Chapter 39:

The shooter lowered his gun, and a second later the two men turned around and started running in the opposite direction. Sharon bent down to check on Martin while customers from the coffee shop ran outside to see what's going on. She called his name but there was no reaction, and her fingers against his neck couldn't feel his pulse.

"Oh, god," she muttered in a shaky voice and tears started to trickle down her cheeks uncontrollably.

John Martin was lying still on the sidewalk in a pool of blood, which was pouring quickly from his chest like a macabre waterfall. Sharon put her hand on his wound in attempt to stop the flow, and thought that Martin looked peaceful with his head tilted to the side and eyes shut, as if he was only sleeping.

Sharon heard people talking around her but couldn't make out the words. All the voices sounded vague and distant. She had no idea how much time she was sitting on her knees next to Martin before she felt hands on her shoulders pulling her to a standing position and turning her around. A paramedic examined her face while asking if she was hurt and she shook her head.

"What's in your hand?" he asked and tried to take the pictures from her but she wouldn't let go.

"Hey, I know her. This is Captain Raydor from the LAPD's Major Crimes unit," a patrol officer said to her left and Sharon remembered seeing him in the building several times. "I'll call the her squad, this case will be theirs anyway," he said and walked a few steps to use his radio away from the commotion.

"Well, I'm taking her to the hospital. She's in shock. They can see her there," the paramedic said and Sharon felt his hands on her shoulders again, leading her to the ambulance.

(***)

Sharon sat on the hospital bed, after refusing to lie down, even though the doctor repeatedly asked her to do so. Eventually he gave up and left the room to prepare the discharge papers, seeing that she was just a little shaken up, but nothing more. She was staring at the floor, recalling the shooting over and over again with tears streaming down her cheeks, when the door swung open quickly and she hurried to wipe the tears with her hands and look up.

Provenza and Flynn entered the room with serious faces and she swallowed hard, trying not to cry.

"Captain, Are you okay? We were just at the crime scene," Provenza asked carefully. They stood in the middle of the room with hesitant looks on their faces, waiting eagerly for her to talk, as if they needed to hear her voice in order to know she was okay.

"Uh… yeah, I'm fine. Waiting to get out of here," she said and her voice sounded hoarse.

"Should I go and check on it?" Flynn asked, knowing that Provenza wouldn't want to be left alone with her in the state she was in. He wasn't very good in situations like that, which required a lot of sensitivity.

"No, no, I'll go," Provenza said and walked quickly to the door so that Flynn won't have time to argue. He didn't know that Flynn had no intention to do so.

Flynn waited for the door to close behind Provenza and then closed the gap between himself and Sharon in a few quick steps, wrapping her in his arms. He felt her shaking under him and knew she was crying. Her hands gripped his shirt hard and she felt a relaxing sensation spreading inside her, comfort from the warmth of his body.

"What the hell happened?" he asked gently and waited until she calmed down and pulled away. She looked up slowly, her eyes red from crying. He put his hand on her shoulder and waited for an answer.

"He gave me those pictures," she pointed at the nightstand. Flynn took the pictures in his hand and examined them. "And he said he was going to report us… a second later these two men came out of nowhere and one of them shot him."

"Oh, wow… but who would want to kill him?" he asked and rubbed her arm gently.

"I'm not sure… they yelled the words 'hey, Lieutenant' before shooting."

"So they knew who he was. Someone sent them."

"But he's a Captain."

"Okay, so they made a mistake."

"No. If someone sent them, they probably learned as many details about him as possible so they don't make any mistakes. I don't think they got wrong information," her voice slowly returned to its usual sound as she spoke.

"So, what are you saying?" he frowned.

"I'm saying… you're a Lieutenant," she said gently and saw him frowning even more.

"So?"

"Andy! You were supposed to meet me there!"

"This is ridiculous," he turned around and took a few steps away from her.

"I don't think so. And I'm going to figure this out the moment I get out of here. I'll go to Richard's house," she said and watched Flynn as he looked at her in disbelief.