The Good Cop Read Free Page B

it.
    Fortunately, Lisa stepped in. “My dad was a policeman. You knew that, didn’t you, Dick?”
    I shook my head. “No, I don’t think I ever did.”
    She nodded and smiled. “Yes, he was. That was back in Hartford. He took early retirement just about the time I started college. But the interesting thing is that his partner for eighteen years was a man named Kensington Black.”
    That was news! “ Our Kensington Black?” I asked, as though there were thousands of men named Kensington Black….
    She smiled again. “ Our Kensington Black. He’s my godfather. And when he came out here to be chief, and then Tom’s dad wanted to send him here to help with the Montero, things just sort of clicked.”
    I should have mentioned, when I was talking about the hassles in the police department, that finally, at the urging of the mayor, the Police Commission chose to eliminate the intra-mural hassling by going outside the department—and outside the state—for the new chief. They finally picked one Kensington Black, who had done wonders reducing the crime rate of one of the East Coast’s older, deteriorating cities. Chief Black was rumored by his many detractors in and out of the department to be to be a closet liberal. Everyone in the gay community hoped they were right.
    “Kismet yet again,” Tom said. “I decided it was time to make the change. And while Chief Black of course can’t guarantee that I’ll be accepted, having him as a family friend sure can’t hurt, and I’m sure he’ll be glad to put in a good word with the applications committee if one were needed. I submitted my application the first week we got here. There’s a lot of paperwork involved: background check, even a lie detector exam. Fortunately, if I was gay or not wasn’t one of the questions.”
    “But…” I started again, and forgot again.
    “And, no,” Tom said, apparently having a better idea of what I was trying to get out than I did, “he doesn’t know I’m gay.”
    I took a deep breath. “I’m really glad for you if this is what you really want, but you must know how homophobic this police force has always been. I don’t want to be the voice of doom, here, but I’m not being melodramatic when I say you could very well be putting your life in danger.”
    Tom shrugged. “I know, but this force isn’t all that much different from any force anywhere, and things won’t change until somebody makes them change: There’s got to be somebody willing to take the first step toward integrating the force: especially this one. I know it won’t be easy, but I know Chief Black, and I know he’s a good, decent man who’s determined to make changes that need being made. He won’t let anyone get out of hand.”
    He grinned at me and moved his hand down to lay it on top of my leg. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to go around waving the rainbow flag or hang around the locker room groping my crotch and drooling. But I know there are already other gay cops on the force—there have to be. Maybe, when there are enough of us…I just want to make a difference; to show the straights that we’ve got the ability—and the right—to be as good a cop as any heterosexual.”
    I shook my head slowly. I was impressed by his altruism, but was really concerned about his walking into the lion’s cage without a whip and chair. Still, it was his life. “Well,” I said finally, “if that’s what you really want, and you realize what you’re getting into, go for it. I wish you the best.”
    He grinned. “Thanks, Dick. I knew you’d understand.”
    I wasn’t sure I did, but…. And I really wondered what Tom’s dad had to say about all this, or even if he knew yet. But it wasn’t my place to ask—at least not now. Knowing me, I knew I’d manage to bring it up at some point.
    The grandmother clock on the credenza struck 11, and I automatically looked at my watch for verification.
    “Wow,” I said, “it’s getting late. I guess I’d