A few days passed, but the image of the
tormented man seemed to be stuck in Gabe’s mind. It was part of the job he told himself and
kept the odd feeling at bay by pressing on with protecting his corner of the
city.
He
was trolling through the drug riddled parts of his beat looking for the next
dealer to chase when the call of a death investigation took him to a middle
income neighborhood that was spared from the drug war. A husband had come home from an errand to
find his elderly wife not breathing and cold to the touch.
As
he pulled up, he noticed the house was simple and neat. It was a one story mason brick home pale
green with green shutters and white trim.
A holdover look from the late sixties when the neighborhood was
established and undoubtedly the elderly couple were the original owners who
chose to stay in the home over the years. It was where they raised their three children and hosted
myriad of visits by grandchildren and even great grandchildren. Gabe parked in the driveway and walked up to
the front door. He was met with a warm
looking man dressed in a brown sweater and slacks, his hair was grayed and
thin, skin wrinkled from a lifetime of wear and his eyes were red from tears.
The
husband invited the young officer in as any other welcomed guest and showed him
the way to his bride of sixty three years lying peacefully in their bed. Gabe instantly felt intrusive and wanted to
leave but the man called the police for help and that’s what he was going to
do. She would not be brought back to
life but in death she would be treated with dignity and respect.
Gabe
listened to the man speak about his wife with beaming pride and it was clear
she was the only thing in his life that mattered. Recently, she had been having
shortness of breath and was seeing a doctor on a regular basis. The doctor’s prognosis had been heartbreaking
as he explained her time was nearing the end and no amount of medicine would
change that. They had accepted the fact
that her time on the earth was dwindling and this was her final sunset. But that didn’t make it any easier for the
husband to bear.
After
Gabe finished examining the body for signs of trauma or foul play and looking
around the home for any suspiciousness, he found himself studying the wall of
pictures that the elderly couple had collected and proudly displayed over the
years. The frames were an indication of
the years past as the older styles molded into the newer ones and the clarity
and quality of the pictures improved as the years went on. A lifetime of memories stared back at Gabe as
the husband sat patiently awaiting for the young cop to finish his
investigation.
“Cherish
the memories officer; they will pass by in a flash.”
Gabe
turned and looked at the old man and smiled.
He felt sorry for the man as he would have to see his wife buried and
placed in the ground before him.
“I’ll
try sir.”
Gabe
explained that they were waiting on the funeral home to come take his wife’s
body to the morgue. Once that was
completed, they would be finished.
“Can
I call anyone for you sir?” Gabe figured
that with all of the family he proudly displayed on the wall, surely he would
want someone to comfort him in this difficult time.
“I’ll
be fine officer. I’ll let them know soon
enough.”
“As
you wish sir.”
The
funeral home arrived and with the solemn protocol rolled a gurney with a felt blanket
draped over it inside the modest home and removed the deceased wife with gentle
care. Gabe felt compelled to stay with
the man but he knew duty would soon come calling and he would have to
leave. Gabe followed the funeral home
workers outside with the wife to ensure she was placed into the hearse with the
dignity and respect she deserved.
The
sun had not only set for the wife but for the rest of the city as night
shrouded the sky. As he watched the
hearse pull away a cool breeze rolled in from the east gently kissing the cheek
of Gabriel Farmer. He decided the drug
peddlers down in the ghetto would have to wait and he would remain with the old
man until dispatch called him away.
As
he turned to go back in the house, the sharp crack of a gunshot echoed from
inside the house. Gabe’s heart stopped
and he instantly froze into place. He
didn’t go for his weapon or try to find cover, for he realized he was not the
intended target of the gunfire. His
brain kick started his body and he broke into a full sprint inside the house in
search of the old man. He desperately
looked in the living room where he was sitting during the investigation but the
chair was empty. He moved around to the
kitchen calling out his name, but there was only silence.
He
ran down the hallway toward the elderly couple’s bedroom and the distinct smell
of gun powder hung in the air. He slowed
his pace and stopped in the doorway before entering the bedroom. At what he saw inside his shoulders sunk and
he bowed his head in helpless defeat.
The
man was sitting in the bed he shared with his wife for half a century. He held a picture taken on their wedding day
in one hand and a .38 revolver laid loosely in the other. The blood was still streaming from his temple,
but the light inside was gone.
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