Recovery
Chapter 24
Journal of John Nolan
Before I finished my last day as her rookie, Harper let me knock on the door of Lester Woodruff, the guy who told my classmate Brian that he'd been beaten up by a cop. Lester flinched at the sight of my uniform but relaxed a little when I told him I came because I talked to Brian.
He told me he'd been dating a young woman named Jilly Litchfield. The cop who beat him had Litchfield on his nametag and claimed to be her brother. I asked her whether Jilly confirmed that she had a brother, but Lester said he hadn't seen her or even talked to her since his run-in with his assailant. I can understand that.
When I asked Lester what reason Jilly's alleged brother gave for wanting him to stay away from his sister, he claimed that Lester was part of a conspiracy of anarchistic pedophiles. Lester got slugged when he pointed out that if he was a pedophile, he wouldn't be dating Jilly.
It was a weird story, but I've heard weirder ones. I know some members of the L.A.P.D. buy into various conspiracy theories like 9/11 being an inside job. They can believe what they want as long as it doesn't affect their work and they don't hurt anyone. But if a cop named Litchfield beat on someone because of some screwed-up internet fairytale, that goes way over the line. Still, I'm not getting caught going after something on my own when I've finally worked through my setback. I'll have to take the matter to Grey.
I probably should take my suspicions about Del Monte to him too, but Harper said if we develop some objective evidence, we can do that together. She has a point. If I say anything now, it will look like I'm looking at Del Monte through the eyes of a grudge. But I don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow. Since it will be a while before any new rookies need training, as a P-2, I could be partnered with Harper. But Grey might have something else in mind. In about 10 hours, I should know.
Bailey and I are planning to do a little celebrating that I've finally made it through, providing Grey doesn't pull a number on me. But the wind kicked up again, and she won't be getting another break anytime soon. And it's hard to feel celebratory when she's still out there.
I heard some excellent news from Henry, though. His recovery is going well. He says he's gaining strength every day, and there's no reason he can't go back to either school or work. Ben's holding a place open for him, but he hasn't decided if he'll take it yet. Abigail is understandably worried about what could happen if something suddenly goes wrong with his heart when he's on the other side of the world.
She has a point, and Henry knows it. According to the doctors, his surgery was totally successful, and he should be fine. But Abigail would sleep more soundly, and so would Sarah and I if Henry stayed within a short drive of a world-class medical center. He can't do that at the job he envisioned doing for Ben's foundation. But he still has some time to decide. I hope he thinks all the elements of his choice through.
And speaking of choices. I got a call from Lucy. Apparently, she heard from Rachel, but I couldn't tell if she was happy, upset, or a little of both. Since the city is calming down a bit and Tim doesn't have a rookie to train, he's decided to take some time to go to New York to pick up whatever threads remain of his long-distance relationship. I can't see how it can work out, but then I'm hardly an authority on girlfriends. I haven't exactly been batting 100.
Lucy seemed a little relieved that things could be settled one way or another for both Rachel and Tim. And I also got the feeling that in some little corner of her mind, she hopes they'll let each other go. Still, I could be totally out in left field. Lucy pushed Tim and Rachel together. She could be pulling for them. In any case, there's nothing I can do about it except to give Lucy an ear. I have enough to figure out with Bailey. And I really need to settle down and get some sleep. I can't blow my first day as a P-2.
Arriving early at Mid-Wilshire, John knocks on the door to Grey's office. "I'm not going to give you your assignment until roll call," Grey declares without looking up.
"Yes, Sir," Nolan acknowledges. "But I ran up against something I need to bring to your attention."
"Bringing something to my attention," Grey considers. "Could it be that you've finally learned something about how to act as a cop?"
"I hope so, Sir. I received a report from a citizen about a beating delivered by a police officer. The alleged victim, Lester Woodruff, said the assailant's name is Litchfield. According to Lester's story, Litchfield resented Lester dating his sister and accused him of associating with anarchistic pedophiles."
Rolling his eyes, Grey shakes his head. "That's some crazy story, Officer Nolan."
"I'm aware of that, Sir, but I suspect we've both heard crazier ones that turned out to be true. At the least, I believe that assuming there actually is an Officer Litchfield, someone should look into him."
"I'll send a query to I.A. and see if anything comes of it," Grey agrees. "But anarchistic pedophiles? Don't expect too much, Nolan."
"I won't, Sir." John hesitantly begins to turn away.
"Was there something else, Nolan?" Grey inquires.
"No. Yes. Sir, have you heard of anything questionable associated with A.D.A. Del Monte?"
"Close the door, Nolan," Grey orders. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Nolan, all I can tell you for the moment is that you are far from the only one who has doubts about Del Monte. However, accusing an A.D.A. of anything without an airtight case can be a fast train to hell. So be very careful, Nolan. Are you hearing me?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Then get your butt to the locker room. You don't want to be late to your first day as a P-2."
"I won't be, Sir."
"First," Grey announces, "congratulations to Officer Nolan for finally making it to P-2." While Lucy and Jackson cheer and Harper whistles, polite applause ripples through the assembled cops. "If you were hoping for a ceremony, Officer Nolan, forget it," Grey continues. "This is all you'll get. Now, as to assignments. Since the arrangement's been successful so far, Jackson and Chen will continue as partners for now.
"Officer Nolan, you'll still be paired up with Harper. I want the two of you to continue as a presence around the Police Community Center. We're seeing signs that La Fiera is attempting to reconstitute drug operations in that area. You have both developed relationships in the neighborhood. I expect you to use them to keep the detectives informed of anything you hear of La Fiera's activities in the area. Your presence may also serve to complicate some of La Fiera's efforts. But don't get any wild ideas about taking down any drug operations on your own. Keep me in the loop. Let's get this right. And all of you, stay safe out there."
"When Grey referred to relationships around the community center, do you think he was talking about you dating James?" Nolan inquires as he and Harper load their gear in the shop.
"I don't know," Nyla confides. "James is not a cop, so it hasn't been an issue. But he and Silas are the eyes and ears around the center. So I hope James won't think I'm just using him."
"Then," Nolan responds, "as a male who's been led around by the lower parts more times than I want to admit, my advice is: if you like him, go out with him. But if you're tempted to use him as a source, make sure he's in on whatever you have in mind."
A/N I've also started a Castle/The Rookie crossover called California Dreaming. Need more of The Rookie? A chapter of California Dreaming will post every day. If you follow me as an author on the fanfic site, you should get email alerts for it. You'll get alerts for this story as well.
