Status: Updating on Thursdays
King Park
Another Shooting
“You better have a damn good reason why you called me in on my day off,” I hissed, walking over to the stocky, balding 50-something year old man -- my supervisor, Keith Howell. I worked with the Grand Rapids Police Department as a crime scene investigator. Funny thing is, I never wanted to be a detective...it just somehow happened.
“Evie,” Keith began. “There’s some papers I need you to file. Not too hard of a job, is it? I mean, with your back injury and all...” He joked, eyeing me up and down. I hated when he did something like that, absolutely hated it. I had fallen down a flight of stairs a couple months back and managed to mess up my back. Now, everyone at the station treated me like I was crippled. All they had me do was file papers. Money’s money, right? Had to support my husband and daughter somehow.
“Funny, real funny.” I hissed, “When can I get rid of my desk job?” I was fed up of being stuck at the station. There wasn’t enough action for me. Sure, cons were hauled in and out but it still wasn’t the same. I never cared much for being in one spot, really. That was one of the reasons why I ended up becoming a detective -- I always got to go to different locations.
“I think you should just stick to desk work from now on...” Keith said hesitantly. My eyes narrowed toward him.
“Excuse me?”
“Evie, this has nothing against you...” He began, “But I think it would be in your best interest if you worked on cases at the station. Being out on the scene is too dangerous for someone your size-”
“Somebody my size?!” I snapped, slamming a folder down on my desk. “I’ve been doing work on the move for the force for three years! And now you suddenly want to confine me to the station? That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life, and I’ve heard a lot of ridiculous things.”
Keith looked at the ground and then back at me, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought you might want to have more time to spend with your husband and daughter.”
“I spend just enough time with them, thank you very much. Just because I’m the smallest on the force doesn’t mean I can’t handle my job. I pack heat, I know how to get myself out of any situation. I know with my job comes with risks. I’m not stupid.” I rolled my eyes.
“Sorry for offending you, if I did,” He pleaded, “save the paperwork for tomorrow and go ahead and clock out.” I simply shrugged and started to head to my locker to retrieve my belongings. I could hear the phones start to ring frantically. It was just after 7‘oclock, the phones usually rung off-the-hook around then. Usually just complaints from nosy neighbors or tips from unsolved crimes. “Hey, Sweet!” A familiar voice had called out from behind me, nearly giving me a heart attack. It was my partner-in-crime, per-say; rather yet, we generally stopped crime than started it.
“What’dya want, Louis?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. He just smiled.
“Howell’s lookin’ for you,” Louis simply said and walked away. I just had talked to him and he told me just to leave, what more could he possibly want? I thought to myself. I grabbed another folder from my locker, along with my jacket and purse and headed back into the office and over to Keith’s desk.
“What now?” There was annoyance in my voice and it certainly was showing, however, no one seemed to hear me. That, or they were just ignoring me.
“Turn on channel 2!” Someone shouted out. Everyone was running about like chickens with their heads cut off and I couldn’t seem to figure out why. The news was finally on, with a breaking story.
“We’ve just gotten reports of a shooting at Martin Luther King Park on the Southeast side of Grand Rapids. A young boy has been fatally wounded. No names have been released yet. Stay tuned for more updates.”
Shooting? A kid? My favorite, I thought sarcastically. My heart ached whenever I have to go investigate a murder or something to do with a kid. It makes me afraid of losing my own daughter -- Starla Mae. I was only 18 when I got married, and only 20 when I gave birth to her. She had just turned 5 a month ago. I couldn’t imagine ever losing her.
“Well, Sweet,” Keith finally said, looks like you finally get to go out and investigate.”
“Evie,” Keith began. “There’s some papers I need you to file. Not too hard of a job, is it? I mean, with your back injury and all...” He joked, eyeing me up and down. I hated when he did something like that, absolutely hated it. I had fallen down a flight of stairs a couple months back and managed to mess up my back. Now, everyone at the station treated me like I was crippled. All they had me do was file papers. Money’s money, right? Had to support my husband and daughter somehow.
“Funny, real funny.” I hissed, “When can I get rid of my desk job?” I was fed up of being stuck at the station. There wasn’t enough action for me. Sure, cons were hauled in and out but it still wasn’t the same. I never cared much for being in one spot, really. That was one of the reasons why I ended up becoming a detective -- I always got to go to different locations.
“I think you should just stick to desk work from now on...” Keith said hesitantly. My eyes narrowed toward him.
“Excuse me?”
“Evie, this has nothing against you...” He began, “But I think it would be in your best interest if you worked on cases at the station. Being out on the scene is too dangerous for someone your size-”
“Somebody my size?!” I snapped, slamming a folder down on my desk. “I’ve been doing work on the move for the force for three years! And now you suddenly want to confine me to the station? That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life, and I’ve heard a lot of ridiculous things.”
Keith looked at the ground and then back at me, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought you might want to have more time to spend with your husband and daughter.”
“I spend just enough time with them, thank you very much. Just because I’m the smallest on the force doesn’t mean I can’t handle my job. I pack heat, I know how to get myself out of any situation. I know with my job comes with risks. I’m not stupid.” I rolled my eyes.
“Sorry for offending you, if I did,” He pleaded, “save the paperwork for tomorrow and go ahead and clock out.” I simply shrugged and started to head to my locker to retrieve my belongings. I could hear the phones start to ring frantically. It was just after 7‘oclock, the phones usually rung off-the-hook around then. Usually just complaints from nosy neighbors or tips from unsolved crimes. “Hey, Sweet!” A familiar voice had called out from behind me, nearly giving me a heart attack. It was my partner-in-crime, per-say; rather yet, we generally stopped crime than started it.
“What’dya want, Louis?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. He just smiled.
“Howell’s lookin’ for you,” Louis simply said and walked away. I just had talked to him and he told me just to leave, what more could he possibly want? I thought to myself. I grabbed another folder from my locker, along with my jacket and purse and headed back into the office and over to Keith’s desk.
“What now?” There was annoyance in my voice and it certainly was showing, however, no one seemed to hear me. That, or they were just ignoring me.
“Turn on channel 2!” Someone shouted out. Everyone was running about like chickens with their heads cut off and I couldn’t seem to figure out why. The news was finally on, with a breaking story.
“We’ve just gotten reports of a shooting at Martin Luther King Park on the Southeast side of Grand Rapids. A young boy has been fatally wounded. No names have been released yet. Stay tuned for more updates.”
Shooting? A kid? My favorite, I thought sarcastically. My heart ached whenever I have to go investigate a murder or something to do with a kid. It makes me afraid of losing my own daughter -- Starla Mae. I was only 18 when I got married, and only 20 when I gave birth to her. She had just turned 5 a month ago. I couldn’t imagine ever losing her.
“Well, Sweet,” Keith finally said, looks like you finally get to go out and investigate.”
♠ ♠ ♠
This story has been in the works for a couple of weeks, and has been the reason why Stay Gold hasn't been updated. If you want to get a better feel of the story, listen to King Park by La Dispute. Let me know what you guys think of this so far.Comment/subscribe/recommend!