Queen of Asgard (NaNoWriMo2018, Completed!)

4: Aftermath

"So you're sure?" Gideon pressed me for the third time. "You don't remember if there was anyone else there?"

"Not that I remember," I lied. "I'm sorry."

Gideon sighed and scratched at his salt and pepper beard. "It's okay Rook. Just call if you remember anything, you know where to find us."

You'd never believe me if I told you the truth. Hell, I'd been there and I barely believed what had happened. I had no chance of convincing anyone else. "Thanks Gideon."

He stowed his pen and pad inside his shirt pocket, buttons on his navy blue shirt bugling. "I'm sorry about your cousin."

I forced a smile but it felt like a grimace. "Thank you."

Gideon walked out, forgetting to pull the curtain back around the ER bed I was occupying but I didn't get up. I was afraid if I did I'd break apart. I didn't know how I was going to face my family. Or more accurately, how I was going to face Uncle Enemi. Yuki had been his life, his greatest pride and joy and she was dead. I'd been the last one to see her alive. The last person she'd had a conversation with, I'd made her laugh for the last time and hadn't even known it. I'd held her hand while she died.

My chest tightened, burning with sobs I couldn't let free. I needed to hold myself together. Uncle Enmei had been the strong one when Dad was killed. He'd held our family together and been strong for Mom and I. Now it was my turn to do that for him. I couldn't risk him coming in for me and seeing me break down.

"Hey," a low voice cut through my thoughts and I perked up, the searing grief in my chest halting as a recognized the voice.

"Matthew?"

My partner and mentor, Officer Matthew Parks stepped closer to the bed. Like me, he wasn't on duty so he was dressed in civilian clothing. The faded Red Sox jersey under his grey sweatshirt made me wonder if he'd been at Davy Joe's. "Chief Diaz called me," he said, a sad smile on his face as he answered my silent question. His hand clasped around my shoulder and I grabbed his hand with mine and smiled though all I wanted to do was break down and cry. After a solid year working with me, I was sure Mathew knew it and he stepped closer to me, wrapping me in a brief hug. "Don't worry Suzume," he told me, his voice low so only I could hear. "We'll get him."

You're wrong Matthew, I thought, tears pricking my eyes like acid. Matthew was one of the best cops I knew, but this wasn't something he could solve. No one could. The perpetrator wasn't even human. Thankfully, Mathew couldn't read my thoughts as he let me go and gave me a resigned sort of look. I knew it well. I saw it on his face every time he spoke of Brian Traynor, an infamous member of the Boston Triad gang who had murdered his first partner, Officer Benjamin O'Leary four years ago. Mathew had carried a vendetta against Traynor ever since, vowing to bring him and see him stand trial for the murder. That determination to see justice served and the patience to see it through was one of those things that made Mathew a truly great cop and made me so thankful that I got to work with him. But even with his resolute determination and skills, I knew he wouldn't be an asset to me in this case.

"Come on," he said as he let go. "I'll drive you home."

"You don't have to do that," I told him as I tugged on a pair of thick socks the hospital had given me. My shoes were in an evidence locker now, they'd been covered with Yuki's blood.

"Yes I do," Mathew said with a shrug of his lean shoulders. The white fluorescent lights of the hospital bleached his already pale skin and turned him ghostly white. "You're my partner."

The words would have given me comfort once, but now I felt nothing. Yuki, a die-hard fan of Grey's Anatomy used to call me something similar. She'd called me "her person". I'd never watched the show, so I wasn't aware of what it meant for certain, but I knew it was a term of endearment. I'd never hear her say that to me again...My throat grew tight and I bowed my head, letting my long hair fall into my face. The black strands created a curtain between myself and Mathew and thankfully, he had enough tact to act like he didn't know I was crying. I gave myself a moment to stay there, to grieve and then I took a deep breath and put my game face on.