A/N: So it's been about a month and a half since I last updated this and in that time I've been slowly plucking away at this just trying to get it right. I am no longer at my 2nd job so it frees up a TON of time for me to be able to work on this as well as Desperado & the final chapter of As Time Goes By. If you like this or any of my other works feel free to leave some love on the way out.
Chapter 5
"I swear to God someone better be dead!" I screamed as I flung the door open, the knife positioned in my hand in such a way that whichever one of those Irish bastards was on the other side would be greeted with the pointed end on the tip of their nose.
"Well we do have three bodies in the morgue Miss. May have another if you don't drop that right now."
"Shit! I'm so sorry, I thought it was someone else!" the knife dropped from my hand as I was met by three men, one of whom held a bronze colored badge in his right hand.
"Mind telling us who you thought it was? The asshole that shot you, perhaps?"
"These guys that live upstairs, thought they were checking up on me again. The elderly lady next door, they've done that to her before as a joke and she nearly ripped them a new one."
"And you would know that how?"
"I was carrying some groceries in and saw the whole thing. They were giggling like school girls when they did it."
"So you thought pulling a knife on them would be a wise choice?"
"I wasn't thinking at all, if I'm being honest."
"Clearly. Do you mind if we come in and talk with you about what happened last night? Mitchell put a report on our desk this morning about a mugging that turned violent."
"Yeah, sure, c'mon in and make yourselves comfortable. Can I get you anything? Water, coffee, breakfast casserole?" I asked, stepping away from the door and allowing them entry.
"That's what that smell is? Can I please have some? Smecker's been having me go on coffee runs for him for weeks and-"
"Greenly, you ate four doughnuts this morning and drank a whole pot of coffee, you don't need any."
"Sorry about those two, they've been at each other throats since this morning. By the way, I'm Duffy, those two morons are Dolly and Greenly."
I gave them a collective half smile and shut the door, picked up the knife, put the chain in place and led them into the kitchen where it would be a little more private. Picking up my bowl and coffee cup, I set them down on the table and pulled my chair out in an attempt to resume a semi-normal routine as each of the detectives before me retrieved pens and pads from the interiors of their jackets.
"The report Mitchell had on our desk this morning didn't have very much information except to say that you were the victim of a stabbing and that a gun was used in self-defense. If you don't mind taking it from the beginning, what happened?"
"I decided to take my cats for a walk around the block and-"
"Wait a minute! Did you say cats? You took your cats for a walk?!"
"Calm down Greenly, it's not as uncommon as you may think." Dolly interjected, bringing his colleague's excitement down a few notches.
"I know that, just never heard of anyone brave enough to do that here."
"Sorry about him, ma'am; go ahead and continue."
"It's okay; I'm used to the outbursts. My cats sometimes decide that when they're done with their walk to just lay down on the sidewalk and since they don't like to be held very much I bring their carrier with me that way if someone asks I can just say that I'm on my way home from the vet's office. Anyway, we were coming back around the block, making our way back here when I felt something tug on my hair. I thought maybe it was caught on something, like a rusted piece of metal from a fire escape or something.
"But then I started getting pulled backwards and the next thing I knew my head was bouncing off a brick wall. Obviously I was a little dizzy from that hit to the head but he was muttering and mumbling so much I couldn't really understand what he was saying except that he was making some sort of threat against me. I don't know if he was asking questions or what but out of nowhere I felt a sharp sting in my left shoulder; I pulled my gun from the holster and just started shooting. When the guy was finally off me, I grabbed the cat carrier and just ran back here."
As I concluded my brief synopsis of the night before I picked up my coffee cup and watched from hooded eyes as the trio of detectives scribbled down notes, pausing every once in a while to tap the end of pen against the spirals of the notepad.
"Mitchell's report mentioned that you were asking about the triple homicide last night. You don't know anything about that, do you?" Duffy questioned, tucking his pen behind his ear.
"I heard the shots on my way back here; it's why I put the cats in their carrier. The shots sounded close enough that I ducked down next to some stairs in case some stray bullet was pointed in my general direction."
"And when did you get grabbed?"
"Once the shots stopped I started, not really running but maybe sprinting, as fast as I could with the carrier in my hand. I was probably a block or two away from home and that's when I got grabbed. I dropped the carrier and tried to take my pepper spray out of my pocket but I dropped it. I can take you to where it happened if you need me to."
"Where'd you get the bandages from?"
"Greenly, the fuck kinda stupid question is that?! Ain't it obvious she went to a hospital? Jesus Christ!"
"What? Mitchell didn't say anything in his report about her seeking medical attention and we never got a call from any of the hospitals last night. It's a valid fucking question!"
I couldn't help but snicker a bit at their banter; the three of them reminded me of some of my cousins when they would argue at family functions. My memories were cut short when a throat cleared and Greenly asked his question once more about my bandages.
"The guys I was telling you about earlier were in the elevator with me when I got back and volunteered to walk me down to the hospital last night after I got off the phone with that lazy ass cop. I wanted to go to an urgent care but was told they were closed for the night. I have my discharge papers in the bedroom if you need those as proof that I went. The reason you never got a call from the hospital is because I called to report what happened in the first place to save them the hassle."
"You wouldn't be able to describe the perp, would you? Maybe be able to come down to the station and work with a sketch artist to get a composite done?"
"Sorry, the guy was wearing a mask but if you wanna go down to that alley where it happened you might be able to get some blood samples and run them through some sort of database."
"We could try but you gotta remember DNA testing isn't where we'd like for it to be at the moment. And with these Saints still on the loose they may end up finding this guy long before we do."
"I understand."
"If you don't mind showing us where this all happened we'll start getting everything processed; we'll also need your gun for testing. Once everything is said and done you can get it back but again, it may take some time."
I nodded in understanding and stood up from my place at the table. Walking my empty coffee cup to the sink, I then made a beeline to the bedroom to retrieve my gun as well as a copy of all the hospital records, just in case.
I emerged from the bedroom a short time later with my gun in its holster and the papers from the hospital in a folder, handing them over to Detective Duffy, assuming he was the lead investigator with my case. Walking to the hall closet I found my jacket, slipped it on along with my shoes and announced to Charlie and Ryan that I'd be back in a little bit. The response I received was silence but I figured they were too engrossed with the cartoons playing to pay attention. Picking my keys up off the hook, I led the way to where everything happened.
When we arrived at the mouth of the alley, I stood propped against a corner as the trio scanned the ground for any clues or signs that my story was in fact truth. Greenly snapped the rubber of one of his gloves against his wrist and proceeded to pick up the canister of pepper spray I had dropped the night before, turning on his heels in my general direction to confirm it was mine.
"We got a few shell casings here and some blood; would you be willing to submit to a blood test to confirm which of these stains belongs to you?" Dolly asked, placing yellow evidence markers on the ground for later collection.
"Anything I can do to help speed things up."
He nodded then went back to work placing more evidence markers on the ground near things he felt would be important to the case. After several minutes passed, Duffy walked over to where I was standing, pulling his gloves off and tucking them into his pants pocket.
"I think we have everything we need for now but if we need something else myself or one of these two will be touch. We'll walk you back to your apartment but in the meantime, if there's anything else you want to tell us that you may have left out, here's my card. Call me anytime, day or night. Many times mugging victims or victims of violent crimes feel that these situations are their fault but they're not so if you need to talk to someone, this is the number for a highly recommended psychiatrist that may be able to help if you need it."
He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me all the information I may need in the future then called for the others to wrap things up so I could get back home. It was another 20 minutes before I was finally able to go home between the three of them concluding their initial investigation and the pit stop to a local coffee shop when Greenly's pager went off.
"Where the hell have you been? Thought it was only gonna take a few minutes? What'd you do get gangbanged by a bunch of cops?" I had barely gotten the door shut when the onslaught of questions began.
"Charlie, I'll be blunt; I was mugged and stabbed last night, I didn't get home until well after 11:00 and I've been in a lot of pain all morning. I don't need you riding my ass when I have two guys living upstairs already fulfilling that job."
"Does this mean I should call Jack and tell him to cancel our double date?"
"I'd certainly appreciate it if you did but I know if you and Ryan show up here at 5:30 that your friend doesn't take 'no' for an answer and I'll be forced into yet another dress and also forced into making small talk with someone I have no interest in."
Slipping my shoes off, I plopped down on the couch and picked up the remote to try and find something else on. Charlie fell silent for a few moments but the quiet was interrupted by the flush of the toilet and Ryan emerging from the bathroom with a renewed set of questions of his own.
"We just want to see you happy, you're always so focused on work and school, why are you so against seeing someone?"
"Because no one has ever let me try this whole dating and relationships thing for myself! Ever since I hit 14 all anyone has ever done was set me up on one blind date after another and I'm just sick and fucking tired of it! The one and only time I actually found someone on my own was years ago and believe it or not I was actually happy for a change; I could be myself with him and it felt right."
"So what happened?"
"He died."
"I'm sorry to hear that and I'm sorry that we didn't know this before."
"I didn't want you to know, at least not yet and definitely not this way. If you could just call your friend and tell him to cancel; we'll reschedule it for another time, maybe after these stiches come out and after finals."
"But that's two months from now, why wait s-"
"I don't have to give you reasons! Just call him and tell him to cancel, alright?!" I snapped, jumping up from the couch, "I think you guys should go. I'll see you at work on Monday Charlie."
They complied with my request with no resistance; once their shoes were on their feet and their jackets were over their shoulders I opened the door to let them out only to be met with Connor standing outside my door stooped down with a sheepish look on his face.
"Just droppin' dis off fer ya; Murph found yer 'script fer da pain meds in da hall earlier and we dropped it off at da pharmacy a bit ago." He stood to his full height and handed the bottle of pain killers over while Ryan and Charlie slipped through the door.
"Thank you."
The awkward silence began to descend upon us when I finally realized that my door was left wide open and the cats were beginning to get a little more than curious as to what was on the other side. Stepping out into the hall, I shut the door behind me and quickly thought of something to say so that he didn't feel compelled to leave abruptly.
"I told Charlie to cancel the double date for tonight so if that invitation for-"
"Ladies Night? Yeah, it's still on da table if yer interested in going, Murph'll be happy ta know yer going."
"I didn't exactly say that I was going but I might turn up for a bit if I manage to get all my homework done and my shoulder's not bothering me too bad. Just remember, with these pills I won't be able to do any drinking."
"What'd da good doc give ya then?"
"Oxycodone," I answered, reading the label and taking note that I was to take one every 6 hours as needed for pain with food.
"I'll certainly let Doc know if ya show up dat yer not drinking."
"I hate to cut this short but my arm is really starting to hurt so I'm gonna take one of these and head back to bed for a bit."
"We'll keep a stool warm fer ya just in case. Sleep tight."
A small smile started to tug at one side of my face as Connor retreated down the hall, heading for the stairs. Turning back towards my door I caught sight of my elderly neighbor poking her head out of the door, her eyebrows wagging up and down in a slightly suggestive manner as she watched Connor disappear from sight.
"Da t'ings I could teach those boys. How ya feelin' lass? Heard about what happened to ya last night."
"Truthfully? I feel like shit."
"You'll be sore fer a while I imagine but at least ya don't have ta worry about anot'er crappy date. Between you and me I'd tell yer boss ta quit coming 'round."
"Aoife, why do you say that? I mean I know it's not good that I let Charlie set me up on all these blind dates but he's only trying t-"
"Don't go around making excuses!" her anger was more than evident as she stepped into the hallway, the door slamming shut behind her. "I know yer just trying ta kiss his arse ta keep yer job and da guys he's setting ya up with are not'ing more den rich bastards dat wanna keep a pretty lass like yerself locked up in an ivory tower. Da moment I met ya, I knew you were a hard worker and ya didn't care about money ot'erwise ya'd have stayed with yer folks. I'd like ta see ya with a real man, one who can take care of ya but is willing ta let ya take care of yerself."
"You mean men like Connor and Murphy? Aoife, I only met them last night and no offense, I can't really take you at your word. I mean they seem nice enough but I just don't know."
"It's yer decision and I'm not yer Ma but at least t'ink about what I said. Hope ya start ta feel better soon lass."
With that my elderly neighbor shuffled her way back inside her apartment, the door quietly shutting behind her and I was left to stand alone in an empty hallway. Figuring that I was already in the hall it was best to change the laundry around then make good on my earlier conversation with Connor to take an Oxy and head back to bed.