Page 74 of Precise Justice

The mayor was called out of church. By the time she was back downtown, the chief of police was waiting, as was the city attorney and county attorney.

Outrage was the word of the day. Fortunately, this mob was made up mostly of students and suburban activists. It took until after four o’clock that afternoon to satisfy them. It also satisfied the politicians. The crowd was promised the appointment of a commission to investigate. The mayor assured everyone this would be no ordinary whitewash. The commission’s findings and recommendations would be taken with the utmost seriousness. A standard way for a politician to lie and avoid doing anything. Procrastinate by appointing a commission.

Marc and Maddy, home alone, watched on their living room TV. When it was over and the crowd was disbursed, Maddy asked Marc what he thought.

They were on the living room couch. She turned the TV off. Marc looked at her with his best faux serious expression.

“The utmost seriousness. Utmost I tell you. This will not be an ordinary commission to whitewash this outrage,” Marc said. “This will be an exceptional commission to do the coverup, er, um I mean, the ah thorough investigation whitewash.”

Maddy took over with the same look, pointed an index finger at the ceiling and said, “No siree, this will be an extraordinary whitewash job. And when it’s over, all of you outraged protestors will have moved on to your next outraged protest event.”

“That should do it,” Marc said.

“Can I come with you and do Gabriella’s show?”

“Sure, it’s okay with me,” Marc answered.

“The article in yesterday’s Star Tribune concerning transgender girls and women being assaulted and raped has almost set off riots in downtown Minneapolis. The article alleged the Minneapolis police department, the mayor’s office and the city council have not taken this seriously or done anything about it, at least until now,” Gabriella started her show,The Court Reporterby reading this statement off a teleprompter.

“I have with me today, a good, personal friend of mine, Madeline Rivers. Maddy is a licensed private investigator who has been instrumental in uncovering this,” Gabriella continued introducing Maddy.

They, Marc, Maddy and Gabriella, decided to have Maddy interviewed without Marc. The entire MPD police force knew her and would be less likely to be mad at her than Marc for being on TV about this. Plus, she had been the one to interview victims.

“Good afternoon,” Gabriella said, turning to Maddy.

They were seated in two comfortable armchairs on a set resembling a living room. Gabriella on the right side of a coffee table, Maddy on the left.

“Hi, Gabriella. Thanks for having me,” Maddy replied.

“What’s going on here?”

By that question, previously rehearsed, Gabriella opened the door. A half-hour TV show is, in reality, twenty-two minutes because of commercials. Gabriella and Maddy were like a well-trained tag team. Before the half-hour was over, no stone, so to speak, had been left unturned.

“This is outrageous. These people go through enough without the authorities protecting them,” Gabriella said at the end.

“I suppose we should acknowledge that the mayor, police chief and county attorney all promised a complete, thorough and transparent investigation,” Gabriella said.

“Actually, what they promised was a commission to look into it,” Maddy replied. “These things aren’t always takenseriously by appointing a commission to study them. That’s usually a way to put off doing anything. We’ll see,” Maddy said.

Gabriella looked at camera number 1 and said, “That wraps up our show for today. A special thanks to Maddy Rivers for bringing us up to date. Be assured, we will be keeping an eye on this story.”

While Maddy waited for a crew member to remove the earpiece equipment, Marc approached her. He had held her phone during the interview.

“Some guy named Philip Caldwell has called six times. Should I be concerned?” Marc said, handing her phone to her.

“Phil? Phil is a lieutenant in sex crimes with the MPD,” Maddy said.

“I wonder what he wants?” Marc asked.

“Relax, he stopped asking me for a date after we got engaged,” Maddy said.

“Hi Phil. I see you called, what…”

“Stop yelling and watch your language,” Maddy calmly replied.

“Why didn’t you come to me with this?” Caldwell asked.

“Why should I? These people came to you and St. Paul and your guys brushed it off… if you don’t stop yelling and swearing…”