Lay it on the Line : Prodigal book one

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16

The next day

The ringing phone echoed in the dark room, startling JJ and making him jump awake. JJ groaned and reached out to pick up the phone. He slowly brought it to his ear and mumbled a bit. "H...ello." His voice was dry and raspy. It was the dispatcher from work telling him that he needed to come in. Someone on the other shift was sick and he needed to take their place, also the captain needed to speak to him. JJ knew what the captain wanted. He was going to chew him and his brother out about the homeless man incident. JJ hung up with the dispatcher and peeled himself out of bed.

JJ arrived at the office and brought sass down. He put him in the outside kennel, then feed and watered him before going inside. He could see Sean was already in the captain's office being yelled at. JJ's stomach rumbled, and his nerves twisted as he walked towards the door. The captain motioned JJ inside. "Jonathan Simoneaux...." He said in a harsh tone as he pointed to the seat beside his brother. JJ shuffled in and closed the door. JJ hung his head low as he walked over and sat beside Sean, who was pale and looked like a kid in the principal's office.

The captain sat for a moment in silence before he opened his mouth. "I have had about enough of you two and your mess up. I was gone for two weeks and come back to this? Sean, you know policy and procedures, and Jonathan you have been here a bit longer. I had thought you would have handled the situation better as well. I am most likely looking at a lawsuit on my hands and you are lucky I am not firing you two. However, I am separating you two." JJ looked up at the captain and then to his brother, whose mouth was opened a bit.

"Sean, you have two weeks suspension. For this and for the incident with the poor handling of your units. and JJ you will start on this shift tonight." JJ dared not say anything else. He knew they were in the wrong and he was just happy to still have a job.

"You two together makes this department look like a joke. You cut up and act like teenagers." The captain grumbled. "This ends now. You keep your pranks and silliness at home, now go.... before I change my mind" the captain used his hand to shoo them out his office before he would say something he would regret.

The brothers stood up and walked out defeated. "Oh man, that was brutal." Sean closed the door and walked with JJ down the hall.

"Yeah, but I knew it was coming. Sean, you need to do something man, we are in serious trouble because of what you did." JJ frowned.

"We do you mean. You sprayed him..." Sean argued back.

"yeah, but you tased him." JJ fussed.

"Whatever...it's done now. Just go help mom. I was supposed to help her with stuff around the house because I was supposed to be off to night, so you get the job." JJ walked to the door and held it open for Sean. Sean's mouth hung open.

"Oh no man, it is ladies church tonight." Sean walked backwards out, and face palmed.

"You deserve it dipstick, now go to church and let them pray for you." JJ pushed Sean out and closed the door quickly. He held it shut as Sean beat on it and protested back at his brother. JJ acted like he couldn't hear what Sean was crying about. Sean soon grew tired and flipped him off before running off to his car.

The night started off hectic. JJ had written at least two speeding tickets along with going on a couple complaints. The worst was yet to come though as the Cajun pushed through the night with his trusty four-legged partner. He thought the highlight of the night was when a couple had flipped their car in the median off highway 90. When JJ arrived the two had proceeded to go at it on the hood. Their response was that 'they were so turned on'. JJ knew Sean will love to hear about this one.

JJ got a call around midnight to go and check on a woman's daughter, who she hadn't seen or heard from in two days. JJ drove out to the residence which was pitch dark. He left the dog in the car and made his way up the stairs slowly. For some reason JJ had got an eerie feeling about the place. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he knocked on the door. The door was not shut all the way and on the second knock it creaked open. The pungent smell of death hit him, and JJ had to put his arm over his nose and mouth to cough. He called in to the dispatcher for backup as he removed his flashlight and gun. JJ had to push pass through the smell as he walked into the home. The flash light lite his path as he slowly entered the dark and dirty home. A few yards ahead of him he could see a bloody hand draped over the chair arm. It was dangling pale and lifeless.

JJ announced himself as the police just in case anyone was alive or in the house, but no answer. As He stepped ever so closer he could hear the flies buzzing about. Rounding the corner, he could see a woman lying dead on the living room floor with two bullet holes to the chest. He turned to see the owner of the hand. A male sat with his brains blown out. The gun was on the floor by his feet while skull fragments and brain matter sprayed all over the ceiling and walls. JJ had to take a step back and compose himself at the sight he was witnessing. Most would have lost their lunch, but JJ had seen much like this before being in this line of work. Only a certain kind of person could work as a police officer, someone with the stomach for this stuff. It was a sickening and horrid sight, but JJ had a job to do. He called it in to his dispatcher, but while doing so he heard a whimper coming from another room. He lowered his mic a bit and proceeded to follow the sound.

JJ's nerves were over the edge as it was, being just witnessed a horrible sight. Now what could be lurking in the rest of this house? Another person or dog perhaps? He questioned himself. It was sad enough this man killed the woman and turned the gun on himself, now what else could be in this broken home. JJ slowly reached for the brass door knob slowly turning it. He watched the door slowly open and his light peek through the darkness. JJ peeked in to see movement and then crying. He quickly put his gun away when he saw the small boy in the corner huddled up. It took everything he had not to burst into tears at the sight of the boy. From the looks of him he had been in this room a few days. JJ bent down and tried to comfort the boy.

"Hey, ... It is ok...." He reached out, but the boy flinched and hugged the corner more. JJ lowered the light a bit and inched his way closer towards him. The boy looked like he had something wrong with him mentally besides being stuck in a room for days straight as his parent lay dead in the other room. JJ slowly took a blanket from the bed and held it out as he inched closer. "Hey buddy, it is ok now. I'm going to get you some help.... ok?" He spoke in a sweet voice as he crawled closer. He could see the boy had used the bathroom on himself and had been taken care of poorly. This broke Johnny's heart. He slowly put the blanket on the boy, who flinched a bit. JJ patted the crying boys back and went to back away, but the boy reached out and grabbed JJ. he was afraid JJ would leave him. JJ could feel the lump in his throat as he wrapped his arms around the boy who had to be about eight or so. He lifted him up slowly and covered the boy's face with the blanket. The young boy had been through enough already and didn't need to see his parents in the state they were in.

As JJ walked out the house the ambulance as well as other police cars pulled up. The lights bounced off the dark house as he walked down the small staircase carrying the little boy in his arms. JJ was almost speechless when he handed the boy over to the female paramedic. She coddled him and talked to him sweetly as she took him in the ambulance to check him out. Johnny just stood there a moment trying to process the whole thing. JJ Tried to figure out why someone would do such a thing, but he knew that he could never figure out the ways of people and why they do what they do.

It was homicide/suicide with autistic boy locked in the closet for two days, something like that really gets to a man. Something that horrible stays with you, and the fact JJ was already going through a lot lately just stressed him out even more. It was very hard for him to stay the same JJ, the happy go lucky jokester when he had to deal with the evilness of the world. His brother was right, he had changed, and this was the moment he realized it.