Requiem for a Love (Requiem #2) [ON HOLD]

Ten years ago, a sullen Benjamin Ramirez, a teenager then, sat staring at a Phoenix Police Academy pamphlet. His uncle, David, a police officer, had left it for him, advocating a career in law enforcement. Ben found the suggestion laughable, especially after his uncle's lecture about 'poor life choices' following Ben getting caught smoking pot.

The doorbell rang, pulling Ben from his thoughts. His mother, Maria, asked him to get it. To his displeasure, it was Uncle David, whose usually talkative demeanor was replaced by an uncharacteristic sadness. Ben noticed his uncle had been crying.

He let Uncle David in, a tense silence filling the air as Ben led him to the kitchen. "Maria, sit down," Uncle David said, his voice heavy. "It's Isabela. Some boys out on patrol this evening found her. She's dead."

Eight months later, Ben stood in a police station, holding his distraught mother, glaring at an officer. "What do you mean, you're no longer pursuing leads on this case?" he demanded. The officer explained the trail had gone cold. "The people who raped and murdered my sister are out there somewhere, and you're just going to let them get away with it?" Ben's mother burst into tears again. As they left, Ben's eyes fell on a familiar pamphlet for the Phoenix Police Academy. A new idea began to form in his mind.