Here is chapter 2! Please let me know what you think!
When Juliet arrived at the department at 9 o'clock the next morning, coffee in tow, she decided that she would not let this art theft case cause her an unnecessary amount of stress. She would finish her interview with Magnum, turn in what she had discovered to Sargeant Masters, and then move on to bigger and better cases.
"Morning, Higgins," she heard a familiar voice greet her.
"Good morning Gordon, I trust you had a pleasant evening last night? Surely it couldn't have been worse than mine."
Katsumoto chuckled. "I heard that Masters called you last minute about that Candler art theft case. I'm so glad I left when I did. I heard the guy they have in custody for that is different, to say the least."
"His name is Thomas Magnum, and apparently he has zero knowledge of how police investigations work. From what I surmised last night, he is just looking for some levity," Higgins replied.
"At least he seems cooperative with you. I glanced over the file. Magnum has no record at all. Odd for a case like this." Katsumoto added.
"Precisely what I thought. I'm due to finish my interview with him this morning. I have a feeling that he's probably not the mastermind behind this heist either."
"Let me know how it goes later. Hopefully, they'll find those paintings soon."
Juliet raised her eyebrows as she stood from her desk, grabbing her tablet to keep track of things during the interview.
"Wish me luck."
When Juliet got to the interrogation room, Magnum was already seated with his hands cuffed to the middle of the table. When he saw her walk in, his face got brighter, and he smiled.
"Good morning, Detective," he greeted.
"Hello, Mr. Magnum. I presume your stay in holding was pleasant?" Higgins replied sarcastically.
"Well, I wouldn't call it pleasant. When I got there last night and asked for some food, the officer at the desk laughed at me and told me to shut up. They gave me something this morning, though. It wasn't delicious, but I guess I can't expect good food after what I did." Thomas explained, looking at his feet.
He looked back up at her; "How are you? You looked tired last night. I hope they don't overwork you too much here."
Juliet studied Thomas for a moment. Why was he acting like this? What did he think he could gain from being polite? Was this all an act so that he could lessen his punishment?
"I am doing fine, Mr. Magnum. I have some more questions for you about last nights' operation, though. Are you prepared to give me some truthful answers?"
"Of course," he smiled.
"Great. Firstly, who hired you to steal those paintings from 's penthouse?"
Thomas smirked, "How do you know I didn't plan the heist? Maybe I just wanted some cool art pieces for my own collection!"
Juliet scowled at him for a moment before he burst out laughing.
"Come on! You know I'm joking! I am a little hesitant to talk about this guy, though, because he's pretty powerful and has a lot of influence in a lot of places, maybe even in HPD."
"Who is it, Mr. Magnum?" Juliet replied, beginning to lose her patience.
Thomas sighed, "Alright. His name is Ivan, but again, I don't know his last name. I started working for him about six months ago, just doing some errands to make some quick cash; bringing folders of God knows how much money to different people and places around the island. About two months ago, he started hiring me for more- sketchy jobs."
Higgins frowned, "What kinds of jobs?"
"Well, at first, he had me drive some trucks for deliveries… I wasn't sure what was in them, but I didn't ask any questions. Then, he talked to me about going to 'retrieve' some art pieces for him from the homes of some wealthy people."
"The heists that the robbery task force has been tracking for months?" questioned Higgins.
"Yes," Thomas replied. "At first, I refused to help with those. Delivering his 'goods' was one thing, but breaking into people's homes was going way too far for me."
"So, why did you agree to participate?" Juliet inquired, "How much money did he offer you?"
"Ivan told me that I would get a commission off of the paintings when they were sold. He told me I would get 5%. I laughed at him and told him no way, but that's when he told me that they were worth millions of dollars. That was an opportunity I couldn't pass up; I'm pretty broke," he laughed.
Juliet was puzzled at how Magnum had even met someone like Ivan in the first place. "Where did you meet this man? You have no criminal record; why aren't you making a living through legal means?"
Thomas shrugged, before answering, "I met him at a nightclub called the King Kamehameha. We just got around to talking, and I told him that I was new to the island. He asked if I needed a job and if I would be willing to become a delivery driver for his company. It wasn't till later on that I figured out that the things he was involved in were illegal. I had just moved here and needed a job, so when I met a somewhat friendly guy who offered me a position, I just took it. I settled on living in Hawaii because I wanted a more relaxing vibe after leaving the Navy."
Juliet almost chocked on her coffee, "You were in the navy?!" she exclaimed. "Why would you not attempt to stop him or report him?"
"Well," sighed Thomas, "I probably shouldn't have even told you that. I was in a top-secret division of the Navy SEALs. It's not even on my record that I served in the military at all. That's how secret our missions were. I guess that's why I was so good at stealing high-value paintings; I can get in and out of somewhere without being detected."
Juliet scoffed at that statement, "I guess up until last night? You weren't so undetected then."
"That wasn't my fault! That was all Jin. He was the one who was supposed to hack the air system to bump the heat up so that our heat signatures would be undetected by Candler's security. I'm so mad that he still escaped and with the paintings no less. Maybe he'll get the entire payout." Magnum snarked.
"Have you been paid for the other heists that you've done? Any banking information would be most helpful in tracking Ivan and eventually the paintings."
"No!" Thomas seethed. "That's another reason why I'm a little upset. I never got any of the commission payments that I was promised for the three heists that I've done for him. Maybe he hasn't sold them yet? He used to pay me in cash for the deliveries that I did, so I never had to deal with his bank."
Juliet sighed as she slumped back a little in her chair. She was no closer to finding out the whereabouts of the missing art then when she had started the interrogation. Not from Magnum's lack of cooperation, but more from Ivan keeping his tracks well-covered and his operations under lock and key.
Thomas used the brief moment of silence to gather his thoughts. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, Detective. I could give you the address where I would meet him to pick up the trucks. I will give you the phone number I have for him as well, but he gives me a new one pretty frequently."
"It's most likely a burner," Juliet replied. "The number and the address would be most helpful, though. At least it's something."
She passed him a piece of paper so that he could write the information down with his still cuffed hand.
"So," Thomas said, still writing some things down, "What's your name?"
Juliet frowned. "I believe I've mentioned my name on numerous occasions."
"No, no, no, I'm talking about your real name. Your first name," he replied.
Juliet rolled her eyes.
"I just spilled everything I have on Ivan, and you won't even tell me your name," he pouted like a little boy. "And where are you from in England, by the way? I really like your accent," he told her with a smile.
Higgins sighed, "My name is Juliet, if you must know, and I am from London. Nothing too different."
"I think you're very different," he smiled. "In a good way! Believe it or not, you are the nicest person that I have encountered in this department. And that's a beautiful name! Isn't that a character in a princess movie or something?"
Juliet smiled a little, "Juliet is from a famous Shakespeare play. I'm sure you've heard of it."
She was surprised that he thought she had been kind to him. She didn't feel that she had treated him any differently than any other suspect she had encountered.
He is more handsome than any other suspect that you have encountered, her mind told her. Shoving the thought away, she gathered her papers and tablet together and was preparing to stand when his voice stopped her.
"Wait! Where are you going? Can we maybe talk for a few more minutes? You seem so interesting, and I won't have anyone to talk to until my friends bail me out after my arraignment later."
Juliet raised her eyebrows, "You do know that the purpose of an interrogation is not to become best friends with the detective on your case Magnum? I do have a job to do, something you know nothing about."
He held his hands up in defense, "Hey, I'm trying, ok? I just got caught up in something I shouldn't have. Before he hired me, I had applied at tons of places, but because of the huge gap in my work history because of my eight secret years in the Navy, people weren't exactly jumping to give me a chance."
Juliet sighed. She actually believed him. There had been many times during an interrogation where she hadn't believed a single word out of a suspect's mouth, but something inside of her was telling her that Thomas Magnum was telling her the truth.
"I know you are very busy and have cases to solve, but I was hoping that after I am cleared from this mess and my friends bail me out that maybe we could be friends?" he smiled hopefully. "I think you would be a great influence on me, help keep me out of trouble, maybe give me some advice on how to find a real job. I don't have many people that I know on this island anyway. Just my buddies Rick and TC. They served with me, and we're all so close that we decided to move to Hawaii together for a fresh start. Everyone could use some more friends, right? I promise you that I'm not a bad person. You could even rant to me about all of your cases and the crazy people you have to deal with! Would you be willing to give me a chance? I'd really like to get to know you."
Juliet looked at him, slightly shocked. This was certainly something she'd never expected to happen.
Thomas could see that she was a bit taken aback by his proposition. "I'll tell you what Juliet; by tomorrow afternoon, my friends will have bailed me out. I'm going to go to Kamekona's Shrimp Truck up on the North Shore for my first meal as a free man. They have some great food! I'll be there about… 7 o'clock? If you want to chat some more, feel free to join me. If not, just don't come. There's no pressure at all," he reassured her.
"How do you know that your friends will bail you out by-"
"Oh, they will. Trust me. We've been brothers for years. I know they'll try to get me out as quickly as they can."
At that exact moment, an officer entered the room to inform Higgins that the judge was moving faster than usual and that Magnum's arraignment had been moved up to an hour from then.
He uncuffed Magnum from the table and began to lead him out of the room.
Thomas offered her a small smile as he was led away and gave her a little wave as best as he could with his hands still cuffed together.
Then he was gone, and Juliet was left to ponder his somewhat strange, yet sweet request.