Chapter 13: Strange Revelations

Detective Howard Yamazaki was not in a good mood. He was three days from retirement. The last thing he wanted was to leave the department with a case unsolved. As of this morning every case was solved and his desk was clear for the first time in thirty-three years. Some cases had taken more than a decade to solve but solve them he did. Now after more than 40 years in law enforcement, he was tired and looking forward to a quiet retirement and spending time with his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. Then after lunch his captain called him into his office and gave him the bad news.

A woman had reported her teenage daughter missing. To the officers on the scene it seemed like a typical runaway however between the families statements and the physical evidence there didn't appear to be any way she could have run away, and while the family insisted she was kidnapped there didn't seem to be any evidence to support that either. The Sergeant on the scene had ruled on the side of caution and called it a kidnapping and called in the crime scene unit and for a detective.

Unfortunately for Howard, he was the only detective available at the time. He'd tried to refuse it and even though his captain was very sympathetic there simply wasn't anyone else to take the case. To make matters worse he was teaming him up with a rookie partner, Detective Andrea Jonson.

Not only was Detective Jonson was known as the ditziest officer in the department's history but she was also referred to as the criminal's best friend. Since joining the force at the Police Academy she'd served numerous departments and in each one she'd caused untold chaos, mayhem, and destruction. He'd heard that several Meter maids, former partners, and even retired instructors still broke down crying at her name.

How she'd ever graduated from the academy much less stayed on the force was a mystery, but somehow she got results. Still, the first thing he did after picking her up from the station bullpen was to take her gun away from her. He had no intention of starting his retirement on a rubber donut.

Needless to say Howard was not a happy man when he arrived at the Andrews home. His mood only worsened after he got there. After questioning the family, he conferred with the patrol officers who'd responded to the call and with the crime scene analysts. He skimmed through Cinnamon's diary, and took a look at the house for himself. In his wake Det. Jonson dutifully followed taking notes in her brand new note book.

"At least she's smart enough not to use a PDA. Maybe there's some hope for her after all." he thought. He well remembered the last time a new detective used a PDA and had his head handed to him after he'd been required to hand over his notes on a case only to find out the battery had died. While a battery had eventually been procured and the notes turned over it wasn't until after the department and the prosecution received black eyes from the defense attorney.

Then as if to refute his thoughts Det. Jonson tripped over the threshold coming in the front door and landed flat on her face. Howard slapped his hand over his eyes and sighed. The teenage boy burst out laughing while Det. Andrea slowly gathered herself off the floor muttering in a very girlish voice "Owwie, owwie, owwie."

"Like the captain said 'It could be worse.' I could have gotten Miller." he thought as he shook his head and turned to the parents. Detective Miller made the most extreme feminist look like a girl scout.

"Okay folks; based on the evidence I'm going to declare this to be a runaway. There's ample evidence that she wasn't happy here."

Mrs. Andrews leapt to her feet but Howard raised his hand to stall her. "Ma'am if this was a kidnapping the kidnappers would have contacted you by now about a ransom, not that you have anything to ransom." They hadn't gotten the Andrews financial recorded from the bank yet, but the statements provided by Mr. Andrews and the appearance of the house indicated that they had very little money to spare.

"Give her a day or two", he continued, "and she'll probably come home on her own. Have a nice day." and with that he turned to head for the door. The other law enforcement personnel followed.