The Lieutenant turned around and stared out the window. The detective could see his superior's face reflected in the glass. The anger subsided from it. And a sigh came. Then he turned back around.
"How many weeks has it been?"
"Eight."
"I gave you an extra two weeks. But now you need to let it go. What you do on your own time. That's up to you. But during work hours you need to leave that case alone."
Derek Chalmers left the office a bit relieved. He had expected worse. Maybe losing his job. Suspension. Instead he got a clear message that now he wasn't going to be paid to investigate the recent heist and murder at the Dolphin Motel. But he could still do it after hours.
His partner Wendy would not be up for it. She had a family now. Couldn't spend nights chasing down a murky lead. A man who went by the name
Big Joe
. Derek would have to do it alone. He didn't have a family. Not anymore. So there was nothing better to do. So might as well.
The days were becoming colder again. Was Christmas just around the corner... again? It felt too soon for that to be the case. Yet when Derek thought about last Christmas, it felt so long ago.
He took long strides down the glass covered walls. Went outside where people's breaths made clouds into the air. Made his way to a cafe about ten minutes away from police hq.
He hadn't been here in a long time. It was this sudden winter frost that beckoned him in. Memories of
winter
s passed. Back before he was a detective. When he was studying to get into business school.
Long days at the cafe. Long nights. Coffees. Occasional stares from a cute girl. Stimulating distractions to peel him away from the drudgery of memorization. Cramming.
Derek had never ended up going to business school after all. After being accepted he looked up the tuition. The costs of living. And finally seeing how much he would have to take out in loans. Seeing concrete numbers helped him decide that it wasn't the right choice for him. Had he had some rich uncle or aunt to foot the bill then yeah.
But how he became a police officer. And then a detective. That he didn't really know. Still wasn't sure to this day.