Brenda turned the corner and saw the flashing lights of squad cars about halfway down the block signaling she had finally arrived at the crime scene. She hated driving in this area at night. Half the street signs were gone, but at least she'd managed to work her GPS this time. It had only lost the signal once, which was a small miracle. Still, she'd arrived a little late based on the array of marked and unmarked police vehicles filling the street. She pulled over behind an unmarked car, threw her phone in her purse, and started walking the rest of the way down the street to the crime scene.
It was in an alley behind a popular coffee shop & wine bar. It was live music night and the headliner had ended up dead…Brenda had shaken her head at that, the irony not lost on her. Apparently the off-duty police officer who allegedly shot him hadn't gotten the memo...
As she approached, red tape came into view lining the perimeter instead of the yellow she'd been expecting. Well that was just great! She was running just a teeny weeny bit late and that woman had already swooped in and commandeered her crime scene! She knew an officer had been involved, but she'd been so focused on getting to the scene, she hadn't really thought about the fact that it also meant Captain Raydor and her FID team would be there in the middle of everything…complicating things.
Brenda scanned the area for her own team and saw Lt. Flynn and Lt. Provenza arguing with one of the sergeants from FID, Flynn's arms gesturing wildly and Provenza standing a couple steps back to avoid getting hit. Despite the commotion, the sergeant was adamant about not letting them into the building where the witnesses were being detained for questioning until FID was finished.
The blonde was about to set out on an intercept course when she heard the not-so-dulcet tones of Captain Raydor's voice giving orders and bossing people around like this was her show. Brenda felt a surge of outrage run through her body and immediately changed course and headed around the corner in the direction of the voice, pointedly ignoring the attempts by another member of Sharon's team to halt her progress.
She ducked under the ridiculous red tape, batting it out of the way more forcefully than strictly necessary. As she rounded the corner into the alley, she paused just in time to see the back door of the coffee shop close. Whoever the Captain had been talking to had just re-entered the building, the door slamming closed behind them. Sharon Raydor was standing halfway down the alley facing the door with her back to Brenda, the rhythmic flashes of the red & blues illuminating her form in the dark alley.
If Brenda wasn't already so irritated, she might have taken more time to appreciate the silhouette of the woman in her stilettos and crisp, navy trenchcoat. The coat was cinched tightly at her waist, which seemed fitting, Brenda thought, considering how everything about that woman was so bound and constrained where work was concerned.
A phone started ringing and Brenda watched as the brunette pulled out her phone, looked at the caller ID, and paused for a moment before silencing the phone and dropping it back into her pocket. Brenda took that as her cue and resumed her course, storming over to her and immediately launching in, "Captain Raydor! What in heaven's name is going on here?"
Every muscle in Sharon's body tensed up almost involuntarily and she felt a surge of adrenaline course through her as she braced herself for the impact of 'Hurricane Brenda.' So this was how it was going to be tonight. She'd half hoped that things might be different this time after their recent…interactions, but it seemed that had been wishful thinking on her part. Their truce, or whatever it was that had started to emerge, was still too new and too fragile to disrupt the well-established patterns of their crime scene power clashes.
Sharon sighed and turned around to acknowledge the blonde. She had been prepared for the possibility of sharing the crime scene tonight, but hearing the other woman's adversarial tone, Sharon quickly gave up on that and instead met her in kind, "Chief, so nice of you to join us this evening."
Although it was a dig, she was actually grateful the Chief had taken so long to arrive. It had given FID the time they'd needed to establish their foothold at the crime scene and get their investigation underway.
"What's going on here?" Sharon repeated the ridiculous question back to Brenda. She didn't even try to keep the condescending edge out of her voice, "Oh gosh, let me bring you up to speed. That, over there," she said, pointing to an area beyond more red tape, "is what we call a dead body. You see, there's been a shooting…Chief."
Brenda could barely manage to slap a fake smile on her face as she responded, "Yes, Captain, thank you for your ever-so-helpful explanation, but that much I can see for myself." Oooh, that woman was so infuriating!
"We need to examine the victim and start interviewing witnesses, but your team won't let my people into the building or near the body, and I can't see anything past this…this wall of red tape!" She exclaimed, gesturing wildly.
"I'm sorry, Chief, I can't let you do that," the brunette replied flatly. Sharon stood directly in front of Brenda, blocking her path and her view of what lay beyond, but not in such a way that it would be viewed as out-of-line by onlookers should anyone choose to complain about her conduct.
Brenda felt another wave of frustration roll through her and barely suppressed the sudden urge to stomp her foot. She couldn't believe the nerve this woman had! She tried, with limited success, to calm her breathing and then started again, trying a different approach, "Captain, you are aware that I run the Priority Homicide squad, are you not?"
The Captain's phone started ringing again. She pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the caller ID. Her eyes closed briefly as she exhaled, then she silenced the phone again and replied, "Yes, Chief Johnson, I am supremely aware of that fact," before slipping the phone back into her trenchcoat and meeting the blonde's eyes once more.
Brenda was now fuming, her body starting to shake with frustration. She needed access to her crime scene and the Captain was only half-listening to her while looking at her phone. Brenda was the ranking officer here and she did not appreciate the other woman's dismissive attitude.
Once she had the Captain's full attention again, Brenda continued, "and there has clearly been a homicide here," emphasizing the word and gesturing to the body laying in a pool of blood on the pavement behind the red tape. The brunette nodded her head slightly in acknowledgement as Brenda continued, "Then I'm beginning to wonder, Captain, whether you might need some help with the word 'priority.'"
As if to emphasize that point, the Captain's phone started ringing again. She paused, but this time she didn't even bother to take it out of her pocket or silence the ringing. Then, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of the phone, she pushed back. "As you are, no doubt, already aware…Chief," she practically spat out Brenda's title as the ringing stopped and then lowered her voice before continuing, her words crisp and perfectly enunciated, "an LAPD officer discharged his weapon tonight, and officer involved shootings are FID's jurisdict–"
She would have gone on, but she was interrupted yet again by the sound of her phone ringing. How many times was this now? Four? More? Sharon let out an exasperated sigh as she shoved her hand into her pocket and removed the offending object in a swift, jerking motion. Her eyes passed over the caller ID and Brenda watched as her face hardened. Brenda wasn't sure who was on the other end of the phone, but she was very sure she didn't want to trade places with them. Although she was curious...
"I'm sorry Chief, I need to take this," she said, her eyes not leaving the phone. She took several steps off to the side and turned her body away from the blonde to gain some semblance of privacy for the call.
It wasn't far enough, though. And Brenda wasn't above eavesdropping, especially when she could tell it was a call the brunette didn't want to take. Her previous irritation with the Captain was momentarily forgotten as Brenda's focus shifted to what was happening with this call.
The Captain was already on edge from their argument over the crime scene. She swiped almost violently at the phone in her hand before raising it to her ear and placing her other hand firmly on her hip. "What do you want, Jack?" Her tone was sharp, but cold, devoid of the emotions that had been roiling under the surface just moments ago.
Sharon paused briefly to listen before curtly adding, "Jackson, now is not a good time." Brenda almost snorted at the massive understatement. She was still trying to figure out what the phone call was about, but based on the brunette's response, it evidently wasn't the emergency it had first appeared to be.
This must be her husband, Brenda thought. Sharon had called him 'Jack' when they talked about the divorce papers at the coffee shop that day. Brenda had wondered, more than once, what happened with all that, but there hadn't been a way to ask. It's not like they were friends or anything. Sure they'd had a few interactions recently that made it seem like something had shifted between them, but tonight they'd both fallen right back into their old patterns.
She watched as the Captain jerked the phone several inches away from her ear to avoid the yelling from the other end before barking back, "No, I'm not!" It came out more sharply than she'd meant it to, and both Brenda and Sharon jumped slightly, startled by her uncharacteristic response. Quickly recovering, she placed the phone back to her ear and continued more evenly, "I'm at work."
She held the phone away again briefly and then snapped, "Yes, at 1:00am!" before sighing and looking down at the pavement in front of her. She'd taken the bait again. Sharon was pacing back and forth now, still facing away from Brenda. She continued more quietly, but with a familiar edge, "Well, next time I'll remember to give the murderer a copy of my schedule in advance so they can plan to shoot someone at a more reasonable hour."
Brenda smiled at that. Whatever discussion was happening between Sharon and her husband, it seemed like they'd slipped into an old pattern, too. And he definitely knew how to push her buttons, even more than Brenda herself. But old pattern or not, Brenda could tell something new had happened.
Sharon had also mentioned that day that Jack was a difficult man to track down, and yet here he was calling. Repeatedly. At 1:00am. And, although she clearly hadn't wanted to, Sharon had taken his call in a very public work setting and sacrificed precious time from her 72-hour reporting window–well, she probably would have spent that time arguing with Brenda anyway, but still…
Sharon raised a hand up to her forehead, pressing to try and stave off the headache now forming behind her eyes. This was taking too long and she was losing her patience. Her tone shifted again, it was softer, tired, "I'm not doing this with you right now, Jack." And then more firmly, "You're drunk, and I'm at a crime scene. I would be perfectly happy to discuss it with you further when you're sober, but I have to go now. Goodbye, Jack." Sharon hung up the phone, leaving no room for further argument. She quietly slid the phone back into the pocket of her trenchcoat and turned her attention back to the Chief.
Brenda felt a twinge of…something…in her stomach as she listened to the exchange. In all the time she'd known the Captain, Brenda couldn't recall a single instance where Sharon had taken a personal phone call in a public setting like that. Occasionally, she would step out of the room or close herself in her office to take a call, but even those were generally work-related and didn't involve shouting. The Captain usually got quieter when she was angry, which got under Brenda's skin more than yelling ever could.
She remembered Sharon's request that day that Brenda not say anything at work about what they'd discussed because she liked to keep her personal and professional lives separate. Yes, it was highly unusual for the Captain to take such a personal call out in the open at a crime scene with Brenda and what probably felt like half of the LAPD moving in & out. Something had definitely happened.
Walking the few steps back over to the blonde, the Captain crossed her arms and looked Brenda directly in the eyes. She looked tired, Brenda noticed, and as she held Sharon's gaze, she detected something else there too. A hint of the same vulnerability that had shown in her eyes when they'd talked about the divorce papers.
Something in Brenda clenched and she felt a portion of the other woman's discomfort at the public exposure. She wanted to reach out and put a hand on Sharon's arm, to let her know she understood, but Brenda stopped herself. It wasn't the time or place. For once she thought of someone other than herself and recognized that reaching out would only make things worse for the other woman right now.
She could tell the Captain was trying to rally, but the earlier tension between them had dissipated. "This is an officer involved shooting, Chief," she said quietly, "FID's investigation goes first." It was not a discussion. Still somewhat preoccupied with what had just occurred, Brenda simply nodded in response, surprising both herself and Sharon.
Sharon took advantage of the blonde's uncharacteristic silence and continued more firmly, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my crime scene." Ah, there she was. Captain Raydor was starting to recover. The moment, whatever it had been, was over and the brunette shifted fully back into her work mode.
"Sergeant Elliot will let you know when we've finished. In the meantime, perhaps your team would care to examine the other…victim?" Raising an eyebrow she nodded her head in the direction of a dead cat laying off to the side of the alley near the dumpster, a bullet hole in its side. Brenda followed her gaze, eyes widening in outrage. She blinked several times and opened her mouth to respond, but the Captain was already down at the far end of the alley talking with two of her sergeants. Oh, that woman!