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Adrienne rolled her neck on her shoulders. It had been an extremely long day. She had already given her statement to the police officers but was told to wait for the detectives to arrive. Apparently, this was one in a strong of robberies that had been happening in the past few weeks...and the first with a fatal outcome.
She had managed to clean up a little. The paramedics had provided her with a clean towel which she had used to wipe the blood from her hands. Outside, the sky was still dark, though she knew that in a couple of hours it was going to be the dawn of a new day. She closed her eyes, letting out a tired sigh. How could the birds still sing? How could the sun still come up? How could lifecontinue when such a good man had just been lost?
"Dr. Adrienne Bennett?" A deep voice pulled her from her thoughts.
Her eyes flew open, gaze searching for the voice. There was a man was walking up to her. He was dressed in a dark suit, a bold contrast to his clear blue eyes.
"Yes?" she asked, though she already knew that he was the detective she was waiting for.
"I'm Detective Lassiter," he said, then pointed to a woman behind him, her blonde hair slightly disheveled. "And this is Detective O'Hara."
Adrienne nodded in greeting, not really knowing what else to say. Exchanging pleasantries after such an awful night seemed pointless.
"Can you please tell us what happened?" Detective Lassiter asked, not even bothering to look at her. He flipped through some pages on the clipboard he held.
Adrienne recounted the same story she had told the police officers. She began from the moment she had heard someone enter the store all the way to where the officers had finally arrived on the scene.
"We understand you are the only witness in this robbery?" More flipping of pages.
"Yes, that's correct," she replied.
"And what exactly were you doing in the store at three in the morning?" His blue eyes finally flicked up to her hazel ones. Adrienne almost gasped in surprise at the intensity of his gaze, but she stood her ground.
She raised an eyebrow at him resisting the urge to point out her obvious clothing. A slew of sarcastic remarks played through her mind, but she bit down on them, blaming her tetchy temper on her overall tiredness. The detectives, after all, were just doing their job. It was obvious, at least from Detective O'Hara's harried appearance, that they had both been woken up from their sleep to investigate.
"I'm a doctor," Adrienne explained a little sardonically. Lassiter narrowed his eyes at her as if to say that had gotten the joke and was not impressed. "Ralph's Corner Store is open twenty four hours. With my crazy schedule, it just makes it easier for me to pick up some quick groceries on my way home from work."
"I see," Lassiter said. He looked back down at his clipboard. "And what is your relationship with Mr. Lopez?"
"Ralph is...wasa friend of mine." Adrienne took a deep breath, the night's events still painfully fresh in her mind.
"Did you know him well?" O'Hara asked softly, a kind and understanding smile forming on her face.
"Not really, no," Adrienne admitted shamefully. "We would make small talk whenever I came into the store but that was the extent of it."
The questioning went on for a few more minutes. Adrienne answered as precisely, and as cordially, as she could. She wanted justice for Ralph and the only way that could be done was for her to give them every little detail.
"Is there anything else?" she asked after they wrote down her information. "Because I reallyjust want to get home and - "
"Hey, guys, sorry we're late!"
"Spencer!" Lassiter hissed. "What the hell are you doing here? Isn't it a little early for you to be up?"
"Gus and I were watching an all-night marathon of Family Tieswhen we got the call."
Lassiter looked at O'Hara who just shrugged sheepishly.
"Don't blame Jules, Lassie. We would've gotten here sooner or later."
Adrienne watched the exchange with a perplexed expression. Spencer must have sensed her confusion because he turned around to introduce himself.
"Shawn Spencer, head psychic of the Santa Barbara Police Department." He held out his hand, and she shook it tentatively, telling him her name. "And this is my partner, Ovaltine Jenkins."
She frowned, not really knowing if she had heard him right. "I'm sorry?"
"Yes, I would be sorry, too, if that was my name," Spencer said, shaking his head.
"No, I meant...never mind. The police department hires psychics now?" she asked, running a hand through the wisps of hair that had escaped her ponytail.
Lassiter let out an annoyed grunt. "They wouldn't if it was up to me," he grumbled, as Spencer put his fingers on his temples.
"I'm seeing...machines beeping, tubes, bright lights...scalpel," Spencer gasped. He narrowed his eyes at her. "You're a surgeon."
Adrienne looked down to see if she had her ID badge on her only to find nothing. "Yes, I am," she said, crossing her arms over her chest as she still looked at him skeptically.
"Also, you're a runner. It helps you unwind after a long shift. You write a lot, by hand...and you're not a social person. Works keeps you too busy to go out."
She quirked an eyebrow at him, surprised by his accuracy. "Correct on all accounts," she conceded. She turned to the detectives. "So, is that it? I gave you my statement, and got evaluated by a psychic...am I free to go?"
"Wait...there's something else," Spencer called out. "Something you're not telling us."
"Are you withholding information?" Lassiter barked. "Because if you are, I can have you arre- "
"Whoa, Lassie, chill." Spencer held his hands up. "I'm sensing anxiety...fear."
O'Hara stepped forward, an apologetic look on her face after her partner's burst. "It's normal to be scared after what you witnessed," she said. "It's okay. We can protect you."
Adrienne hesitated. It wasn't that she was scared. She just didn't think this little bit of information was any useful to the case.
She let out a long breath, feeling everyone's eyes on her. "Right before the police arrived, one of the robbers - the stocky one - took my phone. He was about to shoot me for calling for help, but the younger guy stopped him. He said...he said he would find me if I talked." She rubbed her arms as if warding off a chill. "But it was an empty threat, right? He can't possibly get my home address or whatever just from my phone."
"We can never be too sure," O'Hara answered. "In a case like this, we have to take every threat seriously."
"We'll have a squad car take you home," Lassiter said, looking around for the nearest police officer. "McNab, get over here!"
With a quick "Yes, sir" the giant of an officer hurried over.
"That won't be necessary. I live right down the block," Adrienne objected.
"McNab, make sure Dr. Bennett gets home safely." Adrienne opened her mouth to protest further, but Lassiter's icy blue gaze left no room for argument. "We'll have an officer posted outside your home for the next couple of days just to be on the safe side."
"Fine," she finally said in defeat.
She followed Officer McNab outside but not before stopping at the door. She turned back, her eyes lingering over the counter where she had last talked to Ralph. She wasn't a hero...far from it. Heroes didn't let their friends die. With a soft sigh and a heavy heart, she reluctantly looked away and went home.
Adrienne pulled a hoodie over her head as she made her way out the door. After hours of attempting sleep, she had finally decided that she needed to go for a jog to clear her mind. She was just reaching the sidewalk when Officer McNab stopped her.
"Dr. Bennett, you're not supposed to be out here. It can be dangerous," he said, holding his hands out.
"I'll be fine," she said, waving a dismissive arm. "You can follow me in the car if you want...unless you want to run with me in full uniform."
"I have orders from Detective Lassiter that you're not to leave the house."
Adrienne frowned. "And why the hell not?" McNab winced at her tone, so she softened her voice. "I'm sorry. I'm just a little surprised. I didn't realize I was under house arrest."
"Technically you're not, but it would be best if you remained inside your home until we're sure there's no threat."
She looked up at him and saw the pleading in his eyes. He wasn't going to force her to stay, but he didn't want to go against orders either. Adrienne didn't want him to get in trouble or put him in a difficult position.
"Okay, fine. I'll stay home. But next time you talk to Detective Lassiter, you tell him I want a word with him."
"Will do, ma'am."
She made her way back into her house and towards her back room. If she couldn't run outside, she would run inside. She started off slowly on the treadmill, warming up before picking up the pace. Adrienne was a good fifteen minutes in when the screeching of tires caught her attention. She jumped off the treadmill, rushing to the living room where she saw her bay window explode as something crashed through it. She let out a gasp, instinctively putting her arms over her face as glass shards rained onto her living room floor.
"Dr. Bennett!" McNab was pounding on her door. "Are you okay?"
Adrienne unlocked the door for him, and he bounded in, his pistol in the air as he looked around for more threats. Her tennis shoes crunched over the broken glass as she reached down to pick up the object that had been thrown through the window. It was a rock, with a piece of paper wrapped around it. She vaguely heard McNab on the radio calling for backup as she unwrapped the paper and turned it around. Her heart raced as she read the words on the sheet.
I warned you. You'll pay for talking.
