Chapter 40:

"Are you crazy?!" Flynn said, trying not to raise his voice.

"He's not going to hurt me," Sharon said, her voice sounding cold and calculated.

"Right, like he wasn't hurting you the other night?" Flynn said angrily, and just when he finished the sentence, the door swung open again and Provenza came back to the room. He saw Flynn's angry face and frowned.

"Uh… your papers are ready, Captain," he said hesitantly. "Something wrong?"

"No," Sharon said and got on her feet quickly. She was amazed by her own reaction to Flynn's presence. It seemed to have brought her back to life from the shock she was in. She pushed that thought away as she approached the door, and said, "Thank you, Lieutenant."

"Captain…" Flynn said and she turned to look at him just before exiting the room. "Do you need a ride home?" he was hoping she'd change her mind.

"No, thanks," Sharon said hastily, and a second later she was gone.

Provenza scoffed as Flynn approached him on his way out of the room. "What the hell was that? When we arrived she was a wreck, and two minutes later she's skipping out of here?"

"Strange woman. Let's go, we have to start early tomorrow on our newest murder case."

"Yeah, a dead cop. Never easy," Provenza said sadly and they left.

(***)

Sharon walked nervously along the fifth floor corridor of a luxurious apartment building. Her eyes were fixed on the door to Richard's apartment, which was a few yards away, by the very end of the corridor. The sound of her heels was muffled by the carpeted floor as she approached the door. She was about to put her hand on the doorknob when she realized it wasn't closed all the way, and an unpleasant feeling spread in her stomach.

Before she could think of what she was doing, she pulled her gun out of her purse and pushed the door open with her elbow. The apartment was barely lit, and Sharon could hear the sounds of the street five floors below her, since her surroundings were completely silent. She walked slowly to the kitchen, which was the only room with the lights on. There was no one there, and nothing seemed unusual, so she continued to walk carefully to the living room. Her iPhone vibrated in her pocket and she startled, feeling her heart beating frantically in her chest. Suddenly, she wondered if she should have listened to Flynn. She wished to be in his safe car on her way home right now, instead of being in this big, creepy apartment.

The light from the kitchen barely reached the living room, and it was almost completely dark. Sharon's foot bumped into something as she couldn't see much, and she heard someone moaning faintly.

"Oh, god," she whispered nervously and bent down. "Richard? Where's the damn light?" she asked, but there was no answer. She squinted as she looked around, trying to find a lamp. "There," light came on when she found the switch and she turned back to the source of the sound, only to see Richard lying on the floor next to the couch, his white buttoned shirt smeared with blood.

"Oh, my… what happened?" she asked as she sat on her knees next to him and immediately remembered doing it not so long ago, next to John Martin's body. Richard opened his eyes slowly. His face was pale and Sharon was pretty sure his hands would feel cold if she touched them.

"He… shot me," Richard said quietly, as every word required a lot of physical effort.

"Who did?"

"Ch… Charlie Her…" he coughed for a second and didn't complete the name.

"Charlie Hernandez?" Sharon asked and he nodded just a little.

"Where's… Ambulance?"

"Richard, I need to know if you've got more pictures of me with Flynn," she said coldly. In her head, a little voice was yelling something about her doing a bad thing, but she didn't pay it much attention.

"Help…"

"Not until you answer me."

Richard's face twisted in pain. "My… pocket. Bitch," he said in anger, letting out a lot of air in the effort of speaking, and Sharon leaned forward and inserted her hand in every pocket of his jacket until her fingers touched something and she pulled it out. The same four pictures that Martin showed her earlier were once again in her hand. She sighed and threw them inside her purse carelessly, then pulled her iPhone out of her pocket. On the screen was written Flynn's name as a missed call.

"Are there anymore copies? Or other pictures of us?" she asked before she made the call.

"No... I swear," he said and she nodded. "I die… You won't…" Richard coughed again, "get my… money."

"I don't want any of your dirty money," she said monotonically as she dialed 911.

"The kids… either," he said and struggled to breathe as suddenly he could barely feel the air reaching his lungs.

"You promised Cat you'd help her," Sharon said in disbelief and Richard's lips curled into a little smile.

"911, what's your emergency?" Sharon heard a voice on the other end of the line but she was frozen there, on the floor, Richard's words echoing in her head. A thought crossed her mind and she wondered if she should hang up and let him die right now.