• 7:50 p.m.
    Something didn’t feel quite right as we walk closer and closer to the parking garage where Alexis had decided to leave her car. I felt it in my gut, digging within my bones. As a cop, I’d been trained at an early stage to listen to signals such as these. “Alexis, do you feel like you’re being watched?” I could only hope she didn’t feel what I felt. She looks at me, concern had lingered in her eyes making them water and shine. “No. Do you?” I felt someone’s eyes bear into my back. The hairs upon the back of my neck stood. My heart pounded loudly within my chest sending blood throughout my body. My throat suddenly felt as dry as a desert. Sweat beaded my entire forehead leaking down my neck sending chills through my veins. My instincts sharpened to the core. My right hand lingered toward the gun I had, a nine-millimeter. My left hand wavered near Alexis’s in case something was to happen; I needed to know she was close, that she was safe. Getting her safely to her car, in the poorly lit depths of the garage, which had been deserted since rush hour had passed, the feeling had grown stronger, more gnawing when she climbs into the driver’s seat, staring at the parking space, starting the car. Two men grab her by her arms, throwing her into the back seat. She screams, “Shaun!” I open the back door, carefully using it to my advantage shielding my chest; I jump out aiming the gun at them, she tries to break her kidnapper’s grip on her gnawing her fingernails into their forearms scratching their arms. She screeches at the top of her lungs, “Tom! Dave! Let me go!” “Sorry Lexi. We didn’t mean to frighten you.” One of them had apologized, as they let go of her, I help her down beside the car. “Tom, it’s a bit late for that…” She squeals placing a hand to her chest, as if the action would stop her heart from falling out of her chest, her right hand squeezed mine. “Tell me what’s going on.” Her hands clenched into tight fists upon her hips, staring hard at the both of them, a sure sign of irritation, frustration and impatience something that was hard for her to hide. “Now.” “Dirk Arthurs escaped from prison while you were at the Tempe Town Lake scene.” Tom winced when she had punched him hard in the arm. After forty minutes of collaborating ideas as to where Dirk would be hiding, if he had an accomplice to aid and abet him into hiding, the twins had left promising, they wouldn’t quit searching until they found him either dead or alive. While I drove her home she barely spoke; she just sat there in her seat with her arms crossed. “You know they’ll find him alive, Lexi-bee,” I stated, trying to cheer her up by using her old nickname. She nods afterwards with a small grin, but she still won’t speak which worries me so. Arriving at her house, she whispers, “Thank you for driving me home. I really appreciate it.” I walk her inside not ready to leave her alone; she sneaks a peek at the answering machine. I notice a red “1” flash on and off on the machine. Max decided to show himself acting excited, jumping around and barking noticing his master was home and brought an old friend. I pet him quietly, staring at her as she listens with one ear possibly out of habit, while she pours herself a cup of green tea and feeding Max. The twins report in one at a time, “Still no sign of Dirk Arthurs, Montana, we’ll keep on looking until we find him.” She gasps, pounding the counter with her fists. Max’s ears perk up instinctively knowing Alexis was upset. The cup wobbles from the force of her fist, I watch her, intently staring at the marks on her wrists while she places it back into her hands and back onto the counter she speaks for the first time,
    “s**t, I thought he would been found by now.” I stare at her with awe, wondering what she meant when she stated that single thought about Dirk.
    “Lexi-bee, he’s a smart-a** criminal. They usually aren’t found within just two hours of escaping from prison. You know they’ll find him.” Hugging her, I breathe in the cool cucumber scent of her hair, before she pulls away. With her arms crossed, something clearly bothering her. She had remained unwilling to tell me, she needed a friend, someone to count on. I wanted to be that someone, if she ever would let me. After a minute or so of watching her, she asked me to drive her back to the crime scene. I knew that look that lay on her face, the look of intelligence she had an idea.
    “What if the M.E. hadn’t called it a suicide yet?” She asked. “They haven’t. The autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow that is if I’ve been invited.” I inform her. She smiles, snapping her fingers with her mind going back to the theory on the killer.
    “He was murdered. I knew there was something wrong with the strange bruises on his wrist, it wouldn’t make sense if it was a suicide and the note wouldn’t make any sense either, since it’s considered a mortal sin to take your life.” When I take her back to the scene she already tells and explains her newest theory to me.
    “Now it all makes sense.” She states.
    “I don’t see why I didn’t notice or even think of it before.” She walks to where the body was only this morning. I knew why she didn’t see it before. She was surprised earlier. I had shown up, completely out of nowhere without even the slightest thought of calling her first. I should’ve thought of that. When the boss told me of the strange suicide, I took the case without thinking. It was the only way to get to Phoenix, to her to make sure she was all right after three years of separation three long lonely years and not a single phone call. The forensics team had already taken the body to the morgue for the autopsy, which was scheduled for sometime tomorrow afternoon or so I’ve been told. Storm clouds covered the sky, sending rain down quickly in sheets. Surprisingly to my point of view, Jack had been there at the scene as well. When had he gotten here? How long has he been here? Alexis barely talks to him as she reenacts the murder, the way she saw it. Something else quickly caught my attention. The shadow of a woman jogging through the darkened alley, not too far from the scene’s cut off from the tape lines, the odd thing I found she was not alone. A man had been jogging next to her quickly in stride; there had been a strong difference in stride between the two joggers, I watched unmoving with no emotion with dread growing within the pit of my stomach as they stop jogging two yards from the scene, continuing to walk towards us. Jack badges them asking them to leave when the man suddenly pulls a gun from the back of his sweat-pants.
    “Welcome to the end of the line, Sergeant White.” He sneers, gently pulling back the hammer listening to the sudden click. Alexis’s eyes grow wide in fear, the man had seen. He points the gun at Alexis,
    “Your life won’t go before Sergeant Montana’s life. Lucky for you, you get to watch her die in agony and wretched pain.” Jack lets small thrifts of anger release from his body. He had a strong attachment to Alexis, which fills my heart with the poison of jealous envy, the man stroking the gun gently with his forefinger as a lingering threat. The woman standing next to him reached for her gun pointing it at us. I reach out for Alexis’s arm, pulling her behind me for her safety, her protection. She looks at me, the look of fear clearly written on her face. The woman sees this and decides to use it to her advantage.
    “Special Agent Shaun Hammermill, you just made the biggest mistake of you life. The one you shall most regret.” The woman warns the foreboding effect coming from her eyes and from the words that she speaks. She is the first to fire her weapon. I felt myself being pushed away from the path of the bullet. I watch unfortunately like a statue, my body refusing to move as the shot launched itself into her rib cage.
    “No!” I run out to her, catching her head in my lap, she winces in pain; I wrap one of her arms around her bullet wound. As the rain continued to pour down on the city of Tempe, it left a misty description to the alley making it almost invisible to the outside world. I see the rain glisten her skin as she tries to speak.
    “Shaun…” I place a finger upon her lips, forbidding her to talk. I see fresh tears forming in her eyes, a clear disadvantage for her and for me.
    “Please…please don’t talk.” I whisper, there was another shot this time coming from the man’s gun. Throwing myself onto Alexis as a human shield, careful of her injury, she stares unmoving watching Jack fall to the ground from the bullet’s impact in his stomach. The couple disappeared into the night never to be seen again. Jack crawls his way over, holding his wound with his right arm,
    “You need to get her out of here, to a hospital…to safety. She trusts you. Go!” I drove her to the hospital in tears; it hurt so badly for my heart to see her this way. Forty-six hours pass slowly with very little sleep, as I continue to pace the entire floor of the waiting room before collapsing into a chair out of pure exhaustion, placing my hands into my face, a man came over sitting down on one of the chairs next to me, whispering so only I could hear him,
    “Special Agent Hammermill, that is my little girl in there, I need to know what happened to her.” I felt rather secretive; not wanting to tell him but one of the nurses came out of hiding from behind the hanging curtain to report,
    “Mr. Hammermill, Miss Montana is conscious now. You will be able to see her now.” Walking towards her room, I felt my heart melted from the stone cold lead as it was during the very beginning of the case this morning, to an actual beating heart. When I arrive at her door, I inhale deeply, intently focusing on the heart machine beep every second. She smiles as I walk inside it was a lazy, yet relaxed smile, while the diamond-like tears fell down over her beautiful hazel eyes onto her cheeks.
    “Alexis.” I say her name with such a pain in my heart. She placed her hands above the blanket upon the bed within my reach a tempting temptation; I saw them as they were, pale and fragile. I entwined my fingers within hers, softly, gently, careful as to not cause her anymore pain. I hear her beeper go off on the nightstand by the bed. I grab it off the table handing it to her, staring at the screen. “It’s McHeartly.” I watch her dial the phone with her frail, pale, shaking hands. I heard the phone connect after three rings; Chief’s voice came onto the line, it was filled with concern. Whether the concern had been real or not, I didn’t know for sure.
    “Alexis? I already heard about your accident through Jack and Special Agent Hammermill. Don’t worry, you are still on the case whenever you get dismissed.” I overheard the chief say,
    “Thanks, Chief.” Her voice cracked with appreciation after releasing a sigh of relief. When the conversation ended, she began to think.
    “I think that woman knew who died at the scene last night.” I felt my blood rush through my body.
    “Geez, Lexi, you think? She shot you for Christ’s sake! Alexis, I almost lost you yesterday, I almost lost you the day you resigned from the C.I.A.” I state as I gently stroke her fingers. I felt the warmth of my hands seep through to her cold fingers.
    “I can’t lose you again, Alexis. I won’t.” I take a breath after seeing her face, I turn my back to her heading towards the door, and I respond when the silence was too much to bear,
    “I can’t, never again.” She smiles; it almost feels good to see her smile. A nurse came in explain to me that she needed to take her medications, I decided to head down to the cafeteria for a late night snack and a cup of coffee knowing full well I would need it for the morning that lay ahead.
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    After taking pain medications, I thought it would be best to at least try to get an hour or two of sleep. Shaun decided to stay with me choosing to sleep in the small chair, which stood by the hospital bed softly, soundly he was asleep within three hours. I suffered from the realm of nightmares. ‘Michael! No! You can’t leave me. You mustn’t leave me! We have our children to think about here!’ She falls into a fetal position screaming, tears falling onto the floor. As he turns, I back away into a large loveseat as a large masculine fist reached down on my hair pulling me back. ‘Dad! No! Don’t do this to her! She’s my sister!’ A young boy cried out, shielding himself onto me.

    I wake in an awkward position on the chair, legs numb from lack of circulation, hearing Lexi scream. She was holding her head with her hands, crying her eyes out. I rush to her side, comfort her to tell her that it was all a terrible nightmare. She pulls away from me. I help her up; she moves to the small window and stares out into the night. The telephone on the nightstand rang. She let it ring unanswered as the machine picks up.
    “Alexis? You need to get down here to Madison Avenue down by the county’s courthouse. The man that Special Agent Hammermill described talking to him at the hospital, he’s dead. Stabbed twice in the chest just like Kingman.” Jack abruptly hung up, “Come with me.” She whispers in my ear. “You need to I.D. him, for me.” I felt the sudden rush to drink. The headache of lack of alcohol was starting to pound behind my eyes. The feel, the urge to drink was too strong. I fought myself to resist; it was still too strong. “I’ll meet you there, I have an errand to run.” I lied. She nods in an approval to the little white lie I told. Standing on her toes, she kissed me on the cheek. “Thank-you. For everything.” She whispers wincing wrapping an arm around her bondages. I knew she meant her gratitude. I help her into her car, watching her drive away from the hospital to the scene that lay ahead of the rising sun.
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    Only four cruiser cars were at the scene. I slowly limp my way over to Harper Cole, the rookie on call that had stopped me when I flashed my badge, placing a hand perfectly on a grown bruise.
    “I’m sorry, Sergeant Montana I’ve received word that you’ve been temporarily suspended from the case.” He states as he pulls out the orders to prove his claim.
    “Harper? Why? You know I would never do anything like that,” I growled.
    “That’s not what Miss Janet Dowell said on the hotline this morning.” Chief McHeartly cuffed me as he would any criminal, rough. Wincing with the terrible pain,
    “Chief!” I scream right before I heard the ever-famous Miranda Rights.
    “You have the right to remain silent…” he drove me to the third precinct throwing me in the interrogation room. The questioning had begun with the ever-famous question of the alibi.
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    Sitting at the small table within my hotel room at the Hilton, I grab a beer out of the miniature bar under the sink. I sat the can down. I stare at the number blinking on the machine Alexandria Gehm, a reporter for the Virginia’s Opinion a national newspaper called earlier this morning wondering how I’m doing. I stare at the small twin bed, lying there was the suit coat; I wore to the scene where Alexis was shot. I never sent it to the laundry room. The scene folded in front of my eyes. “Shaun!” I hear her scream; the tears start to fall as I gather the coat to my face, smelling the metallic scent of her blood. I ran out the door, carrying the coat heading for the third precinct.
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    “I’m telling you myself Chief, I didn’t do it.” I shout, as Daddy and Jack burst through the door.
    “Good morning, Robert.” Daddy says, with a smile as he comes behind the chair in which I sat in.
    “You can’t just barge in here in a interrogation room, Father Patrick.” Chief growled clearly irritated with the disturbance. Daddy scowled back at the chief, challenging him.
    “Daddy, please.” I tamed, placing a hand upon his shoulder while the other hand covered my injury hoping to God he hasn’t heard about it yet.
    “Why are you in here Alexis?” After telling my story, he exclaims.
    “My dear Alexis, you most certainly have an alibi for the first murder.” He pauses, only to cough into his hand. “She does? Then let’s hear it by all means.” The Chief said, his voice leaking with false enthusiasm soaked with heavy sarcasm. I glared at him, feeling my blood pressure go up.
    “She was indeed at our house, Robert. Asleep, up until around two o’clock in the morning. You see she’s been having reoccurring nightmares. I sought out to comfort her, not leaving her out of my sight, until you paged her to the interrogation room at six o’clock that morning.” He explains.
    “What about the second unsolved murder? Does she have a miraculous alibi for that murder here?” Chief asked, leaning back into his chair silently hoping for sheer unheard silence.
    “I…” I was interrupted by Shaun’s presence in the doorway. The bloodstained jacket slung over his broad shoulders. I smile at him; when I see him return it, I slowly mouth the words,
    “Thank-you.” Hoping he got my message. He brings it to the Chief saying,
    “This should prove where she was. At Saint Mark’s hospital resting after surgery.” Daddy stares at me in shock and concern, as Jack stares at the jacket as if remembering that faithful night. ‘No! Shaun!’ The echoing sound of the gunshot forever haunted in the depths of his memory.
    “Chief, it’s true. The jacket does prove it.” He mumbles, his voice barely above a whisper. He swallows, getting up as he leaves the room, I saw the look on his face, and it was painted pale, his eyes cold as ice, the lips quivering in fear and in a worried state.
    “I’ll send this to the lab for tests, if the ME’s office declare it’s your blood Sergeant, I’ll gladly drop the suspension.” He slowly walks towards me adding suspense and tension throughout the room.
    “But…you’re still on thin ice. If I get any more crap like this coming form your end. I’ll suspend your a** so hard that your family will feel the effects.” Daddy darkened his gaze on McHeartly. I’ve never known him to do that to anyone.
    Silence had descended around the room since Alexis and I were the only ones there; it had an eerie feel to it. I felt it again, the feeling lingered through my body and of my soul; it was like I was being watched. Placing my hand towards Alexis, the lights flashed suddenly going out. The mirrors darkened, while an unfamiliar masculine figure, stood next to Alexis, whispering in her ear.
    “Alexis, ye are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” Quickly, quietly she stands, leaning against my arm. The lights flashed on. No one but us—were in the room. She squeezes my hand slightly; turning my head towards her, I saw a pool of blood less than two feet away from her. I order,
    “Call Allen, he needs to see this.” She nods. I watch her leave the interrogation room, while I fall back into a chair staring at the blood.