argument. "Granger and Pitts have one hell of a caseload.
They're also doing the Wilcox murder, and they've been stuck on the Silver Lake rape for six months now. They might be able to come up with a lead on that, if they didn't have sixteen other things to do. Now you're gonna dump this one on 'em."
"Granger and Pitts are my best investigative team."
Sykes let that one pass. "They're only human, Cap." The humor slipped past his listeners. "They need a break or they won't find piss on anything. I would've thought what with Francisco here being the first Newcomer plainclothes, and Hubley's body being found over in the Newcomer community, it would only make sense for the two of us to take the Hubley case."
"Don't tell me what to think," Warner told him sharply even as he found himself mulling over the detective's words.
The thrust of the conversation had drawn Goldrup out of his daze. "He's got a good point, Captain Warner. That's the sort of thing we should be doing with this early-advancement program. Much better than sending them out on something routine like patrol and search. If we're going to get any airtime out of this we're going to have to go for something kind of exciting, if you catch my drift."
Yeah, I catch it, Warner thought sourly. Right in the ass, where I usually catch dorks; like you. The Captain bore it with the air of the long-suffering martyr compelled to endure yet another fiendish torment.
There was nothing he could say and what the hell difference did it make anyway? Other than the fact that the victim was a Newcomer, the Hubley case was your standard Homicide One, Unsolved. So Sykes was interested in it, so what? Everybody knew
41
how weird Sykes was. Around the station, Bill Tuggle had been regarded as a saint for putting up with the guy for nine years. Sykes would be in a nuthouse somewhere, or the gutter, if not for one unarguable fact: he was a good detective.
Obviously his volunteering to work with the Newcomer had something to do with Tuggle's death at Newcomer hands. Just as obviously, he wanted the Hubley case because it also involved a Newcomer. Was that anything to worry about? So long as he kept his nose clean and left Tuggle's murder to Fedorchuk and Alterez, his other motives need not concern Warner.
I've spent far too much time worrying about it already, he thought abruptly. I've got a precinct to run.
He sighed deeply, and recognized it for the acquiescence it was. He tried not to smile.
_1V_
The door that blocked off the bottom of the ground floor stairwell was solid steel, intended not only to keep out aggravated street types and unwelcome media mavens but bullets and fair-sized explosives. It banged noisily against its hinges as Sykes slammed it wide. Francisco followed close behind. Even allowing for the fact they were from different worlds, they made an odd couple. Sykes had slept in and looked it, while the Newcomer in his neatly pressed suit more closely resembled a canvasser for the Jehovah's Witnesses.
They'd spent the rest of the day talking, going over official procedures, doing what was expected of new partners. Because of his recent advancement, Francisco had plenty of additional paperwork to deal with. He handled it adroitly. That surprised Sykes as he watched his new partner at work. Maybe this guy Francisco was real smart. That wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Black-and-whites were pulling out on the evening watch as the two detectives made their way across the parking lot. Sykes was doing all the talking. He'd been lecturing Francisco most of the afternoon, ever since the Newcomer had tidied up the last of his official forms.
". . . And we work my hours. I'll do the driving, you do the paperwork. You gotta learn it, so you might as well do it. I saw you back there. " He nodded in the direction of the 42
40
station house. "You handled yourself okay. But filling out personnel chits isn't the same thing as making out an arrest sheet or trying to describe
They're also doing the Wilcox murder, and they've been stuck on the Silver Lake rape for six months now. They might be able to come up with a lead on that, if they didn't have sixteen other things to do. Now you're gonna dump this one on 'em."
"Granger and Pitts are my best investigative team."
Sykes let that one pass. "They're only human, Cap." The humor slipped past his listeners. "They need a break or they won't find piss on anything. I would've thought what with Francisco here being the first Newcomer plainclothes, and Hubley's body being found over in the Newcomer community, it would only make sense for the two of us to take the Hubley case."
"Don't tell me what to think," Warner told him sharply even as he found himself mulling over the detective's words.
The thrust of the conversation had drawn Goldrup out of his daze. "He's got a good point, Captain Warner. That's the sort of thing we should be doing with this early-advancement program. Much better than sending them out on something routine like patrol and search. If we're going to get any airtime out of this we're going to have to go for something kind of exciting, if you catch my drift."
Yeah, I catch it, Warner thought sourly. Right in the ass, where I usually catch dorks; like you. The Captain bore it with the air of the long-suffering martyr compelled to endure yet another fiendish torment.
There was nothing he could say and what the hell difference did it make anyway? Other than the fact that the victim was a Newcomer, the Hubley case was your standard Homicide One, Unsolved. So Sykes was interested in it, so what? Everybody knew
41
how weird Sykes was. Around the station, Bill Tuggle had been regarded as a saint for putting up with the guy for nine years. Sykes would be in a nuthouse somewhere, or the gutter, if not for one unarguable fact: he was a good detective.
Obviously his volunteering to work with the Newcomer had something to do with Tuggle's death at Newcomer hands. Just as obviously, he wanted the Hubley case because it also involved a Newcomer. Was that anything to worry about? So long as he kept his nose clean and left Tuggle's murder to Fedorchuk and Alterez, his other motives need not concern Warner.
I've spent far too much time worrying about it already, he thought abruptly. I've got a precinct to run.
He sighed deeply, and recognized it for the acquiescence it was. He tried not to smile.
_1V_
The door that blocked off the bottom of the ground floor stairwell was solid steel, intended not only to keep out aggravated street types and unwelcome media mavens but bullets and fair-sized explosives. It banged noisily against its hinges as Sykes slammed it wide. Francisco followed close behind. Even allowing for the fact they were from different worlds, they made an odd couple. Sykes had slept in and looked it, while the Newcomer in his neatly pressed suit more closely resembled a canvasser for the Jehovah's Witnesses.
They'd spent the rest of the day talking, going over official procedures, doing what was expected of new partners. Because of his recent advancement, Francisco had plenty of additional paperwork to deal with. He handled it adroitly. That surprised Sykes as he watched his new partner at work. Maybe this guy Francisco was real smart. That wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Black-and-whites were pulling out on the evening watch as the two detectives made their way across the parking lot. Sykes was doing all the talking. He'd been lecturing Francisco most of the afternoon, ever since the Newcomer had tidied up the last of his official forms.
". . . And we work my hours. I'll do the driving, you do the paperwork. You gotta learn it, so you might as well do it. I saw you back there. " He nodded in the direction of the 42
40
station house. "You handled yourself okay. But filling out personnel chits isn't the same thing as making out an arrest sheet or trying to describe
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