Chapter Ten WTF?

Charlie

My shift was over and I had the phone in my hand, my fingers automatically dialing the number to the pizza place that had constituted dinner several times a week, when my email dinged that irritating noise that signaled new mail. As it was a company email, I figured I better deal with it. Hanging up the phone as I clicked the link, I hoped it wasn’t something that couldn’t wait. My evening was already planned. Billy was expecting me to supply the pizza for the game tonight. The phone fell from my hand as the photograph slowly loaded on my screen. Phil and Renee. There was so much blood that I couldn’t discern what their injuries were, but they had to be severe.

Something crashed to the ground outside the station, my gun already in my hand pointed toward the door. In a low crouch I moved as quickly and quietly as possible keeping close to the wall and out of sight of the windows as I made my way to the door. I drew in a deep, steadying breath wishing I could see around corners and flung myself through the door rolling up on one knee, my gun pointed in front of me.

He was stretched out on my car with one leg drawn up and his elbow haphazardly resting on it while taking a long drag of a cigarette.

“Chief Swan?” he said, a stream of smoke trailing from his lips as he spoke. “I met your daughter once.” He smiled openly and hopped off my car. I was still in shooting position, adrenaline coursing through my system, my heart pounding furiously. He appeared harmless enough. All smiles and talking of Bella, but my body was reacting as though I was under attack and my gut was rarely wrong, so I kept my weapon trained on him.

“Oh yeah, when was that?” I asked genuinely curious. He didn’t look like the kind of man that Bella would know.

He ignored my question. “My…friend sends her regards. She was really looking forward to visiting Bella again, but I can see she is no longer here.”

“Not for a long time,” I murmured uneasily.