To You, Graceless (CAMREN)

11 - Welcome Home, Detective

October: Two Months Later

According to a website, Salt Lake City is one percent safer than other cities in the United States; estimated by the number of crime per thousand residents. As a state, another website ranked Utah ninth safest in terms of unemployment rates, quantity of assaults per capita and projected losses from climate disasters.

There should be disparities compared to reality and data gathered, Camila noted. Some victims and crimes remain unaccounted for and for whatever reason, it'd fall on certain categories as fear or shame, while some just go unfortunately unnoticed. Still, crimes prevented, offenders apprehended and civilians sheltered from harm were far more important to the young detective more than anything.

And no matter the supposed safe-meter, Salt Lake City was home and had been since Camila graduated from high school. Bordered by the breathtaking Wasatch Range, Oquirrh Mountains, and Great Salt Lake, it was a perfect place for the nature lover in her amidst the bustling cityscape.

Then again, despite how peaceful or how tragic her city may be, Camila was just quite simply accident prone. She was essentially the unfortunate magnet of disaster and she never quite figured out how to cope with it apart from winging everything.

Just like how she just narrowly missed a car whose driver somehow thought it was a good idea to swerve too close when he had enough of the highway lane for his godforsaken sedan. She'd noticed several dents marring the blue hue that was making her cringe as she gripped the steering wheel of her precious Cadillac CTS.

Must be a new driver, she assumed. A part of her wanted to turn the strobe lights lining the top of her windshield, grille lights and siren on, and pull them over but decided against it when the vehicle seemed to be more stable seconds later as it passed her. She figured it was best to keep an eye on it, though.

Camila was intending on driving down to see her mother and grandmother from a visit to one of her confidential informants after being away for several months. She didn't want Sinuhe to worry more than she typically does, and felt like seeing her would appease her trepidation tremendously. She was still halfway there but was finally on the freeway when she turned on her police scanner, with the intention of listening in on police frequency just to see how her great city was doing only to catch a familiar voice of a female operator in the middle of calling available units.

"...blue Honda Civic. Driving through Glendale, headed down south on two-fifteen, Belt Route, just passed by West 700 North. Be advised that suspect has a tender age child with him."

"Damn it!" Camila grumbled, thoughts swarmed like bees on a mission and alerted her of what she saw in passing. She listened until the operator finished reciting the plate number – most likely repeating it before she pressed a button and spoke to it. "This is Detective Cabello of Investigations, badge number 8201. I got visuals on the blue sedan. I'm on it."

"Copy that. Back up is ten minutes away."

Dropping the radio on her lap, she turned her lights and siren on; in the process of cursing herself for ignoring her gut. She stepped on the gas, sensing her pounding heart at the thought of distraught child crying in the backseat as the roar of her glorious car inundated her ears. Already, she was setting her hopes up high as she ignored the possibility of having to find a lifeless body.

Camila focused on driving through cars like an obstacle course, grateful that they'd slowly started getting out of the way as soon as the sirens screeched. She had no trouble blowing her horn if the situation needed it.

Soon enough, she managed to catch up to the sedan, matching its speed. She rolled her window down, alternating between the road and peering through the slightly tinted one of the other car's passenger door. Noting the rear-facing car seat and the limbs of the little child fluttering, Camila was able to breathe in the slightest. But when she checked to see the driver, every fear came rolling back with a revenge as she found a man, leaning against the steering wheel, unconscious.