21 Jump Street (Tom Hanson)

Family Ties

March 1990

Weather in Metropolis has always been unpredictable. The past few days it has been sunny and bright, but this morning I woke up to thick gray clouds looming over my apartment and the unfortunate tapping of a heavy rainfall against my windows. The rain normally makes me want to stay cozy at home, curled up with a good book, but I had to get to work.

I ran out as quickly as I could to my car to avoid getting wet. The smell of petrichor was so comforting on this rainy day, it made me wish we had rainy days off to stay inside and warm. The soft lighting of the world aided in my desire to stay home and get lost in the cozy white noise of the rain. There was a coolness in the air, which was soon dominated by my car's heater. The radio played softly as I drove down the street, with the rain splashing against my windshield. I made a note of getting new windshield wipers because these were smearing the rain over the glass rather than wiping it away. Wet piles of yellow and orange maple leaves lines the sidewalks, reminding me of the autumn season. Pretty soon, summer will come again and it'll be autumn before I know it. I could almost smell the mulled cider, warm vanilla, and crispy apple now.

It was raining cats and dogs when I was making my way from my car to the chapel, so I was holding my raincoat over my head as I ran up the slippery steps and through the door. The pitter-patter of the rain splattered to the puddles at my feet and drizzled over the hood of my raincoat. It was difficult because the wind was blowing me every direction. When I got inside, I shook the rain droplets off my coat and I glanced up to see that everyone had their backs to me and they were all gathered around Judy's desk. I could hear the deep, thoroughly enunciated words from a news anchor babbling in the background, but I wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying.

The wind was making the heavy door stay open, which told me how hard the wind was blowing, so I had to reach out to close the door myself. It took a bit of muscle, so the slam caused Tom to turn around. Everyone else's eyes were fixated on the television screen that was propped up on Judy's desk, and Tom had a double take when he saw me, so I greeted him with a smile.

I continued to shake my coat as I walked over to my desk and set my bag down. Luckily the rain didn't get on my loose white mock-neck sweatshirt that I had tucked into my dark jeans with my brown belt. I always tell myself that I should get an umbrella, but I always forget. It's always rainy season here, so umbrellas are for the weak.

I noticed Tom start to walk toward me so I met him halfway. I innocently asked as I ran my fingers through my damp curly hair, "what's everyone looking at?"

"It's the news, but, Mick—"

"Oh! Is it about that body they found a couple of weeks ago?" I asked. I could feel the sparkle emerge from my eyes when I asked.

There is an abandoned warehouse a few hours away that had a body found in it a couple of weeks ago. It's been the biggest story of the year so far, and we have been waiting to see how this particular person died and who it was. I find this sort of thing absolutely fascinating, and I have been waiting anxiously for this information to become public. I almost hoped it was a murder because those are always the most interesting to solve. Not that I hoped that someone was murdered.

Tom put his massive hands on my shoulders and stopped me in my tracks. I looked at him with my thick eyebrows stitched together in confusion and he pushed me back a couple of steps. In a low voice, he said, "you don't want to know. Not like this."

"Now I have to know," I said. He knows me enough by now to know that if I am actively told not to do something, I'm more than likely going to do it.