Filling out paperwork was the most important and least talked-about part of being a cop. Not that he was a cop anymore, the RPD having been dissolved forever ago, but it was still how E thought of himself. He'd joined the Watch after returning from another long excursion a couple of years ago, passed the Detective's Exam, and got himself assigned to the Robbery Desk. Days like yesterday were a large part of the reason he'd requested that assignment.
The fires had been a convenient cover, you see. Warehouses burning down, riots in the streets, a populace on the verge of hysteria. 'Why not take advantage,' a few enterprising ne'er-do-wells had thought. 'Why not rob the city blind, burn down the buildings afterward, and let the blame fall on the arsonist' No one's going to sort that carefully through the wreckage.' And they'd been right. Christmastime was the best time for it, too. With many shipments legitimately destroyed, the demand for stolen goods was through the roof. It was entirely possible the entire gang would have gotten away scot free, with a huge payday to show for it.
Thankfully, an anonymous tip had come in to the Watch a few weeks ago. They were lucky to get even that much, with the fear among the public as high as it was. But someone had seen a group of people in black clothes emptying out a warehouse one night. The next day, when the warehouse was reported as having burned down, they called it in. CSI had determined that the building had been half empty when it burned down. Smart criminals, leaving enough behind to pass cursory examination, but not smart enough to keep their case folder from landing on E's desk.
Most detective work is pretty boring. Interviewing people, waiting on reports from forensics, and, of course, the aforementioned paperwork. E liked to set little goals for himself, little challenges to keep things interesting. This case did not have a little challenge. This case had a big challenge.
'Solve it by Christmas.'
They'd wanted him to work Homicide. He'd aced the Detective's Exam, was in incredible physical shape, and after six months on Robbery, he had closed virtually every case that had landed in front of him. He'd been offered the promotion again and again, but always turned it down. Not enough chance of a happy ending, working Homicide. You can't give anyone their loved ones back. It was important work, and he respected the men and women who did it, but it wasn't for him. There's always a chance, working Robbery. Always a chance you can tell a victim that they don't need to worry anymore, that you've solved their problem, and that everything is going to go back to how it was. And for that, he had to solve this case by Christmas.
It had come down to the wire, but he finally made a breakthrough a few days ago. Getting so close to Christmas, the gang had started to get sloppy in their haste to make a few last big scores. The raid on their complex had happened at 4 AM on Christmas morning, hoping to catch them unawares, and with the least amount of interference from the public. It had gone off without a hitch. No shots had even been fired. They had over a dozen perps in custody, piles and piles of stolen goods that had never made it to store shelves, and a good percentage of the money the gang had made from black market sales. They'd finished up early enough for E to make Christmas lunch with his family, after he promised he'd come in the following day to fill out the paperwork.
And that's what he was doing right now, as a news report about the raid aired on television. It brought a smile to his face. Maybe he hadn't quite saved Christmas, but he'd made a difference. It should cut down on burning buildings, at the very least. And if there were a few happy children who got their presents a day or two late instead of not at all, that was the icing on the cake.
'Oh man. I could really go for some cake right now. I wonder if there's any left in the break room.' He signed a few more documents, placed them in a file folder which he then placed in a cabinet that read "Closed Cases," then went off to find himself some cake. He liked to think he'd earned it.
The fires had been a convenient cover, you see. Warehouses burning down, riots in the streets, a populace on the verge of hysteria. 'Why not take advantage,' a few enterprising ne'er-do-wells had thought. 'Why not rob the city blind, burn down the buildings afterward, and let the blame fall on the arsonist' No one's going to sort that carefully through the wreckage.' And they'd been right. Christmastime was the best time for it, too. With many shipments legitimately destroyed, the demand for stolen goods was through the roof. It was entirely possible the entire gang would have gotten away scot free, with a huge payday to show for it.
Thankfully, an anonymous tip had come in to the Watch a few weeks ago. They were lucky to get even that much, with the fear among the public as high as it was. But someone had seen a group of people in black clothes emptying out a warehouse one night. The next day, when the warehouse was reported as having burned down, they called it in. CSI had determined that the building had been half empty when it burned down. Smart criminals, leaving enough behind to pass cursory examination, but not smart enough to keep their case folder from landing on E's desk.
Most detective work is pretty boring. Interviewing people, waiting on reports from forensics, and, of course, the aforementioned paperwork. E liked to set little goals for himself, little challenges to keep things interesting. This case did not have a little challenge. This case had a big challenge.
'Solve it by Christmas.'
They'd wanted him to work Homicide. He'd aced the Detective's Exam, was in incredible physical shape, and after six months on Robbery, he had closed virtually every case that had landed in front of him. He'd been offered the promotion again and again, but always turned it down. Not enough chance of a happy ending, working Homicide. You can't give anyone their loved ones back. It was important work, and he respected the men and women who did it, but it wasn't for him. There's always a chance, working Robbery. Always a chance you can tell a victim that they don't need to worry anymore, that you've solved their problem, and that everything is going to go back to how it was. And for that, he had to solve this case by Christmas.
It had come down to the wire, but he finally made a breakthrough a few days ago. Getting so close to Christmas, the gang had started to get sloppy in their haste to make a few last big scores. The raid on their complex had happened at 4 AM on Christmas morning, hoping to catch them unawares, and with the least amount of interference from the public. It had gone off without a hitch. No shots had even been fired. They had over a dozen perps in custody, piles and piles of stolen goods that had never made it to store shelves, and a good percentage of the money the gang had made from black market sales. They'd finished up early enough for E to make Christmas lunch with his family, after he promised he'd come in the following day to fill out the paperwork.
And that's what he was doing right now, as a news report about the raid aired on television. It brought a smile to his face. Maybe he hadn't quite saved Christmas, but he'd made a difference. It should cut down on burning buildings, at the very least. And if there were a few happy children who got their presents a day or two late instead of not at all, that was the icing on the cake.
'Oh man. I could really go for some cake right now. I wonder if there's any left in the break room.' He signed a few more documents, placed them in a file folder which he then placed in a cabinet that read "Closed Cases," then went off to find himself some cake. He liked to think he'd earned it.