From Down Here Chapter 26
Why the dress uniform?" Lucy asks as Tim looks at his shoes. Tim doesn't wear them very often, and Kojo isn't allowed to put his paws or his nose on them. Tim said they have to stay shiny. Kojo doesn't know what that means, but Tim seems to think it's important.
"I have to go to that awards ceremony today," Tim says.
Lucy has a surprised face. "I thought that was just for the top brass. Are you getting an award?"
Tim bends down to scratch Kojo's ears. "Not me, him, for exceptional service in protecting the City of Los Angeles."
"Because of finding the bombs?" Lucy asks.
"And helping the lab figure out how to set the sniffers. He's receiving the highest award a civilian can get," Tim says with a happy face.
"Shouldn't you have taken him to a groomer or something so he'd look nice?" Lucy asks.
"I gave him a bath last night before you came in." Kojo barks at the word bath. He likes being in the water, but Tim doesn't like him making wet marks on the rug with his paws. So he rubs Kojo with a towel after he gets wet. It feels good. "I just found out yesterday, so there wasn't time to do anything else. But he looks fine, doesn't he?" Kojo barks his agreement.
"He looks good," Lucy says. "How long is the ceremony?"
"There are speeches and things for a couple of hours in the morning. Then there's lunch. So it will probably go to one or so," Tim says.
"What are they planning to feed Kojo?" Lucy asks. "If he eats avocado or chocolate, he'll get sick."
"I know that," Tim says with a little mad in his face. "After you gave him to me I memorized the whole list of things dangerous to dogs. I always protected my rookies."
"Except when they protected you," Lucy says.
Kojo doesn't understand what Lucy said, but Tim seems to. He answers very fast. "Yeah. Right. I think they serve chicken at these things with some alternative for vegans. Kojo should be fine with the chicken. I'll make sure he doesn't sneak anything that can hurt him. What are you doing this morning? Still on the case with Lopez and Harper?"
"With Harper," Lucy says. "Lopez has an OB appointment."
"Is she all right?" Tim asks.
"She says she's fine and doesn't even want to take the time to go, but Wesley insisted. She reminded him that she managed to kill La Fiera while she was in labor with little Jackson, but he said that if she didn't go, he'd pick her up and take her. She said she just agreed to keep him from throwing his back out."
Kojo doesn't know why, but Tim laughs. "Knowing Lopez, she means it. So are you and Harper going to be on stakeout?"
"Probably, if a tip we got from one of Harper's CIs works out. If not, we'll be on the computers at Mid-Wilshire," Lucy says.
"If you are, I'll see you there after the ceremony," Tim says. "Grey wants to make an announcement about Kojo's award, and I need to go over some paperwork in my office."
"What are you going to do with Kojo while you work?" Lucy asks.
"He can stay in my office with me – unless you want to keep him with you and Harper," Tim says.
"You're the one with the office, Sergeant Bradford," Lucy says. Kojo isn't sure why, but Lucy says "Sergeant" loud.
Tim's face looks a little mad. "And you get to hang out in the detective's bullpen," Tim says, making "detective" loud.
"You're right," Lucy says, "much more interesting than a stuffy office. So if Kojo gets bored, bring him to see us."
"I'll do that," Tim says.
The room Tim leads Kojo to is big and full of lots of smells. A lot of them are from people sitting around lots of tables. Some of them are from food. None of them smell as good as what Tim cooks Kojo for his breakfast, but some of them make Kojo hungry.
Tim keeps Kojo on his leash as they walk all the way through the room to a table near a place that's higher. Kojo's never seen a place like it before and doesn't know what it is. There are chairs for more people up there. Tim stays down where the table is. A lot of people make happy faces at him and at Kojo. Some of them ask if they can pet Kojo. He's glad when Tim says yes. The people petting him seem to like him.
After a while, Tim tells Kojo to sit near the chair where Tim is sitting. Up on the high place, a woman goes to what looks to Kojo like a very small but high table. It has a thing to talk into that makes her sound very loud. When she starts talking, everyone else in the room gets quiet. "Good morning. For anyone who doesn't know, I'm Chief Coleman. It is my very great pleasure to be here today to honor the heroes who made this city a safer place this year.
"Many heroes are first responders, police officers, and firefighters whose job it is to protect and serve. But today we honor the civilian heroes who also gave extraordinary service. Some of them you may have read about in the press or seen on the news. Others pitched in when the city was in crisis. They did what they could with no fanfare or expectation of recognition. I and the others on the podium today will be telling you about each one of them and how they prevented a catastrophe. We're going to start with Deputy Chief Raymond explaining the incredible contribution of Lottie Rivera."
Kojo watches as a man stands where the woman was standing and starts talking. He didn't understand a lot of what the woman said, and he doesn't understand a lot of what the man says either. But everyone seems to have happy faces and when the man finishes talking and gives something to a person sitting at the same table where Tim brought Kojo, everyone bangs their paws together.
People keep talking, and Kojo is feeling hungrier. The food smells are getting stronger and he can see people standing back near the door with things that look like they have plates with food on them. He'd love to check them out, but Tim is holding his leash and reminds him to sit. The woman goes back to talk again, and Kojo hears her say his name. Tim stands up. "Come on, Boy." He leads Kojo up some steps to the tall place, and the woman talks more, saying Kojo's name a lot, then she gives Tim something and everyone bangs their paws together again and has happy faces.
As Tim leads Kojo back to the table, he gives Kojo a treat. "There will be more for you to eat soon," Tim says. The chicken doesn't smell half bad."
A man puts plates in front of everyone at the table. Tim looks at one and then tells the man to put one on the floor for Kojo. Kojo's had something called chicken before. This smells a little different and isn't as wet, but Kojo is hungry, and it tastes pretty good. It's not as good as what Tim cooks, but it's better than the food from the big bag. He eats it all and lies down to wait for whatever is going to happen to finish.