Mop and Broom: Tales of the Twelfth
Chapter 44
"What's an Amber Alert?" Static asked as she was returned from the break room.
"It's a search for a lost child, a human little one," Broom replied, his straws rustling in concern. "Why? What did you hear in there?"
"Kate and Rick were talking about one for someone named Tanisha. Rick said the family has no money and he is going to offer his services as a PI to the family gratis," Static explained. "From the sound of it, that means free."
"It does," Broom confirmed. "What did Kate say?"
"She told him to be careful, that if someone took Tanisha, they could be dangerous and Rick still isn't allowed to carry a gun." Static's handle swayed. "You'll like this, Mop. Rick promised he'd be careful and Kate kissed him goodbye."
"It's better than nothing," Mop agreed, "but the cops have to be working on this, right?"
"From what Kate said, they are," Static confirmed, "but she said they don't have much to go on. There were no witnesses when Tanisha disappeared."
"Wow!" Mop exclaimed. "Everyone is applauding out there. I wonder what happened."
"Unless some one drops or spills something before then, we can find out tonight. But I bet Tanisha was found," Broom guessed. "And she's probably all right, or they wouldn't be that happy."
"So did Wastebasket have the story?" Mop asked as Suzi loaded Static and Broom back on the cart.
Static's head clicked happily. "He did. Tanisha is fine. Rick found her."
"How did he do that if the police couldn't?" Mop questioned.
"Well you know Rick. He thinks outside the usual ways cops do things," Broom offered. "From what Wastebasket heard him telling Kate, he asked Tanisha's parents and teachers who her friends were. Then he took them and their parents to a place called Chuck E. Cheese and played with them there. While he was playing with them, he asked them what Tanisha liked to do. They told him there was a dog in the neighborhood she like to play with, even though she wasn't supposed to, and where Rick could find it. Rick got the dog, took it to where Tanisha was last seen, and let it sniff one of Tanisha's t-shirts he got from her parents. The dog led him to what Rick called a shack. Tanisha was there, tied up, along with another girl. Rick called the police and got the girls out of there. The police took them to the hospital to be checked out and Tanisha is back with her parents."
"What about the other girl?" Mop asked.
"Rick said she's still at the hospital. She hasn't said anything and no one knows who she is. Rick's calling her Gem for now, after a character on Star Trek. He thought it was strange," Broom continued, "there is no missing person report on her and her fingerprints aren't on file. He wants Kate to visit Gem at the hospital with him. Wastebasket said Kate was going to do it when she finished her shift tonight."
"The police haven't caught the guy who took Tanisha and Gem either," Static added. "Wastebasket said Kate talked about CSU and fingerprints and DNA. She's hoping they can track him down."
"Did Espresso hear what happened when Kate and Rick visited Gem at the hospital last night?" Broom queried.
"He said Kate was teasing Rick that the stuffed dog Rick brought was bigger than Gem is," Mop relayed. "Rick said he wanted to give her a dog like the one she liked playing with. He thought it might make her feel better. He thought maybe if she was more comfortable she'd talk, but she didn't. He thought of something else though. He let her try his I-pad. He found out she can read and type. Her real name is Sophie. Rick couldn't get a last name out of her. He thought she probably didn't know and Kate agreed. Rick's going to get Sophie a tablet of her own. He's hoping she'll type or draw something that will help him figure out who she is. Kate told him he'd have to hurry up because Sophie doesn't really need to be in the hospital and Family Services is trying to find a foster family to place her with."
"Rick really likes kids, doesn't he?" Static wondered.
"He does," Broom agreed. "He would love it if he and Kate have a little one of their own."
"From what Brush tells me Kate wants to wait until she gets used to being captain first," Mop put in. "Still Brush thinks they'll do it someday - and so do I."
"You just want to watch them trying," Broom accused.
Mop flicked a tendril. "And what if I do? That doesn't mean they shouldn't. I doubt that I'll get to see much, anyway. Rick isn't in the precinct as much. If there is any show, Brush gets it these days, not us."
Static settled against the wall of the closet. "Master Cleaner knows best."
"What was Wastebasket's big news?" Mop asked as he joined Broom and Static on the cart.
Broom's bristle's vibrated."Sophie's DNA was rum against other DNA from the shack where they found her. Doctor Lanie thinks the person who put her there might have been her brother. And Lanie thinks they're both children of someone at Rikers. Kate said his name is Clem Hopkins. Wastebasket said she and Rick were going to Rikers to talk to Hopkins. They're hoping to find out where Sophie belongs and where her brother is.
"Well we didn't need anyone to hear Rick and Kate finish the story of Sophie," Broom declared. "Vacuum saw the whole thing on the screen in the bullpen. After Clem Hopkins went to jail, Sophie and her older brother Murphy lived with their mother Mary in a tiny apartment Mary inherited from her parents. Sophie has never been able to speak and Mary was afraid she'd be abused so she was teaching her at home. Murphy was a little slow too, but he usually managed pretty well. Mary left Sophie with Murphy while she went to the store, but she never came back. She'd been mugged and all her ID taken and she was in a coma in the hospital. Murphy didn't know where his mother was, just that she was gone. He was afraid that if anyone found out, Sophie would be taken away from him so he decided to hide her in the shack. He grabbed Tanisha to keep Sophie company. Clem told Kate and Rick about Mary and the apartment. They found Murphy and then Rick started looking for Mary. He showed her picture to a Nurse McClintock, from an old case he and Kate solved, and he got lucky. Nurse McClintock recognized Mary."
"So what is going to happen to Sophie?" Static demanded impatiently.
"That's the best part!" Broom exclaimed. "Mary woke up and as soon as she's well enough, she can take care of Sophie again. The District Attorney is trying to figure out what to do about Murphy. He kidnapped Tanisha but didn't mean her any harm. The reporter on TV seemed to think something could be worked out that wouldn't be too bad for Murphy."
Mop's tendrils twined. "I bet Kate is really proud of Rick for helping to figure it all out. Really proud."
"I don't think you're going to find out anytime soon," Broom informed him. "Kate was with Deputy Chief Gates at the press conference Vacuum saw."
"Well she's got to go home sometime," Mop retorted. "And when she does... I'll just have to talk to Brush.
