Right Next Door

Chapter 3

Robert

Since Paul's death, Robert rotated through a string of partners but never clicked with a single one of them. His current partner of eight months, Michelle Cameron, was fresh out of the academy and wanted to work her way up through the department. Her father was a homicide detective for 25 years and her grandfather, a State Trooper, was killed in action in the 1960's. He knew her pedigree before she was even assigned to patrol with him and not only was he annoyed to have a female partner, he also didn't want to have to babysit a hotshot that just wanted to climb the corporate ladder.

After a couple months of patrol together things finally began to feel comfortable between the two officers and Robert found he actually enjoyed working with Cameron. She proved to be tough when dealing with perps, funny when the tension after a difficult shift stressed them both to the max, and could be as open and honest with Robert as Paul used to be with him. She never got emotional on the job and didn't expect anyone to treat her delicately just because she was a woman.

Even though things were finally going well between Robert and his partner, he was still wary of getting too close with Cameron. If he stopped long enough to dissect his feelings he would realize he was afraid to let another partner in the way he and Paul used to be. If he took the time to be honest with himself he would see that he was terrified of losing another partner.

Most days were filled doling out traffic violations or dealing with domestic disputes, but he never took a single call lightly. At any moment their lives could be taken from them, so he had to be 100% focused at all times.

"Lighten up!" Cameron would say. "You're such a Debbie Downer, Welsh."

"Screw off, Cameron. Be on the field as long as I have and you'll be just like me."

Robert kept his eyes on the road while they chatted. Today they were on the West side of Seattle and had already handled one domestic dispute and ended up patrolling the neighborhoods for a couple of hours. In the middle of lunch they received a call from Dispatch saying there was a robbery at a gas station about six blocks from their current location. When Robert and Cameron arrived on scene they encountered a shaken store owner hiding behind the front counter and a couple of patrons scared out of their minds. No one was hurt during the robbery, which was great according to Robert. Once everyone present was interviewed and all the paperwork filled out the officers returned to their patrol and hoped the rest of their shift would be uneventful.

Cameron gave him crap relentlessly whenever he texted Maggie, saying he was wrapped around her little finger.

"Why do you let her string you along when she had no intention of dating you?" Cameron always tried to rile him up when the subject of Maggie came up.

"It's not like that, she and Aaron are family to me," Robert defended. "Maggie has been through a lot and she's just emotionally unavailable. She cares about me the same way I care about her."

"Well I see the way your face lights up when she texts you and the look you give screams L-O-V-E to me." She made a gagging sound deep in her throat and busied herself by checking messages on her cell phone.

Robert rolled his eyes and sighed audibly. "You are so obnoxious, Cameron. Just because I don't have a crush on you doesn't mean you have the right to harass me about my love life."

She laughed out loud. "Ha! That's rich. I'm sorry, Welsh, but you would actually have to have a love life for me to harass you about one." She continued on, despite Robert's obvious annoyance. "I know a lot of women that would love to hang out with you. Say the word and I'll set you up! Emotionally. Available. Women." She enunciated each word with a point of her finger towards his face.