Deceptions: The Iron Eagle Series Book: Thirty-One

By Roy A. Teel, Jr.

“Man, don’t you know there are dangerous people on these streets?”

Back Matter:
Child Protective Services. The very words call to mind images of dedicated case workers protecting innocents and improving families. Those who enter the field are seen as selfless for their actions, but every saint has a secret. As a 30-year veteran at CPS, Anita Bandon was the rock everyone in law enforcement leaned on, including the Iron Eagle. But when Bandon is gunned down in an apparent professional hit, an unfathomable reality comes to light. John Swenson and Jim O’Brian uncover corruption and cruelty so unthinkable that only the Iron Eagle can stop it.

Inside Flap:
Secrets are hard to keep, especially when revealing them could shake an entire industry. Such is the case for Anita Bandon, the acting director of Los Angeles County Child Protective Services. Despite a 30-year career built from the ground up, Bandon’s life is abruptly ended in what most would write off as a random act of violence. But Bandon’s death in a gang-infested Watts neighborhood is actually the first in a series of killings targeting the one entity whose sole purpose is to care for innocent children. As John Swenson and Jim O’Brian investigate her death, an elaborate deception comes to light ... one that only the Iron Eagle can stop.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Narroway Press
• Release date: Dec 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781943107629

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

She thinks we have a hitman out there.

John was seated on a bench in front of Chris and Karen’s grave. It was early evening, and the sun was setting. It was late September, and the two had been dead for nearly five months. There was a cool breeze blowing, and John sat with a coat over his shoulders, staring at the tombstone and looking out over the other graves at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills. His tablet and cellphone had buzzed several times in the 90 minutes he’d been there, but he had not looked at them. I miss you two more than you know. His eyes were red, and he stood up, laid a bouquet of flowers on their grave, and walked away.

Jade and Jessica were on scene in Watts where Anita Bandon’s body laid under a yellow tarp. The area was buzzing with police as well as news crews as the neighborhood members went about their business. Several fights had broken out down the street, and men and women were walking the streets while slowly flashing gang signs and blocking traffic. Jade lifted the tarp and put a thermometer into Anita’s liver as Jessica assessed the wounds to her torso and head.

These were clean shots, Jade. Two right into her chest, striking her heart, and then a straight shot between the eyes. This killer knew what he was doing.

Jade nodded as she worked with her tablet. LAPD homicide detectives were investigating the scene and talking to witnesses, but no one was forthcoming with what they saw. Detective Rick Lowden and Detective Jack Embry were LAPD veterans, and both men were well-known racists. They were to Jade and Jessica as oil is to water, and the four tried to keep out of each other’s way when on crime scenes together, but confrontation was almost inevitable.

Leroy and another young man were in custody on unrelated charges, and law enforcement scoured the area for the others who ran when the shots rang out. All of the men on the corner were known to police, and Leroy was seated in a cruiser as Detective Lowden spoke to him. So, Leroy, you didn’t see the shooter?

I told y’all I saw a white Mercedes cruisin’ down da street slow. Me and my homies made it right away. The back window rolled down, and Auntie got shot.

You fired at the car after the shooting?

Yeah. I tried to stop ‘em, but they took off like bats outta hell.

You’re a felon in possession of a firearm, Leroy. And not just any firearm. A semiautomatic AR-15. That’s hard time, but you know that.

Look, I was protecting my turf and Auntie. I don’t think I hit the car, but I might have. I tell you I didn’t see no face.

No colors, no call out, or gang slogans? They just fired on Ms. Bandon and drove away?

Dat’s what happened, man.

Lowden stepped away from the cruiser and told an officer to take Leroy and the other man downtown. He walked up to Jade and Jessica who had a makeshift tent erected over the body. Well, what do you make of this shit?

Jade shook her head. I know you’re a homicide detective and a dick, Lowden, but show a little respect.

I got dick, but you don’t like that. You like the taco. Why should I show respect for a nigger who got shot down in Watts? This is not exactly an unusual situation, Jade. This is just another day at the office for me and Jack.

I knew Anita Bandon, detective. She was not a ‘nigger.’ She was an upstanding member of our community and spent her life protecting children.

Sorry. I didn’t know her background, but it makes no difference. No one is talking. No one saw anything. The shooter’s car didn’t have plates, which isn’t unusual. It appears to be a drive-by gone wrong. The victim was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is a very, very dangerous neighborhood. And on that note, why are you and Jessica here? Your lackeys usually handle the murders in the hood.

When the call came in, we were told who the victim was. Jessica and I know her well and wanted to handle this.

Jessica had been down on the ground with the body but stood up and slammed her tablet into Lowden’s stomach. These are people, not animals. Treat them with respect. Since you already have this all figured out, you will write up a report, put out a few signs, wait for community outrage, and then sweep this under the rug as just another innocent victim of a gang shooting. Well, Mr. Wizard, since you haven’t done an ounce of work on scene yet, in looking over Ms. Bandon’s body, she wasn’t just gunned down by a drive-by shooter. She was targeted.

What the fuck are you talking about?

Jessica shook her head. You people are so quick to judge before you put an ounce of work into these cases. A black woman gets gunned down in a gang-infested area, and you make assumptions without an ounce of evidence. There were, from what we know, at least 10 bangers on this corner. All were armed, and this car came out of nowhere, and the shooter hit just one person. There wasn’t a spray of bullets. There were three direct shots fired, and they were fired at Ms. Bandon. This wasn’t a gangland shooting. It was a professional hit made to look like a random drive-by. Jade was recording the conversation on her tablet as Lowden stood silent, and Jessica continued. The shooter knew his target, and since the shots were fired from the back seat, we know that there were at least two people involved. The Mercedes was a new S class. That car costs six figures. I’m also certain on autopsy we are going to find that the ammunition used was tactical. What you have here, detective, is a professional hit, and I can tell you right now this is way above your paygrade. I’m going to call Sheriff Jim O’Brian and Assistant FBI Director John Swenson.

Why the fuck would you call them? This is LAPD’s jurisdiction.

Not for long. Both men knew Anita Bandon well. We need pros on this, not racist assholes who will try to bury the truth.

Jim had just pulled into his driveway at home when he heard Jade say over the phone, Anita Bandon has been murdered.

Murdered? What the fuck happened?

It was a professional hit. She was shot dead near her home in Watts. Jessica and I have just finished processing the scene, and there’s no doubt that this was a professional hit, Jim.

Watts is a dangerous area.

She has lived there her whole life and was well loved in the community. No one local would gun her down. This stinks of a professional hit, and Jess and I have been confronted with the usual LAPD racism.

It’s the nature of the beast. These fuckin’ guys working homicide in the ganglands are jaded. They see it day in and day out. Very little impacts them. LAPD is capable of handling this, so why call me?

This was an assassination. Anita Bandon was the head of Child Protective Services for the entire city and county of Los Angeles. Someone wanted her dead, and now she is.

So? You want me and John to get into every killing that happens in this damn city? People are murdered every day; some are just basic crimes, robbery, carjacking, mugging, and so on. Then we get more depraved killings, and they are the ones that make it to my attention or John’s. I liked Anita, too, Jade, but until you can put two and two together and prove she was the victim of a hitman, you are just going to have to let LAPD handle it.

That’s bullshit, and you know it. If this were a white woman in an affluent area, this would be on the top of everyone’s list. There would be calls for investigations up and down the ladder, but this was a black woman killed in a black neighborhood. Because of that, it will just be swept under the rug. Oh sure, there will be a few candlelight vigils and people screaming that we need to find the killer, but in a matter of days, the issue will be eclipsed by someone else’s murder, and her death will go on the cold case pile, and the next victim will most likely be the next on the hitman’s list.

Jim was out of his car and walking through the front door. When did you grow such a sense of justice and keen eye for murder?

When I met the Iron Eagle. She paused then said, Jim, this was a hit, plain and simple. Someone murdered Anita for a reason. I don’t know what that reason is, but I can tell you that her murder may be the only one that is public. This was an easy hit. Shit! The real hitman might not have even done the kill. Killing a black woman in Watts would be child’s play for a pro, but if this is a murder spree, we need to start looking at all of Anita’s contacts and who might wish her harm.

I’m going to have dinner with my wife. Call John and tell him what you told me. If he thinks it’s something that we should look at, then we’ll look at it. I’m not going to pull jurisdiction on LAPD in Watts unless I have to.

Why the fuck not?

Because they will gladly give it to me. They don’t want to deal with this shit, and neither do I.

John and Sara were eating their dinner but speaking very little. The chef entered and asked if their meals were to their liking, and both nodded and thanked her. Sara took a sip of wine and said, We are opening the Chris and Karen Mantel Pediatric Wing at the hospital this week. Are you coming to the dedication?

Of course. I wouldn’t miss it. When?

On Thursday at 2 p.m., so you have three days to put it on your calendar.

It’s already on my mental calendar. I won’t forget.

So, how was work?

Some interesting cases. I’m looking into several on my own. We might have a serial killer out there. So far, we have two cases with the same M.O., and the victims had no relationship with each other.

Did you go to the cemetery again today? He nodded. I know you miss Chris and Karen, John, but you have to let them go.

I know there are risks for those who are involved with the Eagle, but they are dead, and I’m still feeling it.

Life goes on, and you know that. Even Chris and Karen would be telling you that if they could. You have been preoccupied with this since it happened. The election is only two months away, and it looks like President Hernandez has it in the bag. Have you spoken to him or his staff?

I received a call this week from his chief of staff, letting me know that I am on the short list and asking if I am still interested in the job as FBI director.

What did you tell her?

I accept the listing and will make a decision when and if I meet with the president.

It’s a great opportunity, John.

I don’t like politics, and that’s all the job is, playing politics. Anyone who tells you that the FBI or any other federal or state policing agency has no political bias lies.

You don’t.

I’m not affiliated with any political party. I vote my conscience.

I vote my wallet as well as my conscience.

John laughed. Well, I look at that, too, but I want to know that the person running for the job is the best suited for it.

President Hernandez is a good man, and you know him well.

He is but even if he gets reelected it will be his final four-year term, and whoever comes to power after him will determine whether or not I remain director. If you ask me, Assistant Director Nelson is a better fit for the job.

And have you told this to the president?

I have, and I know that Nelson is on the short list right now. It’s still all speculation. Even if I get the office, I have to go before the senate for confirmation, and I’ve had run-ins with a lot of people on that committee over the years, and there are several others I downright hate.

You have said you want a seat at the table of six.

I don’t want a seat. I will take it, and that is another strike against me. They don’t want me in the same room with them.

They know who you are and what you do, John. They would never cross you.

They would if it suited their purpose, but several have called in favors, and it is all documented, so they would be outing themselves as well as me, and that wouldn’t be good for their tight-knit group, and they know it would bring my wrath upon them.

Sara sat back in her chair after placing her napkin over her plate. Well, I will support you whatever you choose. You could be appointed director for Los Angeles. God knows we need a good director. You do the work, and he claims the fame, now he’s a politician.

Indeed. Word has it he is putting together an exploratory group to make a run for the federal house or senate after the election. If he does that, he will most likely resign the post, and I would automatically become the interim director and would be made permanent if I didn’t go to Washington.

I guess time will tell. Are you going to work out?

After I let my stomach settle. What are you going to do?

I have regulatory people coming in to the hospital this week, so I’ll be reading reports.

Well, then, I will take a swim, and we will meet up in the bedroom.

Sara smiled. I was hoping you would say that. We haven’t had much time for intimacy lately.

Well, we have it tonight, so let’s take advantage of it. Sara left the room, and John walked to the deck as his cellphone rang. It was Jim.

You’re never going to believe the call I got from Jade.

I never do, Jim. What’s up?

She thinks we have a hitman.

Interesting, and what brings her to that conclusion?

Anita Bandon was gunned down in front of her home in Watts a few hours ago, and she and Jessica were on scene. She says that all signs point to a professional hit.

Anita had a lot of enemies, and her decisions weren’t always popular at Child Protective Services.

Yeah. Jade thinks there is more to it than that and is pissed off at the homicide detectives dealing with the case. She tells me that they are just looking at this as another tragic drive-by in a gang-infested neighborhood and aren’t taking the case seriously.

Do you know who the detectives are?

Jack Embrey and Rick Lowden.

I thought Lowden had been thrown off the force over that abuse of power situation a few years ago.

Nope. He’s still there, and we both know how they feel about blacks.

And Jade feels that you need to enter the case?

I don’t want to, John. LAPD will throw it in my lap without so much as a whimper.

Well, let’s meet with Jade and Jessica in the morning and go over what they found, and we will take it from there. He was about to hang up but stopped. Jim?

Yeah?

Are you going to be at the dedication of the Mantel Wing at Northridge this week?

Of course. They meant the world to me. You’re going to be there, right?

Of course. I might even say a few words.

I’d be pissed off if you didn’t. I’ll see you tomorrow at the medical examiner’s office. Let’s say nine?

I will meet you there.

CHAPTER TWO

I hope to fuck you’re right, Jim.

It was just before 9 a.m. when Jim and John pulled into the medical examiner’s parking lot in Los Angeles. Jade and Jessica were in their offices when the men were announced. Jade had already set up a conference room and had Anita’s body brought into the autopsy room. They gave each other a hug, and Jade led the men first to the autopsy room. Anita’s nude body laid on one of the stainless steel tables. She had a small entry wound over her right eye, and the back of her skull had been blown off. She had two more gunshot wounds in her chest that were tightly grouped near her heart. John and Jim looked over the body while Jade and Jessica looked on. No one spoke for several minutes. John ran a gloved hand along Anita’s chest and then his head.

This was a professional hit all right. I read over the LAPD report and with so many people on that street corner and in the line of sight, the killer knew exactly who he was gunning for. This was no drive-by.

That’s what I have been trying to explain to Jim. The shooter didn’t want any of the others on that corner. He was gunning for Anita.

Jim pulled his gloves off. Okay, so you have a hit on your hands. I still don’t see how that involves us. Anita was the head of a very, very conflicted division of state government. The killer could be a disgruntled parent or a kid that got the short end of the stick. It could be an internal dispute within her own office.

And you don’t think that needs to be investigated? There is way more to this than just a hit. Other people are going to die. Anita is most likely the first and the one that will garner the most attention.

Jessica, I don’t have the time or the resources to send people running down dead-end leads, and that is what this will be. Even if this was a professional hit, LAPD has jurisdiction. I have an entire sheriff’s department to run, and John has the FBI. This doesn’t rise to a level that we need to get involved. Jade stormed out of the room, and Jessica asked an orderly to put Anita back on ice and led the men to the conference room. What the fuck crawled up your ass and died? Why the fuck do you care about this case so much? You barely knew Anita. What’s the deal?

She spent her entire life taking care of other people’s children. John had her out on multiple Eagle scenes through the years, and she was always ready to help a child in need.

John nodded. "That’s all true, but I have to