Blame: Book 2- Tick Tock (The Sequel to Book 1)

Bad Memories

"Shit!" I ran over to the fallen criminal. Who the hell shot him?!

I used my height to my advantage, and peeked over the wooden wall, seeing an elderly man's silhouette. 'Oh. Makes sense,' I smiled. He was probably a gifted marksman who was a member at one of the hunting clubs in London, and the fact that he was holding a rifle said it all.

"Oi!!! You there!!! Get off my fence!!!" he pointed the rifle at my head from his backyard porch.

I panicked, but managed the take out my detective badge. "I'm with the London Police Department's Homicide Division," I held it up for verification. The elderly man put down his gun and approached me with an apologetic smile on his face.

     "Oh, sorry, Detective!" he nervously laughed. "Thought that you and that man were an intruder!" I nervously laughed after he said that; the other guy was an intruder- the rapist to be exact.

     "Erm...h-he was an intruder, actually. I was in the middle of chasing him, well, until you gunned him down," I sheepishly smiled, feeling slightly uneasy in my stomach as I glanced back at paramedics and officers tending to the raper. "T-thanks, for stopping him..." I stuttered, still maintaining my uncomfortable smile.

     "Oh, no problem!" he patted me on the back. "So, what'd the guy do?"

     My mouth hesitated to spill the reality, but maybe it was better that he knew why instead of hiding it from him. "Oh, um, you see...he's from Manchester, a-and he erm...how do I put this in a settling way? Err...he raped twenty-one young women, and murdered one..." I stared at my feet, wanting to abandon this topic as soon as possible.

     "He was the one wreaking havoc on the city?" the man looked over the fence, narrowing his eyes at the murderer who was being put into the ambulance. "Geez, the things guys do nowadays to have a thrill," he shook his head in disappointment.

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     I arrived at the homicide department, and saw Detective Orton, along with a couple of Manchester detectives, waiting outside for me. My name had gotten into the hands of the some of the greatest homicide detectives in the U.K., and it felt absolutely strange to be in contact with some of them. The seniors spotted me, and waved with a smile on each of their faces as I walked up to the building's entrance. 'Woah, didn't think they'd come to congratulate me.'

"Hi Dan!" Detective Orton wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He was in a cheerful mood since I (well...mostly that elderly man) caught the rapist. It felt more normal for him to call me by my first name instead of addressing me by my detective name. "I'm so happy for you!" he grinned.

"Same here," I chuckled. "Kinda strange how I managed to come all this way, after...the incident." I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"Nonsense! Don't talk like that!" one of the Manchester detectives scolded. "We've heard your story from John, and all of us detectives are so proud of you to have grown out of the rookie position!" she patted my back. I nervously laughed at myself; she was right though, I had grown out out of that horrid position, and when I look back at it, it just brings more bad than good memories. Detective Bore from the Manchester Homicide Division must have noticed my sudden change in mood, gosh, even I felt it dip.

     "Detective Smith, what's wrong?" he looked into my sorrowful eyes. They probably lost that bright blue hue, and dimmed down to a dull, depressed tone of blue.