Jimmy had stayed in the police station all night out of boredom, as he didn't have to go on duty, he didn't even change out of his uniform, just tucked his revolver in its underarm holster and meandered around the station.
Although Jimmy was no stranger to slacking off at the station, the situation now was different from his usual loafing, after walking two laps, he began to grow irritable. He went to the equipment room, requested a pair of binoculars, climbed up to the rooftop, and started scanning the blocks surrounding the station headquarters.
Jimmy surveyed block by block, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary, his lack of basic training became glaringly obvious, he had no idea how to identify anything suspicious, Jimmy was filled with regret, he should have learned a thing or two back when he was doing inspections in the suburbs with the USSS agents, but at the time, he had been blissfully unaware, squandering the opportunity.
Now that he needed to find something out of place, he was completely lacking focus.
Jimmy reluctantly called Detectives Chris and Neil again, and after getting confirmation that there really wasn't any new information, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
Jimmy went downstairs and headed for James's office.
James: "Jimmy, any news?"
Jimmy: "No, James, I just can't stay in the station any longer, it's been 2 days, and there's absolutely no news."
James: "Wait a bit longer, you won't get news so quickly; it's hard to find a person who's hiding."
Jimmy: "That's why I think fishing might be better, I am the best bait."
James: "NO, that's too risky. You need to stay calm and wait a little longer, trust in the LRPD guys."
Jimmy wanted to say something else, but James simply waved his hand, indicating for him to leave.
Without a choice, Jimmy could only continue to idle in the station, leaving everything else to his colleagues at the LRPD.
LRPD's Chris was not idle either—he had quite a few cases to handle, but now he focused his attention on a case near Jimmy's apartment. It was killing two birds with one stone, taking the chance to look around and see if there were any unexpected gains.
Chris drove to the block near Jimmy's apartment where there had been a burglary, similar to the one near Jimmy's place except that instead of a lock being broken, glass on the door had been shattered. A neighbor passing by had discovered the broken glass and reported the crime.
The patrol officers arrived to inspect the surrounding area and the room but found no one else, normally, such a case wouldn't necessitate a detective's presence, but since it was very close to Jimmy's apartment, by association, Chris still needed to make the run.
The homeowner had already been contacted by the dispatch center and was out of town, unable to return quickly, so Chris could only do a rough inspection and wait for the owner to confirm what was missing upon return.
Chris examined the house and saw that even though it wasn't extremely disheveled, it was clear some items were missing: clothes. Other parts of the house seemed normal, somewhat disorganized, but didn't appear to have lost anything, however, the wardrobe was in a mess, the women's clothing barely touched, but the men's clothing was scattered all over the floor.
That was the limitation of the times: basically, no one installed surveillance in their homes, Chris was without recourse, simply documenting the case and departing the scene.
Chris called Jimmy from the car, the theft case could mean that Massi had obtained enough disguises.
As for food and shelter, they were too simple to secure nowadays, a phone call for delivery and an empty house were all that was needed, and such houses were not hard to find.
So Massi was probably planning a long-term stay underground, this was not a good sign for Jimmy.
If this were back home, with organizations like neighborhood committees, the comings and goings of the community would be clear thanks to the old men and women. But in foreign countries, especially in cities, it was difficult.
On the third day of Jimmy idly sitting in the station, a piece of good news arrived. Neil, a detective from Jacksonville, had received an address through an informant. Jimmy called to inform Chris.
Half an hour later, Chris called to notify Jimmy, Massi had been caught, it was an incredibly smooth arrest.
When Jimmy received the call from Chris, he let out a loud cheer, having been in the states for two years, he was fully assimilated, even learning the enthusiastic way Americans celebrated.
Jimmy hurried to Chief James's office.
Jimmy: "Hey, James, LRPD caught Massi, I'm safe now."
James: "When did they catch him?"
Jimmy: "Just now, Chris called me, I'm planning to head to the LRPD right away."
James: "Go on, then, wrap this case up."
Jimmy left without even putting on his uniform, just headed out in his civilian clothes.
Jimmy drove to the LRPD station, Chris was still processing the scene, and Jimmy seemed too anxious. He waited for half an hour at the station before Chris finally returned with Massi in custody.
Chris, seeing Jimmy, handed Massi off to other officers to be booked and went straight towards Jimmy.
Chris: "Hey, Jimmy, you're free now."
Jimmy: "Ah, thank you, Chris, you guys did great. So? Did you find my gun?"
Chris: "Sorry, Jimmy, there were no weapons found with Massi at the safe house. The questioning will begin soon; will you wait?"
Jimmy: "Can I sit in?"
Chris: "NONO, that would be against regulation. Just sit tight here and wait, it won't be long."
After saying this, Chris went to the police station's interrogation room. Jimmy could only get himself a cup of coffee from the break room and wait patiently.
After a while, Chris returned.
Chris: "Jimmy, sorry, Massi admitted to breaking into your place and stealing your guns, but unfortunately, he's already sold them, both of them."
Chris looked at Jimmy and shook his head, "Jimmy, you didn't tell me you lost two guns."
Jimmy glanced around, gestured for Chris to come closer, and whispered, "Yeah, one of them was a collector's item, a souvenir from when I worked a case with the Federation detectives, with a silencer and the original box, in mint condition, I really liked it."
Chris: "Jimmy, you've really given me a challenge. Head back now, I'll handle this."
Jimmy: "Thanks, is there any way to find out who he sold them to?"
Chris: "NO, black-market transactions, you know."
Jimmy: "OK, then I'll take off, keep on with it, thanks again, Chris."
Jimmy finished his coffee, tossed the paper cup into the trash bin, and left the police station building. Jimmy got to the parking lot and drove back to the county police headquarters.
Jimmy had just left the parking lot when crossing the first intersection, a shot rang out, and a small hole appeared in the passenger side window of Jimmy's car. In a flash, he realized what was happening, grabbed the steering wheel tightly with both hands, slid down in his seat while slamming on the gas pedal, and shot forward.