She'd done it. She actually graduated from the NYPD police academy. Her name was called and she walked across the stage to accept her certificate of completion. After she did, she shook hands with the commissioner, then the mayor. Unbeknownst to her, there was a short but sweet award ceremony in the middle of the stage given by the commissioner on how she had become the first female in NYPD history to excel in hand-to-hand takedowns, physical agility, and weapons training. She had beaten the last man who had held this record twenty-two years ago with an almost perfect score. As she walked off the stage at Madison Square Garden and wanted to jump for joy but she restrained herself because when she looked over to the reserved seat where her father should be, it was sitting empty. She was able to hide the hurt that overcame her and she continued walking off the stage. She sat back down with her fellow graduates compartmentalizing the events that had just happened when she noticed the empty seat.
After the commissioner had given his final words of praise, police hats went flying up in the air, screaming, yelling, and shouting ensued. They were real cops now.
She had been assigned to the 12th Precinct and she remembers what the academy instructors said when they told her that walking a beat in New York City meant to them: it is the total fulfillment of your job. Ever since she had been assigned here three months ago she has to disagree with this statement. Walking a beat here in lower Manhattan is nothing like she's expected. At the end of her shift her feet ache, her back hurts from carrying around twenty-one and a half pounds of equipment wrapped around her waist and over her shoulders. But now she has the means to find out what happened to her mother's case.
Her training officer Mike Royce had been her voice of reason since she reported to the 12th. He was exactly what she needed in that respect, but he never really understood her drive in order to find out what happened to her mother. Although he did give her certain leeway in their patrol schedule for her "investigation", he was adamantly against getting involved with what she was doing himself. It was like he knew something that he didn't want to reveal to her and would let her find out the hard way.
"Kid, this will eat at you until there is nothing left of your soul."
"Mike, I need to find out why Raglan had just written this off as a random wayward event when it was so much more. I will find out what happened to my mom."
"Kate you'll only find heartache. If you continue with this off-the-books investigation you might regret it. You're still a rookie. I can only watch your back for so long before I'm going to have to wash my hands of this."
"I'll take my chances, Royce."
"Alright kid. But don't say that I didn't warn you."
Flash forward to six months...
She heard the footsteps before she could tell who it was that was walking towards her. Then she only realized who it was before she saw him because of his cologne. She doused the mini-mag light that she kept in her utility belt before it could be seen, covered the banker's box with its lid she was just starting to look at and put it back on the shelf where it was. She slipped towards the older records hoping that she herself would not be found where she was. She knew that she was taking a risk but she needed answers. She watched between the rows of banker's boxes as her captain had slowed his walk to take a look around. She knew that she was playing with fire but this was the only way to get the information she needed. She never took what Raglan had told her and her father at face value because it never made sense to her.
Her captain looked for any indication that anyone was down in the archives this late at night and after spending a couple of minutes looking around to see if there was anyone there he decided that there was no one there but himself so he turned off the lights and left.
She never left her spot in the dark as she listened to the elevator as it made its run up to the fourth floor. When the whirling stopped only then did she come out of her hiding spot.
After he returned to his office he knew that someone was down in the archives. But without knowing who was there he decided that it was a moot point. So he pulled out his flask that he always had readily available in his middle desk drawer, raised it to his mouth, and took a swig of the whiskey.
He gazed out of his office window towards the bullpen and noticed that his newest patrol woman Beckett was still on duty according to the pegboard by the patrol sergeant's desk. So he knows that she didn't leave for the night. Then his mind put it all together. Beckett, her mom's murder, and closure. Thinking about his next move he could handle this one of two ways. He could confront her and that would put her instantly on the defensive and she would deny any involvement and he would never know what she found out. The second option he had was to completely sweep it under the rug this way she wouldn't be caught and he wouldn't have to confront her about what she was doing down there in the archives in the first place. She was a very promising officer and he didn't want to lose her.
This, in his mind, was a catch-22. He just didn't know what she was down there for. Well if he had to hazard a guess it was about her mother's case. And if it was then he needed to do something quickly. But as it stands right now he would just observe her to see if she made any more trips down to the archives.
Knowing that it could be her he decided to have a tech install Wi-Fi cameras where no one would be looking for them the next day. Then he would have the evidence he needed so he put the request in to maintenance to install the cameras.
Knowing that she shouldn't be doing it again so soon she waited about a week before she attempted to go back downstairs to the archives again. She knew that her Captain had thought somebody was down there but didn't necessarily think it was her. So she let things cool down a little bit and when she had a break in her patrol routine she made one more attempt to go down and read the files.
She decides that turning on the overhead light was what got her caught the first time so now she left it off after she exited the elevator. She also did not use her mini Maglite but she did have a black light which gave off less light. She could read just fine with it. She walks up to her mother's banker box, pulls it from the shelf, and sits down on the bench about twenty feet away from where it was at.
The first items she pulls out are the crime scene photos. She almost breaks down right there when she sees pictures of her mother leaning up against a brick wall and the side of a dumpster.
She studies the pictures and it shows her nothing that she doesn't already know. It only brings back terrible memories of that horrible day. The next file she pulls out is the medical examiner's report. In the report, he states that there were three major stab wounds: the strike to the kidney that most likely killed her. There is also the theory that the ME came up with that the smaller stab wounds were made to cover up the large ones so it would throw off the autopsy findings.
He was right. Everyone neglected his findings and just wrote her murder off as a random wayward event.
She places the crime scene photos and the M.E.'s report beside the box. She looked into the box and noticed the police report detailing her murder. She pulled up the report out of the box and hesitated. She'd never seen the official NYPD report that is now in her hands. She places it down on the bench she is sitting on and opens the folder. On the right side is the official description of what was found on January 9th, 1999. On the left are handwritten notes by Raglan that were used to write the official report on the right side of the folder so she reads these with intensity. After finishing his notes her eyes move over to the right to read the official report that was typed up by Raglan. After finishing this, she notices that there are discrepancies between his handwritten notes and the official report. At first, she doesn't think that his handwritten notes shouldn't have been included in the file. But as she digs further into her mother's case file, she sees more handwritten notes but in a different hand. She flips to the last page and sees that Mcallister had also added his notes. But the odd thing is that his name isn't on the official report, only Raglan's. She knows that Raglan had more than a year in seniority over Mcallister but she doesn't understand why his notes would be in her file in the first place if the case was assigned to just Raglan.
She reads his notes as well and finds that they have no bearing on the case. When she flips the page over she sees notes in yet another scrawl. One she does not recognize. She folds the last page with the notes and puts it in her pocket and replaces everything back to the way it was before she arrived. She covers the box and puts it back up on the shelf.
Roy watches as she places the box back up on the shelf. He has her dead to rights. But he withdraws his decision to reprimand her because what he sees in her is a motivation that reminds her of him when he was a rookie cop just starting out.
He needs to approach this with kid gloves. He can't come right out and say that he knows that she was looking into her mother's case. But he does know that what she's doing is a reportable offense that would probably and most likely cost her her job. For now, he will sit on it until he decides on what to do.
Two and a half years later…
Royce had read the writing on the wall and decided to retire with over twenty-three years of dedicated service to the city. He was a beat cop at heart and he knew with the changes that were coming down the line that it was time to leave. When he told Kate of his decision to retire she was at first upset. After he thought about it she was too upset as they were only partners. He could see that she was in love with him. When he announced that he was leaving he saw it in her eyes firsthand.
When Kate heard the news about her training officer retiring she was more than upset. During the time that they were together, she had grown attached to him in ways that were not healthy for a young woman and older man due to the wide age gap. That and the fact that he was a married man as well. She had more than a passing crush on him in reality she was in love with him. Knowing that his decision to retire was the end of their working relationship she took this as a sign that this was the end of what they had together. So she put it further in the back of her mind and got on with her life. She was happy for him and she went to the retirement party that was hosted for him at a place called the Old Haunt. Once she made her appearance she quickly left the bar deciding that what was left unsaid was the way it needed to be.
Roy had a problem. When Royce retired they were down one patrol cop. But they lost more than a patrol cop. They lost a man who had insights into the neighborhood that he patrolled. But he also had another issue to deal with. Davis had also decided to retire. But his retirement was overshadowed by Royce announcing his retirement from the force only a day before. Davis had more time than Royce did and Roy knew for a fact he was just going to clean out his desk and leave without the fanfare that Royce had since he was a cops cop. Davis was a very private and quiet man.
He needed to fill the position of a detective first grade with someone who had the ability to think like a detective. He looked at the files sitting on his desk and few fit the bill.
He flipped open the first file and started to read. By the time he finished reading the file, he decided that this was not the person he wanted to be replacing Davis.
He opened the second file and read patrolman Tolliver's accomplishments in the field. He was quick to respond to any emergency. He had also delivered three babies outside of a hospital environment. One was on the number 9 train, the other two were in a personal vehicle that he stopped for traffic infractions.
Roy had one option he had decided to give her a chance he was reluctant about the promotion. But she had proven herself again and again in situations beyond what she was trained for. And in all reality, he could keep tabs on her. So she was the obvious choice.
"Patrolman Beckett, could you come into my office please," Roy asked as she started climbing up the stairs of the 12th Precinct to finish her shift.
"Yes sir."
TBC A/N: This will start pretty much within the scope of the show if we were to see how Kate became a detective. From there it will get dark mostly on Montogomery's part. There will be twists and surprises that will make you think about where this could possibly go. Enjoy!