The Heart of Sam Tyler- Sariah Six
Chapter one: The silver gleam
It was past 11:00pm, DI Sam Tyler was slung over his bed, one hand loosely dangling off the edge, His fingers idly played with the neck of a empty bottle of Shiraz from the night before. His eyes were wide and vacant, staring straight ahead as though through the wall. The TV was off, the lights were off but a small patch of light from a lone street lamp outside stretched its way inside, outlining the features in the room.
He wanted to talk to someone. He could see the phone from here, but to whom? He had given up on the future for tonight, flickered around the TV for at least an hour before accepting no one was there to talk to him. It was getting more and more like that lately. He felt more and more isolated and alone than he ever had. He felt more depressed.
I could call Annie, he thought. She might even be just across the hall. Annie was back with her ex boyfriend, Neil, who happened to live across the hall from Sam's flat. The thought of Annie directly opposite him with that…. that creep made Sam's heart rate increase ever so slightly.
His eyes were drawn to the silvery glare from across the room. The object sat innocently on his kitchen table, reflecting the light so a thousand silver lights were thrown around the room. The knife.
He sat up out of bed, his head throbbing with the sudden movement. Emotion suddenly overcame him, it was bellowing from deep inside him, ready to spill out. It was overwhelming. He swallowed hard, trying to compose himself but it was too much. His head almost fell into his hands. His shoulders shook slightly with every silent sob. Then, almost as quick as the emotion came, it was gone. He exhaled loudly and ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced again at the knife on the counter.
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"Would you just leave it?… Leave it… LEAVE it!"
Annie halted her step and sighed. She went to turn and face him, to finish the argument, to apologise to her boyfriend, Neil who was in a fit of frenzy.
His voice seemed to echo and reverberate in Annie's mind. He didn't turn to face her.
"I'm just taking out the garbage," she calmly said.
Her face showed a completely calm and collected woman, dressed in her dressing robe, slippers and clutching a small bag of trash. Inside, she was in a rage. She felt like an animal, caged in, not understanding or comprehending what it was her trainer was asking her to do.
"I don't want you to take the trash out" Neil spat. "I know what you're doing"
Annie sighed. " Well, can you please fill me in then? Because I don't even know what I'm doing"
Neil made an attempt to grab the bag out of her hand but she was too quick for him, and pulled it out of his reach. This angered him further, he tore off his glasses and began to furiously clean them with his pyjamas.
"By taking the trash out now, this late at night, you are implying either that I don't take care of my house and keep it neat and tidy. Or, and this is the most probable option, you are making me out to be a misogynist bastard, making me believe that you are a woman therefore meant to take out the trash as one of your duties"
Annie was dumbstruck. "That is ridiculous. This fight is ridiculous"
"We've been back together what, a week now? And you're taking out my garbage?" Neil retorted
Annie threw her hands up in the air "I'm tryin to help you out here. I didn't mean any offence"
Neil seemed to think the argument had finished. With another suspicious glare, he turned from her and promptly walked to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
Annie grudgingly started for the door, her blue slippers soft and cosy on her feet.
She had always believed they were a match made in heaven. Him, a well respected psychiatrist and her, a DC at the Manchester police station. They had met in college, and from the second they collaborated on that first assignment together, Annie was attracted to this man, who had a gift of being able to look into human behaviour and draw conclusions about how peoples true intentions, what they really thought and behaved.
Of course, it was a cute little trick but with Annie, ironically, Neil was always way off.
He never got her to a point. Maybe that's why Annie liked him so much. Neil was never able to pigeonhole her, never quite figure her out.
Annie opened the garbage chute, holding her breath as she shoved Neil's garbage bag in before closing it softly. Something moved at the corner of her eye and her police training kicked in. She spun around immediately. The fire door at the other end of the hall was falling closed. Someone was walking up the stairs to the roof. She could hear light footsteps.
Curiosity got the better of her. Wondering what could possibly be interesting enough on the roof in this below freezing weather at this time of night probed her detective interests. She eased the door of the stairway open and began to climb the stairs, one blue slipper in front of the other.
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