In 27 Days (Watty Award Winner 2012)

Chapter 12.

 I had to lean away from the desk for a few moments to get a grip on my composure. I didn't want to start hyperventilating just because I happened to look at a picture. When I finally managed to pull myself back to the desk to finally read the newspaper article, I wasn't so sure if I had the nerves to actually read the thing. Someone killing some one else wasn't exactly something I found to be particularly pleasant to think about. 

 But I forced myself to read the article, anyways. 

  August 9, Manhattan - 

    Two NYC police officers were called to an apartment complex in Manhattan on a report of domestic violence on August 3, 2005. A neighbor reported hearing shouting and screaming and later several rounds of gunshots. On arrival, the police discovered one of the worst crime scenes New York has ever seen in nearly twenty years. 

 The victim, Christopher Morales, 37, was found in the front room of the apartment with three bullet wounds to the chest and a severed jugular vein. According to the official autopsy reports, Morales died within minutes of the attack. 

 Upon further investigation, it was later revealed that the attacker is the ex-husband of Morales' wife, Patrick St. Pierre. According to Mrs. Morales, their family had been being harrassed by St. Pierre for several ongoing years, ignoring the restraining order set in place in early 2004. Christopher Morales had reportedly gone to police in attempts to have St. Pierre arrested for stalking, but nothing was done.

 St. Pierre's fingerprints were later found on the kitchen knife used on Morales, and the police later made an arrest on August 8. St. Pierre was immediately sent to the Metropolitan Correctional Facility, where he will remain until trial, in December. 

 It is expected that St. Pierre will be convicted of first degree murder and will receive anywhere from twenty five years to life imprisonment. 

 A memorial service will be held for Christoper Morales at St. Patrick's Cathedral on August 10, at 11 pm. Morales is survived by his wife, Regina, their three unborn daughters, and his adopted son, Archer. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the New York City Police Department for exceptional services.

  Tears were running fast and furiously down my cheeks once I finished the article, leaning away from the computer with my head in my hands. 

 I knew what I was going to discover wasn't going to be pleasant, but this was far worse than what I was expecting. I couldn't believe the fact that Archer's father had killed April, May, and June's father. Murder was a completely awful and horrific act that there wasn't any going back on.  

  And not only that, but April, May, and June weren't even born when their father died, either. 

Even if I wasn't too particularly close to my father, I couldn't imagine him not being in my life. 

 I slammed my laptop shot with a disgusted shudder and jumped up from the chair to run and throw myself on to my bed. I didn't often cry that much, because it makes me feel like a weakling, but at the moment, I thought I had justified reason. So I just curled myself up underneath the pile of blankets on my bed and sobbed and sobbed my heart out. 

 My eyes were red and puffy by the time I finally managed to stop crying. I could have been crying fo hours and I most certainly wouldn't have cared. Hell, it was only a Monday and it was Thanksgiving break, so I was probably going to spend the rest of the day in bed. 

 I was dozing off a little while later, trying not to think of anything, when I heard a quiet little meow and felt something soft and furry nudging at my face.