The Investigators (Badge of Honor 7)

When he surprised everyone by lasting through the rigors of the Police Academy, Chief Inspector Dennis V. Coughlin, who had graduated from the Police Academy with his best friend, John Francis Xavier Moffitt—who had knocked at Patty Moffitt’s door to tell her, “Honey, Jack just had some real bad luck,” and who had no intention of knocking on her door again to tell her Jack’s boy had been shot—arranged to have him assigned as administrative assistant to Inspector Peter Wohl.

He had been on that job less than six months when, off-duty, he spotted the van used by the Northwest Serial Rapist, attempted to question the driver, nearly lost his life when the driver attempted to run him down with the van, and then shot him in the head.

Not quite a year after that, the Philadelphia Police Department planned and executed a massive operation intended to cause the arrest without firing a shot of a gang of a dozen armed robbers on warrants charging them with murder in connection with the robbery of Goldblatt’s Department Store in South Philadelphia.

Officer Payne’s role in this meticulously planned, theoretically foolproof operation was to “escort”—keep him (and incidentally himself) out of any possible danger—Michael J. “Mickey” O’Hara, the Pulitzer prize-winning Philadelphia Bulletin police reporter. They were to wait in an alley a safe distance from the building in which the robbers were known to be until the arrests had been successfully accomplished.

One of the robbers, wielding a .45 Colt automatic pistol, appeared where he wasn’t supposed to be, in the “safe alley,” and let off a volley of shots. One of them rico cheted, grazing Payne in the forehead. He was able to draw his revolver and return fire.

That evening’s Philadelphia Bulletin carried an “Ex clusive Photo By Michael J. O’Hara” that showed Officer Payne, blood streaming down his face—from a wound that looked a great deal worse than it was—standing, pistol in hand, over the felon he had fatally wounded in a shoot-out.

Ninety percent of police officers reach retirement without once having been forced to use their pistols. A cop who, in less than two years on the job, finds himself involved in two good shootings is obviously something out of the ordinary.

No one was surprised when Officer Payne passed the examination for Detective on the first attempt. He was, of course, a summa cum laude university graduate who had little trouble with the examination. He ranked second when the examination results were posted, and was promoted shortly thereafter.

It was said, however, that Mayor Carlucci would have had him promoted if it had been necessary to send two chief inspectors into the examination room with him to show him which

end of the pencil to use, and otherwise be helpful.

Neither were many people in the Philadelphia Police Department surprised to hear that Mayor Carlucci had “suggested” that Detective Payne be reassigned to Special Operations after a very short assignment to one of the detective divisions.

Mayor Carlucci was aware of the value of good public relations.

What Walter Davis thought when he saw Payne, M. on the membership board of the Rittenhouse Club was first that Payne was almost certainly a regular rather than non-voting, ex officio member, and second that the FBI was always looking for outstanding young men to join its ranks.

He had, he realized, had that thought before.

Why didn’t I follow through with it then?

His lunch with Randy Andy Tellman (turtle soup, London broil, and asparagus) went well until he called for the check to sign. Tellman snatched it from his hand and scrawled his initials on it.

“I didn’t know you belonged,” Davis blurted.

“Out-of-town member,” Randy Andy told him. “The firm picks it up.”

As soon as he returned to his office, Davis told his secretary to ask ASAC Towne if he could spare him a minute.

Towne answered the summons immediately.

“Correct me when I’m wrong, Isaiah,” Davis told him. “The subject is Detective Matthew Payne of the Philadelphia Police Department.”

“Yes, sir?”

“To the best of your recollection, nothing came up in your FBI that would disqualify him for the Bureau?”

“No, sir.”

“Including his physical condition? What caused the Marines to reject him?”

“It was some minor eye problem, as I recall, sir. I don’t think the Bureau even looks at that sort of thing.”

“And I think we have an agent to whom it was suggested that getting close to Detective Payne might be a good thing to do?”

“Yes, sir. Special Agent Jack—John D.—Matthews.”

“Refresh me. How did Matthews come to meet Detective Payne?”

“I believe it was in connection with the vice presidential threat,” Towne said. “We sent Matthews over to liaise with the Secret Service. The Special Operations Division of the Philadelphia Police Department was providing the Secret Service with bodies to help find that lunatic. I believe they became friendly while that was going on.”