Chapter Seventy Three

Stephen

Benji - Thanks for meeting with us, Chief Walis.

Chief - I’m sure you’re grateful, Mr. Ramirez. What can I do for you gentlemen?

Benji - I get the feeling you already have an idea why we’re here.

Chief - If it’s about my missing agent, then yes, I do have some questions.

Benji - And which agent would that be?

Chief - I only have one missing at the moment, Mr. Ramirez. He was last seen with the two gentlemen who walked in here with you.

Benji - I hate to disrupt your narrative, but are you referring to Mike Suarez or Daniel Rodriguez, Chief Walis?

Chief - And who is Mike Suarez?

Benji - Oh, Lizzie, you didn’t tell him about our recent encounters? I find that hard to believe. And Chief, if I were a betting man, I’d say you just gave up your bluff.

Chief - Oh, and how so?

Benji - Well, I noticed you hold your pen in your right hand. A natural right-handed person would do that. And when a right-handed person lies, they tend to look directly to their right. That glance you just gave DA Carson didn’t go unnoticed.

~Damn, this guy is good!~ I thought to myself. ~I’m so lucky he’s on our side.~

Chief - You seem to know a lot for a lawyer, Mr. Ramirez.

Benji - Given these are basic techniques you or anyone else in your employ would have been taught, I’m curious why you let that slip so easily, Chief Walis. Not to mention the touching of your face and your eyes darting back and forth. That’s why I’m calling your bluff.

Chief - Okay, what do you want, Mr. Ramirez?

Benji - I think the real question is what we can do for you. And do you want it?

DA Carson - I’m sure there’s nothing we want or need from your clients, Mr. Ramirez.

Benji - Always so quick to judge, Liz. You haven’t even heard what I’m offering.

Chief - My officers’ experiences with your clients suggest their dealings often land them in trouble.

Benji - Oh, so you’re aware? Are we finally dropping the bluff, Chief?

Chief - What do you want, Mr. Ramirez? My patience is wearing thin.

Benji - You wouldn’t need to rely on your patience if you weren’t playing games, Chief Walis. I came in here being straightforward. I’d appreciate the same in return.

Chief - Go on then.

Benji - You have corrupt officers running illegal operations right under your nose.

DA Carson - This is ridic-

Benji - Liz, stop! How many times have you made a fool of yourself by jumping to conclusions? Keep quiet until I’m finished, then pass your judgment. You should know by now I don’t shoot from the hip. I aim, then fire.

Chief - Continue, Mr. Ramirez.

Benji - What if I told you I have evidence that your CPD is corrupt and running a drug syndicate right under your nose, led primarily by Captain Grounds and Detective Peters?

Chief - That’s a big claim. But for someone who supposedly doesn’t shoot from the hip, I assume you have the evidence to back it up.

Benji - What you call cocky arrogance, I call precision shooting.

I couldn’t help but smirk. Benji’s love for winding them up was too entertaining.

Chief - Okay, Mr. Ramirez, let’s say I humor you for a minute. Why should I believe you?

Benji - You probably wouldn’t. But given the number of times I’ve handed your DA her ass on a platter, you probably should. But I know as a law officer, you follow the evidence. So don’t believe me, believe the evidence.

His eyebrows shot up at that.

Chief - You have evidence to prove this?

Benji - Absolutely.

Chief - How do you know it isn’t planted or tainted?

Benji - Ms. Carson, care to explain to your Chief? When I make a claim like this, do I not usually have the means to back it up?

They exchanged glances, and I saw DA Carson shake her head at the chief.

Chief - So what is it then?

Benji - Here’s the thing, Chief. As a professional courtesy, I’m giving you the opportunity to take the credit for exposing this corruption. But if you don’t want to act on it, that’s fine. The FBI Criminal Investigative Unit was eager to take the lead.

Chief - And how would they know?

Benji - An old colleague of mine leads one of their five branches.

I noticed the chief swallow deeply.

Benji - I had them analyze the evidence before setting up this meeting. Here’s what I know for sure. Mr. Chad Davis has been blackmailed for a long time by your officers, Detective Peters and Captain Grounds, along with many others from their unit. They forced him to obtain Class A drugs for them to sell for profit.

Benji - They got greedy and created a fake DEA investigation, leading Mr. Davis to believe your agent Daniel Rodriguez was an undercover DEA agent gathering evidence.

Chief - Evidence against who?

Benji - Supposedly Mr. Gotti. However, your records show there was never any investigation into Mr. Gotti, nor was there anything to suggest his involvement in what Mr. Davis was doing. Your agent was getting these drugs from Mr. Davis to sell for profit with Captain Grounds and Detective Peters.

Benji - I also found that proper procedures and checks weren’t conducted when hiring Mr. Rodriguez. He had previously been stripped of his badge in the Bronx for similar corruption.

Benji - As a result, my client and his family have been falsely charged with murder, harassed, and terrorized by your agents with no evidence to back up any of your claims. Liz can tell you who failed miserably at trying to secure a conviction against Mr. Gotti and his wife.

Benji - And finally, after running some advanced tech checks, it’s been proven that many of the phone calls to Mr. Davis were made from within your precinct when these officers were supposed to be working on the side of the law.

Benji - Do you have any further questions, Chief?

Chief - How can I verify this evidence?

Benji - I’ll arrange a viewing for you at the FBI lab with my friend once you’ve made a decision.

Chief - What are you suggesting?

Benji - Mr. Davis and my client are willing to help you set up a sting operation to take down your corrupt agents.

Chief - Why would I do that?

Benji - With the election year coming up, it’s a prime opportunity for you to grab the spotlight and look like the hero, Chief Walis. Unless, of course, there’s more to this story and we need to keep digging.

This jerk is definitely trying to cover his own ass. He’s fully aware of what’s been going down and he’s way more involved than he’s letting on.

“Benji,” I say, “I’ll give you and DA Carson some time to talk this over. But if I don’t hear from you, Chief Walis, within the next twenty-four hours with a decision, we’ll pass this case to the FBI to take the lead.”

We all rise from our seats and head for the door.

“Always a pleasure, Liz,” Benji says, a smirk playing on his lips as he winks at her. And with that, we walk out.