I Zombie I

Shero

.1.

Mall - St. Matthews

Monday Afternoon

MALL COP. That's me. After managing to pull down one of the most psychopathic killers this city has ever seen, I get busted down to Mall Cop. Why? First and foremost, I'm a woman. Second, I'm a woman with a big mouth who's not afraid to let her superiors know just how she feels. Third, the one particular superior I happened to open my mouth to is a sexist bigot who likes nothing better than wielding his potbellied power around like it's the only foot-long hotdog and beer combo at the last Yankees game of the season. It's degrading, for sure. Used to be, the malls hired their own security guards. Somewhere along the way, Chief Cardiac Arrest decided he would use those positions to punish officers for various fouls and missteps.

The only misstep I had made was not breaking every toe on both of his feet when I apparently stepped all over them.

"Hello...Jamie, are you there?" Craig Wayne pulled me out of my own head.

"Sorry...I was thinking about...it doesn't matter." I lied. It did matter. I hated what had happened to me. The only positive thing that had come out of this demotion was being able to spend more time with Craig Wayne. During my last real case, he had offered up a spark of interest and, without hesitation, I picked it up and ran with it. I have no idea where it's going to lead, but for the time being, he was the perfect distraction.