Rocking R Bar

She sits in front of Seargent Hayes, under the desk she is clenching her feet inside of her shoes. The only way she can release the strong feelings she is experiencing, while he goes on and on about how she 'messed up his files'. She keeps all emotion off her face and gives the appearance of complete attention while in her brain she is fuming with anger at the man who treats women like they are less. Less, hmm exactly what these files are. Less impressive, less investigative, and less complete. She has successfully drowned him out while inside her inner voice is going over the information, she was able to glean from the incomplete files.

"And furthermore, if I ask you to call down to evidence to make sure everything is entered and correctly tagged. I expect you to make a note in that file, saying that you did exactly that. When I ask you to double check files, I do not want the order of the paperwork inside those files to be messed with. You may think you are 'organizing' things, but you are fucking up my very careful way of putting them in there. It helps me to recall my order, the way I got them. Stop 'fixing' everything and just do what is asked of you. When, and if I have detective work for you, I expect you to be the ride along. You are not the lead. You have no real experience and I expect you to learn from whomever I send you with. Am I making myself clear?" His face was almost purple. It made her smile inside.

"Anderson missed a bunch of obvious evidence at the Howards farm. I only grabbed what he missed. I asked the scene photographer to make sure that those items had pictures that were also taken. We would not have had all that we would need to close that case if I hadn't." Terry calmly replied.

"Anderson was going to get those; you didn't give him the opportunity to complete the job at hand. You need to learn to step back and let the experienced detectives do their job. You watch and learn. That's it." A fresh new vein was showing itself across his forehead.

It was obvious to Terry that these men were going to cover for each other. Anderson was sloppy, inattentive and was not even close to getting all the evidence that was there at the crime scene. Everyone was wrapping up when Terry noticed the shells under the brush 10 feet from the scene. Anderson thanked her at the time, but it seemed like a different story was being told to the Sergeant. What happened to accountability and professionalism? Crimes were being committed with no easily determined suspects due to the sloppy investigative work done by some at this precinct. If she hadn't found those shell casings there would not have been any ballistics to connect the murder weapon to the perp.

Terry made a mental note to keep her own records until it was necessary to share the additional evidence that she would gather. Getting the perp was more important than office politics.
For missing person # 2, Sandra Jean Jesperson, Terry was going to have to be more undercover than before. She planned on hitting the Rocking R Bar later in the evening so she can gather more intel on her co-workers.

At the end of the day Terry overheard the Sargeant talking to a beat cop.

"She had better concentrate more on her make up and less on crime scene work. If it came down to a crunch, could she actually chase down a perp? What if she was needed out there? Can you count on her to protect anyone? She needs to keep it on her desk or take notes at a crime scene and let the real police work be done by the men around here."

Terry knew he was an incompetent controlling bastard, but now she really knew what was going on. Should she seek out the captain or try to figure this out on her own. She had always taken care of herself in the past and she would do so again. Good police work is always the best evidence of a competent detective. She would continue her current path until she had to deliver the case evidence.

Later that evening, Terry actually did what she overheard him say. She put on some make up and headed out to the Rocking R Bar. She was going to flex her detective skills and poke around for some information from the patrons and other staff at the bar. Terry's wardrobe and make up were limited as she rarely had occasion to use them and dress up, preferring the function of clothing over fashion. But she did, on rare occasions, have a need for more casual dress.

Tonight, she is wearing a deep red blouse with just enough of a Vee to offer a hint of cleavage, snug denim jeans and cowboy boots. She curled her hair and wore matching red lipstick. She was almost unrecognizable. But she was still Terry, so she had a small Kimbo Micro 9 in her ankle holster. You never know.

She walked into the bar and took a seat in front of the bartender, a pretty blonde.

"whatcha drinkin sweetie?" The blonde asked.

"Long Island iced tea, tall glass and only a little ice" She responded.

"Single or double in that tea?"

"Single, I have got to drive home later, thanks."

The bar wasn't overly full, and the country music wasn't so loud that conversation couldn't be heard. Soon enough the bartender wasn't tied up making drinks and Terry waved her over.

"How long have you worked here?" Terry asks her.

"About 3 years now, I guess. Why?"

"I had a distant cousin who used to work here, and she disappeared a while a
go. I was wondering if you knew her?" Terry tried to keep it light and noncommittal.

"What cousin is that?" asks the bartender.

"Sandra Jesperson." Terry replies and then adds, "Sorry, I'm Terry, what's your name?"
"My name is Marlene. Most of my friends call me Mars. I don't think I've seen you in here before." She looks at Terry quizzically, almost suspiciously.

"You're right. I just came by looking for some information about my cousin. Were you working the night she disappeared?"

"I was. She never mentioned any cousin to any of us here, that I know of."

"Well Sandy wasn't always proud of this side of the family. But we loved her despite the distance between us." Terry thought quickly.

"Ah I see." Mars was trusting more. "It was around 11:30 or so. She said she was going to the bathroom. She took her purse 'cause you know, lady time. And she never came back. The boss asked me to check on her and I went into the bathroom, but she wasn't in any stall. I called for her but, nothing. So, I just figured she left early and didn't tell anyone. It wasn't until my next shift that I even knew she was missing."

"Did she leave anything behind?" Terry was examining Mars closely for any signs of deception and saw none.

"Uhm, just her sweater. But she did that a lot." Mars offered.

"Oh, any way I can have her sweater?" Terry asked while thinking that her department had a bad habit of not gathering evidence that seemed rudimentary to her.

"I don't know if I should. I don't want any flack from anyone."

"Please, it's all I would have left of my cousin." Terry gave her a look that she hoped looked both sad and desperate.

"Uhm, yeah, ok just give a minute to fix these guys their drinks and I'll go in back and get it for you." Mars replied.

Soon enough, an attractive, man sat beside Terry and gave her the once over with his eyes.
"I haven't seen you in here before, this your first time in here?" He asked her.

Terry, not wanting to lose her 'character' replied. "Yes, it is, do you come here often?" She gave him a quick glance; it was enough for her to size him up.

"All the time. I'm a regular here."

At this time Mars returned with a blue cardigan sweater and passed it over the bar to Terry while at the same time saying to the new patron, "Hey Joe, are you bothering this lady?"

"Hey Mars, nah, never I'm just admiring the scenery." He turned and winked at Terry who pretended not to notice.

"So, you must have known Sandra then." Terry asked him, taking advantage of the situation.
"Sure, everyone new Sandra. She was a great waitress and friendly to everyone. Why, did you know her?"

"She is my cousin on my dad's side." Terry noticed his face took a slight red tinge and what looked like a hint of guilt quickly ran across his face.

He looked at his beer and then smiled when he turned to look at her. "I guess all the pretty girls in this bar must be related then."

"Wow, thank you. You didn't even skip a beat delivering that line. You must be a pro." Terry said teasingly.

"Ah well, you caught me. I don't mean any harm." Guilt again flitted across his features.

"If you are a regular, were you here the night my cousin went missing?" Terry asked, now paying close attention to his inflections.

"Yea, I was, but I left before she did. Isn't that right Mars?" He seemed to be reaching, grasping for someone to back him up.

Mars was pouring a beer for a customer and didn't hear the question. She came back to the end of the bar with a quizzical look on her face.

"I was just telling this pretty lady here that I left early the night that Sandra went missing. You remember, don't you?" He asked.

"Yea, Joe, that's right. A bit unusual for you. Most days you're here until we turn the lights up." Mars was teasing and she offered a light punch to his left shoulder.

Terry turned towards Joe, offering a pretty smile and asked, "Joe, is it? Joe....?" Her leading question asking for a last name.

He responded to her look of flirtation and offered, "Joe Garrison. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Can I buy your next drink......?" He was fishing for her name.

She smiles at him and says, "Terry, Terry Smith." She offered a version of her name. "Listen, Joe. I enjoyed our little conversation, but I must get going. Can I get your number?" She lightly tilts her head at him.

Joe thought he was so lucky to get this girls' attention and he doesn't hesitate to offer up his phone number. She enters it into her cell and says to him, "Joe it's been a pleasure, I'll give you a call sometime soon, ok?"

Terry waves at Mars again, to pay her tab but Joe wasn't having anything of that. "It's on me, sweetie. You make sure you call me, ok? I'll be waiting."

Oh, she would be calling him. She had a lot of questions to ask him, and more to ask of Mars too. For now she was anxious to get out of the bar and take a closer look at Sandra's sweater..