Mrs. Sarah Lee Clarke-Jones was irritable. She was crabby. Testy. Cantankerous. 

     But really, who could blame her? She was in charge of a shabby police department in an even shabbier town. And not even that- the only reason she considered herself in charge was the police chief was always on various vacations. Everyone from Watertown was quick to leave once they graduated high school. Sometimes they even left before then. The point was, no one stuck around long, and that would make just about anyone grumpy.

     Sarah was currently berating Miss Dani Brown. Yes, remember her? Well, Miss Dani had brought in crucial evidence without gloves, and her fingerprints were all over it. Despite Sarah's efforts, she had been unable to find a complete print that didn't belong to Dani. She was even contemplating arresting poor Miss Brown when her husband walked into the precinct. 

     Mr. Clarke-Jones was a short man, the type that some people would call stocky- and others would call fat. Before he met and married Sarah, he had been that one guy named Matthew with the last name no one could pronounce. This led him to take Sarah's surname, instead of the alternative.

     Mr. Clarke-Jones gave his signature smile, stretching ear to ear. He quickly wrapped Sarah in a hug, which she, begrudgingly, accepted.

     "Darling! I got off work early!" Matthew was clearly pleased with his accomplishment.

      Sarah gently patted his shoulder and pulled away from him. "Well, I haven't. I'm so close to a breakthrough- I just know it!"

       Matthew went to give her a hug- which she promptly refused. "No- I've got to work. Go home."

      He left with a nod.

      After a while more of searching for fingerprints, Sarah decided to head back to the alley where Dani had discovered the contraband. She spent a while looking around, and the "flour" was rediscovered.

     She was going to take it back when Nathen happened upon her rummaging through his stash.     

      "The hell you think you're doing miss?"

      Sarah froze- quickly standing up, reaching for her gun. However, before she could grab it, Nathen had grabbed his own pistol and put it to her left temple.

      With a voice like acid disguised as honey, he whispered into her ear. "I won't ask again."

       Sarah bit her lip, and, thinking on the fly, uttered the only thing she could think of; "Is this for sale? My old supplier's been busted and I've been getting desperate"

       It seems for a moment Nathen believes her- or at least decided to behave so. To this day we are unsure exactly why he decided to go along with Sarah's lie, but one can only say that he did.

      Nathen smiled and uttered a simple "perhaps". His teeth were surprisingly clean- for a criminal's teeth, that is. He wasn't exactly what you'd expect. No, the most successful criminals don't look shady or unkempt, with yellowing teeth and dark suspicious hoods. Nathen resembled a businessman, with a simple black blazer. If you looked closely you could see the wear and tear from a couple years of use, and from the scuffles he'd gotten into for scamming people. Nathen was like a buisnessman in that way; calculative, cruel, and always looking for money. The only hint that something may have been off was the deep bags under his eyes, providing the illusion they had sunken into his face.

     Sarah couldn't see her own face, so she likely didn't realize the way her lower lip trembled when she was nervous. The way she was frantically fidgeting with the strings on her sweater, the panic sweeping through her mind in waves. She uttered a simple "Oh. Well, name your price mr..."

     Nathen let out a short, harsh laugh. "Nathen. But you already knew that, didn't you miss Clarke-Jones?"

     The look on Sarah's face was reminiscent of the look a cartoon character makes after they've taken three steps off the cliff. Soulful, and painfully self aware. I suppose one could say that was the moment Sarah realized she was going to die. 

     She uttered a pathetic "how do you know my name", barely managing to get the words out, as if she didn't already know how. Sarah lived in a small town. Sarah had recently moved to a small town. She was the biggest news of the summer, the local gossip trend. At the time it had been nice, recieving gift baskets from all the townsfolk, but now? Now Sarah was dreading the fact he certainly knew who she was, and not to mention her occupation.

     So Sarah turned, hoping to make a run for it.

     Just like the cartoon character, Sarah went out in a puff of smoke.