Sharon was packing up her office when a knock distracted her. Looking up she saw Buzz in her doorway.
"Captain," he said, holding out the envelope.
"Already?"
Buzz shrugged, his face as inscrutable as ever.
"Thank you," Sharon smiled, taking the envelope from him. "I know he's going to appreciate this."
"He should," Buzz replied, without any sense of ego. "There's some really nice cards and references in there. I fixed some of it, enhancing the photos and making sure all the writing was legible."
"Buzz, you didn't have to do that, but thank you for your added touches. I'm looking forward to seeing it all."
"If there's nothing else, Captain..."
"Not at this time. If I receive anything more along these lines, would you do it again?"
"Yes. Our same deal would apply?"
"Definitely."
Buzz nodded and left her office.
Sharon couldn't wait to see what Buzz had scanned for her. She carefully removed the USB key from the envelope, then put the rest in her top drawer and locked it. Planning on returning the contents of the envelope the next morning, she smiled to herself and quickly grabbed the rest of her belongings to leave.
Hours later, long after dinner was over, Sharon sat in her living room with her feet up on the sofa. Rusty had decided to make an early night of it, so she showered, got into her pajamas, poured a glass of wine, grabbed her computer and the key, and sat to enjoy the bounty.
Item after item scrolled by, making her happier than she imagined. She saw a letter from and eight year old who's father Andy found before it was too late, thanking him and saying he wanted to be just like Andy when he grew up. There was another from a widow who hadn't been as fortunate, thanking him for attending her husband's funeral. It meant the world to her to know that her husband wasn't just another number to the LAPD. There were a couple of interviews from local papers, pictures of award ceremonies, and the letter from the then Chief when Andy made Lieutenant. Throughout there were the occasional baseball pictures of the LAPD and the LAFD getting together for a charity baseball game, a few casual pictures from various social events, and an unpublished article from the defunct LAPD newsletter talking about Andy and the teddy bears.
Sharon clicked on the program she chosen to use to make everything presentable, and started to create. She had decided on a chronological placement, telling his story over the years. It amused her to no end as she watched his hair change from black to grey. For all of Andy's swagger, he had never been vain about his looks, he simply looked good in every situation.
After working on it for awhile, she decided to add a different section about Andy's partners and fellow team members over the years. Accessing the LAPD database, she downloaded a number of pictures and commented with her own memories as she went. One picture surprised her and made her laugh. She had known Andy for years, but didn't realize they had been captured in a photograph together. How long ago was that, she wondered, the date obscure.
Looking at all of the pictures, Sharon realized she needed to bring one more person into her secret project and hoped he would be amenable.
"You're still up?" Rusty spoke and surprised her.
Sharon looked at the time on her computer. "Oh, I didn't even notice," she said when she realized she had worked well passed midnight. "Why are you up?"
Rusty shrugged, "I was hungry."
She nodded and smiled, then watched him walk to the kitchen and rummage around.
"Whatcha working on?" he said around half a sandwich.
"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full."
"Yeah, yeah, don't change the subject," he rolled his eyes.
Sharon stretched and put away her computer, "It's just work related, Honey."
Rusty seemed satisfied with the answer. He sat down at the table and had his sandwich ingested in four bites.
"Don't you chew?" Sharon couldn't help asking.
He shrugged again, and returned his plate to the counter, then wiped up his crumbs. "You should really get some sleep."
Sharon smiled at the boy, always the caretaker. "Yes, I'm going now. You should too."
Rusty nodded then turned towards his bedroom, "Goodnight, Sharon."
"Night..."
A few hours later, Sharon was not as energetic as she had been, and groaned when the alarm rang. Realizing it wasn't an alarm, she reached for her phone. "Yes Lieutenant," she croaked.
"Sorry to wake you, Captain."
"That's okay, what's happened?" She looked at the time and was amazed at the hour.
"I'm here at the office, and I'm afraid to say another letter has arrived."
Sharon sat up immediately alert. "Who is it addressed to?"
"Ah..." Provenza stumbled, "this one is addressed to you. By my count this makes five. I've already copied it and will be sending it down to the lab in an hour when this place opens for business."
"Thank you for telling me. What does it say?"
"Ah... Dear Sharon, I hope you are enjoying the holidays. It's always hard to find that perfect gift, isn't it? With any luck all of your boys will appreciate your efforts. That's all it says, Captain. Does that mean anything to you?"
Sharon's heart beat wildly in her chest. What did this person know about her? "I... I'm not sure. It could mean anything. It could mean he knows about Ricky but not Melissa, the boys could mean the squad, or maybe Rusty and Jackson, since they've both been seen with me. Or he could just be grasping at straws."
"No matter what, it's obvious he's been following you, too. I'm going to say it again, Captain, I think you should have your own security detail."
"Lieutenant, we've been over this. When I'm at work, I'm perfectly safe, and at home I have Rusty's detail. Besides, anything extra would make Rusty suspicious, and I don't want him to know about these letters."
"Sharon..."
"Louie, no. That's final."
"I don't like it."
"You've made that point perfectly clear on a number of occasions."
"That kid needs you, Sharon. We can't let anything happen to you."
Sharon smiled into the phone, and laid back on her pillow. "Thank you, and I know that. I don't intend to have anything happen. You seem to forget I'm armed and have quite a few years under my belt... my Black Belt," she emphasized.
"Yeah, yeah... you kick ass. We know that, but another pair of eyes wouldn't hurt."
"The only thing that is going to make this better is to catch this letter writer."
"Yes, that would be nice. Any more thought about letting Rusty do what he wants to do?"
"He's meeting with Dr. Joe again. My instincts say this is all wrong."
"You've got to let him do it, Sharon. He's going to one way or another, so it's better with us in control."
"Are we really in control?" Sharon sighed.
"We'll get this guy. Don't you worry."
"I hope you're right. Listen Lieutenant, I was going to call you today anyway, but since I have you on the phone I'll ask now. Could we meet for breakfast in about an hour? I'm working on something and I could really use your help."
"That sounds intriguing. Care to tell me what this is about?"
"I will if you can meet me. Rusty doesn't have to be at the office until later this morning, so I can meet with you somewhere between my home and the office, and then return to pick him up for his appointment. This is a private matter and I don't want any of the team knowing about it."
"That cafe you like, in an hour?"
"That would be perfect. Thank you."
Sharon walked into the cafe exactly an hour later. Looking around she saw that Provenza hadn't yet arrived, so she placed her order and found a seat.
"Ah..." Provenza said as he saw her and moved to join her at the table. "So, what are we here to talk about? I assume it's not more about the letters."
"No Lieutenant, it's a personal matter and I need your help."
"I'm listening."
Sharon told Provenza about the situation between Andy and his daughter, and the gift she was working on that might help make things better.
"But now I need personal effects. I noticed he has many items in his home that would be perfect, but I can't very well ask him myself."
"So... I take it you want me to occupy him while you invade his home."
Sharon tipped her head back and forth, "In a manner of speaking, yes."
"And while I have Andy occupied, how do you expect to get into his home? Or can I guess."
"Well..." she started, putting her coffee mug on the table, "I'm quite able to pick locks, but I thought a more reasonable method was to borrow your key. Yes?"
Provenza sat back and laughed. "You're really something, Captain. Is there an underhanded trick you won't play, so long as you can justify it with your rulebook, of course."
Sharon's eyes widened, "Underhanded? Not at all. I'm merely suggesting the most expedient way to get the necessary items, with the intent of helping one of our fellow officers with a personal issue."
"And there it is, the Raydor justification. I've been working with you long enough to see how this works. All right, Captain, I'll play along, but if it goes well I want some of the credit. And if it bombs, I don't want any of the blame."
Sharon smiled at him, "Thank you. He needs this, and you know that."
Nodding, Provenza sat forward again, "He does, and you have a way of getting his head out of his ass for him. But tell me something, would you go to this effort for the rest of us?"
"What are you suggesting, Lieutenant."
"Ah... something along the lines of Teacher's Pet," he said crisply.
Sharon pulled the mantel of Captain over herself fully, and looked at Provenza. "Lieutenant, I don't play favourites. And may I remind you of last year, when Lt. Tao had that case return on him that needed to be solved another way? I didn't leave him to deal with it on his own. I made sure every effort was made to prove Mr. Reichman guilty again. I even pushed Fritz Howard into making the FBI pay for the widow to be flown in. I would most certainly go to the mat for any of you. That's my job."
Provenza put his hands up in surrender and chuckled, "Okay, okay, you've made your point. Yeah, I'll help you. I'll give you the key and the security code, and I'll get Flynn out of the way. He's still stressing about Christmas gifts for his new grandkids, so I'll take him shopping. I'll even look through my things to see what I can contribute. I've known the idiot for a long time, and I'm sure I've got something. But just as an aside, you think your stalker knows about this and that's what he was referring to?"
"I don't see how. I've only spoken to one of my former colleagues in Internal Affairs, Buzz, and now you. I trust each of you implicitly."
"Okay, you know better than I would. I'm just trying to find connections."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. One more question, do you have the name and number of his AA sponsor?"
"Yeah. But do you think that guy is going to talk to you, and tell you anything important?"
Sharon smiled indulgently, "Lieutenant... people always talk to me."