Chapter 1
In the Criminal Justice System, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. In Long Beach, California, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit: Long Beach Division. These are their stories.
Maxwell Clark stood in the dark watching his son Paulson sleep in his crib. He could not help by smile at his baby boy. He then walked across the hall to check on his daughter Alison, who was also fast asleep. After that, he went back to his bedroom where Shayna was wide-awake.
"Can't sleep?" Clark asked.
"Not really," Shayna replied. "Someone keeps getting up every three minutes."
"I just want to make sure our babies are okay," Clark said.
"They're fine," Shayna said. "It's 3:30 in the morning. It took us until midnight to get them to go to sleep. If I don't sleep for at least two hours, I will be in a cranky mood."
"Maybe I should take some time off of work," Clark said.
"No," Shayna said. "I'm on maternity leave and you need to work."
"It's no trouble," Clark said. "I can do desk work from home."
"You're going to work," Shayna said. "Maybe once the twins are down for their afternoon nap, I can finally get some sleep."
"I'm going to check on them one more time," Clark said.
Shayna grabbed Clark by the shirt.
"No," Shayna said. "You stay put."
"Can I at least go to the bathroom?" Clark asked.
"No," Shayna said.
Meanwhile, two female college students sat on the beach.
"Finals almost killed me," one student said.
"Tell me about it," the other student said.
A teenage boy stumbled over to them.
"Are you okay?" one student asked.
The teenage boy revealed a stab wound in the chest. He then fell face-down onto the sand.
"Oh my God!" one student screamed. "Call 9-1-1!"
The other student got out her phone and dialed.