Thursday Morning, June 5th, 2014
Holly beat me into the office again even though I was there just after 7:00 AM. I’d spent a sleepless night and I just wanted to get my day started with things that I felt like I did have some control over.
Dana and I had talked until Kris came home about my cases and about hers but most of all about us. Afterward, I spoke to Kris upstairs privately about talking with the kids while Dana kept them occupied in the living room below. Kris was okay with the idea because she felt the fact that I had some sort of relationship with Dana might come out during the election anyway but she too had concerns about us being physical in any way with each other in the house and I understood that. It wasn’t bigotry on her part. She was cautious showing affection with the men that she dated in front of the kids too and they never stayed over. She didn’t want to send her children mixed messages.
For my part, I really didn’t know what I wanted or didn’t want to come out during the run up to the election and I sure didn’t know what to do about Dana’s dilemma or, for that matter, my own. I wanted her just as much as she said she wanted me.
I tried to put all of that out of my head when I stepped into the outer office that was Holly’s domain.
“Holly, you’re at it early again, I see.”
“Yes ma’am. I got those letters printed up last night and they’re all ready to go. Did you want me to put them in the boxes after all?”
“No, no. I’ll just run down and do that now. It won’t take but a minute. Once I come back, I’ll release that email too.”
I headed down to the mailbox bank that was located outside of the locker rooms and across from the roll call room. Roll call was empty. The day shift deputies were already on the road. Any deputies lingering around after night shift were likely still here only to finish up paperwork. Their shift had ended at 6:00 AM.
I put a letter in each box that had a name assigned to it and then I turned to head back up the hall toward the stairs. Kelly Rice was coming down the stairs. When she saw me, she paused for a moment before continuing her descent. I couldn’t put my finger on the look on her face but she sure wasn’t happy to see me.
“Good morning detective. You drew the early straw this morning, I see.”
“Uh, yeah. Good morning Sheriff.”
I turned and walked with her toward the squad bay and her desk. “How did it go with Ethan Funk yesterday?”
“It uh, didn’t.”
“What do you mean, “It didn’t”? Did you talk to him?”
“I tried. He zipped his lip and wouldn’t say a word.”
That’s pretty hard to believe. “Nothing at all?
Rice stared at me. “That’s what I said. If you don’t believe me, watch the tape. The guy wouldn’t talk. Somebody must have got to him.”
“That’s odd. We’ve had him by himself, under lock and key.”
Rice shrugged but said nothing. Her whole demeanor just didn’t sit right with me.
“Holly what did you find out about getting me into Big Sandy?”
“With 72 hours’ notice, you can go in on any day as a law enforcement official. Anybody on the approved visitors list and any professional or any law enforcement official on police business can go on Saturday or Sunday during regular visiting hours.”
“Which are?”
“8:30 to 3:00 both days.”
“Do I need to give them notice if I go on Saturday or Sunday?”
“Yes; to make sure he’s administratively available.”
“I see.”
“Kelly didn’t get anything from Ethan Funk, I take it?”
“Zip. She claims he wouldn’t talk at all. She even insinuated that somebody might have got to him over at the jail.”
“Isn’t he segregated right now?”
“Hell yeah!”
“Well then that doesn’t make any sense. She isn’t implying one of our jailers might be playing both sides is she?”
“She didn’t say that directly. She did tell me that I should watch the tape if I didn’t believe her.”
“Maybe you should then but it’s not tape. It’s all digital. I can show you how to pull it up if you like?”
“Thanks. I think I better have a look. I just have a bad feeling about it all.”
Ten minutes later we had the whole audio/video sequence of Funk’s latest visit to interrogation cued up on my computer. Holly stood and watched over my shoulder as I pressed play and the recording started. We watched as Detective Rice and Ethan Funk both entered the room. Kelly spent about 10 minutes peppering him with questions. Her technique wasn’t the best but it didn’t matter because Funk really wasn’t saying a word. He didn’t even flinch when she used the term “the dealer” as I had instructed her to do. It was like he was sitting in a whole different time and place than she was and he couldn’t even hear her.
When the recording finished, Holly and I just looked at each other for a minute. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes but it still seems fishy to me.”
“I don’t know what to say Mel. I mean, it’s right there on the screen...”
A thought popped into my head, “Wait a minute! How do I start it over?”
“Just push the play button again. It will restart at the beginning.”
Once the video started over I immediately hit the play button again to stop it.
“Right there! Do you see that?” I pointed at the screen.
“I see the two of them coming into the interrogation room...”
“Exactly! It’s just the two of them. Standard protocol is that an officer or a detective can go to the lock-up and pull a prisoner but there’s always at least one jailer escorting the prisoner too until they’re seated in interrogation. There’s no jailer with them.”
“She brought him over with no escort?”
“That’s how it looks. Can we pull video from other cameras to confirm that?”
“Absolutely. Let me call tech.”
Just what the hell is she up to?
Within the hour I had confirmation that Kelly Rice had sweet talked a jailer into letting her move Ethan Funk without an escort. There was also video confirmation that she’d said something to Funk along the way in a hallway but she ducked her head and said it low to keep it inaudible for the camera. I’d have to have the audio enhanced to know exactly what she said. Regardless, she was playing a dangerous game and I was about to call her on it.
Not wanting to give her any warning that she was about to feel my wrath, I headed back down to the squad bay. When I walked in, she was sitting at her desk holding my recently distributed letter in her hand, staring off into space, her face burning red.
When she realized I was there she tossed the letter down on the desk and stood up. Facing me, she said, “I quit.” She tossed her keys, badge and her department issued handgun on the desk and then took a step to go around me.
I held up a hand to stop her. “Not so fast! I accept your resignation but you’re not leaving. You’re under arrest.”
She guffawed loudly. “On what charge?”
“Accessory After the Fact for starters. I’m sure there will be more charges later.”
She didn’t back down. She got right in my face and yelled, “I want a lawyer!”
I stayed calm, “You’re probably going to need one.” I called out to the duty Sergeant who had just entered the room from the other end, “I need an assist please.”
“Yes Sheriff?” He looked at me and then at my grip on her and then back at me, a question in his eyes.
“I’m arresting her and charging her with ‘Accessory After the Fact’. Bag this stuff while I search her.” I pointed at the stuff on the desk. The folder I’d seen the day before was still in the same spot. I pointed to it, “Bag that file folder too.”
“That’s personal stuff in there!”
“Personal to whom, Kelly?”
“I’m not saying anything else until I talk to a lawyer.”
I read her, her rights and then I had the duty sergeant take over. She could sit in booking and then in holding and cool her heels for a little while until I figured out what was really going on.
Ethan Funk was having his third go around of the week in an interrogation room. This time, he had me again instead of his erstwhile accomplice.
“I ain’t waiving my rights no more Sheriff. I’m only going to deal with my lawyer from now on.”
“That’s fine. I just thought you’d want to know that I’ve charged Kelly Rice, the detective whom you spoke with yesterday with “Aiding and Abetting After the Fact and placed her under arrest. Similar charges will be added to the charges pending against you.”
All of the color drained from Funk’s face. For a minute, I thought he might pass out. When he finally spoke he could barely choke out words, “What...how...”
“She’s on video Ethan instructing you not to answer her questions. She broke the law and she’s going to pay for that and so will you and anyone else that she helped.”
“What do you want to know? I’ll tell you anything I can, I swear! I don’t want to make this any worse!”