Character Coffee Chat with Tim Reynolds
Readers immerse themselves in books they enjoy, especially when they can relate to the characters as if they are real people. Friends you can turn to, family you spend special moments with and even those characters you love to hate. Character Coffee Chats offer a little extra time with some of the characters readers have enjoyed meeting or getting to know in the Jorja Matthew mystery series. For those who haven’t yet read the series, be warned some coffee chats might offer spoilers.
For those who have kept up with the series since the beginning, here’s your chance to spend extra time with each character, gain insight about recent events in the novels and learn more details about their backstory. Now, grab a cup of coffee or other hot drink of your choice and let’s get started!
Today’s coffee chat will be with Officer Timothy Reynolds from the Jorja Matthews mystery series.
We’ll begin with Officer Reynolds telling us a little about himself and how he knows Jorja…
Well, first you can just call me Tim. Timothy is what my parents called me when I was a kid. Or you can call me Reynolds, like everyone else does. Anyway, I’m a police officer in Tenino and I’ve been working for the city for over eight years. I met Jorja a year ago when she was the victim of a crime after someone assaulted her in her home. She runs the local bookstore and Fritz, my partner, and I stop in there regularly for coffee. We’ve gotten to know her better over the past year and I wouldn’t hesitate to call her a friend.
Are you married? Do you have family?
Yes, my wife’s name is Cathy, and we’ve been married fifteen years. We have a son, Liam, who is 13 years old. My parents live nearby in the house where I grew up on the reservation. My older brother, Tom, lives in Olympia.
You’re Native American?
I am. Well, half anyway. My mom married my dad, who is full blooded. My brother and I grew up on the reservation and went to school there.
And isn’t your brother also in law enforcement?
Tom is a detective with the county sheriff’s office and he’s been with the county since before my son was born. He grew up wanting to be a cop and got into it right out of high school. He went to college for a criminal justice degree and then worked for the police force on the reservation for a few years before moving on to the county. Now that I think about it, he’s been in law enforcement for twenty years.
What made you become a police officer?
Well, this is kind of a long story. I didn’t start out my adulthood with the idea that I would work in law enforcement.
After I graduated high school, I started college to get an associate’s degree but after the first year I was given the chance to work as a crab fisherman up in Alaska. The pay was too good to pass up. And I didn’t see myself using the college degree for any job I’d be interested in. Being a greenhorn on a fishing boat is a tough job but I enjoyed it and decided to stick with it until two years later when I was home visiting and I met Cathy at a get-together in Olympia. She was in the area visiting with her sister and we just hit it off. We spent a lot of time together before I had to go back to work, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her and during my next visit home, I asked to see her again.
It wasn’t long before I realized she was the one I wanted to marry. So I quit crab fishing and I got a job as a security guard for a company in Shelton. I asked Cathy to marry me and two years later we had Liam. Eventually, my brother approached me about working in law enforcement and I decided to join the academy. Afterwards, I obtained my job with the city of Tenino where Cathy and I had already decided we wanted to raise Liam.
Do you enjoy being a police officer?
Yes, I do. I enjoy helping people. I like being an important part of a society where I can help make the community safe for my wife and son. I’ve always looked up to my brother, Tom, for what he’s done throughout his career and how he’s helped victims and their families. I like the idea of following in his footsteps while I also do my part as a police officer.
Do you have an interest in becoming a detective like your brother?
Yes and no. My brother has put in the time and he’s earned his position. I’d also have to put in the time to earn the position, but it’s no guarantee. Being a detective has its perks and it’s definitely an interesting job, but becoming a detective would mean leaving my job with the city. I enjoy my job here. Fritz and I are great partners and I like working for the chief. I enjoy the community and the people in it. So…no. At this point, I like where I am and what I’m doing. I have no plans to make a change.
You and Fritz do make great partners, even though you seem to have completely different personalities. Do you ever disagree on things?
We don’t really disagree, as far as arguments are concerned. Fritz and I might have a difference of opinion about a few things and we don’t hesitate to let the other know where we stand, but our respect for each other leaves it at that.
Can you give any examples?
Not really. It’s just how our working relationship and our friendship has worked from the beginning. I believe it’s what makes us great as partners on the force. As you said, we have different personalities. But that also means we each bring something different to the job and how we communicate with people. I’d say we complement each other.
And how does Jorja fit into your life? How would you describe your relationship with her?
Like I said, I’d call her a friend. Fritz and I have had a lot of contact with her over the past year or so because of her business, her job as a private investigator and also the fact that she’s been involved in a few cases where she’s needed help from us. She makes me nervous, sometimes, the trouble she can get in to. But since she doesn’t plan to stop working cases anytime soon, Fritz and I will be around to help her when we can. But I do worry about her. To be honest, she’s had a few close calls that add to my worry.
How do you deal with the fact that Jorja and Fritz butt heads often because of the type of work she does?
Well, that is definitely a recipe for tension in the day when that happens. I’m a good mediator, but even my expertise isn’t always useful when the two of them go at it. I just do the best I can with the knowledge that eventually they will work things out. They’re friends who have a little more friction between them than usual, and I’d rather not get caught in the middle of that if I don’t have to.
What’s your favorite thing about living and working in a small town?
Oh, the people for sure. The community is tight and they do what they can to help each other when they can. My son is in middle school and will be in high school next year. He’s really thrived from the friendships he’s made here. Some parents are moving their kids to bigger schools where they anticipate there will be more opportunity, but we’ve taught Liam to do his best and he’ll earn what he deserves, whether it’s here or someplace else. This town has offered my wife a sense of home she said she hasn’t felt since she was a kid and she’s enjoyed making a lot of friends while she sells her candles and other products at events and markets.
I also enjoy living here because it’s what I’m used to, having grown up on the reservation, where everyone knows pretty much everyone else and it’s just a tight-knit community. As always, there’s good and bad. Some people run away from small-town living, but it’s where I feel most at ease and where I hope to stay for a long time.
And we hope you stay for a long time too, with many more adventures and maybe a little less tension between others for you to mediate. Although it does make things interesting…
Well, we’ve hit the end of the allotted time for our coffee chat, so we’ll have to end the conversation here. Reynolds may return another time, but it could be a while so if readers have questions specifically for him, please note them down in the comments and he’ll reply to the best of his ability.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of the Character Coffee Chat and that you’ll check back next month for the next chat with another character from the Jorja Matthew mystery series!
