Read Online Soundkeeper by Michael Hervey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Michael Hervey
Tags: thriller, Literature & Fiction, Thrillers, Mystery, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, South Carolina, Police Procedurals, Pinckney Island, Hall McCormick
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girl.
When he glanced back at the boy he had returned to his car and was rummaging underneath his seat probably trying to ditch the alcohol since he shouldn’t have had it in the car. He grabbed the boy’s wrist and pulled him back out of the car. Then he radioed for someone to transport the kid to jail. It was against the law to possess alcohol in the wildlife refuge, and he committed an assault in Hall’s presence. He needed to experience being locked up.
A young deputy sheriff arrived, and Hall gave him the details of what had occurred. While Hall filled out the arrest paperwork for illegal possession of alcohol the deputy searched the sports car. What he found under the driver’s seat gave Hall a chill in spite of the muggy weather.
“Looks like you can add carrying a concealed weapon to that ticket, Warden.”
Hall didn’t bother to tell the deputy that he wasn’t a game warden. It was a common error. Most law enforcement officers did not know that there were over 300 federal refuge enforcement officers across the country. He looked up from the paperwork, and saw the pistol that had been concealed under the driver’s seat of the sports car. Hall realized for the first time that his duty pistol and other equipment were back at the cottage. He had only intended to lock up the parking lot and didn’t think he would need it.
Now he had a decision to make. Carrying a concealed weapon on the refuge was a violation of federal law as well as the South Carolina Criminal Code. Through a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of South Carolina, Hall had concurrent jurisdiction. In his position as a federal refuge enforcement officer he had the authority to enforce federal laws on or off of property owned by the U.S. Government. The MOU authorized Hall to act upon any violation of state law he encountered in the course of his official duties.
He had two citation books, one for violations of federal misdemeanors, which required the offender to appear before the federal magistrate in Beaufort. The other was a state ticket book, the same one used by deputies, police officers, and highway patrolmen throughout South Carolina. The young man was going to jail for carrying a concealed weapon, that much was certain. If Hall decided to charge him in the federal system he would have to go to the county jail with the deputy, wake up the on-duty U.S. Marshal in Columbia and submit a Statement of Probable Cause to the Assistant U.S. Attorney within twenty-four hours. In all the weeks that he had trained with Jimmy they’d never charged anyone with a federal crime, preferring instead the ease of the state system of criminal justice. Hall stuck with what he knew.
While the deputy began his paperwork Hall had a chance to think about what had happened. It scared him to think that the boy could have been reaching for a gun instead of a liquor bottle, as he had supposed. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to the girl if he had forgotten to lock the gate. He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if the kid would have shot him, either. Life was safer in a lab. Tomorrow he would lock up the gate earlier and he wouldn’t forget his gun and equipment. He had been taught to handcuff first and search later. He vowed not to make that mistake again. His frustration grew again when the deputy returned.
“No assault case. She won’t press charges,” he told Hall.
The prisoner in the back of the deputy’s car smiled when he heard this, and Hall knew everything was screwed up. Why did the guy going to jail have a smile on his face, and the cop who’d arrested him feel like he’d already lost the case?
Chapter Fourteen
No matter how bad the previous day had been a new dawn usually helped Hall put things in perspective. But the horizon dawned gray and overcast, and the death of a friend was not forgotten overnight. He already wore the heavy and
When he glanced back at the boy he had returned to his car and was rummaging underneath his seat probably trying to ditch the alcohol since he shouldn’t have had it in the car. He grabbed the boy’s wrist and pulled him back out of the car. Then he radioed for someone to transport the kid to jail. It was against the law to possess alcohol in the wildlife refuge, and he committed an assault in Hall’s presence. He needed to experience being locked up.
A young deputy sheriff arrived, and Hall gave him the details of what had occurred. While Hall filled out the arrest paperwork for illegal possession of alcohol the deputy searched the sports car. What he found under the driver’s seat gave Hall a chill in spite of the muggy weather.
“Looks like you can add carrying a concealed weapon to that ticket, Warden.”
Hall didn’t bother to tell the deputy that he wasn’t a game warden. It was a common error. Most law enforcement officers did not know that there were over 300 federal refuge enforcement officers across the country. He looked up from the paperwork, and saw the pistol that had been concealed under the driver’s seat of the sports car. Hall realized for the first time that his duty pistol and other equipment were back at the cottage. He had only intended to lock up the parking lot and didn’t think he would need it.
Now he had a decision to make. Carrying a concealed weapon on the refuge was a violation of federal law as well as the South Carolina Criminal Code. Through a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of South Carolina, Hall had concurrent jurisdiction. In his position as a federal refuge enforcement officer he had the authority to enforce federal laws on or off of property owned by the U.S. Government. The MOU authorized Hall to act upon any violation of state law he encountered in the course of his official duties.
He had two citation books, one for violations of federal misdemeanors, which required the offender to appear before the federal magistrate in Beaufort. The other was a state ticket book, the same one used by deputies, police officers, and highway patrolmen throughout South Carolina. The young man was going to jail for carrying a concealed weapon, that much was certain. If Hall decided to charge him in the federal system he would have to go to the county jail with the deputy, wake up the on-duty U.S. Marshal in Columbia and submit a Statement of Probable Cause to the Assistant U.S. Attorney within twenty-four hours. In all the weeks that he had trained with Jimmy they’d never charged anyone with a federal crime, preferring instead the ease of the state system of criminal justice. Hall stuck with what he knew.
While the deputy began his paperwork Hall had a chance to think about what had happened. It scared him to think that the boy could have been reaching for a gun instead of a liquor bottle, as he had supposed. He didn’t want to think about what could have happened to the girl if he had forgotten to lock the gate. He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if the kid would have shot him, either. Life was safer in a lab. Tomorrow he would lock up the gate earlier and he wouldn’t forget his gun and equipment. He had been taught to handcuff first and search later. He vowed not to make that mistake again. His frustration grew again when the deputy returned.
“No assault case. She won’t press charges,” he told Hall.
The prisoner in the back of the deputy’s car smiled when he heard this, and Hall knew everything was screwed up. Why did the guy going to jail have a smile on his face, and the cop who’d arrested him feel like he’d already lost the case?
Chapter Fourteen
No matter how bad the previous day had been a new dawn usually helped Hall put things in perspective. But the horizon dawned gray and overcast, and the death of a friend was not forgotten overnight. He already wore the heavy and
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