Dawn of Danger (ONC Entry)

Five

The morning sun made shadows on Colin's oatmeal as he ate, trying to work up some sort of positivity for the day. He just wanted to forget about the Whelan case. But forgetting about the Whelan case would mean forgetting about Bonnie, and he wasn't sure he wanted to do that.

He had about one spoonful of oatmeal left when the phone rang. He jumped and swore in surprise, his leg getting caught on the leg of his chair as he stood. Ignoring the loud scraping of the chair on the floor, he hurried to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Everton." It was Hudson. Colin closed his eyes in exasperation.

"What is it?"

"There's been another murder."

"What! Chief, it's..." Colin glanced at his watch. "It's seven in the morning! You couldn't have waited to tell me when I came in later?"

Hudson huffed. "I'm well aware of what time it is, thank you. This murder happened less than an hour ago."

"Really? You're not just saying that to get me to come in?" Colin asked belligerently.

"Would I tell you something like that if it wasn't true?" Hudson sounded so hurt that Colin almost cringed. Almost.

"I really don't know anymore," he sighed. "Have you sent anyone there yet?"

"A couple of guys, but I wanted to wait for you and Miss Taylor before I sent anyone else."

"Have you called her yet?"

"No. I wanted you to know first."

"Well, call her and tell her. She's part of this case, too."

"All right, all right, cool it. No need to get all up in arms about it." Colin could hear the curiosity in Hudson's voice.

He tried to backpedal. "I mean, if we have to work together, we both need to know everything that's going on. Right?"

"Sure, sure." There was a slight creaking noise. Colin could envision Hudson leaning back in his chair, smiling indulgently. "I'll call Miss Taylor and get her to come down, too. She's not with you, though?"

Colin frowned. "No, she's not. We're partners, Chief, not lovers."

"Sure, sure," Hudson said again, too quickly. "But you must be blind if you can't see that she's a real looker."

"Believe me, I'm not blind. I know what she looks like." Colin sighed. "Well, I'll see you in a bit, Chief."

"See you, Everton."

Colin hung up the phone and stared at it. So he expected us to be together, did he? At least I didn't give him that satisfaction. He went back into the kitchen, depositing his mostly-empty bowl in the sink on the way through to his bedroom.

As he grabbed a shirt from his closet and slid into it, he tried to focus. Two murders in two days. If this keeps up, I won't be able to eat breakfast anymore. Then all of a sudden he was wide awake. Another morning murder! He finished dressing quickly and hurried to the station.

He walked up the steps of the station and was about to go in when he heard Bonnie calling him.

"Colin!"

He turned and waited until she reached the top of the steps. "'Morning."

"Good morning," she returned briskly. "Did Hudson call you about the m-"