Chapter 82: One-Sided Rivalry
Joe and Alan advanced toward a group of nearby police officers. As they drew closer, the dim, flickering lights of the police cars illuminated the officers’ faces, and Joe internally groaned. Though their names escaped him at the moment, he instantly recognized them—they belonged to members of Lewis’s investigation unit.
These weren’t just any officers; they were part of Lewis’s team that got put on Sleuth-Hawks operations like Joe. Their presence at the scene suggested that whatever had transpired at this residence was far from ordinary, and likely connected to the Sorin investigation. Joe’s mind raced as he considered the implications, the weight of the situation settling heavily on his shoulders. The officers from Lewis’s team moved with purposeful urgency, their expressions a mix of concentration and prudence, indicating that they were deep into the initial stages of their investigation.
Joe felt a knot tighten in his gut as he prepared himself for the interaction, fully aware that whatever lay ahead would demand every ounce of his patience and resolve.
One of the officers, who had been deep in conversation with his colleagues, noticed Joe approaching. He paused mid-sentence, his expression shifting from focused to weary as he recognized who was heading their way. With a resigned sigh, the officer turned to fully face Joe, his shoulders slumping slightly as if already anticipating the conversation to come. The familiarity between them was evident, marked by the officer’s tired reaction, as if he knew that Joe’s arrival would bring complications.
Lewis Subordinate: “Joe, what are you doing here?”
Joe: “What am I doing here? What the fuck? You guys called me here.”
Lewis Subordinate: “As if anyone would do that in our unit. We know how you and Lewis behave around each other, and we would never call you unless we had no other choice. We don’t need you two arguing.”
Joe: “Fucking Lewis,” he mumbled under his breath.
There was an unspoken, mostly one-sided rivalry simmering between Lewis and Joe. Lewis had always felt the need to outshine Joe, constantly striving to solve more cases and accumulate a longer list of accomplishments. On paper, Lewis’s record was impressive, with more than double the number of successful investigations compared to Joe's. However, the reality was that the scope of Lewis’s successes paled in comparison to Joe’s. While Lewis was busy busting small-time drug dealers and handling minor cases, Joe was bringing down serial murderers and cracking complex cases that required a level of skill and dedication that few could match. This disparity didn’t sit well with Lewis, who often found himself irked by the fact that, despite his numbers, his achievements never seemed to carry the same weight as Joe’s.