Dana Nussio - Strength Under Fire

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CAPTAIN POLASKI’S OFFICE was smaller than Ben remembered as he settled into the visitor’s seat, the closed door making it feel like a cell. Only this time he was on the inside. Ben brushed damp palms on his trousers, refusing to listen to the voice inside telling him he wouldn’t wear this uniform for much longer. He couldn’t think about that. But he couldn’t stop the pain in his chest, unwelcome hands squeezing it from inside.

How was this happening? One minute everything was good at work—better than it should have been since he’d been manufacturing daily excuses to talk to Delia—and the next minute...this. He focused on the wall, covered by certificates and framed photos of recruit classes, but the images only washed together in a swirl of muted blue. Then the images shifted into a pile of twisted metal and shards of glass. The screams. Pain everywhere at once. So much blood. The relief, then the guilt, of realizing it wasn’t his blood.

No. He blocked the backward journey of his thoughts. He forced himself to breathe. Even if none of what was happening tonight made sense to him, these were different news stories than those from his memories, about different crimes with a different suspect. Namely him.

He shifted at the sound of the door opening. Captain Polaski squeezed past him, shutting the door and settling into the seat behind the desk. Ben leaned forward, toward what he hoped would be answers, but his boss didn’t fill in the blanks quickly enough.

“Do you know what they were talking about out there?” Ben gestured toward the squad room. “Because I don’t.”

“No,” Polaski said, but his nod contradicted his words. “I would’ve guessed you didn’t.”

“Well...”

“I’d been hearing murmurs for a few weeks, but I didn’t know any of the specifics until today.”

Meaning either he hadn’t been told who was being investigated, or he hadn’t been given details of the allegations. Polaski knew all of those things now if that closed brown file he kept touching on his desk was any indication.

Ben stared at the file, willing it to open, until his boss’s words filtered in. He looked up. “Wait. Weeks?”

“As I said, we didn’t have the specifics.”

Those words Ben accepted with a nod, no matter how frustrating they were. Of course Polaski couldn’t share information about a possible investigation. He knew that. So why was Ben taking it so personally that he hadn’t? His boss couldn’t exactly tell him, Yo, dude, keep your head low.

“So what’s it about? The reporter said something about evidence tampering and theft.”

“That’s right. You know how we’ve been making more drug arrests in Oakland and Livingston counties over the past few years?”

“Yeah. The numbers are up.”

Polaski held his hands wide. “Well, strangely, our conviction rate has barely risen.”

“How can that be?”

“That’s what state officials wanted to know when they started looking at our arrest records.”

Instead of asking more, Ben crossed his arms and waited for the captain to explain.

“They wanted to figure out how the drugs confiscated during traffic stops kept disappearing before trial,” Polaski continued. “How dirtbags were getting off scot-free when the arrests were clean. What they found were several discrepancies involving our evidence room. Someone’s been messing around with the evidence if not removing it altogether.”

Someone like him? As he considered the likelihood of that, Ben started shaking his head. “What does all of this have to do with me?”

“Do you remember what a common denominator is from elementary-school math? Well, you’re it. You signed off on the evidence chain in several of the cases in question. Investigators are still looking at the other cases, though.”

“But my name could be found on hundreds of evidence chains.” As soon as the words were out of Ben’s mouth, the reality of them hit him squarely in the head. He’d been set up. How? Why? By whom? And again...why?

“I can’t be the only officer who signed off on those pieces of evidence.” He wasn’t even sure why he’d said that. Even if someone had set him up, how could he wish for one of his friends to be falsely accused just so he could avoid the headache of it? That was further proof that he was no hero, if anyone had ever been fool enough to consider him one in the first place.

“So far, you’re the only common denominator.”

This time Ben nodded. The last thing he needed to do was make this worse. “You do know I would never do anything to help drug dealers, don’t you? Never.”

“I know,” Polaski said simply.

But did he know? Did any of them? Sure, they’d all spoken words of support, but were they all looking at him with the same suspicion they did a suspect in custody? Unlike in the court system where defendants were considered innocent until proven guilty, guilt was never ruled out until suspects were cleared.

“With my dad...” he began but let his words trail away. His family’s story of addiction and tragedy was hardly news to those who’d been around the post for a while. Drugs had stolen too much from his life for him to ever see them in any way other than black-and-white.

“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that part.” Polaski frowned. “I didn’t pick up on where the reporter was headed with her questions quickly enough. She was determined to get those juicy details out there no matter what I said.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

“But the other...” He touched the file again. “You understand that we’ll have to cooperate fully in this investigation, right?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t expect any less.”

“With as much scrutiny as police departments have been under lately, we can’t afford to allow any suspicion that we’re showing favoritism. We have to conduct this investigation completely by the book.”

Something about the way Polaski said it made Ben shift in his seat. “You’re not saying that you’re putting me on a desk job, are you? Because, uh, I already have one of those.”

Instead of picking up on his attempt to lighten the mood, the commander shook his head. “No. But I am going to have to put you on paid administrative leave.”

“Leave?”

“I need you to stay away from the post while state investigators are digging around here.”

“But, Captain, you can’t do that.” Ben’s eyes widened just as his boss’s narrowed. “I mean if you do this, I won’t have any way to prove my innocence. Someone has set me up, and I need to figure out who. I won’t have any access to LEIN or any of the databases to investigate.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near LEIN or anything else in this investigation.” He shook his index finger at him, losing patience. “Stay out of it. Let the system work.”

Ben nodded, his acceptance settling heavily inside of him. He’d said the same thing to suspects who’d claimed to be innocent. Only now could he truly understand their skepticism. The system didn’t always work. Not for everyone. With the possibility of serious charges hanging over his head, could Ben afford to trust the system with his freedom?

“Yes, sir.” He pushed forward in his seat, intending to stand.

“Relax, Peterson.” Polaski stood first. “Think of it as a vacation. Do some things around that project house of yours.”

“I’ll try” was all he could manage.

“And we’ll take care of the rest.”

It was the commander’s way of saying they would look for the truth, no matter what it was. He wouldn’t promise any more than that, and Ben would never expect him to. A fierce commitment to justice was something the two of them shared.

“Thank you, sir.”