The Chief Inspector

An awkward tension builds between a stressed police inspector and his new assistant...

Police lights (Photo via Flickr)

The Chief Inspector

The Chief Inspector’s new assistant already had his routine down to a T. His papers were always organised and tidied on his desk. She delivered coffee with a welcoming smile when he arrived in the morning. Tea arrived at two hour intervals, and she provided a gentle reminder to eat some lunch before his blood sugar dropped too much. Meanwhile her work was exemplary, her demeanour and dress impeccable. Indeed a bit too impeccable. Tasteful blouses, white or pale shades of pink and blue, fitting tight around her slim waist and bust. Pencil thin black skirts finishing above the knee. Black stockings and black shoes, with high heels. All in all a very attractive, and distracting, ensemble. She wore her hair in a bun, tidy but not severe. He had never seen her let it down but he was sure it would be long and stylish.

He periodically suffered from a sore neck, and several times during difficult, stressful cases or after telephone shouting matches with his superiors, she had offered to give him a shoulder massage. He had adamantly refused, fighting the flush that suffused his face each time from the unwelcome vision of an ill-advised trip to massage parlour in his past.

He relented for a few minutes one day, with the office door wide open to make sure everyone else in the office knew it was all completely above board.

“You are very tense.” she had told him.

He nodded. “Comes with the territory.”

“You have a very difficult job. I will do everything I can to assist you.”

“You are very competent and thoughtful Ms Zanetti. I could not ask for anything more.”

She nodded.

One afternoon she brought tea during a meeting with his deputy. They watched her walk back to her desk in the lobby. Her pencil thin skirt ended, as usual, just above the knee. Her hips swayed as she walked out of the office drawing his eyes despite his best intentions to ignore them. Inspector Poulson alternated his gaze from her posterior to his boss’s peculiar expression until she had walked all the way back to her desk. Then he leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I could have a word with her about undertaking some, shall we say, special projects for you...”

“Certainly not.” The Chief Inspector hissed under his breath. “I’m a married man and we have a perfectly professional relationship. You are dismissed.” He waved him away and went back to the thick case file open on the desk in front of him. Through the door he could see Ms Zanetti at her desk. He tried to focus on his work but her slightest movement in his peripheral vision distracted him instantly.

He called out “Ms Zanetti, could you please close the door?”

He pored over the file again. He heard the door quietly thud into the jam and the latch click shut. Her delicate perfume lingered in the air. He felt a strange sense of expectation permeate the room. He tried to ignore it but it didn’t go away. He looked up.

Ms Zanetti stood in front of the closed door, her hands clasped loosely in front of her and a pleased yet slightly hesitant smile on her face.

“What else can I do for you sir?”

A charge of electricity seemed to pass between them. He felt his fingertips tingle, and a flush of heat moved up from his collar to the slight bald patch on the top of his head. Beads of perspiration dotted his forehead. His eyes strayed of her face, down over her shoulders, her chest, slim waist, the delicate flare of her hips, and down her legs to the black heels, and back up again.

He raised his hand slowly to his mouth and coughed to break the spell. Ms Zanetti shifted her weight slightly from one foot to the other. He exhaled and forced a smile. “Please hold all my calls and tell any visitors I’m unavailable.  Thank you, Ms Zanetti. That will be all.”  She dropped her shoulders slightly and forced a smile and a nod. He sensed her disappointment and immediately regretted his tone. He coughed again. “…for today.”

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ANNOUNCEMENT:  Founders House Publishing have released the anthology:

After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis

The anthology includes my story Promised Land. Part of my North Queensland Trilogy.

"Founders House is happy to announce that the latest collection of science fiction stories in the ongoing After Oil series is available.

After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis - Edited by John Michael Greer

John Michael Greer, author and host of the popular weekly peak-oil blog, The Archdruid Report, returns with another collection of twelve tales of the post-oil future. As Industrial civilization staggers beneath its myriad disfunctions, ordinary people  endure the long, slow decline that shapes the years of crisis. The old world passes away an a new age takes shape."

The anthology is available now in various formats from Founders House Publishing.

The first anthology: After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, is available from the publishers, Amazon (Amazon) or, in Australia, from Fishpond (Fishpond).

MORE STORIES....

Under Development - A young idealist hunts for international development work in China. (6 parts)

The Nature of Love - A couple in love enjoy a day out in nature but something is amiss...
 

My Crazy China Trip - (Humour) A novice traveller gets more than he bargains for during 15 days in China. (10 Parts)
 

Love at First Flight - A foreign teacher arrives in China and falls in love with a local, but the path of true love is anything but smooth. (5 parts)

Trial by Fire - When a woman in Tibet self-immolates two witnesses face a dangerous dilemma.  (4 parts)

Arrested Development - A development consultant in China finds life getting out of control. [Rated R]  SHORTLISTED for the Lord Grimdark Award. See the list here.

Beijing Private Eyes - Drama, Romance, Karaoke, Kidnap!   A foreign teacher in Beijing meets an attractive stranger and offers to help, then things get complicated. (A long story in 8 parts)

Tell him he's dreaming - An engineer has an environmental epiphany but things don't work out as planned.  GAINED 5th PLACE in the New Zealand Writers College Short Story competition. See the list of finalists here. 

 

Entries in the post-industrial / peak oil short story competition:
My story 'Promised Land' has been selected for the forthcoming anthology "After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis".  You can read the other entries here.

A previous set of stories was published in 2012 in a book entitled After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, available from Amazon (Amazon) or in Australia from Fishpond (Fishpond).

Stories set in China:

Winds of Change –  In 2022 a migrant worker struggles to realise his dreams and fulfil his family obligations.

Outside In – It's 2050, the country and economy have changed. A recycler studies for an exam to improve his prospects, and an indentured servant plans her escape.

Seeds of Time – (Sequel to Outside In). In 2055 rural China prospers again after a period of dramatic changes, then things are complicated by a strange visitor and a hidden object.

Stories set in Australia: A North Queensland Trilogy

Robots on Mars – 2025. A space-mad city boy adjusts to life in the country and tries to solve a mystery.    (Note: no actual robots or Martians involved)

Promised Land – (Sequel to Robots on Mars). It’s 2050 and development threatens the rural district. Is it what they really need and if not, how can they stop it?

Heart of Glass - (Sequel to Promised Land). The year is 2099, high school graduates prepare to step into adulthood and the community prepares to celebrate the turn of a new century. 

Tell me what you think.  Constructive comments welcome.