Another Day, Another Death

Chapter 1 The Waiting Game

The mood in the Homicide squad room was tense as four of the eight detectives had been sitting at their desks in near silence for several hours. Long after their shift had ended and even though all of them were physically and emotionally exhausted.

None of them had slept in over 40 hours, but they all still sat up straight at full attention when a phone rang and they looked up to see as it was patched through by one of the civilian aides to their sergeant sitting alone in his office and saw him answer it.

They were eager for news and even a couple of them who didn't really have any religious beliefs found themselves saying a quiet prayer.

A few minutes, passed that to the detectives felt like an eternity before the sergeant put the phone down, they saw him stand up and then turn his back to them.

He pretended to be looking for something but in reality was drying his eyes with his tie that he'd taken off hours earlier.

Another few minutes passed before he had composed himself enough to be ready to face his colleague's. He locked the desk draw where he'd left his service weapon and the last thing he did was click the mouse on his computer to send the letter he'd not long finished writing to print, then came out of his office into the main area of the squad room.

Plainly shaking, not as able as he'd hoped to hide from them that he'd begun to cry before stopping himself, he needed to deliver the news he'd just received before he was overwhelmed.

The detectives stood up and moved to gather closer to him and hear the news from the hospital, they knew from the look on his face and his overall demeanor the news wasn't going to be good.

The sergeant spoke, "the doctor I spoke to told me," he stuttered before carrying on, "she told me that our friend and colleague didn't make it. Emergency room staff and then a surgical team worked hard but the gunshot injuries she suffered were too numerous and severe and she died on the operating table."

The silence that had been there since they'd arrived back was broken as the only other female detective in the unit began to cry, and her partner moved to comfort her.

One of the other detectives, the fallen cop's partner slumped to the floor and buried his heads in his hands to hide the onslaught of tears he knew were about to come.

The sergeant returned to his office uncertain how long he could hold it together before he broke, seeing his badge on his desk he wondered if he would ever pick them up again, almost certain he would go through with his plan to forward the resignation letter he'd written to his supervisor.

They'd have to put their grief to one side for now while they awaited further news about two other colleagues still in hospital, one in the ER, the other still in surgery fighting for life.