The Murder Of 1998

Chapter Twelve

Kora pushed the tower of blocks down onto the floor, seeing her brothers disappointment as he watched the blocks tumbling down. Six minutes worth of building gone down the drain. Regardless, it wasn't the biggest deal breaker for him. He turned his head over to look at his dad who was pacing back and forth while talking on the phone.

"Thank you so much," He said in a hushed tone while trying to hold in his tears. "How could I ever repay you?"

"Just take care of yourself," Said a woman with a slight Spanish accent. Raymond was always thankful for his mother. Even if at times she was really harsh towards him, she was still caring and looked out for him. Sometimes it would be just to call to make sure he was eating or taking his showers since she knew he had really bad days where he would lock himself in his room for days. Although it didn't happen much as an adult, she saw it during his teenage years.

"Mom, are you going to be there?" Raymond asked, lingering onto his sentence.

"Of course, mi hijo."

Kora picked up a block, throwing it at her older brother which struck him right in the face. He flinched and stared at his sister. Since the blocks were soft and made of foam, it didn't hurt as much. He picked up a block, getting ready to throw it at his sister in the form of revenge.

"Hey, put it down!" Raymond shouted towards his son. He hung the phone back up on the wall and walked over to his children. His two little children stared up at him, wondering what he was going to do. Raymond crossed his arms. He had just been released from the hospital that morning and had gotten a phone call from his mother saying that she had already covered all the funeral arraignments. It was thoughtful of her since he had already began losing money by spending it on alcohol and hospital bills.

Mitchell threw the block at Kora's face.

"Cunt," Raymond muttered as he tended to his crying daughter.

-x-

Seth rolled back and forth on his feet, going from his toe to heel and back and forth. He looked around the area. It was much more busier than the station he worked at.

"Here you go," Vicki Goodman said as she placed a large box down onto her desk. It contained all files and paperwork from the gunshot murder case that they were working on.

Walter gave Vicki a cocky smile and thanked her as he picked up the box. Vicki gave him a death stare, upset that some kid took her case.

The two men walked out of the station and into the parking lot. Seth wondered exactly what had happened. How did Walter get the case? And why did he want the case so badly?

Seth opened the car for him, letting him inside the passenger seat before closing it after him. He walked to the drivers side of the car and got in as well.

"Walter, why did Captain Earl Howard just hand the case over to you?"

Eagerly, Walter began to look inside the box of evidence, reading file after file. He completely ignored Seth's question. He was too indulged in the box, trying to learn everything about the two gunshot murders.

Seth rolled his eyes and began to drive.

-x-

"So let me get this straight," Seth said, "William Diaz was the last person to see Joe Robinson alive since Joe was an immigration lawyer and they were talking about what the next step was in trying to get William a green card. Not only was he the last person to see him alive, he was the first person to discover his body."

"Correct," Walter said in an enthusiastic tone.

"But he wasn't the only one there. The person who murdered Joe was there as well and threatened William," Seth scratched his jaw. "I'm not saying he should have, but why didn't the murderer kill William?"

Walter shrugged with a smile. "Fuck if I know. But thank goodness he didn't, am I right?"

"So then you had the brilliant idea of telling William to leave the area and what? Hide for the rest of his life?"

"No! Of course not! I know some people and lawyers who can help him. So I'm gonna pull some strings and have them help William. He'll be safe," Walter patted his partners shoulder. "Its gonna work out."

Seth raised a brow. "So why did you want this case? We're still working Emily's murder you know that right?"

"I know. But if anything, this might just help her case. Because I believe that these two cases are connected somehow."

"How?"

Walter sat down in his seat with his right ankle resting on his left knee. "When I talked with Jeremey brown, he told me that a patient was brought in with a gunshot in the middle of his chest. He said that Emily was extremely freaked out and at first he thought because it was chaotic. But then he noticed she would stare off into space and stand in the corner of rooms. Its weird, right?"

"Very. But just because she was the victims nurse doesn't mean its connected," Seth said.

"But it could be."

Seth pulled out a random folder from the box, opening it up. He began reading it and noticed it was a list of people. A list of people who were Joe Robinson's clients. Clients who wanted desperately to gain citizenship. His eyes kept scrolling down the list until he recognized a familiar name.

"Emily LaBelle," He whispered under his breath. His jaw dropped. Walter noticed how Seth had reacted and it peaked his interest. He stood up.

"Whats the matter?" He curiously asked and looked at the paper that Seth was holding. He pointed at Emily's name and Walter's eyes went wide. "Holy shit."

Seth threw up his arms in excitement. "Walter, thank you so much!" He hollered. Everyone in the squad room turned their attention over to the two men, wondering why Seth was so happy.

"Oh uh, you're wel-" Walter was interrupted when Seth grabbed Walter's face and gave him a kiss on the lips. He froze at the sudden action. Seth was too happy to even care. He had been trying so hard to find any piece of evidence to try and track down the murderer of Emily. And while this didn't exactly tell him who did it, it gave him a lead of some sorts. Seth pulled himself away from Walter and ran out of the squad room.

Walter was too much in shock to even realize his boss was standing next to him, pursing her lips to hold back a laugh.

"Wow, he must be really happy."