A Crooked Waitress

Chapter 13

"That's all you got?" Captain Gibson laid back in his chair.

Jackson and Alex were standing in their boss's office, briefing him on what had happened the night before.

"Right now it's a dead-end," Jackson said. "We searched the area this morning and found two sets of footprints in the woods where the car was abandoned. On the other side of the trees, there is another street. They could have gone anywhere from there. We should wait for something to come up."

"No, you have to solve the case now. Here in this precinct, we don't wait for something to come up. We find it! Do you understand?"

Jackson waited a few seconds before he realized an answer was required.

"Yes, but If our theory is correct something will come up pretty soon." He said.

"If it's correct. That's a big if you got there. Meanwhile, get out of here, the both of you. Scour the city and get me something. Talk to your informants, your fences. I don't care. Get me results. A crime like this won't go unnoticed in the media. I can't wait to see what they say about it and this precinct! Go!" Captain pointed at the door.

The detectives left the building, got into Alex's Honda, and he drove off.

Jackson spat out of the window and said. "Yeah, the precinct! He wants to shield himself. He just wants to throw me under the bus if this hits the media which it will. "

"This is what you get for going after his job," Alex said.

"The hell with him. He's incompetent and doesn't deserve to be captain. Where are we going?"

"I want to talk to a few of my informants."

A few hours later, and after meeting with half of Boston's upstanding citizens, they stopped in front of a pawnshop called Red Donkey.

"That's an odd name, "Jackson checked out the sign that dangled above the door.

"He likes donkeys."

"Baby donkeys are cute."

"Look at you, going all parent-like and gooey," Alex said, laughing, and walked to the shop.

"Shut up!" Jackson flipped him.

A bunch of kids with their teachers marched on the sidewalk; it was a school trip to a museum or maybe a zoo. When Jackson was a child, he enjoyed those little trips with his classmates.

The old memories brought a smile to his face. He shook his head and returned to the present. If he could become captain, pay raise allowed him to move into a bigger house, and with the baby on the way, they needed it. And he was tired of chasing cases on the streets; now that he had passed forty-five, sitting in an office and bossing people around sounded good.

After a few minutes, Alex returned and got into the car. "It was the last stop."

"Why don't you come over tonight for dinner?" Jackson asked.

"What's the occasion?" Alex drove.

"Nothing, just Tiffany has invited some of her friends. And I thought I'd show her I've got friends too. You know, keeping the whole balance of power thing."

"It's really nice when people invite you just because they enjoy your company. And they're not teaming up against their girlfriend at all."

"Yes, it is. Isn't it? You coming?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Alex said.

"Excellent. Let's head back to the barn. I want to check those videos one more time. I think I saw something earlier."

"LA police says barn, not us."

"Yeah, but I like Shield."

At the police station, they sat at Alex's desk. And he put a disk from the Jewelry store's security camera into the computer. Two assailants with socks pulled on their heads barged in. Wielding shotguns, one of them drew the curtains, and the other sprayed the camera. Rose was screaming, but the footage was mute, and the picture went black.

"Rewind it," Jackson said."...again... stop!"

The video froze right before the male thief drew the curtains. His shadow blocked the glare of the shop lights. The security camera was angled and had a partial view of the street. And in the man's shadow, they could see a Chevrolet parked outside.

"Do you see that?" Jackson pointed at it.

"Yes," Alex nodded.

Two people sat inside the vehicle.

"That's the car Rose was talking about. Can we enhance the image?"

"I'll get a technician on it."

"They're the ones who jacked them." Jackson scratched his chin.

"Yep, there they are." Alex leaned forward and stared at the screen with unblinking eyes.