Right Road

Chapter 1

A soft, orange glow filled the room, dressing its contents in a warm light. The clock on the nightstand showed 7:00, but no alarm sounded; a well-built Indian man rose from the sheets quietly and was wide-awake before he stepped out of bed. He brushed his teeth, showered and ate breakfast like clockwork, finishing at 7:30 on the dot. With a squared jaw and a solid gaze, he started up his old, 2020 Honda Outlancer and set off to work. He got to the precinct before anyone else and unlocked the door. Being the only one there, he took his time to open the blinds and unlock all of the doors before sitting down at his desk and digging into his mound of paperwork at exactly 8:15. The precinct slowly began filling with officers and staff at around 9:00 and was bustling by 10:00. He ate lunch for exactly a half-hour starting from 12:00 and was about to pack up and leave at 6:00 when he received a direct call to the phone of his desk. He tentatively picked it up, wondering what situation could have escalated to the point where it would need his attention.

"Commissioner Guha speaking," he addressed the caller.

"Commissioner, we believe that we have a murder-suicide on the corner of Powell and 6th," a rushed voice spoke on the other end.

"What do you mean when you say 'believe', Detective Helms?"

"I'm sorry, sir but we're not 100% sure as to what it is."

Guha smiled as he hung up the phone, adjusted the plaque on his desk that read Comm. Ajay Singh Guha, and bustled out of the office with a spring in his step. He arrived at the scene at exactly 6:30 and beheld an upturned, blackened shell of a car with two charred bodies inside. He looked around and immediately saw a young man draping a trauma blanket over a little girl who was sobbing uncontrollably. While the girl was beside herself with tears, the man looked around with a steely gaze, as if this accident were somehow another test.

"Those are the couple's kids," interjected Detective Helms as he approached Guha on the scene. Guha was snapped out of his trance and looked once more at the crash site.

"The man driving was a war veteran from Afghanistan who was suffering from PTSD and the woman was his wife. We suspect that he had an episode while driving and therefore crashed the car." Helms continued, happy with himself that he finally beat Guha to the punch.

Taking the detective's opinion with a grain of salt, Guha started talking to forensics. He spent about fifteen minutes conversing with the specialists on the scene before decidedly announcing, "Nope, it was an accident. The man has cleared of PTSD just last night and Doctor Gauss over there told me that due to the residue from the burn, it was obvious that he wore a suit. They were coming back from eating at Fernando's down on fifth, don't worry I just called the restaurant." Guha added as Helms opened his mouth. "The skid marks show us that the car initially slipped due to the heavy rain that was falling earlier today. Helms, why don't you talk to forensics before you decide to go all Sherlock Holmes on us?" Guha gave him one last, hard look before his gaze settled upon the children. The older male seemed to be on the cusp of eighteen, the age between man and boy, while the younger girl was just entering adolescence. More than the two of them, however, he found himself looking at the boy even closer. The boy had a death gaze and was looking at the scene as if he was daring anyone to cross his path. Eventually, the boy's gaze fell upon the Commissioner and simply stared at the Commissioner before Guha turned and walked away.

The next morning was no different. Guha awoke to an alarm-less clock that read 7:00 on the dot. He got ready and was at the precinct before everyone else, at 8:15. He worked until 6:00 every day and went back to an empty, dark home. Every night, he would settle down and begin cooking his own dinner, just for one. The only company that the Commissioner expected was a phone call from his parents pleading him to get an arranged marriage before he grew too old. Every night, he would argue that he was too busy with work to settle down. At approximately 9:00, he would sit down in front of the TV and watch exactly one hour of The Stephen Colbert Show before going to sleep at 10:00. At least, this was the schedule the world thought that he had.