This is the thirteenth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VII, Part VIII, Part IX, Part X, Part XI, and Part XII before continuing.
“Police are investigating an attack a local man says took place in his bedroom in the middle of the night. He was unable to identify the person who attacked him, or even that person’s gender. He says he thought he saw a woman’s form in the dark, but the attack was so violent and gruesome that police aren’t ruling out the possibility that the attacker was a man.”
“What’s the world coming to with sick fucks like that running around?”
“Oh, come on, you know it’s all the same shit, just a different day,” said Brittney. “You think we can catch them?”
Her sergeant looked at her as though she’d just asked him for a tampon. “What do you mean by that?”
Brittney shrugged. “I’m just saying, they didn’t leave a lot for us to go on. I’m not saying we can’t do it, just that it’s going to be tough.”
“Yeah, well, tough is what we’re made for, right?”
He held out his hand for a fist bump and Brittney returned it with a smile. “Yes, sir.”
He headed back to his office and Esperanza, who had gone through the academy with Brittney, came up behind her and said, “You said ‘them’. You don’t think it’s a dude?”
“I just don’t think we should rule anything out.”
“You really think a woman would have been capable of doing something like this?”
Brittney’s head jerked backwards as she considered her colleague. Of all people, she hadn’t expected sexism from Esperanza. “How many times have you heard that women aren’t capable of doing what we do here every day?”
“Yeah, but-”
“But nothing. If we’re capable of doing a man’s work, then other women are capable of doing men’s work.”
“You think this was a job?”
“Like I said, I’m not ruling anything out at this point. It literally could have been anyone.”
“Anyone?”
“Anyone.”
“You think it could have been me?”
Brittney looked at Esperanza as though sizing her up. Then she raised an eyebrow as she said, “Was it you?”
Esperanza’s face broke into a grin and she slapped Brittney on the arm playfully. “I’m just messing with you.”
“Uh huh, sure.”
“You really think I could do something like that?”
“Could you? Absolutely. Would you? I dunno. I’m still on the fence about that one.”
“After all we’ve been through together.”
“I know. Wouldn’t it be a great twist if you turned out to be the one who did this and I turned out to be the one who took you down?”
“Like you could ever take me down.”
“I can see it now.” Brittney made a rectangle with her fingers. “My face on all the news channels. ‘Rookie breaks the case, arrests her own partner. Senior officials are already talking about making her the youngest lieutenant in the history of the police department.”
Esperanza nodded. “Uh, huh. Yeah, I can see it. But you know that rookie is gonna be me, right?”
“Oh, you think so?”
“You know it.”
“And I suppose the partner you’re heroically taking down is me?”
“I mean, you are the one who started on this whole, ‘It could be a woman thing.’ Maybe you’re just saying that because you know something we don’t.” Esperanza stared down her partner, but she wore a smile on her face that said she wasn’t serious.
Brittney smiled and met her partner’s eyes as she said, “If I ever did something like that, you would never catch me.”
The end.