Steam rose from the hoods and roofs of cars parked under the street lights, as a misty, humid rain fell during this 80 degree evening. “Dear God, 2:00 o’clock in the morning and you can’t move without sweating,” Danny was saying to himself. It had been a long heat wave and far too unusual for mid June in Central New York State. Then a soft grin crossed his face as he thought back on all those times his driveway was plowed during the countless snowstorms of the past winter. The weather in Danny’s area was like Forrest Gump’s chocolates….”you never know what you’re going to get.”

Although there had been a few missteps in his life, Danny was able to move past it all and now, more than ever, he was happy. He was married to a woman he adored, had three wonderful children, a beautiful home, two new vehicles and a job….no…. rather a career he cherished almost as much as his family. In Sergeant Danny O’Donnell’s world it just didn’t get any better than this.

It was only eleven (11) years ago that Danny had taken the police officer’s civil service exam and he had been patrolling the streets of his 60,000+ town population for the last ten (10) years. The proud look on his mom’s, dad’s and wife’s faces the day he graduated from the police academy was etched in his mind with a fondness that only those who experience this accomplishment can understand. Second to that feeling was when Danny passed his exam and was promoted to Sergeant last year. Life is full of twists and turns. It had been years since he was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and by the time everything was cleared up, his boyhood friend Paul had skipped out of town. An arrest warrant had been issued for Paul (see Guilty or Innocent for background information) and he had been a fugitive from justice for over twelve (12) years now.

Homicides, suicides, motor vehicle accidents, sexual assaults, pedophilia and domestic disputes had all crossed Sgt. O’Donnell’s past. Police work was his life and he wouldn’t want it any other way. The thought of sitting behind a desk in a closed in office or answering phones and questions from customers or selling insurance, all of these occupations made Danny’s skin crawl. Where was the excitement or thrill in these jobs? No, he was a cop and he wore his uniform like a second skin. No one or no thing was going to take police work away from Danny.