Time dragged, traffic flowed: interrogation room grillings. Elmer Lentz dropped a bomb: the radio said the grand jury requested a presentation–all the officers at Central Station 12/25/5 1 were to stand a show-up tomorrow, prisoners would be there to ID the roughnecks. Chief Parker’s door opened; Thad Green stepped outside. “Officer White, please.”
Bud walked over; Green pointed him in. A small room: Parker’s desk, chairs facing it. No wall mementoes, a gray-tinted mirrors–maybe a two-way. The chief behind his desk, in uniform, four gold stars on his shoulders. Dudley Smith in the middle chair; Green back in the chair nearest Parker. Bud took the hot seat–a spot where all three men could see him. Parker said, “Officer, you know Deputy Chief Green, and I’m sure you know of Lieutenant Smith. The lieutenant has been serving me as an advisor during this crisis we’ve been having.”
Green lit a cigarette. “Officer, you’re being given a last chance to cooperate. You’ve been questioned repeatedly by Internal Affairs, and you’ve repeatedly refused to cooperate. Normally, you would have been suspended from duty. But you’re a fine detective, and Chief Parker and I are convinced that your actions at the party were relatively blameless. You were provoked, Officer. You were not wantonly violent like most of the men accused.”
Bud started to talk; Smith cut him off. “Lad, I’m sure that I speak for Chief Parker in this, so I will take the liberty of stating it without ellipses. It’s a danm pity that the six scum who assaulted our brother officers weren’t shot on the spot, and the violence visited upon them I deem mild. But, parenthetically, police officers who cannot control their impulses have no business being police officers, and the shenanigans perpetrated by the men outside have made the Los Angeles Police Department a laughingstock. This cannot be tolerated. Heads must roll. We must have cooperative policemen witnesses to offset the damage done to the Department’s image–an image that has vastly improved under the leadership of Chief Parker. We have one major policeman witness already, and Deputy D.A. Ellis Loew stands firm in his desire not to prosecute LAPD officers– even if the grand jury hands down true bills. Lad, will you testify? For the Department, not the prosecution.”
Bud checked the mirror–a two-way for sure–make D.A.’s Bureau goons taking notes. “No, sir. I won’t.”
Parker scanned a sheet of paper. “Officer, you picked a man up by the neck and tried to bash his brains out. That looks very bad, and even though you were verbally provoked, the action stands out more than most of the abuse heaped on the prisoners. That goes against you. But you were heard muttering ‘This is a goddamned disgrace’ when you left the cellblock, which is in your favor. Now, do you see how appearing as a voluntary witness could offset the disadvantages caused by your . imaginative show of force?”
A snap: Exley’s their boy, _he_ heard me, locked in the storeroom. “Sir, I won’t testify.”
Parker flushed bright red. Smith said, “Lad, let’s talk turkey. I admire your refusal to betray fellow officers, and I sense that loyalty to your partner is what stands behind it. I admire that especially, and Chief Parker has authorized me to offer you a deal. If you testify as to Dick Stensland’s actions and the grand jury hands down a bill against him, Stensland will serve no time in jail if convicted. We have Ellis Loew’s word on that. Stensland will be dismissed from the Department without pension, but his pension will be paid to him sub rosa, through monies diverted from the Widows and Orphans Fund. Lad, will you testify?”
But stared at the mirror. “Sir, I won’t testify.”
Thad Green pointed to the door. “Be at Division 43 grand jury chambers tomorrow at 9:00. Be prepared to stand in a show-up and be called to testify. If you refuse to testify, you’ll receive a subpoena and be suspended from duty pending a trial board. Get out of here, White.”
Dudley Smith smiled–very slightly. Bud shot the mirror a stiff middle finger.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Streaks and smudges on the two-way—-expressions came off blurred. Thad Green tough to read; Parker simple–he turned ugly colors. Dudley Smith– lexophile with a brogue–too calculated to figure. Bud White too _too_ easy: the chief quoted, “This is a goddamned disgrace”; a big thought balloon popped up: “Ed Exley is the stool pigeon.” The middle finger salute was just icing.