Chapter 2: The Detective's Reputation
1256 Words
Ray walked through the station to his office space, everyone stared as he walked by.
A young officer hurriedly straightened his posture.
“Morning Detective”
Ray barely nods
Another officer whispered
“Does he ever smile?
An older officer chuckled
“Not that I Can remember and I have worked with him for nine years”
The young officer frowned
“so the stories must be true then”
“well not all, but I would never bet against Ray Graham.
He reaches for the coffee mug on his desk and takes a sip
“I have met a lot of detectives in my career but there is only one I know that solves unsolvable cases”
He adjusted his seat slightly
“We had three missing girls that had gone missing for four weeks, the entire city was on lock-down, the media frenzy was crazy and we had no leads to pursue. No fingerprints, no murder weapons, no clue as to what had happened. We all focused on the usual suspects or killers, Ray investigated the parents instead and discovered the whole thing was a set up. The wife had murdered the kids, one was hers and the other two her step-daughters. She did it because the man was leaving her for his colleague”
“that is so crazy, why would anyone do that”
“That is not even the crazy part, the husband and the colleague walked in on the wife in the act, then the colleague tried to alert the neighbors, guess who strangles the poor lady”
shaking his head
“The husband”
Everyone sighs in disappointment
“You know a reporter asked Ray why he investigated the alleged victims instead, he said the husband never looked into the cameras once during the live broadcast for help”
“that’s crazy, what of the one he got the medal for”
The young officer quickly interjects
“oh, the Dockyard murders, everyone in the academy talked about that case”
The older officer sighed.
“brilliant case, Terrible ending.”
“why”
Riviera’s loud steps echoed in the hall as he races by the officers to Ray’s officers.
Riviera knocked on his door.
“come in”
Riviera stepped into the office, Ray had his head tilted back on his seat.
“The Captain wants to see you sir”
There was dead silence for about a minute
“Sir”
He tried to mutter the words again
Ray lifts up his head unimpressed.
“okay, I heard you the first time”
He opened his drawer and brought a small orange prescription bottle.
He shakes it and pops a pill in his mouth.
“let’s go then” as he closes the top drawer.
The two walked through the hall and were met with dead silence again.
You could almost hear a pin drop.
The younger officers looked at him in admiration as he walked by.
At the captain’s office, the PRO and other officers gave brief to the captain before his press conference that morning.
Ray walked in
“How should we approach this” The captain said as he flipped through the file on his table.
Ray headed towards the table and he picked up a snack-bar.
He unwrapped it and took a bite.
“Well captain, I suggest we tell them the truth”
The captain shook his head
“not until you have a suspect and something concrete for us to go by”
The Mayor’s Personal assistant quickly interrupts.
“we certainly cannot give any information that reduces the numbers for the Mayor. crime rate has significantly fallen since he took office and we hope to keep it that way”
“sure, sure, why doesn’t he get a badge and join us in the man-hunt” Ray sarcastically responds as he quietly eats his snack.
“I really don’t like your attitude Mr Graham”
“It is detective to you”
Captain Will drops the file and gets up
“C’mon Boys, we are on the same team”
He walked towards to the Mayor’s PA and shook his hand.
“Be rest assured, we have this under control. Tell the Mayor we will find this killer”
“Great, I know we can trust you sir” The PA picked up his bag and left the office.
Captain Will looked at Ray and Places his right hand on his shoulder
“I really do hope you do not get us into trouble Ray”
“C’mon captain, you don’t even like that guy”
“But I like his boss, we have a great understanding and I intend to keep it that way”
“Captain, we’re cops, our job is to catch killers not protect politicians”
Captain heads back to his seat.
“There is so much you still need to know Ray, Not everything is white or black as it seems”
“We’d tell them what they need to know for now, once we get our suspect, we tell them more”.
They all listened as the older officer narrated the ordeal of the dockyard murders.
“Are you saying that is what changed him?” Justin asked
“I wouldn’t say he changed but he sure lost his spark when Terry died”
“Terry Jackson”
“Yes, the Terry Jackson, one of the few men I am glad to have worked with”
The Young officer nudges his colleague who was seated beside him, they both smile.
“Was he better than Ray?
“Listen Boys, Terry went deep into undercover to fish out some mobs, some dirty cops hanged him out to dry, Ray loads up with little backup to a mob stronghold downtown. Kills twelve of their guys with a bullet wound to his chest, still gets to Terry but it was too late”
The officer puts his cup down
“Terry had a bomb tied to him, Ray was dragged out as he watched his best friend blown into pieces, so your question quite offends me”
The Older officer got up and walked away quietly.
Justin looked at the younger officer who was quite embarrassed by everyone’s reactions. He hurriedly followed the older officer.
“I am so sorry to bother you, I work with Detective Ray and I heard what you said over there”
The older officer looked at Justin unassumingly
“Is that why he got the medal?”
“Most people think so, I think he got it for having guts than most have and it was long overdue for him and Terry to be recognized. The Mayor did it for politics to cover up for the exposure of the cops involved. Well, that is just my opinion if you ask me”.
He winked at Justin and walked away.
Justin was taking aback by all this information, he was able to understand Ray a bit more.
The PRO handed over the script to Captain Will and he reads it aloud to the room.
“Perfect Chandler!, this covers everything without giving out everything”
“What do you think Ray”
Ray Unimpressed as ever
“I still say, tell them the truth Boss”
Captain Will angrily banged his hands on the table
“What is the truth Ray, what is the damn truth”
Ray grabs his jacket
“That we are hunting a serial-killer”.
- Writer
