Joan Hudson; a patient woman of long-suffering and a firm trigger finger. In the 240s of the Hadrian Empire, men are the breadwinners, and the women are the homemakers. Despite being allowed to pursue degrees in some colleges, women are expected to leave the workplace once they’ve married to take care of the home and raise the children she has with her husband. To society at large, this is the expectation and ideal. Those who still need to work will find only low-level positions as anything higher is given to men. Born Daisy Lamb, it was from a young age that she aspired to be an officer of the Brennenburg Police Department. Her father, the chief of police, had inspired her with what she saw as a heroic figure upholding the law and delivering criminals to justice. Although her mother always seemed to have a grudge against her, treating her as more a disciplinarian than a caregiver, it was mitigated by her father. Her life held the promise and hope for a future of breaking down barriers of what women were allowed to do and pursue her own path against societal expectations. Once Joan graduated, she forewent college to join the police academy. While unorthodox, few would raise a word against her or harass her as they might normally have due to the position of power and influence her father held. She became the first woman officer, and, a few years later, the first woman detective. Her father had paved the way for her and protected her against those who would’ve barred her, but it was her determination and effort that saw her reach these positions. It was as an officer she also married her high school boyfriend in secret as she feared what her father would say if he knew. While perhaps forward-thinking in regards to his daughter, she worried even he would expect her to quit her position once she was married. Together, they shared a small apartment while he studied his way through school, and she continued in her career, seemingly without limitation. However, it wasn’t meant to be. After a short career, a traumatic event occurred that changed the trajectory of Joan’s life. The stress of her disappearance caused her father to die of a heart attack. Her mother blamed her for his death and cut her off, and during her long recovery, her husband started an adulterous affair with another woman. Forced to retire by the new police chief, having lost her beloved father, cut off by her mother, and without the support of her husband, Joan’s life became one of solitary hopelessness. To cope, she turned to alcohol to escape the crippling emotional trauma. Using the money from her retirement fund and her inheritance from her father, she opened her private detective office, taking on whatever cases would come her way. Years later, the Norean Order would hire her for investigating crimes the police don’t wish to pursue and killing the worst of repeat criminals. The once hopeful and bright future had become a stale existence in a haze of work and whiskey in a world that won’t accept her independence or otherness except when some have a use for her. Yet, she continues, putting her life on the line for a paycheck. |
awkwardly sexual fiction, awkward relationship short story collection, Private Detective Novels, Private detective mystery series, cheating spouse caught, Noir Detective novels, lesbian erotica romance, Private Detective, Private Investigator, Prostitution Fiction, Erotica,