Sam Kincaid 01 - The Commission

checked out, our investigation would be back at square one. A confirmed alibi would eliminate him as a suspect.
    I hadn’t been off the phone long when it rang again. Caller ID provided me with a number I instantly recognized. It was Sloan calling from the private line in his executive office suite.
    “Hi, Sam. I’ve got good news and bad. Which would you like first?”
    “Let’s have the bad.”
    Sloan actually seemed to be enjoying this moment of quiet torment. “Well, the bad news isn’t really all that bad,” he said after a lengthy pause. “You have an appointment tomorrow morning at nine with Dr. Marilyn Hastings from the Employee Assistance Program. And don’t waste your breath complaining, because it won’t do you any good. Any employee involved in a shooting incident goes straight to counseling, no exceptions. And Kincaid, I know your tendency to disparage department policy and procedure, but don’t trifle with me on this one. If the department shrink gives me any indication you’re not being cooperative, I will suspend you from duty immediately. Am I making myself clear?”
    “Absolutely. I assume this means I’m back on the job.”
    “That’s the good news. I received a call from the Salt Lake County Attorney’s Office late this morning advising me that they have concluded last night’s shooting was justified, and that no criminal charges will be filed against you. Somebody from Salt Lake City P.D. must want you back on the case pretty bad. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a deadly force case reviewed so quickly.
    “Also, my executive management team, after consulting with the department’s administrative law judge, has concluded that your actions did not violate department policy on the use of deadly force. I concurred with their conclusion.
    “To answer your question, yes, you’re reinstated and may return to work at once. Understand, however, that I’m bending the rules here a little. Technically, I shouldn’t let you go back to work until the department shrink gives you clearance. I’ll assume this is just a formality so long as you do your part.”
    We concluded our conversation with Sloan reminding me that while the apprehension of a probation violator was important, it brought us no closer to finding Levi Vogue’s killer.

Chapter Fifteen
    Late in the afternoon, I was summoned to a meeting at police headquarters for a status report on the investigation. McConnell had temporarily commandeered a small conference room near the office of the Captain of Detectives. The walls were adorned with flip-chart paper identifying investigative leads that had been assigned to each member of the team.
    Besides McConnell and me, Burnham from my office and Vince Turner were there. By fate and circumstance, the four of us had become, at least informally, the Vogue homicide investigation team. Also in attendance, much to my chagrin, were Captain Hyrum Locke, head of the Detective Bureau, and Deputy Chief of Police Clarence Puffer.
    Puffer was a fifty-something career bureaucrat with a largely unremarkable career that had spanned more than twenty-seven years. He was a likable man of modest abilities whose career had flourished by making few enemies, avoiding controversy, and dodging difficult decisions whenever possible. The best thing I could say about him was that while he wouldn’t be much help, neither would he get in the way. I wish I could have said the same about Captain Hyrum Locke.
    Locke wasn’t particularly popular with his own subordinates in the Detective Bureau because of his tendency to seize the spotlight and assume credit for the accomplishments of others. Also, he’d spent several years commanding the Department’s Internal Affairs unit, not an assignment that endeared you to your fellow officers. I decided to keep one eye on the ball and the other on Locke.
    “You should all know that Mayor Baldwin has received a second telephone call from Richard Vogue reiterating his demand for a rapid resolution to the investigation,” said Locke. “The mayor is under extreme pressure from the Vogue family. It has also been suggested that I should assume direct command over the investigation. I’ve decided not to do that, at least for the time being. I do, however, intend to work more closely with Kate from here on out.”
    Translated, that meant Locke would remain far enough in the background to distance himself from blame if the case went unsolved, yet close enough to seize the