The rookies were coming down the stairs while Tim, Talia and I were waiting for them.
"Are you guys as excited about this as I am? We finally get to call the shots." John says
"I know, right." Lucy answers
"Whoa, slow down. You two realize that 20% of probationary officers that wash out of the program do it during Plain Clothes Day." West tells them
"Don't tell us that! Why would you tell us that?" John asks
"Motivation." West says
They get to the bottom of the stairs and run into their Tim, Talia, and me.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?" I ask
"Please, they're just as green as they were yesterday." Talia says
"What are you looking at, Boot? I'm not even here." Tim says to Lucy
"Let's go get our gear." West tells the other two
"My wash out number's three. What about you?" I ask TIm and Talia
"Same. I bet Tim's is up in double digits by now." Talia says
"Damn straight. I've had 11 rookies bounced from the program during Plain Clothes Day. Looking to make it an even dozen today." Tim says
The rookies are getting their gear at the kit counter with us talking behind them.
"Do not listen. They're just trying to psych us out." John says picking up two duffel bags from the counter as usual
"Already making a mistake." Talia says
"If we're not here, why get two kit bags?" I ask
"We're supposed to have two bags, just in case they have to take action." West tells him as John was about to put one back down on the counter
"First mistake avoided. So many left to make." Tim says
"This is going to be a very long day." John tells the other two rookies
****
Me and West were in the garage of the station.
"Come on. We're the last ones out." West tells me
"I needed reading materials." I tell him and get in the shop with an armload of magazines and say "Okay."
"You should know, I've been waiting for this day my entire life." West tells me
"Wow, that's sad." I tell him
"Did you know that my dad had an epic Plain Clothes Day?" West asks
"I don't care." I tell him but I already had a feeling he was going to tell me about it
"Made four felony arrests, wrote seven traffic violations, and talked a woman off a ledge.
So you see, I can't just -" West was saying but I interrupted him
"So you're gonna break your father's records like you broke his Academy records because you have daddy issues, and the cat's in the cradle, and all that crap." I tell him
"I don't have daddy issues." He says and tries but fails to starts the car then says "No. Oh, this can't be happening. Oh, come on, come on."
****
Me and West are still at the station because he had to charge the battery for the shop.
"This is ridiculous. Two hours to change a dead battery. I could've been on my second arrest by now." West says
"Look on the bright side - I bet your dad doesn't hold the record for longest automotive delay." I tell him
"Okay, West, good to go." The maintenance person says
"Oh, finally. Back in business." West says when Detective Wolfe walks in with a large box
"Lopez, I need your Boot for a work detail." He says
"Sure thing." I tell him
"What? No. Sir, it's it's my Plain Clothes Day." West says like it would change anything
"Oh, I didn't know. In that case, I need you for a work detail. Evidence from a homicide. Catalog every single piece. Got it?" Wolfe asks him
"Yes, sir." West says then looks to me and says "You got to get me out of this, please."
"No, I don't. The job's the job. Nothing in the rules says you have to spend Plain Clothes Day out on patrol. Hey." I say and hold up a fashion magazine and asks "You think I'd look cute in this?"
****
West is at a table, writing out a catalog of what's in the evidence box. I am reading a magazine with my feet up on the table.
"This is a complete waste of time." West says
"It's part of the job, Boot." I tell him
"I did not become a police officer to do clerical work." West says
"Yeah, well, if you don't, then whoever murdered Richard Ochoa might get off on a technicality at trial." I tell him
"Yeah, I get all of that, but I should be out on the street. We only have one Plain Clothes Day." West says
"The only thing certain about this job is that it's unpredictable." I tell him with a small laugh
"You're not helping." West says
****
Me and West are turning in the box of evidence he just finished recording.
"You know what, losing half the day presents an interesting challenge." West says
"I'm not following." I tell him
"What if I can match my father's record in half the time? Come on, Lopez, let's roll." He says
"You did not just say that." I tell him when Officer Desantos comes up to us
"You two on the Richard Ochoa murder?" Desantos asks us
"No, he just cataloged some evidence." I tell him
"Well, the widow of the victim is at the front desk, and she wants to talk to someone." He says
"Ask Wolfe." West tells him
"I can't find him. But I found you. So take care of it, all right?" Desantos says
"Oh, my gosh." West says while we go to the front desk
****
West walks up to talk to Mrs. Ochoa.
"Mrs. Ochoa? I'm sorry, but the detective covering your husband's case isn't available. I can have him call you." West tells her
"Can't you help me?" She asks
"With what, ma'am?" West asks her
"I'm forgetting him." Mrs. Ochoa tells West
"Ma'am?" West asks
"My husband, Richard, he was murdered in our bedroom by home invaders. I was out of town. The detectives came and took everything, his Bible, jewelry, clothes. They left me nothing." Mrs. Ochoa says
"That's procedure, ma'am. Everything inside of the room is evidence." West tells her
"It's not just evidence. They're memories. And that's all I have left of him now. I beg of you. Give them back to me." Mrs. Ochoa says
"I'm- I'm sorry, Mrs. Ochoa. Your husband's property must be held until after the trial. There's nothing I can do." West tells her and Mrs. Ochoa turns to leave while West turns to me
"That was awful." West says
"Yeah. Making a few arrests ought to cheer you up, right? Let's go. Is there a problem, Boot?" I ask after he does not move
"I'm making the decisions today." West says
"Okay. So what do you have in mind?" I ask him
****
West is once more talking with Mrs. Ochoa.
"Thanks for coming back in. While cataloging your husband's effects, I, uh, discovered one item not in the actual crime scene. It was in the hallway, so you can have it back." West tells her
"What is it?" Mrs. Ochoa asks
"Unfortunately, it's just a broken watch." West says
He hands her the watch in a plastic bag and she smiles as she takes it out.
"It's not broken. Just cheap." She says and taps the watch and it starts to run and continues talking "See? When we got married, we were broke. I scraped together a few dollars and bought Richard this for our first anniversary. He wore it every day. Later, in better times, I bought new watches, expensive watches, but no, he only wore this. Officer, thank you for getting it back to me."
She turns to go, beaming this time.
"Shift's over, Boot. No arrests. Not even a parking ticket. What's your daddy gonna think?" I ask him
"Honestly, I don't care." West says and that takes me by surprise
"Oh, really?" I ask
"Yeah. Today was a good day." West says
****
Me, Tim and Talia were all talking when Lucy came up to us.
"Before I leave, Officer Bradford, I just wanted to give you this. It's my evaluation of you." Lucy said giving him an envelope
"That's not how it works, Boot." Tim tells her
"Yeah, well, if you don't want to read it, don't." Lucy tells him and goes to the other rookies
"You gonna open it?" I ask him
Tim opens the envelope and pulls out a small piece of paper.
"What is it?" Talia asks him
"Their bar tab. That little -" Tim says and Talia and I were laughing