Chapter XIV

ancy brushed past Sharon had entered a stall, locked the door and sat down.  On her cell phone she texted the person of her last call with what had just happened.  Then she went into the systems settings.  She was interrupted rudely with a loud "I'll take that!"

Sharon was standing on the stool in the stall on her left looking over at her and had her hand stretched out.  Nancy just raised up a little and started to put the phone in the water under her, but Melinda had already guessed at what she would do, and deftly pushed her back down on the commode.

Sounds of an intense struggle emanated from the restroom and those outside could hear there was a lot going on.  Nancy was bigger than Melinda or Sharon either one, and quite a bit stronger so she was putting up an awesome fight.  By this time she had been dragged off the stool with Sharon and Melinda each holding an arm, and was still fighting to dunk the phone into the toilet.  She was now on her knees with her drawers clean down around her ankles, and she was screaming and putting up one hellacious fight to get loose.

The picture was quite a sight to see.  Melinda was balanced on her stomach on one side of the stall, her feet entwined with the top rail of the opposite wall and had a death grip of Nancy's right arm.  Sharon was balanced on the other thin wall but with legs sticking up in the air.  She was just a tad short to reach the top rail with her feet like Melinda.  She had a strangle hold on Nancy and her other arm.  Nancy was dragging her over the edge of the wall, and was gaining proximity to the toilet.  If that phone went into the water, without a doubt it erase the private numbers.

Amid the screams, the kicks, the sound of the stall being destroyed, stuff falling out of purses, the kicks and grunts, the door being ripped off its hinges, Chief Perry was the first in.  Just before he reached the melee, Sharon came over head first onto Nancy, her body slamming against the door and busting it open and tearing one hinge loose so it was hanging awry.  Chief Perry instantly seized the door and finished wrenching it from the hinges and threw it aside, nearly hitting another officer trying to get into the tight space to help in the struggle.

At first he didn't see what the struggle was about, and was confused as to what was going on.  But he knew Sharon and Melinda was trying to control Nancy, although he didn't understand why.  He just knew something had to be done to stop the melee, and NOW!  He grabbed Nancy in a strangle hold to subdue her.  But Nancy, almost out because of the lack of oxygen from Sharon's arm lock, went out, relaxed and the phone clambered to the floor.

The Chief immediately called for some female officers who came in and took charge of the situation, cuffing Nancy. Sharon untangled herself from the stool, and stood up straightening her clothes as best she could.  Within a minute or so, Nancy revived once her throat was released.  She lay there with a horrible look on her face, a look of embarrassment, horror, defeat and of failure.  Her hands were cuffed behind her back, and she was laying on her side.

She simply said "I'll have your badges for that.  Do you mind pulling my britches up?

Sharon deftly uncuffed her and stated "pull'em up yourself."  Then she said "we will be talking to you.  If we have to charge you to get that privilege, we will.  Your choice.  But we're taking the phone we think it has information regarding several murders on it."

Melinda was very busy with the cell phone and was transferring a copy of it's memory to iTunes..  Nancy, had gotten to her feet and was trying to get her britches to cooperate, but they had been twisted so badly in the fracas, she just stepped out of them leaving them on the floor.  She attempted to grab the phone out of Melindas' hand, but she wasn't quick enough, and Melinda kept her hold on it.

Chief Perry said "I'm sorry, Melinda, but you'll have to hand the phone over.  This was taken without provocation and without warrant.  You had no right to copy that information."

Melinda was thinking fast, and simply stated "Chief, you are trying to do the same thing to me that you are accusing me of.  But you have no authority over this situation, and we feel it is imperative to an investigation.  If you want this phone, you can have it with a warrant."

"Do I have to arrest you Officer Mathers?" he said.

Sharon smelled a rat the size of Texas.  She joined in the melee. "Chief, is there some reason you're protecting Nancy?  Do you have a stake in this whole operation?"

Chief Perry looked at her with a whole different look on his face.  The whole situation was getting out of hand and he had his back to the wall.  Not only was he about to lose face with the two FBI agents who were obviously suspecting him of something, he was about to lose face with his whole Police Force, the most of whom were witnessing this whole event as it unfolded.

"I'm only asking you to cooperate with me in the solution to this matter.  If this woman has done something contrary to the law, arrest her.  If not, hand over the phone or I will have you both arrested."

Sharon and Melinda were at an impasse with the Chief, and neither did they want to lose clout.  If they ever needed a knight in shining armor, it was now!  And, lo and behold, one spoke up at this very instant!  I'll take that phone Melinda.  Chief, thank you for handling this very sticky situation with grace and authority.  I'm taking charge of this situation right now.  My position as State Attorney General trumps your authority"

Victor Bension stood there with his hand out to Melinda.  Nancy, you are hereby remanded into the custody of the Stillwell Creek Police force where you will be questioned.  Officers Melinda Mathers and Sharon Travis, you will repair to the Chiefs office where we will straighten out this situation.  Chief, you lead the way!"

"Yes Sir."  And he started out of the restroom.

"Officer Williams, Victor said calling another officer to him.  Check this phone into the property room as evidence.  Seal it yourself and having it registered as so, then check it out to yourself.  It is not to be tampered with by anyone.  Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir!"  The large buxom female policewoman stepped forward and received the phone from Victor.  She turned and followed the Chief out of the room.  Victor knew Amanda Williams personally, and knew she was a good cop.  She was the only black policewoman on the force, and knew she was one to be reckoned with in a brawl.  He also trusted her implicitly.

The sounds of a fierce battle was raging in the Chief's office when William, Len, and Lane arrived.  Lane stood across the room in view of the tall slim window in the door of the Chief's office.  Len and William eased around talking to various officers and pretty much had the gist of the story within a few minutes.  Only a couple of people had witnessed the scene and that only after the Chief had ran into the restroom to take control of the matter.

They were still laughing and explaining and giving different details of what was going on.  If one has never seen a catfight, he really can't visualize the scene.  William nor Len had ever seen a good one, and neither had they seen their women in action.  But from the conversation they knew it had to have been a doozy of a scene!

Lane could see Victor sitting in the Chief's chair.  After a couple of minutes, he was summoned into the room.  He was asked to be Nancy's lawyer and quickly refused for reasons of inside knowledge to the situation would be a conflict of interest.  He was quickly excused and within ten minutes, one of his colleagues, Ryan Norkin, a rather new lawyer in town was called.  Needing to make a name for himself, he, soon after arriving in town, quickly ingratiated himself with the Mayor, and quickly jumpted at the chance to be Nancys' lawyer.

Within ten minutes he arrived at the station and one could see the the arrogance he possessed and affably displayed.  He stepped immediately into the office with an air of importance and within only a couple of minutes, he had the meeting adjourned.  Those who had crowded into the office filed out.  He quickly and deftly cornered Officer Amanda Williams and demanded the phone.

Amanda looked at Ryan Norkin with a look of total disdain.  She snarled at him and said "son, the only way you are going to get this phone is from my cold dead fingers so back up and get out of my face!"

With so many jerks working as lawyers, you'd think there would be no way to determine who's the single biggest pain in the caboose of Stillwell Creek Township.  There was quite a number of crooks, shysters, or idiots among the city's choice of defenders, but Norkin had quickly proven himself as number one.  Or at least he was since the death of Henry Thomas.

When she brushed him aside, he lapsed into a tirade, barely taking a breath while heaping abuse on her.  Everyone within earshot who knew Amanda, feared what was coming and was really quite glad to see it.  He was hurling accusations of conspiracy, favoritism, cronyism and even racism at her without shame.  And he was within touching distance.  But he went too far.  He called her a big stupid slave to the system.

She had only taken about ten steps with him right on her heels still berating her when she stopped and turned around.  She said with a dead level tone and a sure warning, "I am giving you one chance to take that back."

The stupid little man stood his ground, paused for a second to think it through, then opened his mouth to continue.  He never knew what hit him.  Amanda came around with a huge roundhouse punch which literally knocked him off his feet.  He hit the floor on his back and stopped sliding at the feet of Chief Perry,  He was out cold.  Perry looked down at him, then looked up at Officer Williams.

It was quiet in the entire squad room.  No one dared to breath.  Suddenly, a huge grin broke out on the face of Chief Perry and everybody started clapping and laughing.  They were slapping Amanda on the back, high-fiving her and saying "Way to go Amanda!"

Somebody threw a huge bucket of water on the lawyer and he coughed, attempted to sit up, but unable to hoist himself to his feet, did get himself on his hands and knees, shook the water off his face.  "What happened?" he asked Chief Perry at who's feet he still sat.

"You ran into a wall" he responded and the whole precinct laughed.  The lawyer lifted his hand to get a hand up from the Chief of Police.  Chief Perry just turned and walked away, leaving him sitting in the puddle of water.  "Don't forget to clean up where you pissed yourself Ryan, or I'll send you a bill."

The laughter rang out even louder as he looked down at himself and covered himself with the important and now soaked file he had in his hand.  He crawled to the wall on his knees and leaned against the wall to steady himself.  He looked around and the whole Police Force was guffawing at him.  That is, all except Nancy.

She walked up to him with a look of disdain on her face, snatched the file from his hands and said "You're fired!" then stomped out of the office slamming the door behind her  Some of the papers from the file hadn't even floated back to the floor when the door slammed.  She'd given the file a fierce toss at the dispatchers' desk.  It was the last time most of them would ever see Nancy.  Some would bemoan her as they had become fast friends over the years, others just said 'adios."

Victor found Officer Williams about an hour later at her desk and said "Officer Williams,  I want to commend you on a job well done.  If I ever get the chance to promote you, you can depend on one thing for sure: you'll have my vote!"

She looked at him, sliding the phone across the desk to him, "Thanks Mr. Bension.  A person of my gender rarely has the chance to become Chief of Police.  She looked at him while he considered that matter and then "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have said that.  But I've spent a whole lot of my life working toward a job like that, and they don't come around very often.  The odds are even less for a woman of color."

"But I want to thank you for the letter of recommendation.  I saw it after it was put back into my folder.  I really appreciate that nice gesture of confidence, and the good things you said about me.  I'll never forget it.

Victor sat there studying on the situation.  He had recommended her for the position, but Jason Perry had received the promotion.  Not only did Officer Williams have the education that topped Perry's, she had the tenure.  It was a matter that needed looking into.  He said, "Is there any way you can get me the profile folder of Chief Perry?" he asked.

"Is something wrong Victor?" she countered.

"Yes, there is something very wrong Officer Williams.  While you're at it, bring me your file as well.

"Yes sir.  If you'll stay here, I'll be back in a second" and walked off.  She soon returned with three files.  Hers, the file belonging to Chief Perry, and the file belonging to Nancy Wilhelm.  She grinned and said "I thought I'd save myself a trip."

Victor shook his head, took the files and slipped them into his brief case.  He was sitting there reading the file belonging to Nancy Wilhelm when Chief Perry walked in and sat down.  He asked "what are you doing Victor?  Studying up on Nancy?"

"Yeah, I was just trying to get a take on her.  You busy this evening Chief?  I'd like to have dinner with you.  It's on me."

"You have just gotten yourself a dinner appointment Mr Bension!  I'd better run and get busy on a couple of chores and meetings to which I must attend before quitting time.  Tonight then?"

"Tonight.  Seven o'clock."

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