The Man In Forest Hills Read online

  Tom you sneaky dog you.

  Meanwhile in the car, Kent grabs his cell phone and hits Mary’s name. He quickly dials Mary’s number. It rings and she picks up.

  “Hey Mary. I just left my old partners house and I couldn’t find anything. I’m sure something will come up soon, but to be honest, it’s nothing you should be worried about.”

  “Are you sure?” she asks.

  “Yes, I can almost guarantee it. I’ll take care of it.”

  “Thank you. I’ll speak to you soon.”

  Harper quietly sits in his car at a red light on his way to work. He pulls up to the precinct and parks in his designated spot. He heads into the building and straight towards his desk. He sees a note on the upper left corner of his desk. The note is from the registry of motor vehicles. He picks up his office phone and dials the number. A man picks up on the other end.

  “Registry of Motor Vehicles, this is Greg speaking.”

  “Hey Greg, this is Detective Darren Harper speaking. I got a message saying you got some information for me.”

  There’s a pause for a minute as Greg searches for the information.

  “Oh yes. We got some information on that black sedan you asked for. Sorry it took so long, we were jammed up here for a little while.”

  Harper rolls his eyes at the small talk because he just wants Greg to tell him what he knows about this black sedan.

  “We narrowed the results down and the only black sedan within that five mile radius is registered to a man named Carl Ansley.”

  Greg continues on with more details, but Harper zones out as soon as he heard ‘Ansley.’ He can now put Mary, or her relative Carl, at the scene of the murder based off his witnesses statement. Either way, he knows that she must have some information for him. He continues to hold the phone to his ear, but is thinking about his next move instead of what Greg is telling him.

  “Detective, are you there? Hello?”

  Harper finally snaps out of it and realizes that the he still Greg on the phone.

  “Oh sorry, yes, I’m still here. Thanks for the information.”

  Harper hangs up the phone and just sits at his desk for a second.

  Meanwhile on the other side of town, Kent is back to work on his recipe for revenge. He sits in his car parked at the infamous Chambers’ Liquor store. He continues to wait in his car, on the lookout for a specific person. He sits right up in his seat as soon as he sees Maddox walk into the store.

  There you go you piece of shit.

  Kent continues to wait in the car for almost twenty minutes, before Maddox exits the store again. He knows all that goes down in that liquor store is illegal activity, but right now he could care less. Kent notices Maddox holding onto a white envelope in one of his hands before he hops in his car. Maddox starts his car up and takes off, so Kent follows his lead. He tails him through the city streets at what he thinks is a safe distance.

  Where the hell are you going Maddox?

  Maddox waits at a red light and looks in his rearview mirror. He spots a car a few cars back that has been following him for a good ten minutes. He adjusts the mirror to see if he can make out the drivers face.

  Who the fuck is following me?

  Maddox takes a left down a street and seconds later pulls up to his house. He pulls into his garage and the garage door closes behind him. Kent parks a couple of houses away from Maddox house and just sits in the car.

  That’s a pretty nice house. Nice to see where all that corrupt money goes.

  Time passes by as Kent continues to sit in his car with his eyes locked on Maddox’s house. Inside the house, Maddox sits in his living room with his eyes locked on Kent’s car parked a couple houses down the street. He can’t make out the type of car or its license plate, but he can still see it’s parked there. He stands up to try and get a better look, but Kent starts up his car and takes off.

  Maddox turns his attention to upstairs. He hears a faint baby cry, so he heads up the stairs. He walks into the room to find his wife sitting in a rocking chair feeding their newborn. He walks over with a smile on his face and gives his wife a kiss. She hands the baby over to him and he cautiously grabs the baby. Maddox is in awe of this tiny human being that he helped create.

  In all his life, he has never had this feeling of love before. This is a different kind of Maddox that we are used to seeing. We are used to seeing an aggressive Maddox who doesn’t really care about anyone but himself. Now we can see a Maddox who actually cares about someone. The smile on his face says it all. It says that Carl Maddox wasn’t always a bad person.

  ONCE A GOOD GUY

  A man quietly sits in an office with his back turned to the door. Another man walks in and slams the door shut. He walks to his desk and pulls out his chair. Captain Leonard sits down in and looks at newly appointed detective, Carl Maddox.

  “Now we can finally call you Detective Maddox.”

  “I know Capt. I’ve been waiting on this for a long time now.”

  “Well, believe me, it was well deserved.”

  They continue to sit in the office carrying on a conversation. After a couple of minutes, Captain Leonard turns his attention to a more serious matter. Detective Maddox sees the captains face turn to a stern look as his sits up straight in his chair.

  “Listen here Maddox. I’ve been on this job for over twenty years and I’ve seen firsthand the temptation that these corrupt streets can put in the face of good policemen.”

  Maddox leans in as he hangs on every word the captain speaks.

  “I’ve seen what the streets are doing to good cops. Don’t let that be you. You’re a good cop and we need more like you. Looking out in the department there are a bunch of bad cops now, out there who think they can get away with certain things. Listen to me when I say, in time all of their wrongdoings will come to the light.”

  He listens as the captain finishes his speech and is left at a loss for words. It worries him that there are a number of bad cops out there, and that most likely he will try to be lured into that corrupt world. He pauses for a second to think about the kind of response he should give.

  “Cap, I can promise you that when I took the oath to become a policeman, I meant it. I am dedicated to the citizens of this city and to this department.”

  Captain Leonard rocks back and forth in his chair as he listens to Maddox.

  “Good. That’s what I like to hear. I’m confident that you will make a great detective.”

  Capt. Leonard then turns his attention to his newspaper, while Maddox remains seated across from him. After some time, the captain looks back over at Maddox.

  “What the fuck are you waiting for detective, go do some police work.”

  Maddox quickly gets up out of the seat and exits the door. He walks over to his new desk and easily sinks into the seat. He’s never had his own desk before, but he knows he can get use to this. Not long into his thoughts, a hand grabs him on the shoulder. Minutes later out of nowhere and hand grabs his shoulder.

  He looks up to a man that he has never seen before.

  “I’m Detective Howard, your new partner.”

  Shocked and confused, Maddox gets up and shakes his hand somewhat shocked and confused.

  “Pleasure to meet you sir. I’m Detective Maddox.”

  “Sit down son. Captain Leonard has told me all about you.”

  Maddox sits back down in his chair still not sure how to take this type of introduction.

  “Sit back and relax for a little, and then meet me out front in thirty minutes, so we can go for a ride.”

  “Okay.”

  Howard leaves Maddox to unload his box of stuff for his desk. He is very particular, so he arranges everything exactly the way he likes it. Once he finishes up, he takes a look at the clock, only to realize he is late to meet Howard. He grabs his jacket and quickly rushes out of the building.

  He runs outside and sees Howard waiting by the car clearly agitat
ed.

  “How the fuck are you late on our first ride along?”

  Maddox is at a loss for words and can’t get the words out to explain himself.

  “Sorry. I got caught up setting up my desk.”

  Howard looks at him with disgust.

  “Just get in the car.”

  They both get in the car and drive off. Maddox waits till they make a couple turns before he asks a question.

  “So, where are we headed?”

  “I got to give you a rundown tutorial of the streets. Show you the good and the bad. Mostly bad.”

  They ride through the streets of the city and Howard starts to break it down to Maddox.

  “I’ve been lead detective for almost ten years, so I’ve seen some serious bullshit go down. The streets will eat you up.”

  Maddox pays close attention as Howard speaks. He knows Howard is a veteran and he should follow his lead.

  “I’ve seen good policeman turn bad and bad policeman turn worse. Some of the worst criminals in the city would love to have any type of detective on their payroll. It’s their dream.”

  The police radio makes a sound.

  “Unit 21, Unit 21 we have a 187 over on 4th and Highland. Please respond.”

  Howard picks up the radio.

  “Dispatch, this is Unit 21 responding. We are on the way.”

  Howard puts the police siren on as he speeds off.

  “Today is your lucky day. You got a 187 on your first day as detective. What are the chances of that?”

  It takes them about ten minutes to get to the destination.

  There is a large crowd surrounding the area, including a good amount of law enforcement. They make their way through the crowd until they reach the yellow tape, which Howard lifts up to go under, and heads straight to the closest uniformed officer.

  “Who’s in charge here?”

  An officer in uniform comes up to him.

  “I am. You’re good to go detective.”

  “Thanks.”

  Maddox follows behind Howard as he makes his way right up to the body. The crime scene investigator walks over to him.

  “Detective Howard, it’s good to see you again.”

  Howard cuts the small talk short.

  “Give me the details on the body.”

  The investigator looks at Maddox with an eyebrow raised.

  “Howard, who’s the new guy?”

  “Oh sorry about that. This is Detective Maddox. It’s his first day as a detective.”

  “You’re lucky kid. First day on the job and you get a fresh body. Congrats.”

  Maddox doesn’t know whether to thank him or just keep his mouth shut.

  “Anyway, we have a young male; maybe age twenty four with two bullet wounds to the chest.”

  Howard kneels over to take a close look at the tattoo on his wrist. He recognizes the tattoo and quickly stands up to his feet. He walks away from the crime scene and pulls his phone out of his back pocket. Maddox doesn’t follow Howard, but he never takes his eyes off of him. Maddox can tell something is wrong so he carefully watches Howard walk away. Does Howard know this man?

  Maddox watches him as he leans on a wall, holding a conversation on the phone with someone. Minutes later he walks back toward the crime scene and heads right back to the crime scene investigator.

  “Bag him and whatever you have I want to see it later.”

  He waits for no response. He turns and walks away, so this time Maddox follows suit. They both get into the car and drive away. Maddox is at a loss for words about what just happened, so he tries to spark a conversation.

  “Where we headed?”

  “To go see someone. Is that good enough answer for you?”

  Maddox turns his head with an awkward look, but he answers.

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  Sometime later, they pull on a street and park. Howard grabs his handgun out of the glove compartment and quickly opens the door.

  “Get out, let’s go.”

  As Maddox gets out of the car, Howard has already made it to his side of the car. He stops in front of him.

  “You got your piece on you?”

  “Yeah, I got it,” he confirms.

  They walk up to a store that reads Chambers Liquors above the double doors. Howard leads the way through the doors. There is a girl at the register counting money. Howard beelines right to her.

  “Where the fuck is he?”

  She stops counting the money and looks at him. She recognizes his face, so she gives him a nod towards the back of the store. He walks away, so Maddox follows, not sure what else to do. They walk through a door and are greeted by two men in all black with their guns drawn, pointed right at them.

  A man at the desk quickly turns around in his chair.

  “It’s okay. Detective Howard is always welcome in my establishment,” says Chambers.

  Both men put their guns down, so Howard walks past them and right up to the desk.

  “Chambers, we got a problem.”

  Maddox has to catch his breath as soon as he hears Howard say the name, Chambers. He’s heard a lot about thee Cecil Chambers. He knows the name quite well, but never actually saw him in person; it was almost like he was a myth in the city to a lot of people at the precinct. He is known to be the biggest drug dealer in the city, who also has politicians and cops on his payroll. In other words, he runs the city and everything in it.

  Howard and Chambers continue in conversation.

  “I found one of yours dead today.”

  Chambers sits up in his chair.

  “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh really?” asks Howard.

  “I don’t know what why you would think that I would know this information.”

  Howard is frustrated at Chambers who continues to play stupid.

  “He had the tattoo on his wrist. The same one all your boys have.”

  Chambers sits in silence for a couple of seconds. He knows that Howard has some type of information that is accurate.

  “Okay Howard. What does that mean?”

  “How did he end up dead?”

  Chambers stands up in his chair. He’s a man of larger stature, which catches Howard off guard.

  “The fuck if I know. I don’t babysit them.”

  “So you’re telling me that you have no idea what happened, that you have no information for me?”

  Chambers grabs a mint off his desk and takes the wrapper off. He places it in his mouth as he scans the room over. He stops once his eyes land on Maddox.

  “Who’s that? You got a newbie on the squad Howard? Can I get an introduction?”

  Howard turns and looks at Maddox and then looks back at Chambers.

  “We’re not here for that. Just answer my question.”

  A silence comes over the room as Chambers sits on the front edge of his desk.

  “I’m going to answer all your questions Howard, first I want to get to know the rookie a little better.”

  Howard is pissed, but he knows Chambers won’t give him what he wants till he gives him what he wants. He turns his head back to Maddox and waves him to come over. Maddox looks at the two guys with guns before he walks over. He slowly walks up to Chambers. Chambers extends his hand towards him.

  “What’s up man, I’m Cecil Chambers.”

  “I know who you are.”

  Chambers laughs. Then looks at his two guys in the back and they laugh along with him.

  “Seems like I’m the most famous motherfucker on the planet. God damn you would have thought I was a movie star or something.”

  He continues to suck on the mint.

  “So you know me huh? I hope it’s all good things.”

  Maddox gives him a straight face.

  “I wish I could say it was the same.”

  They all start to laugh at the bold, yet witty response. Then Chambers takes a
hard look at Maddox.

  “Howard, I really like this one here. He’s a keeper for sure.”

  Howard nods his head in agreement, but still slightly agitated that Chambers hasn’t answered him yet. Chambers catches on, so he finally decides to answer his question.

  “To be honest with you, I have no idea how that body ended up there. If I could give you some different type of information I would, but I got nothing to tell you.”

  Howard listens to him talk with a squint in his eye.

  “Well listen, if anything comes up just let me know. You know where to reach me.”

  Chambers says, “Of course.”

  Howard walks away and Maddox follows right behind him. Chambers keeps a sharp eye on both of them.

  “Detective Maddox, welcome to the force.”

  Maddox turns around to acknowledge his words, but he doesn’t respond, just gives back a blank stare. He didn’t even respond, just a blank stare. They both walk out of the store and back into the car. Howard starts the engine and takes his piece off the holster and puts it back in the glove compartment.

  “That motherfucking piece of shit was lying right through his teeth. I can’t stand that asshole.”

  Maddox can’t find the appropriate response to give Howard, so he says nothing. He just came face to face with the one and only, Cecil Chambers. His first day on the job he sees a dead body and then he sees the most dangerous guy in the city. He tries to process the events that have happened on this first day on the job as a new detective.

  They eventually make their way back to the precinct. Several minutes later the head back to the precinct. They pull up and they both get out of the car. Maddox gets to his desk and sits down. He stares into space and gets caught by Captain Leonard. The captain screams at him.

  “Maddox!”

  “Yes Cap.”

  “Get in my office.”

  He jumps up out his chair and heads into the captain’s office. The captain sits in his chair and Maddox attempts to take a seat.

  “No, don’t sit. This isn’t going to take long.”

  Maddox remains behind the chair and places both hands on the back of it to control his nerves.