This chapter is mostly about Sam and is pretty short. The next one will be longer, I promise


Chapter 2

Samantha vaguely heard something ringing and thought for a few seconds that it was part of her dream till she realized it was her cell phone. She rolled over, held out her hand towards the bedside table and started groping around for the small object that was disturbing her sleep.

"Spade?" she answered with a tired tone, her eyes still closed, a wave of tiredness coming over her. After tossing and turning for a few hours, she had finally managed to fall asleep around 4 a.m.

"Hey Sam, it's Danny, where are you?...I need you here" she heard her co-worker say, half-annoyed, half-worried.

"Danny? What-what time is it?"

"It's 10 a.m. Sam and we got a case" Danny replied.

Sam turned her eyes towards the alarm clock and sighed. "Dammit" she uttered as Danny frowned on the other end of the line.

"Sam, you all right?"

"Yeah, I forgot to set the alarm, I'm sorry..."

"It's OK, it happens but now hurry up. I'm driving to Stuyvesant High School, 345 Chambers Street, meet me over there and I'll brief you."

"Yeah, thanks, bye"

She hung up, rubbing her face nervously. She knew she had to get up but she just couldn't, feeling a huge weight on her chest, which caused her difficulty in breathing. Samantha was a really strong woman, she had gone through a lot and had always made it on her own but right now she felt like her life had fallen apart. It took her a little while to collect herself but she eventually managed to get out of the bed and she walked slowly to the bathroom. After a quick shower, she headed towards the living room and was about to leave when her attention was drawn to a small object put on the coffee table. A pregnancy test kit.

She took it in her trembling hands and swallowed hard, her anxiety increasing. She was perfecty aware that there was nothing worse than not knowing but she couldn't bring herself to take the test. "Damn Sam, how could you've been so stupid?" she thought before putting it in her purse. She took a deep breath and went out of the apartment, almost ready for a new day's work. She was glad to work with Danny this morning because she didn't feel strong enough to face Martin. Everything was simpler with Danny. They were friends since a long time and even if they teased each other all the time, there was no sexual tension between them. They had a brotherly relationship and twenty minutes later, she was relieved to see his smirking face.

"Hey hot stuff, late night last night?" Danny smiled, having noticed the black circles under her eyes. Sam's heart clenched when she remembered that her last one night-stand had probably got her pregnant.

"What I do with my life is my business, OK?" she snapped but immediately regretted what she had said. It wasn't Danny's fault and she had no right to take it out on him. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm a bit on edge..."

"I just wanted to be nice..." Danny raised his hands.

"Yeah, I know Danny, I didn't sleep well last night, that's all..."

"Let's forget it. So, we have a missing female teacher, Holly Moore, 33..."

"Who reported her missing?"

"A colleague of hers. Holly hasn't come to work for two days and she doesn't answer her phone or cell. So worried, she dropped by her apartment yesterday night and as she wasn't there, she called NYPD. According to her, Holly has no boyfriend, her entire life is dedicated to her pupils."

"Alright, so let's interview them." Sam said, heading towards a group of teens.

Danny watched her walk away, puzzled. There was something wrong, he knew it.