"Where will I find Detective Casey Chiarelli?"
The desk sergeant of the West Roxbury Police Department looked over the top of his glasses at the intrusion of his sudoku game in the daily paper. He looked the woman up and down. "Oh."
"That's better than what is usually said," she smiled and flashed her badge. "Mostly it's get lost rat, or what the hell do you want, so I'll take oh. So, Detective Chiarelli?"
The desk sergeant typed on his computer and spun the screen around for her to see. "Morning briefing with the Captain. Room three. Down the corridor, second on the left."
"Wow, normally they send me to the motorpool or the men's bathroom. Thank you Sergeant..." She stopped to read his badge. "Chatman. Have a nice day."
She went and stood by the security door waiting to be buzzed in. Sergeant Chatman stood up and by the way he turned his body, she knew he was saying something to the nearby officer, which would give her anywhere between one to five minutes of freedom before the whole place knew Internal Affairs were in the building. And it would be good for Chiarelli to squirm; even though she wasn't the reason she was here. Chiarelli was dirty but proving that was a mammoth task as he was very careful. So it was easier to target someone else who'd name him on their way down as to cushion their sentence and maybe save their pension. Someone like...
"Detective Kevin Brookes? I'm Kaitlyn Mendax." She introduced herself to the young detective currently stuffing a bearclaw in his mouth as he texted on his phone in the lunchroom.
"Um, oh, hi," Brookes was flustered at the surprise interruption and stuffed the pastry further into his mouth, brushed the crumbs off his hands on his shirt and held out his hand.
Kaitlyn shook her head. "It's okay, please finish what you're doing."
Brookes smiled a mouthful and quickly rejoined the human race. "Sorry, doing three things at once. Are you the new detective joining us?"
"No, I'm with Internal Affairs." Kaitlyn watched his body tense up. Those two words put every single cop on the back foot, every single time. "I have a few questions about what happened in Millennium Park?"
Brookes became agitated, and fumbled for his cell phone. "I think I need my union rep. Do I?"
"I'm just casually asking questions, Kevin. You're not under investigation, I just want to hear about what happened is all. I have read the report but I like to hear it to make sure I haven't missed anything. So you got a few minutes spare?"
"I..." Kevin paused and looked past Kaitlyn. She knew someone was there and she had a ninety nine percent feeling it was.
"Detective Chiarelli," she turned and held her hand out.
The older man, who looked like the nasty version of Matlock but with greasy black hair, stood in the doorway ignoring her. "Captain wants to see you Kev."
Brookes nodded and scurried out of the lunchroom. Kaitlyn gestured "Call me" to him as he left and then looked at Chiarelli. "Hello Casey."
"Is it Officer or Agent? I never remember what the title for you rats is?"
Kaitlyn smiled. "It's Officer. You should know, you see oh so many of us each and every year."
Chiarelli tensed the muscles in his neck like he'd swallowed a whole chicken. "You keep looking but there's nothing to find."
"Perhaps you'd like to tell me your side of the story of what happened at Millennium Park?" Kaitlyn goaded. "Because, I do have a few questi..."
Chiarelli spat on the floor, a huge wad of salivary goo, before turning and leaving. Kaitlyn watched him leave, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out two blue gloves and a small plastic container.
"How did you obtain the suspects DNA? Well your honour, he spat on the floor like some sort of caveman before wandering off to make fire or something. Luckily I had the foresight to bring a forensic kit with me in which to collect it. And the recording? Well that your honour is actually illegal, I acknowledge that but I did it just in case Detective Chiarelli became violent." Kaitlyn wrapped the container in a bag and ziplocked it shot. "But he didn't but it serves as a reference that he DID spit on the floor and that is how I obtained his DNA."
She pocketed her evidence and headed back to the front desk when she saw a Captain Orin Thomas walking towards her. He was an impressive figure; six foot three African American who filled a room with his presence.
"Morning Captain Thomas," Kaitlyn said.
"My office!" He replied bluntly, making her feel like the principal had just called her in for a chat about her grades. She followed in behind him, trying to keep up with his massive strides. He waited beside the doorway for her to enter first, walked in and slammed the door shut that the whole building seemed to shake.
"That should give us a few moments to talk, Officer Mendax," The Captain smiled and shook her hand. "Sorry for the charade, but I feel it would help you and also help me in the long run, if we treated you like the enemy."
"I understand," Kaitlyn exhaled. "I nearly wet my pants, to be honest. I had visions of you yelling at me and my head melting like that film."
Orin smiled and pointed to the chairs near his desk. "Please, take a seat. So, how can I help your investigation?"
Kaitlyn took out her phone and tapped away on it. "I will need a formal chat with Detective Kevin Brookes. He'll need his union rep and maybe a lawyer if he wants. I also need a formal with Detective Amanda Pinto and Officer Samuel...Akin...I'm sorry I don't know how to say his last name. Aki-n-arg-be?"
"Ah-kin-argh-bee. Akinnagbe." Captain Thomas recited. "Took me quite some time to pronounce it too. Nigerian, means community. Why him?"
"Because his son goes to the same school as Casey's. I'm honestly clutching at straws but if it makes him make a mistake..." Kaitlyn put her phone away. "It's like Capone they got him on tax evasion and not the fifty people he murdered!"
"Don't get caught chasing ghosts," Captain Thomas suggested. "I shall set those interviews up for you today. Anything else?"
"Where do they drink around here?"
"The Black & Blue Dolphin," Thomas scribbled it on his business card. "Four minute walk down Centre Street on the right. Owner is Xavien Smalls."
"The NFL player?"
"The very one," Captain Thomas replied and headed to the door. "Now Officer Mendax, I apologise for the loudness that is about to happen, it is not personal just business."
"I totally understand Captain Thomas."
To be continued
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