Paper in a File {Brollins}

- Chapter 1 -

The fresh and crisp autumn breeze entered the local police precinct with Colby. He swiftly sat at his desk, surrounded by files and stray pieces of paper. He took a swig of his coffee and signed onto his computer.

The precinct wasn't unusually busy that day, even though a new homicide case had taken place that morning. The evidence board was filled with pictures of people, evidence, and the crime scene descriptions.

He'd gotten used to the busy environment, so the extra noise didn't really phase him. Colby had always been good at keeping his head down and getting his work done. His main priority was solving the cases put in front of him and trying to give the families of victims some form of peace of mind.

Detectives poured out of every doorway, rushing somewhere, grabbing something, and calling people. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, and as much as he wanted to think they were helping, the streets weren't any safer than they were a few years ago. Crime rates were as high as they'd ever been, and at this point, he didn't know if things would ever get better.

"What's the status of the Cortez case?" Colby looked up, caught off guard, to find Jonathan standing at his desk, file in hand.

"It's not closed yet. If that's what you're wondering. Still a lot to iron out." Colby sighed, eyebrows dipping in confusion when Jonathan handed him another file. "What's this?"

"A new case." Colby opened it up and began reading, leaning back in his chair. "Reported stalking, violence and death threats."

Colby stared at the auburn-haired woman in the picture. "This is far from my division. I'm a homicide detective, not a private investigator."

"I know." Jonathan nodded, his shaggy dirty-blonde hair moving with his head. "But we figured since you never got closure with your mother's case, you might with this one."

He saw the look in Colby's eyes and leaned against his desk. "We can have Joseph take it. Vince doesn't know I'm thinking about passing it off yet, so it's up to you."

A sudden barrage of loud noises and a crash set the two on alert immediately. Colby sat up, and Jonathan reached for his holster. They scanned the room and noticed it was just one of the new interns.

"Must've tripped on something." Jonathan shook his head, easing back into his slouched state. "That guy is a mess. Don't know why Vince is pulling this intern bullshit. It's not like we need it."

"He wants to expand the precinct, I guess." Colby shrugged, passing the file from hand to hand as he mulled over the idea of taking the case. "No better place to start than fresh meat."

"Still a mess." Jonathan rolled his eyes after watching the intern scramble to pick up all of the papers he dropped everywhere and the items he knocked off of nearby desks in hopes of stopping his fall.

"We've all been there." Colby chuckled, "I see that and can only think about your fiasco in Greenwood."

"Jesus Christ, man." Jonathan shoved him in the shoulder so forcefully it made the wheels on his chair move over a touch. "Are you just gonna pretend you weren't the problem in Pineview?"

"Whatever." Colby waved him off dismissively. "If anything, that was more of Joseph's fault than mine."

"What was my fault?" Colby tensed up with a sheepish smile when he heard Joseph approach.

Colby shook his head nonchalantly, "Noth-"

"Colby's trying to write off Pineview as your doing." Jonathan smirked, and Colby glared at him.

"Like hell it was. Lopez was all to blame for that." Joseph shook his head and continued to walk by. His strong stature and large build were enough to bring a dominant feel to the room. "I'll be over in a bit. Gotta teach one of the interns how to read our storage shelves."

Joseph sighed and raised his eyebrows with pressed lips, his stare speaking for himself as he gazed at the mess in front of him. Jonathan just shook his head, "Interns."

Colby squinted at him, "You're not an intern, and you're just as bad."

"Not my fault I'm good at cheating the system and faking it till I make it." Jonathan shrugged, grabbing Colby's coffee and taking a swig.

"I should lock you up for being a fraud." Colby chuckled half-heartedly as his eyes burned into the file still in his hands.

Jonathan watched him carefully as he started to speak again. "I don't know if I should dabble in this case, Jon."

"The ball's in your court. It's all up to you, man. Closure can come in more ways than one. You may not get exactly what you wanted but..." Jonathan trailed off, "Again, it's fine if you don't want to. I just thought-"

"Is she here now?" He stood up suddenly and closed the file after seeing Jonathan nod. "I'll take it."

"Room three." Jonathan informed him, "We'll watch from behind the glass."

Colby walked through the main room, where most detective desks sat and past the holding cells. Slipping in between large groups of detectives, and behind some others. He walked towards the side of room three and watched the woman from the two-way glass. She was currently trying to rock a little baby in her arms to sleep.

Out of habit, he watched her mannerisms, how she sat, and what she fidgeted with. He wasn't suspicious of her, but he knew things could change, even the most innocent-looking people could have a drastically different and devious side to them. Colby waited for a few minutes until the little one had calmed down and dozed off before heading into the room.

Nerves prickled his skin as Colby reminded himself this was no different than any other case. "Miss Quin, I'm detective Lopez, and I'll be taking your case. Nice to meet you."