The alarm rang in the bedroom of the three-room apartment at 427 Wentworth. The suns bright rays filtered through the partially opened blinds. The man hanging on to the last few moments of a well-deserved night of sleep turned over and hit the button to stop that awful sound. Then there was silence once more. He slowly began to move his legs over the side of the bed and once again enter the world of reality. It started off as what promised to be a good day. This was the beginning of a long awaited two days off. Due to the budget cutbacks, he had been working for twenty-one days straight and needed this time off. The last thing he remembered from the previous evening was the pillow rising up to meet him.
First on the agenda today was a game of golf with Alyssa Meriwether. She was taking time from her own busy schedule for this game. Even though they had only dated twice he found himself drawn to her in more ways than one. He really liked her. It was no surprise to him that she had advanced so quickly within the ranks of her chosen field.
Matt knew about her credentials. Top in her class at the academy, expert shot with a handgun, and an expert combat tactician. Three years ago, she had broken his running string of three consecutive years of winning the yearly handgun testing. She beat his score by more than ten points. Three of her shots had actually hit inside previous shots. The following year she had not entered the competition. He had assumed this was due to the fact her father had been killed in the line of duty right before this.
He remembered the story as if it had just happened. Her dad had been working on a routine traffic check and had pulled over a late model SUV. While he was approaching the vehicle the driver fired a concealed weapon striking him twice in the upper chest area. He was pronounced dead at the hospital despite efforts to save his life. Facts concerning the incident came forth and it was learned the car had been stolen the day before. The vehicle provided some prints that led to an arrest. The driver of the car had some previous convictions and was arrested two days later as he was trying to cross the state line. He was later convicted of first degree murder and given a life sentence without parole. He managed to serve six months of the sentence before someone from within the prison negated the remainder of his sentence. Although it was a closed case, it was something he thought better left not discussed.
He had an hour to get ready and meet her at the golf course. The tee time was 9:00 a.m. and he did not want to be late. He looked at the lean muscular body in the full- length mirror in front of him and thought he saw a little beginning of a bulge on the side. I better work on that he said to himself as he began to go through his routine. At thirty years of age, he had managed to reach the level of Detective Second-Grade. He could only go one level higher to Chief of Detectives. This would have to wait because the position had already been filled just a year before and it would be awhile before it came open again. It just as well, because he was happy where he was. He had been on the force over eight years now and he had moved up rather quickly. He liked the people he worked with for the most part. Detective Matt Spyder was good at his job and everyone knew it. He had received several awards as a result of this and promotions as well. The only one moving faster than him up the ladder was the woman he would be seeing in a few minutes at the golf course.
She had risen to the position of the Director of Criminal Investigations Division. Alyssa Meriwether was a puzzle indeed. The male members of the force in the department were intimidated by her, for the most part. This was not something she invited, he concluded. It was more their own attitudes that brought this about for the most part.
He felt comfortable with her. She helped him to laugh at himself and not take things too seriously all the time. She had a special brand of humor. To say that she was bright would be an understatement. The person coming in second at her graduation at the academy came in thirty points behind her. She did her job well and was very firm, but fair.
They had worked together on a couple of occasions and he knew this to be fact. To say she was a knockout would also be an understatement. There might be more attractive women out there, but it would require an extensive search to locate them. Matt thought as he finished his preparation that the most intriguing part of her was the way her eyes looked right to the soul. Be careful old man he thought, you could be getting hooked on her. He let out a small laugh and uttered, Get a grip.
He checked the phone for messages and switched it back to record. Fifteen minutes later, he was pulling in the parking area of the golf course. People turned and looked at the bright red convertible as he pulled into the slot to the right of the clubhouse. He had searched for this make model and color for quite some time until he finally came across exactly what he wanted on the internet about six months ago. There had been others close, but not with everything he wanted on them. After a couple of months of negotiations, he traveled to Muncie, Indiana to complete the transaction. It had cost him $3,000, but it was worth every penny. This was a price both parties involved could live with. It had black leather bucket seats and a four-speed on the floor. It had a 327 C.I. engine with 300 hp. This completed the package of what he considered to be the car he had dreamed about for as long as he could remember. He took special care of it and it returned the favor.
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