Votive Candles

1 A Step Outside

Alex sipped on her drink and looked at Matt. He quizilled his eyebrows as he took in her gaze and took a sip of his drink. She smiled and explained that she was thinking about the last case and how significantly being a victim of a hate crime had affected her.

She said that it was the first time she had thought of herself as a victim.

She explained that it had caught her unprepared to be attacked for her color. She had come to expect and handle all forms of discrimination but had not anticipated someone trying to kill her for being Black.

She knew that her survival did not change the fact that a significant number of such people continued to hold onto their hateful beliefs.

She was sure their own insecurities fueled their beliefs and attitudes.

She added that their enrollment at the university in the class on the History of the Black experience in the building of America was really refreshing her memory and it was broadening her understanding of what their race had endured.

She made the point that even as they endured, they had made significant contributions to the growth of the country.

She realized that being one of only four students in an all-white school and being raised in an all-white affluent neighborhood made her experience closer to being white than being black.

Throughout her growing up she had periodically sensed and experienced social discrimination, but in what she now realized was a much more subdued fashion than most persons of color.

Her continuing higher education had also lifted her up to a social level where discrimination was practiced in a subtle manner.

The fact that no long-term Cincinnati police member had been willing to be her partner in the detective unit was another time that discrimination was blatantly obvious.

Trey had been hired into the detective unit because he said he preferred to be second on the team and that person’s color did not matter.

She had immediately known that he would be the person she could count on. He had been a Marine that had fought in Iran and had seen battle. He had been recognized for his bravery and had been awarded the purple heart. From their first meeting she felt that they would make a great team.

She had been repeatedly attacked by gunmen trying to kill her. She had been lucky, and her personal skill had made them all pay the ultimate price.

Every time she need backup, Trey was there !

She told Matt that it had been a quiet period at work and that she knew that the Chief was guiding most of the work away from her.

He was in his protective mode.

She had welcomed this but was now ready to get back to the work she loved.

She shared that Trey, her work partner, had commented that he had spent more time with family in the last few weeks and that she should get attacked more often.

She had replied that she loved him too.

The two of them had become a team that was looked upon as the top team in the detective unit.

Even Trevor, with whom she sparred verbally every time they were around each other had complimented her on the way she handled her cases.

She and Trey were both AA members and supported each other in staying on the dry side. She had been an AA member since her college days and over a year of working with Trey, she had gotten him to join. It had made a difference for him, and he thanked her for her persistence in getting him to go with her.

They also spent time with activities that reduced the stress of their jobs.

Alex was “Aunt Alex” to Trey’s son Nolan. She and his wife, Lindsey, were good friends. They often had lunch, and it seemed that two weekends a month, Alex and Matt were over to Trey’s house for dinner.

Annie, the young woman she had rescued from her fifteen-year captivity in the Pennsylvania forest, now a very successful, wealthy artist and her two daughters, Linda and Lorie were often at these gatherings at Trey’s.

Both girls also referred to her as, “Aunt Alex.”

Annie had recently purchased a home on seven and a half acres in Indian Hill. The housewarming had been a grand event. Annie had thanked Alex for saving her and for getting her into painting professionally.

Alex brought her mind back to Matt and took in his green eyes and smiled. She was surrounded by the people she loved and who gave her inner power and inspiration.

She thought to herself, “What more could a person want?”

She had made a point of supporting one of the best restaurants in Cincinnati because it had been the scene of her first shooting.

This evening, she was sitting at the same table and facing in the same direction as the time she had been attacked.

Her weapon was in her purse.

She had put the purse straps on her chair and had sat on them so that the purse acted as a holster.

She suddenly realized that someone was walking toward her table. She quietly told Matt to do exactly as she told him.

She made certain that the individual was not brandishing a weapon. He was well dressed and had a smile on his face.

She still put her hand on her weapon.

He excused his interruption and introduced himself as John Williams. He explained that he had come to dinner with his companion. He pointed to a very good-looking lady sitting alone at a table and introduced her as Hanna Hillman. He went on to say that he had recognized the two of them because of the news casts in which they had both recently appeared.

He stopped and then declared that he need her help and would she consider doing some investigation to bring two criminals to justice.

Alex released the grip on the revolver in her purse. She had never been approached in quiet this manner. She was intrigued but she made the point that her assignments were given to her by her boss, and that John should contact the Cincinnati Chief of Detectives, Bruce Johnson.

John looked at her and knew that he had to provide enough information so that she would take on his case. He replied that he had already made an official request that would most likely be in the Chief’s hand by Monday morning. He asked if he could sit for a moment and explain why he needed her to take the case.

Alex pointed to the chair to her right and said he had five minutes.

She watched as John’s face took on a strained look. She immediately sensed that the case had a personal aspect to it.

She listened as he explained that the request was in two parts. One was to find and return a Priest that had failed to respond to a Grand Jury subpoena. The priest was being charged for being a pedophile. John explained that he had been an Altar boy in the church and had been one of the young boys that had been a victim of this priest. He had removed himself from the case and Hanna was now handling it. There were three persons that were potential witnesses.

This was the part of his request that he most wanted help with. It was to find and return this priest to face the Grand Jury and hopefully then be brought in front of a jury of his peers and be tried for his crime.

He said the second help request was due to a lawyer that she should be somewhat familiar with, a Samuel Ellington III.

This was a case that he was personally handling that consisted of a peculiar divorce situation. A wealthy individual and his wife were in the process of getting a divorce. It was a friendly split, and she was to receive half of their combined wealth. During the divorce she died but there were certain indications that there may have been foul play. John explained that he had reviewed the divorce agreement, and everything was fair and equitable. His client had put his deceased wife’s portion into a Charity Remainder Trust that would allocate its money and give it to a charity that she had always supported.

The situation was that Samuel Ellington III had accused his client, the husband, of murder and of illegally retaining control of her wealth.

The help he was asking for was for Alex to use her investigative skill to find out who was behind the charge and who would benefit financially if the money that was in the Charity Remainder Trust was released to them.

Alex looked at John and smiled. She quietly informed John that she would consider taking the cases if they came officially to her.

She also let him know that she was just recovering from a hate crime and knew how hard it was to get over feeling like a victim.

John thanked her and asked if he could buy the two of them a drink.

Alex smiled, thanked him for the offer, and let him know that both their drinks were Pellegrino and she pointed to a large bottle that was still half full and declined the offer.

John said that it was a pleasure talking to her, thanked her and returned to his table.

Matt looked at her and asked if she thought the case would make it to the Chief’s desk.

Alex looked across the room to where John was sitting down across from his companion. She replied that it would be a first, but she figured that John was the type of person that knew how to work the legal system. He had the same presence as her mother who was also a lawyer that was mostly on the winning side.

That Sunday, Alex for some unknown reason, decided to attend Mass.

It was the first time since she had moved to Cincinnati.

She went in early.

She lit a Votive candle and made a prayer for guidance.

She wanted guidance on whether to pursue the wayward priest.

The nightmare she had experienced about this situation was one where she was the victim.

She decided to light a second Votive candle and ask for guidance on her romance with Matt.

Her relationship was one that she cherished and wanted to keep growing.

She sat through a sermon and realized that hearing the same story repeatedly was why she had stopped going to Mass. She was sure she had heard every version of sermon and every twist that the priests tried to enlist in giving a fresh sermon.

They needed the help of some good writers.

2 The Chief

Johnnie thought back on how his relationship with Alex had changed his life. He had returned from Vietnam and had been rejected by a society that he had fought for in a country that he had never heard of against a people that as a famous black boxer had said and went to jail for, “the people in Vietnam are not a threat to the United States.”

He had worked hard at every job that he had been able to land but seemed to be the first to be laid off when business went south.

He did not realize that when he had witnessed the brutal killing of a young lady that his life had taken an upward turn.

He was sure he would be dead within a couple of weeks.

When the wrong person was arrested for the killing, he knew he had to come forward and correct the error.

He was rejected by an ass of a lawyer with the ridiculous name of Samuel Ellington III that was representing the man accused of murder. He wondered if he was the third ass in his family.

After being ignored, he had then remembered the young black rider that passed the Cincinnati Library on a bicycle early each morning. He knew she was a cop because he had followed her and watched her lock her bike into the bike rack at the entrance to the police station.

He had stopped her and told her his story.

She had believed him.

She had hired him as her part time computer analyst.

She had gotten him his apartment superintendent job in the apartment building that she lived in.

She had changed the downward trajectory of his life.

She had saved him.

The recent attack on her because she was black had enraged him and he had worked harder than he had ever done before to make sure that the attackers were brought to justice.

As he expected Alex closed that case and was now recovering. He knew that she was seeing a psychologist to deal with the fact that she had been a victim just because of her color.

He had decided that he would take a personal hand in trying to keep her safe. He had decided to use some of his Vietnam experience as the point person on a march and became the point bicycle rider on Alex’s way to work.

This morning, he was outfitted in a purple and black riding outfit. He was her lead on her ride to work. He had spent a small fortune on his bike.

It was a different brand but of the same caliber that Alex rode.

He had declared that he was protecting his lifestyle and that she would have a riding partner for as long as he could pedal.

He had been surprised when Alex had thanked him and had purchased a bike stand for him as a gift.

Johnnie insisted that they would alternate making the choice of the route they would take to work.

He also insisted that he be the point person. He pointed out that it had been his role in Vietnam, and he had survived it. His only demand was that he got to have the donut of his choice once they got to the station and that he was assigned a desk near her and Trey.

Alex laughed and agreed to his demands. She made the point that she would probably not have survived in Vietnam and from what she knew the women from North Vietnam were fierce fighters that would have challenged her.

She welcomed Johnnies partnership. She was still struggling to overcome the feeling of being a victim of a hate crime. Her sessions with the department psychologist were continuing but she had pushed them to be done either at a lunch session or in morning coffee break session.

Her psychologist was slowly becoming a friend.

The sessions helped her, and it helped with her AA adherence. She had enlisted Trey for periodic participation in her meetings with her psychologist.

He had commented that it helped him as well.

This Monday morning after changing into her work clothes she sat down and was sipping her coffee.

Trey walked in with his cup and a half of a bear claw. He handed the other half to her.

Johnnie had a jelly filled donut well on the way to completion.

Bill and Trevor had their coffee and donuts.

The five of them were sharing their normal morning banter when the volume from the Chief office caused them to stop and look at each other.

Trevor asked if Alex’s car was still in the lot and that it had not been blown up.

Bill commented that a new case that the Chief was not in agreement with had probably arrived on his desk.

Alex looked down at her coffee but remained silent. She wanted to call Matt and let him know that John’s case had made it to the Chief.

She wondered how it had been delivered. Usually, the cases came from the coroner after a killing. This one was coming into the Chief in a form that seemed to anger him.

After what seemed like a moment of eternity the Chief opened his office door, pointed to Alex, and asked her to come in.

Alex listened to Bill as he said to remember that she had four people that would back up any decision she made. She quietly thanked him as she put her coffee down and turned to go into the Chief’s office.

The Chief asked her to sit down so that he could explain a request that had come to his office. He had told his boss that he would leave the choice as to whether to take the case up to her. He said that line had caused his boss to get upset and threaten him.

Alex looked at the Chief and smiled and replied that of course she would take the case.

She had to keep his reputation intact.

He looked at her and asked how she could be sure she would take the case before she had even heard what it was.

She replied that she had gone to church for the first time since coming to Cincinnati and had received guidance that she was to take the case.

The Chief shook his head. He asked if she knew what the request was.

She replied that she would like to hear his take on it.

They both sat silently for a moment.

She was relieved when he opened a file that had a formal looking document that provided a written request. She wanted to understand the request in detail and how success would be measured.

The Chief looked at her and asked if he could call in the rest of her team so that he would only have to go through the details one time.

Thank you for reading this far – Hope you enjoyed it.