Taddio

These are the cases of Detective Taddio and Constable Blackwell. Come with them as they solve crimes and deeds most foul.

Prologue

TADDIO MEET BLACKWELL.

"Screw you Coppa!" The young hood flipped Detective Taddio a defiant middle finger, turned and darted off into the labyrinth of grimy inner city streets . Taddio, forced his wide girth into a forward motion and tried to break into a run to pursue.  Smith, his much fitter partner, was on the guy.  Smith was only mere metres behind the fleeing crim. Taddio lumbered behind. His heart was pounding, his thighs burned and his face drowned in a tsunami of perspiration. Smith disappeared into the far reaching horizon, he turned a corner and disappeared out of Taddio's view.

The plump detective doggedly fought through the pain and his laboured breathing to keep up the now pointless pursuit. Suddenly he felt a pain, it was like a steel fist clutching at his heart. He grabbed his chest and sunk to the iron steps.  Taddio stared into the grimy grey streets as he choked on his own futility.  No matter how hard he tried Detective Smith, his friend Smithy, had disappeared from view. Taddio rolled onto his back and looked up toward the steel grey clouds, his tears of frustration mingled with the cold sweat as it dripped down his face and onto to the bitumen surface of the alley. The prostrate Detective offered up a silent prayer for his partner's safety.

Several streets away the boy, tired of fleeing, chose instead to fight.  He was sixteen years old and burned with the rage of the disaffected youth. He turned around to face Smith, he did not see a man before him just a blurred image of oppressive authority. The punk took out his gun and pointed it at Smith.  Smith's blue eyes widened, it was not the first time he had a gun pulled on him, but somehow he knew it would be the last. The boy pulled the trigger, suddenly the horror of what he had just done slapped him across the face and he dropped the gun. His sneakers slapped the street as he scurried away to run away from his actions, to run away from his fate to hide from the grim reality of what he had been reduced to.

Smith crumpled to the ground below. His eyes were still wide and hollow. Smith's body was just a cold vacancy of voidness. All that he was and all that he could have been evaporated in the monotony of urban crime.

Taddio's prayers had failed before he had finished saying them. It would be his second failure of that night. He slipped into unconsciousness and did not even hear the sounds of the approaching sirens. Later that night his eyes opened and stared at the flickering fluorescent tube above his hospital bed. The Chief  was sitting on the hard green vinyl chair that was next to Taddio. His eyes did not meet those of the plump detective as he murmured, "Smithy's gone, shot by that little shit. The kid confessed and will do some time in Juvenile Detention.  I am sorry Taddio."  

Detective Taddio, was the greatest mind of the Grover Police Force but he was the worst cop in the precinct when it came to the physical element of the job. Smith had always been the action half of thier partnership. Taddio was the brains of the partnership and Smith was the muscle. It had always worked before until today. When Smith needed backup there was nobody there.

Taddio sank into unconsciousness. As the world turned black he knew his day was done.  It was time for him to retire. That is of course if he found a way to beat the heart attack that was his immediate problem.

Three Months Later.

"Taddio! What is this CRAP?" The Chief was storming through his department upsetting desks and papers as he moved.

A large plain clothed Detective turned to answer his cheif with his usual verbose eleoquence,  "I think it is very obvious what it is, I will not insult your intelligence by pointing out that it is my notice of retirement, I think your line of inquiry relates to my reasoning."

The Cheif's face was a vibrant scarlett, "Taddio, Take ya fancy learning and shove it right up ya arse! YOU have a bloody job to do, I don't have anyone else to do it and you are going to do it if I have to plant my size thirteen boot right up your massive arse.

" The Detective smiled, his Chief's histrionics were of constant amusement to him, "Chief, do you really want to have this conversation in such a public arena?  Not that I mind but  it strikes me that this is one instance where your bully boy act is going to fail and your ego may not appreciate the audience."

The Cheif stood over the portly Detective, "Taddio, my office- right now!"

Detective Armando Taddio smiled and stood up slowly from his chair, he waddled to the chief's office. He closed the door behind him, "Chief, I am a very old and awfully fat man who has a lovely wife who has patiently waited three decades for me to spend some time with her.  Samantha is my angel and she deserves more than I have given her. Even I am not going to be able to clean up every street in Grover. I love this city but I can not overcome the tide of sick minds and illness that threatens to engulf it. "

The Chief rubbed his hand across his forehead,  "You're right, I am on to my fifth wife as you well know so I do get it. You and Sam are an inspiration to me."

 Armando looked Gene in the eye, then said in a slow trembling voice, "That is of course not all there is to this." Then he sat and put his head between his hands, " I know that I killed Smith just as surely as if it was I who had pulled that trigger. I was unable to be a proper partner." 

Chief Gene Power put his hand on Taddio's shoulder, "Mate, how many times did you save Smith using the power of your mind, he only ever wanted to work with you. You did not kill him- a little turd shot him." The Chief then went back to sit behind his desk," Righteo, can I ask a favour. Could you train a replacement?"

Armando considered this and it was an answer to his conundrum. He wanted to retire but there were good people in Grover and he hated to abandon them. Taddio sat up straight and pushed his pain down to a deep dark place within himself,  "I acquiesce to your direction Gene,  Find me a detective that you want me to train." The Chief smiled with a sense of accomplishment at having moved the experienced Detective at all.

Gene pressed the intercom with a sense of accomplishment,  "Constable Blackwell, get your arse in here- now." The Cheif was clearly glad that the need for him to be sensitive was past and now he could go back to being his usual bully boy self.

 Constable Blackwell came into the room. Constable Constance Blackwell exuded warmth and feminine appeal, her brown eyes were soft and her dimples deep. Despite this Blackwell had a tight bun, a well ironed uniform with very shiny shoes. Taddio thought, this is a woman of details, yes I can work with her.

The Chief said gruffly, "Taddio meet Blackwell."

 To be honest Armando had never really looked at Blackwell  before and now he had he was very  impressed. Blackwell smiled dismissively at Taddio before approaching the cheif with her shoulders back and her chin forward, "Hello Chief, I am glad you called me in. I wanted to talk to you about the local school, a man has been sighted in a car around three  when the bell rings. Some of the parents are concerned and I would like to stake out the area. I have worked out where I should stand so as to view the majority of the children and I was wondering if we could point the traffic camera on Dunham Road ten degrees to the left. I calculate that this would enable my blind spot to be covered."

Armando was now an admirer of this ambitious young officer. The Chief interrupted any further observations, "Blackwell, I know you are young and new to the service but you have shone above the other Newbies. That does not mean you don't suck Blackwell, you just suck less than the others. I want to give you an opportunity to make detective, to do so you need to be following Taddio here like flamin'  flies on shit."

Blackwell smiled, "Chief, I have spoken to you about this before, I am a lady. I may be a cop but I am not scum and I will not be spoken to as such." The Chief hung his head, he was clearly abashed. Taddio had known Gene, the Chief, for a long time he had not however ever seen him like this.

Gene was a great deal quieter when he addressed Blackwell again, " Constance,  Taddio has decided to take of the mission of becoming even fatter and retiring. I want you to shadow him and learn from him. When he decides you are ready you can apply to be detective and I will sign a recommendation for you."

Constable Blackwell smiled, she obviously did not need any time to think the Chief's offer over. She promptly held her hand out for Detective Taddio to shake. "So Detective, where do we start?"

Taddio looked her dead in the eye, " I know that you wish to  watch over the little kiddies however I feel that there are others in the department for whom such as task is a sound fit. You and I Constable Blackwell shall begin with mass murder."

Please read on to the Blue Requiem. This is the first case for Taddio and Blackwell. It is not their last. Can Taddio and Blackwell figure out who is murdering the Patients on Tyler Ward, fifty have already been killed. The only hope the remaining patients have is Detective Armando Taddio and Constable Constance Blackwell.