Watcher

Being a Detective was something I’ve always wanted since I was three. My parents supported this dream completely. Though I always got straight A’s, my teachers didn’t believe I would pass the exam. It took until ninth grade when I realized the real reason. Can you guess? Yup, you got it. It was because I am a girl. Terrible, right? I didn’t let this stop me. I passed the exams with flying colors. Of course, I had no friends and I didn’t mind. I got to be a detective which made me way past excited. My name’s Summer Walter and I’ll be glad to have you by my side as I work.

On my first day, I knew I was going to get assigned a partner who was higher ranked than I was. It worried my parents but I was fine with it. Shoot, O didn’t tell you anything about my appearance. I have ink-black hair, scarlet eyes, and a stubborn attitude. I’m a determined, practical, and reasonable person as well. Or I try to be. I live in Salem, Oregon. The name reminds me of the stupid Salem Witch Trials. Those people were so stupid. Witches don’t exist, End of story. Anyway, at the moment I’m sitting at the table eating breakfast with my parents. It wasn’t anything special. Just bacon, eggs, and toast with mint tea.

“Summer, you are only twenty-two years old. They should give you someone in your age group,” Mom said.

I sighed. I had already explained this to them. “I won’t know who my partner is until they assign me. Besides, It has to be someone higher up than me. I’m only a DC.”

“What’s a DC again?” Dad asked.

“Detective Constable.” I stood. “Well, I’ve got to go. Don’t want to be late for my first day. Breakfast was delicious, Mom.” I hugged them and drove to the station. I stood in front of the doors for a second then went in. What? I had to have a minute because I was way too excited. I have to be professional.

Chief Dylan Shaw met me. “DC, Walter. I’m glad you’re early. Your new partner hates people who are late.”

I nodded. So who is it?” I tried not to sound eager but I think I failed because he smiled.

“DS Septimus Dew,” he replied. For those of you who don’t know, DS stands for Detective Sergeant. So he is definitely higher than me. “He’s in my office. Follow me.”

I did. When we got into the room I saw a man with brown hair and golden eyes. Which were…staring right at me. “Hello, I’m DC Summer Walter. I’m your new…”

“Partner, I know,” He interrupted.

I wonder if he knows it’s rude to interrupt people. But I just nodded.

“I expect you to be punctual. When I set a time I expect you to meet it. Understood?” He continued.

I fought the urge to glare at him. I glanced at the Chief and he just shrugged as if to say, I warned you. I bit my lip and nodded again.

He stood. “Chief, is there anything else you might need?”

Oh, he was nice to him. “There’s a homicide on Lyn Street. Your teams holding the fort until you get there,” the Chief said.

Dew nodded and motioned for me to follow. I did though I was irritated. We took his car. When we got there, there was already a whole bunch of spectators. I made a quiet sound of disgust- and got a small look of approval from Dew. We got out and put on the protective suits.

Dew turned to the ME. “What do we have?”

“Thirty-year-old, Keeth Jope. Stabbed eight times in the chest,” ME Jo Burns replied.

I looked at the body. “It doesn’t look as though it was done quickly.” There were two stabs in the middle and three on either side.

The ME nodded. “Whoever did this, planned it out carefully.”

“Can you give me a time of death? Dew asked.

“Recent is all I can tell you.”

“Looks like it was done a few minutes ago,” I murmured.

Dew gave me a sharp look. “How can you tell that?”

Look at the body, genius. But I didn’t say that. “Some of the wounds are still dripping blood. Look,” I pointed to a drop working its way to the ground.

He nodded. “Good observation, Walter.” He looked at someone. “Who made the call, John?”

John glanced at him. “His girlfriend. They both own this house. She woke up and went onto the porch to have her morning coffee and found him.”

“Name?”

“Juliette Rook. She’s at the neighbor’s house.”

Dew looked back at me. “Come on. We need to go talk to her.”

I nodded and we took off the suits and put them in evidence bags. Then we headed over.

Dew knocked and an old woman answered. “You looking for Juliette?” She asked.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“She’s in the living room. It’s on you right. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.” She walked off. Not a very cheerful neighbor.

We went in to find a woman sitting on the sofa rocking back and forth sobbing. Dew sat in the armchair across from her and I sat next to her.

“Miss. Rook, can you tell us what happened?” Dew asked, with no emotion, like usual. Again it took all my effort not to glare at him.

She did, though. “How the hell do I know? Isn’t it your job to find that out? I just came out onto the porch and found him d…” She burst into tears.

“Miss, Rook, I will not be able to help you if you don’t…”

“How long were you and Keeth together for?” I interrupted, earning a glare from him.

“A year,” she sniffled.

“During that year did he seem mysterious at all?” I kept my voice soft.

She thought about it then shook her head. “We were near each other all the time. Unless we had to go to work.”

“What are your jobs?” I glanced at Dew and saw him watching her closely.

“I’m a fashion designer. He is…I mean was a doctor.” More tears came down.

So maybe someone he was looking after in the hospital died and whoever killed him did it to get revenge. “How long did you two own that nice house?” I asked.

“A couple of months.”

“Did you ever see anyone strange following you two when you were together?”

“No.” She was calming down.

“Did he ever get mysterious emails, texts, phone calls, or letters?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Do you know if any of the patients he was looking after died?” Dew asked.

Her eyes narrowed. “Not everyone can be cured,” she said, coldly.

Dew stood and I followed. We said our goodbyes and left. “Never interrupt me again,” he snapped at me.

I lost it. I whirled and looked him in the eye. “One of the first things I learned at the academy was to always be nice to someone who’s grieving. The only way to do this is by showing emotion. You kept making her mad by not showing any emotion, I’ve only seen you show anger. You’re like a damn robot!”

“Emotions are for weak people.”

“That’s your opinion,” I snapped. Then I stalked to the car and slammed the door. He got in too and we didn’t talk on the way back to the station. I walked straight to my desk and looked up the name Keeth Jope. In a few minutes, I had his profile up.

He once walked into a house that was on fire and save a six-year-old girl who had been stuck inside. Back in 2025, he had been shot for calling someone stupid. Aha, found it! This past year he had twelve people he was looking after die. The most recent one was a five-year-old boy whose parents couldn’t have kids but got lucky once and he was the result. Tia and Sole Jump. Sole had once been arrested for shooting up a school when he was seventeen. Luckily no one died. Tia had been arrested once for shoplifting.

It will be worth looking into them. A chair in front of my desk scooted out and I looked up. It was the chief. “Hello, Chief, What can I do for you?”

“DS Dew said you had interrupted his interrogation.”

“Sir, in my defense, the woman we were talking to kept getting pissed at him because he wasn’t showing any emotion. I hadn’t stepped in we wouldn’t have gotten any info.”

“Which was?”

“Keeth Jope and Juliette Rook had been together for a year. They bought that house two months ago. They barely left each other’s sides. The only separated to go to work.”

“Jobs?”

“She’s a fashion designer and he was a doctor. She didn’t know whether he got any mysterious letters, texts, emails, or phone calls. I did some research and in the past year, twelve people died under his care. The most recent is a small boy who was the result of his parents getting lucky because they hadn’t been able to have kids. Tia and Sole Jump are their names. Both of them have a record.” I could see Dew eavesdropping but that was fine because I wasn’t planning to repeat this to him. “At seventeen, Sole brought a gun to school and shot the walls. No one was killed or injured. Tia shoplifted fifty movies and two makeup kits. She did it six times before she was caught. They were both released eight years ago. Married for seven of those years. Jim, their child, was born five years ago. Died under Keeth’s care two weeks ago.”

“What did he die of?”

“Brain tumor.”

“How did the parents react?” He was aware of Dew too.

“They tried to sue him but the owner of the hospital explained that not many people survive. It’s true. My brother died from the same thing.”

“Good work,” The Chief glanced at Dew. “What do you think? Still want a new partner?”

I sat back, crossed my arms over my chest, and raised an eyebrow- at Dew.

“She did do a good job,” Dew admitted, grudgingly.

“She did,” the Chief agreed.

“Dew looked away. “I’ll keep her as my partner.” His phone rang and he walked away to answer it. Then motioned for me to follow him. We got into his car and drove to what I’m assuming will be another homicide.