I'm Detective Christina Ranae Stewart, a detective in the River City police station, and my boss was Detective Michael Mallory, who was single and three years older than I was. He was average weight and about my height, which was 5’7”, and he had brown hair and brown glasses. Randy Lakes, who was slender, about the same height as Michael, had brown hair, and was Michael’s assistant detective, so when Michael couldn’t work on a specific day, then Randy took charge of the other detectives and officers and gave them instructions.

Besides Michael, Randy, and me, the River City police station consisted of twelve uniform officers and some crime scene officers as well as other employees who have helped with the duties at the police station so we can protect the citizens of River City. There were cubicles for each pair of detectives or officers, so they could have their privacy, but Detective Mallory organized the cubicles so he could observe his team through his bulletproof window because he wanted them to maintain their professional manner.

My partner, Jessica Harris, and I believed in God and trusted Him to lead and guide us throughout each day, and we attended the same church as often as possible. We met ten years ago when we both started working for Detective Michael Mallory, and during that time, we had been challenged everyday because of the difficult life women police officers encountered on the streets.

Throughout the years, we started developing a close personal relationship. We discussed the possibility of living together, but neither of us had places large enough for more than one person, so we decided to search for a larger house where both of us would be comfortable.

As we pondered over the possibilities of a new house, we realized that both of us enjoyed the country because we preferred the quietness and peacefulness that living in the country offered, and we wouldn't have the distractions of the city traffic or neighbors. We also wanted to pursue our desire to write and have books published, so we believed that the country would be the perfect location for our needs. During our phone conversation last night, Jessica and I decided that we would browse through the real estate section in order for us to locate the perfect place for us to live and pursue our careers.

The next morning when I arrived at the station, I stopped and glanced around the room because I couldn't believe how many officers were at their desks. They chatted with each other and took sips of their hot coffee that Michael usually had prepared for us when we arrived.

As I approached our cubicle, something seemed different. I looked at Jessica - or at least I thought it was Jessica – but maybe another female officer had to use our cubicle for a few minutes so she could glance through the real estate section of the newspaper.

When I noticed the sparkle in her blue eyes, I knew it was Jessica, and I assumed that she spotted the perfect place in the country that we discussed last night on the phone. We wanted to abandon the hustle and bustle of city life and take up residence in the country where it was peaceful, so we could pursue our writing and other careers. We thought we’d prefer a large house and property with several acres because we wanted to construct additional buildings for various activities. However, we realized that we still needed to commute to the city and back home every day, which was about thirty miles one way, but since we'd be living together, we only needed to drive one car. As a result, that would help us save on gas and car repairs since gas was so expensive right now. Jessica and I decided that we could share the transportation by taking her car one day and my car the next day.

Janet Kay Blaylock