The Big Bad Wolf

CHAPTER 20

I RETURNED TO my orientation classes that day after the lunch break, and just in time for

another of SSA Horowitz’s awful jokes. He held up a clipboard for us to see his material.

“The official list of David Koresh’s theme songs. “You Light Up My Life”,” I’m Burning

Up”,” Great Balls of Fire”. My personal favorite:” Burning Down the House”. Love the

Talking Heads.” Dr. Horowitz seemed to know that his jokes were bad, but black humor

works with police officers, and his deadpan delivery was decent. Plus, he knew who had

recorded;”Burning Down the House.”



We had an hour session on “Management of Integrated Cases,” followed by “Law

Enforcement Communication,” then dynamics of the Pattern Killer.” In the last course we

were told that serial killers change, that they are dynamic.” In other words, they get smarter

and better at killing. Only the “ritual characteristics” remain the same. I didn’t bother to take

notes. The next class took place outdoors. We were all dressed in sport jackets, but with

padded throat and face protectors for a “practical” at Hogan’s Alley. The exercise involved

three cars in hot pursuit of a fourth. Sirens blared and echoed. Loudspeakers barked

commands: “Stop! Pull over! Come out of the car with your hands up.” Our ammo,

Simunition, consisted of cartridges with pink-paint-infused tips.

It was five o’clock by the time we finished the exercise. I showered and dressed, and as I was

leaving the training building to go over to the dining hall building, where I had a cubicle, I saw

SSA Nooney. He motioned for me to come over. What if I don’t want to?

“You headed back to D.C.?” he asked.

I nodded and bit down on my tongue. “In a while. I have some reports to read first. The

abduction in Atlanta.”



“Big stuff. I’m impressed. The rest of your classmates spend their nights here. Some of them

think it helps build camaraderie. I think so too. Are you an agent of change?”



I shook my head, then tried a smile on Nooney. Didn’t work.

“I was told from the start that I could go home nights. That isn’t possible for most of the

others.”



Then Nooney began to push hard, trying to stir up old anger.

“I heard you had some problems with your chief of detectives in D.C. too,” he said.

“Everybody had problems with Chief of Detectives Pittman,” I said.

Nooney’s eyes appeared glazed. It was obvious he didn’t see it that way. “Just about

everybody has problems with me too. Doesn’t mean I’m wrong about the importance of

building a team here. I’m not wrong, Cross.”



I resisted saying anything more. Nooney was coming down on me again. Why? I had

attended the classes I could make; I still had work to do on White Girl. Like it or not, I was

part of the case. And this wasn’t another practical it was real. It was important.

“I have to get my work done,” I finally said. Then I walked away from Nooney. I was pretty sure

I’d made my first enemy in the FBI. An important one too. No sense starting small.