Time Hopper (2019 Reissue) Read online

  “Time to clock out.”

  I chugged the rest of my coffee down. It wasn’t as sweet as I’d normally like, but the headache was beginning to split across my line of sight and there was no time to do anything but gulp it down.

  Max was grilling my perp as I was leaving, and I waved at him to signal I was headed out.

  He nodded once and I was dismissed.

  Not needed anymore.

  I’d done my job for the day, and tomorrow I’d do the same thing. Hop through time to catch a perp before he was a perp, then book him for a crime that would never happen.

  Like a weird fairy godmother.

  I chuckled to myself as I waved at the rest of the uniformed cops.

  Terry, the supervisor who actually saw how much work I put in

  waved goodbye as I left the station.

  “Bye, Suzie.”

  “Bye, Sarah. See you tomorrow.”

  The rest of the team thought I was an asset, and a bragging point to a lot of other precincts. It was kind of cool, though it would be nice to have some real friends for once. Not just respected colleagues.

  I got on my street bike, put on my helmet and cruised home to my small apartment the old fashioned way.

  No time hopping out of hours.

  And never unless I was pursuing a criminal.

  I staggered inside and fell onto the couch, my headache eating at my energy. I really needed to learn to pick up a coffee earlier in my shift. Especially on a hopping day.

  The high-pitched meow of my exotic cat sounded only moments before her clawed feet landed on my belly.

  “Ow! Sandy! You know you’re not supposed to do that.”

  My feline friend, who was as purple as the hair on my head, appeared to raise one eyebrow, circled around my soft leggings and plopped down in a hairy lump.

  “Well... I...” I ran out of steam before I’d even gotten into telling her off. Silly little thing that she was.

  Whoever said dogs had owners and cats had servants knew the truth about animals. And I was a willing slave.

  Her presence calmed me when little else did.

  I relaxed back into the couch as my hand caressed her silky, soft fur. I exhaled a long breath, one I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying.

  What a strange day.

  Not unusual in any way other than a single moment.

  I couldn’t shake what that perp had said. My gut, which I generally trusted, was telling me there was truth in Arnold’s statements. But I couldn’t simply just... believe him. My whole world, hell, the current free world, our whole justice system, was based on the ability to accurately, no, perfectly assess future crimes.

  I closed my eyes and wished my dinner could fly up into my apartment, but that was not one of my gifts.

  I chuckled at my own joke and reached for my phone.

  Thank goodness for delivery services.

  Chapter 2

  “Sarah, come into my office for a minute, please,” my chief, Alex Dixon called out to me and I jumped.

  I’d been deep in thought, looking into Arnold Finch’s case from yesterday. It had been an unusual case for a specific reason.

  According to our detection system, his wife’s murder had been planned for more than three weeks in the future. Not many people premeditated a crime that far in advance. Especially since we now had officers who hopped into the future and looked at crime reports from the days preceding.

  They came back with as much information as possible to capture the criminals. Times, dates, locations. And when they had the proof that we needed to convict them, my job came in.

  I time hopped hours, or even days into the future to capture them. The detectives that sought out the information in the future, found out the whereabouts of these criminals too. So, I always knew where to go, and when they’d be in a certain place.

  In a city of ten million people, it was more complicated than people thought.

  But because of this system, of hopping into the future and seeing how everything would pan out, people weren’t stupid enough to plan a murder a month out.

  But Arnold Finch had. Why?

  So, that was a puzzle for another day it seemed, as it was time now to follow my boss into one of the only offices in the precinct.

  The rest of us were a sea of desks squashed together and divided only by thin, four foot walls.

  He flicked his wrist at me as he sat in his leather chair behind his desk. “Shut the door behind you and have a seat, Sarah.”

  My heart leapt in my chest as I moved into his office, shutting the door as he’d requested and sitting down in the creaky chair opposite him.

  “Is there something wrong, sir?”

  My guilty conscience haunted me, my brain running through the few rules I broke on a daily basis and I began to categorize them into importance.

  Surely there wasn’t anything on that list that was worth being called into the chief’s office?

  He leaned back in his chair. “Oh no, not at all. I wanted to congratulate you on your work yesterday.”

  Surprise rippled through me.

  “Oh, well thank you.”

  I rested back in the chair and crossed my hands in my lap. Of all the things I’d expected to hear from my superior today, that wasn’t it.

  I’d had the strange feeling I’d done something wrong.

  He continued, “And I wanted you to know that you’re in line for a promotion.”

  Yes!

  I’d been hoping all my hard work would pay off.

  “You do have some competition, of course. Phoebe Flicker.”

  I forced a smile to my lips. Of course she was.

  That nasty bitch didn’t deserve a promotion. She was lazy, power hungry and a terrible teammate.

  But she was pretty, in a conventional sort of way, and more importantly, sucked more cocks than I had cups of coffee.

  “Yes. Of course, sir.”

  “All you have to do is pass the written exam and impress the panel in the interview. Everything else is pretty much in the bag. You’ve got tons of arrests, you’re skilled with time hopping and you’ve shown your dedication to justice with the endless hours you put in.”

  I sat up straighter in my chair, dropping my gaze as pleasure ricocheted through me at his compliment. I worked hard, having little else in my life. Except my sister of course, but she was more of a part-time job.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I didn’t know what else to say to such praise.

  It was hard enough keeping my cheeks from burning with a hot blush.

  “You’re welcome, Sarah. You’re a good team player, and everyone in the precinct admires you.”

  His words soothed me. I often worried that the people in my office didn’t truly like me, but instead were in awe, or fear, of what I could do.

  It was nice of the boss to say such a thing.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  I headed out of the office with my head still spinning from all the new information. I was in line for a promotion! What would that mean for my life?

  More money? More status? Better hours... hopefully?

  The chance to “get a life” as my sister so indelicately put it.

  I finished my shift with paperwork for the last perp I’d arrested. The most boring aspect of all my jobs, but one that I spent more than half my time doing.

  Maybe I should have gone into the detection business.

  Jumping forward, finding out what crimes were being committed, and coming back with the intel?

  In theory, it sounded like more fun and would be very satisfying, but only senior Time Hoppers had those jobs, and I’d heard the headaches that came with such frequent, long, time jumps were horrendously bad.

  Most people were pensioned off, or retired quickly. 12 months was the longest anyone lasted in that job, and I had many more years ahead of me to pay off my mortgage than that.

  On my way home, I grabbed some take out and sat on my couch surrounded by my
beautiful pet and the condo I owned, and would be paying off for many more years to come.

  Beside me on the old couch, my cell phone rang its high-pitched tune and I picked it up with a smile lifting my lips.

  “Hey, sis, what’s up?”

  I hadn’t heard from her in a week, which was too long generally.

  “Sarah!!! Long time, no see! Where you been?”

  Amanda’s slurred voice came through the phone loud and clear.

  I rolled my eyes and put my food down so that I could concentrate on my baby sister’s words.

  “Amanda, what are you doing? And yes, it has been far too long. I’m home if you want to come over now?”

  I could hear the hope in my tone and swallowed, trying to calm down.

  My younger sister was far too party-hungry and carefree for my liking.

  Which was a nice way of saying she had no sense of responsibility, nor a job that she could keep for more than a month.

  “No. No. I can’t. I’m on my way to Stacey’s bachelorette party, but I want to see you. Soon!”

  A groan rolled through my lips. Bachelor parties, and their female counterparts were the best places for debauchery, and my sister would be at the head of the conga line.

  “Oh, please be careful, Amanda. The last thing I need is to be bailing you out of a jail cell in the morning.”

  “That happened once, Sarah. Once!”

  A giggle rose to my lips as I remembered that fateful night. It had been the devil’s own job getting her out of jail without people finding out she was my sister.

  “True. But I don’t want you getting into any more trouble, Amanda. I love you, you know that. And I miss hanging out with you.”

  I swallowed hard as I practically choked on my own emotions.

  I did miss her, too much if I were honest. Like a missing limb sometimes.

  I sighed.

  Other days I missed her like a mole I got burned off.

  “Oh, me too, Sarah! Okay, tom...morrow night, dinner? Drinks?”

  I had to work during the day, but I could make that work.

  “Yeah sure, I get off at six, so I’ll meet you at your place. Or do you wanna go out?”

  I knew the answer before I’d even asked the question. Amanda’s apartment was a cesspool of dirty clothes tainted with the scent of sex. And she shared the space with three other party girls, which wasn’t a good thing either.

  “Oh, screw it, let’s go out. I’ll text you with the address later... Hm... okay? There’s this cute little res...taurant that just opened up around the corner from m–my place.”

  “Perfect,” I said. Amanda was adorable, even if she was a bit of a party girl. “You take care tonight. Don’t go home with any randoms. You don’t know who you can and can’t trust nowadays, Amanda.”

  She giggled. “Thanks to you, I feel safer already. Love you.”

  Amanda hung up and I shook my head as I put the cell down next to me and smiled at my cat.

  “That one is crazier than you.”

  I knew I worried too much, or more than most sisters did. But since our had parents died in a car accident a few years back, the role of protector had fallen to me.

  Unfortunately for me though, Amanda didn’t use the good sense she’d been born with. But at twenty-one I could hardly blame her for wanting to party while she could.

  Hopefully she’d grow up soon.

  I finished my dinner of Thai noodles and beef and headed off for a warm shower, the day’s events playing on repeat inside my head.

  A promotion. I couldn’t believe I was up for a promotion!

  It took so long to move up in the force, especially for a woman. Everyone said so.

  And there was something still niggling me about that arrest yesterday.

  I stuck my head into his cell today, just to see what was happening with his case. Or that’s what I told myself.

  In truth, I couldn’t keep away. And they’d be moving him onto a proper jail soon to await his speedy trial.

  Gone were the days of county jail, a lengthy trial and jail only when convicted. With the in-depth reports of their future transgressions, their guilt was assumed and punished accordingly.

  But surprise upon surprise, he still protested his innocence. They all did, though. That was the hardest part of my job.

  A catch twenty-two, if you will.

  It was incredibly satisfying to catch a killer before he committed a crime. Not only was justice served, but lives were saved. Real lives.

  But there was that moment when I caught them. When they were so sure they weren’t in the wrong, that they’d never do the crime I was accusing them of. They were so passionate, so seemingly shocked at what I was saying.

  And I wanted to believe them.

  That was the hardest feeling to fight against for me.

  Empathy. As one human being to another.

  To watch them be accused of a crime they hadn’t committed yet, but knowing they would be tried as though they had.

  And that man yesterday, Arnold Finch, had looked so honest.

  I got out of the shower, dried myself and went to bed with my Kindle in my hand.

  A paranormal romance for tonight. Something totally surreal and a world where there were only happily ever afters.

  That was true fantasy.

  THE METALLIC SOUND of my phone alarm going off was out of place. Why was it here?

  There was a pool and someone was having a party. No one I know, though.

  So why was I here?

  Awareness dawned as my eyelids fluttered open. Sunshine streamed into my bedroom beneath my curtains, lighting up the old carpet and highlighting the shoes I’d forgotten to put away last night.

  I groaned as I twisted around to check the clock.

  It was too early to get up. Gah... I didn’t want to.

  I reached over to turn off the horrible alarm noise and laid on my back in bed, enjoying the warmth beneath the covers.

  I glanced at the time again. If I didn’t get my workout in first thing, I struggled with energy during the day, and then didn’t have the discipline to go after my shift.

  So, I had no choice. It was now or never.

  I rolled out of bed and despite the cold in the room, dragged on my running gear.

  I tied my long, purple hair up, noting that I needed to make an appointment with my hairdresser to get it touched up soon, and grabbed an energy bar.

  My powerful motorcycle sat waiting in the garage for the ride to the station. My reward for a good workout.

  My house key jingled in my palm as I jogged down the stairs and I slid it into a concealed pocket in my sneakers.

  Time to run.

  There was a ten mile circuit I did almost every day, and the moment my feet hit the path, the music inside my head began to play.

  The pounding of my heart in my chest, the beat of my feet against the pavement, my arms pumping, my breath quickening all sharpened my awareness and made me feel joyfully replete. Blessed to be alive, young and healthy.

  Running gave me a physical ecstasy that a person who didn’t get this high could never understand.

  I ran until my heart pounded too hard to count its beats. I ran until my legs ached and sweat poured down my skin. Then I stopped outside my condo, my head screaming for caffeine, but my body energized and shivering with adrenaline.

  I jogged up the stairs to my home once again.

  Time for a coffee.

  Then shower.

  Then work.

  My daily routine.

  The ride to the precinct was uncharacteristically slow. As I sat in the unmoving traffic on my street bike behind a huge truck, I began to regret the longer than normal shower that I’d had.

  By the time I parked and ran into the precinct, I’d looked at my wrist watch a hundred times and hated every minute that ticked past the start of my shift.

  I rushed through the door, waving to Suzie as I whizzed by.

  “Morning.”

>   Suzie didn’t wave back. She actually turned away and attended the computer to the side of the desk as though she hadn’t seen me.

  But I knew she had.

  I didn’t have time to ask what was wrong and kept walking.

  That was strange. Very strange. Had I done something to upset her?

  I tried not to take it personally and shrugged the perceived rejection off.

  “Put your pole vault down,” my father would say, “and stop jumping to conclusions.”

  I walked through the office, carrying my helmet, smiling at people as they sat at their workstations, drinking their coffee.

  God, I wanted my second cup.

  But everyone was acting like Suzie. No one would meet my gaze, not even Harry, the resident letch, who would give you as much unwanted attention as you could handle.

  My heart began to pound and anger stirred in my gut.

  What had happened? Sure... I was like twenty minutes late, but I’d make it up on the other end of my shift.

  I always did.

  Two men who usually teased me or gave me crap about one thing or another saw me and literally ran in the opposite direction.

  What the fuck? Seriously, what was going on?

  I stopped at my desk, set my bag and helmet down and looked around.

  No one was speaking, the tone of the usually busy room was sombre and suspicious.

  What on earth was going on here?

  The chief, Alex, walked up to my desk, his mouth twisted and turned down.

  My heart sank and panic gripped my heart.

  “Sarah. Could I see you in my office?”

  I swallowed hard and stood up straighter. “Of course, sir. Now?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He turned and headed back to his office and I followed, my mind racing with every little thing I could be reprimanded for.

  The way everyone in the office was acting, they definitely knew something I didn’t.

  Was I about to get fired?

  What could possibly account for this behavior? Surely nothing I’d done in my whole career, let alone lately, could have me terminated.

  Maybe they’d finally found out about me getting my sister out of jail that one time?

  My stomach tightened and I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry.

  Hopefully not.