Chapter 2:



There’s something wrong about Jimmy.

Not like...not in any way he could express, but it’s...a feeling?

It’s the way Jimmy turns his head, how he does it a little too smoothly. The way he approached being handed a donut, taking it tenderly between three fingers and staring at it before devouring it like a starving man. The way his grin was, a little too large for the face, a little too lopsided for its own good.

Richard raised the paper cup of coffee to his lips as he stared out the window at the newbie, sipping it slowly as Lydia wrapped up her report. “And Dickens says they found the guy mailing cat urine to the local superstore. …sir?”

“Something seem off about Jimmy to you?”

She blinked, her bright brown eyes staring at him before flicking to the side, turning her head to stare out the window.

Jimmy stood next to the water cooler, others around him chatting and cracking jokes. He stood there, holding a paper cup, smiling wider than it probably should be. He had yet to take an actual sip of water. Someone turned to him, cracking a joke, and he seemed to digest it a bit before giving a forced laugh.

Lydia turned back to him, a frown on her face. “Not entirely. He’s always been a bit…you know, off. Ever since he came on the force.”

And wasn’t that unusual too? He could hardly recall the day that happened, and while he had chalked it up to just the normal hustle and bustle of being in law enforcement, he normally…remembered, you know? It made the newbies’ day when he would encourage them, give them a gift on their hiring date, so on.

He sipped his coffee again, grunting. “Maybe I should retire faster ‘n’ I thought.”

“Don’t you dare,” she admonished, twisting the file in her hand to smack him in the shoulder. “My cousin wanted to meet you, and I know for darn sure that all you’ll do at home is wear boxers and drink. No, you need to work until the end sir. We’d miss ya too much.”

“Fine, I guess I’m stayin’. Darn woman, hittin’ me all the time,” he grumbled, finishing off his coffee and tossing it in the trash. “Alright, that all for the report?”

“Yeah, that’s all,” she groused, tossing the folder onto the desk and crossing her arms in front of her. “Prickly old bear.”

“Get on out, kid, Papa’s got work to do,” he shooed her out, making her laugh as she ducked away. He watched her go, his eyes being drawn to Jimmy again. Most of the others had left now, and he was standing there, staring blankly at the paper cup of water as if he weren’t quite sure what to do with it.

Richard thinks he knows what’s up.

He’s scared!

That was it! Not a newbie on the force didn’t get a case of fright now and then, and they all did well after he took them on a ride-along. All they needed was encouragement, and he was nothing if not encouraging.

Right! He made the choice up in his mind, taking his coat off the hook and heading out of the office, clicking the door shut as he rounded out to the water dispenser, whistling loud enough to make Jimmy jump. “Smith! C’mere, I need to talk to ya.”

Jimmy looked downright terrified, his face turning pale as his eyes darted from him and to the crowd milling around, and back again. His mouth stretched in an odd grin, letting out a nervous laugh. “M-Me, sir?”

“Yup. You. C’mon Jimmy, let’s go on a ride.” He headed for the elevator, knowing the newbie would eventually start following him, as they all did. He held the elevator opened as Jimmy acted like a man sent to execution, slowly dragging his feet and practically trembling. “Don’t be scared, newbie. Just going on a ride. Ya seem…a little down, lack of a better word. Everything good?”

Jimmy nodded quickly, hiding a sneeze in the crook of his elbow as the elevator kicked up, sending them to the first floor. “Yes-I mean, yessir. Everything is just ah, peachy! Peachy, peachy, peachy.”

For some reason, he doubted that.

He nodded all the same, leading them out and towards the parking lot after waving at the front desk person-Kamry today, her long black hair in twin tails today-as they left out the door. “Right then. Well, you’re new, and I just think you’d benefit from a ride around with the Sheriff. That sound all good? We can stop, get some lunch or whatever time it is for food, an’ we’ll just gab, ya know?”

Jimmy nodded, that odd, uneven smile on his face again as they got in the squad car.

Like he promised, he took them to the cafe first, ordering breakfast for himself. He loved himself some good bacon and eggs…and maybe about two waffles. He sipped his coffee as Jimmy concentrated on the menu, mumbling words to himself as if unsure of the words written there. “All good, Jimmy?”

“I…I don’t eat out much?” he sounded like he was asking a question, but Richard just snorted, nodding.

“I can understand that. Here, look, the Big Breakfast is just…” he pointed out the descriptions to him, finding it almost amusing how nervous the newbie was at not screwing up in front of his superior.

He was definitely not the first to say he had no clue what food was when faced with sitting in a booth with the Sheriff. It was almost like a ritual, honestly.

Jimmy ended up with waffles, slowly cutting into them like Richard did, taking a bite and perking up. “Oh!”

“Good, right?” he said, taking a bite himself. “Miss Rosa makes ‘em like no other.”

“I want more of these,” Jimmy nearly had stars in his eyes, scooping down another bite in quick succession. “How do I get these?”

“Pay her, suppose,” he chuckled. Miss Rosa deserved some love for her good waffles, he did agree with that. “Make your own. Whichever. If you want more, order some. So long as you got money, you can get ‘em.”

They ended up with about eight waffles for Jimmy, which Richard didn’t really find an issue with. The newbie had yet to be stuck on desk work and gain the usual padding of fat when one is offered too many donuts and not enough exercise that Richard had, plus age as well. He was nearly stick thin, it was kind of scary.

Jimmy groaned, head in his hands as he whined. “I’m so full…this was a mistake…”

Richard laughed, finishing off his coffee and slapping down the money for their bill, clapping Jimmy’s back “And to think, that’s just the beginning. C’mon newbie, shift’s starting, let’s hit the road.”

Jimmy groaned, and the sheriff couldn’t help laughing harder. Yeah, that happened too often as well. Sometimes you left feeling like a beach ball rolling out the door, eager for a nap for the next, oh, two weeks.

Back in the car, and they started off again, the sheriff checking in on the radio now and then as Jimmy stared out the window, hand clenched tightly onto the handle of the door. “So. Jimmy. This your first job?”

“…yes?”

“Hm. Interestin’. What’s your goal in life?”

“What?”

“Your goal,” he said, turning onto Main after the light turned green. “Ya know, what do ya want outta life?” At Jimmy’s blank look, he waved a hand lightly. “Ya know…like, take Officer Hawkins. Her goal’s to go to some big streamin’ event one of these days, so she plays all the games and has a followin’. I wanna retire,” he joked, chuckling. “What about you? What’s your goal?”

“I…” Jimmy paused, drumming his fingers against the car door idly as he thought, and Richard let him. The ‘goal’ question was always an intense one, something that really sent people thinking for a while. “I…want to see things.”

“Things?”

“Yes. The world. I want to see people,” he said, his red eyes flashing as he grinned too wide at Richard. “I want to know more about the world.”

“That’s great!” he said, smacking the steering wheel with a laugh and startling Jimmy enough he jumped. “Exploring the world’s a grand goal! It’s a great place to be in, people are so fascinatin’. I’m sure one of these days I’ll read about you in a book, on some great adventure, huh?”

Jimmy blinked, staring at him a little too long, before he nodded, returning his gaze to the windshield for a moment. “Perhaps.”

Ah, he was just being polite. Richard could see it in the way his cheeks turned pink and the way he wouldn’t look his way. Yeah, he could see Jimmy doing great things for this world one day.

Great things!

The radio crackled to life, and he took up the speaker, wiggling it Jimmy’s way. “Get ready, newbie. Our first stop of the day!”

Jimmy’s hand clenched tighter on the door, and his eyes crinkled as if trying to figure out how to react to it.

He’d get better. Richard just knew it.

He had a good gut feeling about it.