Chapter Seven
Katy’s fears about the evening were unfounded. She should have known that her friends had far too much class to embarrass her in front of Todd. What could have been an evening of torturous tribunal grilling for Todd turned out to be an evening spent with casual conversation over a game of cards. They had decided on cards as their primary form of entertainment for the evening. They spent the evening playing such games as Bull, Beanhead, and Seven-up. They were relatively simple games with simple rules, but strategy could make them quite complex, depending on your opponents’ skill level. They also provided a nice background for chatting, without much money being on the line. They played a penny a point.
Katy found that she learned more information about Todd in this evening than she had learned on their previous two dates. It was pleasant, and took the pressure off of her. Instead of having to ask him specific questions about himself (and attempting to do so without seeming forced), Katy could just follow, and join in, the flow of the conversation. She learned quite a few details that she would never have expected. She learned that Todd was from Wisconsin
The conversation flowed so smoothly that it seemed as though Todd was not bothered by the situation. It would be common for any man in the same situation to feel as though a panel was interviewing him. Either Todd didn’t notice, or he didn’t care. He exhibited a level of comfort in the group that Katy found refreshing. There was no hint of defensiveness or of nervousness. Katy chalked it up to two things. The first was that he was comfortable around women, as he had several sisters. The second was that he had a strong sense of self, and lacked the kind of self-consciousness that most people tended to exhibit on dates.
“So, what do you do?” Jasmine asked, in a characteristically blunt tone.
“I’m a detective,” Todd replied, without so much as a hint of offense.
Claudette laughed, “So, you’re a private dick, eh?”
Todd blushed at the bawdiness of her tone, “Actually, I’m a public dick.”
Lindsey jumped on the statement with her usual quick wit, “Eww, gross. So does that mean that you’re one of those guys that exposes himself to women on the subway?”
The group laughed, including Todd. He seemed to uniquely understand that the humor of the group was designed to include him. This was a fact that many men seemed to miss. He responded without shyness, “I’m afraid not. What it means is that I am a cop.”
The thought of being the significant other to a police officer embodied different things to different women. For many women, there was that whole man in uniform thing. It was a turn on, or maybe it was a sign of an alpha male personality. For these women, dating a cop was a goal, an aspiration, or just a lucky break. For other women, dating or marrying a police officer was a source of stress. It was the worry about your man being in danger every time he went to work. Even more, you had to worry about your man being in danger every time he left the house. It was typical that many cops never felt themselves off duty, and that they would offer their assistance at any crime where they were on the scene. This meant that their loved ones often sat at home and wondered if their lover was coming home at the end of the evening. For the former, they loved their men for the fact that they were cops; for the latter, they loved their men in spite of that fact.
For Katy, neither scenario was true. She liked Todd long before she knew what he had done for a living. His career choice did little to diminish her feelings. She was not turned on by the uniform, or off by the danger. Katy felt a high level of respect for anyone who served society, particularly those who were willing to put themselves in jeopardy to do so. She had always been intrigued by criminology as a whole, specifically by the application of forensic science to the process of solving crimes. She often read crime novels, either fictional or true crime. Her interest in forensics seemed one more thing that they would have in common.
The discussion sped up greatly after that revelation. All four of the girls had different opinions about dating a cop. For Lindsey, the danger was a huge turn off. For Claudette, the danger was a huge turn on. For Jasmine, the uniform was a huge turn on, but the salary was a huge turn off. The knowledge that Todd was a cop led him into the receiving end of an interrogation.
“Why did you become a cop?” Jasmine asked.
“My father wanted me to be a doctor. I just didn’t enjoy the pre-med course work.” Todd seemed very comfortable with being questioned. Katy guessed that he had answered these same questions at home for his own family. “So I searched around for a major that I would find more appealing.”
Claudette seemed perplexed, “But you don’t need a degree to be a cop. I know plenty of cops who went to the academy right out of high school.”
Todd smiled, “Yes. So do I. And most of them are fine officers. I really haven’t seen a difference between the quality of work from cops who are diploma entries and those who were degree entries. I just happened to choose the second option. I was already in college when I heard the call, so it just made sense for me to continue on that track.”
Heard the call, Katy liked that. She often described nursing the same way. Hearing Todd say it told her that he had a respect for his field and a level of conviction about it that she found admirable. She asked, “So, what did you major in?”
He seemed pleased by the level of interest in Katy’s voice, “Actually, I had a dual major, Criminology and Forensic Science.”
Katy was impressed. A dual major was not easy to do, and implied a level of seriousness in the student who chose that track. It also suggested that the student was focused on their career, and that they had few doubts about the path that they had chosen. Katy liked the fact that Todd seemed to have a level of confidence in his career choice even as a student. Katy had known few students who had felt that way, although she had been one herself.
She fell briefly into fantasy-mode while the discussion continued around her. It was not so distracting that she missed any of the game play, her ever busy mind went elsewhere on one of its tracks. The fantasy was more of a concept, and it dealt with Todd interrogating a suspect. She tried to imagine what interrogation tactics he would use. He was so tender, gentle, and mild-mannered that she could not imagine him in any other role than that of the “good cop”. She could not imagine that there would be much call for a detective that could only play the good cop. She couldn’t see him as a ball-busting tough guy, and wondered how that worked for him on the job. She wondered if his sensitivity was an asset for him or a liability.
Her mind then wandered to the thought of a cop who didn’t like sports. She bet that went over well in the squad room. She wondered if he was the candy-ass mascot for the squad. She hoped not, because she liked and respected him, but she knew that cops were not known for their sensitivity. Todd was sensitive. She hoped, for his sake, that things were far more progressive in police work than they appeared on television.
During the conversation, they learned that all of Todd’s sisters had followed in their father’s footsteps and gone to medical school. One was a Cardiologist, one was a Pathologist, and one was an Endocrinologist. Todd was very clear that his family was not disappointed in his choice to do something different. As a matter of fact, although one of his sisters had married a doctor, the other two had married buddies of his from the force. Katy liked the fact that Todd’s family seemed as unique and progressive as he was. She assumed that his qualities were a product of the environment in which he’d been raised. She would have to remember to thank Todd’s family for that, if she ever met them.
Lindsey asked, “You’re pretty young for a detective, aren’t you?”
“Not really,” Todd answered. “I’m twenty-eight, which is a little young for a detective, most around here strive to make it by thirty. But, I had a bit of luck in that area.” That was when Katy realized that, until now, she hadn’t even known how old Todd was.
“What kind of luck?” Katy asked.
“Well, I worked an interstate task force for a major case, and that earned me some points towards my making detective.”
“Points?”
Todd smiled, “Yeah, there’s a grading scale for experience of officers. My serving on the task force meant that I had a new area of experience. I wasn’t the only one, there were forty guys on the task force, and it was good experience for all of us.”
Claudette seemed really interested in this, “A forty man task force? It must have been a big case.”
“It was. I worked on the task force of the Davies Allen Edwards case.” Todd stated matter-of-factly. The room suddenly grew quiet.
All of the girls remembered Davies Allen Edwards. He was the Tribal King. In all of the recorded history of their town, there had only been one serial killer in the tri-state area. It was three years ago, and he had been dubbed “The Tribal King.” The press had named him that based on the fact that the killer had left bizarre markings on the bodies, and had left notes explaining that he was the leader of the lost tribe of Ukunu. It had been a huge case for the local area, and had been significant enough to land their town on the national news. There had been terror in the streets for about a year, and the case would never be forgotten. Katy was instantly awed by the fact that Todd had worked the case.
“So, were you instrumental in catching the guy or what?” Claudette asked, being the first person brave enough to break the silence.
“Not really. Not any more than any other member of the task force. I just gained some experience that is invaluable. It gave me training for major cases. So, when it came time to hand out gold shields, I had the experience. It sounds callous; I really didn’t join the task force for that reason. I just wanted to help, but the experience did benefit me in the long run.” Todd was characteristically modest about it, and Katy sat in awe of that as well.
All of the girls were intrigued by this new found information, and Jasmine could not resist saying, “So, you probably know some details that were not released in the press.”
“I do, but they were kept secret for a reason. Unfortunately, I still can’t talk about them.”
Jasmine responded, “But didn’t they all come out in trial?”
“I’m sure that they did, but I just don’t think that I should advertise them. There are probably jurors who talk about it and spectators at court as well. I just think that I should not further the dissemination of information.” Todd’s respect for his job and for the case was impressive. He was a true professional, and it appealed to Katy. The other girls seemed to respect it as well, and the subject was dropped.
There were other reasons that the girls respected Todd. He was doing well at cards. The games that they were playing had simple rules, but could have complex strategies, depending on your opponents. Todd was able to keep up with the women at the table, and they were all very experienced players. He didn’t win often, but was able to make a good showing in each round. He also was an excellent sport about losing, which was not a typical man-trait, from Katy’s experience. The remainder of the conversation focused on the women at the table. Todd got to know about them as well.
It was a nice evening, and Katy enjoyed Todd being part of the group. The awkwardness that she expected with their good night moment was non-existent. She had walked him to the door, and he had leaned down and kissed her forehead. It was a kiss filled with promises and passion. Then he smiled gently before he left. She felt as though she’d hit the lottery. She had found a college-educated detective who did volunteer work. On top of that, he’d helped catch a serial killer, hated sports, liked her friends, was a good sport, and seemed very into Katy. She didn’t need to wait until church tomorrow, she thanked God right now.
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Christy Parker is the author of three blogs: Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind, Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day, and You Be the Editor.
For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.
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