11th hour

Chapter 83

“Okay, let’s have the whole story,” Brady said to me and my partner. We were in Brady’s office with the door closed and the blinds down. Brady was both aggravated with us and hopeful we’d gotten a new angle on the case. He didn’t sit down.

“How’d you hear this about Randall?”

“I can’t tell you my source,” I said. “I just can’t.”

“Fine. Actually, I don’t give a rat’s ass about your source, Boxer. What do you have on him?”

I took a printout of Randall’s file and put it on Brady’s desk, turning it around so he could read along as I pointed out the highlights.

“William Randall has been with the SFPD for twelve years. He got bumped up to Narcotics in ’04 and did a stint as part of a task force for the DEA. He moved to Vice in ’09. His oldest son, Lincoln Randall, almost OD’d on heroin the next year. It’s possible that this was the boy’s first time trying hard drugs.”

“His son almost OD’d. Go on,” Brady said. He sat down and began tapping the underside of his desk with his foot.

“Randall found him lying in the street, got him to a hospital. His life was saved, but the kid’s brain took a bad hit. He was a bright boy, but now he has the mind of a baby.”

“So are you saying the kid’s overdose is Randall’s motive?”

“Exactly,” I said. “Randall has a good, clean record in the department and a sad personal story. Our working theory is that he’s on a one-man crusade to take out dealers who sell drugs to kids.”

“But here’s the thing, boss,” Conklin said. “Meile and Penny both interviewed Randall. He has an alibi for the Morton Academy shooting. He says he was home with his wife and family when Chaz Smith went down. Mrs. Randall vouched for her husband, said, ‘Will was at home. He’s always home after work.’ The top cops bought it.”

“And so why exactly do you like him for the shootings? Put me out of my misery, will you, Boxer?”

“He’s obsessed with drug dealers. Obsessed with them.”

“How do you know that?”

“My source says that Randall has compiled dossiers on every dealer in the Bay Area. He knows things about them that Narcotics doesn’t know. He has sources on the street, both dealers and hookers. Add it up. He had access to our property room and could’ve stolen the guns. He’s an excellent marksman. Maybe he’s got a whole lot of anger because of his brain-damaged son.”

Brady said, “Yeah, okay. It’s plausible. What’s your plan?”

“Same as before. The three of us and two teams from Narcotics. We take shifts and we watch Randall’s movements. And we stay off the radio.”

“I like it,” said Brady. “Set it up.”