupt cops. They made quick work of the investigation, all they needed was Fields to testify. But Davies did what he could to deter him. House vandalized, car broken into, all crimes of public record. But he must've threatened his family because before the trial, Fields sold his house and after the trial, he has no digital footprint in the Inland Empire or California for that matter. And that's what happens when you snitch on the wrong people, Sergeant Samuels. And that's why you never stepped up and did what you were supposed to. Because you knew what happens when you snitch, you're lucky to live through it"

Both men stood there, silent. Looking into each other's eyes. Not saying a word

"So, as I told you yesterday, I didn't see anything," said Chris

Samuels nodded his head

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Staples," said Samuels in a flat tone as he turned and walked towards his vehicle. "And as I said, you should think about a career in law enforcement"

"Actually, I changed my major last night from Special Education to Pre-Law. Becoming a public defender is the low paying civil service job in my future"

Samuels momentarily stopped, then continued his walk to his car. Chris headed towards his vehicle and made his way to work.