FicWad

I hate elevator music. I also hate chauvinists, politics and accountants - the list goes on and on - but the one thing I hate more then all of those nuisances are first days. I remember every first day I have ever experienced with startling clarity, and I remember hating them all: Elementary School, High School, The Academy and the first day at Precinct 73. However, right now I hated the music that was wafting through the metal box I was currently trapped in, I was slowly breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, as the cage drew me closer to another first day to go on my every growing list. The first day at Precinct 45. I don't know why I had come to hate first days, it was just one of those things that was ingrained in my personality, just like some people didn't like cats – not that I understand that, personally - I just didn't like first days. It seems slightly dull and uninteresting to not have some long drawn out story about some life-altering event that caused this dislike. But I don't dwell on it as I am the sort of person who deals with things that cannot be changed only when they are directly in front of me, and then ignore them when it's gone. A bad habit to have but it has worked for twenty-seven years so far, so I don't see the point in fixing it now.

Just as I believed I was prepared – mentally and emotionally - the doors stiffly jutted open, exposing the landing of the fourth floor. One foot in front of the other I told myself, as I stepped out of the elevator. I was greeted by a rosy faced blond sitting behind the receptionist desk. Her truism blue eyes gave me a once over and she must have approved as her face spread into a grin. Those blue eyes were sparkling with anticipation. That worried me a little but I ignored it. Walking over to her, I held the girl's gaze as I approached her.

"I'm here to see Captain Mannell," I told her, trying to avoid my voice sounding as though I was a fifteen-year-old girl being called to the principle's office.

She leaned forward, "You're Detective Sozer, aren't you?"

My eyes narrowed, I didn't like the way she said 'you're'. It was as though I was being accused of something. It had that undercurrent tone that mothers and grandmothers have on a regular basis when dealing with children who have stuck their hand in the infamous cookie jar and have now been caught out. Though for me it meant that word had spread of my arrival, rumors had been discussed and conclusions had been made. This was not good.

"Yes, I'm Detec-," I stopped, when I saw the girl straighten back up to her full height, whilst sitting. I grew wary as she raised her chin high and her eyes grew sharp. I glanced behind me. Two men had just got off the elevator. Already I understood and steeled my expression to one worn by any strong-willed woman who worked in a male-orientated workplace. It didn't bother me really; it came with the territory of being one of the few female detectives. But my respect for the receptionist grew. Normally in a precinct you found bubbly blonds who would take any flack the men gave them just to be accepted, but the girl beside me held her own. I knew immediately that I would like her, if only in that respect.

The two men were talking animatedly to each other. They were both around five foot eleven, though one was slightly taller then the other. He wore a navy blue suit, which matched his sandy brown hair that swished while he walked. He had a pleasant face; it was handsome in the regular way some men are. With hazel eyes, and a small mouth. You could look at him and not pity him for being unsightly, but also have a conversation with him and not get so blinded by his appearance as to forget what you were saying in that girly way some women tend to do. It's women like that, with their perfectly painted lips agape, staring all doe eyed, that make me want to walk over to the nearest hard surface and bash me head against it. It's this sort of mentality that makes me perfect for the police force. I don't have much patience for idiocy and girlish impulses. My mother always said she thought I was going to turn out homosexual because I was so butch as a teenager. But like I said I have no patience for idiocy and girlish impulses, so that would never work.

The somewhat shorter man wore a similar suit to his companion, though his jacket lay somewhere forgotten. Instantly I knew what sort of cop he was. He was the sort of cop that was good at his job, knew it and liked to shove it in every bodies face. It was this sort of cop, I tried to avoid, as they firmly believed that females should not be on the force.

How I knew this was simple. He didn't wear his jacket for the simple fact that it hid his badge that lay proudly on his waistline. His gun was positioned on a holster on his belt. It was less practical then a shoulder holster, but it was the first place people looked when you stated you were a cop. It therefore showed off his gun by being placed there. It was a Beretta M9, silver-plated, an ostentatious type of gun for the police force in comparison to my standard black 9mm Glock. I also knew everything I wanted to know about him, as his lips curled up into a sneer the moment he saw me turn and my jacket shifted exposing my piece next to my badge.

It made me feel even worse to consciously admit that this man was attractive. I had to physically stop myself from screwing my nose up at him. It was always the way, that the pigs in the world had all the advantages. No pun intended. His eyes were perfectly symmetrical, green orbs glaring at me in distaste. His lips were full and round, a natural pout any woman would envy. His thick brown hair sat in soft waves framing his sharp cheekbones; his skin had a subtle glow from the sun. In frustration I turned back to the receptionist and rolled my eyes hoping she gained my meaning. She did; her body shook with silent laughter and her eyes smiled at me.

"Hey Melanie," the taller one said when they were finally upon us. His smile was gentle and held no hidden motive. I warmed to him slightly, he was genuine, and that was hard to find in a male these days.

"Hi John," Melanie returned his smile in kind, ignoring his partner as he proceeded around us to lean against the desk, which reached his hip.

"So Mel, who have we here?" He asked his shirt straining as he crossed arms, he didn't even bother to look at me.

Melanie seemed hesitant to reply, but giving a deep sigh, she did, "Detective Sozer."

I heard John shift his weight uncomfortably, causing me to glance at him. He wasn't looking at me, he was watching his partner. Reluctantly, I turned toward the man I had quickly come to dislike. Now he was looking at me, his whole attitude had changed. Great.

"So, this is Detective Sozer, ey?" He pushed off the desk to go stand next to John, "Not what I expected, I thought you would be more butch." His eyebrows rose as he took me in. I went to cross my arms in defiance, but thought better at drawing attention to my chest.

"And you are?" I said in a neutral voice. I didn't want to start trouble on my first day, before I had even seen the captain.

He straightened up immediately, "Officer Daniels."

Damn. I had heard of him, he had been in the paper a few times. I schooled my face to show no recognition and I watched with immense pleasure as the annoyance showed in his face when I didn't react.

"Well Officer Daniels would you be a doll and show me to the Captains office?" I was over doing it, but it was worth it to see John no-last-name turn his head to the side to hide the grin that spread across his face.

Daniels just gave me a blank look, then glared at me. I just smiled sweetly at him. He then stormed past the receptionist desk. Raising an eyebrow at his partner, I gained another grin. Decision made, I liked John.

"Follow him," was all he said, as he too walked pasted the receptionist's desk.

I was just about to do the same, when I felt a hand on my arm, "I'm going to like you aren't I?" Melanie stated. She didn't wait for me to answer; she just went back to her work a smirk plastered on her lips.

When I finally caught up with Officer Daniels, he was impatiently tapping his foot a scowl on his face. Once he saw me, he continued walking through the maze of desks to a door at the end of the station. As I got closer I could make out the block letters on the door. CAPTAIN MANNELL. I suddenly felt nervous. Swallowing I took the last steps until I was in front of the door.

"You won't last a week," Daniels snorted, then turned and walked away.

I hoped he was wrong, as I knocked sharply on the door. There was no response and then the door opened. Captain Mannell stood tall at six foot four, I had to strain my neck to look him in the face.

"Sozer, my girl, come in," His voice was rich with the warmth and indulgence that comes from men who are older than you and have known you since you wore pigtails.

He moved to the side to let me enter, and I stepped into his office. It was exactly the same as the last time I had been here. The walls were a dull green, covered in framed newspaper clippings and station photographs. His desk was littered with papers and family photos. I saw one of me standing next to Captain Mannell's son when we were children. I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit and my hair was plastered to my head. I would have to find a way to get him to remove it now. There was no mistaking the little girl was me. My wavy brown hair was exactly the same with the hint of gold, as well as the deep brown eyes that sparkled in the sun. I had a distinctive face that people didn't readily forget. I don't know why, it was just how it was. My skin was a gentle brown colour, not from the sun and my nose was straight. My cheekbones were prominent and my lips were nice and round. I didn't consider myself attractive but men apparently did. I always compared myself to my mother and my sister who were beautiful and I was simply plain next to them. But I didn't mind, it was not something I held high in my priorities.

Having a photo of me as a child on his desk, showed that I was related to the captain in some way. But it was not an obvious relation though our families were fairly close. Captain Mannell was my uncle's brother-in-law. So there was not really any relation, but like I said our families were close, so I always called him Uncle Sam. Being Latino, family was something we all treasured, even though I knew no Spanish and held to none of the cultural beliefs. My grandmamma had instilled it in all of her children that family was important above all-other.

Sam walked around to sit in his chair behind his desk. His moustache twitched, which only meant that I was going to get a lecture.

"So Sozer, are you sure you want to join this precinct?" He asked, clasping his hands together in front of him on the desk.

I took a moment, pretending to think about his query then answered, "Yes."

He sighed, "You do know you will be the only woman to have ever worked in this station? And I don't know how the boys are going to act with having a woman superior. I can't be there every second making sure they are treating you with the respect they would give if you were not a woman." He frowned for a minute, considering how to proceed. I was listening, but all I heard was how many times he said 'woman', I knew he was trying to make a point but geez.

"Captain, I know all this, but I am a cop as well as a woman, and it is not like I have not been in this situation before. It comes with being a female cop." I assured him. He gave me a wary look.

"Geez Sam, you know me, you know I can handle these guys. If they are like Officer Daniels then I will survive. He is harmless – bigoted maybe – but harmless."

Sam leaned back in his chair with a smile, "Ah so you met Daniels. Yes well, I don't think they will all be like him. But they do tend to follow his lead."

I simply cocked my eyebrow as though it was nothing.

"Well, if you are sure, I didn't think I could really persuade you to change your mind, but I promised Sarsha I would try."

I gave him a look that said this had nothing to do with her, and that whatever she had said he should disregard.

Sam laughed, his eyes grinning with mirth, "She's you mother Roe, and she just worries that you take on more than you can handle."

Rolling my eyes, I relaxed back in my chair. I didn't say anything, and neither did Sam; he seemed to be waiting to see what I would do next. I had always liked Sam; he was different from the rest of my family. Being one of the few in our family who was not Spanish he saw things more in a Western way, where women could work in a male world, like the police force. It was actually Sam, who had inspired me to become a cop, but I had never told him that, it would upset my father if he ever found out.

The silence was broken when the phone rang; Sam leaned forward to pick up the receiver and started talking. After a few minutes he held his hand over the phone and lowered it to his chest.

"I'm going to be awhile, go out and get yourself acquainted with the station and come back in twenty, 'kay?" He said smiling.

I was dying for a smoke, so I nodded and stood, shutting the door quietly behind me. I had no idea where the smoker's area was so I made my way back through the desks to Melanie. She was typing on the computer, her fingers flying around the keyboard. I waited for her to finish before talking, but she got in before me.

"So how did it go?" She asked.

"As good as it could have," I replied, I didn't want people to know that I was related to Sam. Cops don't tend to like it when you use family to move around the force. They also see it as a weakness in female cops, as though we can't get work otherwise.

"Well that's good, it will be nice having another girlie around the station. The guys are nice enough," she rolled her eyes then, "but you know how they can be."

"Yeah I know," I said with a smile of understanding, "hey I was just wondering where the smokers area was."

"Oh it's just down the hall on your left. You will see a sign that says lounge, there is balcony that you can use."

"Thanks," I waved and headed in the direction she had instructed. It amazed me, how every precinct was the same, with their sun-dried beige walls, and lamo floors. It always felt stuffy in the halls of a station. I often thought they should make them more appealing so that people would feel more relaxed. That's what you want in a station, relaxed people. Tense people just get anxious and anxiety becomes anger, and that's just so much harder to work with, especially when you yourself are just fed up with the whiney complaints people make. That is why I became a homicide detective I think, it has more of a purpose than missing cats and whatnot.

I finally found the lounge. It was a typical cop lounge, messy. I walked across the room pulling my lighter and smokes out of my purse. It wasn't until I slid open the glass door that I noticed someone else was already outside. Well least I wasn't the only smoker here.

I breathed in the air and knew I would come here a lot just to get away from the stuffiness. Once I had relaxed, muscles that I hadn't realised were tense did too. I peeked a glance at my companion. God, another tall one. I wasn't short but with all these tall men I was quickly feeling that I was. He was leaning against the balcony railing, and even slumped he looked tall, about six foot two. The first thing I noticed was his long black hair that shimmered in the morning sun. It hung just above his shoulders, and it was tied up. It surprised me, as you didn't see many cops with long hair. It wasn't against regulation – anymore - but you just didn't see it. At a sidelong angle I could see that he was lean, but well built, the pull on his shirt from his position showed off his arms, which were nicely built, lean muscles working their way up his arm. I think I stared longer then was polite, as he turned his face feeling my gaze. Normally I would have turned away at that point but his eyes held me. They were so dark - they were captivating. They looked at me with neither judgement nor a preconceived notion. It startled me. I would have thought he was a desk jockey, if it hadn't been for his shoulder holster. Desk jockeys didn't wear them. He wore black suit pants and a white pin-stripe shirt rolled up to his elbows, a tie lying smoothly down the row of buttons, and his shoulder holster was the new black leather that was becoming a favourite among the men.

When he had turned to face me, I noticed that he was Native American, which explained the hair. His skin was a mild chocolate and it looked so smooth, I soon became jealous. Like Daniels, he was appealing to the eye, but unlike Daniels he held himself like he didn't acknowledge it nor cared. He watched me size him up and when he felt I had finished; he smiled and faced back to look out on the city, bringing his cigarette to his mouth. The silent type I guess.

Taking a step forward I put my purse on a chair and placed my hand on the railing, breathing in the fresh air again. I loved the outdoors; I prayed my desk was close to a window so I could open it while writing up reports. While I got lost in my thoughts, I paid no further attention to the man beside me. Remembering why I had come out, I went to light my cigarette but I all I got was sparks from the end of my lighter. Flicking it a couple more times, I sighed and started rummaging through my purse hoping I had a spare. I felt warmth behind me, so I turned and Mr. No-Name was standing there holding out a blue lighter.

"Thanks," I said, taking it from him.

He just nodded, then returned to his spot against the railing. I lit the end of the cigarette, and handed the lighter back.

"You're the newbie?" He asked, pocketing the lighter.

I scoffed, newbie, but I nodded my head, I guess I was a newbie to the station.

"Hmm, so you know who your partner is yet?" He voice was not deep like I had expected. I wouldn't have known how to explain it if someone had asked me to at that moment, but now I would say it was kind of smooth and clear, but rich at the same time. It was familiar, in a way that made you trust him, without knowing him. It was a good trait for a cop, but it made me guarded. I had come to trust my gut when it came to men in my line of work, but when someone had the ability to manipulate your judgement, that was something to be careful around.

"No, the captain got a call before he had a chance." I answered; it came out a bit curt. Oh well.

"Do you have anyone in mind? Or do you not know anyone from this station?" he seemed curious about me, it didn't really faze me, I was a new toy, that they had never been allowed to play with before. So I could his questions, I suppose.

"Nah, I don't really know any of the guys here."

He nodded, bringing the cigarette to his mouth again. Then looked back at me, "I'm Ray."

Ah, finally a name. There were two ways I could proceed I could state my rank and title, or I could be casual. I would probably have nothing to do with him, so casual would be fine, I surmised. "I'm Roe."

"I know," He smiled, as my brows gathered, "Detective Sozer, you used to belong to the 73's," He said with a knowing smirk.

I cringed, as I was flashed perfect white teeth. What was the criteria for this place: tall, attractive and male? Maybe I had been wrong about him, as his smirk widened and he stood up straight crossing his arms, when he saw my reaction. His eyes were daring me, saying 'go on, you know you wanna look again', that annoyed me. Fine then. I let me eyes travel up and down his body. He had board shoulders, curving into a solid waist. He was a man, but he wasn't huge, tall but not overwhelming. A perfect balance, I suppose. He took care of his body but he didn't do anything to really enhance what Mother Nature had given him. A natural beauty. I let my eyes take in his face straight on properly this time. It jerked my chain, to see that he was more attractive then I had first perceived. His skin looked like melted chocolate spread smoothly, his eyes were dark, but not black as I had first thought, they were brown like mine just to the extreme. It made him appear more native. I had a flash of what he would have looked like in just cow skinned pants. Blinking sharply I pushed the image away. It must have shown on my face, as he laughed at me. Arrogant prick. I rolled me eyes, and turned away. Men.

"So?" He asked, his voice lowering slightly. I tried to think quickly, and I figured that Ray was either the trickster or the player of the station. I couldn't decide which one yet. He could very well be the player; he had the qualities to be so. But there was something in the way his eyes crinkled with amusement, that made me think he was just mucking around and it was just his personality to tease people. I could play either game.

I didn't look back at him, "Acceptable."

I heard his laughter bounced of the walls, and I glanced a look, he was smiling so bright, I sighed, he was a teaser.

I felt him pat my shoulder as he walked past me, "I'll see ya," he said, still smiling.

When I was alone, I let my frustration come to surface. I was unsure if I liked him, I was usually quick at assessing whom I liked and who to avoid. I got the impression that he could be trouble, impulsive even but probably be better then Daniels. I sat on the chair next to my purse, pondering Ray's question. Who was my partner going to be? I had only assumed that John was Daniels partner, but what if he wasn't. The way Sam had smiled when I said his name made me nervous. I lost track of how long I had been sitting there, when the sliding door opened, and Sam stood beside of me.

"Sozer, Sozer, Roe!" He waved a hand in front of my face.

"Sorry," I shook my head, and stood, following him back towards the inner station.

"So did you introduce yourself to anyone?" Sam asked, as we walked down the hall.

I nodded a knot building in my stomach; in my head 'not Daniels' was spinning on repeat.

"Who?"

I had to stop my chanting, to go over the names. "Erm- Melanie, John, Daniels, and this guy Ray."

"Hmmm, and what did you make of the boys?" He asked, looking at me.

My first instinct was to ask 'why?'- "They seemed fine, Daniels would be a handful but I would just teach him…" I let the sentence hang open, letting Sam make what he would with it.

He just laughed, I don't think I have been laughed at so many times in just a short amount of time, and it was started to grate on me.

"Relax Sozer, Daniels is an officer not a Detective, you know this," he was goading me, but I still let my hand fly to my head. I glared at my feet, as the stupidity rose though me.

We pasted Melanie again, and I smiled at her.

"Okay, your partner is Detective Caddo, he is an excellent cop and should give you no trouble. Also the majority of the boys respect him, so it will be easier for you to be accepted." Sam rested a hand on my arm, "This has nothing to do with you, Roe okay, don't take it personally, but it will help you so just take it."

He wasn't asking me, I knew, so I smiled and patted his hand. He was worried, it was sweet, but if it had been anyone else I would have ripped them a new one, but it was Sam so I took it in my stride. I hadn't been paying attention to where we were going so when we stopped, I took in my surroundings. I felt a little better there were windows.

"Sozer, this is Caddo your partner," Sam said with a flourish of his arm.

My eyes followed to where his hand was directing me, and there on the phone leaning back in his chair with his feet on his desk, was a six foot two chocolate skinned, black haired, Native American Ray. He was grinning ear to ear, twirling the phone cord between his fingers. Great.

Ray hung the phone up and stood up, "Captain", he said never taking his eyes off me, or that stupid grin off his face.

Sam looked between the two of us, and smirked, "Caddo, you've met Sozer I heard."

Ray placed his hands in his pockets, "Yep."

Sam just shook his head and walked back to his office.

"You knew, didn't you?" I accused.

"Yep." He replied again, his smile still growing bigger.

I sighed, and slumped down in the chair that sat in front of the desk opposite to Ray's. He followed and we sat there staring at each other.

"So Sozer, you going to be tight-lipped the whole time we're partners?" Ray asked.

"Depends," I snapped, it felt childish but I didn't care.

"On?"

"If you decide to be an arrogant prick the whole time we are partners."

His smile faltered a little, then returned, "Fair enough."

If things couldn't get any peachier, Daniels decided that it was time appear again. "Oh look it's the Cadbury Crew," he sneered.

I snapped my head up to glare at him, but Ray just laughed, "Yes, with all that yummy chocolately goodness on the inside," he replied.

John had followed Daniels up, and gave me a pleasant smile, but his eyes apologised for Daniels. I guess Ray was used to the taunts about his skin colour. I was too, but that didn't mean I would laugh it off like him. Daniels opened his mouth to reply, when the phone on Ray's desk rang, he held up his hand as if to pause an enjoyable conversation they were having. He said a few 'Yeah's' and 'Okays', scribbling something down and hung the phone up. He looked back up at the boys, whilst standing, grabbing his jacket and putting it on.

"Sorry boys, we gotta go, a C.O was found out past the sticks," he looked at me to follow him. I got to my feet, and took a few steps but realised Ray hadn't moved. He had bent down over his pad and ripped off the scribble he had written and pasted it to Daniels. "Jackson, told me to tell you that missing person's came in, here's the address."

Daniels took the piece of paper, looked at it for a second then glanced back up at Ray, "Did he give you a description?" he asked.

Ray walked past him, and stood beside me, "Yeah, said it was a female, about 9 years old, black hair, been missing for about 4 days now," He looked solemn for a minute, "I am sure you will be able to handle it. Poor kitty is probably stuck in a tree." I tried not to laugh when Daniels went to step forward and John grabbed him by the arm.

Ray just smiled, "Later boys," then he walked towards the elevator. I quickly followed. I caught up just as he was pushing the button for the ground floor. I let him see my smirk of approval and he just chuckled in response. The elevator doors closed, and I looked at Ray.

"A C.O?" I asked.

He looked at me for a second, "It must be a precinct thing, C.O means "Cold One', other words a stiff."

"You mean they found someone who was dead," I said, in a tone that spoke volumes.

"Don't tell me, you are one of those who respect the dead, even with shop talk?" He didn't sound serious, but I knew that my answer was being tested. I was slowly coming to the realisation that Ray was not as stupid as he tried to let on with his easygoing attitude. He had manipulated my judgement on him, to be a judgement on me. Very clever.

"Yes, I do believe the dead should be shown respect, but I can't begrudge using slogans to disassociate from one's emotion's and so as not to get attached to the deceased." I replied in my serious voice. In my head I was laughing slightly. When Ray nodded and the corners of his mouth tugging up, I allowed him a smile. It seemed to ease him as little, to know that the broom wasn't completely up my arse - maybe only halfway. The elevator door's opened and I went to head in the direction of the station car park, full of marked cars. But Ray grabbed my arm and pulled me in the opposite direction. I said nothing simply followed him around the ground floor reception area. A variety of people filled the chairs and standing areas. The desk sergeants were scattered among the complainants, writing down whatever hassle was bothering them. There were also a few tattooed men handcuffed to chairs. The usual goings-on for the ground floor of a station. Ray didn't let go my arm, dragging me past the receptionist, who he gave a smile, towards a door marked 'Basement'. Once inside the stairwell, Ray let got of my arm and walked down the few steps that were there. He put his hand in his pocket and withdrew his keys, clicking a button, the lights of a black sedan flashed, so I walked over to the passenger side, opened the door and got in. Ray jumped into the driver's side, put the keys in the ignition and started car.

"So, you have been past the sticks before?" He asked pulling the car out of the car lot and onto the street.

"No," I said, shaking my head as well. Watching the buildings past by.

Ray pulled a siren out from under his seat as the traffic was a bit congested, he didn't really speed, just parted the traffic so we could get through quicker. He turned off onto the main highway, a long stretch of asphalt. Tree's started popping up here and there as the building dwindled down; soon all there was harsh desert. The trees were still lush and green for a few miles, but as the ground started to crack, the trees appeared to be dying, to all that was left was the skeleton of their branches. I now gathered why they called it 'the Sticks'. We had been driving for about fifteen minutes, neither of us saying a word. It was not an uncomfortable silence, but it was a little stiff.

The sun was kicking out some heat, so I tried to wind down the window. After cranking my arm five times in a circle, the window was only half way down. My arm was heavy, so I let the window stay where it was. I leant back into the seat and listened to wind whistle into the car. There was a slight bend in the road causing the wind to change its direction against the car. A whopping sound started reverberating in my ears. I looked pained at the window. I was going to have to wind it back up, because there was no way I was tolerating that noise. Just I was about to reach down and kill all the remaining strength I had left in my arm the noise stopped. It was so abrupt it startled me slightly. Looking over I saw that Ray had his window down all the way.

"How in the world did you get your window down?" I asked, almost whinging.

Ray gave me what I was coming to know as he famous grin and just shrugged, "Maybe I just have more upper body strength," with that he took the arm closest to me and flexed it, his muscles grouping together tightly, "See?"

I rolled my eyes but smiled at the same time, he was infectious I would give him that.

With the windows now down, I could hear a far off noise. A jumble of commotion that you usually get at a scene. My body heaved a sigh, and then I strained my eyes to see what I knew was coming. About a mile up the highway three marked cars and a silver SUV were parked on the side of the asphalt. As we got closer I could just make out a couple, their arms wrapped around each other talking to two Officers. A boy of about thirteen popped his head out of the back window when he heard our car coming up the stretch of road. His father, I could only guess, turned his head sharply his face frowning and the boy quickly hide back within the safety of the vehicle.

Ray turned the car to pull up next to the marked cars. We stopped with a jolt.

"Sorry about that, pot hole I think," he laughed, reaching over me and scrounging around in the glove compartment.

I shifted my legs out of his way, frowning as he leant on my shoulder. Finally he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and a camera, then he turned that white grin on me again. Saying nothing he got out of the car. I huffed and followed him. As I walked behind Ray, I was glad I decided to wear pants, therefore able to wear boots. The ground was uneven and spotted with holes. I was side stepping in ever which direction. This place was truly barren – the perfect place to dump a body.