“Very good information Cindy, thank you,” says an appreciative Commander.
Pennington adds, “We already have the description out to all officers across Chicago. A press release was distributed to the media Saturday night, also with the suspect’s description.”
“What race are we going with?” asks the Commander.
“We put it out as unknown, but possibly white, and to be on the lookout for any male of any race otherwise matching the description.”
“Let’s add right-handed to the description,” directs the Commander.
Garcia then points out that Miguel Gomez was Hispanic and not African American like all the previous victims. “Maybe this isn’t just about black drug dealers like we thought.”
“Too soon to tell,” interjects Jackson. “It’s only one out of ten and our suspect may have thought Gomez was black.”
“Maybe,” answers Garcia.
Commander Marshall then thanks everyone for their hard work and dismisses the meeting.
Garcia noticed Ricci had not spoken up during the meeting. He hopes Ricci isn’t suffering from his ulcer. Although, after this past weekend, it wouldn’t surprise him if he was.
Back at their desks, Garcia expresses to Ricci how unfortunate it is to lose another person to this so-called Candy Man Killer. He has never been involved in a serial killer investigation, and each new victim makes him angrier. “We really need to catch this guy,” laments Garcia.
“Yes we do,” responds Ricci, “and eventually we will. Just don’t forget the victims these assholes prey on all the time. For every dealer that gets killed, there are probably a dozen or more kids whose lives are ruined by drugs. And in some cases, they die. These dealers aren’t the only victims here.”
Once again, Garcia believes Ricci is being too cavalier over the murders of these men. “Remember, those who take drugs carry some responsibility as well,” says Garcia. “There would be no dealers if there were no buyers.”
“You don’t have a clue Juan,” responds Ricci, “kids get suckered in. They don’t know what they’re doing or know the dangers of these drugs. I’ll do my job and help find this killer, but I wouldn’t piss on these guys if they were on fire.”
Garcia can feel Ricci’s anger and knows some of what he says is true, but he doesn’t believe it justifies Ricci’s contempt or attitude. There are many cultural, economic, and environmental factors involved in the world of drug usage. It isn’t all the fault of the dealers as Ricci seems to believe. Garcia decides to just drop the subject.
That afternoon, Sgt. Pennington calls Garcia into her office. “Juan, I need to ask you something.”
“Sure, what is it Sarge?”
“Have you noticed any changes in Mike recently?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he just doesn’t seem to be himself lately. His sick time usage is up, and he just hasn’t looked well to me the last couple of weeks. It could just be the stress of the case, but he’s always been a tough cookie in the past, so I’m concerned. I keep asking him how he’s doing, and he always says fine, but I’m not sure. You work with him closely, so I wanted your opinion.”
“I think the stress is getting to all of us,” says Garcia. “I have trouble sleeping at night thinking about this case, so I imagine Mike does as well. The whole drug dealer thing has him worked up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, he just has a hatred for drug dealers and no sympathy when they get murdered. He actually believes it helps clean up the neighborhood each time one gets killed. Now, he still works hard and wants to find the killer, but I’ve found he has no sympathy for the victims.”
“You can hardly blame the guy for that.”
“What do you mean?” asks Garcia with a puzzled look.
“You know what happened to his daughter right?”
“He only told me she died six years ago in Los Angeles.”
“Yes, from an overdose of Fentanyl she bought from a street dealer!”
Garcia is shocked. “Oh my god, are you serious?”
“Yes. She had moved out to LA a year after high school to start a career in acting, something she was good at. I don’t know all the details, but she somehow got hooked on hard drugs until one day it took her life. They traced the drugs to one of the local street dealers there. Mike and his wife were absolutely devastated. He had to take a leave of absence to recover. I just assumed he would have told you.”
Garcia feels sick to his stomach. “I wish I had known. I would have better understood his attitude.”
“Two years later, his wife dies from an aneurism,” continues Pennington, “which he blames on stress from his daughter’s death. In his eyes, a drug dealer took the lives of both his daughter and his wife. I thought maybe this case was becoming too uncomfortable for Mike and may be affecting his health. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. Mike always just says he is fine.”
“He did tell me he has an ulcer that’s been acting up. He hasn’t felt well a few times recently, but he still seems very capable to do the job.”
“Okay,” says Pennington, “but if that changes, please let me know. I don’t want this case to ruin his health.”
“Yeah, I’ll keep an eye on him. Thank you Sarge.”
The next morning Garcia asks Ricci if he can talk with him privately in the interview room. Ricci agrees.
“I just want to apologize,” says Garcia. “I just found out the whole story behind your daughter’s death. I had no idea. I’m so sorry Mike. I have a better understanding of your position on dealers now.”
Ricci says nothing for a couple of seconds. It appears to
