Wrong Side of the Law

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

“You planning on staying in Denver? This isn’t a bad neighborhood to settle into,” the bartender said, putting a fresh beer in front of Dan. “Nothing fancy but nice. You want to be closer in, try the Baker District, or Highlands. Not Highlands Ranch. That’s where all the rich snobs live.”

Dan nodded. “I might check them out. What’s the job situation like around here?”

“Depends. Construction is booming right now, from what I hear. Otherwise, it’s not too bad, depending on what you’re looking for.”

“Okay.” During his drive west, Dan had considered what he could do as far as finding a job. His whole life had been police work. It had been all he’d ever wanted to do. Now it wasn’t an option. The more he thought about what had happened, the angrier he became.

Where was the support I should have gotten for being one of the best damned detectives in the squad? For f*****g sure I didn’t get any from Lt. Barker. Damned influential bigwig tells him one lie after another and he believes every f*****g one of them because the guy’s got power in the community. I’m just…I was just a dumb cop. Dumb is right. Dumb for believing my word counted for anything in the grand scheme of things. Dumb for not taking Pichot down before he could pull that. Wait, I told myself. Make sure you’ve got all your ducks in a row. Yeah, and what did it get me? Driving to Colorado is what it got me. No job is what it got me. He laughed sourly. Only skills I have other than being a cop I learned from going undercover. I know more about drugs and gun-running and other sorts of crime than half the criminals out there.

All those thoughts and more had kept repeating in his head. And the more they did, the more he realized he did have job skills, just as he’d figured. Not the kind that would make him an upstanding citizen. But what the hell? I spent almost ten years of my life trying to keep the esteemed citizens of New Orleans safe from the crooks and killers out there. Maybe it’s time I realized no one gave a damn that I did.

“So which would you suggest I head for, this Baker whatever or Highlands?”

“Like I said,” the bartender replied, “depends on what you’re looking for. Highlands is up-and-coming. Lot of redevelopment there in the last few years.”

“Meaning young families and what have you moving in?”

“Yeah, pretty much. And lots of popular shops and restaurants now, too. The kind that draw the Sunday crowds and tourists. Baker’s got more established families who’ve been there for a couple of generations or more. Well, except for the gays. A lot of them have bought houses there and fixed them up. The whole area is a mix of industrial, commercial and residential. They’ve got their problems with gangs but not as bad as some parts of the city.”

“Sounds like I should definitely check it out.”