Tweetie

61

Robin sat, fumbling endlessly in Roderick's office.

She had an idea, she had a theory and one she absolutely hated. But, with the way things were going, she had very little choice but to follow it and hope for the best.

But, she had no idea where she could even begin.

Roderick was speaking to Ricky and his lawyer, and from the sounds of things, it wasn't going well. Ricky refused to give any information, even if it meant that he would face worse consequences. People reminded him that he would be tried as an adult on multiple charges, murder, theft, assault, but he still didn't budge. He seemed to believe that something would get him out of the situation.

She needed his contact, she needed to prove to him that whoever hid the crimes wasn't invincible and that they, just like he was, was going to face consequences. But still, she didn't have the whole story. What exactly happened to Jason?

Robin shook her head, frustrated with herself.

She needed to decide. She knew exactly what she needed to do, and as simple of a thing as it was, she didn't want to.

With a huff, she pushed herself up and began to make her way to the interrogation room, ready to stand and watch what the boy said, see how he reacted to information, see if anything would make him budge. Though, she was doubtful.

She pushed the door open, stepping into the darkness and found a figure standing, watching patiently with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Archie," she said, catching him by surprise as he turned to face her quickly. "I thought you went home...?"

"Hazy," he returned, squinting his eyes as he tried to look at her through the darkness. "I thought I'd keep watch while you weren't around. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just wanted to see if anything's changed."

"Nothing so far," he said, turning back to the window to watch Ricky and his lawyer talk silently, "you're sure it's definitely him?"

"...Archie," Robin looked up at the back of his head, pouting slightly as he doubted her. Though, she was glad he did. If she didn't doubt herself, she trusted that he would. It ensured that she was certain. "He admitted it himself before he pushed me into a pool and tried to drown me. I have all of the evidence against him."

"I'm just making sure," he assured her, "it's sad that a kid would put himself in a situation like this."

"Yeah," she agreed, "but, he didn't see much choice. He was given the opportunity to get money and with his situation at home with his dad in hospital, he probably saw that as a miracle. He must've been carrying the weight of this for a long time..."

"You seem to know a lot about this."

"I've been working non-stop." She sighed, stepping beside him so they were side-by-side. "I was planning on coming home this weekend. But, y'know, I had to rush things a bit."

He nodded, saying nothing more on the topic as she glanced around the room, searching for something to do that might help her figure out where to go next. But, as a thought came to her, she realised that perhaps she just found the perfect opportunity to work without distraction.

"Robin, what're you doing?"

"Working really very hard."

"How did you get the password to my computer?" Roderick entered his office, glancing over his computer monitor to see her sat in his comfortable chair, leaning against the desk as she ticked things off and marked a printed sheet. "What is that?"

"Record of officers who have left, that and the cases they've been on."

"You have a theory?"

"One that I'm not going to tell you quite yet," she said truthfully, "give me an hour and I'll let you know what's going on. This is just a theory so I don't want to get anyone's hopes up... and it's probably best to keep this theory quiet for now."

"Right," he nodded, accepting her words and trusting them.

"Uh-" she pulled herself away from her work for a moment. "Is Archie around?"

"He's still keeping an eye on Ricky."

"Good." She sat up in the chair, "take a seat, Roddie. I need to talk."

He laughed, shaking his head towards her as he did as he was told, dropping into the chair opposite the desk.

"Maybe I should give you my job," he smiled, realising that it looked as though they had switched places. She laughed, but soon enough, remembering that this conversation needed to be at least a little bit serious, she let her smile falter into a small thoughtful pout.

"Right, so," she began, searching for a place to start the conversation, "this detective thing... I don't really know if I want to do it anymore."

He immediately sat up, raising his eyebrows.

"I just," she continued, "I've been doing it for so long. I think I need to get out of it while I still can."

"Robin, believe me, you don't need to explain yourself," he shook his head and leaned forward against the desk, bringing his hands together while she kept her gaze low as if the very thought of making eye contact with him right now would kill her immediately. "If you want to quit, I won't stop you. If you want to come back, I'll help. Whatever it is, I'll help you out. You shouldn't feel like you're tied to this job for the rest of your life, you're only eighteen."

"I plan on finishing this case," she explained, "once it's over, I'll decide."

"Seems like you're already pretty set in your decision though, huh?"

"Really?" she finally lifted her gaze, parting her lips in horror. "Fox was right, wasn't he? Am I really that easy to read?"

"Well, I do know you pretty well," he reminded her with a chuckle. "Let me know if you need anything though, alright? If you change your mind and want to pass the case on, tell me. Nobody will blame you. Really," he turned, glancing at all of the officers who walked around the station past the windows of his office, "everyone here has a lot of respect for you after everything you've done, even when they don't know who you are, just the name, Hazel White, makes them sit up and nod out of respect. We'll help."

"You're going to make me cry, Roddie," she pouted, feeling the emotions come to her. "But," she pulled herself together quickly before any of her tears could spill over, "I think I'll be able to finish this case myself. I think. Maybe I'll tell you who I think did it and let you handle that, maybe I'll deal with it myself. But, I'm gonna end it."

"You know who did it, don't you?"