Memories

I remember that day perfectly, it all started with the sound of my alarm clock, because every day should start with a heart attack, going of way too early for my liking. That old thing had been malfunctioning forever, yet I had never gone to get it fixed or even simpler, gone to get a new one. I guess it’s because it helped me stay alert, you never knew when that dam thing was going to go off, but I got up anyway. The morning was as usual as it ever gets, I went for a short run, showered, did my hair and makeup, ate breakfast and then finally drank my morning coffee while reading the newspaper.

Only I was not able to calm down. My partner Owen Maxwell had just finished an undercover operation (his specialty) the previous day and that would’ve been the first day we would actually get a chance to be partners. I had only been a detective for about a week and a half and since Max has been undercover up until the day before, we had never actually met, so you could probably understand why I was so nervous. I’d heard great things about Max, he’d been a detective for about three years and before that they say he was an undercover, but judging from the few weeks before that day, I was pretty confident he still was.

I’d always wanted to be a cop, I was recruited young, some say too young. It took me a really long time to earn the trust of my colleagues. It was because of my determination that I was able to succeed, a determination I had found at a young age, 11 actually. That day, I just wish I could forget, it has been haunting me for 37 years now but it was only 15 at the time. I have been asked to tell the story many times, although the story is not a great one but it has become what has defined me every day since then. So I tell it anyway and by now I’ve kind of perfected the telling of the story, so well that I’m even considering writing a book about it in the hopes that my story will help others find he same determination in themselves that I have.  It started a little like this:

Banging on the front door woke the whole house up, the minute that man’s large fist hit our old wooden door I knew something was terribly wrong. I think my parents had felt that gut feeling two because just seconds later my mom came and took me to her and my father’s bedroom so I could hide, she then went down to find my big brother as I buried myself in their closet. A few minutes pasted before I heard the first scream, it was my mother’s. I could not quite make out what she was saying, I’m glad I couldn’t. Then I saw him, he brought my family into my parent’s bedroom, points the gun at my dad and orders him to tie up my brother and my mom. Once he was finished he tied up my father, he then started walking around the room this murderous look on his face as if amused by this, he turned shot my brother and listened to my parents screams. After that my mother and lastly my father. I had never felt so helpless in my life unable to do anything unable to even move, that exact moment I decided that I would never feel so helpless again nor should anyone else and I was determent. I, was. Determent. I passed out after that, later to wake up surrounded by cops and paramedics telling my family had been killed and I had witnessed it. They said my description of the man was the only thing that could help them find the killer but I could not remember anything. My memory came back in pieces but the image of the man is always a blur. I had lost everyone I ever loved everyone I ever cared about, everyone who ever loved me, whoever cared about me, all I wanted was to go back 24 hours and be back with them, that’s where my belief in magic ended.

That day tore me apart in three loud bangs, it tore me apart but built me back up stronger. Stronger than I ever could have been, stronger than I ever could be. In a way I was thankful for how it turned out, but really I just wanted revenge. They never found the guy, and I never thought they would, but all that was about to change.

Bang. Bang. Bang. The sound startled me, but I quickly realised it was just Max, he had said he was going to pick me up but I had forgotten. I was ready thought so it was ok. I turned anxious, nervous, not to sure what to expect. I started slowly walking toward the door, as I opened it I remember telling myself here we go. There he stood, about six feet tall, slim, he had this like fluffy blond hair and blue eyes, in retrospect he reminded me of Shaggy from Scobby-Doo. He almost immediately said: “What are you part turtle? It took you forever to answer the door.” I laughed, to this day I still don’t even know why and judging by the smirk on his face I could tell it was meant as a joke. From that moment on I knew that was a partnership that was going to work.