PARTNERS IN CRIME - JAKE PERALTA

Halloween Heist: The Sequel

"So, it's your pick for movie night." Valerie turned to Jake, leaning across the break room table with a knowing smile on her face.

"Wait, why are you- Oh, God! Please don't pick another super scary one. We don't want a repeat of last year."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad."

Jake gave her a look of disbelief, "Val, you were literally smiling when that frat boy was getting murdered! I was tempted to book you in for a psych eval!"

Valerie shrugged, leaning back in her seat, sipping on her coffee, "He was dumb, you don't walk towards the scary sound, has he never watched a horror movie? It's common sense-"

"Attention, boys and ghouls." Charles announced from where he had suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"Nope."

"Every Halloween, I dress up in an amazing costume, and you never get what I am-"

"No we get what you are, an adult who enjoys dress up."

Valerie let out a snort, but quickly attempted to cover it up as a cough as she noticed the unimpressed look that Charles was sending her.

"Very funny, Rosa. This year, that won't be a problem because you're gonna pick my costume!"

The squad let out a chorus of grumbles at Charles' words.

Charles then proceeded to leave and then enter the room about five times, each time in a different costume.

It started with a costume of an orange.

"Donald trump!"

"Really, Valerie? That's an insult to Oranges."

———————

About half an hour later, Valerie was sat at her desk, eyes glued to her screen as she continued her search.

She'd been trying to locate him for the past month, but found nothing. As if he just didn't exist.

With the vibrant presence of her mother, Valerie had never felt any need to seek out her father, never having put much emphasis on blood relation anyways. She had always thought the love shared among a found family to be much more pure in most cases. Valerie had been curious, but had never acted on it.

She had just figured he'd want to know that his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, whom he abandoned without a second thought, was dead. Or maybe she just wanted to see him squirm.

"Marks! Fancy seeing you here!" A voice sounded from behind her, Valerie turning to Jake with a bored smile, chin resting in her palm.

"Jacob! It is my desk after-all!"

Jake spun around in his chair a couple of times before his eyes landed on her screen. Noticing his gaze, Valerie swiftly turned off her monitor.

He frowned in suspicion while the female detective could only attempt a casual smile, "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing!-" Jake raised an eyebrow, Valerie's voice coming out slightly louder than intended, gaining the attention of a few uniformed officers, as well as Rosa, nearby. She cleared her throat, before speaking in a more hushed tone, "Porn. So much porn. Nothing that concerns you."