Taco Time

Officer James Herrod pulled into a parking spot about 30 feet from the food truck and picked up the microphone: “Robert One-18 to dispatch.”

“Dispatch,” a voice from the radio spoke, “Go Robert One-18.”

“Yes, dispatch I’ll be 10-7 at the corner of Main and Third.”

“10-4, Robert One-18, have a good lunch.”

“Roger and thanks.”

She had her ‘Seattle briefcase’ slung over her left shoulder as she walked from her car to double doors of the County Health Department building. For the last seven-years Janelle Stewart had been doing the same tedious job and once again was wishing she’d chosen another career path.

Janelle dropped the backpack at the side of her desk, picked up her coffee mug, one with a Batman emblem on it, and made her way down the corridor to the break room. She poured herself a cup of java and looked out the second story window with a sigh.

“Hey, young lady,” Stan, a bald-man in his early fifties said as he entered through the door. He looked at her and could tell something was wrong.

“What’s wrong? Anything I can help with?”

Janelle turned and smiled, “Oh, no. Jus’ gonna be another long day.”

“Understood,” he said in his usual chipper voice.

She could never tell if he was really that happy or if he was simply faking it. Janelle could never fake it, knowing that she wore her moods in the open.

“Have a better day,” Stan smiled as he left the room, his coffee cup filled.

She turned and walked back to her desk and sat down. Janelle quickly thumbed through her appointment book, looking at the five restaurants she had scheduled for inspection and the one mobile food vehicle on her list.

The mobile food vehicle was the third visit listed.

James was hungry and had decided that tacos sounded like the perfect lunch for the hectic day he was experiencing. He was waiting in line, three customers behind a construction worker, who was paying for five tacos.

He watched as an attractive brunette slowly got out of her car and walked to the back of the food truck, entered and made her way to the front-end of the vehicle. Then he saw the sudden flash of flame as it flared up and enveloped the length of the open window.

The woman, who he believed to be the owner, dropped a metal lid over the blaze. As this happened, he felt an odd sense of dizziness rush over his person.

James chalked his dizziness up to the fact that he hadn’t eaten since leaving his house at around four that morning,  was tired and stressed from a job, that after seven-years, he no longer enjoyed.

With two inspections completed, at eleven that morning, Janelle wheeled into the parking lot of the shopping center where she knew the food truck, ‘Taco Time,’ with it’s oddball tag-line, ‘Where the food is magic,’ would be parked, selling its popular Tex-Mex cuisine. She could see Amy Michaels, the owner, and her assistant Jose’ Oliveria, in the vehicle’s long window, serving a line of at least six people.

Amy saw her as she approached the truck. Janelle could see that the woman had a forced-smile on her face.

“I promise to stay out of your hair and to be as quick as possible,” she stated as she stepped up and into the vehicle.

“Okay,” Amy said. She was busy putting the final touches on five tacos.

Janelle slipped by Jose’ who nodded, acknowledging her. As she turned to watch the two work, a low pan of grease burst into flames, causing her to turn her head to avoid being singed.

James grabbed his forehead with his right hand, his gun hand, and looked down. Much to his surprise, he was no longer wearing his service boots, but rather a pair of much-too small red Reebok tennis shoes.

Janelle looked at Amy, who was closest to her. Amy was staring hard at her, as was Jose’ and both had strange expressions on their faces.

“How in the hell did you get in here?” Amy barked in surprise.

“I…I…I,” Janelle stuttered, her voice deeper than usual.

In a panic, Janelle rushed to the back of the vehicle and down the stairs. She caught her scattered reflection in the diamond-patterned aluminum siding of the truck.

“What in the…” she said, in shock after seeing herself now clad in the dark-blue uniform of a police officer.

She quickly rushed over to the only police cruiser in the parking lot and leaned against the vehicle. Her mind reeled as she came to understand that she was no longer a health inspector, but now a male police officer.

Across the parking lot, a brunette woman, who was standing in line, suddenly fainted to the asphalt.