The Big Guy Chapter 16

The Big Guy
Chapter 16

“I’m sorry to say that I did. I’ve been involved in more than a dozen hostage situations, and most of them were resolved peacefully. Still, this young man was close to overdosing on methamphetamine, according to the medical examiner. We were doing well until he suddenly became irrational and paranoid and placed his cocked pistol against George Myers’ head. I regret having no choice. It was either him or George. I would have done the same thing if it had been anyone in this church. Innocent people don’t deserve to be murdered.”

“Well, Chief—I’m inclined to agree with you. I heard about it from some of the bystanders. They told me that you were trying to get him to give up his gun and come out when he went crazy. That’s when you shot him. Weren’t you worried about hitting George?”

“No, I make that kind of shot with my pistol regularly and at a greater distance than on Friday. I had a high-powered rifle with a quality scope, and I had the perpetrator in view through it the entire time. I hated having to shoot and kill him. I tell you unashamedly that I cried for over half an hour when I got home. Thank God I have a loving wife, or I don’t think I would have made it.”

“Yes, sir—no question about it; a good woman strengthens us.” He waved and began to applaud. Soon, everyone in the entire church was clapping. Embarrassed, I just took my seat and allowed the service to continue. Almost an hour later, Pastor Michaels finished by asking everyone to pray for “our brave and noble first responders.” Amen!

On Monday morning, I had an essential meeting with Daryl and Dan Powell to review the budget requests. I wanted their input to ensure I hadn’t missed anything, so they found six issues I had overlooked entirely. Dan also suggested an alternative vehicle replacement system that might be cheaper but more effective than I had proposed. I decided to hold that in reserve in case the City Council balked at my plan or if they wanted me to cut the budget once they realized how much I felt we needed.

We were into it almost an hour when Sandra called on the intercom. “It’s Lucy, Matt.” I took the call immediately. “Hi, what’s the news?”

“It’s confirmed. You’re going to be a dad. I’m so happy. What are you doing now? Are you busy?”

“Yeah, I am. I’m in a meeting with Daryl and Dan Powell.”

“Great! Invite both of them to dinner on Saturday. I’ll invite my folks. I know Dan and his wife Marie very well.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of it right now. I plan on leaving early this afternoon to have dinner and still get to the meeting before seven.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then. I love you so much, Matt.”

“Yeah, I love you, too.”

Daryl was smiling when I turned back to the table. “That was Lucy. We’re having a dinner party on Saturday.

You’re both invited. I hope you can come, Dan. I know that Daryl never turns down a free meal.”

Daryl laughed. “You know very well that my mama didn’t raise no fools. That Ingrid can cook. Tell Lucy I’d like prime rib…on the bone.” I just shook my head, but silently, I did agree. Then we went back to work. Sandra made the necessary revisions. Thank God for word processing programs—and then she made enough copies for the City Council members and the public. I left around three to hug and kiss my wonderful wife.

The official meeting was scheduled for 7:30, but I met with the City Council, the mayor, and the Council’s attorney in executive session starting at 7:00. Lucy ran the show, wasting no time as she spoke first about Carl Haynes. “Our first order of business is what to do about Carl and his place on the Council. “Any advice, Martin?”

“I’d like to hear from Chief Cahill first. Is there any question about his guilt?”

“About as much as the sun not rising tomorrow morning, I apprehended him and Mrs. Haynes myself while buying what the DEA describes as almost ten million dollars in illegal drugs. In case you’re wondering, there’s no bail because a ledger found on Mrs. Haynes indicates that they have more than ten million in a bank in the Cayman Islands.”

“Thank you, Chief. I recommend that you take action to suspend Carl pending the completion of the case. You can appoint a replacement if you wish.”

I noticed an older woman raise her hand. “Lucille, I’d like to suggest that we appoint Jasmine Stone. We all know what a wonderful job she’s done at the library. She’s intelligent, level-headed, well organized, and has lived in the city almost all her life.”

“Thank you, Maude; I agree with your assessment. Does anyone have another suggestion?” The group was silent, so I assumed there was a consensus on Jasmine’s appointment. Next, we should ask Matt about the police officers arrested.”

“I think the procedure is the same as for Carl Haynes, although Mr. Albright can correct me if I’m wrong. There is always a presumption of innocence, even in circumstances like this. There are two officers involved—Lt. Stan Irwin and Patrolman Gil Parsons. They should be suspended without pay until the trial is over. Then, they can be either reinstated or fired for cause.”

“Well said, Chief; even though they were caught in the act, as it were, we still have to follow the law. What about Jeremy Haynes? You didn’t mention him.”

“Jeremy resigned verbally in front of several witnesses about a week before he was arrested. If he hadn’t, I would recommend termination for gross insubordination. He refused to follow lawful orders from both Lt. Evans and me. I recommend that you accept his resignation.”

Lucy looked at Albright, who nodded in agreement. “Okay, let’s deal with these items quickly. Jasmine will be here to be sworn in and participate in the meeting immediately. We also have some regular business on the agenda before we get to Matt’s recommendations for next year’s budget. That’s going to take us a while. You’ll find he’s much more thorough than Wilson ever was.” There was no further discussion, so the executive session was adjourned, and we walked from the small room to the large formal meeting hall.

We stood for the pledge to the flag, and then the meeting began. Though it was common knowledge, Lucy took only a minute to explain Carl Haynes's situation. She told me later that she wanted it on the official record.

Jasmine’s appointment took less than a minute, and those present applauded in response. Albright gave her the oath of office, and she joined her colleagues at the long curved table.

I was asked to review the reasons for the two suspensions, which I did—again for the record—and the Council voted unanimously in favor. Then, the Council attended to the routine business—approving bills, accepting several resignations, including Jeremy Haynes, and making appointments for openings—all at the mayor’s recommendation. I was amazed at how Lucy moved things along. I was preparing for my remarks on the budget when architect Mark Fredericks sat beside me. He had several large drawings in his hands, and I quickly approved what he had to show me.

I quietly thanked him as I stood. Daryl helped to distribute the budget information sheets I had prepared. Next to each budget code was the Deion and the current year amount. Under that, I gave a rationale for my request and the projected amount. I gave the Council members a few minutes to scan the documents before beginning.

“The first account you see there is my salary. Since I was just appointed, I’m not seeking an increase. The following line is for the wages of the lieutenants.

There’s an increase here because you recently approved two new positions at my request. Otherwise, there’s no change there.” That’s how it went as I progressed through the entire department budget. Several times, I spoke to the garage manager, who told me that he had his budget, including parts and tires for all city vehicles.

That was a relief because I knew nothing about vehicle maintenance or how to budget for it.

Of course, there were a few questions, but for the most part, the people told me that the increases were understandable and expected. One area that was questioned heavily was my request that we double the officers on the midnight shift. “Within the past two weeks, there have been three calls to bars in the early morning. Two of those calls required eight officers, and one required ten to deal with drunken men fighting and throwing chairs and pool balls at the officers. The officers restored order in the first two cases, but there were arrests, paperwork, and transport to the county jail. Several were treated at the County Hospital. That left the city grossly unprotected for more than three hours. In the final case, it was more than four hours. That’s inexcusable. Three days later, we had a bad accident involving a drunk driver and two other cars. Four people went to the hospital. We had six patrol cars and twelve officers involved from about 1:30 a.m. through almost 5:00 between directing traffic, protecting the EMTs, and then traffic control for the fire department. At the same time, they addressed all of the spilled gasoline. Once they were done, four spent the rest of their shift plus two hours each overtime at headquarters, working the paperwork the state requires.”

“Matt, should we have our jail? I don’t think we have much need most of the time.”

“You’re right—most of the time, but we had three incidents in less than two weeks where a couple of cells would have been helpful.” They took no action but asked me to study the problem. Finally, I nodded to Mr. Fredericks.

“Now we come to a pet project of mine. The city isn’t all that big, but we still have more than eighteen square miles to patrol. On a map, Bascomb’s landing looks like a long and relatively thin rectangle, bounded by the creek on the south and railroad tracks on the north. To cover all of that area, we have only a single police station. I suggest the city purchase land near each end for youth and senior citizen centers and a police department substation.

“When we conducted the drug bust, we confiscated 1.25 million dollars that was intended to purchase the drugs. Because we were the lead police force and the arrest occurred within city limits, we should receive 75 percent or $937,500, which I request should go to this project.” I would have continued, but Lucy had told me to stop here so she could speak.

“My father has pledged $250,000 for this project, and I pledge an additional $100,000. We need recreational facilities for our youth and senior citizens, and having a police presence in the neighborhoods would go a long way in making the areas safer.”

“I asked Mr. Fredericks from the planning department to assemble a few preliminary drawings. I’ll let him explain them to you.” He set up an easel where the entire Council and most of the public could see it, then turned back to the Council members to speak.

“What I’ve tried to do is maximize space and minimize cost. To do that, I suggest you consider a prefabricated building. The quality has increased tremendously over the past few years since most builders use robotic construction techniques. The buildings I envision could be made of individual sections that fit into a framework of aircraft-quality aluminum that I’ll show you in a few minutes. They will be six inches thick to provide insulation superior to anything most of us have in our homes, and they can be as long—or as high as we want them to be.

In this case, I have specified twenty feet, more than most gymnasiums have, and a slanted roof made of the same materials. A slanted roof handles rain better than a flat roof and is less susceptible to leaks.”

Over the next ten minutes, he showed computer renderings of the gym's interior and the sizable rooms for the senior citizens. Finally, he showed how everyone entering the building would walk through a hallway that could be seen from the substation. He stopped then for questions.

“Is there land at both ends of the community for these buildings, Mr. Fredericks?”

“Yes, Ma’am, he responded. “There’s a parcel of approximately 390 acres on Maple Drive in the east and another of more than 500 acres in the west on Spruce. They’re owned by.”

“Yes, they’re owned by Bascomb Mining and Land,” Lucy stated. “I’ll speak to my father about the land. Mr. Fredericks, how much land would we need if we wanted outside basketball courts and a field that could be used for baseball, football, and soccer?”

Fredericks knew his stuff because he recommended different fields for each use and a minimum of twenty-five acres per site, including parking for fifty cars. I then told the Council that I envisioned a minimum of two officers for each substation for the first two shifts from 8:00 a.m. through 12:00 midnight, explaining that I had already applied for a federal grant to cover the salaries and benefits expense.

The discussion continued for more than half an hour, but it is evident that there was a lot of support for the idea, even if taxes had to be increased to pay for the incidental costs. The meeting was adjourned at 11:00. I was exhausted as I drove home.


To be continued