To Protect & Serve Read Online Free PDF Page A

Stacey immediately before she died, and exactly what was going on at that community watch meeting.
    Alex slumped into her father’s worn leather recliner and rested her head in her hands. She and Stacey hadn’t been close personal friends but they’d formed a bond of mutual respect and appreciation. They shared an understanding of dedication to purpose and service for the greater good. This was a young woman who would’ve made a difference in the world. Alex lost track of time as the tears started without invitation and refused to stop. Memories of Stacey’s laughter, her plans for the future, and her compassion for others faded with the sobs Alex had held in all day.
    The world sucks , she thought as she slammed her fists against the chair arms and rose to pace her cluttered living room. Whoever did this to Stacey would not go unpunished. She owed it to her and the other young people who had died before realizing their potential. She wanted this killer of dreams and purveyor of poison to rot in prison for the rest of his natural life. Better yet, she wanted him to do something stupid and invite a bullet.
    For the first time in her career, Alex considered the risks she was willing to take in order to make this case. The very idea of anything illegal, immoral, or unethical grated at her nature, but she wondered if her strict adherence to the rules all these years had allowed others like Sonny Davis to go unpunished. Other officers occasionally skirted procedures or bent the rules, and didn’t the end justify the means, especially if the end result was justice? The thought sent a shiver up her spine.
    Her mind flashed unwanted pictures of Keri Morgan’s unencumbered breasts under that tank top. She wondered if the skimpy attire had been the result of a wardrobe oversight or an intentional effort to attract attention as she came into work. Alex tried to dodge her wayward thoughts as she walked to the bathroom. The old reel-to-reel answering machine on the phone stand in the hallway blinked that she had a message waiting. She ignored it. All she wanted was a hot shower to soothe her aching muscles followed by a vodka tonic to erase Keri Morgan from her mind.
    She turned on the hot water and undressed. How could she possibly work with Keri on the task force when Keri gave her killer looks like today? Not to mention the fact that Alex had physically craved her breasts not six hours earlier. What a mess. Questionable professional ethics were bad enough, but add to that Keri’s… Alex struggled for the right word. She was just too damn…vibrant.
    You’re making no sense at all, Alex chastised herself. One of the reasons she was drawn to Keri was that she bristled with life. Alex hadn’t felt that energy in herself or anyone else for a long while. She showered and dressed without wasting time, then wandered out to the hallway and mashed the rewind button on her blinking machine. The tape backed up with a slow whirring growl, then began its delivery.
    “Hello, gorgeous, it’s Helen.”
    Alex jabbed the rewind button and stared at the phone. She suddenly hated the antiquated technology that prohibited immediate erasure of that deadly sweet voice. But she’d been unable to part with her father’s only concession to the high-tech age in their home.
    Alex rattled off a list of reasons Helen Callahan might call her. Maybe she’d already heard about the task force and wanted to horn in on the political action. Or perhaps she was just horny and thought Alex was weak enough to entertain the idea of having sex with her again. The most likely reason was that she was drunk and lonely again. Alex dropped into a turquoise vinyl chair at her kitchen table and stared at the Formica and chrome top, feeling as dated as the hand-me-down dinette set. Different emotions warred in her mind. She knew what was coming every time she allowed herself to remember Helen: seductively promising words followed by the skillfully manipulative hands and