My father died in the fall, on a bright beautiful autumn day. It was the kind of day that we would have spent jumping in a leaf pile and sipping apple cider when I was younger. My father's favorite season was fall so it seemed appropriate that that would be when he would leave us. His cancer had been long and painful, not just for him, but for the entire family. Like everything in his life, he took his role as a father very seriously. He was my protector, my biggest cheerleader, my harbor in the storm, my hero. I idolized him. He was extremely bright and he loved his job. He always told me, "if you find something that you love to do, you'll never work a day in your life."
The only thing he loved more than his job, was his family. Not a day went by that I didn't feel like I was the most important person in his world, which is why it was tremendously difficult for me to watch the suffering and pain he endured throughout his illness. I felt utterly helpless. There was very little that kept me going during that time, but I managed somehow to make it through. I was a Martìnez and Martìnezes never give up, he would say. Every decision I made from his death forward seemed to be tainted with a need to please him, to make him proud from beyond the grave. That's why I worked hard to move quickly from cop to detective. I specifically asked to be assigned to Caitlyn Coates' murder case. I wanted to prove myself.
My partner was less than thrilled to be working with me, a point that he made abundantly clear. It didn't help that when we first met I made a joke about never trusting someone with two first names. He was clearly not amused, or maybe it wasn't the first time someone had said that to him. But I was okay taking the backseat for a while. Detective Brandon had a reputation of being a pain in the ass, but he also had a reputation of being one of the finest detectives to have ever worked for CPD. I could learn a lot from him, so I set my pride aside and let him take the lead.
Like any detective, he wanted to start the investigation in the most logical place, by questioning the girls' parents, and I agreed that that made the most sense. In my short tenure as a detective I had discovered that the answers to most crimes could be found closest to home.
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Lies Left Unsaid
Mystery / Thriller"The fact that I was murdered didn't come as a surprise; it was the fact that it hadn't happened sooner which shocked me." High school senior, Caitlyn Coates, has everything going for her; she's beautiful, brilliant and rich. With just a month until...
