The phone on Sharon's desk rings; she answers it. Detective Nelson uses the interruption to jot down a few notes. She's filled with a sense of relief. She had been anxious about approaching the subject of the Captain's love life, but it had gone smoothly. She respects the older woman, and admires the way she handles herself. Captain Sharon Raydor is an excellent role model; the detective feels fortunate to spend time with her, even in this less than ideal situation.
Sharon is calmly writing on a notepad; she's not aware the young detective is studying her out of the corner of her eye. Nelson hasn't had the opportunity to work with a lot of women, and certainly never with one of the highest ranking females in the entire LAPD; most of her career has been spent in the company of men. In her time on the force, she's learned that men can be just as emotional, if not more so, than women. Captain Sharon Raydor doesn't let her emotions rule her; that's a trait Nelson has adapted and used to her advantage in her own climb up the career ladder.
Hanging up the phone, Sharon hands the detective the paper she was writing on and says, "That was Connie Owens with the contact information for Clinton Williams. In all probability that's not the man's real name or address, and we already know that phone number is not a working number, but your team needs to check this out right away."
The detective takes the paper from Sharon who has a pensive look on her face. It occurred to Sharon, as she was talking, that she needs to back off and let the detective, in charge of the case, take the lead. "I'm sorry," she says to the younger woman.
"Sorry for what?" asks the detective.
"It's hard for me to put in words, but I was a cop before you were even born. I had to deal with men, on both sides of the law, treating me with condescension on a daily basis; I try not to do that to people, especially to women. I don't always succeed, and I'm sorry if I've made it more difficult for you to do your job. I'm too involved; if this was happening to a fellow officer, I'd be the first one to tell that person to back off."
"Captain, you have no reason to apologize. I appreciate your help, but I've been thinking, maybe it's time to get the Threat Management Unit involved."
Feeling as though a weight has been lifted off her, Sharon says, "I'm removing myself from the equation. There's a reason doctors shouldn't treat themselves, and lawyers shouldn't represent themselves. Detective Nelson, you do what you think is best."
"In that case, let me inform Captain Martinez, and then I'll arrange a meeting to get Threat Management up to speed. I want you to be in that meeting."
"Not a problem, just let me know when."
The detective is leaving Sharon's office when she almost runs into Lt. Tao who tells her, "You're going to want to hear this."
She follows him back into the Captain's office, and he tells both women that he has confirmed a delivery address with Dion's Pizza and two other restaurants. "It's 5512 West Olympic Boulevard unit 1110."
"That's right across the hall from me," Sharon says, "but that can't be. Mrs. Cooper has lived there alone since her husband died at least four years ago." She pauses for a minute to think about the last time she saw Mrs. Cooper. "I usually run into her when we are both getting our mail in the lobby, but it has been several weeks since I've seen her."
Tao holds up the promotional keychain found in the ignition of the abandoned vehicle and says, "One of these keys starts the car, one almost certainly is to your condo, Captain, and I'm sure the third key will open the door to unit 1110. There's one way to find out."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Lieutenant. We should obtain a search warrant to be on the safe side, and while we're waiting on the warrant, let's do a wellness check on Mrs. Cooper," says Nelson.
They look at Sharon for confirmation of the next step. "Right before you walked in here, Lieutenant, I told the detective it would be best for me to take a step back and allow her to take the lead; that's what I'm doing starting now."
"Oh…kay," Tao says looking at Sharon over the top of his glasses, "I'll get to work on the wellness check and the search warrant."
The three of them walk out of the Captain's office and into the Murder Room. Sharon instructs Sanchez and Sykes to assist Robbery-Homicide for the rest of the day.
"Captain, I'm headed to my department to update Captain Martinez, and to arrange a meeting with the Threat Management Unit. I'll let you know when we can meet," Nelson says.
Sharon returns to her office, and picks up her cell phone. She'd like to talk to Rusty, just to hear how he's doing, but he's in class so she sends him a text. She'd also like to hear Andy's voice, but she's not going to call and possibly wake him if he's resting. Her mind wanders back to early in the morning. She woke up around 5 a.m. and had to use the bathroom. When she got back in bed, Andy was asleep on his side, facing her. There was just enough light in the room for her to make out the silver stubble on his face. She had to restrain herself from touching it and waking him. He's handsome, but that's not the main reason she's attracted to him, it's more of a combination of things: the way his eyes turn soft when he looks at her; the way he kisses her as if her lips are drenched in forbidden wine; the way he openly wears his heart on his sleeve; the way he loves his kids and genuinely wants to be a part of their lives; the tender way he treats her; the sarcastic, goofy, intelligent sense of humor that sometimes gets him in trouble. These are the things she's thinking about when she drifts back to sleep, and these are the things she's thinking about in the middle of the afternoon in her office.
Almost exactly 24 hours ago, her life was running pretty smoothly with the exception of the still missing Phillip Stroh. Now, she is trying to track down a man she may, or may not, know who has been studying her intently in her own home for at least ten days, possibly from right across the hall; he's in possession of a gun, and he has threatened the life of the man she is falling in love with. She feels like she should be doing ten things at once. Instead, she's sitting behind her desk staring out at the Murder Room when she sees her housekeeper, Blanca Nolen, approaching her office accompanied by Detective Nelson. She immediately opens her appointment book, and realizes that today is the third Thursday of the month which means Blanca should be cleaning her condo right now. As the two women enter her office, she immediately notices that Blanca is visibly upset and trying not to cry.
"Blanca, what's happened? Why are you here?"
Before Blanca can answer, Detective Nelson says, "Your housekeeper was detained by Detective Monroe as she tried to enter your condo with a key this afternoon. He asked her about the key, and she said you gave it to her."
"That's right," Sharon replies while smiling at Blanca in an attempt to calm the woman down. "Blanca has worked for me since my children were small. I trust her implicitly."
Turning to Blanca, the detective says, "Go ahead, and tell her what you told Detective Monroe."
"I'm so sorry, Miss Sharon. The last time I cleaned for you, a man knocked on the door and told me he was a plumber. He said that you had called him to fix a leak in the dishwasher. I let him in, and he worked about 20 minutes before he told me that he needed a different piece of equipment, and he'd be gone for a little while. I didn't think anything about it. I just kept cleaning, and when he got back, almost an hour later, I let him in again. He worked another 20 minutes or so before he told me the leak was fixed and he left. I finished cleaning, and locked the door behind me when I left. I had no idea I'd done anything wrong until today when I tried to get into your condo to clean."
Looking at the detective, Sharon says, "I never called a plumber, and my dishwasher has never leaked."
"Please tell us what the plumber looked like," says Detective Nelson.
"He was probably in his mid-50s. I think he had brown hair, but he was wearing a ball cap so I'm not sure about the color of his hair, but it was short. I thought he was attractive, and kind of tall and thin. And, oh yeah, he was wearing tan coveralls and carrying a tool box."
The detective asks, "Was there writing or a logo on his cap or coveralls?"
"Yeah, I think there was something on the back of the coveralls, but I don't remember the words. I'm so sorry."
"Blanca, this is important. Did he have access to the key that I gave you?" asks Sharon.
Slowly shaking her head no, Blanca says, "I don't think so. I keep it in my purse while I'm cleaning."
"Where was your purse while the plumber was in the condo?" asks Detective Nelson.
"I always keep my purse on the dining room table," answers Blanca.
"Did you stay in the kitchen with him while he was working on the dishwasher?" asks the detective.
"No, I was dusting and vacuuming in the bedrooms."
"He could've taken the key, had a copy made when he left, and then put the key back in the purse when he returned," says the detective.
Sharon picks up the phone and calls Buzz to tell him to go to electronics. Hanging up the phone, Sharon says, "Blanca, I need you to watch some video, and then tell us if you recognize the man in the video."
The three women meet Buzz in electronics, and he plays the video of the man in coveralls wearing a backpack and baseball cap, walking towards the security camera with his head down. They all watch as the man stops in front of Sharon's condo, inserts a key in the lock, and lets himself in the door.
"Yes," Blanca says to Sharon. "That looks like the plumber, but when I saw him, he wasn't wearing a backpack. He was carrying a tool box. And, I remember when I was taking him to the kitchen, he asked me if I liked working for you. He seemed nice, and we talked for a few minutes. I told him that I'd worked for you for over 20 years. He thought your condo was beautiful, and he said something about you having very good taste. I left him alone in the kitchen after that."
"From now on, never let a stranger in my home when you're cleaning," Sharon says as she puts her arm around the distraught woman to console her.
"It will never happen again. I hope nothing is missing because of me," says Blanca. "That other detective told me you'd had an intruder in your condo, but that's all he would tell me."
"Don't worry about it," Sharon says, "just be very careful in the future. Never let anyone in my condo unless I've called and told you who to expect."
"Ms. Nolen, we need you to meet with our sketch artist. Please be as detailed as possible, so we'll have an accurate picture of the man you saw," says the detective. As the women are walking out of electronics, the detective's cell phone begins to buzz with an incoming text message. She stops to read the message; then she turns to Sharon to tell her that Captain Martinez needs to meet with them as soon as possible.
Leaving the housekeeper with the sketch artist, they immediately head to Robbery-Homicide. Captain Martinez quickly walks out of his office as soon as he spots them. "We've located Clinton Williams," he says.
"Where is he?" asks the detective.
"In the morgue," replies Martinez.
