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“What’s going on tonight, gentlemen?” Greene asked.
“We didn’t do nothing,” one of the teenagers protested.
“You din’ do nothing?” Ahearn asked, bending over and picking up a half empty forty-ounce bottle of beer in a paper bag. “This feels cold. Whose is it?”
Jackie Ahearn was someone you didn’t want to mess with. There was a story about when Ahearn and Greene first made detective and got transferred to B-2. One of the neighborhood gangs kept telling them they weren’t shit without their guns and badges. Ahearn took off his gun and badge, laid them on the hood of his car, and offered to have a fair one with anyone willing. There were no takers.
“It’s our boy’s. He likes his beer cold,” one of the kids said. He was young, a small, ski
“Which boy?” Ahearn asked.
“The one whose memorial you’re disrespecting,” the kid said, pointing to a guttering candle at Ahearn’s feet.
“All you guys been drinking tonight?” Ahearn asked.
Silence.
“Anyone have anything we should know about?” Greene asked. “Liquor, weed, weapons?” Ahearn started patting them down, and Greene joined him. Co
“Please, do not lay your hands on my body, unless you have a warrant.” The words were spoken with an unexpected formality.
“Excuse me?” Ahearn said to the sharply-dressed, older black man.
“You heard me officer,” the man said. “I do not mean to be disrespectful, but I have done nothing wrong. I can not condone being searched under these circumstances.”
“What’s your name?” Ahearn asked.
“I do not believe I need to answer that question, but I will. My name is Luther.”
“Luther what?”
“Just Luther.”
“You only have one name, like Mado
“I only have one name, like Luther.”
“Well, Luther Last-Name-Unknown” Ahearn said, “what exactly is a grown man doing hanging on a corner with a bunch of teenagers? Teenagers with beer. You wouldn’t happen to be the one who bought the beer, would you? Because it is illegal to contribute to the delinquency of a minor, and you would be subject to arrest and a search incident to arrest. You still think I can’t search you?”
Luther slowly put his hands out toward Ahearn, palms up. “I did not do anything illegal. I am an outreach worker, a mentor with the Crispus Attucks Youth Center.”
Ahearn smirked. “You got to be kidding me. Is that why you’re out here? Trying to save America’s youth?”
“I also work for the mayor,” Luther said. “We come out a couple of nights a week to talk with the kids.”
Now Co
“I don’t care who you are,” Ahearn said. “Working for the mayor doesn’t give you a free pass to buy beer for kids so they’ll think you’re cool.”
“I did not buy them any beer. It is my job to counsel these young men. They are grieving because they lost a friend. They wanted to share libation with him.” Co
Ahearn shook his head. “So you figured you’d buy them some beer to help drown their sorrows. Is that what the mayor’s paying you to do?”
“We did not buy the beer.” Luther pointed to the white man. Co
“Why don’t you pass a joint around with them while you’re at it?” Ahearn asked.
“I am not encouraging any of this behavior, officer. Nor am I condemning it. I am a man who has broken no laws, and I will not be searched by you or anyone else. You should not be searching any of these young men either.”
“They are minors in possession of alcohol,” Ahearn said. “Another one of those little laws that you don’t seem to think matters.”
“No one was in possession of that bottle. It was on the ground, part of a shrine.”
Co
The mayor would take Luther’s side if this thing blew up. The Street Savior Program was his baby, giving him credibility in minority communities. It was a crime prevention effort to point to whenever he and the commissioner were criticized for overaggressive policing. Nothing would look worse in the press than two cops and an assistant DA acting like cowboys rousting the mayor’s Street Saviors. It would be powerful ammunition for the mayor’s critics. The DA wouldn’t be too happy about Co
“Jackie, come here for a second,” Greene said. He led the big man back toward their cruiser. Co
“Can I speak with you?” Co
Co
“We didn’t do anything wrong, Mr. Darget.” His voice was calm, as it had been throughout the exchange with Ahearn. When Co
“I know,” Co
“Rich Zardino.”
“Haven’t I seen you guys at the gang intel meetings?”
The two men nodded. Not overly talkative. Upset by the exchange with Ahearn.
“I want to apologize for what just happened,” Co
“We understand, Mr. Darget,” Luther said.
“Co
“We don’t want trouble with the police, either. But we’d lose our street credibility if we allowed the search. I didn’t want to show up the officer in front of the young men, but I had to stand my ground.”
“Understood. These witnesses I’m looking for are not in any trouble. Do you know Michael Rogers or Ellis Thomas?”
“Sorry, I do not,” Luther said, maintaining a tone of formality.
Zardino shrugged his shoulders.
“Thanks for your help. Here’s my card. I’ll let the detectives know I’m all set. You can get back to doing your job.”
Co