A Degree in Murder

Chapter Seven: Family Tradition

Edgar Ross Jr arrived at the apartment complex he called home on the edge of town at ten pm. He had been working extra hours to make up for the time off he took to prepare for the detective's exam. The results of said exam would be available in two weeks. Law enforcement had become more than just a line of employment: It had become a family tradition. Edgar was a third generation police officer in the Ridgeville City Police Department, RCPD for short. With his predecessors reaching the role of detective before moving on to bigger and better things, it was only natural that he would follow in their footsteps.

He passed by one of his neighbours, giving a curt nod of the head before entering his apartment. The growling of his empty stomach led him to the kitchen where he rustled up some grub, which he devoured quickly. He made a beeline for his bedroom, placing his gun under his pillow and collapsed on his bed. Edgar saw no need to put an alarm because his internal clock would do an equally good job of waking him up.

***

Edgar woke up at five thirty in the morning and subconsciously felt for his gun under his pillow. The neighbourhood of Canyon Cove was relatively safe with relative being the operative word. As long as the chances of a crime happening did not reduce to zero, he would not take the risk. He changed into his running gear, put on his headsets and set off on his four mile run. The primary reason for this ritual, which began after he left the academy, was to maintain his fitness levels. The secondary reason, which was probably more important, was to focus his mind. As a cop, any day could be your last. Leaving his life in the hands of fate was just as good as a death sentence and that's why he took every step possible to control his.

To hold fate in their hands, some decided to turn their bodies into living weapons and others decided to master their weapons. Both were very reasonable courses of action but reactive at best. He did both of those things but his main focus was something else entirely: his ability to read people and situations. To achieve this, he spent part of his free time reading psychology based books and practicing the things he learnt while on the clock. The results only appeared four months later but they were worth the wait.

Edgar finished his run in thirty-two and a half minutes and performed some stretches. When he saw the time, he jogged back home, showered and ate his breakfast within a span of forty five minutes. While Edgar changed into his uniform, his thoughts drifted to the life changing event that awaited him in thirteen days: the results of his detective's exam. He was wholly confident that he had passed the exam. What he was not confident about, however, was the life that awaited him after. A significant pay rise and a whole host of exciting cases were the obvious upside. The downside of it all was the markedly increased risk of danger and the paperwork to go with it. The latter was due to the extra responsibilities he would take up: Investigating criminal acts, processing crime scenes, attending autopsies and interviewing informants were the few that easily came to mind.

Am I truly ready for this?

There were very few moments in his life when doubt crept into his mind. Doubt caused hesitancy and hesitancy meant you lost those precious few seconds. Seconds that decided whether you lived or died. Edgar sat down for a few moments to compose himself, deep breaths. He was a bundle of nerves and excitement but at this moment in time, the nerves had a clear advantage.