Chapter Three: A Shower, A Burglary, and a Hairbrush
Bethany had been in Miami almost a year. She had a series of friends and contacts in most levels of the Miami-Dade PD, and at least half of the business her office did was based on cops referring people when the police couldn't help.
Bethany had just gotten in from her night shift, and wanted to take a shower. She had just enough time for a nap before she met Horatio for breakfast, and she wanted to wash up before lying down. Sleeping with a wet head was preferable to sleeping with dirty hair. She had forgotten, however, that the new bottle of conditioner she had bought was still in its bag, on the bed. So when it was needed, Bethany jumped out of the shower, dripping water everywhere, and ran into the bedroom where the bag with the conditioner in it had been left.
She was surprised to see a man dressed all in black at her dresser. To be fair, the man seemed just as surprised to see a naked, wet woman suddenly come out of the bathroom. He had been listening to the shower, and figured as long as he could hear it he was safe. Since she was just going to be a second, she hadn't bothered to turn the water off. She had gotten the temperature where she wanted it, after all. Bethany noticed a lot of things in the frozen tableau that had been created. Like how the window was open, not broken, so if she hadn't come out, she might not have known for a while that anyone had come in. Like how he had something in his hand, and she couldn't quite tell what it was. Like how she could feel anger building inside of her, because she was a security consultant and strangers seemed to be using her apartment as a local tour site.
The man snapped out of it first. He picked up a jar from the dresser and threw it at her, and then he ran. He started for the window, but Bethany threw a lamp at him. So he veered and ran out into the apartment and through the front door. He was running down the hallway, thinking he was in the clear when Bethany knocked him down from behind. He jumped off the ground, only to be put back onto it with a roundhouse kick. Bethany commented he wouldn't be able to get that image of the kick to the head out of his mind without therapy, since she was still naked and dripping wet. Talk about your mixed signals. There were a few people in the hallway during the scuffle. She ended up next to a man and woman couple who seemed stunned at what they had witnessed. Bethany asked the man to give her his belt. He was not going to, it just really was too weird for him, but Bethany explained the guy was a burglar and she needed something to tie him up until the cops arrived. She asked the woman to call 911 while the man slowly took off his belt. Bethany took the stolen object from the burglar. It was her hairbrush. That made less sense. Why would someone come in to steal a hairbrush?
Waiting for the cops Bethany realized she was freezing. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was wet and cold. It didn't help that the realization of exactly how stupid her actions had been was sinking in. She had chased after a guy without taking a weapon, when the thing she saw in his hand could have been a gun. Bethany hated it when people acted stupid, and particularly hated it when that person is her. Now she didn't think it would be a good idea to leave the guy tied up in the hall, and she wasn't sure about the legal ramifications of moving him. Would that be kidnapping? Then she realized her door had shut behind her, and she had no way of getting inside anyway. She tried knocking on some doors, trying to find someone to let her use the phone to call the super. No one would answer the door, including the apartment of the couple who's belt she had borrowed. She spent a few seconds pounding her head against the wall next to her door. That's when the uniformed cops showed up. One called the super, while the other banged on the nearest door, yelling "It's the police, please answer your door." He finally got a little old lady to answer, and asked her to borrow a blanket. She did go and get one, giving Bethany a dirty look as she shut the door behind her. Bethany thought she could hear the lady say something about kids nowadays, but hoped she was wrong. She would hate to be the cause of someone slipping into cliché usage.
Giving her statement was quite a chore, especially since the male cop kept asking her to repeat herself, since he was having a hard time envisioning the scene, and the female cop kept laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. They replaced the belt with cuffs and took the guy downtown. Bethany followed to make a formal statement once the super let her into the apartment and she put on some clothes. The uniforms had apparently found the time to tell the story, because when Bethany walked into the station it was to cheers, whistles, and applause. As much as she would like to believe it was for apprehending a criminal, she really didn't think so. That thought was confirmed when a group of five cops came up to her with varying levels of proposals, two of which were for marriage. She took it all with smiles, laughs, and waves. She did blush a time or two from the sheer stupidity of it all. All this over a freaking hairbrush.
Two officers weren't as amused. Speed was there working with his detective partner on a case. He told her that he wanted her to go down to the morgue and look what being a half-cocked hero could do to the human body. When Bethany assured him she knew that she had messed up, he replied, "Oh, well that makes it all right then," gave her a look of disgust and walked off. Later he would apologize, and tell her about the time he was stuck in a firefight without a working weapon due to his own negligence. Having done the stupid thing himself, he was loath to see it in others.
Detective Frank Tripp was the hardest on her. He pointed out with an eloquence Bethany wouldn't have credited to him how tremendously stupid what she did was. Telling him that she realized it didn't seem to slow him down any. He pulled back just as she was getting pissed off at being lectured to. Sometimes in police work timing is everything.
The reports were filed, the hairbrush given to the evidence room, and the man, one Edward Winters, was put into jail. He didn't say one word during his arrest, not even to ask for a lawyer. The only reason they knew his name was from his ID in his wallet. The date was set for the court appearance, but the public defender assigned to the case made a deal with the DA. Edward was a first time criminal, and so got off with a $5,000 fine and 5 years probation. The only odd thing about the situation was that the hairbrush had disappeared from the evidence room. Since Edward wasn't being accused for stealing a hairbrush, but for breaking and entering, it didn't really matter, but Bethany did think it was a little odd when Detective Tripp told her. She suggested that the evidence room procedures be looked into, in case the next thing that gets lost is more important, and then she forgot about it. It was just a hairbrush after all. For the next several months anytime she had to go into the main police department downtown, all the cops would hand her tiny bottles of conditioner, just to make sure she would never run out.
Bethany had been in Miami almost a year. She had a series of friends and contacts in most levels of the Miami-Dade PD, and at least half of the business her office did was based on cops referring people when the police couldn't help.
Bethany had just gotten in from her night shift, and wanted to take a shower. She had just enough time for a nap before she met Horatio for breakfast, and she wanted to wash up before lying down. Sleeping with a wet head was preferable to sleeping with dirty hair. She had forgotten, however, that the new bottle of conditioner she had bought was still in its bag, on the bed. So when it was needed, Bethany jumped out of the shower, dripping water everywhere, and ran into the bedroom where the bag with the conditioner in it had been left.
She was surprised to see a man dressed all in black at her dresser. To be fair, the man seemed just as surprised to see a naked, wet woman suddenly come out of the bathroom. He had been listening to the shower, and figured as long as he could hear it he was safe. Since she was just going to be a second, she hadn't bothered to turn the water off. She had gotten the temperature where she wanted it, after all. Bethany noticed a lot of things in the frozen tableau that had been created. Like how the window was open, not broken, so if she hadn't come out, she might not have known for a while that anyone had come in. Like how he had something in his hand, and she couldn't quite tell what it was. Like how she could feel anger building inside of her, because she was a security consultant and strangers seemed to be using her apartment as a local tour site.
The man snapped out of it first. He picked up a jar from the dresser and threw it at her, and then he ran. He started for the window, but Bethany threw a lamp at him. So he veered and ran out into the apartment and through the front door. He was running down the hallway, thinking he was in the clear when Bethany knocked him down from behind. He jumped off the ground, only to be put back onto it with a roundhouse kick. Bethany commented he wouldn't be able to get that image of the kick to the head out of his mind without therapy, since she was still naked and dripping wet. Talk about your mixed signals. There were a few people in the hallway during the scuffle. She ended up next to a man and woman couple who seemed stunned at what they had witnessed. Bethany asked the man to give her his belt. He was not going to, it just really was too weird for him, but Bethany explained the guy was a burglar and she needed something to tie him up until the cops arrived. She asked the woman to call 911 while the man slowly took off his belt. Bethany took the stolen object from the burglar. It was her hairbrush. That made less sense. Why would someone come in to steal a hairbrush?
Waiting for the cops Bethany realized she was freezing. The adrenaline was wearing off and she was wet and cold. It didn't help that the realization of exactly how stupid her actions had been was sinking in. She had chased after a guy without taking a weapon, when the thing she saw in his hand could have been a gun. Bethany hated it when people acted stupid, and particularly hated it when that person is her. Now she didn't think it would be a good idea to leave the guy tied up in the hall, and she wasn't sure about the legal ramifications of moving him. Would that be kidnapping? Then she realized her door had shut behind her, and she had no way of getting inside anyway. She tried knocking on some doors, trying to find someone to let her use the phone to call the super. No one would answer the door, including the apartment of the couple who's belt she had borrowed. She spent a few seconds pounding her head against the wall next to her door. That's when the uniformed cops showed up. One called the super, while the other banged on the nearest door, yelling "It's the police, please answer your door." He finally got a little old lady to answer, and asked her to borrow a blanket. She did go and get one, giving Bethany a dirty look as she shut the door behind her. Bethany thought she could hear the lady say something about kids nowadays, but hoped she was wrong. She would hate to be the cause of someone slipping into cliché usage.
Giving her statement was quite a chore, especially since the male cop kept asking her to repeat herself, since he was having a hard time envisioning the scene, and the female cop kept laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. They replaced the belt with cuffs and took the guy downtown. Bethany followed to make a formal statement once the super let her into the apartment and she put on some clothes. The uniforms had apparently found the time to tell the story, because when Bethany walked into the station it was to cheers, whistles, and applause. As much as she would like to believe it was for apprehending a criminal, she really didn't think so. That thought was confirmed when a group of five cops came up to her with varying levels of proposals, two of which were for marriage. She took it all with smiles, laughs, and waves. She did blush a time or two from the sheer stupidity of it all. All this over a freaking hairbrush.
Two officers weren't as amused. Speed was there working with his detective partner on a case. He told her that he wanted her to go down to the morgue and look what being a half-cocked hero could do to the human body. When Bethany assured him she knew that she had messed up, he replied, "Oh, well that makes it all right then," gave her a look of disgust and walked off. Later he would apologize, and tell her about the time he was stuck in a firefight without a working weapon due to his own negligence. Having done the stupid thing himself, he was loath to see it in others.
Detective Frank Tripp was the hardest on her. He pointed out with an eloquence Bethany wouldn't have credited to him how tremendously stupid what she did was. Telling him that she realized it didn't seem to slow him down any. He pulled back just as she was getting pissed off at being lectured to. Sometimes in police work timing is everything.
The reports were filed, the hairbrush given to the evidence room, and the man, one Edward Winters, was put into jail. He didn't say one word during his arrest, not even to ask for a lawyer. The only reason they knew his name was from his ID in his wallet. The date was set for the court appearance, but the public defender assigned to the case made a deal with the DA. Edward was a first time criminal, and so got off with a $5,000 fine and 5 years probation. The only odd thing about the situation was that the hairbrush had disappeared from the evidence room. Since Edward wasn't being accused for stealing a hairbrush, but for breaking and entering, it didn't really matter, but Bethany did think it was a little odd when Detective Tripp told her. She suggested that the evidence room procedures be looked into, in case the next thing that gets lost is more important, and then she forgot about it. It was just a hairbrush after all. For the next several months anytime she had to go into the main police department downtown, all the cops would hand her tiny bottles of conditioner, just to make sure she would never run out.