2019-11-20 - Small Talk and Favors

Rookie Carter Reid has been on the force for a few months now, transferred up from San Francisco where he'd just become a patrol officer. Now, he's a patrol officer for the GHPD, which means that currently -- he's doing paperwork. So much paperwork. Having already done his route for the day, it's time to fill out forms, put stuff into the computer, and drink a /lot/ of coffee. One that is about half-full sits next to him, out of the way of the stack of papers to avert any tragic staining accidents.

The problem with being at a desk after your route is done for the day is that it puts you riiiight in the middle of a detective's vision when he is walking through the bullpen. "Hey! Reid, right?" asks the homicide cop as he breezes through on his way to the detectives' desks. He's wearing a nameplate, Gabriel, you should know that. "San Fran?" Carter might know that Quintanilla himself is down from San Fransisco way.

"Yeah," Carter replies before he even looks up, finishing what he was entering with a few quick strokes of the keys, and then he glances up to see Gabriel there. "Quintanilla," he greets and then gives a nod. "Yep. Born and raised. And yet.. here we are." He glances around then grins. "I know why I'm here.. how'd you end up in Gray Harbor?"

Gabriel shrugs his shoulders at the question. "I dunno. Needed a job after I got my Criminal Justice degree at U-C-S-F?" He perches on the edge of the desk. "Couple years on patrol here, and then over to there." He gestures at the detectives' bullpen. "You headed back for Thanksgiving?" This looks like it might be a little small talk before he asks for a favor, but it is interested small talk nonetheless.

Carter swivels in his chair so that he's facing Gabriel, leaning back in it comfortably, seeming comfortable with the small talk for the time being, and an excuse to stop staring at the screen for a few moments. He fiddles with a pen between his fingers. He shakes his head when asked if he's heading back for Thanksgiving. "Only family I've got is here. It's just me and my sister Claire. You?"

"Mom and Dad and the siblings are all still in the Bay Area, but with this Kreuger double homicide," Gabriel shakes his head. "I've got to follow this until it goes down. Feels close, but." But it's not quite there yet. "Just going to hang out with some friends."

But then there's the ask. "Hey. You got some time coming up?" Wilkinson and I have to do a canvass for this body that turned up in the harbor. Try to find some beach usuals that might have seen anything, pull tape from local businesses on the boardwalk."

Carter nods his head and says, "Yeah, that one seems to be about as much of a mystery as the one I'm working on. I'm on that Rockstar guy that got his face bashed in down at Seaview Motel. The one that I went to the scene with Detective Morgan on. Can't even really figure out motive for the folks around at the time. It's weird." But then, everything in Gray Harbor is weird.

He says then, "I could help pulling the tape. I've already been through that with most of the business owners in that area from doing it for the other case. Can just reach back out and get more of the boardwalk. Just need to know what dates you want pulled."

"No shit?" asks Gabriel, when the Sea View is mentioned. "Not a good place to be. The Kreugers. Now your guy." But then again, Gray Harbor has more bodies than it really has any right to given its population. "But yeah. I'll pull the ME's report for you so we can get a rough time of death. Looks like my guy left Two If By Sea, got followed on the boardwalk, maybe jumped there, and then offed down on the beach."

"Yep," Carter says as he taps the cap of the pen against his lips. "Found the guy in his room, guitar buried in what was left of his face. Pretty grisly." He nods as he listens to Gabriel and then says, "So we definitely want everything from Two if by Sea over a bit past where he was found, just in case he was offed further down and drifted back, or was moved? Or was he offed where he was found?" He drags over a small pad and he scribbles out a note to himself.

"Yeah. That's the idea. You've got it." Gabriel nods in agreement with that assessment. "See? Knew the hungry rook would be all over this assignment." As opposed to the grizzled veterans who would want nothing more than have to help the damn detectives do a canvass. "Cool. I'll send you a text when we're going to head down there and start seeing if we can shake things loose."

Carter raises a brow and chuckles, "Don't know if I'd call myself hungry, but I want to help, and no reason to have somebody else start the legwork all over again when I've already just done some of it." Not everyone would likely feel that way, but Carter's pretty easygoing. "Thanks. Never know. Maybe I'll find something on my guy, too, while I'm down there. May as well try to kill two birds with one stone."

"What? No gunning for sergeant? Getting a detective's badge?" Gabriel goads on the rookie a little bit. "Just want to sit in that radio car and chase calls all your life?" But whatever it is, he seems to appreciate it. There's a flash of a grin. "Still. Appreciate you lending a hand so I don't need to twist some arms. How you settling in around here?"

"Nah," Carter says. "I'm not much of an investigator. I want to go K-9 at some point. I don't mind sitting in the car and chasing calls, really. But then, I'm still pretty new. Check back with me after a year or two and I'll probably be singing a different tune." He grins a little bit and then shrugs a shoulder when asked how he's settling in. "Alright. When Stevens isn't up my ass. Been so busy working on the house when I'm not working, haven't had much time for anything else."

"Yeah? You got a dog?" asks Gabriel, curious, when Carter shares his interest in going K-9 some day. He seems politely interested, folding his arms over his chest as they chat. He looks around. Nope. No one needs him. He can shoot the shit.

"Not yet, no. Gotta go through the training first," Carter says. "That'll be down the road a bit, yet." He doesn't seem in too much of a hurry. He's got a plan and he's got time. "What about you? You're a detective now. Gunning for Sergeant? Captain?"

"No. I mean. Like. You have a dog at home? You a dog person?" Gabriel laughs at the misunderstanding, but clarifies dutifully. "I would figure you are, if you want to be a K-9 officer someday."

"No, I don't have one at home yet. Claire and I were talking about it, but we're going to wait for a while for now," Carter says as he swivels a bit in his chair, finally putting the pen down that he'd been fiddling with. "But yeah, I'm definitely a dog person. Just need to get the back yard fixed up, fix the fence, all that stuff."

"Oh, nice. Where do you guys live?" Gabriel wonders. "I am over on Oak, myself. Like the backyard, for sure. Get out there and do some gardening and tree work." Quintanilla is into his lawn. Just ask any of the cops that have been around for a while.

"Oh, we're over on Spruce," Carter says, nodding in that general direction. "We kind of inherited our dad's place. It was kind of a mess, but we're putting it back together slowly." He grins a bit and says, "Yeah? I'm not much of a gardener and our back yard is kind of tiny, but it's pretty overgrown."

"Yeah? No kidding? Well, let me come over some time with my walking mower. I'll get it in order for you." Yes, Gabriel is imposing himself on Carter. No, he didn't really ask for permission. "It'll be fun!" Fun? Okay. But then someone is shouting at him across the bullpen, and the detective has to take it. "Thanks for your help, man."