The Marriage Beat. Doreen Roberts

a hurry to find a cop to help her she’d raced around the corner without stopping to think that someone might be coming the other way. She’d just about slammed all the breath out of her lungs when she’d smacked into his hard chest.

      His feet had slipped on the polished floor and helped by her weight, they had both gone crashing down. She’d landed on top of him, and heard his grunt as her elbow dug into his stomach. The memory of his solid body underneath her was still vivid in her mind. In fact, thinking about it now sent a tingle down her back.

      Officer Jackson led her to a desk in the corner of the room. “Take a seat, Ms. Summers.” He pointed to one of the office chairs facing the desk.

      “Thank you.” She sat on the edge of the chair, her gaze drawn to the framed certificates on the wall behind the desk. There were photos, as well...and she spotted a picture of Officer Jackson shaking hands with another police officer.

      “Now, let’s see.” He sat down at the desk and opened a drawer. “We’ll start with your name, address and phone number.” He pulled his notebook from his pocket and dropped it on the desk.

      She gave him her address, realizing as she did so that all her identification had vanished along with her purse. Driver’s license, social security card, credit cards... “I have to put a stop on my credit cards,” she said, interrupting his next question.

      “All in good time. Where do you work?”

      “I’m a travel agent at the Starways Travel Agency. Or I was as of this morning.”

      He ignored her wry comment and scribbled something down on his notepad. “What time did this incident occur?”

      “About an hour ago.” She glanced up at the large clock on the wall above his head. “He’s had plenty of time to max out all my cards by now.”

      “You won’t be held responsible for the charges,” Tyler Jackson murmured.

      “I’m responsible for the first fifty on each one. That’s going to add up.”

      Relenting, he waited impatiently while she made the necessary calls.

      As she finished the last one, a disturbing thought occurred to her and she looked at him in dismay. “How am I going to get in my apartment without my keys?”

      “I’m sure the manager will have a spare. Can you repeat the description you gave me one more time?”

      She did so, rapidly and with rising resentment. He was taking this all very calmly, she thought, considering she’d been attacked in broad daylight on a downtown street. It was all right for Officer Jackson, he hadn’t just had his most valuable personal possessions stolen, with apparently little hope of getting them back.

      The questions seemed endless, and for the most part pointless. With one eye on the clock, Megan answered them, feeling more and more frustrated with each passing minute. She’d be real lucky to have a job to go back to, she thought sourly, if this idiot didn’t quit with his ridiculous questions.

      It was hard to concentrate in the noisy room, where several people seemed to be talking at once. Phones rang constantly, and the big burly cop standing by the door kept throwing glances her way, as if he were trying to listen in on the conversation.

      “How much cash were you carrying?” Tyler Jackson asked, his pen poised above the notepad.

      Her patience finally expended, Megan threw up her hands. “What difference does it make? It’s all gone by now, isn’t it? Is all this going to get my purse back? Or what’s left of it?”

      “Probably not.”

      “Then why are we wasting time? We could have found the man by now if we’d stayed out there looking for him, instead of filling out all this useless information.”

      The silver-blue eyes regarded her with faint hostility. “This may seem useless to you, Ms. Summers, but every tiny detail is important. Even if we had found the man, there’s no guarantee I could have arrested him. We have to follow procedure in these cases.”

      The enormity of her loss was just beginning to make itself known. Her bank accounts were probably empty by now, which meant bounced checks, embarrassing explanations, more endless forms and phone calls. She glared at Tyler Jackson as if it were all his fault. “I just don’t think you fully understand what it means to lose all your identification, not to mention a sizeable chunk of your finances.”

      “I understand that you’re upset, but unfortunately once in a while stuff happens. Don’t you have any family who can help you out for the time being?”

      “My mother lives on the other side of town and has her own problems. I’m not going to burden her with mine.”

      “Well, you’re lucky. Lots of people don’t have that much.”

      Including him, she guessed, sensing the bitterness behind that comment. He looked down at his notepad and gave his head a slight shake, as if disturbed by his own words. “I’ll get the mug shots,” he said, and pushed his chair back.

      Megan sent another harried glance at the clock. “What are my chances of finding him in there?”

      He shrugged. “Maybe one in fifty.”

      “That’s what I figured.” She stood up, feeling empty-handed without her purse to hang onto. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

      His mouth tightened. “I’m sorry, too. I’d be a little more careful in future, if I were you. If you hadn’t been walking around the city streets with your purse hanging conveniently over your shoulder, the snatcher might not have had such an easy time of grabbing it.”

      Annoyed with his condescending tone she said hotly, “Maybe if there were more cops on the streets these things wouldn’t happen.”

      Officer Jackson leaned forward, with a menacing expression that made Megan glad she wasn’t on the wrong side of the law. “This might be a safe city by most standards, but it’s got its share of deadbeats waiting for a handout. They’re just looking for someone like you to come along and make it easy for them.”

      “Well, I think there’s something wrong with a city when you can’t walk around without fear of being attacked by some vicious thug.”

      “There’s a lot wrong with the world today, Ms. Summers. Which is hardly the fault of law officers. We do our best. I would suggest, however, since you seem intent on putting your life on the line, that you get your locks changed. Just in case. You might also want to take self-defense lessons. The police force offers a course every eight weeks. They could give you the edge you just might need some day.”

      She opened her mouth to give him a sharp answer, but then closed it again. That might not be such a bad idea. She thought about it for a moment or two. “All right, where do I sign up?”

      He seemed taken aback by her question. He looked at her blankly for a moment, then glanced up at a calendar hanging on the wall next to him. “I guess you’ll have to wait until the fall. The class is full right now.”

      “Jackson? A word with you, please?”

      The command had come from the beefy cop by the door. Tyler looked over at him, and gave him a brief nod. “I’ll be right back,” he said to Megan. “There are a couple of things I need you to sign before you leave.”

      Exasperated by yet another delay, Megan watched the two men disappear out of the door. She was beginning to feel that she would never get out of that room. The picture on the wall caught her eye again and she edged around the desk to get a closer look at it.

      It was a photo of Tyler Jackson receiving a citation for bravery in the line of duty. It had been taken several years ago, judging from the image of a much younger officer smiling at his superior. She had actually begun to doubt that the man could smile. He looked quite different in the picture...more carefree, and undeniably attractive without that permanent scowl on his face.

      According to