Case Log

[Jack Campbell (DELETED 5897)]

Entry #1 - 12/02/24

It's been cold in Harper Rock. The snows have begun to set in, the cold has been cutting to the bone. It's my third year here, and it still gets to me. The cold that clings this town isn't the cold of winter, it's the cold of a city that's dead inside.

Rotten.

Hollow.

The force's shrink has been telling me that I need to write down my thoughts for awhile now. He said it would be cathartic. Most days, I feel so damn alone. In a way, these pages are a sounding board that won't argue. I guess he was right.

Mayor Bancroft's initiative against the gangs is picking up steam. Most of the department has been tasked to that end, leaving just four of us in Homicide. Fine by me, leaves me more room to investigate. While I agree that the gang violence is a problem, I'm not entirely convinced that it isn't symptomatic of a larger problem. It just seems too pervasive. This kind of violence just doesn't show up in the kind of civilized cities Harper Rock purports to be.

Maybe this isn't civilization.

Maybe it's an unforgiving, frozen wilds, populated by the worst of monsters. By people.

[Jack Campbell (DELETED 5897)]

Entry #2 - 12/03/14

The last six months I have been stationed at the Gullsborough precinct have been hell. Ever since the fallout with Captain Reynolds in Wickbridge, I've been banished across the river to this bureaucratic nightmare. Six months, and I've been chained to desk. The captain here seems to appreciate me well enough, but not enough to cross Reynolds. He made sure I would languor in paperwork until I gave up and turned in my shield.

Not a chance.

There is too much work to be done in this city. Too many people fall through the cracks. I see the others, jaded from the horrors of it all. It's a darkness that consumes most men. Hell, it gets to me most days as well.

I see too much to ignore it, I guess. Next week, the captain has me riding shotgun with a uniform to get me used to the district. I'm excited to be out of the building for something other than sleeping, but I definitely get that I'm being babysat. They don't trust me yet. I'm not one of them yet. Hell, I don't even have a partner yet.

Completed workups of six different homicides for Major Crimes to pursue. All gangbangers, all within the last week, and seem to be in relation to the uptake in gang violence. Somethings niggling me, though. Statically, even with a rise in gang related violence, these particular numbers suggest a move into organized crime. I tried bringing it up in the last briefing, but was "gently" reminded that my thoughts were just a "theory".

I'm thinking that a trip out for some fact checking might be in order. Hell, might even find a bar while I'm at it.

[Jack Campbell (DELETED 5897)]

Entry #3 - 12/04/14

Something strange happened last night.

I'm even a little afraid to write it down. I went out last night, pretty late. Was looking for a bar to take the edge off of sitting in my apartment alone. The quiet has been wearing on me as of late, and I figured the dull roar and whiskey would help me forget the silence. So I go out.

That was the last thing I remember before I awoke south of Swansdale in the woods. I have no idea how I got there, only that I felt like a hungover mess, and sore as all hell. The morning light, reedy and weak through the trees and mist, hurt like a flashbang at first. I remember stumbling into to town and making my way to the station.

Not in all of my years as a cop, in all of my years as a drinker, have I ever blacked out like that. Losing control is not something I do. It is the worst sensation. I'm not a particularly amazing person, Lord knows I have had my moments of weakness. But even in those moments, I always know my surroundings. I pride myself on what I see.

This is really bothering me. Something in this town is not right.

Not at all.

[Jack Campbell (DELETED 5897)]

Entry #4 - 12/07/14

I took Friday off, giving myself a long weekend. The events of Thursday morning left me rattled; so much so that I went to the doctor's office for a check up. I didn't tell him about the incident, only that I hadn't been feeling well. He could tell I wasn't telling the whole story, but I didn't particularly care. After a terse exam, he gave me a clean bill of health, and told me to lay off the drinking.

I went back out to where I awoke Thursday morning, hoping to find some leads on what transpired that night. I took some photos on my little Nikon for later, to go over in detail on my laptop back at my apartment. There wasn't anything that jumped out at me as obvious in the clearing, but if there was anything to be found, the camera would have captured it. It's been more trustworthy than my service pistol, and a damn sight more useful over the years.

I did go out on Saturday, again to trade the quiet of the apartment for the bustle of the city. A wandered into a small park nearby, and sat down to people watch. I wasn't out there before the sound of sirens perforated the normal city noises, drawing ever closer to my position. I turned over the edge of the bench to look towards the sound and the edge of the park just in time to see a squad car tear after a civilian in a blue sports car. I followed it as long as I could before they careened out of sight a couple of blocks away.

I swung be the precinct house to see what the commotion was about on my home, Captain O'Connor called me into his office almost as if he was expecting me. I at first thought it was going to be some kind of bad news. Turns out, he needs me out in the field sooner rather than later. My new partner was going to be coming in this week, and he's giving me free reign to get Homicide back up to snuff. The push for Major Crimes to spearhead everything like Bancroft's personal army doesn't sit well with him. I agreed. Nice to be off the bench.

So I'm home on a Sunday, pouring over every unsolved Homicide from last year.

I honestly couldn't be any happier.