Non-challenge: A Policeman's Tale (Day 20)
Title: A Policeman's Tale (Day 20)
Author: ytak
Word count: 1009
Rating (chapter): K+ (PG)
Rating (whole story): T (PG-13)
Comments: 1/3 of the way through!
Day 20
Sunlight streamed through a crack in the blinds and right into Takagi's eyes. He groaned and rolled over. Opening one eye, he could see the time was just before 10 am. It was too early to get up. He snuggled under the sheets and tried to drift back off.
A few minutes later he sat up, knowing he was not going to go back to sleep anytime soon. The realm of sleep eluded him. The four or so hours of sleep since he got back from work left him feeling just rested enough not to go back to sleep but not enough time to feel restored. He staggered into the kitchen, hoping that he could catch a nap in the afternoon. If the nap did not work out, it was going to be a very long and miserable day. That was not the way he wanted to spend his day off. Especially since he was trying to shift his internal clock back to day shift.
Stupid scheduling does this when too many people take time off during night shift. He recalled hearing the same complaint from the night shift officers. That and the amount of work the day shift held. Which is why they are on night shift, he thought. There were a few really good detectives on the night shift but too many were the lazy kind.
Takagi knew he was not the only one to dislike the occasional night shift. The night shifts messed up the internal clock. The day off following a couple of days on the night shift simply made it worse.
A strong cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal later, Takagi felt like he could actually take on the day... for a few hours anyway. Wearily, he flipped through the newspaper and landed on an article about the Uchida murder. He was not surprised to see that there was a call for any information.
He reflected back on the interview. The guy actually was a pretty decent fellow. Still, there had been no telling what might have happened.
He eyed the case file sitting on the table. Takagi wondered if the man simply died in a botched robbery attempt. Maybe the robber had been scared by how fast Uchida bled out? Too scared to take anything? It's a possibility, he thought, digging his notebook out from the pile and scribbling the thought down before he forgot.
For a few minutes more, he plied the paper before dragging himself out of the chair and to his bedroom.
Cautiously, he eyed the sizable laundry pile next to the small bathroom. It was beginning to smell ripe and he thought he saw it move for a moment. Laughing at himself, he sorted the clothes into two pile, one for dry cleaning, the other for the laundromat.
He froze when he recognized the smell coming from one suit and a shirt. He skipped into the bathroom and stayed close to the toilet a few minutes until the nausea passed. No wonder everyone at the bullpen had stayed away from them when they came back from Ogura's apartment.
It brought back memories not of Ogura's case but of the first murder victim he ever saw. That one had been bad, too. The eviscerated corpse had been found days after death. Which was why Takagi completely sympathized with Tsutsumi and his reaction.
Reluctantly, he returned to sorting the laundry, making a point to put the offending articles in a plastic bag. Perhaps the laundromat could save them? He could not really afford to buy another suit any time soon.
Even with the clothing in the sack, he swore he could still smell them. The smell might now only be a memory of that day but it brought back another memory, the memory of the first case he was assigned to. That body had also been badly decomposed and the officer in charge had been sympathetic when Takagi clearly was going to be ill and sent him to another room to recover.
What he learned at the Academy and from the experienced officers was that a person never forgot the first case. And that sometimes it would only take one thing to bring that case back to the forefront of the mind.
“Get your mind back on track!” he snapped to himself, shaking his head. His energies focused back on sorting the laundy.
As he threw a jacket into the 'dry clean' pile, something fell out of one of the pockets and fluttered through the air to land under the bed. Takagi growled a little and kneeled down, reaching under. After he came up with a handful of dust bunnies, he decided to take a look before he felt around.
He cringed at the sight under the bed. It was a dust bunny breeding ground. H squinted. What is that? he wondered. Bravely, he reached under and pulled out something. A moment passed before he could identify that he was now holding a pair of dust covered socks. How did those end up there?
He threw the socks into the 'to be washed' pile. Even if he had not worn them, there was no way he was going to wear a pair of fuzzy socks.
It took him a few more moments to locate what fell under the bed. He pulled it out and wiped it off. It was the wedding photo. Takagi stared at it, trying to figure out how it got into his clothes.
The memory of a tired day flashed through his mind and he remembered. It had fallen off of Miwako's desk when he bumped into it and he had put it into his pocket rather than leave it in the open on her desk.
A grin lit his face as he looked at it. I still need to return it to her. Hey! I have an idea. I'll get a copy made for myself! “That'll be easy enough to do while everything is getting cleaned,” he said, finishing the sorting with an easy heart.
Author: ytak
Word count: 1009
Rating (chapter): K+ (PG)
Rating (whole story): T (PG-13)
Comments: 1/3 of the way through!
Day 20
Sunlight streamed through a crack in the blinds and right into Takagi's eyes. He groaned and rolled over. Opening one eye, he could see the time was just before 10 am. It was too early to get up. He snuggled under the sheets and tried to drift back off.
A few minutes later he sat up, knowing he was not going to go back to sleep anytime soon. The realm of sleep eluded him. The four or so hours of sleep since he got back from work left him feeling just rested enough not to go back to sleep but not enough time to feel restored. He staggered into the kitchen, hoping that he could catch a nap in the afternoon. If the nap did not work out, it was going to be a very long and miserable day. That was not the way he wanted to spend his day off. Especially since he was trying to shift his internal clock back to day shift.
Stupid scheduling does this when too many people take time off during night shift. He recalled hearing the same complaint from the night shift officers. That and the amount of work the day shift held. Which is why they are on night shift, he thought. There were a few really good detectives on the night shift but too many were the lazy kind.
Takagi knew he was not the only one to dislike the occasional night shift. The night shifts messed up the internal clock. The day off following a couple of days on the night shift simply made it worse.
A strong cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal later, Takagi felt like he could actually take on the day... for a few hours anyway. Wearily, he flipped through the newspaper and landed on an article about the Uchida murder. He was not surprised to see that there was a call for any information.
He reflected back on the interview. The guy actually was a pretty decent fellow. Still, there had been no telling what might have happened.
He eyed the case file sitting on the table. Takagi wondered if the man simply died in a botched robbery attempt. Maybe the robber had been scared by how fast Uchida bled out? Too scared to take anything? It's a possibility, he thought, digging his notebook out from the pile and scribbling the thought down before he forgot.
For a few minutes more, he plied the paper before dragging himself out of the chair and to his bedroom.
Cautiously, he eyed the sizable laundry pile next to the small bathroom. It was beginning to smell ripe and he thought he saw it move for a moment. Laughing at himself, he sorted the clothes into two pile, one for dry cleaning, the other for the laundromat.
He froze when he recognized the smell coming from one suit and a shirt. He skipped into the bathroom and stayed close to the toilet a few minutes until the nausea passed. No wonder everyone at the bullpen had stayed away from them when they came back from Ogura's apartment.
It brought back memories not of Ogura's case but of the first murder victim he ever saw. That one had been bad, too. The eviscerated corpse had been found days after death. Which was why Takagi completely sympathized with Tsutsumi and his reaction.
Reluctantly, he returned to sorting the laundry, making a point to put the offending articles in a plastic bag. Perhaps the laundromat could save them? He could not really afford to buy another suit any time soon.
Even with the clothing in the sack, he swore he could still smell them. The smell might now only be a memory of that day but it brought back another memory, the memory of the first case he was assigned to. That body had also been badly decomposed and the officer in charge had been sympathetic when Takagi clearly was going to be ill and sent him to another room to recover.
What he learned at the Academy and from the experienced officers was that a person never forgot the first case. And that sometimes it would only take one thing to bring that case back to the forefront of the mind.
“Get your mind back on track!” he snapped to himself, shaking his head. His energies focused back on sorting the laundy.
As he threw a jacket into the 'dry clean' pile, something fell out of one of the pockets and fluttered through the air to land under the bed. Takagi growled a little and kneeled down, reaching under. After he came up with a handful of dust bunnies, he decided to take a look before he felt around.
He cringed at the sight under the bed. It was a dust bunny breeding ground. H squinted. What is that? he wondered. Bravely, he reached under and pulled out something. A moment passed before he could identify that he was now holding a pair of dust covered socks. How did those end up there?
He threw the socks into the 'to be washed' pile. Even if he had not worn them, there was no way he was going to wear a pair of fuzzy socks.
It took him a few more moments to locate what fell under the bed. He pulled it out and wiped it off. It was the wedding photo. Takagi stared at it, trying to figure out how it got into his clothes.
The memory of a tired day flashed through his mind and he remembered. It had fallen off of Miwako's desk when he bumped into it and he had put it into his pocket rather than leave it in the open on her desk.
A grin lit his face as he looked at it. I still need to return it to her. Hey! I have an idea. I'll get a copy made for myself! “That'll be easy enough to do while everything is getting cleaned,” he said, finishing the sorting with an easy heart.