Chief Hammer was watering her plants when West walked in the next morning. West carried coffee and another healthy breakfast from Bojangles, this time a sausage-egg biscuit and Bo-Rounds, for a little variety. The chief's phone was going crazy, but Hammer was busy atomizing orchids. She glanced up without a greeting. Hammer was well known for one-two punch announcements in her faint Arkansas accent.

"So." She sprayed.

"He gets in a pursuit, resulting in two arrests.

Single-handedly cracking a string of Radio Shack burglaries that has plagued the city for eight months. "

She examined an exotic white blossom, and sprayed again. Hammer was striking in a black silk suit with subtle pinstripes, and a black silk blouse with a high collar, and black onyx beads. West loved the way her boss dressed. West was proud to work for a woman who looked so sharp and had good legs, and was decent to people and plants, and could still kick butt with the best of them.

"And he somehow managed to get the truth from Johnson." Hammer nodded at the morning paper on her desk.

"Clearing up this notion that she's responsible for those poor people's deaths. Johnson's not going to quit."

Hammer moved over to a calamondin tree near a window and plucked dead leaves from bushy branches that always bore fruit.

"I talked to her this morning," she went on.

"All this, and Brazil wasn't even riding with us." She stopped what she was doing, and looked up at her deputy chief.

"You're right. He can't be out by himself. God knows what he'd do if he had a uniform on. I wish I could transfer him to another city about three thousand miles from here."

West smiled as her boss worried about spider mites and quenched a corn plant with a small plastic watering can.

"What you wish," West said to her, 'is that he worked for you. " Paper crackled as she dug into her Bojangles bag.

"You eat too much junk," Hammer told her.

"If I ate all the crap you do, I'd be a medicine ball."

"Brazil called me," West finally got around to this as she folded back a greasy wrapper.

"You know why he was behind that Radio Shack?"

"No." Hammer started on African violets, glancing curiously at West.

Five minutes later. Hammer was walking with purpose down a long hallway on the first floor. She did not look friendly. Police she passed stared and nodded. She reached a door and opened it. Uniformed officers inside the roll call room were startled to see their well-dressed leader walk in. Deputy Chief Jeannie Goode was in the midst of briefing dozens of the troops about her latest concerns.

"All, I mean all inquiries get routed to the duty captain…" Goode was saying before the vision of Hammer walking toward her cut the meeting short. Goode knew trouble when she saw it.

"Deputy Chief Goode," Hammer said for all to hear.

"Do you know what harassment is?"

The color drained from Goode's face. She thought she might faint, and leaned against the blackboard while cops stared, paralyzed. Goode could not believe the chief was about to dress her down in front of thirty-three lowly David One street cops, two sergeants, and one captain.

"Let's go upstairs to my office," Goode suggested with a weak smile.

Hammer stood in front of her troops and crossed her arms. She was very calm when she replied, "I think every one could benefit from this. It has been reported to me that officers tailed an Observer reporter all over the city."

"Says who?" Goode challenged.

"Him? And you believe him?"

"I never said it was a him," Hammer informed her.

The chief paused for a long time and the silence in the room gave Goode chills. Goode thought about the pink Kaopectate tablets in her desk drawer. The third floor seemed very far away.

"One more time." Hammer looked at everyone.

"It will cost you."

High heels snapped as she walked out. When she tried to reach Andy Brazil at home, someone else answered the phone. The woman was either drunk or did not have her teeth in, perhaps both. Hammer hung up and tried Panesa.

"Judy, I will not have my reporters intimidated, bullied…" Panesa jumped right in.

"Richard, I know," Hammer simply said, staring out at the skyline, and discouraged.

"Please accept my apology and my promise that something like this will not happen again. I'm also giving Brazil a special commendation for his assisting the police last night."

"When?"

"Immediately."

"And we can put that in the paper," Panesa said.

Hammer had to laugh. She liked this man.

"Tell you what," Hammer said.

"You put that in the paper, but do me a favor. Leave out the part about why Brazil was hiding in an alleyway."

Panesa had to think about this for a moment. Generally, cops abusing their power, harassing a citizen, was a much better story than something positive, such as a citizen helping, or making a difference by doing the right thing, and demonstrating community responsibility and being appreciated for it.

"Now listen," Hammer spoke again.

"It happens again, then run it one-A, Richard, okay? I wouldn't blame you. But don't punish the entire police department because of one asshole."

"Which asshole?" Now Panesa was really interested, and maybe pulling Hammer's chain just a little.

"It's been taken care of." Hammer had nothing more to say about it.

"What's Brazil's phone number? I'm going to call him."

This impressed Panesa even more. The publisher could see Brazil beyond glass. As usual, Brazil was in early, working on something no one had asked him to do. Panesa scanned a phone sheet and gave Hammer Brazil's extension. Panesa thoroughly enjoyed watching Brazil's stunned expression when he snatched up his phone a moment later and it was the chief of police.

"Judy Hammer," the familiar voice was strong over the line.

"Yes, ma'am." Brazil sat up straighter, knocked over his coffee, shoved back his chair and grabbed notepads out of the way of a tepid flood.

"Look, I know all about last night," the chief went straight to the point.

"I just want you to hear from me that this sort of behavior is absolutely not condoned by the Charlotte Police Department. It is not condoned by me and will not be repeated.

Please accept my apology, Andy. "

Hearing her say his name made him warm all over. His ears turned red.

"Yes, ma'am," was all he seemed capable of uttering, repeatedly.

He used words for a living, and were there any available when he needed them? He was devastated when she hung up. She had to think he was lobotomized, a wimp, a dolt. He could have at least thanked her, for God's sake! Brazil wiped up coffee. He stared blankly into his computer screen. She wouldn't get on the phone if he called her back, he supposed. She would be off on other important things by now. No way she'd waste any more time on him. Brazil was oblivious to the story he was writing about First Union Bank's minimal losses in a fraud case.

Tommy Axel, not so far away, typically, did not exist.

'w Axel had been looking at Brazil all morning, and was certain Brazil's feelings were stirring. The guy was blushing even as Axel stared. That definitely was a good sign. Axel could hardly concentrate on his Wynona Judd review, which was unfortunate for her. What might have been a splashy story about her latest fabulous album was destined for mindless jargon that no doubt would cost her millions in sales.

Axel had that power. He sighed, working up the courage to ask Brazil yet one more time to do dinner, a concert, or a club with male strippers. Maybe he could get Brazil drunk, get him to smoke a little dope, jazz him up and show him what life was about.

Brazil was in despair as he glanced again at the phone. Oh, what the hell. What happened to having guts? He grabbed the receiver, flipped through his Rolodex, and dialed.

"Chief Hammer's office," a man answered.

Brazil cleared his throat.

"Andy Brazil with the Observer," he said in a remarkably steady voice.

"I wonder if I might have a word with her."

"And this is in regard to what?"

Brazil was not about to be scared off the case. It was too late. There was no place to run, really.

"I'm returning her phone call," he bravely said, as if it were perfectly normal for the chief to call him and for him to get back to her.

Captain Horgess was thrown off. What did Hammer do? Dial this reporter's number herself? Horgess hated it when she did that instead of placing all calls through him. Damn it. He couldn't keep track of that woman. She was out of control. Horgess punched the hold button without bothering to tell Brazil. Two seconds later. Hammer's voice was on the line, shocking Brazil.

"I'm sorry to bother you," he quickly said to her.

"That's quite all right. What can I help you with?" she replied.

"Oh, not a thing. I mean this isn't about a story. I just wanted to thank you for what you did."

Hammer was quiet. Since when did reporters thank her for anything?

Brazil interpreted the silence wrongly. Oh God, now she really thought he was stupid.

"Well, I won't take up your time." He was talking faster and faster, thoroughly decompensating.

"Uh, I, well. It's just that it was a big thing to do. I thought so. When you didn't have to.

Someone in your position, I mean. Most wouldn't. "

Hammer smiled, drumming her nails on a stack of paperwork. She needed a manicure.

"I'll see you around the department," she told him, and her heart was pricked as she hung up.

She had two sons and they hurt her on a regular basis. This did not prevent her from calling them every Sunday night, or setting up a college trust for the grand babies and offering to send plane tickets whenever a visit was possible. Hammer's sons did not have her drive, and she secretly blamed this on the bad genetic wiring of their father, who was all egg white and no yolk, in truth. No bloody wonder it had always required so many tries for Hammer to get pregnant. As it turned out, Seth's sperm count could be done on one hand. Randy and Jude were single, with families. They were still finding themselves in Venice Beach and Greenwich Village. Randy wanted to be an actor. Jude played drums in a band. Both of them were waiters. Hammer adored them.