Rock- A bye traders
Chapter 2: The Tears of the sky

John and Juliet had informed Steven's family of his death and they promised to bring whoever did this to justice, after all John had never failed in a case before. They settled for asking the wife a couple of questions, if she noticed anything suspicious and how was Steven at work, even his relationship to Augustus. Nothing was out of the ordinary though, Steve seemed to be a fine worker, no grudge against his boss, he wasn't poor or rich he was just fairly in the middle, he provided his child and wife a good enough life. No known enemies or anyone who would go far to ripping the poor man's eyes out. Then they left the wife to her grief though they had attended the funeral after feeling sorry for the widow and her young son.

John lifted his head to look at the sky, he always thought it was weird that whenever he attends a funeral the sky somehow turns gray and the atmosphere around them shocks them with nothing but the heavy sorrow, it was quiet all around, nothing but the sounds of women weeping as some others leave flowers on the grave of the murder victim. The men were silent just staring blankly into the gravestone while holding their children close. John could see Sinclair in the opposite side, his eyes hidden under a black hat with his head lowered. The cop then looked at his partner who caught his glance and gave him a pat on the back. Then the people seemed to disappear from all around them as it started to rain and everyone searched for shelter in their cars while they drove back to their homes. Everyone left except the company owner who was still staring down at the grave. Topside joined by his side. "He was one o' the best workers I ever had. Comes to work with a smile everyday an' he comes into my office like a student would with his principal, asks me "What's on the list today boss?" like workin' here is better than a vacation on Hawaii," Sinclair tipped his hat before sighing. "An' the way he was jus' killed… I sure hope he didn't suffer; he's with the lord now. I jus' hope his wife handles it well…"

John stood silently; he didn't know how to reply to the other male. But he didn't have to because Sinclair went on. "Do ya have a wife an' child Mr. Topside?"

"No, no wife, though I do have a daughter." He replied and Sinclair nodded before looking up at the sky.

"When my ol' man died it rained too… my mama told me "The sky cries everytime a good person dies" Then I remembered that same line when she passed away, strangely it rained as well, I had to live with my granddaddy then, he made me the man I am today an' so on… an' today the sky cries again over the loss o' another good man. Ya better find whoever's behind this"

"I will" Sinclair nodded again before he gave John a faint smile and walked away past Juliet to his car, the driver standing and waiting to open the door of the car to the businessman, but just as the door opened the car exploded sending Augustus flying back as the flames surrounded the car. John and Juliet quickly hurried to the scene pulling Sinclair away from the flaming car, the man's eyes now wide with both surprise and fear, his hands trembling. It could have been him and his driver who died in that explosion, he wouldn't exactly say that he was happy he survived but thankful that he was lucky enough to get away.

"What happened?" Juliet asked but Sinclair didn't reply he was still in a shocked state.

"Hey, Hey Sinclair. What the hell happened?" John asked again and Sinclair turned to look at him.

"I…I don't know, I was goin' to the car an'… the door jus' opened…"

"Someone must have bombed the car, Juliet call an ambulance and the fire department, tell them we got another body. I'll drive you home Sinclair." Juliet nodded and took her phone to do as John had told her while the two men walked to John's car. "Meet me back at the office" John told Juliet and she gave him a thumbs up.

The two men sat silently in the car, Sinclair looking out the window with his hand on his cheek like he was deep in thought, John of course didn't want to ruin the businessman's train of thoughts but he was just going to die so he thought he should try reassuring him that he was safe or something. "You're going to be okay, we'll get the police to give you some security"

"Jus'… drive back to my company… I have to pick up some things from there first before I head on home"

John sighed. "As you wish"

The Company lights were still glowing by the time the two arrived. Sinclair opened the door and made his way up to his office, the place was empty, no employees at sight, it was quiet no sounds were heard except the rain on the roofs of the company and their shoes as they walked. Sinclair entered his office while John waited for the southern man outside. But it didn't take long for John to hear a loud thud sound followed by a shout. The cop kicked the doors open and saw Sinclair on the floor staring up at a hanged body over his desk, as the first victim there were no eyes just two black holes, blood dripping down the body and on to his desk, on the walls there were words written with blood that read. "ONE BY ONE THEY ALL FALL DOWN"

"Holy shit! How fast is this guy? Two bodies in less than 3 hours" John pulled Sinclair away from the body and took him outside his office. "Looks like this is going to be a busy night for us… I'll still drive you home if you want"

Sinclair shook his head and John understood the situation Sinclair was in right now, being alone would make him more vulnerable to the killer. Any man with the right mind would be scared shitless right now but somehow Sinclair still kept it together a serious expression finally showing on his face. "I told ya, there is a hurricane comin' an' we outta be prepared. I ain't lettin' whoever is doin' this bring my company down. You'll learn things like these are jus' a bump on the road, no more no less. An' I trust ya know how to do yer job Johnny-boy"

"It's John" The blond corrected though Sinclair decided to ignore it and went on.

"Givin' up now means those people died for nothin'! An' I won't have that"

John nodded. "Alright then, now it's getting late and your place isn't the safest place to be so… you can just stay here till we finish our work then Juliet and I will find you a place to stay for the night"

"What about yer place? I sure don't wanna be a burden but maybe jus' for tonight?"

"Not sure if you were paying attention earlier or not, but I have a daughter to take care of and I'm not willing to put her in harm's way"

Sinclair smiled nodding his head then silence overcame the two leaving John to regret his words. Sinclair probably had a lot of places to go but he picked to stay with John probably for safety reasons. He sighed and shook his head. "Stay here, if anything happens I'll be in your office unhanging the body" and without waiting for a reply John went back inside the office.

A while later the sound of police cars could be heard outside and surrounding the building, an Ambulance car as well to take the body. "I think you have to stop work for a couple of days Mr. Sinclair" Juliet said. "Give everyone a vacation, wouldn't that be better than getting them killed?"

As much as Sinclair hated the idea he agreed to it, he wasn't sure if he could live with knowing people could die just because they work for him. "You got a place to stay? Your home is not an option I see"

Augustus shrugged. "I'll find somethin' "

John kicked himself mentally for holding back his words, but Eleanor had to come first, he wanted her to be away from danger. He was stuck between making a choice for his only family or work…. But this was death, and once something is dead it can never come back to life. "I changed my mind, you can stay with me for the night" he mumbled. Sinclair's face lit up like a Christmas light, a grin on his face as if he was expecting John to change his mind.

The drive home was quiet, no talk was exchanged between the two but none seemed to mind that, they didn't feel uneasy. Maybe the two preferred silence. Or maybe they liked the sound of the rain dancing on the windshields of the car… The sky never stopped crying.

Eleanor greeted her father once she heard his car and she looked at the stranger coming into her house for the first time. "Hello…" She looked at Sinclair then at her father.

"Eleanor this is Augusts Sinclair, he'll be staying with us for the night"

"I know who he is," She smiled. "Do you want dinner? Or maybe a cup of coffee father?" John shook his head; he'd seen enough blood to make him lose his appetite. "What about you Mr. Sinclair?"

"I'm fine kid, thank you" Eleanor excused herself and went back to the table she was sitting on with a pile of papers in front of her. "What'cha got there?" The businessman asked.

"Um… Just something for school, a report I'm doing for my economy teacher"

Sinclair chuckled and pulled a chair to sit next to Eleanor. "Well yer in luck. Economy happens to be my favorite subject. Here let me help ya"

John looked at the two from afar, for some reason the sight brought a smile to his face though his lips quickly changed back to their usual straight line and he left the two to their work, quietly shutting the door to his room.

END 2