car.
Within seconds we’re both strapped in and on our way in pursuit of the white Volvo.
When we finally catch up to the driver I urge Cody to call in the license plate.
Then I turn on the lights and we pull the guy over.
The car is registered to a local man in his 40s with a clean record. The driver of the car looked a lot younger however.
Maybe the man’s son?
Cody and I exit the patrol car and step up to the driver’s side of the Volvo.
The driver is definitely a teenager, probably in high school. And there’s no baby visible anywhere.
“License, registration and proof of insurance,” I recite after the teen rolls down the window.
“Was I speeding?” His voice cracks. The poor kid is starting to shake he’s so nervous.
It’s difficult for him to even gather the requested documents he’s trembling so badly.
I inspect his license when he hands it to me. He’s only seventeen, probably still in high school.
“We believe we saw a baby in your lap?”
He frowns then realization seems to cross his face. “It’s not a baby. Not a real one anyway. It’s a cry baby for a school project. Parenting class. It’s like a doll, but it simulates being a real baby. I threw it in the back seat.”
“Do you mind if Officer Jackson retrieves it?”
“Go ahead. It started crying and I was trying to make it stop. The thing’s a pain in the ass.” His big brown eyes grow even wider. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say ass .”
Cody opens the back door on the driver’s side and retrieves the simulation baby doll. I have to give the manufacturers credit. The thing does look lifelike.
“Be more careful with this.” I indicate the doll. “You don’t want anyone to think you’re abusing your baby.”
“And I don’t want to fail the class.”
I hand him back his documents. “Drive safely.”
As soon as the kid pulls away Cody and I crack up.
“Can you believe that?” he asks. “It was a doll.”
“What I can’t believe is that you haven’t already starting singing a song.”
He grins then starts singing O-o-oh Child by the Five Stairsteps.
***
“Have you let your partner park his train in your station again?” Zoe asks as she plops down on my daybed.
“Of course not.” I sit down next to her. “We’re playing things by the book until he’s completed his field training.”
“And then what? Isn’t there some kind of rule that you can’t date a fellow officer?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“And you’re supposed to be the sensible one.”
“I guess if we decide we still want to be together one of us would have to transfer to another department.”
“Would you be willing to do that?” She raises an eyebrow.
“That’s a good question.”
“That’s why I’m asking,” she says pointedly. “And I am going to wait for a real answer.”
I heave a sigh. “I have no idea.”
“It’s not a trick question. I want to know what you’d be willing to do for love.”
“I never said anything about love,” I correct.
She crosses her arms in front of her and glares at me. “You can lie to me, but please be honest with yourself.”
“I’ve never lied to you,” I protest.
“Really? I know you have feelings for your rookie. You can’t deny it. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Maybe…”
“That’s all I get? Maybe ?”
“You want me to be honest?”
She nods.
“I’m afraid to admit how I feel because I don’t want to get hurt again. I want to see what he’s willing to do first.”
“He knows you’re a cop and he still wants to be with you?”
I nod.
“He knows you’re single-minded and often driven to obsession and he still wants to be with you?”
“He has seen that side of me on occasion.”
“He knows that you’re a stick in the mud who does everything by-the-book and he still wants to be with you?”
“It seems that way.”
“Then why are we even having this discussion? You need to do whatever it takes to hold onto
Within seconds we’re both strapped in and on our way in pursuit of the white Volvo.
When we finally catch up to the driver I urge Cody to call in the license plate.
Then I turn on the lights and we pull the guy over.
The car is registered to a local man in his 40s with a clean record. The driver of the car looked a lot younger however.
Maybe the man’s son?
Cody and I exit the patrol car and step up to the driver’s side of the Volvo.
The driver is definitely a teenager, probably in high school. And there’s no baby visible anywhere.
“License, registration and proof of insurance,” I recite after the teen rolls down the window.
“Was I speeding?” His voice cracks. The poor kid is starting to shake he’s so nervous.
It’s difficult for him to even gather the requested documents he’s trembling so badly.
I inspect his license when he hands it to me. He’s only seventeen, probably still in high school.
“We believe we saw a baby in your lap?”
He frowns then realization seems to cross his face. “It’s not a baby. Not a real one anyway. It’s a cry baby for a school project. Parenting class. It’s like a doll, but it simulates being a real baby. I threw it in the back seat.”
“Do you mind if Officer Jackson retrieves it?”
“Go ahead. It started crying and I was trying to make it stop. The thing’s a pain in the ass.” His big brown eyes grow even wider. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say ass .”
Cody opens the back door on the driver’s side and retrieves the simulation baby doll. I have to give the manufacturers credit. The thing does look lifelike.
“Be more careful with this.” I indicate the doll. “You don’t want anyone to think you’re abusing your baby.”
“And I don’t want to fail the class.”
I hand him back his documents. “Drive safely.”
As soon as the kid pulls away Cody and I crack up.
“Can you believe that?” he asks. “It was a doll.”
“What I can’t believe is that you haven’t already starting singing a song.”
He grins then starts singing O-o-oh Child by the Five Stairsteps.
***
“Have you let your partner park his train in your station again?” Zoe asks as she plops down on my daybed.
“Of course not.” I sit down next to her. “We’re playing things by the book until he’s completed his field training.”
“And then what? Isn’t there some kind of rule that you can’t date a fellow officer?”
“I guess I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.”
“And you’re supposed to be the sensible one.”
“I guess if we decide we still want to be together one of us would have to transfer to another department.”
“Would you be willing to do that?” She raises an eyebrow.
“That’s a good question.”
“That’s why I’m asking,” she says pointedly. “And I am going to wait for a real answer.”
I heave a sigh. “I have no idea.”
“It’s not a trick question. I want to know what you’d be willing to do for love.”
“I never said anything about love,” I correct.
She crosses her arms in front of her and glares at me. “You can lie to me, but please be honest with yourself.”
“I’ve never lied to you,” I protest.
“Really? I know you have feelings for your rookie. You can’t deny it. I can see it in your eyes.”
“Maybe…”
“That’s all I get? Maybe ?”
“You want me to be honest?”
She nods.
“I’m afraid to admit how I feel because I don’t want to get hurt again. I want to see what he’s willing to do first.”
“He knows you’re a cop and he still wants to be with you?”
I nod.
“He knows you’re single-minded and often driven to obsession and he still wants to be with you?”
“He has seen that side of me on occasion.”
“He knows that you’re a stick in the mud who does everything by-the-book and he still wants to be with you?”
“It seems that way.”
“Then why are we even having this discussion? You need to do whatever it takes to hold onto
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