Now About that Gun!

The Squadroom was quiet this morning , until Deputy of Operations Clyde Gould walked in...

"WELLLLL LIEUTENANT, YOU DECIDED TO COME TO WORK THIS MORNING HUH?" he bellowed....

''I was at work with my detectives...running down a lead on the Porter Case..."I said..

"OH?  Leads...what kind of leads?" he asked..

"You'll be made aware of them in due time.."said Lieutenant Cotton..

"I don't think you understand chain of command here Lieutenant...I am your superior officer...And when I ask a question...I want answers...

"You'll get answers...When they are conclusive..."said Lt. Cotton..

Before he could say anything else...His phone rang.....

''Hello."

''Hello Mr. Gould.. This is me, Jimmy...Jimmy Fox...You remember me?" came the voice..

"How did you get this  number? This is my private number..."said Gould..

"Look man...I figured I might need some insurance....I need money.....I have a gun...Remember that uh gun you gave me...? The .22 Baretta?  Well word on the street is, it's involved in a murder....It was the kill shot in some girl's murder....Two detectives have been turning this city upside down looking for it...I didn't tell em nothin....but I have that gun...I figured it might be valuable to you..."said Jimmy Fox.

Gould looked like he'd swallowed a canary....

"I can't talk right now.." he said..

"I'll bet you can't...but I'll call you back.. I figured you might want to pay to have this gun in your possession...You prick...You offered me a get out of jail free card....Hah!  That was nothing...That's why I kept this pistol and threw a fake pistol in the river...You and I need to have a talk...A Talk about 100 large.. My retirement fund...Heh Heh heh...I'll be in touch..." said Jimmy Fox.

''Something Wrong Sir?" asked Lt. Cotton, who was doing all he could to keep from laughing..

"WHERE IS NELLIS? Nate and his wife Monica?" asked Gould..

"They're on their way to work I suppose...They might be eating breakfast..."said Lt. Cotton..

"I want them in my office ASAP when they get in..." he bellowed and stormed out...

Lt. Cotton cracked up laughing...

II-

 At the Diner, we were just finishing up breakfast...

"Where is Kylie?  I haven't seen her around lately." said Monique..

"Yeah, she's been a little stand offish.."I said..

"Probably in a funk about breaking up with Wally..."said Monica..

Deputy of Operations Gould walked in..

"Enjoying your breakfast detectives? I understand you guys were quite busy yesterday, running down leads in the already 3 week old Porter Case.." he said..

"Yes , we shook down a few people.. We are looking for a gun... a .22 caliber Baretta… That was the gun that actually killed Ms.Porter… Whoever fired Sebring's stolen gun fired into the body after she was already deceased....and had been deceased for hours...That's why we released him...Plus we have concrete proof he couldn't have done it.." I said..

"CONCRETE PROOF? CONCRETE PROOF?? EVERYTHING IN THIS CASE LED TO HIM...THE GUN WAS FOUND IN HIS PROPERTY,THE SAME PROPERTY WHERE THE BODY WAS FOUND!!"said Gould..

"The body was cold, rigor was already setting in...That body had been moved staged....Killed by a small .22 caliber shot and then shot again with a .45. Most people wouldn't have noticed the smaller gunshot...but my sister did a very thorough job.."said Monica.

 He peered at Monique with red hot hatred..

"OH YOU DID HUH?" he sneered..

"Yes I did.." said Monique..

"I'm going to have a panel look into all of your cases and determine just how thorough you really are." said Gould..

"Be my guest...but the science is the science...Ms. Porter was killed with a .22 Barretta shot...Then shot again with a .45 after she was already dead and had been dead for a few hours, that can't be denied.." said Monique.

 Before he could say anything else...His phone rang...

"HELLO! WHO IS IT?" he yelled..

"Mr. Gould..Mr. Gould...Watch your tone of voice......We need to talk...This is me Jimmy Fox....Now about that gun!  For 100 large I'll turn it over to you...And those detectives, they're out of your life forever..."

Clyde Gould was beet red...

"Look...I'll give you time to get the money...I want it all in fifties and twenties....Bring it in a gym bag...I'll tell you where you can find the gun after the drop is made.." said Jimmy Fox..

Gould walked out of ears reach...

"Fox...You're treading some very shallow waters here... You could wind up in the river...You know that? " snarled Gould.

"I don't think so...My next call, I'll tell you where to drop off the cash...Once I have the cash, I'll tell you where you can find the gun...I'll be in touch.." said Jimmy Fox.

 Gould walked over to us..

"AS OF NOW...YOU TWO ARE OFF THIS CASE? TURN OVER YOUR FILES TO THE COLD CASE UNIT." he said.

"The Cold Case Unit? It'll get buried over there.." I said.

"That's what you want, isn't it?" asked Monica..

"That's what I said...Now one more word outta you and You'll be back in uniform, escorting children across the street DETECTIVE!!!" he snarled..

Monica stared at him hard...but said nothing...

Gould walked away........His phone rang again....It was Kylie..

''We need to talk....You've got a problem.."she said.

"What kind of problem?" he asked..

"I'll meet you in your office." said Kylie..

III-

The Squadroom was empty...A few detectives, some uniforms...but no sign of Lt. Cotton...

Deputy of Operations Gould took Kylie into the Lieutenant's Office and closed the door..

"WHAT PROBLEM?" he asked.

"I saw Nate and Monica last night after they returned...Here is the M.E.'s report...apparently that Porter girl was killed earlier with a .22 Baretta and then shot sometime later with a .45  They turned this city upside down yesterday, going to gun shops, interviewing known gun runners...talking to their street sources...and they came across this guy, Jimmie Fox...Small time hood. I busted him once.." said Kylie, showing Gould a photo of Jimmy Fox and his file..

"He wouldn't tell them anything, but they both felt as if he was lying, as if he knows something.. About that gun..."said Kylie..

"I took them both off the case...They are to turn over all of their files to the Cold Case Unit.." said Gould..

''Well I thought you might want to know where Fox has a loft....Here is the address....If you uh want to uh talk to him.." said Kylie, smiling...

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, interesting...." he said..

''Another thing...Here is a warrant...Lt. Cotton planned to hit this place today..."said Kylie..

"Give me that....He won't need this, he and his brother and sister in law are off the case!...Good Work.. DETECTIVE SGT. WHITE!" he said, smiling..

IV-

 Deputy of Operations Gould looked around, he saw no one in the area....Then he quietly slipped into the Loft...

He had once worked for Robbery-Homicide....Long enough to know how to bypass a security system...and gain entrance to a loft...

He put on latex booties and latex gloves and walked around...He found a chest of drawers...He opened it up and there it was...The .22 Baretta!!!

"HA!  "I've got it!" he said..

Just then Jimmy Fox walked in...

"HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY, WHAT ARE YOU DOIN HERE?" he said, shocked..

"You were gonna blackmail me Jimmy? I don't think so..." said Gould, who pulled his service revolver....

 "Put it down Sir....Put it down Now.." said Monica.. who had her glock  aimed at him..

"Do as she says." I said... I had my glock pointed at him too...

Two uniformed officers with us had riot pump shotguns aimed at him...

''WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?  I TOOK YOU TWO OFF THIS CASE...YOU DISOBEYED A DIRECT ORDER...I WANT YOUR BADGES..NOW!"

"Nice try...Actually we want YOUR BADGE AND WEAPON NOW!  YOU'RE UNDER ARREST, FIRST DEGREE MURDER AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE!" said Monica.

"You're off your nut...I found your murder weapon in this guys's  apartment.." he said pointing at Jimmy Fox...

Jimmy Fox laughed...

"I don't live here..." he said.

"But I do!...I rented this place just for that reason...And the only way you'd even know about this address is you saw the warrant...A phony warrant that was planted in your hands..." I said..

Kylie walked in and bowed..

"YOU!!!  YOU!! YOU WERE WORKING WITH THEM ALL ALONG!!!" He snarled..

Kylie pulled her phone out and played it..It was the conversation from a few days before..

''Where is Cotton?" he asked..

''The Lieutenant is out...He didn't say where he was or when he'd be in..."said Detective Kylie White..

''Where is Detective Nate Nellis and his wife, Detective Monica Nellis?" he asked.

"They're on the street...running down a lead on a case."said Kylie..

"The Porter Case?" he asked.

"I don't know...They've closed three other cases since then.."said Kylie..

"Yes they have and so have you Detective White, which is why I'm here...Look...I've gone over your jacket.." he said.

"You have?" said Kylie..

"You know, you have a very impressive amount of arrests and closures yourself...Just as many as Nate and Monica...and yet Lt. Cotton goes on and on about how Nate and Monica are his BEST DETECTIVES!..Nonsense...They've cracked a number of cases with your assistance.." said Clyde Gould..

"So sir you're saying this to say what?" asked Kylie..

''I see a direct promotion in your future..A sergeant's stripe Detective..." he said.

''I must admit..I have been thinking about taking the test.."said Kylie..

"You could bypass that test....I could promote you directly on merit.."said Gould..

Kylie's eyes lit up....

"REALLY?" she said..

''Oh yes...but I need you to do me a favor..I need you to be my eyes and ears....I need some information...On Cotton and his brother and sister in law...Every case they take on...Every short cut they might take, where they go, what they say about me...Can you do that?  It's nothing hard...You just slip off and report to me when you can....They'll never know..."he said.

"That's all I have to do?" asked Kylie..

"That's all and this time next year...You could be sending Monica and Nate out on assignments...They'd be answering to you or maybe you could go to another unit...as Detective Sgt. Kylie White...Think about it." he said.

Kylie was silent for a moment...

"Nothing to think about...I'm in..." she said smiling..

"Good Girl...Now where is the Lieutenant and the Nellis's really at?" he asked..

"I don't know where the Lieutenant is, I really don't...Nate and Monica are out running down a lead..That's all they told me this morning..I don't know if it's the Porter case or not..  They do have a plain clothes man on John Sebring.." said Kylie..

"Okay, good for now..but I want to know where Cotton was today and information on whatever the Nellis's find today..." said Gould..

"Yes Sir, Sirrrr..And thank you sir." said Kylie, smiling wryly...

"Good, that's all detective...I expect to hear from you soon." said Deputy Of Operations Gould.

"That's enough right there for Obstruction of Justice.." I said.

"The Fact that you broke in here to get that gun is more than enough proof that you killed Ms. Porter didn't you?  You had a relationship with her  and she broke it off...You killed her at a motel...We found bloody sheets in a nearby dumpster....And we have enough witnesses who will testify that Sebring didn't do it...to clear him..."said Monica.

"I knew it was you all along!....That woman wouldn't have put her panties on backwards...You dressed her and moved her body after you killed her....."I said..

 Kylie and Monica looked at each other and smiled and shook their heads...

"What can I say? I'm married to him.." laughed Monica..

Lt. Cotton walked in with three other uniforms...

"BADGE AND GUN PLEASE!" he said as they took Gould's badge and his service weapon...

Gould hung his head as he was walked out of the building..

"I don't believe this.. I don't believe this.. "he kept muttering.. "I'm going to jail...I don't believe it!" he said, nearly in tears...He stomped his foot as he was handcuffed and led down the stairs and to a waiting police cruiser..

I don't believe this.. I don't believe this.. "he kept muttering.. "I'm going to jail...I don't believe it!" he said,

 We had cracked another murder case.

"That was so satisfying...taking down that pompus, sexist jerk." said Monica.

"Kylie, you played your role perfectly....He really believed you were his mole.." I laughed, hugging her..

"He was crazy...Thinking I would betray my fam." she said.

"We knew he'd try to approach one of us...It couldn't be Monica or Nate or even me..and Monique hated his guts...So it had to be you Kylie.. And he did just as we thought. .and his arrogance led us right to him.. And as a reward for your hard work....Here are two round trip tickets to Luna City... I know you want to go visit Detective Wallace." said Lt. Cotton, hugging Kylie..

"I know I sometimes treat you like a step-child, but you're just as important to me as Nate and Monica..."he said.

''Awwww, they aren't Sergeants stripes. .but  this will do.." said Kylie, nearly in tears..

Monica and I laughed and hugged her too!

Jimmy Fox laughed..

"Do uh I get a reward?" he asked..

No one answered him!

EPILOUGE-

Former Deputy Of Operations, Clyde Gould was convicted of First Degree Murder and Obstruction of Justice and sentenced to Life, No Parole...

Monica and I stood on the roof of our building kissing passionately....

It was a beautiful and warm night...

"I miss Kylie...She's been gone a week now!" said Monica..

"She's happy as a lark with Carlos.." I said..

We continued kissing... It was getting late...

"They're probably doing what we are doing.." I said..

"If I know right...they've moved beyond this...They're doing what we are about to do.." laughed Monica..

"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" I said in between more smouldering kisses..

Monica laughed..

"You are sooo silly..." she said..

"And Horny." I said..

"Yes. That too!." she laughed..

As we continued to kiss passionately on the rooftop....

There was a full moon on the horizon...We both momentarily stared at the moon and imagined Kylie and Carlos together...