The Change of Time

It’s a cloudy night, and the downpour is hard and non-stop. I have been running for almost an hour after a man that we have been surging for, for a very long time and after three months, finally I got a lead. If my partner did not linger on where I told him to be, I would have never lost track of the guy.   He’s near. I can feel it in my gut. As I turn the corner, I came face to face with an abandoned building. I stood before a red steel door, after looking back to see if I can’t see my partner, but he wasn’t there. I can’t wait any longer or we might lose him again. So I went in.....   Yes, he is most definitely still in here. It was like I could feel his presence lingering in the air. Then I turned with my back to the wall so that no one can sneak up behind me while I search the dark corners of the room. I came across a staircase, but didn’t go up as I feel his presence down here... somewhere. I walked through another door and as I turn to look to my left, a steel pipe came swinging at me. I ducked down, and it missed my head by a few inches. As I came back up, I started shooting. I shot him three times; It hit the man in the head and chest.   Why do I always know where to search, where to focus and when to shoot....? I wish I had the answers to these questions, but I don’t. Maybe someday I will find out. I stood at the body calling it in to the office when I heard the steel door banging in-front and my partner calling out to me. He must have heard the gunshots.  “I’m in here Jake,” I called back. As he came in, he saw me at the body and just bowed his head. “You think after being your partner for over two years, I would have learned to trust your in-stinks.” “Don’t worry... it happens to the best of us and you owe me two hundred dollars.” “Ya… ya...”  In the distance, I could hear the sirens of police cars approaching and went out to greet my captain. “You cough another one...” My Captain said, “Looks like it. He’s lying in the second room on the first floor by the door. Jake is with him.” “Is he still alive?” No, sorry..." “That’s okay, good job Elizabeth. Go home and rest, we will clean up here.” Thanks Cap and goodnight." I turned and walked away when Jake pulled up next to me. “Need a ride?” “Thanks” was the only thing I said as we drove home in silence.  As I got home, I went straight to the bathroom, putting my gun and badge on the sink and got into a warm shower. Wail showering, my mind wonder to when I was a child....., walking into my parents’ bedroom and seeing them still asleep. I tried to wake them up, but they wouldn’t wake up. I started crying, because they did not respond. I was so young I didn’t understand what was happening. I was terrified and confused. So I laid between them for almost a day when I heard someone at the front door. It was our Butler coming back from his day off. So I ran down the stairs to him screaming, trying to tell him about my parents....   Suddenly, my phone rings, bringing me back to reality. It was my aunt calling. “Hi aunt Maria, how you?” “O Elizabeth are okay, Jake told me what happened today, must I come over?” That damn Jake always telling her everything. “I am fine aunt Maria, just another day on the job.” “Are you sure I can get pizza and come sit with you?” I chuckled a little at that. “No, it’s fine honestly, I’m just going to finish my shower and climb into bed.” “Okay sweetheart, sleep well and know you can call me anytime. I’m always there for you.” “Thanks Auntie, sleep well.” “Goodnight my sweetheart.”  As I finally got into bed, my mind wouldn’t switch off and I thought about the life I had now. After the death of my parents, I came to live with Aunt Maria. She is such a soft person, always seeing the good in people, where I, on the other hand, could always tell if the person was pure at heart or had a wickedness there. That is one reason I became a detective. I have been doing this job for just over five years and nearly killed twenty criminals, all of them guilty of terrible things, of course, but I’m not sure if I can do this anymore. Their faces are hunting me and those of their victims. Doing what I do, you see some very disturbing things and it takes a peace from you every time. How people can be so cruel, I will never understand.   No matter how busy I am or how much I run around catching bad guys, I always have the thought of my parents in the back of my mind. I don’t believe what the doctor said; they did not die of heart attacks. Something else happened. Someone got to them and made it look the way it did. I will find out what happened that day..... Even if it takes everything out of me.