Chapter Text
It was never a good day when Mr. Buffett was in the station’s lobby, and God, did Troy wish he could just ignore the man, but no. There were benefits to being one of the richest in Stilwater, and one of those was that nobody could get away with snubbing you, regardless of how annoying you were.
Thus, Troy settled for the second best option: wishing he had a strong drink, and going to deal with the problem. He’d heard many people - not just cops, but pretty much anyone who had to interact with the man - refer to him as a Karen. As he walked down to the lobby, he found yet again the description to be rather fitting.
Mr. Buffett was a portly man, with a receding hairline and a rather ugly expression on his face, as if he’d permanently just stepped in something foul. He was currently an ugly shade of maroon, far more enraged than Troy had ever seen before.
“YOU!” He shouted, jabbing a stubby finger into Troy’s vision, nearly poking him in the nose as Troy came to a sudden stop. “YOU ARE GOING TO HELP ME RIGHT NOW, OR SO HELP ME THE STILWATER POLICE WILL BE SUED INTO THE GROUND!”
Behind Mr. Buffett, an officer shrugged at Troy. They hadn’t been able to figure out what upset him in the few minutes he’d been making a ruckus.
“The Stilwater Police are happy to assist you, Mr. Buffett. How can we help?”
“What you’re going to do,” he paused for breath, “is you’re going to find my good-for-nothing son and bring him back where he belongs!” He punctuated his statement by stamping his foot against the floor.
Well now, Troy thought. That’s different.
In the middle of the night, Mr. Buffett’s son, Karl Buffett, vanished from the family mansion. He’d spent most of the morning searching the house, but when he found nothing he turned to the police. That was what the shouting in the lobby had been about.
Karl was rather unlike his father, according to those that knew him. Short, quiet, on the skinnier side, and far more empathetic.
That, however, wasn’t the part that concerned Troy. The part that did was the face staring back at him from the computer screen was one he was familiar with.
He had a call to make.
A week later, Mr. Buffett was down in the lobby, screaming yet again.
Troy wished he didn’t have to be the one to tell the man. He was already on a roll, upsetting him more would just make it harder to get rid of him. I really do wonder how his staff deal with him on a daily basis… this should be fun.
“Mr. Buffett? It’s good to see you.” He kept his face solemn.
“Karl? Oh yeah, I know Karl. Sweet kid. Why?” The voice on the other end of the line hummed, the sing-song drawl more pronounced than usual.
“His father’s looking for him.” Troy glanced out the window of his home office, wishing it were anyone else telling the Boss this but him.
“Eh, I’ll shoot him.” She replied casually, he could almost hear her shrug over the phone. “What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that he’s one of the richest people in Stilwater. People will ask questions if he goes missing.” Troy pinched his brow in frustration, wondering if it was possible to smoke two cigarettes at once. “I’ll handle it. Just… wanted to warn you he might show up.”
“I’m afraid to say your son has fallen in with a very bad crowd.” Troy carried on, not letting Mr. Buffett get a word in otherwise. “He was seen with one of the gangs.”
It was rather impressive, watching his face turn from red to a deep purple. Troy stood there for several seconds, staring and waiting for a reply.
The fist slamming into his face was rather unexpected, but he’d count it.
Of course, Mr. Buffett was held for hardly a few minutes before being released, but the point was made. He glared at Troy on the way out, fists shaking from how hard they were clenched, but otherwise didn’t react.
“Damn, he got you good didn’t he?” The nurse tutted sympathetically, handing him a towel. He turned his attention to her, now that Mr. Buffett was gone.
“I’m fine.” He mumbled, pressing the towel against his nose. His attention drifted to the TV, the bright purple on the screen catching his attention.
We’ll find his body in a week.