They looked terrified.
"I made sure they knew who I was and then I informed them that not only were their jobs in jeopardy but so was their freedom. I then ordered them to keep anything pertaining to this case to themselves until such time as Internal Affairs had a chance to meet with them, and if I found out that they did talk, I would make it my mission to see them put behind bars for the rest of their lives."
Yikes.
"Do you think they will talk?"
The smirk Jerry gave me gave me a brief idea how the man had become the police commissioner of our fair city at such a young age. He might look like harmless man in his early fifties who worked in an office all day long, but he was not. When it came right down to it, he was a cop, and a damn good one if the rumors were true.
"I've called for a transport van to come collect these idiots and take them to the briefing room at the station." Jerry nodded toward the police officers sitting on the ground. "I'd like you to join us there."
"Me?" I asked, surprised.
"All of you," Jerry said. "Half these guys don't even know who we all are. They were simply following orders. Those that do know either really think we're drug-dealing cops or they just don't care. I won't have people like that on my police force."
I still wasn't sure what that had to do with me.
Chapter Fifteen
David
I kept my hand pressed low on Skip's back as I escorted him into Police Plaza One. It was the main station for every police station in the city and where Jerry had his offices. Considering the size of the group we had, I could understand the stares we were getting. Pretty much everyone was with us. Only Mrs. Martinez, Brant, and the other guards had stayed home.
Well, and the dog.
When we got upstairs to Jerry's office, he met us at the door and then led us into his conference room. "Junior, would you bring up the feed for the briefing room? I want this meeting recorded."
"Oh, it's been awhile." Lany was staring at the computer as if might jump up and bite him. "I'm not sure I remember how."
"I can do it," Joe said as he hurried over and started tapping on the keyboard.
Lany slumped against Sal, his relief evident.
My eyes widened when the large TV on the wall flickered to life and the briefing room came into view. It was filled with men in dark clothing. They were no longer restrained, but they were all sitting down. Armed officers stood next to the walls in several different spots around the room and in front of the doors.
"Is that all of them?" I asked, pointing to the screen. There were a lot more than twelve men in that room.
"That's all of them minus the four that got away and the two that went to the hospital," Jerry said. "The reason you don't recognize most of them is because they are fresh out of the academy. They haven't even been assigned a precinct yet."
My jaw dropped. "How is that possible?"
"From my understanding of the situation, Detective Burnett formed his task force and then went to the academy to get officers to go on this raid because he wanted to ensure that none of them had been tainted."
"Excuse me?"
What the hell did that mean?
Jerry snorted as his eyes rolled. "He truly thinks you guys are drug dealers."
"You're not serious," Sal said.
I agreed with him.
"Oh no, I am," Jerry replied. He walked over to Joe and handed him a flash stick. "Can you bring these pictures up?"
Joe nodded, took the flash stick, and plugged it into the computer.
Jerry turned toward us. "Do you remember about three months back there was a holdup in Dr. Jones's emergency room? Two thugs were looking for something their friend had on his person, except he was taken to a different hospital where he died?"
