The Murder Of 1998

Chapter Thirty-Seven

"Hi, Mister Hunter!"

Ray looked over to his side to see the voice that startled him. He let out a sigh of relief and smiled back at Sarah. "Hello there, Sarah. How are you?"

"I'm great. I woke up this morning to the smell of my mom making breakfast. Some waffles and sausage with a muffin." She looked up at the sky, watching the fluffy looking white clouds slowly go across the vibrant blue sky. "Beautiful day, wouldn't you say?"

Ray looked up into the sky to observe what beauty Sarah was talking about. He noticed one of the clouds looked like an elephant, Emily's favorite animal.

"Yes, a very beautiful day."

Sarah looked back up at Ray. "Well, I'll see you soon, Mister Hunter. Bye!"

Ray didn't even look at Sarah as she walked off. He just kept staring at the elephant shaped cloud. It made him sad to look at it since Emily always said she wanted to ride an elephant in Africa. But she never got to before her untimely death. He felt someone touch him on the shoulder. He looked over and saw Avery. He had a slightly concerning look on his face.

"Everything ok?" He asked.

Ray pursed his lips and smiled. "Yea, of course."

Avery patted him on the back and walked with him into the school building. "You seemed a little upset when you left the bar last night."

"Oh it was nothing. I was just a little tired." Ray noticed that there was a question lingering on Avery's mind. "And don't worry, I made it home safely."

"Thats a relief," Avery replied. He grabbed Ray's hand, squeezing it tightly. Ray looked down at their hands and raised a brow, looking back up at Avery. He just smiled.

"Yea. Well anyways, I should get going. Classes are about to start. I'll see you later." Ray waited for Avery to let go of his hand, but he didn't. He gently tugged his hand away.

"O–oh yea, sorry. I'll see you soon." Avery chuckled nervously before rushing into the building. Ray watched him disappear into the crowd of teens gathering into the school. He pushed his hand into his pocket, feeling his flask was still in there. He closed his eyes for a moment to give him a sense of relief and peace before he walked into the building.

-x-

Walter rushed into the morgue, expressing through his face and body language that he was shocked.

"What the hell?"

Nancy raised a brow and looked over at him carefully. "What is it with you guys just walking in in the middle of an autopsy?"

The detective looked over to the person standing off to the side of the room. It was Jordan with a hand on her hip. Walter scratched the back of his head, slowly moving towards her.

"Hey, Borres."

Jordan turned her head towards Walter, giving him a grin. "Hey, Ottoson." She turned her head back to Nancy and continued to watch her do the autopsy. "What is this, victim number four?"

Walter frowned as he noticed a hint of mockery in Jordan's voice. "Are you... are you mocking me?"

Immediately, Jordan looked at Walter with a look of confusion. "What? No of course not! If I was mocking you, I'd be doing the same to myself. Walt, this is the same guy as ours. If anything, I should be mocking myself. I mean, I've been on this case for a few years now and I still haven't found the bastard."

Walter sighed and bit the inside of his bottom lip. "I'm sorry."

Jordan gently patted his shoulder, smiling at him. "Don't worry about it." Walter lifted his head and gave her a smile back. "Hey, where's your partner?"