CCC #50

Eventually, We arrived at the police station. I was escorted inside and into an interrogation room. This was not going to be any better than it was to tell Marie about Jack. I was fairly sure that whoever got to interrogate me was not going to make it a cozy batch of tenderness.
I sat there for what seemed like a long time, my leg outstretched, the bullet wound throbbing. I sat with my head in my hands, absorbed in the reality that Jack’s kids were without a father. And my sister was a widow. The deaths of Cabrese and his crew were not even thoughts in my head.
I had almost fallen asleep sitting there when the door opened and a familiar face entered. It must have been my lucky day. John Sampson entered the room and seemed to fill it. He was a huge, hulking man, the kind that had intimidated even hardened criminals with only his presence. I had worked with John before and he had know Jack well. He was also the most skilled interrogator on the force.
For someone who stood 6’5” and weighed over 250 pounds, John was incredibly intelligent. He could pretty much bench press a small car and being an All-American left tackle in college didn’t stop him from his PHD in psychology or another in Criminology. I was about to get torn apart by a master.
I was flattered and almost giddy with pride, they brought John in for the really tough jobs. He walked over to the table as I sat up straight and placed the obligatory water cup on the table top. “Hi John.” I said. “Steve.” He acknowledged with a slight nod.
He stared down at me for a minute, apparently deciding how to take this. A moment later he took a chair across from me. No strong arming yet. It was hard to intimidate a cop like you could a regular criminal.
“Look, “he began. “I am sorry to hear about Jack. He was a really good man. Nobody here likes what happened. You are here under arrest because of what action you took. Vigilantes cannot be tolerated. We have kept this whole bloodbath out of the press, but if any of them get one inkling of what went on, they would turn against us, and you, faster than a pissed off rattlesnake.”
I only nodded. What else could I do? John began again, “Who was with you in that nursing home? I remind you of your rights.” “No one was there John. Just me. I pulled the trigger on everyone there. I killed them all, and Cabrese last. There are boxes of files in my car with all of Cabrese’s businesses detailed. There just is not anyone left to run the empire.” I told him looking between him and the one way mirror behind him.
I was calm. I was collected. I expected the death penalty. John just shook his head and placed a provocative finger on the file he had brought with him. “This file, “he began, “ has the names of 98 dead people in it. All of them are Cabrese muscle or part of the Cabrese family.” Dear Lord, of course all of those men would have families. I had never considered.
In my lust for revenge, how many widows had I made? How many kids left without fathers? Now I felt even worse. John spoke again. “We found the files in your car. Cabrese’s empire is gone. You did that all by yourself. Now we just have to figure out what to do with you.” He paused as the door opened again and the Chief and my Captain walked in.
They both eyed me with flinty expressions. I took another deep breath and prepared myself for the holding cell that surely awaited me tonight.

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