Cole Phelps

Cole Aaron Phelps (1920- September 30, 1947) was an American detective who became famous for solving every single case he had and earned the nickname "The Golden Boy". He was then demoted to arson desk after cheating on his wife with Elsa Lichtman.

He joined the US Marine Corps during World War II, later returning from the war as a hero. He joined the Los Angeles Police Department as a patrolman, before swiftly roising through the ranks to detective.

Biography[]

Background[]

Phelps was born in San Francisco in 1920 to Phillip "Philly" Phelps, Jr. and Vanessa "Nessie" Stanton, where both his father and grandfather ran a shipping company. He attended Stanford University. Before the war, he married a woman named Marie and had two daughters with her.

Service in the USMC[]

Cole went to Officer Candidate School to join the United States Marine Corps. He befriended Hank Merrill and developed an intense rivalry with Jack Kelso. In the days following his recruitment, he was given top honors for his bravery. However, during his time in the USMC, he was known as the “Dark Shadow,” considered to be “bad luck” whenever someone was under his command during combat. Some of his men greatly respected Phelps, claiming tales of his almost supernatural stealth, killing Japanese soldiers without ever being seen.

In his time with the Corps, many of his troops disapproved of his actions during combat. He was part of a scout team in the Okinawa campaign before being moved to the infantry division when a high-ranking officer at the time needed to push through the enemy line into enemy territory. During the battle for Sugar Loaf Hill, when it was time to push through enemy lines, his battalion and C.O. were killed.

As a result, Cole wanted to fall back despite the protest of his close friend, Hank Merrill. Shortly afterwards, he witnessed Hank get blown to pieces by an explosion after they had taken cover in a foxhole, after which went into shock. The next morning, he was found by other USMC servicemen, covered in soot, lying next to Merrill's remains, largely uninjured. As the sole survivor, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and received the Silver Star, the third highest commendation he could achieve. Cole would forever be haunted by his experience and guilt-ridden for being honored for his "lack of courage."

Near the end of his service, he was dispatched (along with many other troops) to clear out settlements and caves for any signs of enemy forces during the battle of Sugar Loaf. Cole, being under strict orders, wanted to clear out every sign of the enemy in the caves and villages, though this caused them to fall behind other squads.

Cole's meticulous attention to detail and insistence on clearing out each and every cave eventually caught up with him; his squad fell far behind other units, and Cole eventually rushed his men into an ambush. This is contrasted with Kelso's approach, where he ordered Cole's squad to carefully approach a cave complex and simply seal the entrance, trapping any and all Japanese, whether civilian or soldiers, within.

Ira Hogeboom, armed with a flamethrower and following Cole's orders, surged forward past the ambush and set the cave ablaze; only afterward do Cole and his unit realize the cave was filled with civilians, specifically women and children, who while badly burned, many remain alive and in agonizing pain.

Cole's unit, terrified and distraught about what had just happened, looked to Phelps for an answer as the badly injured women and children writhed in agony around them. Panicking, Cole ordered his men to end the victims' suffering and execute the burned women and children. Protesting loudly, and finally pushed to the breaking point by Cole's orders, Courtney Sheldon shot Cole in the back, taking out his frustration and anger at Cole's hypocrisy. Kelso arrived, taking command of the situation and ordering the Marines out of the cave, ordering them to never speak of the incident again.

After receiving treatment for his wound at an army hospital, Phelps was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps. He returned home to Los Angeles before the end of the war and joined the LAPD shortly thereafter.

Events of 1947[]

Joining the LAPD[]

Starting out as a patrol officer, Phelps demonstrated high potential as an officer, from solving the murder of Scooter Peyton to foiling an armed bank robbery and arresting Wendell Bowers. After solving the murder of Everett Gage, Phelps’ displays of intuition and ability were recognized by Captain James Donnelly.

Promotion to Detective[]

Phelps was soon after promoted to Detective in the Traffic department and partnered with Stefan Bekowsky. Together the two solved a string of intriguing cases, such as uncovering acts of conspiracies, fraud and even murder, while generating good press for the department. For his hard work and dedication he is transferred to the burglary division.

Promotion to Homicide[]

Six months later, Phelps was promoted to Homicide and partnered with Rusty Galloway. Phelps and Galloway were assigned to a series of gruesome and brutal murders. However, despite closing the cases and arresting suspects with strong evidence, Phelps began to see that all the murders were connected to each other and to the unresolved Black Dahlia murder.After receiving anonymous letters taunting the Homicide Department, Phelps realized that the true killer - the Black Dahlia murderer - was still at large.

Using the letters, Phelps and Galloway followed clues leading them to several landmarks across the city. At each location, Phelps was able to solve puzzles and elude traps, as he was being set up and tested by the killer. The final clue led to the Christ Crown of Thorns, where they found the killer, revealing himself to be Garrett Mason. Phelps chased after Mason through the church catacombs, finally killing Mason in a shootout in the graveyard.

However, Donnelly arrived and revealed that Mason was the half brother of a powerful and undisclosed politician.As such, Mason’s name and acts were to be kept out of public knowledge and official records. To ensure Phelps’ silence, Donnelly promised that the previous, falsely arrested suspects would be quietly released.

Reassignment to Vice[]

Phelps was later reassigned to the Vice squad by the request of Roy Earle. Their first case together involved solving the stolen morphine distribution from the SS Coolridge robbery, during which they arrested several dealers and killed Lenny Finkelstein in a shootout. During later cases and investigations, Phelps’ time with Earle and the Vice Squad gave him insight into the politics and corruption of the LAPD and the city’s administration.

Phelps and Earle later discovered a violent gang war for the stolen morphine between the Cohen Crime Syndicate and Phelps’ former battalion of Marines. While investigating leads for the morphine, Phelps visited the The Blue Room jazz club and questioned German singer Elsa Lichtmann. He later tailed her to her apartment. In actuality, Phelps had developed a love interest in Elsa over the months and despite him being married, had begun an affair with her.

Phelps and Earle attempted to stop the several assassination attempts on the surviving Marines, sent by Mickey Cohen. Although most of the Marines died, Phelps obtained enough evidence to prove that Courtney Sheldon was responsible for the robbery and morphine distribution. However, before Phelps could close the case and extract a confession from Sheldon and Fontaine, he was summoned by Chief William Worrell, DA Donald Sandler, and Donnelly. They revealed the adultery charges against Cole by his partner, and proceeded in suspending him from the force.

Phelps returned home to Marie, however she refused to listen. Feeling angry, betrayed, and humiliated, she kicked him out. With his affair publicized, turning him into a disgraced cop, Phelps turned to and stayed with Elsa.

Demotion to Arson[]

Following Phelps' suspension, he was demoted to the lowly Arson Squad and partnered with Herschel Biggs, as he hadn't been tried and convicted of adultery yet in court. Though it was likely he could be acquitted of adultery and become a chief in 15 years. Phelps was tasked to investigate a series of house fires. After thorough investigation, Phelps began to suspect that property developer Leland Monroe was somehow benefiting from the fires and possibly causing them.

However, Phelps was sternly warned not to investigate Monroe’s affairs due to his prominence and high-level connections in the city's administration. The investigation came to a grinding halt as Cole's efforts were frozen by the corrupted. Phelps learned of Elsa’s substantial insurance settlement from being names Lou Buchwalter’s beneficiary, who was involved in an industrial accident at one of Monroe’s housing development sites. This aroused Cole's suspicion, and he requested that she personally see Jack Kelso to help his investigation.

Thanks to Kelso’s own private investigation, they discovered a conspiracy committed by the Suburban Redevelopment Fund, headed by Monroe with support of most important city officials - including the Mayor, Police Chief and District Attorney. The plan of the group was to build fraudulent houses with the intent to burn them down, and to cash in on grand insurance money.

Phelps confronted Kelso at his office at California Fire and Life, apologizing for not being honest and inadvertently involving him in danger. Kelso sensed Phelps' guilt and confronted him about Sugar Loaf Hill, saying that he should stop blaming himself for lacking courage. With their past enmity finally put to rest, the two agreed to help each other solve their respective cases and end the conspiracy.

Phelps and Biggs later discovered the murdered body of Courtney Sheldon, however Earle appeared on scene and slandered Sheldon as “a victim of his own product”. Phelps pulled out his gun at Earle, enraged, and defending the deceased Sheldon as an honorable and brave Marine. Composed, Phelps took the opportunity to tell Earle that SRF's plans were failing, and warned Earle that his corruption would be exposed. Phelps, Biggs and Galloway investigated the scene of Dr. Harlan Fontaine’s murder, another member of the SRF. They also learned of Elsa’s kidnapping at the hands of the arsonist. Within the office, Phelps deduced that the scheme of the SRF was to extort money not by insurance, but from the government through eminent domain. In order to prove this and bring down the city’s corruption, Phelps was determined to arrest the arsonist to close the case and to rescue Elsa.

They later arrived to Kelso’s aid in a rescue attempt to save Elsa. However, while driving to the river tunnels, they were intercepted by police patrols under the orders of corrupt Police Commissioner Worrell. Making their separate ways through the river tunnels, Kelso and Phelps found Elsa under the protection of Ira. As Kelso lamented the insanity of their former comrade, Ira reminded Phelps of both their parts in the atrocity at Okinawa. Phelps carried Elsa to safety as Kelso performed a mercy kill on Ira.

Death[]

Helping Elsa and Kelso out the tunnel with the aid of Biggs, Phelps was last to get out. Upon seeing a rushing wave of water coming towards him, Phelps realized that he was out of reach and time to get out. Phelps simply uttered a final goodbye to his friends before being swept away by a violent torrent of water, drowning in the process.

Bekowsky, Dunn, Earle, Galloway, Biggs, Kelso, Elsa, Bowron, Worrell, Carruthers, Pinker, Leary, Petersen, Marie and his two daughters were in attendance at his funeral.

Earle delivered the eulogy, praising Cole's actions in the war and his actions while with the LAPD. Earle also denounced the "false" accusations made against him.