Return to Innocence

Part 15

The waitress sat the two beers on the table. Peter dug into his pocket, took out a couple of bills and handed them to her, "Keep the change."

"Thanks," the waitress smiled.

Peter took a long draw from the cold drink. Stacy followed suit. "So what did you want to talk about?" he said, wiping foam from the corner of his mouth.

Stacy shifted in her chair, "I shouldn't be doing this, but I need to know what really happened last night."

"You've read the official report, haven't you?" Peter asked. Stacy nodded a reply. "Well, frankly, that's more than what I've done at the moment. Word from Barnes is that the report covers it all."

Stacy shook her head, "No. There are some things that the report doesn't talk about. . .things that Teddy Watson has mentioned. I need to know whether Watson is being straight with me. And frankly, Peter, you're the only one I trust to give me the truth."

"Look Stacy, I think you should know that Michael was a friend of mine; he used to be my partner." Peter's voice dropped to a whisper. "I would've done anything for him. And I'm not too keen on helping the man who killed him."

"I'm not asking you to betray that friendship, Peter. I know how difficult this is for you." Stacy leaned forward in the booth, concern in her eyes. "I'm just afraid that my client is being railroaded into the electric chair, and I'm going to do my best to keep him out of it. But to do that, I need to know the truth about what happened in that raid."

"He doesn't deny killing him, does he?" Peter's eyes narrowed, knowing that the answer to this question would determine the course of the conversation.

Stacy sat quietly for a moment, weighing her next words carefully. "I have to have your word that what I'm going to tell you will stay between us. . .and your father."

Peter took another drink from his mug, "Okay. But I want to know it all. . .everything Watson has said."

Stacy nodded, "Deal." She took a drink, gathering her thoughts. "To answer your question, Teddy admits that he shot Michael. But he claims it was an accident. That he didn't know he was a cop." Stacy saw a hint of confusion in Peter's eyes and she smiled slightly, "Let's start from the beginning. Teddy says he came to the city four months ago. He was looking for a better paying job."

"Dealing drugs to kids, huh." Peter said sarcastically.

Stacy frowned and shook her head, "No. Teddy emphatically denies this. He says that a few days after he arrived he was able to get a job as a clerk at convenience store. A few weeks after he had started on the job, two guys started to hang around him." Stacy pulled out a sheet of paper with notes scribbled on it. "One guy is J.J. Benson; the other, Tommy Huang."

"Those were the two other guys the unit took down last night," Peter interjected.

"Right. According to Teddy, these two kept hassling him about dealing from the convenience store. Teddy refused to."

Peter scoffed, "They found drugs in his apartment."

Stacy nodded, "I know. But he hadn't been selling. They were samples that were given to him by Huang and Benson. Apparently Huang and Benson had tried to entice him to sell by trying to get him hooked. I guess they figured that if they had him dependent on them for his supply, he'd be more than willing to sell to support the habit."

Peter tilted his head, "But they figured wrong?"

"Teddy admits that he used some marijuana they provided. But not the hard stuff. He had apparently had a run in with cocaine as a teenager. Spent some time in rehab. . .decided he didn't want to go back."

"And you believe him?"

"I have no reason not to. He has shown no signs of withdrawal since being in the hospital. Blood tests are clean."

"What about the marijuana?" Peter asked curiously.

"Benson and Huang had apparently cut him off for the past few weeks. They were trying to convince him to use the hard stuff." Stacy took another drink. "Anyway, Teddy says he was really afraid of them. They kept pushing him about dealing at the store and he kept turning them down. In the past couple of days, they had been intensifying the pressure."

"Threats?" Peter frowned.

"Sounds like it. Teddy isn't what you would call a gutsy man. I think he comes real close to being afraid of his own shadow and having these two dealers hounding him didn't help matters." Stacy shook her head, "A couple of days ago he started carrying a gun with him wherever he went. He had purchased the gun months before coming to the city, but had never used it. . .never even taken it out of his apartment. The harassment from Benson and Huang changed that.

"Yesterday afternoon things became more physical between them and Teddy. Teddy says it became bad enough he had to pull the gun."

Peter's eyes grew wider, "But he didn't fire."

"No. He just ran away. Went back to his apartment and locked the door behind him. Didn't leave it the entire evening."

Peter nodded in agreement, "The reports we had matched that."

"Teddy says he went to bed at about 11:30. He placed the gun on his nightstand next to his bed because he was afraid that Huang and Benson would come for revenge during the night." Stacy's voice halted for a moment. Peter looked into her eyes and knew this was the part of Teddy's version of the events which really mattered. . .what could mean the difference between life and death for the man.

She took a deep breath, "Teddy said that the apartment was dark. He had just drifted off to sleep in his bed when he heard a crashing at his front door. It sounded like the entire wall was collapsing in. Then there was another explosion at the door. He was certain that it was Huang and Benson coming for him. He grabbed the gun and fired as soon as the door fell into the room."

Stacy paused, allowing the impact of her words to settle in Peter's mind, then she started again, "He had no reason to ever think that it was the police knocking down the door. He claims he never would have fired if he'd known."

Peter stared at his beer. Listening to Stacy's words brought back the visions of the previous night once again. The events replayed themselves over and over; Michael and Wilson knocking down the door, the gun firing, Michael falling, Michael dying. Stacy's voice broke through the sights and sounds playing in his mind. "Peter, I need to know if what I've read in the reports is right."

Peter shook his head, bringing his mind to the present. "I haven't seen the other reports. . .nor the official version. I only know what I wrote."

Stacy dug in her brief case and handed him a folder. "This is a copy I retrieved from the DA's file earlier today."

Peter opened the file. The report was prepared by Barnes himself. He skimmed the summary of the events leading up to the raid and then stopped when his eyes caught the words describing the raid itself. He read the words aloud, "Detectives Hampton and Wilson were assigned the responsibility of gaining access to the suspect's residence. Detectives Pearson and Caine were assigned to cover their actions. I was stationed behind the four. I notified the suspect that we were the police and Detectives Hampton and Wilson knocked down the door of the apartment. The suspect fired, hitting Detective Hampton as he crossed the threshold and entered the room." Peter stopped reading, stunned at the words contained in the report.

"But that's not. . ." he stuttered and then stopped talking.

"That's not what happened?" Stacy completed.

Peter was silent. He closed his eyes and remembered the details leading up to Michael's death, once again. Then he spoke, the words hushed, "Michael and Wilson knocked the door down on the second attempt and Watson fired. . .that was true. But Barnes didn't. . .I'm sure he didn't. . ." Peter stopped talking.

"Peter, did Barnes ever indicate that you were the police?" Stacy couldn't hide her impatience.

Peter took a deep breath and shook his head, "No."

End Part 15

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