Chapter 6: Good Cop, Dead Cop
"You're early today." Ashley remarked as she walks downstairs. I kept my eyes on my laptop. "Hey!" I smiled. "I made you some flapjacks."
"Sweet. So what's you're up to?" Ashley took a bite on one of the flappy. "You're still chasing down those thugs didn't you?" She asked.
"I hardly slept, and It's my job, since they're making more and more ruckus in the town, it's about time we have to work harder." I said and close to the laptop. "Just don't be too focus on them, stay safe sister."
"I will." I smiled and handed her a note. "What's this?" She furrowed, finding it a phone number.
"You're looking for a forensic laboratory job don't you? I asked Grace if there are available internship and she said yes. She'll be looking forward, working with you, so better call the lab as soon as possible okay." I said.
"Seriously?!" She said with excitement. "I get to work on the crime lab now!"
"Don't be too excited, you're still have to wait if you're in the position." I said. "Well I'll better go. See you later."
I looked at my watch as I wait for the elevator. 30mins. early. An Officer came rushing to catch by at the elevator. He seems in a deep thought. His blonde curls is a bit disheveled, He has blue eyes, but what caught me was the bruise on his left eye. I'm dying to ask him about that, but I decided to keep it. He press the button in 3rd floor. The ride was silent. The elevator opened on third floor, but he seems to not notice it. I cleared my throat dragging his attention. "Excuse me, we're here on the third floor." I smiled. Pressing the button to hold the door. He snapped. "Oh! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He gave me a smile and step out the door. I wondered what's with him.
I checked out my reports when I came on my desk. "Hey Keirah!" Jones greeted. "Good timing, Chief King wants to see us."
"I bet it's a new case!" I grinned.
"Yeah, right, what else would he called us for." He said.
Chief King's face was covered in grief as we entered the office. "Detective Silvers. Officer Jones. I have terrible news. Detective Ed Dunkin was just found dead in the Queen Street subway station." he announced. We glanced, mouth agape. We hardly process the news. "Dead! What... How did this happen?" Jones furrowed.
Chief King sighed. "This is what I'm counting on you both to figure out! If there is a cop-killer in this town, we need to catch them fast!" We nodded. "Start by going to the crime scene, and see what you can find!"
"I can't believe another Officer has been killed again." Jones saddened. I knew how he felt, knowing that his partner was killed 2 years ago. I didn't reply, I don't even know what should I say in times like this.
We arrived at the Subway platform. The yellow line already taped around the scene. The officers were there waiting for us. Some of them ushered the people who passed by the station to take another route. We looked at the Victim. Jones stared at it for few seconds. "Jones, we should stay focus." I said, squeezing his shoulder in sympathy. He sighed. "Seeing Ed's body lying there is pretty sobering, but you're right, Keirah, we must keep our focus!" He started to look around as I inspect the body. Hoping to find some remaining evidences. He was shot, which obviously leads to his death. His face has a some cuts and bruises. "He must be fighting before he got killed. Poor Ed." I said. "We should find this guy soon before he gets another one." Jones muttered.
I signaled the forensics to take the body to the ambulance. I looked around. "We'll need the autopsy results as soon as possible, and there's also this garbage bag to sift through." Jones said. It was already open. I search through it, thinking I might find a clue. And instead of a murder weapon I found a USB. "Nice catch, Keirah!"He noted. "But what is a Police USB key doing in a subway trash?"
"Someone put this there in purpose." I noted.
"Yeah. There's no way it got there by accident! Let's just hope Alex can salvage whatever info was on there!" He said. "It'd probably be a good idea to go talk to Harry Landry, too. I don't think you've ever meet him? He was Ed's partner."
"Well I do. I just met him earlier." I said. "Do you think he knew about this?"
"I don't know? LEt's head to the crime lab first, lets see what Nathan found."
"I really HATE seeing colleagues end up on my table. You'd better stay safe, Keirah!" Nathan said in grieving way. "Judging from the angle of the wound, Ed was kneeling down when he was shot. Which also means his killer is about 6'3''."
"Kneeling down? You mean he was executed?!" Jones noted.
"Even if he was, he fought back: his knuckles are scraped. So unless your killer is made of steel, they're walking around with a nice bruise on their face!" Nathan added.
"Will add that up. Thanks Nathan." I said.
"Jones I've heard the news, sorry on what happened." Alex said in comfort. Jones nodded. "We have to get that Jerk who did this soon... So what do you get?"
"That key didn't agree with its stay in the trash, but I managed to restore one file: the police records of a certain Angel Martinez." Alex replied.
"Hm... that name sounds familiar..." He pursed his lip. "I know! He's the scum we booked a while ago for organizing dogfights! He lives nearby. Let's go say hello!"
"Isn't dogfights are illegal?" I noted.
"Yeah, Ed must be working an investigation on it." He said.
Angel Martinez obviously love dogs, or dog fights. Noting his orange and white jacket with a picture of dog on it. He's so towering and tough looking, yet has neat spiky dark hair. He has blue eyes which the left was covered with bruise. What's with these guys and bruises?
"Mr. Martinez, we found your record on Ed's flash drive. And we're pretty sure you had an idea." I said.
"So you found my name on a dead cop's key, big deal." Angel remarked bluntly.
"Yes, big deal! It's pretty clear Ed was investigating your dogfighting ring. Is that why you killed him?" Jones jeered.
"Him? Investigate ME? You're sure we're talking about the same guy? *Chuck! Ed was one of my best customers! Didn't miss a fight!" Angel snickered.
"Suuure. And me and Detective Keirah deal dope when we're not on the job, don't we, Keirah?" Jones gave a wide grin.
"Heh! Well, keep that up, buddy." Angel snorted.
"One thing. Did you also got yourself in a dog fight? That bruise surely sums it up." Jones added.
"Jones!" I scolded.
"You're clever. But this is none of your business." Angel spatted.
"That's something strange, I wouldn't think Ed will get involve in a dog fight. Sounds like not Ed at all." Jones noted.
"Pretty strange indeed. Why not ask his Partner." I said.
"Drat! I forgot about that. Let's go have some chat with Harry." Jones said.
Harry was on the interrogation room when we came back. He's a bit relaxed now than I saw earlier.
"Harry, we're sorry to inform you this..."
"I heard about it. Ed was... a good man." Harry's eyes were filled with solitude.
"Sorry about your partner." I said. "Are you alright?" I added.
He looked at me knowing what happened earlier. "I... Yes, I just haven't had a good sleep lately. And now I'm shocked, hearing what happened to Ed." He said.
I nodded. "Do you have any idea who he met up last night?"
"No, I don't know who Ed met up with last night. If I did, I'd be arresting their ass right now!" Harry furrowed. "Look, Ed could be really private, go off on his own. Heck, maybe he was on a case and didn't tell me!" He stuttered.
Jones crossed his arms. "Private or not, we're going to need answers."
"Ed's desk is on the third floor, right? Keirah, we should go have a look around." Jones sighed.
"Hey, don't keep me out of the loop, okay? I'll be around, just keep me updated!" Harry pleaded.
We headed to the third floor and find Ed's desk. "Hope we find what we're looking." Jones muttered. I shrugged and proceed to search. I notice the family picture on his desk. I looked at it for a moment. I searched behind his desk, there was a trashcan beside it and I notice a shred paper. I looked at one of it's piece. "Jones, this is an arrest form isn't it?" I said. He came by and inspect it. "Yes. But why would Ed tear it to shreds? This doesn't make any sense." He said.
"Let's piece it back, that way we could track this person he was supposed to issued an arrest." I said.
"You're right, Keirah." He nodded.
I carefully flatten the crumpled pieces as I lined it up, then taped them together. "Great job, Keirah! Now we can check who that arrest form was issued to... and hopefully discover why it was turned to confetti." Jones blabbered behind. "So who..." As we read. "William Lewis?" I added.
"Ha, Zeus! He's a local pimp, although he likes to call them "callgirls". Let's ask him over for a chat." Jones said.
Zeus was seated, his hands resting on his chin and looked around, amused. He gave a slight grin as Jones told him about Ed and the torn arrest form. "I sure hope that arrest sheet was torn up! That was part of our deal: Ed would make sure I didn't get sent to the joint..." He smirked. "... and in exchange I'd let him have some fun with my girls, free of charge."
We stared back. "You don't say!" Jones said in surprised.
Zeus waved. "No need to look at me like that, coppers! Maybe you just don't know the guy as well as you think you do..."
"It's difficult to accept the fact that Ed is doing something... wrong." I noted. Jones sighed. "I don't know if they're just playing with us."
"Detective Silvers, Sir! There's a... a prostitute... who claims she's got info about Ed's killer!" Ramirez peered in the office.
"A prostitute? I bet it's Ginger! With luck, she can give us a physical description of our culprit!" Jones face brightened.
"She says she saw them throw their gun into the river, in front of Dock 15. King wants you to go have a look there." Ramirez said. "Oh, and sir, sir! Harry Landry also wants to speak with you."
"Great. Lets talk to the lady first." Jones grinned.
"Who's Ginger?" I asked, noting his bit of excitement. "She's a friend..." He answered.
"A friend?"
"Oh you're wondering how we met? Accidental meeting at first, she was a damsel in distress and I came to help her." He answered.
"That was too mainstream Jones!" I snickered.
"Really! It's the truth! Since then she helped us, giving some infos if the situations calling." He said grinning, as we entered the room. "Jones!" A girl came to hug him which surprised us both.
Jones chuckled and break from the hug. "Detective Silvers, I don't think you've met Ginger? She's an old friend, always ready to help."
She turned and looked at me. She gave me a genuine smile, her long blonde hair suits her blue eyes. I can't help but notice she's... beautiful. "You bet I am, gorgeous!" She grinned and I blinked. "Well..." I smiled.
"Just kidding." She winked.
"A soon as I heard gunshots in the subway yesterday, I knew to keep my eyes peeled." She added.
"Did you get to see their faces?" I asked.
Ginger pursed her lips. "Actually, Some guy came running out a second later, straight for the river. I only had time to notice his eyes; y'know I have a weak spot for blue eyes." She grinned turning to Jones.
Jones chuckled. "Hehe, yeah... Anyway. So our killer's a man, and he's got blue eyes! Thanks for your help Ginger, it won't be forgotten!"
"No worries! I'm here as always." She said. "Anyways, nice meeting you Detective. See you around." She smiled and I nodded.
There hasn't enough information on our Killer yet. "I think we have to investigate the riverside. Ginger said the Suspect ran towards the river, maybe he dropped the weapon there." I suggested. "Maybe you're right, but searching a murder weapon under water might be difficult." Jones noted.
"I heard you've been talking with Zeus and Martinez. I hope you didn't trust a word they said!" Harry peered in.
Jones turned. "Why? What do you think they told us?" He furrowed.
Harry blinked and puckered his brows. "I.. I don't know! But I know their type. They'd say anything to make us look bad!" He stuttered.
"What ever they said, the evidences will tell the truth." I answered.
"Look, I just don't want you to forget who the criminals are, that's all!" Harry waved his hands and left.
Jones and I exchanged looks. "Hm, I wonder what that was about. And whether we should trust Harry or our suspects..." Jones pursed his lips.
"Lets not be bias about this, they're all suspects." I noted.
"You're right. Let's check out the river though." Jones said.
We head to the riverside later and ready the equipments. "Been a long a time since I take a swim." Jones grinned as he grabbed the diving equipments.
"Now is your chance..." I smiled.
Later we head down the river bed. Just as Jones' said, it's very difficult to search underwater. I proceed to search near the submerged car which I think was there like million years old. The riverbed doesn't look that good, you'll never want to swim here. Trashes and litters were all around. I have the urged to gather all these trash and clean the river but I have to find something important first, which, I found finally. A gun! I came to Jones and tapped him on the shoulder showing the gun on his face. He grinned and gave me a thumbs up, since we can't talk underwater. Funny gestures are in. Then we head back to the ground.
"Bingo! You've got good underwater vision, Silvers!" Jones said after he took off his equipment.
"We haven't much of an answer if this is our weapon." I said.
"You're right. But I hope so. The test will prove it, else we've gotten wet for nothing!" He sighed.
"Alright. I compared a bullet fired from that gun with one I found inside Ed's body, and the tests are clear: this is your murder weapon." Nathan announced. We glanced up smiling. "As for who it belongs to... Someone has tried to file off the gun's serial number, but you might be able to complete it." He added.
"We'll take take care of that. Thanks Nate!" Jones grinned.
"Would you?" He gestured handing the gun.
"Always!" I smiled and took it. "This won't took long." I sat on my desk.
Jones nodded and sat beside me. I notice the awkward silence that he has for a moment. Strange. "Are you okay?" I asked without looking at him. He turned and smiled. "Yeah." He answered.
"Liar... You seem quiet than usual." I snickered.
"Hey! I could be quiet sometimes!" He protested, knowing that I'm teasing him.
"When you're in deep thoughts. What were you thinking?" I said as I jotted down the code.
"Unicorns and rainbows..." He answered.
"Seriously Jones." I said. He chuckled.
"I know what you're thinking... You wanted to finish this case soon as possible." I turned to look at him. He looked down and nodded. "I know how you feel. It's been hard for you." I added. Knowing about his past on his former partner. "So, you're supposed to be a psychic now?" He sneered.
"I'm just telling you that I'm here to listen, if you want someone to talk to. Since... I'm your partner." I said. "I may not give you a worthy advice but I am a good listener." I smiled.
He smiled for a moment. "Yes you're right, I am eager to close this case and get the jerk who killed Ed." He said. For a moment he stopped. "It brings back nightmare." He added. He clenched his fist. "Have you ever felt like you've regret something in life?" He asked staring at the space.
I blinked. "Life has regrets. I think it's part of our life." I said.
"I haven't got the chance to save him." He said.
"Why were you saying that?" I furrowed.
"James sacrifices himself to save the team that night. If I was there, If I didn't listen to him to run. Maybe it wasn't too late."
"Jones..."
"We cracked the case but he's gone..."
"Hey! You did all your best. Everything happened wasn't your fault." I told him.
"I guess I'm not the best partner he has." He sneered.
I rolled my eyes. "This is so not you Jones. Don't let yourself down."
I squeezed his shoulder, snapping him from his thoughts. That would stop him. I hate it everytime he blames himself on his former partner's death.
"Tell me about James." I said. It's better if he thinks their good old memories. "Tell me what kind of guy he is. I want to know him."
He smiled. "He's a great guy, good at cracking the mysteries, and interrogating jerks."
"There's one time, we work on a very difficult case, I almost got crazy but he managed to solved it smoothly."
"Seems you two are so opposite..." I chuckled.
He nodded laughing. "He's like a big brother to me. He taught me how to cracked up the codes like you always did. But. I'm really terrible on that job." He laughed.
"That's why you let me do the job." I teased.
"Yeah, when he's gone. I have to work it out by myself and it still gives me a headache. Two years of working alone or two in a half almost, seems like a dark age. Good thing you came."
"Good thing, you choose me." I joked as I gave him the codes I collected.
He took it and smiled. "You never let me down Keirah. Nice job! Let's get this serial number to Alex. We may be close to finding who our killer is!"
"Finally there's the real Jones I've knew. Ready to crack the case." I snickered and he just chuckled.
"I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?" Alex raised his brows.
Jones crossed his arms. "Let's have the good news first, for a change." He said.
"I found your serial number." Alex grinned. We glanced up furrowing.
"The bad news is that the gun was Ed's. Which means his killer was clever enough to use a weapon we could never trace back to him."
Jones' mouth agaped. "What the..."
"Clever!" I muttered.
"That can't be helped. We have our murder weapon but nothing leads to our guy!" I noted.
"I'm starting to think that guy must knew Ed very well." Jones muttered.
I glanced. "You were saying?"
"I'm not saying it was Harry, although he is our suspect but Harry wasn't the only one who knew Ed right?" He explained and I nodded.
"C'mon lets investigate the subway, they're reopening it soon. We better crack this out!" He said.
It's getting dark when we arrived at the Subway. We came back to where Ed's body found and inspect around. I proceed to search on the Subway seats and found a familiar ticket around the trash. It looks a bit dusty so I'm not sure if it really was a betting ticket. "What did you find? A betting ticket?" Jones came. "This looks familiar." I noted. "Look, Keirah, I know we're desperate for leads, but picking up random trash? Seriously?" He snickered.
"We're gonna find it out." I said, in a challenging voice. I put out my tools and started to examine the ticket. And I was right. "Look! This ticket is for dogfights!" I showed it to him.
He blinked and read it. "Hey, I hadn't seen that this betting ticket was for dogfights!"
He looked at me and I raised my brows. "I shouldn't have doubted you, Keirah! Let's send this print you collected to Alex." He grinned.
"Well Keirah, you've got good instincts! The prints on your betting ticket are a match with Ed's!" Alex announced. "What?!" I furrowed. "So Ed did gamble. Drat! We need to figure out who took his bets!" Jones said.
"I'm one step ahead of you. His bookmaker was Freddie Whitmore!" Alex said.
"Great, first thing tomorrow, talk to Freddie Whitmore." Jones said.
Freddie was surprised when we told him about Ed the next day. "# c*! Ed's dead?!" He snapped. "Yes, and we found this betting ticket on his dead body. We don't give a crap about your scam, but tell us what you know about Ed." Jones said. Freddie snorted. "Straight to the point, I like that!" He rubbed his forehead, dishivelling his fringe blonds. "Ed bet mostly on dogfights." He made a crooked grin. "Seriously?!" I stared. He laughed. "He kept the other cops off my back, and I made sure he didn't lose too often..."
"He's the third person to tell us Ed was as bent as they come. We cannot ignore this any longer..." Jones said. "We should inspect Ed's desk, maybe we find truth there." I said. "Good idea."
We came back to Ed's office and search through his desk. All is messy yet we found something that could be an answer. "I wonder to whom this phone number is." I said. "Somehow I doubt this phone number was given to Ed by his wife... Let's track its owner down." Jones said.
"Jones wait! I think we should check his drawers too."
"You're right, there might be a few..."
He stopped as I opened the drawer and we found a pack of cigarette. "Strange." Jones said. "I remember him yelling at smokers for "polluting his air"!"
"Look Jones there's something inside." I opened the box and found a note.
"Warehouse 10, 4pm"
Jones furrowed. "Wait, this all sounds familiar..."
"I know!" He snapped his fingers. "That's how that scum Angel gives his customers the place and time of his dogfights!"
"Let's cut to the chase. We found the place and time of your next dogfight in Ed's desk." Jones said.
Angel furrowed. "And that's surprising because...?" He raised his brows. "Oh for Cheeze! Ed loved those fights! Of course he had that info!" He sneered.
"Well then, maybe he was starting to lose interest... so you killed him, before he became a problem!" Jones glared.
Angel chuckled. "Heh! Nice try. Look, I hated the bastard, I'll grant you that. A bent cop is still a cop. But kill him? I had nothing to gain from that."
"These doesn't make any sense!" Jones complained.
"Angel maybe didn't killed Ed." I said. Jones glanced.
"What makes you say that?" He asked.
"He didn't have enough reason to kill Ed, specially if he gains something from him." I answered.
"That might be true." Jones said.
"Hey guys!" Alex called. "What did you get?" I asked. "It's so easy it's almost boring. The phone number you found on Ed's desk points straight to one of Zeus's callgirls." He answered.
"Wait, why would Ed have a callgirl's number?! Keirah, I think Zeus is due for another interrogation!" Jones snapped.
"See? Old Zeus was telling the truth after all! Yes, that phone number was given to Ed by one of my girls." Zeus snorted. "If you think this is getting you off the hook, you've got another one coming, Zeus!" Jones hissed. "Did Ed start wanting more? Was he hurting the girls? Is that why you decided to get rid of him?"
"Ha, I'd rather kill myself than kill Ed! He was the only reason my girls weren't being busted by the rest of you!" Zeus grinned.
Jones rubbed the back of his head. "I remember when Ed became a cop here. He always went on and on about our "duty" and how the Law must be upheld..."
"I guess when the good men fall, they fall hard."
"That's why, you have to look before you jump. You never know what could happen." I said. "I'm sure Harry knew all of these."
"Right. Let's go find some answers." He nodded.
"So Ed wasn't Cop of the Month, so what? Are you trying to ruin Ed's reputation, or find his killer?" Harry's voice has a tone of disapproval.
"Are you seriously telling me you thought knowing about Ed's accomplices didn't matter?! Get a grip, Harry!" Jones glared.
"Ed's got a family! I didn't want them to think of him as a bad man, a cheater! He was my best friend!" Harry answered.
"You didn't want them to think of him as a bad guy yet you compromised his actions." I said.
"I didn't!" Harry stared.
"Then why didn't you stop him?!" Jones said sternly.
"I tried! But he wouldn't listen! He never, ever, LISTENED!" Harry shouted. His eyes were somewhat filled with regret and rage. I sighed. Harry might be telling the truth.
"Detective and Inspector, I'm still waiting for your report on Ed's murder." Chief King came to the office. We glanced up. "Well, the thing is, chief... we're a little stuck. Harry stormed off when we told him we knew his partner was bent, and..." Jones answered.
"Ed? Bent?! This is a serious accusation! I hope you you're not throwing it around lightly, officers." Chief King furrowed. "I doubt Harry will accept to cooperate further after this. You two should go back to the river. We know Ed's killer threw his gun there, but he may have dropped something else!" He added.
"I Never thought to come back to this river." I said.
"We have no choice. I trust your instinct in this." Jones said, fastening the equipments.
"What if we find nothing?" I said.
"Be possitive. I'm still hoping we will though." He answered. "Ready to take a swim?" He grinned and we dive down.
We proceed to search over the submerged car, I looked around and inspect everything. I found what it seems like a camera covered with soil. I shoved off the soils and yes! A surveillance camera, that seems odd. Although everything around here under the water seems to be odd, but I try this camera. And it keeps bugging me that this looks like familiar. It's broken but I tried to inspect it. Jones came and followed my gaze. His eyes widened and pointed the camera's side. I furrowed and took a closer. Now I know what he wants to tell. We quickly emerged from the river. "...this surveillance camera comes from the subway! Look, there's even the station's name, on that piece!" Jones noted. "Normally I would laugh at whoever took it."
"Why?" I asked.
"The subway system hasn't been renovated in years and I'm pretty sure those cameras don't transmit their feed!" He answered.
"Maybe it don't, maybe it did. But I'm also pretty sure it is, coz our guy might be the one who took it, and threw it here. He maybe knew that this camera caught up the scene." I said.
"Maybe... Do you think you could fix it up? Then we could check what's on it. If it ended up in the river, chances are it caught the killer on tape!" He said and I nodded.
I started to fix up the camera later. A broken tech wasn't so easy to fix, especially it dived under water. I'm not even sure if we had a chance to save a record.
"Here, this gave me a hard time." I said, giving the fixed camera. "I knew you can do it! This camera doesn't even look like it was ever broken!" Jones grinned.
"Sweet talk." I rolled my eyes.
"Let's send it to Alex and see what he can salvage!" He said.
"All I've got to say is that you're lucky to have me. Giving this broken, soggy camera to anybody else would have led you to a big fat nothing." Alex said proudly.
"We know that." I chuckled.
"But, because I'm a genius, I was able to reconstitute the images it captured on the night of Ed's murder." He snapped. He showed us the remaining footage of the scene. it's a bit blurry but we can see almost what's happening. "The angle isn't great, but I can tell you one thing with certainty : Ed's killer's got blonde hair!" He paused the part where Ed was being shot. Judging by the guy, our eyes widened as we figured out who it was. We didn't see that coming.
"It can't be..." Jones muttered, his face began to get gloomy. I just shook my head.
"You finally got enough to make an arrest, officers?" Chief King asked.
"I guess we do. But something tells me I won't like where this is going..." Jones saddened.
"Well, remember, no matter what, you have to follow the evidence. I'm trusting on you to make the right decision." Chief King said. "You've done a fine job! I'll let you handle the arrest."
We called Harry for an interrogation. "I knew you'd figure it out. I should have turned myself in that night, but... I guess I'm weaker than I thought." Harry said after we told him what we've found. "Look, I didn't mean for any of this to happen! But I couldn't just watch Ed ruin his career! He was such an inspiration!"
"I know how you feel." Jones added.
Harry looked down. "When I first confronted him, he acted sorry, said he would stop... but those were all lies, of course." His brows puckered. "So I decided to up the ante. I told him to meet me in Queen Street station. I said I had a USB key filled with proof of his scams, that I was going to report him. And he just laughed in my face! Laughed! Said he had connections, that nobody would listen to me!
"He punched me, we started fighting. And then... I'm not sure how it happened. One second, he was pointing his gun at me, and the next... I was the one holding it..." Harry's eyes were filled with regret.
"And Ed was lying on the ground... dead."
Jones sighed. "Keirah, can you handle the arrest please? I don't have the heart to read him his rights."
I nodded and put the cuffs on Harry as we head outside the room.
Silence covered around the court room. Ed's wife was there. She knew Harry well, so when we told her about the case and that Harry was the one who killed him, she didn't even believe it. "They're best friends! I wouldn't think Harry will do it!" She told us as if we're accusing his partner.
Judge Hall began to rap the gavel, turning everyones attention. "Every time an officer of the Force stands in front of this desk, I am reminded that nobody is immune from falling on the wrong side of the Law." her face saddened.
She turned to Harry. "Harry Landry, you have entered a Guilty plea for the murder of Ed Dunkin. You do understand what this entails?"
"I do. I killed my partner! How it happened is irrelevant. I'm ready to face the full consequences." Harry nodded.
"Given the circumstances surrounding the crime, the Court thereby sentences you to 4 years for manslaughter, with a chance for parole in 2 years." She announced.
"... 2 years. That's all I get for killing the man who taught me everything. This is the Justice I was fighting to preserve?" Harry grieved.
The next day, we attended Ed's funeral. Almost all who attended were in the Force, Ed's friends and his family. This brings me back memories, I remember the day when I get to see the last face of my parents. It still hurts, especially, everytime I attend a funeral.
"One bad cop dead, one good cop behind bars, and two families deprived of their husbands and fathers... A sad day for the Grimborough police." Jones said as we head back to the car.
"I would have never suspected Ed of making pacts with felons. I guess you never really know anyone, eh?"
"By the way, partner, if you ever see me turning to the dark side... I trust you to slap some sense back into me!" He snapped.
"Maybe I'm gonna push you off the cliff if you do that. You know what I mean." I said. He glanced. "Just kidding." I smiled.
"I knew you were." He chuckled nervously.
ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIONS
"You handled this case with a cool head, despite the fact that one of your colleagues had been murdered. I'm very impressed!" Chief King noted. "Your job, however, is not done. A few of your suspects are still giving us trouble. That pimp, Zeus, is causing a racket downstairs, I have no idea why!"
"That Jerk..." Jones muttered.
"And Ramirez has caught Angel Martinez walking on the subways tracks. Martinez claims it was an emergency. I would appreciate if you could sort this mess out."
We rolled our eyes.
"Oh, but on a lighter note, the delightful Ginger is also looking for you, Detective Silvers!" Chief King smiled.
I raised my brows and Jones stared at me.
"I don't see it why should we help the Jerks!" Jones complained.
"We just have to make them behave, we're not helping them." I said.
We found Zeus waiting on the interrogation. "What's your problem this time?!" Jones asked.
"There you are! Listen man, last time I was put in custody, you guys never gave me back my tie!" Zeus waved.
Jones frowned. "You're making all this fuss because of... a tie?! You can't be serious."
"Look at me: I'm ALWAYS serious about fashion!" We stared at him.
"Fine, Zeus, just keep the noise down. Keirah, I guess we should have a look through Ramirez's Lost & Found desk!" Jones stated.
"I never thought you have a heart to help Zeus find his precious tie." I said.
"It's only to get rid off Zeus soon." He said.
We made it to Ramirez's desk. "Hey Ramirez, mind if we search through your desk? Coz Old Zeus keeps on bugging us about his tie." Jones said.
"Oh! I remember, I put it here somewhere." Ramirez searched.
"Mind if we help you?" I asked, knowing he's having a hard time looking for it.
"Yes, please." Ramirez said.
"I can't find anything, and you?" Jones cocked his head.
"Nothing." I answered.
"Oh, that drawer looks promising! Let's have a better look at it!"
I took out the drawer and placed it on the table. "Wow, you can find anything in this mess." I noted. I searched through it and found a piece of cloth. "Jones, this looks familiar?"
He looked at it, as I found its remaining pieces. "Oh my!" I said.
"What the... What the hell is this?! RA-MI-REZ!" Jones called.
"... Yes? Did I do something wrong?" Ramirez came.
"You tell me! Why the hell is this tie cut into little pieces?!" He furrowed.
"Ah! you found it! Uh, I had to look after my little nephew for an hour and, well, I guess he must have..." Ramirez scratch his head.
"Great! Either we give Zeus the pieces and tell him it's the latest fashion... Otherwise we need to sew this tie back together!" Jones rolled his eyes.
"Can you fix it Keirah?" Jones asked.
"Jones I'm not a tailor. I'm terrible at that job, I'm telling you." I waved.
"Why not give it a try." He pleaded.
I sighed. "Don't blame me if this end up a disaster!"
I stared down at the pieces of cloth. How am I supposed to fix this. True this is like a puzzle solving but this is different. I sighed and start to piece it back and sew it. A few minutes later I head to Jones and showed the tie.
"Amazing work, Silvers! This tie would even fool me! I'm sure Zeus will never notice a thing!" He grinned.
"That's the most fake grin I've ever seen Jones. Sure it looks terrible! Look!" I pointed out.
"Nah, it looks good to me." He said. "I know how hard it is for you to fix this." He noticed the band aids on my fingers.
"It's nothing..." I pouted, and shoved my hands behind my back.
"Zeus, this is your lucky day! Detective Silvers has found your precious tie!" Jones handed the tie to Zeus.
Zeus took and wear it. "Finally! I was about to lose my cool."
"And I'm about to lose mine! So take your freaking tie and get the hell away from here!" He hissed.
"Chill out, little man. Nothing to get so upset about. Here, you clearly need some fashion tips yourselves. Have this, on me!" Zeus handed us a fancy shades with star shaped frames.
"Oh! You shouldn't have to." I said. "Thanks..."
"Zeus really has a weird taste in fashion." I noted, looking at the shades.
"Yeah. This might be part of my collection though." Jones said, wearing the glasses. "What do you think?" He grinned.
"Aww, you look terrible than ever!" I said.
"I'm expecting you to say adorable." He pouted and took it off.
"Let's get to work, there's another one we need to get rid off."
"I lost one of my puppies on the subway tracks... and I'd have gotten it back if that dumb cop hadn't arrested me!" Angel scoffed.
"That dumb cop is called Ramirez... and he isn't that dumb! And if you think we'll swallow your puppy story, you've got another one coming!" Jones gave him a sharp glare.
"For cheese sake! I'm serious! Go check it out if you don't believe me!" Angel insisted.
Jones chilled down a bit. He sighed. "You know what? We ARE going to look your puppy! But it's not to help you! ...it's just because puppies are adorable!" He said, squinting at Angel.
"Wow, we're going to find a puppy because they're adorable." I said.
"It is!" He smirked. "Seriously, Keirah, do you believe Martinez's tales?" He furrowed.
"I believe you're a big dork." I snorted.
"I believe that's contrary." He smirked.
"Nah. Let's go back to the Subway." I said.
"So You believe him." He sneered.
"I'm saying lets find out what he's hiding on that place. Maybe he's up to something." I said.
"Well, yeah, guess we really do need to check the station out!"
"How can we find a puppy in this place." I complained. The station started to open, now it's crowded. "Well let's try to search back from where we started." Jones said.
I searched around the subway seats. Excusing some passengers for a bit. I look around, I only see people passing by. I checked the vending machine and heard an indistinctive cry of a puppy. I checked out the side of the vending machine and see a poor lost puppy. "Aww. There you are li'l guy. Come here." I extend out my hand to pet it. It hesitated to come closer. "Don't be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you." I said softly. I close my hand, letting the puppy to smell my fingers. He looked at me and I slowly pet him, he started to wag his tail. "Aww..." I took him out carefully. I feel him shaken so I carried him. "Don't worry you'll be alrgiht!" I pet him.
"Jones I found it!" I said, showing the puppy.
Jones turned. "Well I'll be... there really WAS a puppy in the station!" He said, surprised.
"Look at him, he's all scared! Come here boy! We won't hurt you." He started to pet him."
"We should probably check the registration tattoo on his ear, see if he really does belong to Martinez." He added.
I never thought this could be harder. When we head back to the HQ, the puppy seems to get used to us. He made the office his playgorund and he ran everywhere. I tried to chase the puppy and it thought I was playing so it kept running. "Come on li'l guy stick with me." I said, as I find him in everyone's desk. "What are you doing?" Inspector Bard noticed me peering under his desk. "Uh... Ah! I was searching for a puppy. It went right here." I chuckled in embarrassment. "Your puppy?" He smiled. "You had a police dog." He grinned.
"Ah no!" It's not a police dog, it's not my dog really." I snorted as the puppy passed by the door. "There you are!" I called. "Sorry." I told Bard.
I finally get the chance to catch the puppy. "Let's get to business, shall we?" I carried him.
I put him down on my chair and pet him, he seems tired now. Good, that way I can manage to examine his tattoo. Later he fell asleep, which is my chance. I carefully inspect his ear while he sleeps adorably.
"Here you go Jones, that puppy made me hungry." I said, handing the number.
"Great! How did you manage to decipher that tattoo? With the way Mr. Puppy was running around." He chuckled.
"I put him to sleep." I smirked.
"Hah! Clever." He grinned. "Let's give this number to Alex; he should find our puppy's owner in a flash!"
"Guys! I checked your tattoo, and the puppy DOES belong to Angel Martinez." Alex said.
"I can't believe dogfight organizers use such sweet puppies for their gruesome games!" Jones stated.
"Poor li'l guy. Oh look his awake!" I said petting him.
"They're monsters! Look at how this puppy has been abused already! No wonder it ran away!" Grace spatted and pet the puppy.
"Aww. If it's the same to you. I'm keeping Newton for myself!" She added.
"Aww, you've already given it a name! You and Newton definitely deserve each other." Jones rested his hand on his chin.
"He likes you anyway." I said noticing the way Newton gives Grace a puppy kisses.
We head back to Martinez to bring him the news. He's not gonna like it for sure. "Good news is we've found the puppy..." Jones announced.
Martinez' face brightened. "Great! I paid a fortune for that mutt!"
Jones grinned. "... and the bad news is you need to pay a fine for animal mistreatment. Oh, and we're keeping him!"
Martinez frowned. "You've got to be crazy if you think I'm gonna leave without that stupid dog!"
"Like we give him to you. He deserves something better!" I said. Martinez glared.
"Yeah, yeah, just pay your fine and leave unless you like spending time locked up in a cage!" Jones said.
"Detective Silvers, someone's looking for you." An officer told me. "Yes?" I stood up and I saw Ginger behind him. He kindly excuse himself, leaving us. "Hi, Ginger, we were also waiting for you, what's the concern?" I smiled. "Hi! Detective! I'm so glad to see you!" She hold my hand.
"Uhh. Jones will be here soon." I said.
"It's okay, but would you mind if I ask you a favor?" She asked.
"No, not at all." I smiled. "Take a seat."
"I'm so sorry."
"It's okay."
"I got mugged while I was on the docks yesterday. Thief took my bag, and then just threw it in the river!" she said.
"Oh, that's terrible, Ginger! We'll get whoever did this... Do you think you can identify your attacker?" Jones voice made us flinch.
"How long have you been there?!" I glared and he shrugged.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to Ginger. "Yes, Ginger, did you identify the attacker?"
"No. It all happened so fast... But I did see his tattoo. It was that of a Viper. But I wouldn't want to send the man to prison, not for this anyway." She said.
"His actions prove guilty, he must be punish what ever circumstances are. Good thing he didn't do something on you." I said.
"It's okay, I'm alright, I just want to get my bag back." Ginger looked down.
"Don't worry, Ginger. Detective Silvers is the best at underwater searches! We'll fish out your bag in no time." Jones noted.
"The sun shines bright today, good timing for a few swim." I noted. "Could cover up the heat." Jones added. "Why don't we play a game?"
I looked at him raising a brow. "Who ever finds the bag wins, and the loser will treat the winner. How's that? For fun." He grinned.
"Hah! You think you'll gonna win? You've just said that I'm best in underwater search. Be careful." I smirked.
"Well I admit it, but who knows." He raised his brow and smirked.
"Fine." I wear my goggles and we dived down.
I looked around, it's hard to find anything on this mess. I shoved off the litters. That bag could be easy to identify though. I turned around and swim through, finally I found something. I quickly took it and looked at it to make sure. And yes! As Ginger have said, the bag is made of a crocodile skin, and color blue. I came to Jones and showed him the bag, which made him a bit dissapointed.
"See? What did I tell you?" I cocked my head teasing. "I knew you'll gonna find it." His eyes were deadpan.
"Anyway. Good job as always... Ginger said her bag was made of fake crocodile skin... but this looks like real crocodile skin..." He inspect it.
"Maybe she doesn't know it's made of real crocodile skin." I said.
Jones put the bag down, and stared at it for a moment. Suddenly, I knew what he's up to. "Don't even think about it Jones."
"What? I didn't say anything." He waved.
"That look. We're not gonna search inside her bag."
"We most probably shouldn't search through her bag... but then again we DO need to make sure it belongs to Ginger..."
"Well, she gave us the specific description of her bag and this is it." I glared.
"C'mon! Just to make sure." He pleaded.
I sighed. And took the bag. I opened it and search through. Jones glanced at the bag. "So, anything suspicious in Ginger's bag?" He asked.
"Lipsticks, eye shadows, eyeliners, and everything girly stuff." I said. "And..." I furrowed, finding a familiar card. "What's that? Since when does Ginger hang out at the Blue Flamingo?! Do you think Marconi's one of her clients?" He took the card and looked at it.
"It must be that she's..."
"No. It can't be! She should'nt get involve to that Jerk Marconi." Jones furrowed. "Let's go give this back."
Ginger was so happy we found her precious bag. "You found my bag! I don't know how to thank you enough for this!" She sigh in relief and check it.
"On the other hand, you didn't have to search through it." She looked at us. We glanced.
"Don't tell me you're didn't." She raised her brows.
I nudge Jones. "That's ludicrous! ... How are you even able to tell, anyway?" He chuckled nervously.
"A woman can always tell when her bag's been searched. You should be more careful, Jones." Ginger cross her arms.
Jones rubbed his nape. "Er, thanks, I will... You should be more careful too and stay as far away from Marconi as possible."
"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." She snorted.
"And Detective Silvers, please take this for your trouble." She handed me some of her goodies.
"Oh... Thank you." I smiled.
"See you around." She smiled and left.
"Well, where's my price? I won the bet." I tilted my head, smirking.
"Oh that! I almost forgot." Jones chuckled.
I gave him a sharp glare. "Seriously?"
"Nah, I was just joking? Sure I'm gonna treat you. Where would you like?" He asked.
"I'm craving for some pizza right now." I wondered.
"Pizza is great! Let's head to the Pizza town!*" He smiled.
A/N:
*Pizza town is the name of a pizza shop/resto in the city that I made.
Well that's all for now. Keirah could a mean sometimes. XD Sorry to keep you all wait. Super thanks to all your reviews and faves. I'm super flattered. Don't worry I'm still working on the next chapter. :D
Safety and Peace to all.