On The Grind

Chapter 36

"What arc you doing back there?" he challenged angrily.

"I'm careful. Before we talk, you need to answer three questions."

"Look… You…"

"First question. Who did you just call?"

"MY new girlfriend."

"What's her name?"

"Chrissie."

I bolstered NIY AirLight, then reached over, took the cell phone from him, and hit redial. After two rings it was answered.

"That was quick," a woman's voice purred.

"Who's this?" I demanded.

"Chrissie. Who's this?"

I closed the phone and handed it back to him.

"Next question. Did YOU know those gins were gonna pick me up last night and threaten me out in that orange grove? And if so, why the hell didn't you warn me?"

"I didn't know. I got hired onto this department by Charles Le Grande before Cecil was elected four years ago, so I wasn't part of Mayor Bratano's crew. I was isolated. I think its why he wanted me as chief. Up until about a month ago I was so wasted all the time I didn't know what the hell was going on and they never confided in me. I got my envelopes, my money, but nobody ever told me much of anything. After what happened with Le Grande, that's the way they wanted it. I only found out last night at the party about them taking you out to that orange grove."

"You told me you were drug-free. Then last night I saw you snorting up lines in Bratano's cabana."

He was quiet for a long moment, uncertainty, or maybe it was shame, playing across his face. Then he said, "I relapsed, okay? I'm trying to stay straight, but I'm under a lot of pressure here myself. I had a weak moment."

I looked at him, not sure how I wanted to frame this. I finally decided to just say it. "When I first came here, I wasn't sure you weren't trying to make good on your old threat to kill me. But I've been thinking about it a lot and if that had been your plan, you would have done it long before now. After what happened in that orange grove I have to figure you're telling the truth. They didn't know I was a UC, so I figure you're probably being straight with me. But you need to stay in the program, Rick. I can't have the guy holding my back buzzed on drugs."

"I'm in just as much jeopardy as you are," he said. "I'm doing the best I can, but I'm vulnerable and scared. If you'd caved in out there and told them I put you undercover, I was going to end up just as dead as you. I was going nuts at that party, not knowing if you were about to give me up. I needed to settle my nerves. That's why I did the lines. From now on I'm clean."

We stood looking at each other. Selfish bastard that I am, I hadn't really stopped to consider that Ross was in just as much jeopardy from me as I was from him. I now saw that he was very close to the edge. His hands were shaking and, like me, he looked like he hadn't slept much lately.

"Okay," I said. "Lets put all that behind us for now. Why did you leave me the note? What's up?"

"I just found out this afternoon that Talbot Jones hired an independent polygraph operator to come down and put the entire police department on the box. All the blues plus command staff." "Why?"

"Because they think there's a mole on the force somewhere. They're totally freaked about it. They know somebody gave them up to the feds on the Haven Park High gang fight. They just don't know who. Until last night everybody thought it was you, but now they're not sure, so everybody gets tested top to bottom."

I couldn't catch a break. "Who did they hire? What company?" I snapped.

"I don't know, but the polys been fast-tracked. The guy will be here soon," Ross continued. "As soon as he shows they're gonna start pulling people in and putting them on the box one at a time. I don't know what to do. I'll never pass. I'm a nervous wreck. If either one of us fails that poly, it's over for us both. Whatta we gonna do?"

"Either change the game or the timetable."

Rick's cell phone rang. He answered. "For Christ's sake, not now, Chrissie." Then turned off the power and shoved it deep into his pocket.

"You haven't told Chrissie whats going on here, have you?"

"I may he fucked up, but I'm not an idiot," he said. "Give me a little damn credit, okay?" I was trying.

"How are we gonna stop it?" he said.

"I haven't the faintest idea. But since neither of us wants to die, we better come up with something fast."