If it hadn't been the sound of glass, he probably wouldn't have woke up.
Sitting in bed, Eddie frowned by taking a look at the time on the screen of his mobile phone. He blew. He thought he had been clear with Buck, he didn't want him to come knock at home every hour of the night.
When he lit the light in the corridor, he yawned loudly, his feet dragging on the carpet. He walked to the front door and jumped back squeaking when he felt pain in the soles of his foot. He growled and lit the great light, ignoring the total glare and frowned as he stooped. He raised his head to the small table in the entrance on which photo frames had been placed.
He straightened up, completely on the lookout and listened.
With the frame broken in his hand, he returned to the living room and glanced into the corridor. It was empty.
His eyes landed on the photograph he had picked up among the pieces of glass and he laughed while remembering Christmas market day with Christopher and Buck. The boy had made his list to Santa Claus and talked about it for a whole week without stopping.
Eddie lit the light in the kitchen and his eyes widened when he saw the letter on the table and the knife planted in it.
He swallowed and approached it. If at first he thought he had to remove the kitchen utensil to be able to read the letter, he was wrong. It had been installed in such a way as to be perfectly legible, although the tip of the knife is planted in the middle of the last word.
« Choose your friends Eddie. For Christopher's good »
He spent no more time thinking, he spread out at full speed and crossed the corridor like an arrow.
-Christopher!
***
Los Angeles. It's the city of angels, it's obvious, it's written in the name. Yet, in such a short time, there had never been so much hell in this city.
In less than two years, a natural disaster had ravaged Santa Monica Bay and even today the damage had not yet been erased. A pandemic - although global - had locked people up at home for weeks, driving them crazy and totally depressed.
And in barracks 118, beautiful things had happened, others a little worse.
Bobby Nash had married renowned police lieutenant Athena Grant, and their daughter had joined the 9-1-1 dispatch team. Howard Han lived the announcement of his next fatherhood as a gift from heaven and Maddie lived it from day to day. Henrietta Wilson took advantage of every moment spent with her two children and his wife, finding new tactics to prevent them from writing on the walls.
In four years, several things had happened that deserved their place in hell. Chimney animated by black anger against his captain had taken the car and driven recklessly. An iron bar had crossed his skull at the perfect angle to keep him awake long enough to find himself conversing with his own colleagues about the condition of the car while he was being incarcerated. To this was added the refusal of his marriage application the day before and his separation from the woman he had thought was the love of his life although she never really loved him.
Hen had betrayed her wife and almost lost her for a stupidity she had made and since that day all her actions were aimed at catching up with this mistake and the one that took place more than a year later, when their ambulance while driving hit a young violinist's car and killed her instantly.
Athena had suffered a terrible attack while she was on the trail of a formidable criminal. She had been so affected that she no longer dared to look at herself in a mirror after that for several months. At that time, his open line had broadcast his cries and the sounds of blows and the 118 truck in intervention in the sector had perceived everything, Bobby feeling terribly useless and frightened at the idea of losing his second wife too because of his incompetence.
Maddie had her dose of problems for so long that the year finally went well for her had decided to pursue her brother. Buckleys were tragedy magnets. After being kidnapped by her husband who beat her and injured her in the middle of the forest in the winter, she was finally able to get out of this hellish spiral by ending this flight.
Maddie had killed her husband to save his life, Evan had killed a stranger to save a stranger. He had killed a man to save his life. They were the family of murderers.
At least that's what he persisted in believing, thinking that getting guilty would help him.
Since everything had gone well for him and Eddie during their first two years in Los Angeles, fate had to be fierce on them in such a short time.
Shannon.
The pit collapsed.
The truck overturned.
The tsunami.
Disappearance.
Addiction..
Threat letters.
Christopher's kidnapping.
When patrol car 727L30 parked awkwardly on the side of the sidewalk, the two occupants quickly got out of it and rushed to the house. They didn't have time to knock, they were opened immediately.
-They took it from me! He panics by letting them in.
Athena passed her eyes over the entire room, her assailing gaze passing over every detail. Bobby approached his friend and stared at him, worried.
-What happened Eddie? Where is Christopher?
The firefighter made circles by tearing off his hair, his forehead shiny with sweat.
-I... I don't know, he was in his room and... They took it! They took my boy! He exclaimed by making great frantic gestures.
Athena slammed her tongue against her palate and approached, placing both her hands on her shoulders and staring at the eyes of the father in distress.
-I'm going to need you to regain great inspiration and calm down. Tell me everything you know in every detail.
He sat on the sofa and took his head in his hands.
-I heard a noise in the living room. I woke up and went to see, I found the broken frame on the floor. I even think I cut myself while walking on it.
-What photo was it? She asked, taking a look at the front door.
Eddie raised his perplexed head, he did not understand the interest she could have in this detail. He got up and crossed the kitchen before bending over and coming back to them.
-This one, he showed him the photograph of him, his son and his best friend.
She made a skeptical pout and cast a common look with her husband. He nodded and got up before going out, his phone in hand.
-Then? Regained Athena, who had noted everything on a small notepad concisely.
-In the kitchen, I found a word, he said, getting up and walking quickly to the counter. It's stuck in right at Christopher's first name, that's where I understood.
-Did you touch something or move something unusual??
-I didn't touch anything outside the frame and the photo, he said clearly.
« So much the better, » she noticed, closing her notepad.
At the same time Bobby entered the living room and nodded affirmatively. Athena made a suspicious little grimace.
-Take a few things to change and sleep if necessary, you will have to leave your house, from now on it's a crime scene.
-What crime? Burglary, break-in, destruction of personal property...
-The kidnapping of your son Eddie is my priority and it will be the priority of the whole team that will work on the disappearance of your son. I promise.
Eddie nodded convinced.
-I don't need to take stuff, I'm going to ask Buck to host me.
-Talking about Buck, Bobby continued, approaching them, he joins us at the post.
Eddie arched an eyebrow.
-Why? What does he have to do with that?
-The photo Eddie. It's because of the photo.
-What is the picture? What's with the photo?
-An abductor would not have fun breaking any object at random. He took your son and asked you to be wary of a friend. The broken photo is the one where you are, Christopher and Buck together. It's no coincidence. There's something going on and it concerns you both now.
-Now? Because before that wasn't the case?
Athena and Bobby exchanged a look as they advanced towards the car.
-This is not the first letter, Buck has already received two.