Ken Greene

I had off the next morning since Elena and I were up late working on the case, and I hadn't made any plans until I checked my phone next morning. As I checked my messages I was greeted by a voice I had never heard before, and was surprised to hear. It was a man's voice, and he said he was Annie's father. That he wanted to talk to me. I remembered what Annie had said, how she wished her father to see her off as she died. She never got that. I could feel my hands ball into fists as the message went on, of him saying how sorry he was for not being there. I would meet him, yes, but only to tell him off. So he knew how much his daughter needed him, so he knew how he hurt her.

It was ten minutes later that I pulled up to the deserted cemetery that I knew Annie was buried in. I watched as a well-dressed man walked among the headstones, pausing on one in particular. There had been no funeral for Annie, her father had only arranged for a spot to lay his daughter to rest. I had not seen where Annie lay yet, I figured it wouldn't do anything. It wouldn't bring her back. Slowly I got out, preparing myself for the worst. The man looked up at me expectantly, watching me through his heavily-hooded hazel eyes. Annie's eyes. I walked towards him, looking down at the beautifully carved headstone at his feet. It was small, but detailed. It was a short rectangular block of marble depicting a weeping angel lying on her stomach, her face hidden in her folded arms. One of the angels hands extended down to the name, which was carved in curvy letters as if spelled out in a vines weaving tendrils. 'Anissa Laura Bloom. 1977-2012'. I looked down to the words that lay beneath the name and date, reading the quote that made me remember the last time I saw her before she died. 'When you see only one set of footprints, it was then, that I carried you'.
"I was told what you did for Anissa" he eventually said. "I thank you, she was always someone who hated being indoors".
I tried to keep my voice clear of any anger as I said "Maybe that's why she didn't want to be a lawyer". I looked up, seeing this statement had given the desired affect. Annie's father's face briefly broke, but only for a moment before it returned into the sharp, business-like manner it was before.
"Anissa and I had our disagreements, but make no mistake. I loved my daughter".
"Loved? loved? Did you love her enough to come to her before she died? Did you love her enough to at least call? No! You know what she said to me 'Maybe I'll see my father before I die! Maybe he'll come see me'! She waited for you, she waited a long time! She-".
"Mr. Greene. I would appreciate it if-"
"And you didn't even show her you care! She died thinking you didn't love her! You know who was with her when she died? Me! I was there for her, and I didn't even know her for a week, and you, her own father, couldn't even be bothered to see her!" I roared.
"You don't understand, Anissa-".
But I couldn't be stopped now. "Shut up! Shut the hell up! Annie needed you! And you weren't there!". Annie's father fell silent, clearly unable to come up with a retort. With that, I turned on heel, stomping out of the graveyard and into my car. I checked my watch briefly before I sped off, seeing that it was almost time to pick Elena up for work. I pulled outside her apartment complex, seeing that she was sitting on the steps, waiting. When she saw me she came over and slid into the passenger side, watching me through narrowed eyes.
"What has gotten you so angry?" she asked.
"Nothing" I spat at her, but still pressed down on the gas with particular venom.
"Yes, because all calm people try to strangle their steering wheel" Elena said. I hadn't noticed that I was gripping the wheel that tightly, my knuckles were bent at harsh angles. "Detec-Ken. I am you're partner, if something is bothering you, you can tell me. It's not as if we are strangers" she said. "If jumping down a fire escapes, rescuing poisoned girls, being there when the other is stabbed and giving each other rides home afterwards does not make us friends I do not know what will". As we pulled into the stations parking lot I turned to Elena, knowing she was right. Everyone knows how important it is to trust your partner, and if I didn't start now when would I?
"It's a long story" I said, hoping she would decide she didn't need to know after all.
She glanced at the clock on the radio. "We have five minutes until we need to be at work" she said. "But, I will tell you what. How about we go down to the cafe by my apartment, we have time then".