Russell's not a bad cop, not by any means, but there's a big difference between being an officer and being a detective, and there's an even bigger difference between being an officer and being an agent like Reid, someone who seems like he was more or less born to profile people, and he's sort of surprised by how quickly Reid has gotten Denise to confess. The fact that she's got the cat doesn't entirely shock him, but he knows it would have taken him a little while longer to get there, and he's convinced he never would have gotten her to own up to it so quickly.

In fact, he'd been just about ready to laugh at the stupid names of those ugly wrinkly cats that Reid seems like he's drawn to when the whole thing had come out in the open and for a second he just sort of stands there, gaping like an idiot. He probably looks as stupid as he feels and he shakes his head and clears his throat at the same time, trying to recover at least a little bit of his dignity.

"I dunno if we put people in prison for taking cats home," he says. "Especially not when you know they're gonna fill out the proper paperwork and pay the right fees for the whole adoption process just as soon as we leave, right?"

Denise nods quickly, her eyes still wide. "Yes," she says. "Yes, absolutely. Of course. I'll even tell my coworkers what happened and that it was a huge misunderstanding and I'll take complete responsibility."

Given that Russell wasn't sure what they would have done even if there had been a genuine cat-napping, he thinks that sounds pretty fair and he's nodding solemnly, as if that's the best thing she can really offer to do, as if her having to admit to her coworkers that she'd accidentally stolen a cat was the worst, most terrible punishment possible for her crime. Which he's pretty sure isn't actually a crime at all.

"I think that sounds fair," he says, his voice as solemn as his nods. "Does that sound fair to you, Agent Reid?"