Background
Its a serial killer and a twisted family. who will come out on top?
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"Hello Detective Smythe, Its Captain Jensen. Please come see me in my office today. I'll be here until 3:30." He never thought he could ever be disappointed in Terry, but after the meeting he had just had, there was definitely some explaining to do.
"Yes, Sir. Of course. I can be there at 2." Terry answered both curious and a little frightened. She had never heard such a serious voice on the captain. They had always had a friendly rapport.
At precisely 2pm Terry knocked on the door of Captain Jensen and sat herself down in front of his desk.
His face was all business, serious, like he was reading an obituary rather than having a meeting with his star recruit.
"Detective Smythe, it has come to my attention that you have been splitting your duties here at the precinct. Frequently you have not been at your desk when needed or haven't answered any calls. You have been seen re-investigating already cleared crime scenes, submitting evidence of the same, requesting DNA and fingerprints on cases assigned to other detectives and re-visiting witnesses. All without the knowledge or authorization of your superior. Can you explain all of this?" he said to her all the while watching her face for reaction.
Terry was tight fisted and was wriggling her toes inside her shoes, she felt both angry and mildly embarrassed. How did he know all of this? Who was in here talking and why? He needed to know the truth; she was planning on bringing this all to him anyway but it was just a little sooner than expected. Terry knew it was time to come clean. Honesty was always better anyway.
"Yes Captain, I can. Since I have joined this precinct, I have been underused and undervalued. I have been assigned tasks barely above those of a legal secretary. I have been directed to reorganize files, insert phsyc reports, type up warrants and file them at the court. The Sargeant has not allowed me to conduct any cases on my own and tells me to shadow Anderson. Anderson is always the lead. I am not saying that I don't need the experience, but when my case supervisor is missing easy evidence at crime scenes am I supposed to just stand there and leave it, or collect it myself? I have tried pointing out mistakes to Anderson, but he gets angry and states that he would have found them on his own. So, when he hasn't, I have gone back to the crime scenes and collected the missed evidence on my own. I make sure that the lab gets the correct files and that the results go to Anderson or to any detective that has been assigned the cases. But when Anderson gets them, he complains to the Sargeant instead of talking to me."
"Have you tried talking to Hayes on your own?" The captain inquired.
"Sir, I am not sure if you are aware of our dynamic. He is convinced that women do not belong in the force and especially not as a detective. I have had nothing but pushback from him from the first day here. I am trying to work things out inside my department and not involving you or IA." Terry offered honestly.
"I heard about the lipstick in your desk. But are you sure that he was involved or were you just guessing?" She could see a hint of a smile on his face. She had always impressed him.
"It was an educated guess based on evidence provided at the scene." She offered including her own slight smile.
"What have you been working on so hard lately? And don't miss out on any details. I need to know exactly what is going on in my precinct."
She started with her impression that the missing people were all connected somehow. Then Terry offered as much detail as she could based on the evidence and research that she had been doing both at the precinct and on her own. She even included Warren and his observations, however skipping the detail that he was in town helping her.
He seemed impressed with her thoroughness and detail. He was note taking at a fast pace.
"Bring me the files on those cases plus any evidence that you have collected as well. Keep this between us and I will talk to you more on it later. For now, buckle down and focus only on your job as Hayes has laid it out for you. By the end of the week, we will reconvene and discuss this further." With that he put aside his notes and excused her from the office.
Terry did exactly what was asked of her. She carefully packed up all of her files, witness statements, phone records, and physical evidence and brought it all to the captain. Warren was due back at SJPD, so she took him to the airport. Warren, of course, tried to insist that he should stay. Terry said she needed to take responsibility, no matter what that looked like.
It took only 3 days and the captain called Terry back to his office.
"Is this everything on these cases or is there something that you have left out?" Was his first question to Terry.
"This is all of the witness and physical evidence I have. There is a lead from a Lieutenant Leven in Yellowstone PD that may or may not be connected. I have only talked to him once, but he seems to have some interesting input on this as well. He thinks he has a witness that has seen a vehicle that may have had a person concealed in the back of the car. He is still working on that one, but if its connected, there may be more to this than what initially appears with these files."
"Detective Smythe. Let's be clear. There are procedures in place here that have worked and have purpose. There are channels and hierarchy that must be respected. You have circumvented those procedures and ignored your supervisory chain. This is not acceptable in any precinct and this one is no exception. That being said, I agree there is more to these cases than first appears and that some evidence was not collected properly and that is concerning. I further agree that there seems to be a connection to all of these cases. All of the missing persons have a variation of the name Alexander and that is damn curious. We cannot ignore these facts. I have suggested to Hayes that a task force is to be created to work these cases together and in much more detail. I will continue to work with you and the team to try to solve one or all of these missing persons cases.
There's a certain point after about a week or two where you have to think, the potential that the missing person is dead and that it's a matter of trying to find their body and bring closure to the family and to determine if you now have a homicide investigation, or suicide, or some kind of accidental death. It is our responsibility to find those answers for these families.
You will work with Anderson and Hayes, they have more experience with these cases, however your efforts are not to be ignored. I have spoken to Hayes about your concerns as he assures me that his intent was to protect his new detective not to exclude you. He has his way of training and we have to respect that. He will head up this task force under my supervision. You will provide him and the team with any other leads that you may discover and include them in all of your efforts. As you were the first contact for Lieutenant Leven, it is up to you to invite him and his department to coordinate efforts and get these crimes solved. And Detective, good job."
Terry was not happy one little bit about having to work with Anderson and Hayes, but the captain was going to supervise so maybe that would help keep things on an even keel, maybe. She felt like this was her project and that she should head up the investigations, but she also always respected the chain of command. Well, usually.
As she walked down the hall and towards the pit, she could hear whispers behind her back. She was almost at her desk when Hayes called her into his office.
His purple face behind his desk greeted her completely composed one. This was a battle that needed to be had, and Terry was expecting it.
"Detective Smythe. The captain brought me up to speed on your 'private investigations' and has assigned me to head up the task force. Starting tomorrow, myself, Anderson, Brookes and Wheeler will meet with you. We are setting up the back room and we need you to get the team up to speed. I want a list of leads that haven't been followed, witnesses that you have yet to interview and any additional information that you have kept to yourself that are pertinent to these cases. From now on, anything you do for this agency will be run through me. When you leave this precinct, you will tell me where you are going and why. Any witness statements, evidence or reports that you collect will be delivered to me and therefore to the group. If you ever get these ideas again, in the future. Bring them to me before you go off on your own. Is this all clear detective?"
For the second time that day, she found herself with clenched fists and wriggling toes, her avenue for stress relief. Abruptly Terry stood up and looked at Hayes directly in his red rimmed swollen eyes. She very slightly leans forward and with command delivers her message.
"Absolutely Sargeant." She turns and leaves his office. She paused at the door. "I am leaving the precinct Sargeant. First, I am going to the gas station for fuel, perhaps to the drive through for some dinner and then I am going home. Did you want my route as well?"
With that Terry collected her belongings and headed out the door. She made sure that she followed the exact route she told Hayes that she was going to take. When she got home, she let out a deep breath she had been holding. A few minutes later her phone rang, it was Leven.
Author Notes
Try and try again - who dunnit?
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