We've all had them. Some of you still do. Asshole supervisors. You know the kind. They always think they are smarter than you, and they feel that they have to remind you of it every day. Which, in truth, I wouldn't mind if they were actually smarter, instead of just dicks. You see I don't mind dumb, ignorant, or even stupid. I can fix those. I hate dicks. Nothing short of a major life experience can fix those. Especially dicks with a gun and a badge. They are royal assholes.

We pulled up to the police department when my cellphone rang. My immediate supervisor, Sgt. Reyes, was on the line (he's not the dick), "Hey man heads up, Lt. Jackson (yeah, that's the dick) called me and asked me if anything was going on. I told him I gave you and Danny the green light to go in and work the missing girl case. You know him, (yeah, I know him, he's a dick) he'll probably show up at the department just to check on you two. So just a heads up. By the way, how is it going?" I told him things were fine and that we were going to go run down the witness (we weren't) who supposedly saw her leaving in a car, and then probably call it a day. He said okay and hung up.

Sure enough the Lt's car was in the parking lot. Danny and I walked in into the building. I wasn't in the mood so I told Danny to find the Lt. and get it over with. Find out what he wants.

I went to my office and started looking over the file. I went to the conference room and put everything we had on a board on a wall that we had there for that purpose. I placed pictures of Jo Ana, Jose, what we found at their home, phone records, all of it. I didn't think I was missing anything, but it never hurts to take a step back and look at it. I was doing just that when Danny walked in.

"He wants to know why we are out here on a weekend working a missing runaway case"

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing. I'm not stupid. I told him I'd ask you."

"Chicken shit."

"Me? You're the one that sent me over there!"

He had a point. I hate dealing with people like that. Supervisors like that are a criminal's best friend. But Danny was right. I should handle it myself.

I went over to the Lt.'s office. The cleanest office in the department. Not a damn thing on his desk but a phone, a pen, and a piece of paper. No files or books. Nothing. Typical desk of a lazy ass that gets way too much money to do nothing. He was sitting at his desk cleaning his finger nails.

"So hey Lt... What's up?"

"Why are you guys working this as homicide? It's a missing person's case. An adult missing person case at that. Technically, it's really just a welfare concern case."

God, I wanted to shoot him already.

"Didn't Danny tell you everything we know?"

"Yeah, I'm not convinced. She's 18. She's probably out there just screwing around. I can't authorize overtime on a welfare concern case that is going to show up next week after partying in Mexico for a couple of weeks."

God, I wanted to shoot him so so bad.

"Okay, so then, what, you want me to shut this down?"

"Yes, shut it down. Call the parents and tell them to call us when she returns so we can remove her from 'missing' status in the system. Let them know we'll follow up any leads they get. But she's an adult and she doesn't have to return if she doesn't want to. Hell, who knows. Maybe she was getting abused at home by the father. That happens a lot in those families."

Please. Please. I can shoot him. I'll call it self-defense. I'll put his gun in his hand afterwards. Then I'll rub some gun residue on his hand for the GSR test they'll run on him. I'll say he went crazy. Please.

"Okay Lt., no problem."

"I'm serious Robert. Call them and shut it down. I don't want them calling me Tuesday asking me if we are still looking for her. I'm going to be off Monday. I'll wait here. Let me know when you call them."

"Okay". I started walking off.

"Oh yeah, and cancel that polygraph. We pay 350 dollars for those things. We aren't going to use one for a damn welfare concern report."

"Yeah, no problem".

I count walking out of that room without pulling my gun as one of the great miracles in the blessed life of that Lt. I swear the grim reaper was right there about to tap him on the shoulder. Some people are so lucky. They should have left that s.o.b. on patrol when he became a Lt. He was good at that. He knew how to do that. It would have saved everybody so much trouble. He doesn't know a damn thing about investigations and nobody will ever convince him of that.

I went to the conference room and met up with Danny. I told him what happened. He said, "Yeah, I know. He told me the same thing. He wants me to make sure you make that phone call. He wants me to witness it and report back to him."

That moment kind of hung there in time for a second. Danny and I looked at each other, almost holding our breath. Then we laughed for lack of knowing what else to do. We said the same words at the exact same moment, "What. A. Dick!" We laughed some more. "Let's go make that call", I said.

In my office I picked up the phone and dialed the number to Jo Ana's dad's cell phone. I put it on speaker and listened to the phone ring as I thought about what I was going to tell him. Should I just say we have no more leads? Tell him to call us when he has something? I wasn't sure. Maybe I should give him the old standard "we are following some leads" routine and just shut it down. I wasn't sure what I was going to say. I heard Mr. Cardenas answer the phone.

The following conversation took place in Spanish.

"Mr. Cardenas?"

"Yes."

"Yes, this is Detective Alvarez from the police department."

"Yes sir, anything new you can tell us? You want me to come over there?"

"No sir. I don't need you to come over. I just wanted to tell you that; well...I wanted to see how you were doing and see if you have heard anything."

"No, nothing. We have a lot of people helping. I saw you today. You came by with your partner."

"Yes, just doing some follow ups. Still working on it."

"Okay, thank you. I know you will do what you can. It's just so hard."

"I know. I know these things are hard...I...

In my defense I have to interject here that I did plan on saying what the Lt. told me to say. I really was. I like to think that I do follow orders once in a while. Police officers should follow orders. They really should.

"...Mr. Cardenas. I want you and your wife to come to my office Monday at 3 in the afternoon. I haven't found your daughter yet, but by Monday I will have all the answers for you. I...I promise you that. By then I will have found Jo Ana for you, and have all the answers that you need. Just don't tell anybody about our meeting. Keep it a secret. Don't even tell your wife about the meeting yet. Just bring her with you on Monday. Just come to my office on Monday at 3 in the afternoon and I will tell you everything."

A few moments passed by that felt like forever. Then I heard a soft "Okay".

I hung up the phone and looked at Danny. He had been standing and now he was sitting in the chair holding one hand over his mouth. He looked like he was having a major stroke. He was pale. Then he grabbed at his receding hairline with both hands and said, "Dude! What the fuck! Oh! My! God! What the fuck did you just do?" I didn't waste a second, "Come with me". He got up and we both walked to the Lt.'s office. Danny looked like a dog that was being dragged by a leash on a walk he did not want to take. We stood at the Lt.'s door and I said, "Hey Lt., I made that call. We're gonna take off". He looked at Danny, who was still as white as a ghost. Danny said softly, almost imperceptibly, "He made the call". The Lt. responded, "Good, you guys clock out and go home."

We both got out of there like bats out of hell. We got our stuff from my office and the conference without saying a word. In the parking lot I looked at Danny, who still looked like he was about to pass out, "Listen, the Lt. is taking the day off on Monday. Call the polygraph guy. Tell him we need him Monday morning instead of Tuesday, and we will pay extra. Tell him also I will hook him up with Mary from Records. He has wanted to get into her pants for a year. Make it happen Danny. I need him on Monday. Do what you have to do. I don't care what it is just do it. I'll tell the Sgt. that the Lt. approved the polygraph. I'll call Jose and tell him he has to come in Monday." Danny just stared at me and nodded.

We both got in his car and he drove me home. I lived only 5 minutes from the station and Danny did not say a word all the way to my house. Just as we pulled up to my house Danny was looking at me smiling, and then laughing. I got my stuff and got out of the car, "What are you laughing at?" Danny looked at me, still laughing, "Dude, you are so fucked!" He then drove off, still laughing.

Yeah, I thought, I am so fucked.