Author's note: Thanks for your reviews guys, that's the reason why I'm
posting another part so soon... :) I'm having a great time writing this
story, even if it's not exactly a funny one, and I'm still in a good mood
so please let me know that you're still with me.
***
Chapter seven - Hide and Seek
***
A week had passed by, and Bosco was still listed as missing. Worst of all, he was still the prime suspect for the murder of Ray Diaz.
The forensic team was almost positive that the bullets extracted from the man's body matched Bosco's 9mm, though they couldn't be 100% sure without further analysis on the weapon.
The news of his possible guilt and consequent disappearance had shocked the precinct into silence. Sad faces stared at each other in the locker room and at roll call, silently asking questions and refusing to believe that hot-headed Boscorelli might have made such a big and irreversible mistake.
Lieutenant Swersky had urged everybody to stay focused and be on the lookout for him while a few trusted officers, Sully and Davis on top, were still splitting their time between regular street patrol and the search for their friend.
They'd checked the airports, every train station, bus terminal and car rental shop in the city, but no one seemed to remember a man matching Bosco's description.
Faith was trying her best not to fall apart.
The rain pounding hard on the windshield of her truck suited her sorrowful mood as she drove herself to work. One week and still no word on Bosco. She couldn't stand the thought of him being alone somewhere, probably drinking himself to sleep, or the fact that the last words they'd spoken to each other had been words of hatred and rage.
She'd been angry at him. Way beyond pissed at times. But during those long, sleepless nights she'd realized they'd come a long way together, and whatever mistake they'd made it wasn't enough to sacrifice nine years of friendship.
A strong bond even Maritza Cruz couldn't break.
Where was she anyway? Living her own life, pursuing her own goal like nothing had happened. She was always so calm and sure, like she had no feelings at all.
Did she care about him?
A woman's instinct never fails, and from the first time she'd laid eyes on her, Faith had sensed she was going to be nothing but trouble.
She stopped in front of the precinct and parked her car, then turned the engine off and took a deep breath before heading inside.
***
Bosco was laying sideways across the bed when a blast of cold air woke him up from a restless sleep. He raised his head from the pillow and immediately spotted the half-opened window from a few hours before.
He pushed himself off the bed and walked towards it, mechanically locking it up as he'd done countless times in the past. He then turned around, stretching his sore muscles, and stared at the messy room.
A full bottle of beer, the only companion in his endless nights, was still resting on the nightstand. The rest laid scattered on the floor. Clothes were discarded everywhere, along with empty boxes of pizza and chinese dinner.
The previous week had passed in a blur. He'd never left his motel room other than to get something to eat or for a quick night run.
He'd basically tortured himself. He was good at it, because a part of him believed that he deserved to be tortured, and hiding like a common criminal had definitely taken its toll on him.
He'd found himself frightened by small noises, saw threats in places and people when none existed. He seemed to have lost control of his feelings, that same control he'd once taken pride in.
He couldn't explain why this situation was affecting him so much, but he feared who he might become in another week, or a month, or a year.
Then, the unexpected breakthrough.
After waking up from the latest nightmare in which Cruz was laughing at him while he was sitting in jail, he'd finally remembered what had happened in the building on Montgomery Street. Only that had risen a whole new bunch of questions, even scarier and more painful than the first ones.
He recalled searching the second floor of the abandoned place until he'd heard a noise from one of the apartments and inched forward, figuring Cruz was still behind to back him up. Then Diaz had attacked him, and after wrestling on the ground for a couple of minutes, the guy had knocked him unconscious.
But that made no sense.
He'd woken up in the same room a short time later, and Diaz was already dead in the hallway. How was that possible?
Cruz had told the Lieutenant he'd shot the man, but when? If his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, that couldn't be true.
But why would she lie? His girlfriend would never lie about something like that, would she?
Then, out of the blue, something came back to him, something he'd filed away. Cruz, she was smiling. She was talking on the phone and smiling.
Realization had hit him like a ton of bricks.
Still having a hard time accepting the truth, he staggered to the bathroom, running a hand through his hair,. He felt like he'd been stabbed in the back. This can't be true. People don't hurt the ones they love, he kept telling himself as he shook his head and splashed some cold water on his face. She said she loved me.
His world had turned upside down. Lies were truth, the truth was a lie, the impossible was possible, and innocence was guilt.
As he wiped his face with a towel, carefully avoiding his reflection in the mirror, he heard Faith's words echoing in his head. She's no good, Bos.
She'd been right. Faith had been right from the start, and he'd pushed her away.
***
"What are you doing here?" Cruz asked as she walked into the Lieutenant's office.
"What?" Faith turned around and glared at the other woman. Great.
"Where's Swersky?"
"He's with the detectives."
"You didn't answer my question." Cruz insisted, tapping her foot on the ground.
"I just did." Faith shrugged.
"Don't play dumb with me, Yokas!"
"You know what? This is getting old. You're not my superior so you don't give me orders and I don't have to answer your questions. You got a problem with that?"
As much as she wanted to, Cruz didn't reply, but a look of pure rage crossed her stare. Everything was going exactly like she wanted to, but she still needed to be extra careful so she figured it was best not to argue with her.
She put her hands on her hips, pulling her jacket slightly back. Faith stared at her, disbelief on her face.
"Those are Bosco's handcuffs." she stated. They might not have been best friends lately, but she was well aware of his expensive nickelplated cuffs, and knew he wouldn't just give them to anyone, girlfriend included.
Damn, how the hell does she know? "Yeah. So?"
"So why do YOU have them?"
"This is none of your business, Officer." Cruz argued, her lips pursed in anger.
"It IS my business when MY partner's suspected of killing a man and you two were the only ones in that building, Sergeant." She coldly replied, stressing the word -my-.
"Your partner." She repeated, smiling slightly. "You don't have a partner anymore. As soon as we find him he's probably going to say goodbye to his career."
Faith took a step forward. "I can see you're all torn up about this."
"Doesn't matter what I think, officer. He made a mistake he's going to jail."
"Oh yeah, and you're gonna make sure they throw away the key."She remarked. "Is that what you wrote in your report? 'He killed a man, he needs to go to jail?' "
"I will not tolerate any more of this crap!" Cruz snapped, pointing a finger at her. "You have no right to..."
"Yokas. You got a call on line two." Swersky's voice interrupted her.
"Thanks, Lieu." she replied before glaring at Cruz one last time and heading out the door.
***
***
Chapter seven - Hide and Seek
***
A week had passed by, and Bosco was still listed as missing. Worst of all, he was still the prime suspect for the murder of Ray Diaz.
The forensic team was almost positive that the bullets extracted from the man's body matched Bosco's 9mm, though they couldn't be 100% sure without further analysis on the weapon.
The news of his possible guilt and consequent disappearance had shocked the precinct into silence. Sad faces stared at each other in the locker room and at roll call, silently asking questions and refusing to believe that hot-headed Boscorelli might have made such a big and irreversible mistake.
Lieutenant Swersky had urged everybody to stay focused and be on the lookout for him while a few trusted officers, Sully and Davis on top, were still splitting their time between regular street patrol and the search for their friend.
They'd checked the airports, every train station, bus terminal and car rental shop in the city, but no one seemed to remember a man matching Bosco's description.
Faith was trying her best not to fall apart.
The rain pounding hard on the windshield of her truck suited her sorrowful mood as she drove herself to work. One week and still no word on Bosco. She couldn't stand the thought of him being alone somewhere, probably drinking himself to sleep, or the fact that the last words they'd spoken to each other had been words of hatred and rage.
She'd been angry at him. Way beyond pissed at times. But during those long, sleepless nights she'd realized they'd come a long way together, and whatever mistake they'd made it wasn't enough to sacrifice nine years of friendship.
A strong bond even Maritza Cruz couldn't break.
Where was she anyway? Living her own life, pursuing her own goal like nothing had happened. She was always so calm and sure, like she had no feelings at all.
Did she care about him?
A woman's instinct never fails, and from the first time she'd laid eyes on her, Faith had sensed she was going to be nothing but trouble.
She stopped in front of the precinct and parked her car, then turned the engine off and took a deep breath before heading inside.
***
Bosco was laying sideways across the bed when a blast of cold air woke him up from a restless sleep. He raised his head from the pillow and immediately spotted the half-opened window from a few hours before.
He pushed himself off the bed and walked towards it, mechanically locking it up as he'd done countless times in the past. He then turned around, stretching his sore muscles, and stared at the messy room.
A full bottle of beer, the only companion in his endless nights, was still resting on the nightstand. The rest laid scattered on the floor. Clothes were discarded everywhere, along with empty boxes of pizza and chinese dinner.
The previous week had passed in a blur. He'd never left his motel room other than to get something to eat or for a quick night run.
He'd basically tortured himself. He was good at it, because a part of him believed that he deserved to be tortured, and hiding like a common criminal had definitely taken its toll on him.
He'd found himself frightened by small noises, saw threats in places and people when none existed. He seemed to have lost control of his feelings, that same control he'd once taken pride in.
He couldn't explain why this situation was affecting him so much, but he feared who he might become in another week, or a month, or a year.
Then, the unexpected breakthrough.
After waking up from the latest nightmare in which Cruz was laughing at him while he was sitting in jail, he'd finally remembered what had happened in the building on Montgomery Street. Only that had risen a whole new bunch of questions, even scarier and more painful than the first ones.
He recalled searching the second floor of the abandoned place until he'd heard a noise from one of the apartments and inched forward, figuring Cruz was still behind to back him up. Then Diaz had attacked him, and after wrestling on the ground for a couple of minutes, the guy had knocked him unconscious.
But that made no sense.
He'd woken up in the same room a short time later, and Diaz was already dead in the hallway. How was that possible?
Cruz had told the Lieutenant he'd shot the man, but when? If his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, that couldn't be true.
But why would she lie? His girlfriend would never lie about something like that, would she?
Then, out of the blue, something came back to him, something he'd filed away. Cruz, she was smiling. She was talking on the phone and smiling.
Realization had hit him like a ton of bricks.
Still having a hard time accepting the truth, he staggered to the bathroom, running a hand through his hair,. He felt like he'd been stabbed in the back. This can't be true. People don't hurt the ones they love, he kept telling himself as he shook his head and splashed some cold water on his face. She said she loved me.
His world had turned upside down. Lies were truth, the truth was a lie, the impossible was possible, and innocence was guilt.
As he wiped his face with a towel, carefully avoiding his reflection in the mirror, he heard Faith's words echoing in his head. She's no good, Bos.
She'd been right. Faith had been right from the start, and he'd pushed her away.
***
"What are you doing here?" Cruz asked as she walked into the Lieutenant's office.
"What?" Faith turned around and glared at the other woman. Great.
"Where's Swersky?"
"He's with the detectives."
"You didn't answer my question." Cruz insisted, tapping her foot on the ground.
"I just did." Faith shrugged.
"Don't play dumb with me, Yokas!"
"You know what? This is getting old. You're not my superior so you don't give me orders and I don't have to answer your questions. You got a problem with that?"
As much as she wanted to, Cruz didn't reply, but a look of pure rage crossed her stare. Everything was going exactly like she wanted to, but she still needed to be extra careful so she figured it was best not to argue with her.
She put her hands on her hips, pulling her jacket slightly back. Faith stared at her, disbelief on her face.
"Those are Bosco's handcuffs." she stated. They might not have been best friends lately, but she was well aware of his expensive nickelplated cuffs, and knew he wouldn't just give them to anyone, girlfriend included.
Damn, how the hell does she know? "Yeah. So?"
"So why do YOU have them?"
"This is none of your business, Officer." Cruz argued, her lips pursed in anger.
"It IS my business when MY partner's suspected of killing a man and you two were the only ones in that building, Sergeant." She coldly replied, stressing the word -my-.
"Your partner." She repeated, smiling slightly. "You don't have a partner anymore. As soon as we find him he's probably going to say goodbye to his career."
Faith took a step forward. "I can see you're all torn up about this."
"Doesn't matter what I think, officer. He made a mistake he's going to jail."
"Oh yeah, and you're gonna make sure they throw away the key."She remarked. "Is that what you wrote in your report? 'He killed a man, he needs to go to jail?' "
"I will not tolerate any more of this crap!" Cruz snapped, pointing a finger at her. "You have no right to..."
"Yokas. You got a call on line two." Swersky's voice interrupted her.
"Thanks, Lieu." she replied before glaring at Cruz one last time and heading out the door.
***