“Right? I’m still not sure what it means.”
“Are you being serious right now? Diana, this means you’re not just on the team, you’re the star player. I was already stressing about the final exam, then they locked you up, and I was sitting here trying to figure out what sort of crime would get me locked up too, so we could be in jail together.”
Diana kissed her forehead. “That’s sweet. But no, Kenner invited me to his office for drinks. We talked for a while, then he had something to do. He gave his assistant or whatever a really weird look when he said it.”
“Ewww,” Lyssa said. She cocked her head once more, and kissed Diana, probing her with her tongue. She pulled away and licked her lips. “I’m not tasting any alcohol. What kind of drinks are we talking about, exactly?”
“Soda. He’s got this thing about Blast Cola. He says he’s been drinking it since he was in high school.”
“Blast? That stuff is nasty! Did you spit it out?”
“It wasn’t so bad. The fizz kinda tickled my nose.” She put her hand to her forehead. “I’m really wired now, that’s for sure.”
Lyssa smiled and set the commendation aside on the writing desk. “Poor baby. Come relax with me. I didn’t watch today’s Fortune yet.”
Diana sat with her back against the wall on Lyssa’s bed, who in turn sat with her back to her chest. Diana peered over her shoulder and Lyssa swiped and tapped the tablet until the familiar loading screen for Fortune and Destiny glowed, then vanished. A thrill shot down her spine as Alexa Charlevoix appeared on the screen, standing on the deck of her Italian villa. She tapped her finger to her ear, and a shirtless man in a pop-up window reached over to his nightstand to press a glowing button. “Alexa? It’s 2 o’clock in the morning.”
“I know it is, darling. I just wanted to hear your voice while I watched this marvelous sunrise.” An orange glow passed across her face, and her hair blew gently in the breeze.
“They’re like, across the hall from each other. It’s funny when they try to make it look like she really went somewhere else. Also, I think they screwed up the time difference.”
Diana hated it when Lyssa talked about the show in terms of sets, or special effects, or worst of all, when she called the characters by the actor’s names—especially Alexa. She could have gone her entire life not knowing that the actress who brought her to life each day on the small screen was named Janet McBride, and was in other stuff, like Hope and Sacrifice. She played the sister of a fancy executive and didn’t act one bit like Alexa. She was sorry she asked to see some of the footage, preferring to see her only as her new-found idol.
“I still don’t get why you had to leave Cape May. What was so important that you had to rush off to Italy?”
Alexa smiled. “Nothing to worry your pretty head about. Just dealing with a complication with the PDX takeover attempt. I’ll be back soon, and you can show me how much you missed me.”
She tapped her ear, and the shirtless man went away. She looked out at the glorious sunrise over what must have been a lake, or an ocean, or maybe a mountain range. Diana liked imagining what was going on off camera while she observed the action on the screen.
Another shirtless man entered the frame from her right. He was wrapped in a white towel, and he put his hand on her back. She smiled, and kissed him passionately, knocking her coffee mug off the deck railing. She looked up, and said, “Now, Brent, where were we?”
Lyssa squealed and dropped the tablet as the title montage played. “Oooh, that bitch! Brent Moorcroft? Ugh, she can do so much better than him.” She looked over her shoulder at Diana, who bit her lip pensively. “I love it. Don’t you just love it?”
“Rivals,” she said.
“Huh? Well, maybe. More like, she’s a conniving bitch, and I’m saying that totally out of respect. She’s just doing this to con Brent out of taking over PDX, but Taylor isn’t going to see it that way, I bet.”
“Or, maybe she’s in love with him, and Taylor is going to find out the hard way.”
Lyssa snorted. “Alexa, in love? Pfft. She only loves money and being a backstabber.”
“Maybe there’s more about her that you don’t know.”
“Heh. No, the writers are pretty consistent. There was a time, like, eight years ago when the head writer tried to make her some sort of good guy, who stood around and watched everybody else get into trouble, instead of being in the thick of it. Janet McBride raised hell and threatened to quit the show. They fired that writer three days later, and she was right in the sack with Jayson Manfield by Friday.”
“Un-fricking-believable.” Diana didn’t know what else to say.
“Yeah, the golden rule of soaps is, don’t mess with a winning formula.” Lyssa picked up the tablet. “Shhh, it’s back on. Oh, God, do we have to see Gwen ever again? Retire already!”
The following morning, Officer Neville stood at the front of the class. After the cadets were seated, and the commotion died down at Diana’s return, he greeted everyone and gestured to a man who was unfamiliar to the other cadets, but Diana knew as Lieutenant Kenner. “Folks, this is Lieutenant Kenner. He asked to speak to you this morning before we continued with class. Lieutenant Griggs has been called away on official police business, so Officer Sorrellis and I will take over from here.”
Diana read between the lines. Griggs was pouting about being pushed around by Kenner and being ordered to free his prisoner . He’d be back, she mused, but he needed to lick his wounds first.
Kenner nodded curtly to Neville and took his place at the front of the class. “Greetings, everyone. As he said, I’m First Lieutenant Kenner. Not to be confused with Second Lieutenant Griggs.” He and Neville shared a private laugh for a moment, then he continued. “As you are undoubtedly aware, Diane here,” he used his entire arm to point to her, “saw some action yesterday. Okay, a lot of action. Okay, she shot two men. And her assigned officer is resting comfortably at Saint Mark’s. He was shot in the shoulder, and it’s for that reason I asked to say a few words to you today.”
Lee Harper leaned over. “Why is he calling you Diane?”
“They messed up my file. I’m not correcting him after he dropped all those charges. It’s fine. I kind of like it.”
Kenner continued. “Officer Hayes is in the hospital because he let rules and regulations take priority over swift, decisive action.” He arm-pointed to Diana again. “Action that Diane here initiated, on her own initiative.”
Sapphire rolled her eyes and snorted. “Initially?”
Kenner gave her a confused look and continued. “As your ranking officer, I am urging you to feel free to take the initiative, rather than getting bogged down in messy procedures.” He sneered and used a mocking voice. “Oh, boo hoo, I didn’t tell the suspect to freeze, and count to ten, and apologize to the victims.” He put on a stern tone. “False. If you have a clean shot, take it. End the situation. I’d rather scrape dead-end crap off the street for a month than attend one officer’s funeral for an hour. Singleton’s an impressive cemetery, and someday we’ll all lay there and sing ‘Kumbaya’ together, God willing.”
The cadets looked at each other and applauded.
Kenner raised his hand to hush the room. “This does not mean that there’s no such thing as law and order. By all means, if you can make a clean arrest, or issue a verbal warning, or use any other non-lethal means at your disposal, do so. But the fact is, we’re not doing so hot as a police force right now. We lost a lot of good men and women on Arbor Day,” he got a catch in his throat, “and many of them were my friends. All of them were my colleagues, and to the last, they were all heroes.”
The room broke out into sniffles and muted applause.
“Now, more than ever, we need you to be smarter than the flock of idiots we have roaming the streets right now, forming their little gangs, and thinking some terrorists turned this city into the wild west. And if you come across any of those bastards, why, by all means… send ‘em to hell. It’s time
to show this city that the police are on the job, and we will make these streets safe again.”
The cadets rose to their feet, applauding enthusiastically. Kenner basked in the adulation, then arm-pointed to Diana. The cadets turned to her, clapping and hooting. Lyssa looked across the room adoringly at her and blew a kiss discreetly. Diana smiled and waved.
Kenner gestured to Neville, who handed him a glossy black belt and holster. He waved Diana up to the front of the room and made a show of presenting her with it. She buckled it around her waist, figuring she’d put it on properly later, and Kenner raised her arm like a winning prizefighter. “Welcome aboard, Pembrook.”
Sapphire shrugged. “Well, she’s still got the final exam yet, not to mention—”
Kenner scowled at her. “Exams? Exams? This is a national hero! She can wipe her ass with your employee file, for all I care.” He turned to Diana. “Raise your right hand.”
Diana gulped as she obeyed his command. She’d been through this ritual with Officer Milton, but she didn’t think he took the oath he gave her all that seriously. Now Lieutenant Kenner stood before her in dress blues and raised his hand.
“Repeat after me: I, Diane Pembrook, do solemnly swear to execute the laws of the state of New Jersey, and serve as an honorable officer of the Panther Division.”
Neville and Sorrellis exchanged confused glances. “Sir,” he said, “this is the fourth precinct.”
“It was. Big changes are coming, people. Diane here is going to lead the charge. That is, after she swears this damn oath.”
“Y-yes, sir,” she stammered and completed the oath as he pronounced it to her. He pinned a silver badge on her shirt and saluted her. She saluted back, and the stunned cadets showered her with applause after the ceremony.
Kenner leaned over. “We’ll get you fitted for the real uniform this afternoon, while the rest of them are listening to some dull lecture.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down, sir.”
He smiled and waved to the class. “I know you won’t. Maybe this will get the rest of these yo-yos on board with the program. I’m counting on you to set a good example.”
“Yes, sir. I will, sir.”
Kenner waved once more and left the classroom.
Neville directed Diana to return to her seat, and he stood before the class with an exhilarated, and confused expression. “Well, um, that was, um, unexpected, to put it mildly. I know this is a lot to ask, after all that excitement, but class is in session, and we have a lot of ground to cover. Get out your Day Five schedule, and let’s get started.”
CHAPTER 31
Diana shivered as she stood on the cold linoleum floor of a converted classroom. She had stripped down to her bra and panties, and she folded her arms across her chest while Sapphire sat at a folding table, filling out forms in triplicate. She looked up at Diana and gave her a dismissive wave. “Arms to your sides. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Diana complied and looked around the room while she waited to distract herself from her embarrassment of being nearly naked, even if only in private with a fellow female officer. Sapphire gave no impression that she was the least bit excited about what Diana was—or wasn’t—wearing. After a moment, she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay, let’s get this show on the road. Height?”
Diana frowned. She’d never been asked that before. “I don’t know. Average, I guess?”
Sapphire set her pen down and gave her a hard stare. “Seriously, you don’t know? Or are you just trying to make me get up from my comfy metal folding chair?”
“I… don’t know.”
“Fine, we’ll skip that. Weight?” Diana frowned again, and Sapphire tossed her pen aside, snorting. “Okay, hotshot, you win. Let’s do the numbers.” She unfurled a yellow tape measure and had Diana step on one end with her right heel. She ran the tape measure up her back and pressed it to the crown of her head. “Looks like five feet… nine inches. A bit taller than average.”
Diana shrugged. “I feel normal.”
Sapphire bunched up the tape measure and set it aside. “Goody for you. Now for the fun part. Get on the scale.” She kicked a bathroom scale until it stopped in front of Diana’s feet. She stepped up onto the scale and waited for further instructions. Sapphire crouched down and waited for the dial to settle. “124 pounds. I thought as much.” She stood up, and patted her stomach, making Diana flinch. “You need to bulk up.”
Diana cocked her head. “You mean, get fat like Officer Hayes? That seems extremist.”
Sapphire snorted. “Yes, telling you to put some meat on your bones is the same as blowing up buildings. Silly me.”
“No, I meant, you know, like…” she struggled for the right words, and found none.
“The word you’re looking for is ‘excessive’, and no, it’s not. Believe it or not, there’s more to this job than going around shooting people. You have to run, jump, lift, stand, and perform repetitive tasks, like directing traffic.”
“Isn’t that for the Community Service Officers?”
“Yes, because we have thousands of those. Nope, we’re shorthanded by a mile, so sooner or later, you’re on traffic duty. Suck it up, team player.”
Diana nodded, and Sapphire directed her to step down from the scale. She commanded her to hold her arms out to her sides, and Diana sucked in a breath when the cold tape measure wrapped around her breasts. It moved to the length of her back, then each arm, then around her waist, and finally, the outer and inner length of each leg. Sapphire stopped to jot down each measurement on a notepad. When she was finished, she returned to her seat and transcribed the figures onto her forms.
Diana bit her lip nervously while she waited. Sapphire looked up and gave her a dismissive wave. “Get dressed. I’ve seen enough of your gangly ass for a lifetime.”
Diana gathered up her clothes and put them on quickly. After she had dressed, she stood before Sapphire. “Am I excused?”
Sapphire didn’t look up. “No. Hang tight.”
Diana bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet and looked around the room. The classroom used to be inhabited by fourth-graders. Some of their art and essays about patriotism still hung on the walls. Faint outlines where other posters once adorned the walls poked out from behind new ones concerning police procedure, the or…gan...ization—Diana pieced the word together bit by bit, then smiled when she sounded it out in her head—and the Arbor Day Fund.
Sapphire exhaled sharply and set her pen down. “There, that’ll do for now. Before you go, I have a few things for you.”
Diana raised her eyebrows as Sapphire rummaged around in a pile of things off to the side. She produced a stack of 3-ring binders and set them down on the table.
“Okay, Kenner has you on the fast track, which means no final exam for you. You’ll be assigned to a partner on Monday, so you’re not distracting the other ducklings. He figures you’ll just shoot up the town and solve the world’s problems in a month, but I know better. You’re going to need to know your stuff, Pembrook. School isn’t over, it’s just changed rooms. This is your homework. Practices and Procedures, Volume One…” She set the binder aside. “Volume Two…” She piled it on top of the other one. “And my personal favorite, Volume Three. I expect you to learn this stuff, even if Kenner doesn’t, got it?”
Diana gulped. “Yes, uh, ma’am.”
“And this,” she held up a book that had an unfamiliar word at the top, “is my gift to you. I went out on my lunch hour and picked it up. You of all people need this.”
“What is it?”
Sapphire smirked. “The fact that you just asked me that means I was right about you. You’re not illiterate, but you have a limited vocabulary. Words that someone your age should know, or at least have heard of. This is a dictionary.”
“What’s that?”
Sapphire set it on the table and pushed it forward. “Look it up.”
Diana frowned and opened the cover. She flipped through the pages
, but all the words ran together. “How?”
Sapphire sighed and rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me right now? Okay, look. See that word? ‘Dictionary’. What letter does it start with? I mean, you do know your ABCs, right? How far back do I gotta go?”
“D.”
“Yes, D for Diane. Or Diana. Whatever. So, you use these cut-outs on the side here, and, where is D? Can you point to it?”
Diana wasn’t sure how much of this was meant to be humiliating, and how much was a genuine attempt at helping her out. The fact that they were behind closed doors suggested the latter. She pointed to the letter D and looked up at Sapphire, who patted her head.
“Good girl! Now, what do we know about this word? See how it’s D-A words first, like ‘dance’ or ‘dab’? That’s your key to finding the word you want to look up. So, it’s not D-A. What do you want to look for instead?”
Diana thought it over and flipped to the front cover for a moment. “D-I.”
“Right. So, keep looking down the list until you start seeing words that start with D-I. There, ‘diagram’. What word are you looking up again?”
“Dic-tin-ery.”
“Ugh. It’s pronounced ‘dick-shun-airy’. See? They tell you how to pronounce the word phonetically. Oh God, you probably don’t know what that word means, either. Okay, see this upside-down E? You make this sound: uhhhh.”
“Uhhhh,” Diana mimicked.
“Right, just like your fellow cave people probably say. Anyway, to save us both a lot of time, you know you wanted D-I, but you haven’t found the word yet. So, the next letter is, what?”
“C.”
“Good job! Flip the pages until you find words that start with D-I-C. Got it? Great. The word you’re looking for is coming up any second now. Point to it when you see it.”
Her finger hovered over ‘diction’, which was defined as “the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.” Before she could be scolded, she slid her finger down to ‘dictionary’, which earned her another pat on the head.
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