The Search

   “No sir, it’s impossible.” The chubby police officer shook his head firmly. Cristine stood at the door and watched the officer's red, puffy cheeks jiggle like jelly. 

“But, sir, I am a psychologist.”  She heard David put all of his charm and professionalism into his voice. “I am researching and writing a very important work on child psychology related to trauma.” 

Cristine frowned and let out a sigh. David’s confident, calm posture looked especially strange compared to the clumsy, heavy man in front of him. The last, obviously wasn’t impressed a tiny bit by neither David’s profession nor his looks. She finally walked to them, stood by David and looked at the officer. 

“Good day, Sir!” She made sure her voice sounded exhausted. “I am so tired, and my boss won’t let me go for lunch.” She gestured with her hand towards David and rolled her eyes.

 “Not until we find information on any case related to child trauma, child abuse or anything similar to that.”  She caught the officer's puzzled eyes fixed on her. 

 “And I am so hungry.” 

The big man opened his mouth to speak but she rushed to continue.

 “If you let him check a couple of old cases, even if they are 35-40 year-old ones, we could use this time to grab a bite together.” 

The officer looked at her, probably considering the offer she just made. Cristine pushed on.“What do you say, Sir? Let my boss work and I will buy us a tasty lunch.” 

“I suppose I could let you look at some old cases. but…” His voice sounded softer yet skeptical. 

Cristine cut through his doubts. Her voice dropped as she spoke, leaning forward to check his badge closely.

“Roger,  would you please help me?” She gave him her most radiant smile. His red cheeks looked especially big from that angle. “Where can he find the old files?” 

“Fifeteen minutes will be enough, sir.” David finally spoke again. “We won’t cause you any problem.”

“Fifteen minutes?” Officer Roger Stenly’s small eyes narrowed, doubt in his question. 

“Yes, I process information quickly. I am a doctor of psychology, remember” David managed an innocent smile. Cristine held back a chuckle that got stuck in her throat. She coughed it out.

“He is very smart and quick.” Then she frowned. “David, remember fifteen minutes, not less.” She turned to the officer and winked. “We will be enjoying our lunch.”

“I promise I won’t disturb you earlier than mentioned.” David looked at Cristine, gave her a nod and a quick smirk.The officer hesitated. Then he looked at Cristine but spoke to David.

“Dr Richards, you have fifteen minutes. I’ll give you a visitor's badge.” He hurried clumsily to get the badge. His round shaped body as if hovered behind the desk, then he stopped and handed the badge to David. “Here, be quick and don’t touch any other files besides the old ones. I will come check.”

 He checked on both sides, everyone in the department was busy with their own things, though Cristine and David did attract some curious eyes.

“Come on, I’ll show you the way.” Stanley stepped out of the front desk and took heavy steps towards the archives room. 

“I’ll wait here.” Cristine waved a flirtatious goodbye, her fingers curving gently in the air. She saw Stanley flush red up till his eartips.

She looked around the department. It was rather small, cramped by desks and computers, countless shelves and folders on them. The buzz of neverending phone calls and staff hamming filled the air. It was crowded and hot. Cristine longed for fresh air, but more than that, she craved for new information. She stood there staring at the big clock hanging on the wall and fidgeting with her fingers. A few minutes later Officer Stanley came back, with a dreamy smile on his face.

“So… what shall we eat for lunch?” He stood at his desk with anticipation in his eyes and Cristine then realized; she hadn't thought about that at all. 

“Sir, you were so kind to me, I will buy anything you want,” Cristine’s voice dropped again, as she leaned onto the Officer's desk. She played with a lock of her hair and gave him a warm smile.

“Shall we order some Thai food?”  He didn’t so much walk as waddle. His body was  rolling with every heavy step. “The cafe across the street is fantastic.”

His soft voice and clumsy movements gave Cristine a genuine smile.There was an unusual innocence in this man, despite his occupation.

 “Go ahead and order, we have fifteen minutes, remember?" Her only hope was that the Thai food would take a bit longer to be delivered.                                               ***Meanwhile David tried to navigate through endless files in the archive room. His eyes scanned the date tags quickly and stopped at the shelves that might store the files he needed. The boy was found in the fall of 1987. He was five years old then. It has to be here with files from 1987. How would the police tag the files though? Let’s see. 

David ran his fingers over the spines of files touching and reading each tag carefully. His fingertips glided over the old and fragile paper files that hadn’t been moved or even touched for decades. The time seemed to have stopped for them, leaving the countless reports dusty and forgotten on the shelves older than the building itself. 

So many files yet none of them matched the case he was looking for. The shelf for the 1980s was massive. David’s breath caught, his eyes itched from tension and watered. He checked the upper shelf, nothing. He leaned to check a shelf under and still nothing. A silent fear crept into the back of his mind. What if there was nothing? What if it was another dead end? The heat and stuffed air of the room got under his skin. Sweat wetted his back and forehead. He took off his coat and threw it on the floor. Squitting down to check the lowest shelf, he whispered to himself.

Come on, there has to be something.

 David took a deep breath, inhaling the smell of damp papers. The semi dark room reminded him of his own secret room where he kept old murder case files. His fingers hovered over a file that read “Domestic abuse..” then moved to the next one “Park, mugging..” he didn’t read full tags. Those were not what he wanted. And then on the bottom of the shelf rested a very thin folder. The tag was almost gone but David read the first words and his hand froze. 

“John Doe #87-4 // Foundling" "Unidentified Juvenile Male // Case 1987-882"

His eyes widened and his fingers trambled. “There it is.” A whisper barely left his lips.

He gently pulled the file out of the row. Once white papers turned yellow. Someone's old handwritten report was hard to read but David would read it no matter what. Hospital, which hospital was he taken to. David scanned through the lines. A boy was found, reportedly five years old. Left by mother at the playground.  The report gave more information on the boy and case details:

Date: September 14, 1987 Time: 18:45 hrs Officer in Charge: Sgt. Miller, P. (Badge #442)Summary: Due to the subject’s catatonic state and refusal to provide identifying information (Name/DOB/Address), he was transported via Unit 4 to St. Jacob’s Hospital, Psychiatric Wing. 

Reason for Transfer: Immediate physical assessment and psychological evaluation under the State Welfare Emergency Act. The subject exhibits repetitive behaviors and extreme distress when removed from the perimeter of the playground wall.

Assigned Physician: Dr. Aris Thorne (On-call Psychiatry) Reference File: #87-MED-012“So, he was sent to St Jacob’s hospital.” He nodded and read that line again and again. Sitting on the floor in front of the shelf, David turned over the report’s few pages. The ink, black once, now was barely visible but he read every single word several times. David took his phone and clicked a couple of photos. He put the file back in its place, got up and froze there for a minute. 

I am going to find you very soon, you bastard. 

 A smirk touched his lips as he turned  to leave the room. Then he stopped, picked his leather bag that he left on the floor while searching for the file. He opened it and grabbed a folder with already written notes. These would  prove to the officer David’s dedication to the research. He held the folder and purposefully walked out.  

The heavy door closed behind him and David appeared in the brightly lit room where the hot air and the department's buzzing activity hit him like a train. He winced, his eyes twitching, quickly adjusting to the light and looking for Cristine.

He spotted her in no time. Cristine was sitting at the officer's desk. They ate and chatted as if they had known each other for many years. David shook his head. How could she eat so happily with someone she just met? Especially after everything she discovered just a day ago?He walked to them, holding up the notes for the Officer to see.

“Hope I’m not too early?” He smiled and the smell of spicy food reached his nose. “I got the information I needed. Thank you, Officer.” 

David stood behind Cristine, facing Stanley. 

“You have made a huge contribution to my research. Please know you helped a lot, and in the future, many children will get better treatment thanks to your kindness.” David pronounced the words with a proud voice.Officer Stanley’s face melted into a smile. “I am glad, Dr. Richards.” He spoke with his mouth full. “Always ready to help them little babies.”
Cristine turned around on her chair and looked at David. He knew the question in her stare. He shut his eyes as a sign of positivity, and she gave him a happy smile.“Officer Stanley, it was my pleasure to lunch with you today.” Cristine got up and extended her hand to the Officer. David watched them shake hands warmly and exchange flirtatious smiles. His head tilted in a silent approval of Cristine’s acting skills.
“Let's go, Cristine, we have some research to finish.” David gently tapped Cristine on her shoulder and led the way out of the police department.
“You got it?” Cristine asked as soon as they stepped out from the hot crowded space into the chilly fall air. The day was gray, and rare raindrops fell lazily from the heavy clouds. David looked at Cristine and smiled.

“We are heading to St Jacob’s hospital.” He announced as they walked toward his car.“Not today. Let’s go tomorrow morning.” She spoke while fastening the seat belt. Her tone changed. “Let’s work on a plan. How can we get the information we need, without breaking the law?” 

David nodded and started the car. The rest of the day they worked on a thorough plan of their further actions. And to David’s surprise, Cristine seemed massively interested in the case.