Chapter One
Every cop who's been on the job for a while can tell you about "the call.
That one call over Police Radio, that if he had to do it all over again, there's no way in the world he'd answer it. Maybe he'd pretend his radio was turned off, or its battery was dead. As a last resort, he might try to leave work early -- Hey, Sarge, I don't feel so good, I've been throwing up, I really think I should go home right away.
It might be an innocent-sounding call, part of the daily routine. Or one that hints of danger, the dispatcher's voice suddenly tense, just slightly higher pitched. A call out of nowhere, out of the air, a voice that breaks the silence as the patrol car cruises through the familiar streets. The cop doesn't know it yet, has no way of knowing, but it's the call. And once he answers it, it changes his life forever.
For me, it came late one night, near the end of my shift. I was already making plans, thinking about seeing Michelle and having that first cold beer.
""Twenty-C-Charlie, we have a request for a supervisor."
No big deal, I thought. It just meant one of my cops needed me, probably for something minor, maybe even idiotic. Uh, Sarge, we just broke up a fight between like eight dogs -- do we got to do paperwork on it?
This time, it was Mutt and Roy who wanted me. Mutt had radioed in, asking for a supervisor at 43rd and Market. The dispatcher, knowing I was the only 20th District sergeant on the street that night, relayed the request to me.
There was no one at 43rd and Market, the intersection was clear. But then I saw, halfway down 43rd, Mutt and Roy's patrol car, overhead lights flashing, pulled up behind another vehicle. It looked like a routine car-stop.
It was everywhere, over his tailored brown suit, his white shirt, soaking the handkerchief that he was holding to his face.
He seemed filled with relief when he saw me, saw my stripes.
"Thank God someone's here," he said. He looked dazed, not quite sure where he was. He was leaning against his car for support.
Mutt and Roy glanced at me with worried looks.
"What's going on?" I asked them.
Mutt shook his head. "You tell us, Sarge."
"Get them away from me," the man said.
"Who?" I asked.
He seemed baffled at the question. "Who?" he repeated. His eyes flicked from Mutt to Roy, then back, as if he wereexpecting a punch at any moment.
He coughed and winced, grabbing his left side. Something was wrong with his ribs.
Mutt turned to me, half in panic. "We didn't touch him, Sarge. We found him like this."
The man seemed familiar, I had the feeling I knew who he was. But he still had the handkerchief to his face, and the street was full of shadows.
He looked at me and said in a calm voice, "They think they can get away with this."
He took the handkerchief away, and I could see bloody cuts on top of his smooth head, over his eyes, on his swollen lip.
And in the dim light, I recognized him.
""This is Twenty-C-Charlie, we need Rescue at this location."
"Councilman," I said, trying to keep my voice steady, "what happened here?"
Mutt and Roy jerked their heads at me, then back at the black man in the suit and tie.
"Oh, shit," said Roy. "This is Sonny Knight."
The man glanced at Roy, then turned to me. "Sergeant, get them away from me. Please."
"Sarge," said Mutt, "I hope you don't think ..."
"Just move back," I said, motioning again with my hand. They obeyed.
"Sir," I said. "Tell me what happened."
He wiped his face again. The bleeding had mostly stopped, but a few cuts were still leaking.
"Those two attacked me," he said, pointing at Mutt and Roy. "I thought they were going to kill me."
"Huh?" said Mutt. "What're you talking about?"
Knight kept his eyes on me. "I want them placed under arrest. Right now."
He rose to his full height. More confident, now that I was there.
Take it slowly, I told myself. One step at a time ...
The award-winning crime reporter and author of "Sons of the City" returns with a searing novel about a widening conflict between the Philadelphia police and the black community, told from a gritty, cop's-eye view.
It is a call no supervisor wants to hear -- a late-night summons that pulls Sergeant Eddie North to the dark, deserted streets of West Philadelphia. A powerful African American city councilman has been savagely beaten, and he's accusing two Philly policemen of the assault. Suddenly a good cop is plunged into the center of a media circus fueled by rage, mistrust, and blind hatred, further straining relations between the police and the black community. But finding the truth in a mountain of lies may prove impossible -- even fatal -- for Eddie North, forcing him to cross the line to do what he feels is right. Because a cop killer is emerging from the shadows to wreak a terrible vengeance as the battle heats up between a community and its "protectors." And in the end, only the strongest -- and the luckiest -- will survive.