What transforms in the dark? Part 2

From the windows in Chief Taylor's office, Amy Sykes glanced at the heavy dark gray clouds that still hadn't opened up fully to the promised thunderstorm. She stood with her arms behind her back, her feet parted; it was a tactic she used when she needed to stand still for a longer period of time, it felt relaxing but it also kept her alert.

Amy fought against the urge to yawn; working through the night left its traces in everyone. She would not have trouble staying awake if she was out doing something active. If she had a clear goal there would be no need to hide her yawns or try to keep herself awake.

The Chief had insisted on the meeting, the Captain had told Amy, for security reasons. There were protocols to follow when officers were threatened. Meanwhile the team worked on finding Jimmy Shaw, and considering what little they had accomplished during the night, Amy thought it would have been wiser to have them all working. Time was essential in the case of a missing child. Surely they could discuss security protocol some other time?

Amy could tell from the frown on Raydor's face that became more pronounced as the meeting dragged on, that the Captain agreed with Amy, albeit silently. The frown was highlighted with crossed arms and a tilted head that told Amy impatience was also an issue for the other woman.

Amy let out the breath she had unintentionally been holding. Usually, impatience never troubled Amy much. However, usually did not apply when there was a child missing, she saw, in her mind, the framed pictures of the five-year old boy that hung in Denise Shaw's house. There was one photo - the one they had used in their investigation – that really stuck to her. In that photo, Jimmy Shaw looked so carefree with dimples displaying a broad smile. The black, unruly hair stuck this and that way, freckles dotted across the nose and only made the little boy look even more mischievous. Amy itched to get back to finding the boy. Time was ticking away and every second counted. Standing quietly in Chief Taylor's office, waiting for the man to get off the phone, was a waste of time.

The Captain caught Amy's eyes; there was reassurance in the gaze, a look of quiet, warm comfort. Amy returned the smile and let go of another breath. This time, she felt a little more at ease.

The Captain would not agree to a meeting unless she saw it as essential; she put trust in the rest of the team to find something substantial meanwhile.

On Chief Taylor's desk lay the offending threats; two separate evidence bags containing the two single roses and the attached notes. The Captain looked back at the Chief, her eyes narrowing as Taylor continued to talk on the phone. It should have put Amy at ease that the Captain had received the same threat but somehow knowing the creep was targeting the both of them, broadened the horizon of perpetrators and told Amy it was more than a simple grudge behind the acts. There was something larger at play. It was not the standard threats police officers usually received.

The Captain appeared calm about the threats. She already had a clear-cut plan; forensic analysis. Until then, it was a waiting game, as she had told Amy. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was something. It bugged Amy. She had never received a threat like this before.

In Taylor's office a representative from Internal Affairs, Sergeant Stapples, was present as well. He did little to abate Amy's nervousness. Stapples stood to the side, eyeing the Captain with a weird expression. His small smile appeared cautionary to Amy.

Finally there was a lull in Chief Taylor's phone conversation; he held up a hand, the phone held against his chest as he addressed the Captain, "The DA's office is calling on behalf of a security risk. It seems DDA Rios received a rose this morning along with a note of alarming content."

Amy frowned at the Chief; the DDA had received a threat as well. It did not make a lot of sense to Amy.

Captain Raydor pursed her lips, "Tell the DA's office to send the note and rose to our lab for analysis." Chief Taylor nodded and went back to the phone call. The Captain crossed her arms and then turned to Amy, "You can go back to the squad room, Amy. This is going to take a while and there's no need for you to be here."

Amy heaved a sigh of relief and then nodded. She was half out of the door when Sergeant Stapples cleared his throat in disagreement. Amy sighed and then turned around, she felt a tightness to her expression that made it hard to remain neutral.

The Captain's mouth curved into a polite, polished smile. "I will relay the highlights of our conversation to Detective Sykes, sergeant, and as you are aware, Major Crimes are working on a time sensitive matter. Detective Sykes' time is better spent downstairs."

Stapples nodded and then waved Amy away with a dismissive gesture. Amy smiled gratefully at the Captain and then hurried out of the Chief's office.

Back in the squad room, Julio Sanchez waved Amy over to his desk as soon as she entered. Mike Tao was standing behind the younger detective and their attention was on the computer screen.

"What did the Chief say?" Mike asked with a curious look. By early morning, the knowledge of the threats had made its way to everyone. Amy suspected Lieutenant Flynn was the culprit based on the number of times the lieutenant had asked Amy about the rose and the note during the night and early morning. His expression had been compressed and tight; she didn't have to be a psychic to see the boiling fury underneath it.

"Not much," Amy said dismissively, "Did you find anything?"

Julio pointed at the screen. "Nigel Debor's phone records show he was often in the vicinity of a homeless shelter in the last couple of months. The phone is turned off now and we can't get a read on his current whereabouts."

Amy nodded; Nigel Debor was Jimmy Shaw's biological father. And, as far as they could tell, the father had been out of the picture for a long time, but was trying to get back in touch with his son.

"Debor is also in debt," Mike stated, "and according to the DMV and IRS, he is currently homeless and unemployed. He must have been staying at the shelter."

"Oh, we should go there, I'll drive," Amy suggested immediately.

Julio volunteered to join Amy on the trip to the homeless shelter, if they were lucky then Debor was either there or someone knew where he was. Maybe the father had taken the boy or maybe he knew something about the disappearance. On the way out of the building, Julio and Amy stopped by the break room and filled their travel beakers with coffee for the drive.

Julio was quiet on the drive to the shelter and out of courtesy he let Amy sit behind the wheel. Julio always seemed to know when she felt a need to drive; being behind the wheel was therapeutic in some ways. Fresh air and a clear goal helped clear Amy's head and she started to feel more awake.

The clouds were more threatening now; dark and completely obscuring the sky. On the highway, the sky opened up again, rain falling softly with small droplets at first. By the time they arrived at the shelter, it came down in thick torrents and half-flooded the streets, rather uncharacteristic of LA.

The shelter was an old concrete building with graffiti half painted over by gray paint, but already new street art was being painted again. The surrounding area was littered with trash and other human, or animal, leavings. Amy was for once thankful for the heavy rain, and glad she had packed her umbrella.

Nigel Debor was known to the shelter, he was a frequent visitor and had lived there the last month. However Debor had disappeared yesterday afternoon and left behind his meager belongings; a frazzled, old wallet with two dollars, photos of possible family members and a business card of a lawyer. One of the photos looked to have been pulled out a lot, judging from its fragile state, and it showed Jimmy, close to the age he was now, smiling happily in the photo. Debor had even left behind his dog; a golden retriever who sniffed Amy's hand before it licked her fingers. She patted the dog as she sat on her haunches. It looked well-kept and nourished, and happy to let a stranger pet it.

The manager of the shelter told them Debor had seemed nervous and out of sorts. The manager also insisted that Debor was sober and told them he was careful about staying that way. Amy and Julio talked to another homeless man who knew Debor, he told the same tale. Debor had left in a frantic state but he wasn't a drunk.

Julio stayed inside the shelter to call the lawyer from the business card in Debor's wallet, while Amy went outside. She looked at the graffiti and tried to think about possible scenarios; maybe the father had nothing to do with it? Maybe he owed the wrong people money? She knew she was making up hopeful scenarios, everything they've seen indicated that Debor had taken his son somewhere. She really did hope Debor was innocent.

When Julio came out and joined her on the sidewalk, his expression was grave, "Debor was trying to get someone to work pro bono on child custody," Julio told her, "sounds suspicious that he and the kid disappears at the same time…"

"The manager said he was working hard at getting his job back," Amy supplied, "He used to work as a garbage truck manager, he had a job interview next week."

Julio nodded, "Yeah, looks like he was trying to get back on track."

Amy frowned, "But what made him run away yesterday? Leaving all his possessions behind and even his dog? He must've known this would not help him with any child custody case."

Julio shrugged, Amy felt deflated; it was another dead end.

On the way back to headquarters, after a long beat of silence, Julio ventured, "You wanna go practice later, Sykes?"

Amy smiled to herself. Coop wanted to bug her place and have it surveilled, the Chief wanted a meeting and the Captain appeared collected and calm, but Julio knew Amy felt more secure when she worked out and got to slam dunk something heavy to the ground.

"At the range or the gym?" she asked him with a sideways glance.

Julio grinned, "Both."

Amy returned the grin; that suited her well.

…