“Yes, sir,” he said, slouching down into a seat opposite the LT’s desk.
“You know why you’re in here? Again?”
“Sir. If this is about that drunk from last week, that wasn’t my fault. He slipped getting into the troller. That’s it.”
“This has nothing to do with that. Well, not directly anyway.” The LT paused for a minute and ran his fingers through thinning hair. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Look,” he said patiently, his tone softer now, “we have a problem. Maybe this is my fault for letting you partner with Jimmy for so long.” He searched for words. “I know you’ve been having a rough time since the shooting—”
“You can stop right there, sir,” Mitch interrupted, his words short and clipped. “With all due respect, I don’t want to talk about this again.”
Jimmy and Mitch had been partners for almost eight years. Yes, ithadbeen a record-breaking amount of time to be together, and Jimmyhadbecome his best friend, but that was not why he was upset. He was “having a rough time” because Jimmy was dead, and it was all his fault.
“It’s out of my hands now. You’re being put on notice. Probation, I guess you’d call it. We’ve been trying to keep this all in-house, but it’s not getting any better. Your file is getting thicker by the day, and we can’t put up with it any longer. We’ve got to nip this in the bud before Internal Affairs gets involved. You’ve been through I don’t know how many partners in the last two years, and you’ve justalienated another one. Lance says he can’t work with you anymore, so I switched him out.”
“Lance is a whiny little bitch,” Mitch mumbled.
“It’s the same complaints as before,” the LT continued, ignoring him. “You’re too confrontational, you overreact, you’re belligerent to people for no good reason, etcetera, etcetera.”
Lieutenant Brown laced his fingers together and looked down at them. “Lance’s replacement is down in HR right now taking care of some paperwork but will be up here in a minute. His name’s Adam, and he’s a transfer from Boston. Didn’t know Jimmy, doesn’t know you. It’s a chance to start fresh.”
“Oh shit, LT, come on! I have to show the new kid around? I’m relegated to babysitter now?”
“First, he’s all you’ve got. No one else will partner with you. Second, he’s not exactly a new kid…” His words trailed off, making Mitch nervous.
“What do you mean by that, sir?”
“Well, he’ll need you to show him around the city. Like I said, he’s from Boston, so he’s worked big city, just notthisbig city. He was on in Boston for close to twenty years. He’s a great cop, and you’ll be lucky to learn a thing or two from him. As far as the babysitting goes…it’s more like he’ll be babysitting you,” the LT finished in a rush.
“What? What does that even mean?” Mitch stood, getting red in the face.
“Sit down. There’s more.” That sounded ominous. The LT was having a hard time looking him in the eyes, which gave him an uneasy feeling. He sat cautiously and looked up without further comment.
“You’re a time bomb. Ready to blow at any moment. The department can’t have that. You’ve got a file full of complaints. Nothing too serious, thank God, but the brass feels like it’s time to step in. Adam’s here to keep an eye on you. Babysit you, if you want to put it that way. You’ll bethe junior partner again, and if it comes down to it, you’ll take orders from him. There’s one other thing.”
There was a long pause before he finally mumbled, “You’ve got to do some mandatory counseling with Dr. Patrick.”
Mitch had been biting his tongue, trying to keep his mouth shut, but at this last revelation exploded out of his chair. “Are you kidding me? I’m not going to a fucking shrink, LT! This is crazy.”
The LT had finally had enough. He slammed his fist onto the desk, sending papers flying everywhere. Standing, he placed both hands on the desk and leaned forward. In a soft, controlled voice, he looked Mitch in the eye and told him, in no uncertain terms, how it was going to be.
“It’s not crazy. It’s exactly what you need. And you will comply or be unemployed. This is all part of the deal. You get no more complaints, you get along with your new partner, and you see Dr. Patrick or IA takes over. You haven’t been the same since Jimmy died. I can’t remember the last time I saw you smile or heard you laugh. You’re too hard on everyone around you. Your partners, your arrests, the public, and most importantly, you’re too hard on yourself.”
The LT sat down now, losing steam. “It wasn’t your fault Jimmy was shot, Mitch. It wasn’t your fault he died. It’s been hard on you. I get that. He was your partner. Hell, he was the only partner you ever had. But it was two years ago. You need to figure out how to grieve, let go of the guilt, and move on with life. And since you can’t seem to do it on your own, you will go to Dr. Patrick. I’ve made the first appointment for this Friday at one o’clock. There is no negotiation on this. I think it will be good for you,” he finished gently.
Speechless, Mitch sat down hard. He’d known he was in a little hot water but didn’t expect anything this harsh. This kind of thing scarred an officer’s reputation for life. Not the probation part, that was simply part of the job. Everyone saidif you went too long without a reprimand of some sort, you weren’t working very hard. But being forced to visit a shrink? That could do serious damage to your credibility.
He’d endured a couple of sessions after returning from the two-month hiatus he’d taken after Jimmy’s death, but that was procedure and expected. They needed to confirm he was still fit for duty, and they had. But this was different. Cops were supposed to be tough. They handled their own issues and didn’t need help figuring out theirfeelings. Therapy might be for some people, but not for guys like him.
He wasn’t sure what to say. He could tell the LT to fuck off, but that would probably count against his required good behavior. The last thing he wanted to deal with was an Internal Affairs investigation.
He needed time to think. “Can I take the rest of today off?”
“Sure. I’ll have someone else show Adam around the house today.” The LT sighed. “I’m sure you won’t see it this way, but I’m only trying to help. We’re all just trying to help.”
Mitch grunted. He opened the door to walk out and ran into a brick wall. Well, it was actually a man who just resembled a brick wall. A brick wall who spent his free time lifting weights while snacking on steroids.
“Hey, man, you must be Mitch. I’m Adam. Adam Jackson. Great to meet you.” He introduced himself with a smile and stuck out his hand to shake.
