PANDORA'S BOX OF A SUSPECT POOL
Pandora’s Box of a Suspect Pool
She opened her door and bellowed, “Detectives Duff and Cruise, can you please come in? I’ve got a hot one!” Lieutenant Beverly O’Hare was their boss, and she was not someone to underestimate. Beverly stood 5’11” and was an African American woman despite her being an outstanding athlete. Bev is fifty-seven years old and has worked her way up since she started as a traffic cop thirty-seven years ago. She had seen and done it all in policing. Drake Duff and Dan Cruise surveyed the hanging boys and the crime scene. Detectives Duff and Cruise have worked together for nine years but have been on the force collectively for eighteen years, and the last eleven as Homicide Detectives. Drake Duff was a single man who had married twice; his first wife died from cancer, and he married the second in a state of grief and the need to be with someone; needless to say, the second marriage ended almost as fast as they were married. Dan Cruise was a steady bachelor who dated on and off but was afraid of commitment, leaving him lonely (as most women wanted commitment). When they were assigned to one another, the other detectives in homicide placed bets on 1. how long the partnership would last and 2. whether they would get through one case. Dan Cruise was someone everyone wanted to hate because he came from Internal Affairs, and no one trusted him much. Despite that issue, Drake decided to let the police work determine how their relationship would develop; it did not take Drake long to figure out that Dan was a solid cop with an instinct for homicide.
On the other hand, Cruise was hesitant about working with Drake; his reputation preceded him as a rule bender and someone Dan perceived needed watching. Cruise quickly realized that Drake may have been a rule breaker when he worked undercover, but that was not the case since being in the homicide unit as a detective. The partnership worked very well as they were known for their high success rate of closing cases. These two men worked off solid leads and did not skip corners!
