Sentinel Duty 7
Taggert's Task
July 26th, 2008
Sorry this took so long, I hit a serious writer’s block with this series. There may be one more, thanks to Cheryl’s suggestions<G>.
Many thanks as always to Cheryl for betaing this story. She always manages to pull out just a bit more out of me to make the story work.
**************************
Unlike the rest of the crew in Major Crime, I know the exact moment that Blair Sandburg earned my respect. When he looked into Kincaid's eyes and claimed to be a lieutenant with Narcotics. Blair most likely saved a life at that moment. Oh, he may have only been trying to extend his own, but Kincaid would have taken a hostage regardless. It probably would have been Daryl, because with the bullet in my leg I would have slowed them down too much.
Anyway, I knew from that moment that the kid had something. Courage, intelligence, sheer gumption. He and I formed a friendship early on, maybe even before Blair and Simon managed to figure out they liked and respected each other.
As for Jim Ellison, I'd worked with him before. Though he wasn’t the hard ass everyone made him out to be, he still wasn't very approachable, didn't seem to want to get too friendly with anyone. And after everything he'd been through, I could understand his feelings, but I still tried to break through the shell. Being a cop's a tough job and if I didn't have Lydia, my family and friends to keep me sane, well let's just say, we cops need a pretty good-size support group.
I could see that Jim didn't seem to have much in the way of close friends, more like acquaintances. And I didn't even know he had family in Cascade until those cases with his brother and father. Needless to say, I was relieved to see Blair badger his way into Ellison's life. It didn't take long for Jim's defenses to give way either. And we were all right there, ready, willing and able to take him in.
The Jim Ellison I'm partnering with today is a different person from the one that I knew before Blair Sandburg entered the picture. Oh, sure, the Sentinel thing has something to do with it, but the real change is in how much more readily Jim accepts help from his friends. Yeah, there's still quite a bit of grumbling, but when all is said and done, he let's us help and appreciates it.
These last few weeks, while Blair has been busy at the Academy are a prime example of that.
Jim and I are following leads on the pharmacy case. He got a list of customers, from ‘A Natural Solution,’ who use the liniment that he had smelled at each crime scene. The list is huge, but our saving grace is that this particular fragrance is made specifically for this store. The composition of the list is… well, strange. There’s a body builder, a nurse, a college student, several firemen, Blair, a priest, a CEO from Dynacorp… and that’s just a few of them. Evidently this stuff works wonders on sore muscles.
We culled the list to exclude anyone with enough money to buy the drugs that have been stolen. That still left quite a few suspects. We’ve been trying to figure out if the thief is after one specific drug or the whole lot, but unfortunately, all of the pharmacies carry very similar inventory, even for controlled drugs.
We’re driving to meet with our next suspect when it dawns on me.
“You could smell it.”
“Pardon?” Jim asks.
“The Semtex at Mount Zion. You smelled the Semtex.”
Jim frowns then nods.
I shake my head. “I couldn’t figure out how you knew it was there. I guess you were checking for it, huh? Since it had been used at the other crime scenes. But how do you manage when you aren’t sure what you’re looking for? I mean, doesn’t it get a bit overwhelming?”
“Sometimes, Joel, but no more so than for you.” He shrugs. “Blair explained it once, the brain filters so much information, most of which we don’t even realize we’ve seen, heard, etc. Sentinels tend to process more of that information on a conscious level, but with practice, the normal input is kept in the background so only things that are unusual and possibly dangerous stick out.”
“That makes sense. You couldn’t really live in a constant state of alert without going crazy,” I reply.
“Yeah,” Jim says sounding relieved and resigned at the same time. “It took me a while to appreciate the control Blair’s taught me, though.”
I change the subject. “So this suspect, David Carter, you think he might be the one?”
“Maybe. He’s a college student, maybe he’s hip deep in school loans and owes a loan shark, or has a drug habit… Won’t know until we talk to him.”
The file lists Carter’s address as a home on 26th street. Jim turns right onto 26th as I study the kid’s picture. He’s twenty-two, in his third year of school going toward a major in Psychology. Makes you wonder what would make him would turn to robbery, especially stealing medications. But I’m jumping the gun. We don’t know that he’s the thief.
Jim parks the truck and we go up the walk and knock on the door. No one answers and Jim stops me from knocking again.
“They’re home, someone’s coming,” he says.
Sure enough, a few moments later the door opens and a woman in her mid to late forties answers. She seems to be ill, her skin is pasty and she has that frail look of someone fighting an ongoing illness.
“May I help you?” she asks.
“I’m Detective Jim Ellison of the Cascade PD, this is my partner Joel Taggert. We’re looking for David Carter. Is he home?”
“David? Yes. Is he in trouble?”
“We have a few questions regarding a case, ma’am,” I say with a gentle smile. “We’re hoping he can help us out.”
She nods. “I’m Carrie Carter, David’s my son. Please, come in, I’ll get him.”
She let us in and showed us into the living room then went upstairs. The house is neat and homey. Pictures of Mrs. Carter and her son are arranged on the various surfaces in the room. There are a few older pictures with a much younger Carrie Carter and a man, presumably Mr. Carter, but he’s absent in the photos with David.
Jim touches my arm. “I can smell the liniment and also several narcotics,” he whispers.
Footsteps on the stair get our attention and we turn to see David Carter and his mother entering the room.
“Officers?” David says. “My mom said you wanted to ask me something?”
He sounds nervous to me. I share a look with Jim and then smile at the boy.
“I’m Detective Taggert, this is Detective Ellison. We’re working on the recent pharmacy robberies.”
Mrs. Carter takes a seat in one of the chairs. “I heard about that on the news. I can’t believe someone would do that. I can’t imagine not being able to get my prescriptions filled because someone had stolen the medicine. I need them to help with the pain.” She looked at us. “I have bone cancer. It’s untreatable at this stage, too far spread. The medication keeps me functional.”
David moved up behind his mother and put his hands on her shoulders. “Maybe you should go upstairs and rest, Mom. You’re looking tired.”
“I will, dear, after these gentlemen leave. Go on, Detective.”
I clear my throat, hating what is about to happen. David looks scared now, like he knows the jig is up. “Where were you between seven and eight pm last Tuesday?”
David frowns. “I… um don’t recall exactly.”
“We need you to remember,” Jim adds firmly.
“Tuesday?” Mrs. Carter repeats. “Didn’t you pick up some of my prescriptions that afternoon, David?”
He blinks and I can see his hands squeeze his mother’s shoulders gently. “Uh, yeah, I think that’s right, Mom.”
“Do you have the receipts?” I ask. David’s starting to sweat. I don’t have to be a Sentinel to see he’s guilty.
“I’m not sure where I put them,” David says.
Mrs. Carter frowns. “I have the bottles handy, if that’ll help.”
Jim nods and smiles kindly. “That would be great.”
“David, please get them, they’re on the counter in the kitchen.”
David’s eyes widen and he sends us a pleading look as he turns to leave the room. Once he’s gone, Jim clears his throat.
“Ma’am, I’m afraid David may be in trouble.”
Mrs. Carter drops her chin. “I’ve suspected something was wrong. Please,” she said lifting her eyes to meet Jim’s. “He’s a good boy. Whatever he’s done, he’s only trying to help me, I’m sure.”
David came back into the room and handed the bottles to Jim. “I’m sorry, Mom,” he whispered hoarsely. “The insurance company denied coverage for most of your prescriptions and they’re so expensive I couldn't figure out what else to do," he sighed "One drug alone was more than $100 a pill and she was supposed to take 8 a day!” He looked at me and Jim. “I was only going to break in the one time… I thought I could sell the other drugs to pay for the rest of her prescriptions, but… I couldn’t bear the thought of them ending up in the wrong hands. And… and then the first pharmacy only had one day's supply. A couple of others didn't have any of the pain medicine. I was starting to panic. I didn't mean to keep breaking into to those places. You've got to believe me. I just didn't know what else to do. I have everything in a safe place, except for what Mom needed…”
~~~~~
What a mess. David showed us the stash of medication and the modified gun he used to take out the cameras. We had a black and white take him down to the station to be booked. His mother came with us and after talking to Simon, Jim and I agreed to speak with the judge to see about getting David a lighter sentence. He’ll probably have to serve some time, but due to the circumstances, it may be short. He’ll have quite a lot of community service though when he gets out.
Jim’s pleased to finally have wrapped up this case. And I’m happy to have gotten through the week without having any Sentinel related problems. Blair graduates next week and I know we’ll all be glad to have him back. It’ll be nice to be able to work with them both, knowing that they can use their gifts to the fullest and not have to worry about hiding them from us.
Working with Jim this week has given me an insight into the real Jim Ellison. It’s nice to see the man more at ease with himself and comfortable with his gifts. I can only imagine how hard it’s been on him and Blair for the last four years, keeping this secret from their friends and family. Well, now they don’t have to hide so much. Simon and the others and me, we’ll help however we can and who knows, maybe someday Jim will be able to use his senses freely in public. Wouldn’t that be something?
The End
Feedback is always appreciated. JudyL