Okay… her is the next part of my short story.. and the answer to the oct 4 Prompt … woo who.. happy wordage everyone

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“Cass! In my office, now!”

Sam cringed and headed for the Captain’s office. She was new, not stupid. Every cop knew that tone of voice. It was the universal sign that the shit had hit the fan.

Entering the office, Sam had barely managed to shut the door before Captain Yu started his rant. “I have half a mind to ship you back to San Francisco, out of my hair before you can completely fuck up my life. Not even on the job a day and already you’re going off halfcocked, ignoring procedure. Every report I received on you has been the same… Samantha Cass doesn’t play well with others. Did I listen? Did I tell them to send you to Antarctica or something? No! I figured, what the hell? Her arrest rate is high, who cares if her attitude rubs others the wrong way? What could go wrong? Well… What did you think you were doing?”

“Sir?” Sam looked around the office, searching for some sign. Something that could point her in the right direction. How was this her fault? “I’m unclear on what we’re talking about, Sir.”

She wanted to take a step away from Captain Yu as his face closed down, his fists clenching. “The pile up on 501. Ring any bell?”

Sam felt her mouth drop open. He had to be kidding. “It was hardly a pileup, Sir. There were dozens of pumpkins growing up through the asphalt, and I did bring back samples.”

“You are a detective for this city, not a crime scene tech. I expect more out of my officers. Do I make myself clear?”

She wanted to defend herself but really… what could she say? She only brought back a sample because some guy from the lab had called. Five minutes later and she would have been back in her car and on her way to the office, empty handed.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Yu took a deep breath. “Get in the bullpen. Your partner, Mastins, will bring you up to speed on case assignments. Now get out of my office.”

Sam didn’t need to be told twice. So far, her first day needed a redo.

Sam couldn’t see over the pile of case folders Joe Mastins continued to pile in her hands. When she thought her legs would buckle from the weight, he tossed one more to the pile and said, “And finally, this is our most pressing case. A group of kids went missing this morning. The entire precinct has been looking into the different angles, but we have the lead. Well, Karn and Billings are sharing the lead but that’s mostly because you decided to turn up late this morning.”

Twisting at the waist, she slammed her load down on her new desk, before picking up the aforementioned file. She ignored the jibe about her punctuality and began to read. “So, is this the Pier closest to the precinct?”

“That’s what the file says, don’t it?”

Gritting her teeth, Sam calmly finished reading the file, as she attempted not to punch her new partner in the throat.

Mastins moved for the exit. “Well, come on. Karn and Billings are already at the scene. We should have been there already.”

Quickening her pace, Sam felt her weapon to make sure the safety was still one and that the gun was still firmly snapped into its holster. Her day wouldn’t get any better if she accidently shot her partner. No matter how tempting.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Sam ignored Elizabeth Karn, and uptight woman that appeared to hate everyone but her partner. Instead, she continued focusing on the trail of leaves littering the ground. Looking at Mathew Billings, instead of Karn or her own partner, she asked, “Where did all the leaves come from?” She was squatting beside a trail of oak leaves littering the ground in all the varying shades of fall. Oranges, reds, browns, yellows… but oak leaves? “I haven’t seen that many trees around here, and shouldn’t oak trees be too far away to do this? I don’t see any trees for that matter.”

Billings looked around the area shrugging his shoulders. “The crime techs are looking into the trail of leaves. Captain said to let them handle it.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. A trail of oak leaves leading away from the crime scene seemed like a clue to her. A weird one, but a clue none the less. Shaking her head, she ignored everyone and stood to follow the trail of leaves. It wouldn’t hurt for her to give the techs a hand figuring this out. Who knew where the trail led.