Mountains of Dawn

"No, no. I'm going to take this new job with the Investigation Agency I mentioned before. It's located in downtown Vermeil." She paused, took a deep breath. "They trained me well, at the camp. I think I prefer their work to the work I've done in the past. It will be different, exciting. I'd be helping the law rather than enforcing it."

"That sounds much better for you."

"Yes, I think so, too. I'll be involved in some investigations, some of the action. I'll have access to the archives…that sort of thing. But what about you?"

"I'd hate to leave right now. I'd lose a term, at least. We've just begun."

"I know how important school is for you, Tanya, but think… How important is your life to you?"

Tanya stared at her friend, her eyes wide.

"It's a serious situation. Someone pushed you off the road, not once, but twice. You lucked out there. Then, your car… Kathy took that, but you know it was intended for you." Judith shook her head. "You can't keep counting on luck, Tanya. Someone wants you out of the way."

"You want me to run. Just run, without ever seeing who is after me…and what's to stop him from finding me again?"

"Look, I know how you feel. Let's just sleep on it, and talk about it again in the morning. I'm beat, and I know you are, too." Judith ran her hand over her face and pushed her hair back. "Tomorrow, I'll make a few calls and see what I can find. We'll work something out."

* * *

Tanya woke to bright sunlight streaming in the den window. She slid from bed, wrapped her robe around her, and went into the kitchen.

"Judith?" No answer. A note on the table told her Judith would be back shortly. With a sigh, she settled into the dining nook with a cup of coffee.

Judith had been her friend for almost a year, since Tanya worked at the Arts Gallery as a volunteer, Judith as a guard. Tanya still enjoyed the work-updating the database of the collection; preparing new sketches for the fall catalogue, and typing identification labels. Judith interested her from the first time, when she saw her walk by on her patrol. Her artist's eye was captured by the incongruity of an elegant beauty, fashion-model perfect, wearing a police uniform and lugging a holstered gun.

They had exchanged a few words of greeting for about a week, until the day Tanya saw Judith in the cafeteria, sitting alone at a table. She remembered their conversation, how their friendship began, and grew from there.