The Evil Within: The Detective

The Partner

The Partner

The Krimson City police station was mostly closed for the weekend. There were only a handful of officers there, one of which was detective Sebastian Castellanos. Having only recently returned to work he had so far spent the day trying to catch up on what he had missed during his recovery. That is, until someone knocked on his door.

"Come on in." There was a small pause before the door opened and in stepped a young woman, appearing to be in her mid-twenties. "Can I help you?" He asked.

"Are you Sebastian Castellanos?" The young woman asked.

"I am." Castellanos put down his papers to get a proper look at the woman. She wasn't overly attractive, but she was by no means ugly. Her brown eyes were large and bright, partially covered by her brown hair which was currently pulled back into a messy ponytail.

"Oh good. I'm looking for Joseph. Oda. Your partner? He talks about you all the time so I hope I have the right person..." The woman stumbled over her words a bit as she spoke.

"You do. What's your name?" Castellanos asked, motioning for the woman to sit. She sat down, but didn't relax. Her hands held her purse just a little tighter than needed.

"Oh. Emily. Emily Wright." She informed him.

"Nice to meet you. So, why are you looking for my partner?" Castellanos asked.

"Oh, well, he hasn't contacted me in a couple of days so I was worried. I thought, since you were his partner, you'd be able to tell me where he was. But perhaps I was wrong..." She trailed off again, tightened her grip on the bag further.

"I'm sorry to say Joseph passed away." Castellanos informed her. Emily's eyes widened and her mouth opened just a little.

"No. There's no way..." She spoke so softly Castellanos barely caught it.

"He was shot in the line of duty." Castellanos continued when Emily didn't say any more. Emily's hands went to her mouth as she started to cry. Castellanos stood and offered her a tissue box.

After a moment of crying Emily spoke again. "He's really dead? Really, truly?" She asked and Castellanos nodded.

"Yes. I'm sorry." He said and Emily started to cry again. After a minute Emily stopped crying and immediately she stood.

"I'm sorry. Thank you for your time." She said as she turned to walk out the door.

"Hold on a moment. How did you know Joseph?" Castellanos asked her.

She held up her left hand, revealing a shiny white ring on her ring finger. "I am, was, his fiancé." She said.

"I am so sorry. I should have done a better job of protecting him." Castellanos started and Emily simply shook her head as she adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder.

"You are not to blame. I know how he was. Willing to do whatever it took to keep others safe, even if that meant sacrificing himself. Thank you again, detective Castellanos." Emily turned and left.

Castellanos let out a heavy breath and returned to his seat. For a moment his mind returned to the hell that was the incident at Beacon Mental Hospital, but he quickly dismissed those thoughts. The last thing he wanted to do was to remember it.