Chapter 8.
Work Week
Wednesday morning – two days after my incident with Clay – I woke up to an empty house, for the second day in a row. I don't know if my brother was trying to avoid me or if he really had to stay late for work. Perhaps he was staying at Wendy's; to be honest he could be anywhere right now. Whatever it was I really didn't care. I was still mad at him after he didn't believe me. He was going to have to apologize to me before I would speak to him nicely again. Knowing him that was going to be a long time. We were both stubborn and didn't know when to give in, but it's better for me to stay away from him right now. I still need to figure out how I was going to get out of the clutches of Clay.
I lay in bed for ten minutes after my alarm went off. I was working a twenty-four hour shift today and I wasn't looking forward to it. After today I was going to work twenty-four hours; that was going to suck big time. Sadly, there was nothing I could do about it. I had to do what I had to do and money ran the world, so it was to work I go.
Finally getting out of bed I walked to my bathroom and took a shower. As I looked in the mirror I saw Clay's handprint bruises were still there and I didn't except anything different. They were going to be there for a long time. I just needed to keep them covered, and have no one touch me till then.
Once I was done taking a shower I got dressed into my uniform – with long sleeves – and putting my damp hair into a bun. I wasn't even going to bother trying to do anything with it and make-up was out too. I checked my phone for the thousandth time, hoping I would hear something from Jay, but there was still nothing. I decided then that, if Adam was right about the case, then they were both busy.
Putting my phone in my back pocket I grabbed everything I needed; my purse – with my gun in it – keys, and an apple for the road. When I figured, everything was as it should be, I walked out the door not even bothering to leave Adam anything for diner when he got home – if he came home.
The day before was uneventful at work; a few domestics and drunk fights, but other than that nothing too exciting. About ten hours into my shift I got a phone call that chilled me to the bone. There were quite a few calls that did this. When battered women and children were involved where high on my list. As the call came in, I got my computer to working, and pressed the button on the side of my headset.
"9-1-1 what is your emergency?" I asked.
"My mommy's in the basement," a little girl's voice came through, "and I need emergency. And I need – hello!"
"It's okay sweetie. I'm here. What's your name and how old are you?"
"Abigale Nickels and I'm nine."
I typed the information she gave me into my computer, as I tried to find her location. The single was anywhere and everywhere; it was more than likely a burner. I hated it when someone called on one of those phones. It made my jobs a whole lot harder.
"Okay," I said. "Thank you, Abigale. Now can you tell me where you live?"
"Mommy," the little girl cried. "I'll tell you, I'll tell you, I'll tell you where we at! I'll tell…"
"Let me talk to your mom."
"No, She's almost dead mommy! Where we at? Tell me! I got the police on the phone, tell me! Mommy tell me where we at?"
"Can you put your mom on the phone is she's there?"
"She's almost dead, please."
My eyes flew across both of my computers, trying to find, at least, her general location, and who I could send out. The little girl sounded like she was almost in hysterics. I needed her to stop screaming or this was going to take longer than necessary.
"Abigale," I called nicely, "I'm gonna need you to stop scream sweetie. I can't help you without you helping me. Who else is in the house?"
"It's just me and my mommy and my little sister," she answered.
"Okay. I'll tell you what. How about you go to the porch for me. Tell me everything you see. Can you do that for me?"
"Okay."
I heard her little footsteps over the headset and the door opening. Once she was there she told me everything she could see from houses around her, to all the trees. From what I could tell she was nowhere close to where I live, considering she lived in a house and I lived in an apartment. She described broken down homes so that meant she had to live on the South side of Chicago. I have lived in this city all my life and I couldn't tell you all the places I haven't seen.
Soon I got the general location and saw that Kim and her newest partner, Sean Roman, where around the area. Once I got more information I would call them and an ambulance for the mother.
"Thank you, sweetie," I praised her, after she was done telling me everything. "Now how old is your sister?"
"Okay," the little girl recapped. "I know the address now."
"Abigale I'm going to need you to tell how old your sister is."
I didn't hear any crying on the other end of the phone, so I was hoping the little girl was alright. It was one thing to have something wrong with the mother I didn't know what I was going to do if there was something wrong with the sister too. Right now, I needed to know what Kim and Roman were going to get into. Kim was the best person for some children. She was a woman and seemed less threatening, but would be protective over a small child if she needed to be. Considering there were two children in this situation I was glad I was sending her too them.
"She's four," Abigale answered.
"What is her name?" I asked.
"Anna."
"Where is she?"
"She's in her bedroom room sleeping."
That was good to know. I couldn't help but wondering if she slept through everything that had happened to her mother or if Abigale put her to bed. Either way it was probably for the best, if she was out of the way.
"I know the address now," Abigale said.
"Okay," I muttered. "What is it hun?"
"17394."
"What is the street?"
She rattled off a street name and I typed it in as fast as my fingers would let me. Kim and Roman were a few blocks away. Just a few more pieces of information and I would be ready to send them.
"Very good Abigale," I spoke to her. "Now go sit with you mom okay."
"Alright."
"Can you tell me what is wrong with your mom?"
"She got shot," the little girl answered.
"Someone shot her?"
"Yes."
"Is your mommy awake?"
"No, but she's still breathing. My dad is not."
"Your dad's there?"
"Yea."
I could feel my blood run cold as I heard her say the words. I could only imagine what happened. There was no way of knowing what really happened, and I was going to ask the little girl; she's seen too much already.
"Is your dad awake?" I questioned.
"No," she said, "he's dead."
Not understand why she could be so calm about the whole thing, I did my best to steal myself. I couldn't lose it in front of this little girl. I wasn't supposed to be the one to help her and stay calm at the same time and that's exactly what I was going to do. This little girl needed me and I wasn't going to let her down.
"Alright," I said. "Abigale, I'm going to need you to stay on the line. I'm going to call someone to help you, your sister, and your mom okay. Can you do that for me?"
"Yea," she mumbled.
"Thank you. You're being so brave sweetie. Just keep being brave for me. Stay on the line."
"Okay."
I pressed a button on my computer, I sent out a 11-41 – ambulance needed – before switching me to Kim.
"Hey Kim you there?" I asked.
"10-4," Kim answered.
"This is Monroe, and I have a possible 10-71 for you and your partner. There's a little girl there named Abigale who is nine and her sister Anna who is four. I didn't ask but I'm pretty sure their dad shot their mom before turning the gun on himself. Abigale says her mom is still alive, but barely breathing, and her dad is dead."
"We're on our way."
"Let me know when you get there. Sending you backup as well."
"Will do, 10-4"
"10-4.
As I pressed the button to switch me back to Abigale, I hoped she was on the other line. I didn't want to stop helping her. She needed to know there was someone on the way.
"Abigale," I called, "are you still there?"
"Yes," she answered.
"Okay. I sent an ambulance and a police are out to you okay. They'll be there any minute."
"Thank you."
"It's no problem sweetie. Just keep being brave."
"I will."
"We're at the scene," Kim informed me, over my scanner. "Stand by."
Not long after I heard a knock on the door through my headset. Hopefully they were there in time to save the mother. I pressed the button and spoke to Kim.
"10-4," I answered.
Quickly I switched back to Abigale.
"The cops are there sweetie," I told her. "I'm going to let you go so you can talk to them okay?"
"Okay," she agreed.
"Stay brave little one. Bye now."
"Bye."
It wasn't long after I hung up with Abigale, Roman spoke to me through my headset.
"Ruzek?" he called. "You there?"
"Yea?" I answered.
"Burgess is with the little girl and her sister. Backup just showed up, along with EMS, and we're heading down to the basement to see what the situation is. Burgess wanted me to let you know."
"Thanks, Roman. Tell Kim to let me know what happens."
"Copy that. 10-4."
"10-4."
I turned off my headset and took it off. Letting out a breath I didn't even know I was holding, I closed my eyes. This was the job us Dispatchers had to go through. Yes, it was hard and stress at times, but at least we ended up helping people in the end.
~J&M~
About an hour after Abigale's 9-1-1 call I was having a little break. My mind was still swimming with so many thoughts, it was hard to pick just one to think about. The little girl's voice rang through my head yelling for her mom. I wondered if the mother had survived or if those two little girls were orphaned. What would happen to them now if their mom was no longer there to protect them?
I was pulled out of my thoughts when Dawn came over and stood in front of me. Glancing at her I could help but think about how beautiful she was. She was in her late thirties, with long blonde hair and bright green eyes. There were laugh lines around her eyes and mouth, but they looked good on her. She was a little plump around the middle and she was around five foot seven inches tall. Her skin was a cream color but was clean of everything, including makeup. I enjoyed working with her as much as anyone else. Being a supervisor, she was strict when she needed to be but kind and understanding when things were rough.
Dawn was my work mom; or so I called her. When I first started she took me under her wing and it was a good thing too. I remember my first hard call when about two weeks after I started working here. A woman had lost her mind and drowned her four years old and newborn baby in the bathtub. The husband had come home to find her in their bedroom and the children still in the tub. I was surprised I stayed as calm as I did throughout the call.
Now even two seconds after I hung up I could feel the tears stinging my eyes. Dawn had been keeping a close eye on me and knew what was about to happen. She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the breakroom, where she closed the door and sat me in a chair.
"Let it out," she said to me. "If you don't it will eat you up inside and you will go insane. I've seen it happen to the best of us."
I lost it right then and there. She let me cry and staid with me the whole time. Once I was done crying she took my face in her hands and looked me straight in the eyes. Her face was stern, but her eyes held so much kindness and understanding it was hard not to hold on to her every word.
"Don't let this get to you," she told me. "Do you understand me? You can not let this get to you. When you get done crying and get it out of your system, you need to let it go. Bad things will happen if you don't. All I can tell you is when you get home tonight, go hug someone you love. It can be your parents, a sibling, hell it can even be a pet… It doesn't matter. Just hug them close and don't let them go until your ready to. Do you understand me?"
All I could do at that moment was nod my head. That night I need go home and hug my brother tight. He hesitated for a few seconds before returning it. Later he told me he understood why I did it. He also told me that was why he hugged me most of the time. There could be time in our lives where we wouldn't be able to hug one another again, so we had to take advantage of it when we could.
"Want to go to the breakroom?" she asked.
By the tone of her voice I knew it wasn't a question. I shrugged my shoulders and got out of my seat. Following behind her, we both made our way to the break room. She let me go in first and closed the door behind her as I took a seat. Dawn soon joined me and took the seat on the other side of the table. We stared at each other for a few minutes. This woman knew me like the back of her own hand, no wonder why she asked me to go to the break room. She knew something was up; what she didn't know was I couldn't tell her a lot of things that were going on. Clay was defiantly out of the question. My brother wasn't work related, so he was our and the same goes for Jay. So that only left the little girl and her sister.
"Alight," she sighed, "spill it. What's wrong?"
"Nothing," I answered.
"Come on now. Don't lie to me Ruzek. You know I know when something's up."
"It was just that call."
"What call?"
"The one I had about an hour ago, with the nine-year-old. She had a little sister, who was only for. They were both so young yet seen something so awful."
"Yea those can get to you, but remember what I told you the second week you worked here?"
"'Don't let this get to you,'" I quoted. "'You can not let this get to you. When you get done crying and get it out of your system, you need to let it go. Bad things will happen if you don't.'"
"Exactly."
A smile spread across her face. I knew that look all too well. It meant she was proud of me. Not many people in my life had ever been proud of me. My brother and his co-works seemed to be the only ones, until I met Dawn,
"Feel better?" she probed.
"Yea," I nodded.
"Okay good. Now there's something else bothering you. Is it that no good brother of yours? I take it he's still dating that Wendy chick."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because you're haven't came into work doing the 'My Brother Dropped His Girlfriend' dance yet, that's why."
"Damn Momma you are good."
She started chuckling even though nothing was really that funny. Her laughs were always contagious, so I couldn't help but join her. We laughed until tears were coming out of our eyes. It was nice to forget everything for a little while. Dawn was always making me laugh when I needed it. It's one of the many reasons why I enjoy working with her.
When we were done laughing we whipped the tears away. I don't remember laughing that hard in a very long time. It felt good, but I knew it wasn't going to last very long. Once I walked out of my work building's doors reality was going to slam right into me.
"Now listen hon," Dawn said, pulling me out of my thoughts once again. "Don't listen to what that chick says to you okay. Just look the other way and act like she ain't there. I don't know what's going on and I don't think I want to. I might beat his ass for it."
"You don't even know my brother," I retorted.
"Oh yes I do. I've heard about him from other people in different departments. He has a temper on him that gets him into trouble. Plus, you talk about him more than enough. I think I know him pretty well without meeting him."
"You've got a point."
"I'm older so yes I do. Just remember I'm always here for you."
"Thank you Momma."
"No problem. Now you stay in here and try to catch an hour or so of sleep. I have a feeling something might happen here in the next few hours. I'll wake you when we need you."
"Thanks."
"No problem dear."
I watched her walk out the room. There were a few cots in the breakroom, for the people who worked twenty-four hours or more. I was grateful they were there because I really needed to catch some ZZZ's. Laying down I got comfortable and closed my eyes. It didn't take very long for me to fall into a dreamless sleep.
~J&M~
Dawn was right once again – and I had no idea how she did it. Not even two hours after laying down, she came in and told me to get my ass off the cot and into a chair in front of a computer. There was a massive gang shooting on the South side and there were a lot of calls coming in. Thank god I had those few hours or I don't know how I would survive the onslaught of calls.
I really was a very happy person to head home when my shift ended. I was really worn out. The calls seemed never ending from the time of my nap till the end of my shift, and they were still coming in. I couldn't get out of the doors fast enough; practically running to my truck in the process.
When I walked through the apartment door I didn't even bother calling for Adam. All I did was lock the front door and go to my room. After brushing my teeth and putting on pajamas I flopped on my bed and was out in no time.