Broken Trust

Chapter 12

Ace barked aggressively as we dashed back inside. It was like everything was happening all over again. Was X hiding in the house this entire time, and we were too blind to notice?! I felt as if someone had punched me in the gut. Everything just came at once.
“DROP YOUR WEAPON!” Tristan yelled out as he drew his gun.
The person didn’t seem fazed by Tristan pulling out his gun, or by the fact that there was a K-9 in the room. He took one look at all of us and started firing shots randomly. Everything was happening so fast that I didn’t even feel Officer Robbins yanking me under a desk in a nearby room.
“Millie,” she said, snapping her fingers at me, trying to get me out of my daze.
“Thank you,” I said, looking at her.
“Anytime. Are you okay, by the way?” she said, her voice full of concern.
“Y-Yeah,” I said somewhat shakily. “It’s just everything happened so fast, Officer Robbins. I know I’m a police officer, but—”
I was cut off by Officer Robbins putting her hand on my shoulder as a comforting gesture. “Hey, just because you’re a cop doesn’t mean you’re invincible. You’re still a human with feelings like the rest of us.”
I looked at her, letting the weight of her words sink in. She was right, and while I didn’t want to admit it, I had to.
“You’re right, Robbins. Thanks for that,” I smiled.
She smiled back. “That’s what friends are for.”
I thought to myself that I never really allowed anyone to be my friend except for Audrey, but I suppose I could give her and my coworkers a chance. The more, the merrier, right?
Our pep talk was suddenly interrupted by X running down the hallway, followed by Ace, Eric, and Tristan. I stood up, holding out a hand to Officer Robbins and helping her up. By the time we dashed out into the hallway, Ace had trotted back to us with a piece of X’s clothing. He showed it to us like he was presenting some kind of award.
“Well, someone is certainly proud of themselves today,” I said.
The others chuckled as I grabbed the piece of fabric from Ace’s mouth while they gave him pats and praised him.
“We should take this back to Audrey,” Eric said while putting the leash back on Ace.
“Good idea, but let’s check on Mrs. Thompson first,” Tristan said thoughtfully.
“Alright,” I said as I locked up the house.
The four of us walked across the street to Mrs. Thompson’s house. Thank God her house was the same as it was before. We knocked on the door.
No answer.
What’s going on? I thought.
We knocked again.
No answer.
The four of us started to walk to the backyard. We didn’t call her name in case X was still nearby—we didn’t need to put the little old lady in harm’s way. We got to the back of the house, and there was a note on the back door that said:
To whom this may concern,
I am fine. I heard the noise across the street and decided to call my grandson to come and get me. I am fine. My grandson locked the house up for me. I figured you officers would be worried enough to check on me. I appreciate it. Stay safe.
Mrs. T.
I pocketed the note, figuring X didn’t need to know where she was anyway.
“Alright, guys,” I said, turning to the others. “Mrs. Thompson is fine. She heard the noise and called her grandson.”
Well, I guess everything was fine.
For now…