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A Woman Scorned

Your entry must be within the range of 1000 to 5000 words. The story must be limited to one chapter.

Prompt 1) A detective wakes up with no memory of how he solved his last case, but a threatening note in his pocket tells him it's not over yet.

NOW

It was the whoop, whoop of the siren that dragged me out of my sleep, and when my eyes squinted open, the harsh sun carving a path through the room caught them square. I grunted and sat up, knuckling the sleep from the corners - my day had begun.

Scraped clean and dressed, I grabbed my coffee from the microwave and my jacket and headed out to my car. The coffee went into the holder and I fished around in my jacket for the keys, coming up with a piece of paper instead. I opened it and stared, frowning. I read it again trying to make sense of the words.

Congratulations on closing the case, Detective, - or did you?

THEN

The 9-1-1 operator reported the domestic abuse call at 9:48 Thursday evening and Detective Vern Stafford caught the call in his car. His partner was off sick and he was flying solo for a few days, which he didn't mind so much except for calls like this; Detective Stafford didn't have a lot of good will for domestic abuse cases.

He pulled up and parked behind the patrol car just as a uniform came out of the building with a man in cuffs.

"What have we got?" Stafford asked, staring at the prisoner as he came up.

"Mr. Nathan Stark using his wife as a punching bag. My partner's upstairs with her - 4B."

"Not the first time either. Get's you off, does it?" Stafford scowled at the man, whose faces remained flat and eyes averted.

The door was open to apartment 4B, and Stafford entered, scanning the surroundings. On a sofa in the expensively decorated living room, sat the wife and the female uniform consoling her.

"Detective Stafford, what's the story this time?"

"The couple had an argument and the husband took unkindly to the direction it was taking. Punched her a couple of times - hard - before she was able to get to the bedroom and her phone. Punched her some more, and she managed to lock herself in the bathroom. He did some damage kicking the door."

"Does she need attention?"

"On its way. You got here fast, Detective."

"Got the call in my car." Stafford squatted down in front of the woman. "Mrs. Stark, can you answer a few questions?"

There was a sniff, and the woman sat up away from the uniform and looked at Stafford. Her eyes were red, one beginning to swell noticeably and a bruise was already apparent on her jaw. She looked at him and nodded.

"The medics will be here any minute to make sure you are okay . . ." He made a face. "That there's nothing . . . else." He stood up and sat again in a chair close by. "This is not the first incident, Mrs. Stark."

"It's happened before." Her voice was small and he had to lean forward to hear.

"Why have you not pressed charges?"

She shook her head and he traded glances with the woman officer. "Can you tell me why it happened this time?"

"He- he thinks I've been having an affair."

He blew out a slow sigh, pursing his lips. "Have you been having an affair Mrs. Stark?"

"It's not like you- he thinks." The words held a dare that matched her expression."