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my two friends. “Unless you guys rather work with oils.”
    “Oh, you’re being funny. You think you’re a funny girl?” Holowitz looked annoyed. “Do you think it’s funny that hardworking people have been coming home from third shift and finding their apartments cleaned out?”
    “No, sir,” I muttered, hating that he had just put me in my place.
    “Then get to work,” he ordered. The three of us took down the addresses and were dismissed.
     
    ~*~
     
    “I got spit on,” Hawking complained as we met outside the second building we had canvassed. “I tried to ask a simple question, and this old woman spat on me.”
    “She must not be a fan of the uniform,” Kemper snorted. “There was this smokin’ hot chick in 2B that couldn’t take her hands off of me. I think she watched that stripper movie one too many times because she kept asking if I was wearing a thong.”
    “Well, are you?” I giggled.
    “Did you learn nothing about making jokes this morning?” Hawking inquired as we went back to the patrol car. “Holowitz was furious. I think he was going to crap his pants that someone stood up to him like that.”
    “Well, we aren’t rookies,” I defended. “For the past year, I’ve been trying to sell my ass to half the city and arresting the ones who took me up on that offer. I transferred to burglary in the hopes of getting some respect, but apparently that’s a pipe dream.” The three of us got into the car and went to the last location listed on the sheet. “You’ve both been in burglary for awhile now. What can you tell me about the detectives?”
    “ Holowitz is a hard ass. He thinks he’s the only real cop in this entire place. A bit of a narcissistic blowhard. Most of us ignore him, even the other detectives. Um, Preston is quiet and serious. She’ll get the work done, but you won’t see her sitting at a desk once the case is closed. There’s a pool going on whether or not she has a secret family and kids or if the reason for her fast getaways has to do with a certain ex-lover,” Kemper said.
    “What ex-lover?” It was unsubstantiated gossip, but it was fun.
    “Rumor has it she used to be hot and heavy with Riley. They worked a bunch of stakeouts together. Late nights in a car with nothing else to do,” Hawking said before mimicking seventies porn music. “Bow chicka wow-wow.”
    “So does Detective Riley try to avoid her too?” There was no point in inquiring, but he had piqued my interest. Plus, this was only friendly conversation.
    “Not that I’ve noticed,” Kemper said, narrowing his eyes at me through the rearview mirror. “Does someone have a crush?”
    “No. Not in the least,” I said vehemently. The two of them exchanged a glance and teased me mercilessly for the rest of the ride.
    It was a relief when we got out of the car to canvass the final building for today’s tour. To save time, we were splitting up. It was a routine check with the neighbors, ask a couple of questions, and continue on. There really wasn’t a need to have back-up, and this saved time and effort.
    As I stepped onto the third floor landing, I heard a commotion coming from the end of the hallway. Assuming it was a run-of-the-mill argument, I didn’t pay much attention as I knocked on the first door to the right. All at once, a man wearing a hoodie slammed the door at the end of the hallway and took off running. He had a backpack shoved over his shoulder and as he ran past me, a jewelry box fell out of the bag.
    “Stop,” I yelled, “police. Freeze.” He continued to run, and I clicked the radio, requesting back-up as I pursued. As I raced down the two flights of steps, I heard Kemper coming down the stairs from above me. “Evidence is on the third floor,” I called up to him.
    The suspect burst through the front door and ran to the left. I sprinted after him, gaining as we went down the next street. He was coming to the crosswalk, and just as I was getting close enough to take him