Under Suspicion

Violation

“Violation”

Scene:  The following morning, in Watch Commander’s office.  Officers Wry and Earnest knock and, at Sergeant Fitzwilliam’s reply, enter the office.

Fitz:  Thanks for coming in a few minutes early.

Earnest:  No problem, Sarge.  What’s up?

Fitz:  I just came from the Lieutenant’s office.  He’s read the report on the Reynolds bust last night.  Detective Miller wrote that you two were instrumental in getting this sack of filth off the street.

Wry:  (Shrugs.)  I don’t know about ‘instrumental,’ but I’m glad they allowed us to be there.

Fitz:  So how did it go down?  I haven’t seen the report myself yet.

Wry:  Well, it was pretty simple.  We staked out Reynolds, who was staking out the house of a twelve-year-old girl.

Fitz:  That’s it?  You just watched this guy for a couple hours?

Earnest:  A couple hours?  I wish!  Let’s just say it was a long night.

Fitz:  (Chuckles.)  Now you know why detectives get the big bucks.  So how did you nail him?

Wry:  He’d been watching the house all day, which I have to give him credit for; he was able to do it without being seen.  But we knew where he was skulking around—unfortunately not close enough to the house to be considered trespassing—so we just kept our eye on him.  And, sure enough, once it was dark and the house was quiet, he came out and approached the house.

Fitz:  The girl’s window?

Earnest:  (Nods.)  He’d seen the light in her room go off when she went to bed, and a few hours later he made his move.

Fitz:  And that’s when you moved in.  What about the family in the house?  Did they know anything about this?

Wry:  Yeah, Miller went to the house earlier in the day—dressed in casual clothes, of course, as if he was a friend just stopping by—and explained the situation to them.  He told them to have the girl do everything like she normally did at bedtime, but after turning out the light she was to quietly leave her room.  Her parents didn’t tell her why, because they didn’t want to scare her, but they just had her go to sleep in their bedroom.

Earnest:  But of course Reynolds didn’t know that, so as soon as he went to the girl’s window, Pete and I stepped out from the shadows and busted him.

Wry:  We waited until he’d actually started to remove the window screen, so we were able to nail him for trespassing and attempted B and E.  Plus, he had a camera in his pocket and some photos he’d taken of the girl while she walked home from the bus stop.  The pictures were another violation of his parole, so in conjunction with the other charges, I think that piece of scum will be off the streets for the next decade at least.

Fitz:  That’s great news.  There is some bad news, though.  I just got a report from the booking officer, and apparently Reynolds made a complaint about some injuries he received while being taken into custody.

Wry:  Injuries?  What kind of injuries?

Fitz:  He’s got bruises on his hands and wrists, and supposedly a knot on his head—

Wry:  Fitz, he was being arrested!  You know how often perps struggle against the cuffs.  Detective Miller was there, he saw that Reynolds wasn’t manhandled.

Fitz:  And the knot on his head?

Wry:  (Shrugs.)  He didn’t duck when getting into the patrol car.  I warned him.

Fitz:  Uh-huh.  (Looks steadily at Wry.)  As it happens, Reynolds’ word isn’t worth much, and getting bruised during arrest does happen.  And you’re right, Miller’s a straight shooter, and his report doesn’t mention anything out of the ordinary.

Wry:  There’s no reason why it should.  Nothing out of the ordinary happened.  Except that we got a piece of filth off the street and that girl and her family can have a safe and peaceful life.

(Fitz looks from Wry to Earnest and back to Wry.)

Fitz:  (Nods.)  Okay, I did have to bring it up, though.  Anyway, good work, you two.  I think Miller was impressed, and his report has crossed Lieutenant Heath’s desk, so that’s a nice feather in your caps.

Wry:  I don’t know about Earnest, but right now I couldn’t care less about feathers; I’d settle for a nice quiet evening.

Fitz:  (Laughs.)  Well, get through today’s watch first, and then you can do whatever you want this evening.  Now, it’s time for roll call, so let’s get moving.

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                                                                      To be continued.....