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Easing into their second hour, Fly
After the second citation, which was to an elderly woman who was angry and resentful at having been tagged for ru
“Well, how do you like the job so far?”
“A little slow.”
“You did fine with that lady. Didn’t punch her out or anything.”
“Maybe next time.”
Fly
At every criminal call they answered, the suspect or perpetrator was long gone or never present, though Pike dutifully and under Fly
They were proceeding east on Beverly Boulevard when the dispatcher said, “Two-adam-forty-four, domestic disturbance at 2721 Harell, woman reported crying for help. You up for that?”
Pike wanted it, but said nothing. It was up to Fly
“Two-adam-forty-four inbound.”
“Roger, stand by.”
Domestic calls were the worst. Pike had heard it again and again at the academy, and Fly
Fly
Pike didn’t say anything. He knew about domestic violence first-hand. His father had never waited until Friday. Any night would do.
Fly
Pike said, “Okay.”
Pike wasn’t worried. He figured clearing a domestic disturbance call couldn’t be much different than clearing houses in a combat zone-you watched everything, you kept your back to a wall, and you assumed everyone wanted to kill you. Then you would be fine.
They rolled to a small apartment building south of Temple near the center of Rampart. Motionless palms towered overhead, catching the shimmer of dying light to make the building more colorful than it was. The dispatcher had filled them in: Call was placed by one Mrs. Esther Villalobos, complaining that male and female neighbors had been arguing all afternoon and had escalated into what Mrs. Villalobos described as loud crashing, whereupon the female neighbor, identified by Mrs. Villalobos as a young Caucasian female named Candace Stanik, shouted “Stop it!” several times, then screamed for help. Mrs. Villalobos had stated that an unemployed Caucasian male she knew only as Dave sometimes lived at the residence. The dispatcher reported no history of officers being dispatched to this address.
Pike and Fly
They double-parked their patrol car, then stepped into the street. Pike sca
Fly
“Yes, sir.”
“Let’s go see what’s what.”
Pike followed Fly
Mrs. Villalobos lived in the rear unit on the ground floor. Candace Stanik lived in the ground unit next door. Pike and Fly
Fly
Fly
“Stand here out of the way. When I go in, you come in right behind me, but take your cue from me. Maybe the guy’s already gone. Maybe they’ve made up and are in there all lovey-dovey. Understand?”
Pike nodded.
“Don’t draw your gun unless you see me draw mine. We don’t want to escalate the situation. We want to cool it. Understand?”
Pike nodded again.
Fly
“Police officer.”
He rapped again.
“Please open the door.”
The crying stopped and Pike heard movement. Then a young woman spoke from the other side of the door.
“I’m okay. I don’t need anything.”
Fly
“Open the door, miss. We can’t leave until we see you.”
Fly
Fly
“Step away, hon. Let me open the door and take a look.”
“He’s gone. He went to his girlfriend.”
Fly
“Miss Stanik? That your name, Candace Stanik?”
Her voice was soft, but thin and strained. Pike wasn’t listening to her; he listened past her, searching for other occupants. A crisp medicinal smell of ether came from her apartment, telling him that someone had been freebasing.
“Yes. He went-”
“Let us in now, hon. We can’t leave until we come in, so just let us in.”
Fly
Stepping into the apartment was like entering a furnace. Pike began sweating. They were in a cramped living room. As Fly