Officer Chen Novels & Stories

They haul me up, my belly scraping across the bricks, until I’m dumped on the tarpaper. I look up at my antagonists, shielding my eyes against the lowering sun pouring through tattered cloud cover on the horizon. It takes a second to register, but I’m looking at a heavyset Caucasian with a bald spot in a blue windbreaker and khakis and a young Chinese guy in a motorcycle jacket and jeans. Benny Chen, ironically one of the only Chinese cops working the Fifth Precinct. I’ve seen him with Joe on a couple of occasions. “Benny? What the hell? And who’s this asshole?”

His hands were steady, his voice steady. "I'll make sure it doesn't disappear." --- Chen stood at the door of the diner, her coat pulled tight, her face turned toward the street. Alex stood beside her, the files in his jacket, the weight of them pressing against his chest. "You know what happens now," Chen said. "When these files come out, the Captain's going to come after you. He's going to come after everyone who helped you. He's not going to stop until he's destroyed everything you've built."

"That's a debt that needs to be paid personally." Silence on the other end. Then: "Please ..Be careful." "I'm always careful." I started the engine. "But careful doesn't mean gentle. Chen's about to learn the difference." Detective Chen lived in Queens. Modest apartment. Older building. The kind of place a cop on NYPD salary could afford. I parked three blocks away. Approached on foot. Avoiding cameras. Moving through shadows. No Marco team this time. No backup. No witnesses. Just me and the woman who'd betrayed everything she was supposed to stand for.

The police station smelled like stale coffee and floor cleaner. Elena stood at the front desk, waiting for someone to notice her. A officer behind glass scrolled through his phone. Another talked loudly on the phone about a football game. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, making everything look sickly green. Finally, a woman appeared at the window. "Help you?" Elena stepped forward. "I need information about a death. David Chen. It would have been about five years ago." The woman's face didn't change. "You family?"

This car probably costs more than most people's houses. No wonder everyone looked stunned. Mrs. Chen, though, looked furious. Jealousy simmered behind her stare. Her problem was that she had been filled with Aunt Martha's lies, since they were close friends. And she disliked me because of that. I could see the officers standing near the car, their heads bowed even though Damian was already inside behind the tinted glass. No wonder it was irritating to Mrs. Chen that she couldn't do anything about it. The very officers she used to call on were now bowing to Damian.