เรื่องสั้นแนว Tragic Love และนิยาย Police Marriage

The day the nationwide serial killer, Landis Grant, was executed, I was the one who escorted him to the death chamber. Right before the lethal injection, he turned his head and looked at me with strange, sudden pity. "You know, I only actually killed seventeen people," he whispered, his raspy voice cutting through the silent room. "I deserve to die, no question. But your hotshot lawyer wife? Her death isn't on my tab." Hearing him mention my wife, Valerie Foster, made a hot surge of rage claw up my throat. Three years ago, she was stabbed dozens of times by Landis while protecting crucial evidence. I drove through the night from out of state, only to find her body completely unrecognizable at the morgue. Grief tore through me so violently that I collapsed, coughing up blood, and spent an entire month confined to a hospital bed. For three years, I chased Landis to the absolute edge of hell, risking everything just to drag him in and avenge her. Following the address Landis had left behind, I made my way to a quiet suburban house. The second I set foot in the yard, I froze completely. Valerie was right there, wrapping her arms around her former mentor, Dylan Reed, kissing him with a tenderness that shattered my heart. A toddler, around two or three years old, was swinging back and forth on a wooden swing right beside them. My head throbbed, white noise roaring in my ears. I took a step forward, but someone grabbed my shoulder from behind. It was my chief, Noah Morgan, the man I respected more than anyone on the force. "Valerie is happy now, son," he said quietly, "Do yourself a favor and just walk away. Let it go." I shoved his hand off my shoulder. Unholstering my service weapon, I aimed into the open air and fired three warning shots. "Valerie Foster, you're under arrest for bigamy," I said, my voice dead and completely cold, "Come to the station with me."

On the day the country's most notorious serial killer, Henry Luther, is scheduled for execution, I personally escort him to the death chamber. Just before his sentence is carried out, he suddenly looks at me with pity. "The truth is, I only killed 17 people. I deserve to die, but you can't blame me for what happened to your medical examiner husband." The moment he mentions Victor Ashford, all my hatred comes rushing back. Three years ago, Victor served as the city's chief medical examiner. While protecting a crucial piece of evidence, he was stabbed dozens of times by Henry. I rushed back from another city overnight, only to find Victor's body mutilated beyond recognition. Overcome with grief, I began hemorrhaging and lost our baby when I was three months pregnant. For the next three years, I repeatedly risk my life hunting down Henry, determined to capture him myself and avenge Victor. Following an address Henry left behind, I track down a modest house. The moment I step into the yard, however, I freeze. Victor is standing there with his arms around his younger colleague, Colette Jennings, kissing her tenderly. Nearby, a two-or-three-year-old child sits on a swing. My mind goes blank. Just as I start toward them, someone grabs me from behind. It's my mentor, George Ryland. "Victor's happy now. For your own sake, let him go." I shove him aside and fire three shots into an empty patch of ground, my expression completely blank. "Victor Ashford, you're under arrest for suspected of bigamy. Come with me."

The border crackdown finally comes to an end. The police finally capture the notorious Roxanne Thorne, who has made headlines across the country. In the interrogation room, Jordyn Croft sits across from her in a police uniform, repeatedly asking the same question. "Where is that traitor, Christopher Savile, hiding now?" Roxanne slowly raises her eyes, her slender fingertips gently rubbing the edge of her handcuffs. "That young cop? We tied him to a metal frame and took turns beating him. Then we injected him with highly concentrated drugs before using blunt weapons to smash his knees and ankles piece by piece. Finally, we chained him to the barbed-wire fence at the border." She licks her lips, as if savoring the memory. "By dawn, his body was already stiff." Jordyn stands up and slams the files onto the table. "You're lying! He was the one who leaked the information back then and got more than a dozen of our officers killed. He even covered your retreat through the back mountain. The surveillance footage captured everything clearly!" Roxanne suddenly bursts into laughter. Her handcuffs clang loudly against the table. She says, "Christopher never gave us a single useful piece of information until the end. Instead, it was a hostage he'd previously rescued from us who kept feeding us information. His only condition was that we take Christopher away and make everyone believe he was a traitor. "That way, he could conveniently take Christopher's wife for himself." The entire room falls silent. Just then, the interrogation room door flies open. Jordyn's newlywed husband, Milo Lumley, rushes in, his voice urgent. "Jordyn, did you catch the suspect? Did they tell you where Chris is?"

I've been at odds with my younger brother, Ethan Calloway, for over 20 years. I'm a narcotics officer who can't stand criminals, while Ethan runs with the very people I've sworn to put behind bars. When we're kids, he steals my homework and trades it for candy, then tells our parents I've been cheating at school, earning me a brutal beating. As we get older, he only gets worse. He lands himself in juvenile detention every few days for stealing, and everyone starts calling me "the pickpocket's brother". He even has the nerve to wolf-whistle at my new girlfriend. "Victor Calloway! That girl's mine!" I figure he's just running his mouth like he always does. My girlfriend, Vanessa Crain, even spits at his feet in public and snaps, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Eventually, I enter the police academy, complete my training, graduate, get a job, and marry the woman I love. Everything seems to be going according to plan. Ethan also appears to turn over a new leaf, putting his rebellious ways behind him and becoming a model citizen. Then one day, I receive a tip about a group of meth users at a nightclub. During the raid, I grab the ringleader by the hair and slam his head against the wall. He cries out in pain before pointing at the woman kneeling by my feet, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Hey, Victor! Aren't you being a little rough? What if your wife gets upset seeing you hurt me?"

Three years after we broke up, I finally crossed paths with my ex-boyfriend, Leo Davis. It was during a high-stakes police raid. He was the star lead detective. I was the fugitive wanted for four murders across eight states. When our eyes met, Leo froze. “Clara… what are you doing here?” I turned to run, but a bullet caught me in the leg. In the interrogation room, Leo slammed his hands on the table with his eyes bloodshot. “Four innocent people, Clara! How could you do this?! “Tell me it’s a mistake,” he begged, his voice breaking. “Just say the word. Please!” I looked at his broken expression and smiled. “You’re right. It is a mistake. It’s not four bodies, Leo. It’s five.” I leaned in closer. “You care so much about your darling wife and my former best friend, Maya Davis. Didn't you notice she was missing?”