RETIRED ASSISTANT POLICE CHIEF MURDERED
Shot in his Harwinton Home Gangland Style
Polar Bear spoke first. “Henry McAndrews. Why do I know that name?”
“He was a case file,” Chris said.
“Victim or perpetrator?” Giraffe asked.
Chris hit another button on his computer. “I just sent you all the file. Panther presented the case. McAndrews was a perpetrator.”
“My God, what punishment level did we give?”
“None,” Chris said.
“I don’t get it,” Giraffe said.
“Here’s the quick refresher. Panther presented the case of a reality star being trolled online.”
“Oh right,” Polar Bear said. “The PB in PB&J. My daughter is a fan—” Polar Bear stopped, probably catching themselves giving something personal away. “I’m familiar with the show.”
“Peter Bennett,” Chris said. “He was involved in a reality-show scandal and as usual, the internet exploded with hate and vitriol to the point that the guy’s life was ruined. There are rumors he committed suicide or maybe he faked it, whatever.”
“I remember,” Kitten said. “But hadn’t Peter Bennett been a sleazebag too?”
“Probably,” Chris said. “He was outed on a podcast for cheating and maybe even roofying women. No proof or anything. Just an accusation. But we all decided, correctly in my view, that we had more deserving victims who needed our attention.”
“We passed on him?”
“Yes.”
“And if I remember, Panther was unhappy about that,” Kitten said. “The Panther suggested the lowest storm—just give the McAndrews guy a Category 1 even. Teach him not to be such an asshole.”
“Did we know the troll was a cop?” Polar Bear asked.
“We didn’t get that far because we decided not to go forward,” Chris said. “Would it have mattered?”
“I guess not.”
Silence.
“Hang on,” Kitten said. “We’ve all had plenty of cases that didn’t move ahead to the punishment stage. It’s part of what we all signed up for. Are you suggesting now that the Panther went rogue?”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Chris said.
“McAndrews was a city cop,” Polar Bear said. “I would imagine he made his share of enemies. So maybe his death is just a coincidence. Maybe it has nothing to do with us.”
“Maybe,” Chris agreed with zero enthusiasm.
“The headline says, a ‘gangland’ slaying. Maybe that’s what this was. Or maybe, hell, this guy was a serious troll.”
“So?”
“So maybe he trolled someone else and they went after him.”
“Right,” Giraffe added. “Or maybe it was a routine breakin. Or maybe, like Polar Bear and Kitten are implying, this McAndrews was just an asshole with a gun, a badge, and the kind of psycho inferiority complex that made him a troll.”
“Right,” Kitten chimed in. “We know Panther would never betray our trust.”
“Do we?” Chris asked.
“What?”
“We don’t know any of us,” Chris said. “That’s kind of the point. And I would agree with you normally. I would think that there was an excellent chance that the murder of Henry McAndrews had nothing to do with us. In fact, an hour ago, I figured there was a sixty-to-seventy-five-percent chance that Boomerang had zero involvement in his death.”
“So what made you change your mind?” Giraffe asked.
“Come on, Giraffe.” It was Kitten with their British accent. “It’s pretty obvious.”
“What?”
Chris handled it. “Panther isn’t here. He’s”—he stopped himself and went back to the neutral identification—“I mean, they are our only no-show.”
“Panther has never missed a meeting before,” Giraffe added.
“In all the times we’ve met,” Polar Bear said, “the entire group has attended. Except that one time when Kitten let us know they wouldn’t be there.”
“Exactly,” Chris said. “It was Panther’s case. And now Panther isn’t replying to our messages.”
Silence.
“So what do we do?” Giraffe asked.
“We have a very specific protocol in place,” Chris said.
Polar Bear: “Are you saying we break the glass?”
“Yes.”
“I agree,” Kitten said.