CHAPTER 19: Pattern Recognition
Two days had passed since the false bomb threat at Roosevelt Middle School. Everyone at the 99 had moved on—well, almost everyone.
Jake hadn't stopped thinking about it.
It wasn't just Roosevelt. Since then, two more schools in the borough had been hit with identical threats—typed notes, slipped under the main office doors, arriving early in the morning just before students flooded in.
Each time, the threat was false.
Each time, the response protocol was nearly the same.
And each time, Jake felt more certain that it wasn't random.
He sat hunched over his desk, brow furrowed, eyes darting between tabs on his screen and a hand-drawn map pinned to the wall behind him. He'd marked each school location, made lists of response times, evacuation routes, number of exits, police district coverage zones.
It wasn't just someone playing pranks.
This felt like recon.
Boyle popped up beside him with a bowl of what appeared to be couscous and hot sauce. "You've been in this exact pose for the last four hours. That can't be good for your back. Or your bladder."
Jake didn't look up. "I think I'm onto something, Boyle."
Boyle leaned closer, mouth half full. "You solving the mystery of why school cafeterias always smell like wet cardboard?"
"No," Jake said, spinning in his chair. "I think whoever is sending these bomb threats is testing something. I've plotted the last five threats. Look."
He pointed to the map.
"They're not just random schools. They're all within a specific zone—each one near a major transport hub, with large playgrounds, limited surveillance, and predictable evacuation patterns."
Rosa, who had just returned from a call, paused beside his desk, arms folded. "So you're saying it's tactical?"
Jake nodded. "Exactly. Like someone's gathering data. Learning how we respond."
Amy joined the group, balancing a folder and her reusable water bottle. "I overheard. If these threats are dry runs, we're looking at pre-operational behavior. FBI profiling 101."
"Thank you for confirming my worst-case theory," Jake said.
Terry came over next, adjusting his glasses. "So what's your working theory?"
Jake sighed. "I think someone's planning something bigger. They're figuring out response times, student evacuation speeds, how fast law enforcement shows up."
Amy added, "They're watching us. Probably blending in with the crowd."
Boyle looked alarmed. "Like, someone could have been pretending to be a concerned parent? A staff member?"
Jake nodded. "Exactly. And here's the kicker—none of the schools have working camera systems in their front offices. Budget issues."
Rosa muttered, "Convenient."
Jake clicked to another screen. "Check this out—each school got the threat between 6:45 and 7:15 AM. Building custodians were the ones who found them. Same kind of paper, same font, same wording. This is someone with a pattern."
Amy flipped through Jake's notes. "We need to cross-reference this with school visitor logs and local surveillance footage. Even if the schools don't have working cams, there's probably traffic cams nearby."
Jake nodded. "Already sent a request to the DOT."
Terry clapped his hands. "Alright. Let's put something formal together. Holt needs to see this."
Twenty minutes later, Jake stood in Holt's office. Amy, Terry, Rosa, and Boyle stood behind him.
Holt reviewed the reports silently for a moment, then looked up.
"This is thorough work," he said. "Uncharacteristically methodical for you, Peralta."
Jake gave a small, dry smile. "Thanks… I think."
Holt tapped the corner of the folder. "I agree with your assessment. The fact that these threats follow a pattern suggests deliberate testing of our infrastructure. Whether for a larger threat or personal gratification remains unclear. Regardless, it is a serious concern."
Jake straightened. "I'd like to continue digging. Use everyone's help. Cross-reference school employee rosters with known criminal records, background checks on staff, you name it."
"You're now officially lead on the case," Holt said. "Use everyone you need from the bullpen. But keep it discreet. No media leaks."
Amy nodded. "We'll keep it locked down."
Holt glanced at Rosa. "And Ms. Diaz, I expect you to monitor any signs of retaliation or backlash. Whoever's doing this may not appreciate interference."
Rosa smiled grimly. "Let them try."
As the team left Holt's office, Boyle leaned toward Jake. "Dude, this is big. Like, big big. This could be your break from mid-tier cases."
Jake gave a half-hearted shrug. "Honestly, I just want to figure it out before someone gets hurt."
Amy looked at him for a beat. "You're different lately. More… grounded."
Jake gave a wry smile. "Yeah, well. Life has a way of grounding you. Sometimes with a hammer."
As they returned to their desks, the team split off to begin various tasks. Rosa started calling school security coordinators. Terry requested incident logs. Amy began checking visitor rosters for overlap.
Jake returned to his desk, eyes scanning over emails from the traffic department and CCTV retrieval requests.