SACRIFICES (5 page)

              Chief Carlin, a veteran officer with over 38 years of service to the Chicago PD. An older gentleman that has earned the respect of almost everyone that knows him and the admiration of those who don't. He comes from the old school.

He started his illustrious career during the civil rights era. He’s a tough as nails chief that won’t stand for anything but the best from his officers. He’s always stressed in the minds of everyone around him that ‘you strive to be the best, or don’t bother.’

              Brad skims over the article while he half-heartedly listens to the chief talk on the phone.

              The chief hangs up the phone. "That was the Governor he's going to give us total cooperation on the investigation as well as jurisdictional control."

              "What about the FBI?" Brad inquires as the Chief stands up and walks over to the bulletin board on his wall next to his many plaques and pictures. The board’s covered with articles from numerous papers throughout Illinois talking about the case.

              "The FBI will work up a profile for us to go off of, but until we request full support they'll just assist in any way they can to help. The governor wants to keep this localized to just local and state for now. This whole thing has gotten worldwide press. Hell, I even heard that there was mention of this in Canada and Russia." The seasoned veteran of the Chicago PD explains.

              "Still no print no witnesses." Brad shakes his head as he lifts one of the articles from the Peoria Journal Star.

              "Brad you’ll be under a lot of pressure on this one, everyone in the state is going to be watching everything you do and say. Remember, and don't forget, the state as well as the country is going to know that
you
are in charge of the investigation. Are you up for this?" The chief puts his hand on the back of Brad's neck and like a big brother or a father figure and softly squeezes.

              "Yes sir, I am definitely ready for this." Brad explains as he forces a smile from his nervous face.

              "Good, cuz in one hour the down stairs lobby is going to turn into a circus. The governor and press from all over the state will be here hanging on your every word. I'll be by your side, but you're the one everyone is coming to see. Do you know what you're going to say?" The chief walks back over to his desk and takes a seat and kicks up his feet.

              Brad remains at the board and glances over the headlines and tells the chief with his back still to him and reluctantly answers. "I guess. I mean, I know what I'm going to say...yes." Brad turns and nods his head without expression.

              "Remember kid, in times like this, it's not so much
what
to say, but what
not
to say."

ONE HOUR LATER DOWN STAIRS IN THE FIFTH PRECINCTS LOBBY

             
Cameras and microphones are everywhere. There’s press from as far away as Peoria, Bloomington and East St. Louis. There's a buzz in the air, a sort of electricity that hasn't filled this station house in years. Nightline has a correspondent there as well as Good Morning America, Hard Copy and MSNBC. This place is a circus, and the ringleader's Lieutenant Detective Bradley S. Jostler.

              There's a line of folding metal chairs lined up behind the old oak podium that has a considerable amount of microphones encircled around the antique speaker's stand. Flash bulbs are going off and the sound of news affiliates whispering into there own microphones as they wait for the conference to begin.

              The crowd is shoulder to shoulder and the police presence is quite evident, especially since the Governor himself is present. The governor walks up to the podium and says. "Good afternoon, I'm Governor Vance and where here today to talk about the recent rapes that has taken place. Chicago Inspector Brad Jostler will be heading up the task force to apprehend the person or persons responsible for these acts in full cooperation with the Governors office and the state police. Our purpose here today is to answer questions and to inform the public to what we know thus far. At this time I'm going to turn it over to Inspector Brad Jostler." The governor smiles and walks over to his seat.

              Brad stands up dressed in a black three-piece suit, with brightly polished shoes. He looks powerful and confident. He removes an envelope from his breast pocket and puts on his reading glasses. Then he slightly adjusts the microphone height and clears his throat. "I'd like to start by reading a brief statement then I'll be glad to take some of your questions." Brad explains with a smile and spilling with confidence as if he was born to be a leader.

              "On the 3rd of July the city of Chicago had a rape occur in the downtown area of the Knowles. After our investigation we found out from Springfield that they also had a rape case that shared similarities with the one that happened here in Chicago. We then went to the Springfield area to follow up on the leads that they had. Unfortunately there were not many. During our investigation in Chicago and Springfield we received news that Peoria has also had a case that shared similar characteristics as the other two. During this follow up we were then notified as to a similar rape in Bloomington, Illinois. Now what we are doing with the cooperation of the Governors office, Illinois State Police, and all of the cities these attacks took place, is putting together a task force to follow up on all leads and any potential witnesses. At this time we do not have much to go on. In fact we have
very
little. But with this task force and the Medias attention we are hoping to be able to find anyone who may have seen something out of the ordinary near or around any of the sites of the attacks. Any leads we can obtain could potentially put an end to these attacks and find the guilty party responsible." Brad folds his paper and places it back in the envelope and puts them into his jacket pocket and takes off his reading glasses as well.

              He looks into the massive audience and smiles at a young lady in the front row and points. "Yes ma’am."

              A pretty young reporter stands up and announces. "Mr. Jostler, I'm Corrine Johnson from the Chicago Tribune and my question is with these attacks being spread out throughout the entire state of Illinois, how have the police linked them together, because most serial rapist generally stay in a certain geographic location, don't they?"

              Brad stands up straight and confidently retorts. "Corrine yes you are correct, most serial rapist and killers generally do stay in areas that are not so far away from the location of there attacks. But not every crime or criminal is the same, and it is possible, and in this case
probable
, that they are linked. The investigators who investigated these particular attacks, as well as me do believe that the similarities are enough to make us believe that the same person has perpetrated them."

              "Mr. Jostler, Mr. Jostler." A reporter from the Peoria Journal Star stands up and raises his hand.

              "You sir," Brad motions to a sophisticated gentleman in the front row.

              "Yes Mr. Jostler, we have heard very little as to the 'quote' similarities to the four cases that the police have been so tight lipped about. Don't you think that the police owe it to the public to let us know more about the attacks so that maybe the public could defend themselves against future attacks?"

              The governor looks on with concern as well as the chief to this bold question as the enormous crowd quiets waiting for the response of Brad Jostler.

              Brad smirks and nods his head. Then like a seasoned press secretary for the President of the United States he answers back.
"NO!"
Brad says with authority. The crowd becomes even quieter. "The reason that the exact details have not been released is simple, the exact details being released are not significant, and by all accounts are not going to be beneficial for the public to know, or will this information being public help us from an investigative stand point. It is our opinion that the 'quote' similarities could actually cause more problems than they could help."

              The Journal Star Reporter stands back up and replies. "How could you say that, if the public is kept abreast on what to watch for then maybe releasing this kind of information could possibly help save someone else from being raped." The reporter sits back down and Brad nods his head.

              "It's Mr. Carson, right." The reporter nods. "Mr. Carson, in cases that share similarities like the ones we have. If too many details get out to the way the attacks were acted out then you may be opening the door to a potential copycat. That is the last thing that anyone needs. I can release this much with out giving away the details of the attacks. All of the victims were home alone. They were all women between the ages of 21 to 34, and the attacker broke into the home from a lower level. In two of the attacks they broke in through a basement window. In the other two cases they gained entrance from a first floor window. That much I can divulge. The specifics on the attacks would not shed light on anything
at all
." Brad forcefully explains.

              Brad points to a gentleman in the third row holding up his hand. "Yes sir."

              "Mr. Jostler has the police force been able to composite any kind of profile on the suspect. Or on a similar note, have the police been able to establish any link to the four girls attacked." The reporter with a MSNBC badge on his jacket asks.

              "Mr. Ryan the answer to the first question is we are working on that now with help from the local branch of the FBI. As far as any link to the women attacked at this time and I stress, at this time, we have not been able to establish any definite links. But I would like to add that we have a team of investigators specifically designated to work on finding any link at all. Todd Avery heads up that team."

              "Mr. Jostler." A man in the back row yells.

              “Yes sir, go ahead.” Brad points.

              "What do the police and authorities want to tell the press to print about what's going on, how do
you
suggest we protect ourselves." Mr. Denver from East St. Louis Gazette adds.

              "What I think the public should do is simple. Be careful, if your going to be home alone, make sure you keep the house locked and don't answer the door to anyone you don't know. If you see someone that looks out of place in your neighborhood call the police. If you think that you hear a noise in the house and you’re alone, get out and call the police from a neighbor’s house. Don‘t go check it out yourself." Brad explains as the Gentleman from the Gazette ads.

              "Should people live in fear Mr. Jostler? It sounds like the police really don't know how to protect us against these kinds of attacks." Mr. Denver adds.

              "Sir, unfortunately we do not have all the answers. All we can do as a society is try to be safe. And I would like to add; I think that we should all be more cautious these days. But let’s not forget that in this imperfect world, bad things do happen. It's a sad fact, but it is a
fact
." Brad signals to a woman reporter in the front row.

              "Mr. Jostler. How confident are you personally that this suspect can be apprehended and brought to justice?" Miss Sarah James from the Chicago Sun Times asks as she holds up her own personal microphone.

              "I'm extremely confident; we have compiled some of the best law enforcement agents in the state as well as help from all over the country. We have specialist who have years of experience dealing with these kinds of cases as well as some of the leading experts in doing profiles on these types of suspects. We
will
find this person." Brad smiles and says as he looks around the room.

              "We would like to thank everyone for coming this afternoon, and we appreciate your cooperation, for now this conference is over. Thank you." Brad walks away and heads toward the exit to his office. His head is swimming. He's trying to play the conference back in his head but it's still sinking in. He knows he tried his best to give the right answers. Only time will tell after the press dissects his comments and answers in the media.

TEN MINUTES LATER IN BRAD’S OFFICE

             
Brad leans back in his chair and places both hands over his face. He’s still taking all of this in. It’s an exhilarating and nerve-racking feeling being back in the spotlight. He’s been there many times involved in cases but this time it’s not just the local area; now it’s worldwide. It’s a little intimidating but he
knows
he can handle it. He sighs and takes a deep breath. Darrin taps on the door and says. "You are the coolest, most smooth talking son of a gun that I have ever met."

              "You think so?" Brad remarks as he removes his hands from his face and gives Darrin a slight grin feeling pretty good about his performance in front of the world.

              "Yes I do. The way you handled those reporters was beautiful." Darrin looks on with admiration and pride at the man whose training him.

              "Well thanks, but it's not about being cool, it's a way to get your point across." Brad modestly admits.