Case 19 - The Convention

Case 19 - The Convention(jpater) Captain Graves entered the detective’s office. “The National Law Enforcement Convention starts Monday in Fort Collins. J.P., Tina, and Susie you will be attending to represent not only the 169th Precinct but also the city of New York. You will fly out to Colorado tomorrow that way you will have Friday and the weekend for leisure time before the convention starts Monday. While you are gone Oscar Mallet and Connor McMasters will be filling in. Officer Mallet will also be the commanding officer of the Special Investigation Division next week” said Captain Graves. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a folded up envelope and handed it to Inspector J.P. Bullet “You will need to read this letter as soon as possible,” said Captain Graves. He walked out of the detective’s office.

J.P., Tina, and Susie arrived in Fort Collins, Colorado. They were going to be staying in a cabin. J.P. unlocked the door and they went into the cabin. “Man, this place is awesome,” said Tina as she was admiring the inside of the cabin. They set their bags on the couch.

J.P. sat down on the couch and opened the letter that Captain Graves had given him Wednesday morning. In the letter, Captain Graves expressed his concern about Harvey being second in command of the Special investigation Division when J.P. was not available because he was married to Rebella which could lead to a possible conflict of interest. He was recommending that Inspector Young be second in command and in the event that Inspector Bullet and Young were unavailable then Oscar Mallet would be encharge.

Tina sat down on the couch as J.P. was putting the letter back into the envelope. “Good news?” asked Tina. “Captain Graves was doing the lines of succession for the Special Investigation Division. Susie is now going to be second in command,” said J.P. Susie came into the room where J.P. and Tina were sitting. “I am sorry, I did not mean to interrupt what you were doing.” Susie was fixing to leave the room. J.P. motioned for her to go back. “Susie, there is something you need to read,” said J.P. Susie sat down beside Tina. J.P. took the letter out of the envelope and handed it to Susie for her to read. She finished reading the letter and handed it back to J.P.

“Susie, was there something you needed to tell me?” asked J.P. “Yes sir, there is a problem,” said Susie. “What is it?” asked J.P. “There is only one bedroom,” said Susie. “I will take the couch. You and Tina can decide which one gets the bedroom,” said J.P.

That night Tina came into the living room area with extra blankets and pillows. She handed J.P. a blanket and a pillow. She then put a pillow and blanket on the floor and lay down. “We flipped a coin to see who would get the bedroom and she won the toss.”

During the night Tina kept J.P. awake by tossing and turning. Then she had a nightmare and it startled her. J.P. sat down beside her and put his arms around her. “Man, that was horrible,” said Tina. “You need to quit watching horror movies before you go to sleep,” teased J.P. After a few minutes Tina laid her head on the pillow. J.P. lay down next to her and snuggled her and they both went to sleep.

The next morning Susie came through to make coffee. She saw J.P. and Tina still asleep on the floor. Susie brought them a cup of coffee. “How was your night?” asked Susie trying to make a big deal out of nothing. “The first part was horrible, I could not sleep and I had a nightmare,” said Tina. “Looks like all you needed was a security blanket,” teased Susie. “Shut Up, Susie! It’s not what you think” said Tina.

“Tina, would you please step outside a minute,” said J.P. They went outside. “What’s up?” asked Tina. “There is something I need to tell you and be patient with me because I am not good at this,” said J.P. “Ok,” said Tina who was puzzled and trying to figure out what he was talking about. “Over the past 8 years all I have known is work and nothing else,” said J.P. reaching out and taking Tina’s hand. “A couple of years ago this beautiful young lady from the Bronx starting working in the communication division.” Tina started blushing at being called beautiful. “This beautiful young lady did everything she could to make me notice her. Only being used to working I did not know how to take it and I am going to skip over the rest and get to the point,” said J.P. holding Tina’s hand tighter. “I Love you,” said J.P. This was a shock for Tina even though she had the same feelings this was the first time he had ever admitted it. She did not say anything she leaned over and started kissing him. Susie was standing in the door watching, but got out of sight quickly so they would not see her. “Your secret is safe with me,” said Tina. They walked back to the cabin holding hands.

Gene Fontana, Fire Battalion Chief for Station Number Sixty-Two met with Officer Oscar Mallet. “We have had a rash of suspicious car fires. The strange thing is Acer Towing Services shows up before we get the fire put out and they also have a body shop” said Gene. “Let me guess, you think an employee at Acer is setting vehicles on fire and then they come and pick-up the vehicle and take it to the body shop. Then cheap repairs are done and the vehicle is repainted and sold,” said Oscar. “That is exactly what we are thinking,” said Gene. “Rebella, Connor, I want you to go to the Acer Towing and Body Shop and see if there is something funny going on,” said Oscar. Rebella and Connor were getting up to leave. Gene shook officer Mallet’s hand and thanked him for his time. As he was walking out the door his pager went on. “Another car fire,” said Gene. Rebella and Connor decided to go to the car fire then stop at Acer.

Rebella and Connor were sitting in the car when an Acer towing truck pulled up. The driver saw them and left. “Did that look right to you?” asked Rebella. “Nope,” said Connor. “Me either,” said Rebella starting the car to follow the wrecker. Connor turned on the light bar on the dash of Rebella’s car. The tow truck driver started driving faster. He pulled into Acer Towing and Body Shop and another employee closed the gate so Rebella and Connor could not go onto the property. “That little Rat!” said Rebella angrily. She took out her cell phone and called the Precinct. “This is Inspector Lucas 5-George 32, I am requesting back-up at Acer Towing and Body Shop, please send all available units”. Oscar Mallet and Harvey Lucas heard the call for back-up on the radio and they responded to the scene.

In a matter of minutes Acer Towing and Body Shop was surrounded by officers. Captain Graves pulled up to the scene and Rebella told him what happened with the truck driver and when she and Connor were pulling up the employee closed the gate in front of them. Captain Graves gave the order to move in. One officer climbed the fence and opened the gate so the others could make entry. The tow truck driver and all the employees at Acer were arrested without incident.

Tina was manning dispatch while Ola was taking a break. Susie was sitting beside her. Ola finished her break and was putting her glasses on. Tina got up so Ola could sit down. Ola turned around pretending she was not listening to what was being talked about. Rebella came in the precinct and saw Tina and Susie in dispatch. “How was the convention?” asked Rebella. “Very boring,” said Tina. Rebella walked on and Susie had a confused look on her face. Tina started out of dispatch. She saw the confused expression on Susie’s face. “She only asked me about the convention, she did not ask me what happened before the convention,” said Tina with a smile on her face. Ola turned around and looked over her glasses staring at Tina.

The Acer tow truck driver was convicted of arson and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The employee of Acer who closed the gate to prevent officers from entering the premises was convicted of Obstruction of Justice and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The remaining employees of Acer were released from custody with no charges filed against them.