Chapter 1

I guess I always wanted to be a cop. I loved cop movies and TV shows when I was a kid. When the other kids and I played Cops and Robbers, I always insisted on being a cop. I even volunteered as hall monitor in school. It didn't make me the most popular kid in school but I always tried to be fair.

I grew up in a small town about 100 miles from Memphis. Occasionally my family and I would go to the big city but I always felt uncomfortable there. I didn't think it was a bad or evil place but it just wasn't for me.

I got decent grades in high school and played basketball on the varsity team. I was good enough to get a partial scholarship to a small college in western Tennessee. I was never a starter on the team. However, I was the seventh or eighth man off the bench. I put most of my effort into studying because they had a criminology program there that was considered one of the best in the South.

Since I only had a partial scholarship, I had to work. I got a job at a local diner waiting tables and working behind the counter. I wanted to work there because I knew that was where the cops ate. I ingratiated myself with them and asked them all kinds of questions about being a cop. It was the kind of stuff you couldn't learn in college.

When I was a senior, one of the cops asked me if I wanted to ride with him one night. I jumped at the chance and it was the best night of my life. I didn't get out of the car and nothing exciting happened but it was such a thrill.

After I graduated, I tried to get a job there. Unfortunately, there was a hiring freeze and they weren't accepting anyone into the police academy. I was heartbroken but the cop I rode with knew that the Nashville P.D. was hiring and he suggested I try the police academy there.

To make a long story short, I became a cop in Nashville. They broke in rookies by assigning them to the middle of the combat zones where all kinds of bad shit went down and the veterans had the low risk beats.

I didn't really like Nashville - except for the Grand Ol' Opry - since it was a big city. I had to deal with all kinds of people in Nashville. Since I grew up in a small town, I wasn't used to that. Many people on the force were prejudiced. I wasn't one of them, though. I was taught to treat everyone fair when I grew up.

I spent about a year in Nashville and I loved the police work but I really wanted to go to a smaller place. I called my cop friend from college and he said it was still a no-go there. A few weeks later, I happened to come across an ad for a deputy sheriff for Allegheny County in western North Carolina; specifically the county seat of Sparta. I did a little research and as it turned out it was a town of around 1500 people in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I wrote the sheriff and asked for an interview.

I received a call back to interview there and I took a couple of days off and drove to Sparta. I fell in love with the town at first sight. It was kind of like a larger modern day Mayberry. The people were so nice and the hotel room was on the house since I was interviewing for the deputy sheriff position.

I met Sheriff John Brown the next morning at the courthouse. He was an elderly gentleman - emphasis on "gentleman." He was in his early 60s and ready for retirement. We talked and he went over my resume and references. He said I was well qualified but he wanted someone who was going to replace him in a few years and who would be a big part of the community.

I told him I really loved Sparta and didn't like the big city. I said I wanted to live somewhere like where I grew up. I told him if he hired for this job, it would most likely be my last job. Sheriff Brown was an excellent judge of people. I think he could see that I was sincere and he hired me on the spot.

I went back to Nashville and gave my two weeks' notice. While my captain and my fellow officers were sorry to see me go, they knew I wasn't cut out for big city life. I could have stayed on the Nashville P.D. and lived in some small town outside of Nashville but I felt more comfortable working in a small town. I had a small apartment and not a lot of belongings so I packed up my car and moved to Sparta.

I spent three years working under Sheriff Brown and it was a great learning experience for me. I was well respected and he actually let me run the office for a week or so occasionally. Eventually Sheriff Brown announced his retirement and I was nominated to run for the office. Since I was his handpicked successor, I ran unopposed. After the election, Sheriff Brown and his wife moved to Florida and I bought their house from them.

It was a beautiful house a couple of miles outside town in a wooded area. The nearest neighbor was about a mile away. Unfortunately, it was just me in that house. I didn't have many relationships in high school and college since I was so preoccupied with studying to be a cop. When I first moved to Sparta I was the eligible bachelor there and every mother who had a single daughter tried to fix me up with them. I even dated some of the single moms too. I went on some dates, got laid some but there wasn't that one special lady.

One day, a couple of years after I became sheriff, my life changed forever. It was a quiet day in Sparta and I was catching up on some paperwork in the office. One of my deputies, Jack Felton, was with me taking inventory. All of a sudden, we got a call from the Sparta police that the bank alarm went off. Jack and I grabbed our rifles and drove the squad car the three blocks to the bank.

Small town sheriffs and police departments aren't used to armed robberies but since I had spent time in the mean streets of Nashville, I was confident that we could handle the situation. Fortunately, the cops learned what was going down immediately and trapped the robber inside the bank. Jack and I took positions behind our car and I used the bullhorn to call him out.

I told him the sheriff, and the police had the building surrounded, and there was no way out. There was a rumor that he shot someone and that he would shoot someone else if he didn't get a clean escape. He was on PCP and wasn't thinking rationally.

I deployed officers to the back of the building but told them not to go in unless I ordered them to do so. He stayed in there for about a half hour and was getting agitated. Finally, he stepped outside with a hostage. He had Jeanne, one of the bank tellers. He had a gun pointed right at her head and said he'd kill her if we didn't let him go. He was black, ran about 6'3", and weighed about 280. Jeanne was about a foot shorter than he was and about 150 pounds lighter but surprisingly she kept her cool. He became even more agitated as the standoff continued and I knew I had to take him down since lives were at stake.

I told him to give up again and he refused. Jeanne was smart enough to know I was getting ready to shoot. She slouched down so I had a few more inches to work with. I aimed for his open shoulder but at the last second he moved and I got him closer to the heart than I wanted. It was a fatal shot and he was the first person I'd killed. Unfortunately the rumor was true and he shot the security guard but he was expected to live.

The ambulance took the robber and the guard away. We were about done with the crime scene and everything was pretty much back to normal. Then I saw a blue Lincoln Mercury with Arkansas plates and the engine running. I thought this could be the robber's car but I didn't see anyone in there. I unsnapped my holster and drew my weapon as I approached the car. I hoped he was working alone and didn't have an accomplice. When I got within 10 feet of the car I didn't see anyone in the front seat but when I looked in the back seat, I spotted a young black woman and a little girl huddled on the floor.

I looked at the woman and my heart skipped a beat. She was stunningly beautiful even though she was in fear for her life. I holstered my weapon and approached the two. I figured that they were his captives and I didn't need to frighten them even more by having my weapon drawn.

I walked over to the driver's side, reached through the open window and turned off the ignition. The woman and the girl looked up at me with fear in their eyes. I asked them if they were all right and they said they were. I said, "I'm Sheriff Pete Evans. Were you his captives?" The woman nodded yes. I said, "He's dead now so you won't have to worry about him anymore. Is there a number I can reach your family at?"

She shook her head and said, "I don't have a family, just my little girl here." Her daughter was as cute as her mother was beautiful. I looked at the girl and asked what her name was.

"Rachel," she said.

I said, "That's a pretty name. My name's Pete but you can call me Pete." She smiled at my little joke and that seemed to ease the tension.

"I'm Diane Jackson," her mother said reaching out to shake my hand. When she touched my hand, it was as if an electric current went through it. I didn't know her from Adam but I was immediately fascinated with her.

I said, "It's nice to meet both of you. Now I'm going to have you two come over to my office and answer some questions, O.K.?" Diane agreed and I radioed to Jack to finish up with the police.

I got in the car and drove them to the courthouse. I opened the door for them and they stepped out. Diane was wearing a skirt and her legs were gorgeous. I took them inside and got their information. Diane left home in Arkansas at 18 after her parents kicked her out for getting pregnant with Rachel. After she was kicked out, Rachel's father and Diane moved to a slum in Memphis.

He became a crack dealer. When Rachel was about two, he was killed doing a deal. Diane didn't love him but he was their only support. She tried to go back home but her parents wanted nothing to do with her. They were very religious and Diane committed an unforgivable sin. Diane had to go on welfare and take care of little Rachel. She squeaked by for a few years and about a month ago, a friend set her up on a date. She felt he was a nice enough guy but had a bad feeling about him.

She didn't go out with him again and several days later, around midnight, he showed up at Diane's. He was high on PCP, hit Diane, and screamed obscenities at her for not going out with him again. He kidnapped Diane and Rachel and that started an odyssey through Tennessee where he robbed banks and convenience stores.

He was very lucky not to be caught before he did. At night, he'd drive until he found some drugs. He also raped Diane a few times. It was always the same; he'd rob a bank and Diane and Rachel would stay in the car. They were too scared to escape. He would do this in small towns where he thought he could fly under the radar and outmaneuver small town cops.

After I heard their story, I thought about calling Social Services so they could do something with them. However, something stopped me from doing that. Social Services meant well but even in a small community like this, it was a bureaucracy. God knows what they would do with them and they may even have been separated.

I made them as comfortable as possible in the courthouse. When Jack got back, I asked him to mind the store for the rest of the day. I put Diane and Rachel in the squad car and took them to my house. It seemed like the right thing to do. It's a four-bedroom house and I figured they could stay with me until I reached Diane's family.

I hadn't changed much of the decor since the Browns moved out. You could describe it as very homey. I wasn't interested in decorating so I pretty much left things as the Browns had it. I could tell Rachel was tired so I put her in one of the spare bedrooms downstairs while Diane and I talked some more. I told her I honestly didn't know what to do with her but I wanted to call her parents. She said that they didn't want anything to do with her and vice versa.

I told her that she and Rachel could be my guests in my home as long as they liked. I told her I wasn't home during the day and the bed Rachel was sleeping on was queen sized so both of them could sleep in it if they wished. Diane didn't have much of a choice and she graciously accepted.

I tried to put her at ease as much as possible and since I didn't want to bring up unpleasant memories, I talked about all the goofy shit I did as a kid and how Sparta reminded me of my hometown. She talked about her childhood and while it was a strict upbringing, she was relatively happy. We developed a rapport and talked freely for a couple of hours. I found it very easy to talk to her.

After Rachel woke up from her nap, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the hospital getting them checked out. Rachel was fine but Diane contracted a mild case of gonorrhea from being raped. Diane had been told she couldn't conceive another child because Rachel's delivery was difficult and the tests at the hospital confirmed that. We made an appointment for the next day with a rape counselor for Diane.

Word spread quickly around town about what happened at the bank and after we got back home, several of the women in the town came over with food and some toys for Rachel. I told them I was perfectly capable of taking care of the girls but they would have none of it. I was used to cooking for one but now I had two more mouths to feed.

The rest of the night was uneventful. After the women left, we watched TV and put Rachel to bed about nine. I wanted to be around Diane as much as possible. Was I falling in love or was I just being protective of her? It surely couldn't be the former since I just met her that morning. Make no mistake, I was being protective; but this wasn't some stray cat or dog. This was a woman and her daughter. Both were traumatized and I wasn't going to take advantage of that but I strongly felt they should be here.