Chapter 29: The Carrot and the Stick

Joey stood very still, staring at Bobby. He tilted his head slightly, and Bobby tilted his head the opposite way. At least 10 seconds went by, as Alex looked back and forth at them. Finally her partner smiled softly and quietly said, "Hi, Joey."

The young man took a deep breath and drew himself up to his full height, his back against the bricks of the alley wall. Alex swallowed hard. The kid had to be 6-8 or 6-9, and at that height he could carry his 300-plus pounds without looking too soft. She had grown comfortable with her partner's size over the years, but she felt dwarfed by Joey MacGruder.

"Hi, Bobby," he said, a note of anxiety in his tone.

Bobby's smile grew wider. "You remember me," he said, nodding approvingly and taking a few tentative steps toward their prey.

"Uh-huh. You're the policeman."

"That's right; I am. And this is my friend Alex," Bobby said, inclining his head toward her but not taking his eyes off Joey.

The young man's face grew dark as he frowned. "I can't find my friend," he said, eyes downcast.

"You mean Julie?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, she went away. Her parents won't tell me where she is. They looked scared of me. They've never been scared of me before," he said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Joey," Bobby said, moving a few steps closer. "You know, we're pretty good at finding people."

"Really?" Joey said, brightening. "You think you could find Julie?"

"Maybe," Bobby said, looking pensive. "We might need your help, though."

"I'll help!" he said firmly. "But you would let me? After I hurt you?" Joey pointed to the gash, which was healing nicely but still showed a thin red outline on Bobby's forehead.

"Oh, it's OK," Bobby said with a reassuring smile. "Just a little cut. I'm fine."

"I didn't really want to hurt you. I just got scared."

"Yeah, I figured that," Bobby soothed, nodding and moving to just a few feet from Joey. He had eased forward so gracefully that Joey hadn't felt threatened, and now the partners had set themselves between the young giant and the sidewalk, so that no pedestrians could be endangered by an outburst.

Alex was following Bobby's lead, and she wasn't surprised that her partner made no attempt to grab their suspect. Instead, he kept talking calmly.

"We have lots of computers and stuff back at our office," Bobby said. "We feed in all sorts of information, and the computers tell us places to look. But we have to know lots of things about the person to make the computers work right."

"I know lots of stuff about Julie!" Joey said confidently. "Some of it's secret, though. We're friends, and friends share secrets."

Bobby's smile grew warmer. "I know. Alex and I share some secrets too." He risked a quick glance to meet her eyes and was rewarded with a look of trust and a trace of a smile. He knew she would sense how to help him handle this situation. Getting Joey to go along quietly would be safer for bystanders and physically easier, but a slipup could be costly. Thank goodness the weather was keeping the streets from being crowded. Most cops would try to subdue the suspect and call for backup, but both partners knew that trying to take down this large young man could be disastrous. So they followed their instincts.

"We might share some of our secrets with you, but we won't tell them out here in the street. We talk about secret things when we're in our special place back at the office," Bobby said.

"I wanna go," Joey said eagerly. "We can be friends and share secrets and find Julie."

"Is that OK with you, Alex?" Bobby asked politely. "Can we all go back to the office and talk?"

"Sure, Bobby," Alex said, putting a hand on his arm affectionately. "Joey can come too."

Joey's face lit up, and after Alex pointed to where the SUV was parked, Joey practically skipped over to it. Bobby opened a door and Joey scrambled into the rear passenger seat. The detectives quickly climbed into the vehicle and headed back to 1PP.

As they pulled away from the curb, Alex slid her fingers into the purse at her side and slipped out her cell phone. "I'll just call our boss and let him know we're coming so he can get our computers warmed up."

"Great idea, Alex," Bobby said with a smile. He turned to Joey. "You'll like our boss. He has two sons who are just a little younger than you."

"Hi, Captain. It's Alex," she said when Ross answered the phone. "I just wanted to let you know that Bobby and I are bringing someone back to the office. His name is Joey MacGruder. He can't find a friend of his, so we're going to use our computers and see if we can help. … Yes, Captain, that's right. … Yes, everything's fine. He's excited to help us figure out where his friend Julie is. … No, no problem. We'll just bring him up to the office, if that's OK with you."

"Maybe he should let Joey's parents know where he is," Bobby interjected. "So they won't worry."

"Uh, Captain, Bobby thinks it would be good to let Joey's parents know. Yeah, better in the long run … OK. Thanks, Captain. Bye."

Alex snapped the phone shut and smiled at their passenger in the rearview mirror. "All set, Joey."

"Great," he said happily.

Twenty minutes later, after scores of questions from Bobby about Julie to keep Joey distracted, they were pulling into a space in the 1PP garage. They stopped in the lobby to get a visitor's pass, and the young man was fascinated as he looked around at the posters and notices on the walls. Only a few cops were in the lobby, all looking busy but each one ready in case Joey panicked. But everything went smoothly, and soon they were stepping out of the elevator on the 11th floor. Joey's eyes were wide as he walked into the bullpen. Plainclothes officers with guns strapped on were scattered around the room, sitting at their desks, leaning against the furniture, talking on the phone. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Ross popped out of his office immediately and strode over to greet them.

"Hi, I'm Captain Ross. You must be Joey MacGruder," he said with a smile, extending his hand.

"Hi!" Joey said, shaking the hand vigorously. "So you're Bobby's boss, huh?"

"That's right. And Alex's. She said you're looking for your friend Julie."

"Uh-huh."

Ross glanced at Bobby, a frown briefly crossing his face. "We're probably going to need some more detectives to help find her. Maybe you two can get Joey settled while Detectives Patterson and Kowalski get back here."

Bobby nodded. "Of course. Are Joey's parents on the way too?"

"Yes, they'll be here shortly, with their lawyer."

"Good. We need to get it right. No problems in court later, with faculties being an issue," Bobby said firmly.

"Don't worry. There'll be proper representation," Ross confirmed.

"So, Joey, would you like something to drink?" Alex asked.

"Mmmm. Can I have a 7-Up?"

"Sure," Bobby said. "Any candy or chips?"

"Do you have M&Ms?"

"Yeah," Bobby said. "Alex likes Skittles."

"I like those, but I like M&Ms better," Joey said. "Especially the ones with peanuts inside!"

"I'll see if we have that kind. Meanwhile, why don't you sit at my desk while we wait for help?" Bobby said.

Alex got Joey settled as Bobby went to the machines in the corridor just outside the bullpen. Ross followed. "Goren, what the hell is going on?" he hissed as soon as they were out of earshot. "You had no business getting in the middle of this, and Patterson is probably going to blow a gasket over it."

Bobby looked at his boss, astonished. "Getting in the middle? How was I supposed to know he was going to be standing in an alley practically waiting for us when we walked by? We were just returning those personal effects to Leonard, not trying to horn in on Patterson's case!"

Ross looked baffled. "You didn't hear the radio bulletin and go looking for him?"

"What bulletin?"

"He showed up at Judge Garrison's door looking for the daughter. Nearly scared the judge and his wife to death. They know there's a warrant for his arrest for assaulting you. As soon as he left, the judge called the police. Patterson and Kowalski were on their way over, and all the cops in the area were looking for him. So, of course, you two had to find him by accident," Ross finished, shaking his head.

"Honestly, Captain, it was just dumb luck. We must have missed the bulletin while we were talking to Leonard. We happened to be at the right place at the right time." Goren frowned. "Or maybe the wrong place, if this is going to mess things up."

Ross shrugged resignedly. "No, not the wrong place. Patterson never would have gotten MacGruder to hop in the car and ride down to 1PP voluntarily. You two did a hell of a job."

Goren smiled as he turned to the candy machine and dug into his pocket for change. "Yeah, I guess subtlety isn't Patterson's M.O."

Two sets of empty pockets later, Ross and Goren returned with their hands full of Diet Cokes, a 7-Up, Skittles and peanut M&Ms. Joey grabbed his bag and ripped it open, filling his cheeks with candy and popping open his drink.

"Hungry, huh?" Bobby observed with a smile. Joey grinned, still chewing, and nodded. The detectives waited quietly while the young man devoured his snack. Alex had just suggested that they move into an "interview room" – indicating the interrogation area – when Patterson and Kowalski burst into the bullpen.

Patterson was red-faced and scowling. Kowalski, a step behind, looked frustrated and anxious. He met Bobby's eyes and gave a quick palms-up gesture and a shake of his head.

"Goren, you son of a bitch! Who the hell do you think you are, butting into my case again?" Patterson bellowed. "I'll arrest my own damn suspects and do my own interrogations. I don't need you in the middle of it, screwing everything up."

Bobby wisely kept silent as Ross stepped between the two men. "Nobody has been arrested, Detective. Mr. MacGruder is here voluntarily, and there's been no interrogation. Just calm down."

Patterson looked from Ross to Bobby to MacGruder, who seemed confused by the sudden outburst. The detective took a breath, fixed a stare on Bobby and lowered his voice to a snarl. "Guess I'm just in time. I wouldn't want you to find a way to get him off the hook for this murder, just because he's a dummy."

"I'M NOT A DUMMY!" Joey thundered, jumping up. He hadn't understood the whole conversation, but he knew that word was directed at him; he had heard it way too often. Bobby quickly moved in front of him. "It's OK, Joey. He didn't mean it," he told the young man, patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.

Patterson started toward them, but Ross grabbed his arm and tugged him away. "Let's all just calm down and wait for the parents to get here. Then you can take charge of the interrogation. Goren isn't going to be involved." Ross turned to Bobby and Alex. "Maybe you two could take Joey to another room to finish your snacks," he said, nodding toward the interrogation room. "Just casual, no questioning."

"Got it, Captain," Alex said, coming around the desk and glaring at Patterson. Then she turned to Joey and smiled. "We can keep working on finding Julie, can't we?" Joey looked wary, but he nodded and gathered up his treats. The three headed for interrogation, with Patterson's angry eyes boring into Bobby's back.

Ross herded the other two detectives into his office to wait for the parents and the lawyer. He sighed. Better go over the ground rules too, he thought. The detectives would need to be careful questioning the young man with mental disabilities – if the lawyer even allowed any questioning. This one wasn't going to be easy.

Ross shook his head as he found himself wishing Goren and Eames were on the case and not Patterson. In something like this, their sensitivity would no doubt help them wrap it up smoothly, just as they had brought the young man in without incident. Instead, Ross would have to live with however Patterson and Kowalski handled it, and smoothly was not the description that came to mind. But it was their case, and he had to let them do their jobs.

A wry smile crossed Ross' face. He had come a long way from the early days when he didn't trust Goren. He wondered how long it would take for Patterson to earn his trust, as the big detective had. And he hoped the next few hours wouldn't destroy any chance for that to happen.