Amanda Christine Torres

The Heart of the Beach

“Oh, for the love of all that is holy!” Detective Amelia Mendez had about enough of the night shift. This was the tenth call tonight, and there is just no point in answering, many are anonymous tips leading nowhere, not that it would matter. The Long Beach Precinct does practically nothing to solve anything: homicides, domestic disputes, burglaries, parking tickets. And yet, the Powers that be still want Mendez to do her job, because it shows other counties that “we are not just lying down on the job” as the Captain states. Psshh. Detective Mendez ran her hands through her hair. The Captain has not done his job in three years. Not since Los Angeles fell into rubble. The riots were too much, climate change had taken a number on the big city, and most citizens had fled once water became scarce. After that, People flocked to other areas and states, searching for wherever the hell the “American Dream” went. It ain’t here, Mendez thought.