17 Case 17 - Start of a month in New York

AN: Finished 2 chapters today because I got into a rhythm, so I'm releasing a bonus chapter today. Next one is Sunday like I originally planned for this to be released.

-----

Ben stood at the airport with Phil and Haley. At the end of the first week of January, Ben's four-week work trip to New York that the commissioner of the LAPD had arranged for him would start.

"I wish I could go with you," Haley whined with a pout as she held Ben's hand.

"Yeah, if only you had saved up some money instead of going shopping so you aren't freeloading off of your already generous boyfriend," Phil chided with a pleased grin.

[Phil Dunphy commentary scene change]

"I was this close to paying for the tickets myself. I was this close to buying the tickets for myself," Phil pointed out as he held his hand up to the camera to show his thumb and index finger almost touching. "But Claire put her foot down and argued that Haley needed to be more responsible instead of smooching off of her perfect boyfriend all the time. And I can't justify hanging out with Ben for so long all alone..."

He shook his head and countered, "We want her to end up with him, no? Why is Claire throwing a wrench in that plan and pull them apart for a month? Ben is busy as is and goes on too little dates with Haley!"

[Commentary change: Claire Dunphy]

"I bet Phil complained that I shouldn't have stopped Haley from following Ben to New York for a month, right? Well, of course he would. He's eager to hand over his firstborn to his newest best friend after all!"

Claire pursed her lips and ranted, "Of course I want her to get hitched onto that good-looking wagon myself! Ben is the perfect son-in-law! But, and I say this with all the love in the world: Haley isn't perfect! And I don't want my baby to get her heart broken when she eventually notices she isn't good enough or when she tries too hard all at once to change for the better and get burned out..."

Claire looked down for a while, her face slowly turning more and more sad, "There's too much potential for heartbreak here, no matter how much I love the idea of Ben ending up with my daughter. Some time to work on herself in peace might be what she needs... and I'm taking the family up to New York for a weekend as a surprise anyway," Claire continued and ended the last sentence with a cocky smirk.

[Commentary ended]

"Haley, come. We can't get past security without a ticket, and Ben's terminal was called for boarding," Phil gently reminded and pried his daughter out of Ben's arms.

"I'll call you every day," Haley whispered into Ben's ear and gave him a last quick kiss.

Then, Phil stepped forward and hugged Ben for half a minute until his daughter coughed into her hand.

"I'll visit your little girl as often as I can in your stead," Phil whispered into Ben's ear, and Ben started laughing.

He really liked the Dunphy family for their antics.

"See you guys," Ben waved off and walked to boarding.

-----

When Ben finally landed at the JFK airport in Queens, New York, he was greeted by a tall, buff man holding up a card with his last name on it.

"Hey, are you Detective Ben Weiss from LA?"

Ben nodded, stepped closer, and offered the man a handshake, "I am indeed. May I know your name?"

"Sergeant Terry Jeffords. Captain Holt asked me to pick you up," Terry greeted warmly.

"And he sends a Sergeant to pick me up? I didn't know I was that important," Ben quipped while grinning.

"Uhhh, I wouldn't know. Jake was supposed to pick you up originally, but he and Charles are in the hospital after getting frostbite on a stake-out. I mean Detectives Peralta and Boyle."

"Oh my, I hope it isn't bad. But, I mean, I could have taken a cab?"

"They'll be fine. And no offense, but that was my point as well. Captain Holt was rather insistent, though."

The two started moving to the doors, and Ben started shivering immediately.

"Wow, guess my first stop after the precinct is me getting a wool coat, thicker gloves, and a cozy hat," Ben said while shivering.

"I was wondering about that," Terry expressed as he looked Ben up and down.

"In my defense, I stepped into the plane in 50°F (10°C) weather and I don't own anything warmer," Ben countered with a grin that only held because the two found Terry's minivan. "Two layers of hoodies and a warm windbreaker is the best I could do."

"You're in Brooklyn for four weeks, right? Can I ask about your accommodation? Hotel room? AirBnB?"

"Air BnB in Brooklyn Heights. Though, maybe I should have gotten a place further inland?" Ben pondered out loud.

-----

After getting stuck in traffic for a good hour thanks to the terrible weather condition, Ben entered the 99th precinct together with the Sergeant.

"Detective Weiss," Captain Holt greeted on the floor where the detectives worked. "Welcome to New York. Chief Williams already filed all the necessary paperwork. You merely need to sign a few things to finalize the deputization process to allow your police work to be lawfully recognized as the work of an officer of the NYPD."

"I appreciate it. And, I appreciate you allowing me to shadow your detectives for a month. The chief only spoke of you with the highest of praises," Ben acknowledged with a smile. "I'm eager to learn from your instincts and those you imparted on your team."

"Williams and I did come up as detectives in the same precinct before he moved to LA. As a man who was married to a woman of color and a man who was not openly homophobic, Williams was one of the few truly pleasant colleagues at that time," Holt explained. "And from what I gathered on your work on the undercover case, it would be remiss of me not to reciprocate when Williams reached out."

"Plus, you're not getting paid by the NYPD, so we didn't really have a reason to refuse," Terry chimed in, but his cheerful smile quickly wilted under Holt's unimpressed stare.

"Well, I'm happy to learn from the best. According to Chief Williams, the sergeant here and Detectives Peralta and Santiago have ludicrous solving and conviction rates that only improved since you took over as Captain of the precinct," Ben praised, yet Captain Holt barely reacted to it.

"They are among the better detectives that worked with or for me. They are no Montez or Dillman, of course," Holt brushed off. "In any case, there are no open homicide cases right now, but you may tag along Detective Santiago. She is working on a 2nd degree grand larceny case."

"Oooh, above $50k in loot?"

"Vintage baseball card collection insured for $180k," Holt supplied and praised, "Glad you are informed on the NY Penal Law §155.40."

"I read up a little on the plane. But phew, that's a pretty sum for baseball cards... I only just liquidated or rather bartered a few of them from my father's collection to get a Christmas present, and yet I have no idea why people would pay so much for them. Admittedly, nothing in my possession came close to 50 grand, let alone 150," Ben whistled at the price tag of the theft and then changed the subject. "Have you been informed about my planned absences?"

"Of course. I've been told you will assist three LAPD SWAT officers for the Grammy Award ceremony in the week leading up to it?" Holt inquired with a barely noticeable curious inflection in his voice.

"Yes, Sergeant Harrelson, as well as Officers Luca and Alonso, will arrive on the 25th to advise on security, and I've been asked to assist. Other than that, I've been summoned to a deposition two days from now regarding a case opened by the cache of evidence I have provided during my time undercover," Ben listed as he opened his phone's calendar. "Ah yes, I'll also be unavailable next week Monday. The 12th. Uh, do you know Richard Castle?"

"The famous mystery novel writer," Holt answered succinctly. "He's been involved in many homicide cases here in New York."

"Famous novel writer turned PI, turned husband of the Captain of the 12th precinct. He was a friend of my father's according to him, and he asked me to meet him after my name appeared in the news," Ben thoughtfully added.

"Uhh, about that. Your news coverage coincided with the release of Jake and Rosa after doing two months in prison after a wrongful conviction. Rosa didn't mind much, but Jake, I mean Detective Peralta, is holding a bit of a grudge against you for that," Terry chimed in awkwardly.

"I read about that. Good work finding out that Lieutenant Hawkings was smuggling diamonds in the pigs. Can't believe she'd do something so outrageous after all the bank heists and burglaries she got away with for so long. I mean, it's diamonds. Put them in a thermos and go literally anywhere. Right? Why get pigs involved?"

"I have no opinion on whether she was smart in hiding the stolen goods," Holt countered and excused himself. He seemed a little uncomfortable with the topic, though his face and mannerism was a professional mask, and so Ben didn't catch it.

Sergeant Jeffords brought Ben over to Detective Santiago's desk, introduced them, and handed over a small stack of documents for Ben to sign.

"Tell me about the case and how you're approaching it," Ben asked as he flipped through the pages and signed them after briefly checking the details after the two became acquainted. "Uh, if you're okay with it."

"I don't mind at all," Amy Santiago rebuffed with a smile. "Actually, I already have a suspect in booking. Two of the cards appeared on eBay of all places."

"That's an easy solve then," Ben muttered as he looked to the holding cells with furrowed brows. "How did you know to check for it? Is there an algorithm or an application running that scans online platforms for stolen goods?"

Detective Santiago shrugged and explained how it worked with the NYPD, ending her explanation with, "Not all criminals are particularly smart. We end up finding most stolen goods online on cases like these. Fences are a dying breed since people think they can sell their loot themselves and skip the third-party-fee with Craigslist and eBay."

Ben let that sentiment stew for a moment and finished signing all the documents.

"So you have a timeline on the robbery?"

"Yes. The thief entered the home two days ago at 11:31pm, when the home owner was out at the movies. The alarm was triggered but intercepted before the company was alerted by the simple snapping of the power line. Real shoddy work from the security company. In any case. The police was called at 11:37pm when a neighbor heard a loud bang. A safe was blasted open with a home cooked explosive device and robbed of all its valuables. A golden watch and seven baseball cards including a Ty Cobb Cracker Jack card from 1915 valued at $150k according to the insurance."

"I have no idea what that means or who Ty Cobb Cracker Jack is... Have you recovered that six digit card?"

"Not yet," Detective Santiago admitted with a wry smile. "And apparently, it's a rare card from a Cracker Jack promotion during the first World War for baseball legend Ty Cobb... I had to look him up myself..."

"That's not good news. That you didn't find the card yet I mean," Ben muttered with a frown. "So what does the suspect have to say about it?"

"Nothing. He lawyered up, and we're currently waiting on said lawyer."

"May I watch the interrogation?"

Detective Santiago nodded and whispered under her breath, "Cool, cool, cool."

She didn't mind him watching but was still a little under pressure from getting her work evaluated by someone with so much experience - according to her anyway. What Ben went through was something Captain Holt had them read up on for this 'visit', after all. She completely missed that those five years getting experience didn't mean he was trained in professional police interrogations.

Once the lawyer showed up, Ben stood on the other side of a one-way mirror and watched the interrogation.

The suspect barely answered, except for admitting that he was given the cards in his possession as payment from a man who had owed him $4k and that he didn't know they were stolen.

"Well, uh, that didn't work out as planned, Detective Santiago?" Ben quietly asked as the interviewing detective stepped out of the interrogation room and into the backroom where Ben watched.

"Minor setback. We have a new lead," Santiago brushed off with a forced smile.

The two went to get the next suspect after the first one was released - though, without the stolen goods.

On the way, the two stopped over at a shop to buy Ben some warmer clothes.

"I feel kind of silly for doing this while you're on your way to catch a suspect," Ben said for the third time when they entered Santiago's car.

"It's freezing outside. I can't have you shiver while we arrest someone, Detective Weiss," the NYPD detective quipped.

"Call me Ben," the LAPD detective offered. "Can't have you going on a personal errand for or rather with me during a break and have you call me so impersonally."

"Call me Amy then."

"Alright, Amy. Since we're on a first name basis, let the personal questions begin. Sergeant Jeffords told me on the way you're engaged to Detective Peralta?"

"Yes, since Halloween. Jake made a whole thing of it during the Halloween Heist. It was really sweet."

"Halloween Heist?"

"Ah, that's something we do every year since Captain Holt took over the precinct," Amy explained but blushed fiercely. "It's really childish."

"I mean, our job is hard on the psyche. Unwinding once a year by goofing around sounds like a nice tradition. What's the objective of the heist?"

"Okay, so it started with Jake having to steal Captain Holt's Medal of Valor that the captain kept at his office in the precinct. Jake succeeded because we all helped, so the captain had to call Jake the Ultimate Detective/Genius and do Jake's paperwork. Then, Jake challenged Holt again the next year, and the objective was Captain Holt's watch. Jake was made to do a whole bunch of overtime for that when he eventually lost because we once more helped one of them. Jake declared the captain as the Best Police Captain/Genius. The year after that, I humiliated both of them and was crowned Queen of the 99 by outwitting both on so many levels that it was honestly a bit sad," Amy boasted but quickly grew flustered. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I've just been rambling on!"

"No worries, I enjoyed it all. Were there any other heists? What about the one where your fiance proposed?" Ben asked curiously while inwardly weighing the pros and cons of doing something similar with his friends back in LA.

"Yes. Gina won the year after and changed the title from Ultimate Detective/Genius to Ultimate Human/Genius. Don't let her hear it, but her win was pretty impressive... she led us all to believe we had the right plaque despite having them switched out to give us a message under UV light. Then, two months ago, Jake proposed to me by exchanging the target of the heist with a duplicate that read 'Amy Santiago, will you marry me?' It was right there on a cummerbund - or rather a wrestling championship belt. It might not sound like it, but when I turned around and saw him there on one knee... it was very romantic..."

Ben watched her sigh with a dreamy look and smiled. Amy and Jake seemed like good people.

"So you're currently leading with 2 wins since you got that 'cummerbund' in the proposal, or did Jake have the original after swapping it with the one he used to propose and was crowned champion?"

"Eh, who's counting?" Amy asked with a nonchalant grin, but still added, "I would count me as having two wins if I had to. I mean, I clearly had the object of the heist in my hand and got engaged, so..."

'Yeah, definitely good people,' Ben thought with a grin.

-----

With the second suspect in custody, things turned strange. The second suspect only had the watch left from the robbery and swore that he wasn't the one who broke into the home where the goods were stolen. He even provided an alibi that the two were quick to verify, which brought them back to the interrogation room with the second suspect.

"So you're telling me you were given those things by a guy named 'Pete'? Can you describe him?"

"Yes! Around 5'5, white, early forties, big scar on his forehead to the temple," the suspect described as he placed a finger to his head to show where the scar was supposed to be. "He has a buzz cut, I think black hair... uh, scruffy beard, smells like an ashtray? His eyes were a beautiful brown color that reminded me of-"

"Okay, I got it," Amy interrupted with a wry smile, though there were worry lines forming on her face. "Give me a second."

Amy stood up to get something, so Ben remained with the suspect.

"Why did he give you those valuables?" Ben idly asked since the man still hadn't said how this Pete decided to offload the items on this suspect.

"Um, to pay for... something...?"

Ben looked to the back and leaned forward after seeing the camera wasn't on.

"It's weed, isn't it?"

The suspect nodded after a brief inward struggle.

"Do you deal something other than weed?"

The suspect hurriedly shook his head.

"Okay. Tell Detective Santiago that he owed you for medical bills after a bar fight or something if she asks. And don't deal to kids and don't deal the harder stuff. Meth and all that shit is nasty. Weed just makes you hungry. If you're not operating vehicles or need full concentration for a dangerous job, I couldn't care less about it. Alcohol is much worse," Ben explained with a casual shrug.

Before the suspect could start a conversation on the wonders and 'health benefits' of weed after finding a 'cool cop', Amy got back and put a picture on the table.

"Is this the guy?"

"Yes, that's him! That's Pete!" The suspect immediately pointed out.

The picture showed a man exactly as described with the same scar the dealer pointed out.

"Alright. Thank you. Please write on the back of this picture that you identified the man as the one who gave you the items and sign it. You won't get the watch back since I'll need it as evidence... but at least I'm not hooking you up for being a dealer."

The man's eyes widened comically. He looked to Ben, then back to Amy, and quickly got to work. Once he was done with his tale, he signed the picture and practically ran out without asking for the watch back.

"That was nice. So who is he?" Ben asked curiously as he regarded the picture.

"That is Jack Peterson. The homeowner of the burgled house," Amy explained with a fed-up expression.

"Ooohh, insurance fraud, false police report, obstruction of justice... man, that guy is not very smart handing out those items like candy to people who can easily identify him. He didn't even leave Brooklyn to do it... I wonder what he did with the big ticket item, though. I bet he gave it to a co-worker to put it up at an underground auction or something equally ridiculous," Ben wondered while shaking his head lightly.

"Yep. Also, please don't tell people we aren't going to arrest them for dealing weed," Amy advised as she looked at Ben curiously.

"Sorry. If we'd stop everybody with weed in their pockets in LA, we'd do nothing else..."

"No, it's okay. I get where you're coming from. If you're in the field, I don't care either. But doing so in an interrogation room in a police precinct is a little..." Amy explained and nudged her head to the mirror.

'Oh. So she wasn't the only one who heard it?' Ben thought with a sheepish grin.

"I'll take note of it. But I'm rather big on the spirit of the law over the letter of the law," Ben explained in a low voice as he stepped outside with Amy and walked over to her desk. Nobody stepped out of the second room next to the interrogation room to chastise Ben, so he wasn't sure who heard him talk to the dealer after all.

"Alright, so we'll bring in Jack? Or do you want to play it differently and ask him back to the precinct under the guise of giving him back the stolen goods?"

"Nope, I'll have unis pick him up under the pretense of a final signature we need at the precinct. If I call to tell him we have his items, he might try to flee or get wise and destroy some evidence or something," Amy explained patiently.

"Alright, no playing around with theatrical pretenses to lure someone into coming to us. Makes sense, this isn't a movie," Ben noted with a lighthearted tone and patted Amy on the shoulder. "By the way. Since the dealer apparently owed the first suspect four grand... do you think he's a supplier or something? Will you inform Narcotics to check the guy? He did lawyer-up really quickly to cover all his bases..."

"YOU! Step away from my wife!" Someone suddenly shouted as the two made their way into bullpen.

"Who's your wife, Jake!?" Amy countered with a flustered look after every eye was on Amy and Ben after Jake's outburst.

She still shoved Ben away and took a step to the side as if she had done something wrong.

"Uh, hi? I'm Ben?" The LAPD detective unsurely greeted the room full of people as they all looked at him after crashing into the wall thanks to Amy's shove.

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