A Good Cop- A short story for We-Write #6

This is the beginning of the story by @zeldacroft @freewritehouse

There was still a coolness in the air as Thomas walked through the park. The warming sun was about to break over the old maples by the playground, a golden gradient emanating from behind the treetops into the azure skies above him. Beautiful, he thought. He strolled on with the energy only a morning person could muster and made his way to the poolside locker rooms.

Once inside, he changed into his usual bathing suit and crammed his gym bag into one of the lockers. They were cramped and who knows how old, the sort designed for longevity over function. But Thomas quickly moved on, shivering slightly from stepping on the cold tile.

Now on the marginally warmer concrete, he examined the area before diving in. You never know with a community pool, he remembered. Pretty soon he’d have fallen leaves to contend with, but for now the water was actually fairly clean. Past the little fence around the pool deck Thomas saw someone walking their dog a little farther in the park. Not exactly private, he conceded, but at least it’s quiet.

My Ending:

The first rays of golden sunlight had just broken through the darkness and a magical change was happening in the dawn sky. Thomas watched the water of the pool, lazy ripples riding the blue water, reflect the brightening sky. Beautiful, he thought again and prepared to dive in. There was a glint in the pool that caught his eye. Another broken tile, Thomas thought and stopped himself.

Once a cop always a cop, the line his trainer had drilled into him seven years ago still echoed in his mind. It brought on slight smile and then his face blanked out. Thomas walked back to the lockers to fetch his super glue, so he could put some on the jagged edges of the latest broken tile. He wanted no one to cut themselves, specially the children. Thomas headed back to the pool armed with the tiny tube of superglue and his thoughts went back to why he had left the force a few months after being appointed lieutenant- children.

He had stumbled on to a huge porn racket managed by a coterie of local cops and Columbians. He was invited to join, the pay was in gold coins the suit-in-charge had informed him. Thomas never found out the man's identity, except that he was NIA. Thomas had chosen to leave overnight, leave the job, the city and his friends and move to this sprawling metropolis hundreds of miles away. He had emailed his resignation citing a "spiritual emergency". Here he had joined a private security firm which asked for only identity proof and physical fitness.

Thomas dived into the pool. There was enough light now to see clearly and he swam down towards the corner where he had glimpsed the glitter of reflected light. To his surprise what he found was a ring with a diamond- probably fake, he thought- looking at the size of the stone. Thomas surfaced and climbed out to sit on the cold tiles. The cold forgotten, as he decided what to do.

The pawn shop Thomas approached was ready to pay him around $4000 for the ring which went up to $12000 when he showed the owner a glimpse of his badge. With the money in his pocket Thomas walked out thinking if he should have shown his badge, no longer being a cop and all. The the thought of moving into a decent apartment crowded out all doubts. Even cops can get lucky, he thought.

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Picture Credit: Pixabay.com