I love being a policeman.
I swore in becoming a police officer to protect and serve, but over time I learned I loved the perks that came with the badge: discounts, travel, and women, and not necessarily in that order.
I worked on the Portsmouth force for 10 years before I was tapped for sergeant, getting the chance to sway away from regular beat cop to detective, as my captain saw my citizen reviews, my arrest record, then urged I get a little more "involved."
"I'd like to see you be the chief we need round here," Jeremy told me as I was known to the communities as a trusted, respected servant, but on the force, I was the star in making clearances.
"Your hardest assignment is yet to come, yet it will be your most rewarding," he added.
I kept those words in my back pocket as I would become what you would call a "major crimes" detective, handling mostly big drug cases and homicides as there was an uptick of both at the time. This meant even more visibility within the roughest neighborhoods as I replaced the creased, blue uniform for street clothes, or the occasional suit and tie.
"Guess someone was promoted," said Lena as the "neighborhood owl," as I called her, yelled from her porch one summer afternoon. "It's a little too hot for that fine, fabric suit."
I was rummaging the area for clues after a recent murder as the offense appeared drug-related, and I had to walk the beat to try to piece together clues.
"So now what? You switching on us," she asked.
I walked up to her porch, then tried to set foot on the concrete block to evade the sun.
"Unh uh, you one of them now," she said.
By "them" she meant me being a detective, or "snitch hoarder," vice just a regular cop as in her eyes I could relate better as the former. Lena herself over the years gave subtle tips of crimes in the past, and had three brothers and a son locked away for drug offenses as oddly enough she claimed against speaking with the police.
"One of these young bucks see you up here talking with me, and it might not be good," she said. Re
W W
I listened to the caramel colored woman who might've been pushing her mid 50s, but looked to be in her mid was e430s tell me the "rules of the hood." In the years of me coming to this particular neighborhood we always crossed paths as she barely wore makeup for that naturally gorgeous, smooth face. Lena carried a trim waist and the nicest curves I've seen on a woman of her height as she had to have been no more than five foot five.
"Just because I'm a sleuth now doesn't mean I'm a different person. I thought we wanted the same thing," I asked as I stepped away from her porch at this moment.
"Things have gotten a little tighter around here lately," she countered.
I understood, then saluted this bombshell before I walked off and hopped in my car, determined to gather information from her at another time. I came back to the scene one Saturday morning as the neighborhood was still fairly sleep, walking the same path, hoping she'd be on the porch.
"You back," she said as I walked past her home.
I'd hit jackpot as it seemed like she had amnesia of what she said, and spilled all the beans of crime from the rumors, to what seemed to be true. I chided her for holding back on me as she already had my number.
"Some things you have to hold close to the vest and let go at the right time," she said as we were sitting and talking at 7 a.m.
I stepped on the porch to sit down as we were enjoying the morning summer breeze. I noticed she was wearing no makeup and a house gown, which exposed her fine skin and gave off natural radiance.
I listened to her sweet, soft voice rattle off key details, and when she gave me what I needed, I thanked her, then offered to shake her hand before I departed.
"That's it? That's all you needed from me," she said as I got a glimpse of her hazel eyes for the first time.
I complimented her and asked if she was of mixed race.
"Native American, Cuban and black, so yes. My dad was the first two I just mentioned, and my mother is black," she said.
Something made me sit back down as now we weren't discussing crime, but really getting to know each other.
"I'm 56, divorced, got three daughters, all grown and living on their own," I told her as she was shocked to hear of me having kids.
"Just thought I was some rogue cop," I asked as we burst out laughing.
We talked for about an hour about futures, and how she had aspirations to finally leave the neighborhood since her son and daughter, grown and in Arizona, were away.
"I ain't had a man in years, since my boy's father was around," she mentioned while waving her arms around. "I'm free."
I sinced loneliness in her voice, and suddenly the charismatic, smooth talking Lena was looking prettier than a tulip.
"So you've been single all these years," I asked. "How do you deal with it?"
She chuckled, and explained that as long as she had "Jeffrey" and "Donald," she could manage to get through her drought.