Free The Fourth Motive by Sean Lynch Page B

reply in the same manner. “I don’t make the rules,” she would
     remind the cop, “I just enforce them.” Then she would point out to the simmering officer
     what problems his case had that resulted in the failure to advance its prosecution.
     Often, the issue stemmed from investigative oversight, the overzealous cop’s bending
     of the rules, or just plain shoddy police work. Other times, political or financial
     considerations brought the prosecution to a halt; a harsh reality of working for an
     elected official who kept his job at the whim of the voting public.
    Paige figured she wasn’t in her line of work to make friends or secure close-knit
     relationships with members of the police community. She was there to prosecute criminal
     cases, when possible, and if the case was weak or poorly prepared, then her duty was
     to abort it before the case tainted the police agency’s reputation, besmirched the
     DA’s office, or unnecessarily added to the already immensely overburdened criminal
     court system.
    Sometimes, Paige wondered if her pathological adherence to following the rules was
     a reaction to her father’s pathological, and legendary, habit of bending them. She
     wasn’t sure.
    What she was sure of, was that it was nineteen eighty-nine; not nineteen fifty-nine.
     The criminal justice system she was part of had no place for backroom deals, kickbacks,
     and the shady political maneuvers of her father’s era. Paige Callen was determined
     that none of the still-whispered rumors of corruption that had plagued her father
     throughout his career were going to haunt her. Paige was going to do it by the book.
     When it came to her law career, nobody was ever going to be able to say she was her
     father’s daughter.
    Paige ran a forearm across her brow in an attempt to wipe away fatigue along with
     her sweat. She’d spent last evening at home in her condo watching television in the
     hopes she could unwind and divert her thoughts from the day’s stark events. Not even
     Major Dad, 21 Jump Street, or Murphy Brown could distract her from thinking about
     what had occurred on the Alameda shoreline. And not even aspirin and a long, hot bath
     diminished the accumulation of aches and bruises left by her attacker. Before finally
     turning in for a fitful night’s sleep, she checked to make sure her alarm was in working
     order and left the lights on in the hallway, something she had not done since childhood.
    Whatever hope Paige held out that her attacker wouldn’t return faded the instant she’d
     heard his voice over the phone. And Sergeant Wendt’s repeated reminders to be careful
     echoed in her mind, convincing her that she should heed the police detective’s advice.
    Still, a part of her refused to acknowledge further danger from the attacker and persisted
     in trying to rationalize away the mounting fear that nagged at her consciousness.
     This was the educated, rational, in-control component of her personality, and its
     voice was a potent one. As Paige climbed up and down on the StairMaster, in the brightly
     lit and increasingly crowded health club, that voice, and the logical reasoning behind
     it, appeared to have the power to overcome the fear she’d experienced since the assault.
    But when Paige was alone, like last night, waking to every tiny sound, real or imagined,
     that rational, in-control voice became a tiny squeak.
    This morning, however, refreshed by exercise and the light of day, Paige found her
     confidence returning. She would be careful, as Sergeant Wendt had admonished. She
     wouldn’t give her stalker a chance. She would remain in public. She would work out
     at the health club and avoid the beachfront jogs; at least for now. She would notify
     the police of anything unusual or out of the ordinary. She wasn’t going to let herself
     become a frightened schoolgirl peering behind the closet door for the boogieman. She
     was an experienced criminal prosecutor, well versed in the