Chapter 36

I slept pretty good all in all. I attributed it to exhaustion as much as anything. 5AM came early on the last day of my day shift. I still had to force myself to run, even thought it was just a few degrees warmer, which make me feel a little better. Spring was on the way, thank god. It could not get here soon enough for me. It had been a dismal winter.

I didn't stop in the cafe again that morning. It was time to give some though to breakfast again. I had already started to lose the weight I wanted to lose. There was no sense over doing it. It was all about planning what to eat and eating only the things that were in the plan, Hey it beat MRE's even with Texas Pete they were bland.

After a quick shower I was off for my last day shift. It was to be my last day of fasting as well. I had alway planned to modify the fasting at the end of my shifts. When I got to the station the midnight tour was ending and they were glad to turn their cars over to us. I took the Bronco down to the county pit stop for gas.

With a full tank I headed north, since I was doing the northern end of the county. The first unit to check on generally got to chose which end of the county they wanted to work. I chose the north, because the business were generally down in southern end. Yeah I had the dog food plant but they operated round the clock, so they seldom had break ins. It gave me a chance to tool around the local back roads. Those roads had hairpin curves that were not banked. Aside from being an adrenaline rush they were getting me ready for the day when I went to live in Florida or Louisianan. To next go somewhere with cool roads and warm weather was the plan.

I knew I wasn't going to be with the Warren County Sheriff's office for long. Not so much because I was concern my personal life would get in the way, but more because I would get a better offer one day. It wouldn.t take much to be a better offer, I was pretty badly under paid in Warren County. I mode about sixr hundred dollars a month less than I could have made in any other jurisdiction. They didn't under pay me because I was a woman, everyone was underpaid, The county just didn't have the money for a first rate police presence, so they had us and the State Bureau of investigation for the technical stuff. There were often SBI geeks to be found wandering around town. I tried to avoid then whenever I could. I left them in company of Simpson, which was their normal contact person.

It was 11AM, when I got my first call of the day. I just about decided to stop for peanut butter crackers when the call came in. "305 See the man at the downtown park." Dispatch said to me over the radio...

"10-4," I said. When I got to the downtown park there was a well dressed man about 25 standing across from the children's playground area. The sun had gotten high enough in the sky for mothers to bring their children out to play.or just to escape to the fresh air of the park.

"Sir did you wish to speak to a Deputy?" I asked.

"Yes I did. I think you need to arrest that woman for endangering that child. It is far too cold for that child to be out here." he informed me.

"Let me guess, You are the ex-husband and currently non custodial parent?" I asked.

"Yes but you don't have t make me sound crazy," he said. "Those little things predict how she treats our son over all."

I gave it some thought and then came up with a plan. "Sir, I will approach your ex wife and check that the baby is well protected from the elements. If the child is happy and safe there is nothing I can do," I explained.

"Very well, but please be sure the baby is taken care off. She is a terrible person. I would not be surprised by anything," he said.

"You wait here," I said. "And I mean that."

"Alright," he said.

I was not planning to do more than look at the baby and walk away form it all, that's why I did not get the husband's name,"

"Hi there Miss," I said. "Would you mind, if I took a look at the baby,"

"Oh why is that, : she said.

"Actually it's a little cold," I said. "I just want to make sure he is well and safe. No big thing just a quick look at him will do fine."

"Did my ex-husband send you?" she said.

"As a matter of fact he did," I admitted.

"He is such a jerk. He wasn't always so obsessive. At first he helped me, now he just wants to take Chris away from me," she said.

"Okay let me see some identification a drivers license will do." I said. "Now the baby looks fine, you might ought to get back inside now." I took a look at her Drivers license and entered the name and number in the little computer that they gave me to make notes...

Then I went back across the creek and demanded an ID card form the trouble maker husband and father. "You know Mr Sedgegrove, there is no reason to be upset. The child was warn and dressed really appropriately. I think you can work it out, so no one has to know about your misgivings."

"I want them to know," he said.

"Well, I'm going to have to testify that there was nothing to it. I am also going to say, I think you were filing a malicious police report. It could hurt your chances for an amicable visitation plan later. I think you should try to work this out with your ex wife." I said it even though I had absolutely no faith that he would do it.

When I left the park just before noon, I expected that I wouldn't have to come back the next hour, or the next day. People who wanted the police to referee their arguments just never seemed to got enough.