Interview with Detective Castilblanco…
Author: [Whisper, like I’m announcing the Masters.] Readers, today I’m interviewing NYPD Detective Sgt. Rolando Castilblanco. He has a busy schedule, so let’s get right to it. [My normal voice.] Rollie, are you fully recovered from the knife fight portrayed in The Midas Bomb?
Castilblanco: Physically, I suppose. Mentally, I’m still pissed. I think we lost a chance to grill that guy and learn more about the case in general and Vladimir Kalinin in particular. On the other hand, it taught Chen that a knife strapped onto your leg is often better than that little peashooter the bosses want you to carry as backup. She’s come a long way, you know.
A: You two didn’t hit it off so well at the beginning. What was the problem?
C: I’d lost two partners. I figured that with all that inscrutable oriental mysticism, Chen thought I was a jinx. I was even thinking along those lines myself. Our boss, Lt. Kennedy, is a crafty old fox, though. He knew I would teach Chen some things in spite of my many shortcomings. I’ll have to admit, she taught me a few things too. She came with a lot of experience from the narcotics division.
A: Didn’t she respect your background as a Navy SEAL?
C: Two things probably slowed down her accepting that. My ex-colleague Michael Hopper couldn’t handle Lydia Karpov and lost his life. That might have made her question SEAL training, even though some of my old buddies took out bin Laden. Moreover, she had gone through similar training in the Army—I didn’t learn that ‘til later. Finally, I’m not getting any younger. I’m still good in a fight, but not as good as Chen, except where brute strength counts. The years take their toll. Hmm, I guess that’s three things.
A: Does training in Special Ops help you or Chen as detectives?
C: It’s probably over-rated. For DHS, FBI, DEA, ATF, and so forth, it might be more useful, if you’re a field agent. But a lot of police work is just pounding the pavement, looking for clues, and making the case against the perp. Even figuring out the terrorism angle was a bit of luck—good luck for Chen and me and bad luck for the terrorists getting us involved with the two homicides.
A: Those were Hopper’s and…?
C: Maura Murphy’s, the Wall Street analyst. Hopper, Maura, and her brother Colin saw too much that one night, a major gaffe committed by Karpov and company. They didn’t succeed at first with Colin but kept trying—that was also stupid. Give me enough clues and I’ll make a case. Many times, however, the clues are lacking.
A: Let me turn to your background a bit. In one flashback you stopped a case of spousal abuse in Korea. Isn’t that a bit strange for a macho Latino?
C: [Chuckles.] Maybe not so macho—I’m really just an old teddy bear. I’ll admit that the stereotype for Latino men is not good. Like all stereotypes, I suppose there’s some truth to it. But here’s the thing: My father adored the ground my mother walked on. He never raised his voice to her although she threatened to brain him a couple of times with a frying pan—he could be annoying. On the other hand, in the rest of my family, I saw all kinds of behavior and I didn’t like some of it. The Korean incident with Hopper’s future wife was just one of those cases where I’ve stepped in and stopped some serious abuse. I can’t stomach it. One of my favorite charities, by the way, is a shelter for abused women, right here in Spanish Harlem.
A: What about the Middle East? Was it hell? There’s a flashback where you and Hopper kill an Afghan boy.
C: War is hell. I often think that all our politicians should be women—maybe we wouldn’t fight so many damn wars. Of course, in the Middle East, that’s impossible. Talk about machismo. Muslim culture thinks that dressing a young girl in a burqa ends all responsibility. Bull shit! They’re losing half their human potential by putting down women. Same with making young kids fight or wear suicide vests. I shouldn’t generalize, I suppose, but when war involves women and children fighting, and innocent men, women, and children dying, it certainly is hell. In that terrorist case with Michael, it was either kill or be killed. That doesn’t mean that I don’t regret it.
A: Did you regret killing Lydia Karpov?
C: Ashley Scott later told me some things about Karpov’s background. I can’t mention the trigraph here, but one of our dear government agencies did a favor for the Russians that sent her down the path she chose in life. She was ruthless, but I can’t help feeling sorry for her. She also got involved with al Qaeda—they can turn anyone into a murdering zombie.
A: Speaking of American agencies and their fight against terrorism, do you think that giving up some of our civil liberties to carry on the fight is justified?
C: That’s a politically loaded question. I fought for this country overseas and never questioned my orders. In general, it was kill or be killed. In hindsight, I guess I question some of the political decisions. It seems that it’s too much about control of natural resources in general and oil in particular. Nevertheless, I’m just a cop. I started in uniform on my beat just like all the other guys. Our job is to protect people and solve crimes committed against them. My take is that terrorism against innocent civilians in this country is just another crime to prevent or be solved. It doesn’t matter whether the terrorists are home-grown or not. McVeigh was just as much a terrorist as the 9/11 pukes.
A: So, you think giving up some civil liberties is justified?
C: I’ll repeat: I’m a cop. I’d take every weapon off the street and ban lawyers from the precincts. But you need to watch the extremes. How can we give a poor dockworker holding a small stash of marijuana several years in prison while releasing his provider for turning state’s evidence against the next guy up the ladder? Three strikes and you’re out for stealing a bike or a pizza? Shit, I know life ain’t fair, but we can try to make it more so. Our legal system is broken. And the judges and lawyers are as responsible as anyone.
A: Does your girl friend Pam Stuart, that Channel 7 crime reporter, agree with you?
C: Pam’s a good woman and thinks on her own. She doesn’t need to follow my lead. I respect that, even though sometimes she disagrees with me. I’ll have to admit, I don’t have all my ideas worked out. It’s an ongoing battle with something new every day. However, I’m just a cop, not a sociologist. I tend to make decisions based on my personal ideas of right and wrong, but there’s probably some inconsistency. When a perp points a gun at you, considerations about how he got to where he’s at take a very low priority. All I can say is that I grew up in some tough neighborhoods and I don’t think I turned out so bad. Others, I guess, are not so fortunate.
A: Any more cases coming up that readers should know about?
C: Well, both Chen and I have appeared in many short stories based on our cases that are found on this website as freebies. Angels Need Not Apply is a new case that will tell a different and longer story. It takes us outside New York City. I might be uncomfortable with that—I’m a New Yorker through and through. Chen is from Long Island, more out in the boonies, so maybe she’ll be fine.
A: I’m looking forward to finishing it.
C: I’ll bet. Just remember to protect the names of the innocent. Gotta run now. Murder down on one of those back streets off the Intrepid. I think Pam’s already there, which pisses off Lt. Kennedy to no end.
A: Good luck!
[Author’s note: I thought it would be fun from time to time to pretend I’m interviewing one of my characters. It might be fun for past and future readers too. Let me know what you think via comments. The Midas Bomb is available in both trade paperback and eBook formats on Amazon and elsewhere.]
