JOE SHOOK HIS HEAD, blinking back tears as he looked at the small sheet-draped body in the street next to the ruined bicycle. The little old man whose car had hit the boy sat on the curb sobbing, head in hands.
“I didn’t see him,” the man wailed. “I didn’t see him.”
Officer Jenkins walked over to Joe, almost overcome with emotion himself.
“Witnesses said the kid barreled off the sidewalk from between two parked cars and didn’t look for traffic,” the young officer managed, his Adam’s apple racing up and down as he struggled to hold it together. “No way the guy could have stopped in time.”
“Get the chaplain out here,” Joe murmured. “Now.”
“Yes, sir,” Jenkins replied, swiping at his eyes before reaching for the mic on his lapel to fulfill Joe’s request.
***
