"All cats are beautiful, of course,“ the inexplicably soaked woman said, "But my Mr Mittens is the most beautiful of them all. You have to find him!“
Today‘s cat show at Novigan Community Cat Jungle had ended in a brawl between the disgruntled runner-up and one of the judges. The victim wasn’t pressing charges, but during the commotion the winning cat, Mr Mittens, had gone missing. His owner was convinced that her cat had been kidnapped—or was it catnapped? Julius nodded along to the woman‘s retelling of events while jotting it all down on his notepad.
Doug Bedlington hovered close by, keeping a watchful eye as Julius worked. Officially, Bedlington had shifted from being Julius‘ training officer to being his partner, but in practice Julius still had to follow the higher-ranking officer‘s orders. And so Julius found himself interviewing most attendees of the cat show, only to find out that no one had seen anything suspicious.
Most calls in Appaloosa Plains were like this—missing pets, traffic violations, the occasional neighbor dispute—and most of them had a way of working themselves out. Today was no different. Just as the two officers walked away to continue their patrol, a cat matching the description of Mr Mittens pranced past them, with its tail held high and a mouse between its teeth. An ear-piercing squeal told them that the bereft cat owner was reunited with her precious pet.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in,“ laughed Bedlington, cheerful as always,"Saw that one coming a mile away. Stolen cat…as if!“
As ridiculous as it was, Julius did not feel like laughing. After two hours of frantically taking notes, his fingers were calloused and aching. Bedlington had insisted he take all the witnesses’ statements and he was still going to have to type them up and file them back at the station. But, as he did so often, Julius swallowed his rising anger and phrased his question as respectfully as he could manage,"If you already knew there was no crime, why did you have me take all these statements?“
"Why, for your training, kid,“ Bedlington said. Then, laughing, he added, "Besides, I always hated taking statements myself.“
Julius scowled.
It was a quiet day, with little traffic even on Appaloosa Avenue. When a car finally drove past, Bedlington took the opportunity to turn it into another one of his training exercises. "Without looking back,“ he prompted, "what make and model was that?“
"‘84 Sloppy Jalopy.“
"Color?“
Julius didn‘t miss a beat. "Rust brown. Easy.“
"Alright, bucko, well done,“ Bedlington chuckled. "See, you‘re learning. All of this is useful experience.“
Julius grunted his assent and they walked in silence for a while. Finally, he asked,"So how did you know?“
"Come again?“
"At the cat show. How did you know it wasn‘t theft?“
"Oh that,“ Bedlington stroked his straw-colored mustache, then gave Julius a sideways glance and grinned, "You’ve got a fire in you, kid—but you‘re still green behind the ears. Sure, you‘ve done the training, you‘ve learned the rules, but out here on the streets all that is worth less than teats on a bull—pardon my French.“ Bedlington had his hands on his hips as he walked, taking up most of the sidewalk with his burly frame. "So how did I know, you ask? It all boils down to one thing,“ he paused and looked over at Julius, "instinct.“
Julius‘ skepticism must have shown on his face because Bedlington gave him a knowing smile.
"Good old gut feeling, kid,“ he continued, "Don‘t believe me? You‘ll learn soon enough. It‘s all we can rely on out here, our gut. That, and each other of course, partner.“ Bedlington emphasized the last word with a forceful pat on Julius‘ back. Julius couldn‘t help but return his smile.
Despite his rough jokes and folksy manner, Julius had grown fond of Bedlington. If he was perfectly honest, he looked up to the older man. There was a sense of camaraderie in the department, more like a family than coworkers, but Sergeant Bedlington commanded a certain kind of respect. Julius hoped that one day people would defer to him the same way.
***
Ralph‘s daycare had become a veritable lifesaver for Appaloosa Plains‘ stressed parents. The business was far from lucrative—any money that Ralph earned was immediately invested in more toys—but spending each day looking at the toddlers‘ happy faces was more fulfilling than any amount of money.
On the weekends Ralph would meet up with his own children or other family members. One sunny Saturday he and his new mother-in-law Hazel bonded over their shared birdwatching hobby. A lilac-breasted roller! So rare! So beautiful!
*
Malcolm Midden had come over to the Cardwell house after school to work on a group project, but schoolwork was the last thing on Jodie’s mind. With graduation looming on the horizon, she was determined to snag a boyfriend in time for prom.
Jodie started things off by showing Malcolm her new pet crow, but her questionable attempt at courtship was quickly interrupted by her older brother.
Julius didn‘t need to say a word. He just glared darkly at Malcolm, who was suddenly very eager to get started in homework downstairs.
Jodie‘s two dads weren‘t nearly as intimidating as her cop brother. There was some pleasant small talk with Ralph, but eventually Malcolm made the mistake of mentioning comic books.
"Oh, so you‘re a fan of Llama Man?“ Ralph challenged, "Name five story arcs that weren‘t in the movies!“
Malcolm fled into the sunroom, where Jodie found him watching an errant bumblebee buzzing against the window. The heady fragrance of wisterias filled the room as sunlight caressed Malcolm‘s hair and lent it a golden glow. This was Jodie‘s moment, she could feel it.
"Malcolm,“ she breathed, and when he turned to look at her, she took her chance. She leaned forward, ready to envelop him in her arms and have the romantic first kiss she‘d been dreaming of—but he pulled back.
"I—I have a girlfriend,“ Malcolm squeaked and darted out the door.
The next day Jodie, still unkissed, got a D- on the group project.
***
Coffee was a staple at the APPD. It was black and strong, but even after three cups, Julius was still bleary-eyed and exhausted. It wasn‘t the pleasant, tingly exhaustion that came from a good workout, but an unrelenting heaviness that weighed him down, like his bones were made of lead. He needed to sleep.
The night before had started like any other. But after the Cardwells went to bed, a dark shape crept out of the shadows outside and onto the porch of the lone house. After a quick jiggle of her lockpick the burglar was inside. but a blaring alarm caught her off guard. Within seconds the entire household was downstairs, with Icarus being the first to lunge at the burglar.
Hours later, Julius stood in the department’s break room, forcing a smile as he listened to his coworkers‘ teasing jabs.
"Is it true your daddy apprehended the suspect?“
"Looks like we pinned that badge on the wrong Cardwell!“
He was saved when something new commanded his colleagues‘ attention: someone had called the emergency line to report a theft at the Dino Dig Site, a long-defunct tourist attraction on the edge of town.
"And—get this—the stolen item,“ Bedlington’s booming voice carried throughout the station for all to hear, "was a goshdarned dinosaur bone! Now that‘s the setup for a joke if I ever heard one,“ Bedlington laughed. Then he continued,"Sounds like a good one for the rookie, eh, Cardwell?“
Julius looked at his partner, confused, "What, me? Alone?“
"Well, you‘ve been getting bored with traffic violations—so let’s get you some action, kid. Here‘s your first grand larceny!“
The officers laughed with Bedlington, but Julius found it increasingly difficult to hide his irritation.
In a fatherly gesture, Bedlington put a hand on Julius‘ shoulder and said more quietly, "Look, kid, you‘ve got this. All you‘ve got to do is take the guy‘s statement, then have a look around and see if anything looks off. This is your chance to impress the chief. You‘ve got this. Just listen to your gut, remember?“
Julius had half thought that the whole thing was a prank his colleagues were pulling on the rookie, but as it turned out it was a real call. He was greeted by an elderly man with unkempt gray hair, who introduced himself as Roger Gibson, the new owner of the Dino Dig Site.
"My most valuable exhibit—gone,“ Mr Gibson said, "and after I‘ve been busting my ass to restore this place.“
Julius raised an eyebrow. The defunct tourist attraction had been a ruin every since Julius could remember, and it looked even worse up close. Smashed windows had been boarded over haphazardly, and even the spiderwebs looked abandoned. A cartoonish T-rex towered over everything, grinning guilelessly as its skin of metal sheets slowly rusted away. The only new addition seemed to be a scattering of dog feces. The culprit, a spotted mutt, seemed to be the only one hard at work here.
"The place just needs a fresh coat of paint,“ Mr Gibson said with a wry grin.
"Undoubtedly.“ Julius pulled out his notepad with a sigh. "So tell me everything, from the beginning.“
Mr Gibson launched into his tale, animatedly describing his plans for the exhibit. The dinosaur bones on display were mostly foam and plastic, but he‘d had a few genuine ones. One of them—from the mesimzoic era—was suddenly gone without a trace. As he talked, the dog ran circles around the two men, only stopping occasionally to get her ears scratched by Mr Gibson.
"Of course the tourists won‘t know the difference,“ Mr Gibson said, "but the bone is invaluable. The real deal, rare as they come. I need to file a police report, for the insurance if nothing else.“
When Julius was done taking his statement, Mr Gibson led him around the side of the building. Julius followed, his face distorted in disgust as he avoided the scattered dog droppings that littered the entire area. The building was falling apart, but there weren’t any obvious access points. The two men came to a halt beside a rusty chainlink fence.
"Who else had access besides you?“
"My employee,“ Mr Gibson nodded past the fence, where a blond man carried a wooden crate. The man turned around and locked eyes with Julius. It was David Lambert.
Even after all these years, even while wearing his badge and uniform, Julius had a visceral reaction to seeing his childhood bully. After years of training, Julius was confident he could overpower most opponents, but his body still remembered the pain of being beaten up as a scrawny teenager. He felt his stomach clench, his heartbeat accelerating, his breath catching in his throat.
Julius took a step back and yelped in surprise as he almost slipped on something squishy. Oh no.
He glanced down at his shoe, then back up, just in time to see a satisfied smirk on David‘s face.
Mr Gibson laughed, "Stepped on one of Daisy‘s landmines, have you? Here,“ he handed Julius a scrunched up tissue and Julius took it reluctantly.
Julius frowned as he bent down to clean his shoe. He wished he could wipe that smirk off David‘s face the way he wiped the brown smear off the shiny black leather. What a day. All Julius wanted was to go home to and sleep, and now he found himself wiping shit off his shoe while David Lambert, of all people, watched. It was enough to make anyone‘s blood boil.
"So, are you going to search the area,“ Mr Gibson prompted impatiently, "I really need that bone back!“
"Sir,“ Julius hissed, "all I can do for you is submit a report. But if you ask me—with employees like that, you can‘t be surprised if things go missing.“ At Gibson‘s questioning look, Julius continued, "It‘s simple. Your employee is the only other person who had access. And I can tell you that he has a history of stealing from his employers. Make of that what you will.“ Listen to your gut, Bedlington had told him, and Julius‘ gut said that David Lambert was bad news. It was pretty obvious, really.
"Interesting,“ Mr Gibson stroked his chin as he surreptitiously watched David, but he seemed satisfied, "Well, as long as you submit that report, I can file my insurance claim. Thank you, officer.“
Julius turned to leave, longing for a hot shower and his bed.
______________________________________
About the daycare profession — it worked bug-free the first few days. Then Ralph had some time off because of the wedding and afterwards the kids just stopped showing up in the mornings. Ralph is "on the clock“ during his working hours, but there is nothing to do. There are definitely enough children in town, so that’s not the problem. I’m not sure if the cause was the time off or the fact that Ralph was promoted just before that. I guess quitting and starting the job again would fix it, but I haven‘t tried. Without spoiling too much, these problems actually work out for the story, so I‘ll get to that eventually!
Also! Jodie had the inappropriate trait since she was a kid, which never really came out too much. During her late teens through, she started trying to autonomously smooch every boy she came across, with very little success. I never managed to catch her in the act until poor Malcolm. That boy is never coming back to the Cardwell house!
