Chapter 1

 

My name is Mark Hazelwood and I am a detective for the City of Bentonville. She was Sally Miles. Sally and her husband, I later learned, moved to town so he could open his law practice in a medium size town and be out of the "rat race". Sally was a registered nurse and worked briefly in the hospital's emergency room before taking courses at the community college and becoming a certified emergency medical technician and applying for a position with the fire department.

Sally was not beautiful but she was as cute as a speckled puppy. From what I, and most other males, could tell, she had a killer figure. I think what attracted people to her was the fact she was nice, she was sweet and loving to the people she helped. In just a few short years, she became an indispensable part of the fire department's fast response and rescue unit. It was said she had, almost singlehandedly, took our department to first place in the state fire and rescue competition.

Of course being a cop and she an EMT, we ran into each other frequently. While I was attracted to her wholesome beauty and her sweet nature, I made no moves on her. There were two reasons for that. One, I was married and two, so was she.

Just as I made detective, my wife and I managed to run our marriage off the matrimonial highway right into a ditch. My wife wasn't happy that I wanted to become a cop and she hated the fact I wanted to stay one. We both saw the wreck coming long before we got there and we did nothing to prevent it. I doubt there was anything we could have done. At any rate, my wife packed up and left and the divorce came a few months later.

As a detective, I had occasions to run across Sally's husband, Jerry Miles, the defense attorney. His job was to get the thugs, bums, and no-good crooks off from the charge I levied on them. I didn't care for him. Not necessarily because he spent much of his time undoing what I had spent much of my time doing. That didn't help but the main reason I didn't like him was his snotty and much superior attitude.

Jerry Miles never let any conversation go far before he mentioned graduating from the Harvard school of law. Often he managed to get that fact into a question in court. Pretentious prick!

For the next two years, Sally Miles and I maintained a friendly but aloof relationship. She even managed to convey how sorry she was to hear of my divorce. I jokingly told her how sorry I was she was still married to Jerry Miles. I was a lot more serious than I projected but she just laughed at my quip.

The status remained quo for another two years. I rose to the top of my field and Sally trained for mountain search and rescue. After she was trained, she was certified to go into the wilds and find lost people and rescue them. I never got to see her in action but I heard she could climb up the face of a mountain better than a mountain goat. We have no mountain goats in our part of the world so I don't know how they made that comparison.

While Sally was with the BFD (Bentonville Fire Department not big fucking dead) she seemed to always be training for something even if it wasn't directly related to her profession.

When the police chief decided we needed a special weapons and tactical squad it was Sally who trained us to abseil off of building tops. I got fairly good at jumping off buildings but it was a real treat to watch Sally do it. It seemed as if she flew.

Some of the firefighters and a few cops started calling her Sally Gold because of her golden blonde hair or maybe because of her value to the city. I was never sure which but the name suited her. To me Sally Gold was Cat Woman, Wonder Woman, and Superwoman all rolled into one. Everything she did she did well.

I heard rumors that Sally and Jerry Miles were having marital problems but I assumed that someone started the rumor as wishful thinking.

The fire departments were not the only ones who held contests. Our humble police department hosted the state police competitions one year. I signed up to do the combat shooting course. The combat course is simply a walk through a simulated city street and targets pop up at random. Bad guy, bad guy, good guy, bad guy, little girl in pigtails and so forth.

There were a hundred points available on the course and I scored ninety seven. One I just didn't shoot because it was a bad guy behind a hostage. I thought I could have hit the bad guy but you lose a lot of points for shooting some housewife between the eyes. The other two I simply missed because I fired too quickly. Ninety-seven was enough for me to place first in the combat course. I accepted the trophy and was thrilled to see Sally Gold cheering more loudly than anyone else did.

Because there was always the danger of someone being hurt during the contest, Fire and Rescue was on hand. Of course they would send the best so Sally was on duty.

The officer who was supposed to compete in the offensive driving course sprained his wrist screwing around arm wrestling the night before at a bar. I was pressed into service, which was a joke because I hadn't attempted to do any kind of offensive driving since I was a patrolman. Even then, I hadn't tried the "tap maneuver" for real. The tap maneuver is used to crash a speeding vehicle by gently tapping one side or the other of the back bumper. Of course both vehicles are traveling at high rate of speed. In theory that is supposed to send the fleeing vehicle into an out-of-control skid and end the chase. I finished dead last. I wasn't disappointed until I spotted Sally Gold trying, without success, to hide her laughter. I felt I had to explain what happened so I sought her out.

"Way to go, Hazelwood," Alan Holmes, Sally's partner, said as I approached the rapid response vehicle they drove. "I actually thought you would get close to that car for a few minutes." I ignored him and went to where Sally was sitting in the open back door of the rescue bus.

"Congratulations for the combat course, Mark," Sally said.

"Thanks, Sally, I got lucky," I said trying for humility. "I just wanted you to know I have never tried the tap maneuver before. I was a last minute replacement."

"I heard that Charlie sprained his wrist in a felon take-down," Sally said.

"Is that what the slug is telling?" I said laughing. "He was arm-wrestling with a cop from upstate last night at the pub and was overmatched. Anyway, I wanted you to know...you know."

"How bad a driver you are?" Alan Holmes said moving closer to Sally. He was sending me a message to back off but I never was much good at listening to messages. "We could see that, Mark." I wanted to hit him but I took the high road and laughed.

"Some days you are the windshield and some days you are the bug," I said. "Isn't your husband here?" I asked Sally.

"We've been separated for nearly a year," she said. "I thought you knew that."

"I heard rumors but I seldom pay them much attention. Should I say sorry or congratulations?"

"Alan why don't you go get all of us a fish dinner," Sally said taking some money out of one of her many pockets. He obviously didn't want to leave us alone but he went to where they were selling fried catfish dinners.

"I sent Alan off because I wanted to talk with you privately, Mark," Sally said once Alan was gone. "Are we friends?" That question took me by surprise but I answered her honestly.

"I would like to think we are friends, Sally," I said not adding I would love to be more than just friends. "What's the problem?"

"Rescue one," a voice over her radio said. "Are you available to answer a call?"

"Affirmative," Sally said into the mike on her epaulet.

"10-46, Maple Drive and Lona Street. Handle code 3" the voice said. That was an automobile accident with injuries. Sally called for Alan and pumped her right arm. He left the line at the fish pavilion and ran back.

Sally took my hand and wrote her phone number on my palm with instructions to call her after five o'clock. She already had the rescue bus rolling when Allan arrived. He jumped in and they sped away. I wrote the number from my hand in my notebook because I intended to get a lot of fish grease on my hands and I didn't want to lose the number.

That afternoon shortly after five o'clock I called Sally Miles.

"Thanks for calling, Mark. Can you come over?" she said. "I just got in so give me a few minutes to shower and change clothes. Do you know where I live?" I did but professed ignorance so she told me.

I waited until closer to six o'clock to arrive. I knew she lived in an old remodeled house close to the Bentonville city limits. It was a house a firefighter could never afford but an ambulance chasing shyster could. She met me at the door wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. I couldn't help but stare at her protruding nipples. She asked if I was off duty and I told her I was.

"Good, I have some whiskey, some vodka, and maybe some gin. I also have beer," she said. "What floats your boat?"

"Beer will do just fine," I said.

"Great, that's what I'm having, too. Let's drink on the patio in back. Go on out and I'll bring the beer." She pointed the way. The patio was actually a swimming pool deck. A very large swimming pool.

"That big concrete hole was Jerry's idea," Sally said coming out with the beer. "I like to swim, but not as much as that thing cost. I could go to the public pool for the rest of my life and then some."

We sipped beer and did some small talk for a few minutes while she wrestled with whatever was bothering her. I figured she would get around to it sooner or later.

"Mark," she said. "I have a problem and I need some advice. "

"Talk to me," I encouraged.

"My house was broken into a few nights ago and some things were taken."

"Did you make a report with the department?" I asked automatically.

"No, I did not," she said. "I know it was Jerry who broke in. He took some personal things."

"Explain personal things," I said.

"There were three DVDs and a photo album," she said, her face turning red. "They were very personal and very private."

"Nudies?" I said. "That's not a big deal, Sally. Most married couples have some around." I was thinking my iceberg former wife let me take some nude photos of her.

"Not just nudes," she said her face still flaming red. "Explicit photos and videos. Jerry didn't admit to breaking in but yesterday he hinted that if I pressed the divorce some embarrassing things might be brought up in court. If those videos or photos were made public I'd have to leave town." Holy shit! I couldn't have that.

"Surely it wouldn't be all that bad, Sally. We live in enlightened times so..."

"It would be that bad, Mark," she said. "Believe me when I tell you it would destroy my reputation completely."

"Surely your husband wouldn't go that far," I said wondering what the videos and photos held that would be so damaging to her. "That would be low even for a lawyer."

"Jerry considered me a possession and he does not give up his possessions lightly," she said. "And yes, he would go that far just for spite. I couldn't see it for a long time but the man is evil."

"Describe the album for me," I said. "And is there anything about the DVDs that would identify them for me?"

"The album is black and gold and it's about three inches thick. It's a loose leaf type with eight by tens and a lot of smaller photographs. The DVDs are homemade and each one has a picture of me on the front of the case. What are you going to do?"

"Get them back," I said with more confidence than I felt. "Where does he live?"

"He's staying at the Grandview House," she said. "No, Mark I don't want you to get in trouble. I'll figure it out. I just needed a friend to talk with about it." She said no, but I saw the hope flash in her eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes.

Yes, I know I sound like a love-struck jerk. I suppose I was a love-struck jerk but I knew I had to help her. I even told myself it was because Bentonville fire department needed her. That Bentonville needed her. I did not allow myself to articulate that maybe I needed her.

Most cops know a lot of crooks. It comes with the territory. There was one crook that sprang to mind as I drove away from Sally's house. Peter Hayden was a thief but a personable one. Pete was actually fun to arrest and he took getting caught in his stride. I had arrested him two years earlier and I knew he was out of prison. I just didn't know if he had returned to Bentonville. I went to a bar Pete was known to frequent and sure enough I found him there in the Crystal Bar.

"Hey, if it ain't Hazel Markwood!" Pete said spying me. He always got a kick turning my name around.

"Let's take a ride, Pete," I said.

"You ain't got nothing on me, copper!" he said loudly and laughing. I motioned for him to follow me to my car.

"What's up, Detective Hazelwood?" he asked once we were in the car.

"Pete, do you know a lawyer by the name of Jerry Miles?"

"Sure, he's one of the best mouth-pieces around," Pete said. "I tried to hire him the last time you caught me but he held out for more money than I could come up with. Why?"

"I need you to burgle his apartment and get some things for me," I said. I saw no point in pussy-footing around with it.

"What's in it for me?" he asked.

"Anything else you find you can keep and a get out of jail free card," I told him.

"Okay, what am I going to look for?" I described the DVDs and the photo album. "What if there is nothing of value in his apartment?"

"Then I'll owe you," I answered. "Me owing you is a good thing, Pete. Pissing me off is a bad thing."

"Got it," he said. "I suppose we are in a hurry to get the things you want, huh?"

"Yes, I need them tonight or tomorrow night at the latest." Sally's day in court was on Monday and this was Saturday night. I told Pete where Miles was staying and drove him by the Grandview House. Grandview was a motel designed for longer staying residents. You rented cabins by the week or by the month instead of by the night.

Pete looked over the layout carefully and then I drove away.

"What can I do to help?" I asked him.

"Arrest Johnny Dakota," Pete said. I asked why. "Johnny and Miles are asshole buddies," Pete said. "If Johnny is arrested he'll call Miles and that will give me time to get in and get the goodies."

"Okay, that sounds like a plan. What exactly do you mean 'asshole buddies'?"