~ COLD NIGHT

(DAWSON)

It wasn’t winter yet, but I could feel the whole of my body shiver as I held on to Samantha, the temperature of her body was dropping drastically, her heartbeat fainter; there and then, I didn’t know what to wish for, or what to do. I wasn’t a true believer; I doubted if God would answer my prayers if I tried to pray to him now. My sister was dying in my arms; the men who shot her had fled. I couldn’t go after them, leaving my sister to die on the streets, neither would the ambulance I had called a few minutes ago get here quickly to save her, I knew she wouldn’t make it. However, it was the very first time I had just a tiny bit of hope for someone dying to live, I had seen so many deaths; but this was different.

The pain was different, it was as if the bullet was inside of me too, twisting and dancing around the fence of my heart. Threatening to go straight to the center and stop me from breathing, for a moment, I wished that would happen; dying and going to the afterlife with Samantha. What was left in this world to live for either way?

Samantha’s hand on my cheekbones was starting to drag down slowly, her eyes were glaring widely at me, but it was obvious she wasn’t looking at my face. Maybe she was looking, but definitely not with the eyes of her human body. Tears trickled down my left cheeks, one I have been trying to hold since she was alive; she was now gone; as the tears came from the other cheek, so did the rain and also the siren of an ambulance blasting nearby.

I ran my hand across her face, shutting her glaring eyes close, as the ambulance siren became clearer and louder; the victim they had come to save was long gone. It wasn’t their fault, even though I felt like putting some of the blame on them, but what difference would that make. The only way to fill the emptiness that the death of Samantha had caused, was to find whosoever killed her and make them beg for their life.

“Detective Dawson!”

“Detective Dawson!!”

Even though the woman was just inches away from me, it seemed as if she was whispering the words; then suddenly, her voice became audible.

“We need to go, it’s gonna rain cats and dogs,” she called out, it was one of the officers at the Los Angeles Police department, I didn’t even know her name.

That was one of my bad habits, remembering names. On the other hand, everyone knew my name; detective Dawson. The medic from the ambulance was already moving Samantha to the vehicle, no one knew just yet that it was my sister; even though she was also a detective herself; if the officer or the medic knew that. They wouldn’t have just taken the woman away, without showing any sign of sympathy. I never allowed anyone to find out that Samantha was my sister, no one even knew where we lived except the boss. She wasn’t just my sister, Samantha was the only partner I ever had as a detective.

Working alone was my thing till Samantha became a detective, she wanted to work with me; I knew the risks, but it seemed I could protect her if we were always together; but that wasn’t true. Her death had proven that.

I wiped the little tear sticking idly at the corner of my eye as I walked up to the police officer who had called me, placing my gun in its holster and nodded sadly at the officer, before walking past her. It was better they didn’t know the real identity of the deceased, at least not now, it would have been very awkward if everybody started to look at me with eyes of pity, that wasn’t what I needed right now. Finding those motherfuckers, who killed Samantha, had just become my only purpose. Nevertheless, they’d be guessing why I looked so sad.

Thunder rumbled across the dark sky, warning us that the rain was about to come down so heavily, I walked straight to my old truck, jumped in and then again, the tears came down with full force, the only difference was, mine didn’t need thunder. I wiped it off quickly, it was hard not to cry, when the only person you call family was gone. But the man in me doesn’t accept tears, it was vengeance first, tears later.

I reached inside my damp jacket, and brought out a small can of gin, rolled the cap open and gulped down the hot liquid; it went down burning its way down my throat then gave a satisfying feeling.

The thunder rumbled again, but this time; it came alongside rain; I could see the ambulance light as it was almost fading faraway in the distance, in time; everybody at LAPD would know that it was my sister who had died. I had to stay away from there for a while.

I started the engine and drove off the streets, the rain would wash off any evidence left in the scene; the only lead I had was the ballistic report from the bullets they’d be removing from Samantha’s body. Four shots, and I only got there in time to hold her from hitting her head on the ground; maybe I was wrong for staying there with her all along, I could have pursued the perpetrators, I knew Samantha was going to die, I mean who survived four shots. But that tiny bit of hope I had was strong enough to keep me grounded.

As I sped through the highway, all I could hear was the sound of my windshield wiper, moving from side to side to give me a clear view, but then my phone rang loudly, jolting me out of my reverie.

“Get over here now!”

Those were the only words he yelled. Donald Beam; he was the deputy police officer of the LAPD, and the man known as my boss. From the way he yelled and hung up immediately, I had no doubt he had found out that it was Samantha who got killed.

Seems I wasn’t going to stay away from the station after all….