The Adventures of Kennedy and Raina

Kennedy Micheals was on her way to her grandmother’s house, a typical afternoon excursion for a Wednesday night. She knew she was approaching when the rough road turned into a finely smoothed pavement. The houses got taller, the yards larger, the cars parked in front pricier. Kennedy biked a little faster, the people in these neighborhoods were not the most hospitable. She turned the corner onto Murdoch Lane. 

She lazily propped her bike against the front side of the house and ignored the sound of her bike falling to the ground as she walked away. No one in this neighborhood would have a reason to steal a busted and rusty bike. Kennedy rang the doorbell but didn’t hear a response. 

She went to knock but as soon as her knuckle made contact with the door, it slowly opened. The door was unlocked. She let herself in and heard gentle sobs in the distance.

“Grandma? I’m here, are you alright?” No reply.

Kennedy ran up the stairs to her grandmother’s bedroom where she was hunched over. In her hand, she gingerly held an empty jewelry box. Kennedy walked over to the bed and put her arms around her grandma. She already knew what had been in that box, everyone knew. Kennedy’s long-deceased grandfather returned from the war as just a badge and a friendly note. His badge has been preserved in the jewelry box for years, but why did it go missing now?

“Ken, I believe that I might have misplaced the badge,” her Grandmother stuttered, her voice heavy with grief that a 15-year-old girl could never understand.

Kennedy felt her heartbreak for her poor grandmother. There was no way the badge could have been moved from the box because everyone knows to never touch it. It had to have been stolen, but why would anyone want to steal an old war badge?

“Grandma, I am going to the police. I think someone stole Grandpa’s badge. Do you remember anything weird about last night?”

“N-no, I was sleeping so heavily. Heck, I can barely remember yesterday at all. I’m too old to be much use for you in this investigation.”

Kennedy hugged her Grandma tight and kissed her cheek. “I love you,” and with that Kennedy ran out the door, not bothering to close it behind her, and rode her wobbly bike three miles to the police department. 

As soon as she walked in, the harsh AC on a summer day gave her chills and the strong scent of recently used cleaning products lingered in the air. The cold air was like a smack in the face. A woman sat at the desk, loudly chewing her gum with one earbud in. 

“What ya need kid?” She said with a deep southern accent.

“Um- I’d like to report thievery.”

“Of?”

“My grandmother’s pin, it was stolen from her jewelry box and it’s very important to her.” The woman raised a bushy eyebrow. There was a moment of silence where the only noise was the humming of the AC and the smacking of gum.

 “Ya can’t be serious. A pin? Ya came to the police cause of a missing pin?” Kennedy felt her face heat up. Yes, the situation did sound bizarre but she had to find it.  

“Miss, if you can’t help me I will be on my way. However, it would be a shame to have to report you for negligence on the job.” She made her words sound sharp and turned to walk out the door.

“Wait, do ya have a picture?” The woman asked with a hint of urgency in her voice. It certainly didn’t look like she enjoyed her job but it was clear that she needed it. Kennedy smirked and turned to face the woman. 

“Yes,” Kennedy clicked on her grandfather’s picture taken in his uniform, “It’s the round one.”

The officer zoomed-in on the badge and inspected it from different angles. “Ya never told me this was a military badge, not to mention, a very rare type,” she said suddenly sounding interested.

Kennedy let out a small sigh, “Ma’am I really don’t have time for stories my grandma is waiting for help.”

“This is probably the only badge left in the world from that legion making it very very valuable.”

“Do you think that’s why someone would steal it?”

“I don’t know why anyone would want a badge like this as more than a collectible or sentimental item. Maybe the badge is connected to something more.”

Kennedy stopped to think for a moment. This could be all a strange coincidence, an unbelievable theory and nothing more. Or she could be walking into a lot more than she bargained for. She decided to keep it to herself for now. 

“Will you help me find it?” Kennedy asked hopefully. Having a police officer by her side would make things go a lot faster. 

“Kid… ya know I can’t just leave my post. And besides ya don’t want my help. I’m not even a police officer, I’m just the receptionist.”

“But you know so much about the badge,” Kennedy handed her the phone, “just put your number in and I can text you with updates.”

The receptionist nodded and put in her name and number. Raina Brown. 

“The first thing ya need to do is run back to your grandma’s house and ask about last night. Check security cameras and any objects that look misplaced. If ya are unsuccessful, bring back the box it was in and I can run a fingerprint scan however I doubt someone stealing from an old woman would find it necessary to cover their tracks. Text me after ya make any advancements and I will reply with the next phase.”

Kennedy absorbed the information. Raina certainly wasn’t a field officer but it’s clear that at one point she wanted to be. Kennedy waved a quick goodbye and mounted her bicycle for the ride back.

******

“Grandma, I know it’s hard but try to tell me everything you did yesterday.” Kennedy sat next to her on a bench in the garden.

“Well, I first invited Mary Anne over. You know, the one three blocks over. Then I went back home and had lunch. The postman came by and I invited him in for a cup of tea.” She furrowed her brows in focus as if her memory was shrouded by a heavy blanket of mist.

“What happened after that?”

“I- I can’t remember.” 

And that’s when it became clear to Kennedy, the mailman must have put something in her tea, stolen the badge, and left without a trace. Kennedy whipped out her phone. She wrote that there were two suspects, Mary Anne, and the postman. She was desperate to find out what all of this could mean and why anyone would be interested in stealing her grandfather's badge. Kennedy nervously bounced her leg and waited for a response from Raina. It had been 5 minutes and finally, a text came in. 

It had to b the mailman. I've seen that old woman walking around and ya know she definitely could not have successfully stolen that badge let alone poisoned her best friend. Can u try to get me a name so I can run some searches on the database?

Yea I’m on it

“Grandma, did the mailman tell you his name when you invited him in?”

“Hm yes but you know these things always slip away from me. I believe it was something like Tommy or Tom.”

Tommy or tom she said. There’s no way she would remember the last name. See what you can find.

She watched as Raina read the response. Three little dots appeared and disappeared again as if Raina was speechless about something. Kennedy responded with three question marks. Finally, a response appeared.

At the police station, there is an officer named Tom but there's no way it could be the same person.

Now that I'm thinking about it, no one would suspect a police officer to steal something from an elderly woman, the perfect cover-up. I'm going to send u a picture and tell me if he looks familiar to ur grandmother.

A picture of a grinning man no older than 30 came through. 

“Grandma is this the man you talked to?” Her grandmother took her phone and squinted at the features. 

“Yes, I believe it is.”

Kennedy considered checking the cameras to see if the match was really as accurate as her grandmother made it seem but thought better of it. Checking the cameras would take too long and her senses told her that she didn't have as much time as she thought.

I’m heading back to the station now. See what more you can find about him and I’ll be there soon. 

******

As soon as Kennedy rode up to the police station for the second time that day, Raina burst through the door. 

“Tom,” she whispered yelled in a hurried frenzy, “he’s in the station.” Raina grabbed Kennedy tightly by the arm and dragged her inside. When Raina spoke again it was in a hushed whisper.

“It’s so obvious. He’s been hiding the badge in the evidence room where no one can touch it let alone enter without proper authorization. He’s walking towards the room now to collect it. After he has it again, there is no way we will get it back. We have to sneak in now.” 

Kennedy followed her down a series of winding halls. A few people gave them weird looks. It’s not every day you see a teenage girl and a receptionist sprint down the hallway.

“Raina wait. How will we ever get past the security? You aren’t even authorized to enter.” Kennedy said through heavy breaths. Raina dragged Kennedy out of the main hallway and into a smaller interrogation room. 

She reached into her pocket and fastened a police badge on her chest. Raina noticed Kennedy’s perplexed look and offered a sad smile. 

“My brother served the police but unfortunately he passed away. He was the only reason I joined in the first place, even if it meant being the stupid receptionist. Ya never really appreciate the people ya love until they are gone.” She gently kissed her own fingertips and placed them on the badge, as if asking for good luck. Kennedy gave her a brief nod and squeezed her hand.

“Even if we don’t get my grandfather’s badge back, thank you for helping me. It really means so much. For your brother and my grandmother, let’s find that badge.” And with those encouraging words, Kennedy and Raina slipped into the evidence room only to be met with a bitter and unexpected sight. 

Standing in the center of the room wasn’t Tom, but a woman. The shining badge glinting threateningly in her old hand. She held onto it so tightly that it could’ve been a dagger.

“Mary Anne?” Kennedy asked completely surprised.

“Where’s Tom?” Raina asked, equally confused.

The old woman took three steps forward which were met with two steps back from Kennedy and Raina. They shouldn’t be afraid of an old woman.

“Ah yes, my grandson. He was quite helpful for once, I must admit. All I had to do was enter the old hags house and snatch that pesky badge and he did all the dirty work.”

“But why- I thought Grandma was your friend?”

“We were at one point a very long time ago.” Her eyes glossed over, recalling the memories from many years ago. “We were both young and foolishly in love. In fact, I couldn't name one person in our town who wasn’t in love with Johnny Micheals, your grandfather.” She pointed a bony finger at Kennedy and spoke the words with such heavy hate even Raina got frightened.

“You see, I wasn’t like the other girls in our town. For a while, he loved me, not your grandmother. I was so scared of losing him that I changed everything about myself into what I thought he wanted. I cooked, cleaned, and I was so responsible but he just couldn’t resist Jane. She was carefree, gorgeous, and also my best friend. I watched them settle together, I watched their child grow up, I watched Johnny get drafted and I was the one to read the death letter to Jane. I comforted her and stood by her, but I never forgot how that bastard stole the one man I truly loved. By being her friend, I learned about the Soldier 340983 initiative. A group of Johnny’s friends formed a charity in his honor, to help Jane raise money for her family and to appreciate the good deeds of Johnny during the war. All of the money was stored in a box. Only Jane knew how to open it but even with that knowledge, she refused to do it. I took the box a few years ago, thinking I could finally get a chance at my well-deserved revenge on that husband-stealing bitch. The world was against me though. Jane didn’t even care about the money or the fact that it was missing. I couldn’t open the box but I’ve been studying it. There is a code and your grandfather’s badge must be the password.”

            “Mary Anne, may I look at the box?” Raina asked politely while Kennedy attempted to process the long and detailed story.

“TOM! Come back and watch these girls. Make sure they don’t try anything.”

Raina walked to the box, staring daggers at her fellow police officer. She ran her fingers gently over the strange symbols and then looked back at the badge in Mary Anne’s hand. 

“I don’t think this is a password, I think it's a puzzle.”

“Wait, Raina,” Kennedy says loudly, surprising everyone in the room. “I think a deal is necessary. The money in that box rightfully belongs to my family, and so does that badge. If we do help you, you must return the badge. You can keep the money if it means that much to you.” Tom looked at his grandmother and there was a silent exchange between them. 

“We accept. Continue, girl.” Mary Anne said through a toothy grin.

Raina hated the name but continued anyway. “I think the badge is the key to open the box.” She reached out her hand to Mary Anne who reluctantly placed the small badge in Raina’s. She carefully aligned the markings on the badge with the corresponding markings on the box. They clicked into place perfectly and the box swung open, revealing piles of money.

Raina turned back around to see Kennedy grinning from ear to ear, her arms wide open. Without hesitation, she left the money behind and embraced Kennedy in ecstatic hugs. 

“Thank you,” Kennedy said, her head buried in Raina’s shirt causing her words to be muffled. Raina slipped the badge into Kennedy’s pocket and hugged her even tighter. 

A loud pounding on the door disrupted the joyous moment. 

“OPEN THESE GODDAMN DOORS, THIEVES.” The man’s voice was an enraged shout.

“We have to go, NOW!” Tom said, grabbing his grandmother by the sleeve.

Kennedy stood frozen in place, watching them attempt to flee in the same direction of the voice. A group of officers stormed in, stopping the two in their tracks. They watched helplessly as officers secured handcuffs on them and then made their way to where Kennedy stood. 

“What do we do?” Kennedy whispered to Raina, who despite everything seemed to always have an answer.

“We explain. We are not the bad guys in this situation.” The officers stormed up angrily and handcuffed both of them.

“Raina Brown. You are charged with attempted thievery, trespassing, and also fired for abandoning your post. Do you deny any of these claims?” Raina looked up helplessly. Technically nothing he said was false but it wasn't the whole story. 

“No, I do not.” She said with defeat.

“STOP!” Tom shouted from a distance. Everyone turned to face him. “None of these ladies did anything. I encouraged my grandmother to attempt all of this but it was me who actually did all of the crimes. Raina and Kennedy have only been trying to stop me and return what I stole. If anything you should be promoting Raina. She was courageous and solved the puzzle single-handedly. She would make a better officer than many of the men I work with.” Tom exchanged a smile with Raina.

“And Kennedy has also been so brave. She collected evidence, found who the suspects were, and all out of love for her grandmother. If anything you should be praising these two” The police officers were taken aback. They walked up to Kennedy. 

“Is this true? Did you really do all of this for your grandmother?”

“Yes, I just want her to be happy.” 

The officers’ faces softened a bit. “I would like a written report of these incidents. Kennedy, you should write it. If everything lines up correctly with the testifications, you and Raina will be released. We need more details to decide the punishment for those two.”

The officers carried everyone in separate directions. Raina and Kennedy made eye contact and gave each other slight nods. They knew the story was on their side. And that’s how this crazy mystery ended. The money will be given to Mary Anne and Tom to reimburse whatever hardship caused to Mary Anne in her youth. Raina will be promoted to an officer and make her brother proud. And I, Kennedy, will finally return my badge to my grandma. We will have A LOT of stories to tell at the dinner table tonight.

*****

The officer closed the book and looked down at the proud teenager grinning beneath him.

“This is one heck of an adventure, kid. Ever considered taking up writing?”