When Candice got up Wednesday morning she didn’t even bother to look for Janice in her room. After all, she’d pretty much tucked Janice and Cody in his bed the night before. The only difference from the last two nights was that the P226 was on the bedside stand, rather than the .357.

Although there was certainly the aura of wrongness about the two kids sleeping together, Candice was dead sure nothing untoward had happened between them. Janice was certainly benefiting from the odd arrangement – at least it was clear that she was sleeping more soundly when she knew she had Cody close to her. This was something that was going to have to end sooner or later, and preferably sooner, but until Janice was able to put some of the trauma behind her, perhaps it was just as well that the practice continued, even though it made Candice feel a little awkward.

And if feeling awkward now was bad, what was going to happen in a couple days when Shay got home from college? At least nothing appeared to be happening between Cody and Janice, while Candice was just as sure as she could be that Shay and Bethany were both pretty anxious to have some time alone with a bed involved. In a way, she didn’t mind that – Shay was over eighteen, after all, and he had the normal desires of a boy that age. Bethany had some desires, too; Candice remembered well what it was like being that age and in college where the parents weren’t looking over her shoulder, so she could take advantage of her newfound freedom.

Candice thought she might feel a little better if she actually liked Bethany Frankovich, or her parents for that matter. The girl seemed very manipulative and controlling, and it was clear that back in high school Bethany had used her body to keep Shay tied up in little knots. It was just as well that things had worked out that the two had gone to college several hundred miles apart; Candice had hoped that the distance would let them drift apart, but it hadn’t happened and didn’t seem likely to happen any time soon, now. However that was rapidly getting to be neither here nor there; for better or worse Shay had made his own bed and was going to have to lie in it. None the less, how Cody and Janice sleeping in the same bed was going to spin off on Shay and Bethany was anyone’s guess.

It was a question that was going to have to be answered soon, too, but at least not right this moment. It was time to be getting the kids up; Janice needed meds and would need help getting dressed, which was something that Candice wasn’t quite ready to let Cody do for her, no matter that he’d already seen Janice in the nude. The girl was getting around a little better than she had Sunday, but there was clearly a long way to go. Besides, she wanted to make sure she’d made a good breakfast for the kids before she took off for the store.

As always, Cody and Janice weren’t sleeping close together. They were close enough together that each of them ought to be aware in their subconscious that the other one was there. Again Candice was sure the two were holding hands, but there was no cuddling or anything that suggested something more intimate was going on, or had gone on.

“Good morning, Cody, Janice,” Candice said cheerfully. “Time to rise and shine!”

Both of them began to stir a little. “Aw, come on,” Cody mumbled. “The sun isn’t even up yet. It’s way too early.”

“Hey, I know both of you would like to sleep till the crack of noon, but it’s not happening today,” Candice grinned. It was hard to get up before dawn on the short days this time of year, but it was something that went with living in the north country. “Cody, your dad and I have decided that we’re both going to go to work this morning, so we’ve got to get Janice ready for the day.”

“Well, if we have to, we have to,” Cody replied unenthusiastically. He rolled a little, put his hand on Janice’s shoulder and said, “Jan, time to get up.”

“All right, Cody,” she said, almost with a smile in her voice. “If you say so.”

“Come on, Janice,” Candice said. “I’ll help you to the bathroom, and then we can go down to your room and get you dressed.”

“When you get her ready, I’ll help her get downstairs,” Cody offered.

“We need to get you around and organized,” Candice reiterated as Janice threw back the covers. It was a struggle for her to sit upright, so Candice helped her as she continued, “We’ve got the doctor’s appointment for this afternoon, so I’ll be home for that.”

“You don’t have to come home for that,” Janice said as Candice helped her upright. “Cody could take me, couldn’t he?”

“Maybe some other time,” Candice said, “but there are some things that I want to talk to Dr. Metarie about directly. Some of them are girl things and Cody might not be real comfortable with them.”

“Oh, OK, I guess,” Janice said. “Cody, maybe you could come to the doctor’s office with me?”

“Probably not necessary,” Cody told her as he got his feet on the floor. “Dr. Metarie may be all right, but he’s got the dumbest reading material in the world in his office. I can never find anything but Highlights for Children.”

“Typical doctor’s office,” Candice grinned. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that magazine anywhere but in one of them. I think they get it as a freebie or something.”

“It’s going to feel really scary to not have you with me,” Janice observed.

“It’s not going to hurt anything,” Cody said. “Mom can take care of you. You just go with her. It’s not going to be for long so won’t be that bad.”

“All right, Cody. If you say so.”

There was something strange in that conversation, Candice thought as she waited by the bathroom door while Janice did her business. With the thought of Bethany and Shay in mind, Janice’s urging Cody to go with them to the doctor seemed pretty manipulative, but it didn’t seem like the same kind hold that Bethany had on Shay. It almost seemed as if Janice was afraid to be out of Cody’s sight, and she wanted to do what she could to keep him there. In fact, except for bathroom breaks, getting dressed, and a while on Sunday night, the two of them had pretty much been in the same room all the time since Cody went to visit her in the hospital on Friday!

Add to that Janice’s wanting to sleep in the same bed with Cody seemed to say that she was scared to be out of his sight, out of his protection. Well, that wasn’t so strange, when Candice stopped to think about it – after all, Janice had come right out and said it, not once, but several times.

There was something else in that conversation, something really strange, but something that Candice couldn’t quite put her finger on. It all needed some thought.

“No, I can’t sign this,” Judge Dieball said to the local director of Family and Children’s Services in his chambers a couple hours later, “and I wouldn’t if I could. First off, I already approved the emancipation order in open court on Monday. There’s no way I could reverse it now, especially not without a hearing. Whether you like it or not, Janice Lufkin is now an adult and is to be treated like one. That means it’s out of your jurisdiction. If you wanted to lodge a protest, you should have done it at the hearing, not try to sneak something through behind closed doors.”

“But that’s ridiculous!” the director said. “That child needs someone competent to manage her affairs.”

“You’re trying to tell me that the leading CPA in this town with two responsible children her age isn’t competent to handle her financial affairs if she wants him to?” Dieball snorted. “Or that Matt Schindenwulfe isn’t competent to handle her legal affairs? They’re both taking her case pro bono, after all, which is more than you people would do.”

“But we’re better equipped to handle the affairs of a minor! We do it all the time! Besides, to have her living with the family whose son shot her father and brother is an abomination. That is just absolutely the most incomprehensible thing I’ve ever heard of.”

“She’s not a minor,” the judge reiterated. “She’s an adult, and it’s now her decision to make. What’s more, they told me in court that they’ll provide for her through high school. What do you plan to do, put her with some foster family and then turn her out on the streets with no place to go when she turns eighteen in seven months?”

“She’ll be an adult then. She can handle her own affairs then.”

“She’s legally an adult now, and if you wanted to handle her affairs, wouldn’t it have been better if you had decided to handle them when she was being starved, beaten, and systematically raped? You people really dropped the ball on that one. If you’d come to me a week ago asking for an order to get her out of her house, I’d have gladly signed it, but you didn’t, and things had to get settled the hard way. From what I’ve seen of the police report she was lucky to get out of the house alive.”

“But if we get control of her again, we can place her with a foster family that will care for her.”

“And you think she’s not being cared for now?” Dieball snorted. “Don’t bullshit me, I know what you really want to do. Now, there are times that having you people available is really the only option, better than nothing. This is not one of them. If you want to file an appeal on the emancipation, fine, file it. I’ll make sure it comes up for hearing about five days after her eighteenth birthday. Now drop it. You lost.”

It really seemed strange to be back in the store. Candice hadn’t been there since the previous Friday, and then it had only been for part of the day. At least Tiffany had been able to fill in, but kid issues had made it hard for her. An awful lot had happened in the last few days and it felt good to be back to the quiet of the place. More than home these days, it was a familiar touchstone, and this morning it was quiet so there was a chance she might be able to think things out a little.

Mostly, she was thinking about the strange near-epiphany she’d had when she’d gotten the kids up this morning. There was still something in what Janice had said, what Cody had said, that made her wonder what was going on – and made her wonder if Cody even had an idea of what was going on. Whatever it was, she couldn’t put her finger on anything, and hadn’t made any progress on it when the front door opened and John walked in. “They just dropped the Record-Herald off across the street,” he said, handing her a copy. “Needless to say, we got mentioned.”

“Oh, crap! How bad is it?”

“I haven’t read it all, just looked at the headlines, but I can tell you we’re all through it. I got this copy for you.”

Candice spread out the paper on her side of the counter, while John did the same thing on the other side. The headline, Rogue cops caught in break-in was just about the biggest that she’d ever seen in the Record-Herald. She scanned down through the story – there was mention that the incident had taken place at their home, of course, but at least only minimal detail about that. There was, however, considerably more detail about what had happened with the cops, who they were, and what they’d been doing. That junior reporter at the paper had done a good job, she thought.

She looked on down the front page. Two dead in drug lab bust was the story she’d been wondering about. Quite amazingly, Cody’s part in the story was kept relatively minor, only stating that he’d discovered the Lufkins beating and raping “a minor” and shot them in self-defense. Rape victims were never named anyway, but Candice had little doubt that everyone in town knew who the story was talking about. In any case, the story concentrated more on the discovery of the meth lab. The story did state that it had been ruled that Cody would not be prosecuted for the shooting, although it was just a mention, and down in the story a bit.

What caught her eye was the box on the front page:

A Record-Herald Editorial

Enough is enough!

There have been stories going around for a while, although little in print, about how the officers of the Regional Drug Task Force have a tendency to run fast and loose with the law. It turns out that these stories are more than just rumors. This was proved by Monday’s arrest of two Drug Task Force officers and the Spearfish Lake Police Chief as they allegedly broke into the home of an apparently innocent citizen with the intent of planting false evidence in the house.

If the allegations prove to be true, this is easily the most reprehensible act perpetrated by police officers in Spearfish County in many years, and gives solid proof that there are Drug Task Force officers – and others – who apparently have the belief that they are above the rule of law.

In theory, the Drug Task Force is supposed to provide skills, expertise, and tools that are unavailable to local law enforcement. However, it would appear that these have been blatantly misused by not only the officers involved in Monday’s incident, but by others who escaped detection. When officers seem to think that getting an arrest is more important than finding the truth, things have gone much too far. One cannot help but wonder how many innocent citizens have been railroaded into court, and perhaps prison, by such misguided actions.

Enough is enough! It is time for some competent agency – which precludes the Drug Task Force – to thoroughly investigate the unit from the top to the bottom, and follow up discovery of such misdeeds with prosecution and severe penalties. In addition, it is time for the local units of government involved with sponsoring the task force to consider whether the unit is doing more harm than good.

The City of Spearfish Lake is already considering withdrawing support from the task force. We applaud this, and think it’s time. In fact, it’s time for other units of government in this county and elsewhere to consider withdrawing support from a unit that apparently does not have much regard for the rule of law. If the task force is broken up, there will undoubtedly be drug makers and peddlers who will go free – but the chances of innocent citizens going to jail will be much reduced. We think it’s a fair tradeoff, because such blatant disregard of the rule of law cannot be allowed to happen again. – MMcM

“Did you read the editorial on the front page?” Candice asked. “Boy, did Mike lambaste them or what?”

“Pretty good,” John said. “I think he pulled his punches a little. He could have said what he really meant, or even better, what I think. I don’t know how much good it will do, but at least it got said.”

“That’s true,” Candice sighed. “At least they didn’t make a big deal about Cody, but with it being in the paper now it’s official, so I guess he’s going to have to live with it.”

“Yeah,” John nodded. “And you know how the mouths run in this town. It’s going to be tough on him. Hell, both of them. I guess we’re just going to have to do what we can to help, but I’ll bet it won’t be long before they’re both counting the days till they can get out of this town.”

“I’m afraid you’re right,” Candice said. “I guess that’s what happens when you do the right thing. We’re just going to have to try to do the right thing by them. Both of them.”

There was no doubt that Cody felt a responsibility to Janice that he couldn’t quite explain. It was clear to him that his actions the previous Thursday had improved her life considerably. But it was also clear to him that his actions were not unlike taking in a stray kitten. Once you’ve taken the responsibility for it, you’re pretty well stuck with continuing responsibility, and God knew Janice needed caring for, not just from her injuries, but from all that she’d gone through before Thursday.

Still, he’d been with Janice almost continuously since Friday morning, with only brief breaks. Not that he didn’t enjoy being with her, helping her out, caring for her, because he did – but his mother’s taking Janice to the doctor gave him a welcome break from her continual presence. He had a few things to do, here and there, that he was happy Janice wasn’t involved with just yet, and this was the first time he’d had the chance to do anything about them.

Cody’s dad had the Escort at work, and his mother had used the minivan to take Janice to the doctor, but it wasn’t a long walk to the police station. It was hard to guess ahead of time if Charlie Wexler would be there, but at least he knew from the paper his mother brought home that Charlie had been named interim police chief. Sure enough, Charlie was in the chief’s office, going through a stack of paperwork, the only person in the building. “Hi, Charlie,” Cody said when he knocked lightly on the door frame. “You busy?”

“Not that busy,” Charlie said. “It’s going to take weeks to straighten out the mess Abernathy made of some of these files, so there’s no point in trying to fix them all today.”

“I saw in the paper that you got promoted,” Cody smiled. “Congratulations.”

“I’m not sure it’s worth being congratulated over,” Charlie shook his head, “but congratulations to you on the decision to not be prosecuted.”

“That’s a hell of a relief,” Cody admitted, wondering how he was going to get around to what he wanted to talk about. “That could have loused things up for me royally, thought they’re going to be anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked, detecting some nervousness or something in Cody’s voice. He set a stack of papers on the desk to turn and pay more attention to his young visitor.

“Well, I know I’m going to catch a bunch of stuff from the kids at school,” Cody shook his head, “and hell, Jan is, too. I don’t know what I’m going to do to deal with it.”

“About all I can tell you is to deal with it,” Charlie said. “I caught some shit in school, too. But that’s kids, it goes away after a while.”

“Mr. Tidsworth said yesterday that what happened the other night is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. I mean, people talking behind my back, and like that. Hell, same thing for Jan.”

“Unfortunately, he’s pretty much right. I’ve never had to shoot anyone, in fact, never had to use my weapon except for qualifications and practice, but I know cops who have had to, and there’s always, well, a difference in them afterwards.”

“That’s part of what I’ve been thinking about,” Cody admitted. “You know we’ve talked about my maybe deciding to be an officer. I can’t say that I’ve made up my mind about it, but that business yesterday makes it seem less appealing.”

“I can’t blame you in the slightest for thinking that,” Charlie nodded, leaning back in his chair. “Unfortunately, there are always bad apples in the barrel, and sometimes they don’t get thrown out as quickly as we would like. At least three of them got found out for what they are. Cody, you’re going to find bad apples in whatever you do, police or anything else. The important thing is to do the right thing and not get sucked into that kind of thinking.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. The thing of it is, I’m also starting to wonder how much I want to be an officer in the first place. I mean, I’ve watched Mr. Schindenwulfe the last few days, and I can’t help but be impressed how he’s done the right thing time and time again to keep us from being run over. He’s really been able to help people by what he’s done, and I keep wondering if maybe I might want to be a lawyer instead.”

“That’s going to have to be your decision to make,” Charlie smiled. “But I will tell you this: there are bad apples among lawyers, too. In fact, there could be more bad apples there than there are bad cops. I mean, have you ever heard any lawyer jokes?”

“I get the picture, but I don’t think I could stand to be a bad apple, either as a lawyer or a policeman.”

“No, I don’t think you could. You’re not made that way. Look, Cody, I can’t tell you what to do about that. I frankly think you would make a hell of a police officer. You’re fair with people, and if last Thursday night proved anything, it was that you can think and take the right action when the chips are down. I don’t know if anyone else has told you this, but you showed considerable courage and grace under pressure, not just in the shooting, but afterwards. I heard about how you and your family have taken Janice in. That just shows the stuff you’re made of, you and your folks. You’re doing good, Cody. All you Archers are doing good, and the crap that those drug task force bozos were handing you just shows that you are better than they are.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Cody sighed. “Look, I’m not saying that I’ve decided against being a cop, it’s just that I’ve got more to think about than I had a few days ago.”

“I’d be surprised if you didn’t have,” Charlie shook his head. “Look, if you want to talk about this, now or later, feel free to ask me about it.”

“Well, there’s one big question right out in front,” Cody sighed. “Is what I did last Thursday going to stand in the way of my becoming an officer?”

“It shouldn’t,” Charlie told him. “Now, if you had been charged, or prosecuted it could be a big stumbling block. If the three guys who broke into your house get convicted, they’ll never be able to write so much as a parking ticket again. If you were tried and convicted for the shooting, you might as well have forgotten about ever being a cop, or a lawyer, or a lot of other things, even if the judge only gave you a slap on the wrist for a sentence. A felony on your record can really louse up your life, which is part of the reason I called Matt Schindenwulfe over here before I really tried to talk to you. Fortunately, that part of it worked out.”

“Yeah, and I appreciate it,” Cody nodded. “You think those guys are going to get convicted?”

“Nothing is certain in this life, but there’s a damn good case against them. If I had to bet, I’d bet on them doing at least some time.”

“Well, that’s good news. I’m just worried that those other drug task force guys might try something else against me to try and take the attention off those guys.”

“Probably not,” Charlie shrugged. “If they have a lick of sense, they’re running a little scared right now. In any case, the first thing I did this morning was to head over there, talk to the scene commander, and tell him to get off his dead ass about cleaning up the HAZMAT stuff in the Lufkin house. As soon as they have the scene cleared, I’m going to tell them their presence is no longer necessary. If they give me any static about it, they’re going to lose the support of the city so quick it isn’t funny. Either way, they ought to be out of here in a couple days, and that should end that.”

“I’ll feel better when those guys are gone.”

“I will too, Cody,” Charlie said, and decided to try and change the subject. Cody wasn’t an officer, after all, even though he was thinking about it and the idea needed some encouragement. “Look, don’t give up on the idea of becoming an officer. I know you’ve got some time to think about it, even if you were to decide to go to an academy right out of high school. You’d probably be better off to get some college, maybe in criminal justice or pre-law or something. That’d give you plenty of time to make up your mind, either way.”

“That’s probably not a bad idea,” Cody agreed.

“Look, if you seriously think you want to become an officer, there’s some things you can do to get ready before you get out of school. For instance, it’s not a bad idea to have a first responder card, maybe even an EMT certificate. You already know how to shoot, that’s good. Maybe you could get with Gil and his buddies and learn the basics of unarmed combat. That’d give you another leg up when you did an academy, and it’s good stuff to know anyway. If you have any questions, talk with me about it again, and maybe I can come up with some other ways you can prepare yourself.”

“It won’t do a lot of good if I decide to become a lawyer.”

“Don’t be so sure. There are more than a few cops who have law degrees, and it’s useful to them. I can’t see any harm in a lawyer who also happens to be a certified police officer.”

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