Also by Dean Scoville

Hastings walked to the Fireside Lounge on the corner of Fourth and Lake Streets, dialed up his favorite federal agent on a pay phone, and fessed up to having some 13 stolen antique knives and a stolen Beretta on his person. Oh, and he wanted to turn himself in.

Preserving a crime scene sometimes means wrestling a grieving man to the ground so he can't disturb the DNA evidence on his murdered wife.

Shaw tried to deflect the gun with the flashlight in his left hand. But hearing the shot, he jumped back, landing on his backside about seven feet away from Burris.

Ambush murders are perhaps the cruelest and most inexplicable of law enforcement deaths. Often, they are not a means to an end, but an end in and of itself, an event consciously orchestrated with no purpose other than the killing of an officer.

As rounds smacked into the walls and furniture about Garcia and Roell, Garcia fired two quick bursts toward the top of the stairs.

Today's cops may still gather over a case of cold beer, but they also gather online using social networking tools such as MySpace and Facebook. Which is a problem for agencies and officers because what many users of social networks don't realize before its too late is that anything they do or say or write on these sites is done so in full view of the public.

"But you're making it my problem," Hendrix told Ripley. "I can't just let you shoot these people. This is not the way to handle this."

Becoming a better cop may not ensure formal recognition such as a promotion, but it'll virtually guarantee it informally. It'll simultaneously help you to do your job faster and increase your prospects to work elsewhere.