Butch
-I slip out of bed quietly and jumped into the shower. It was a shitty type of anniversary for me and I didn’t want to bother V with it. I let the warm water wash over me and leaned against the tile. I thought back to all those years ago when Janie got in that car. I’d failed her so miserably. Everyone knew that you shouldn’t get into a stranger’s car and I hadn’t done anything to stop her. They’d never found the bastards that had done those terrible things to her. When I got into the police force I had looked into the case. In hindsight, I wish that I hadn’t. The pictures of her battered body had been the stuff of nightmares for years after. I shook off the images and got out of the shower. Digging through my closet, I pulled out a black suit that probably cost a fortune. I grabbed everything else I would need, including a nice pair of dress shoes, and slipped silently out of the room. I pour a Lag and drink it while I get dressed. I slip a hat on in the off chance that someone is there that would recognize me and walk toward the garage. Lighting up a cigarette and remembering back to the drunk words of my father. He’d blamed the whole incident on me. It didn’t matter that I knew deep down that it wasn’t true. I still felt the sting of his words. I was at fault. If I had only stopped her. I hated these thoughts. I hated them and I couldn’t stop them if I tried. I climbed into the Escalade and pulled out at a sedate speed. I was in no rush to get to my destination.-
-I spent the entire trip contemplating how much that one experience had altered my life. The sad fact of the matter was I wouldn’t be where I was right now if that hadn’t happened. I wouldn’t have become a cop with a huge chip on my shoulder. By the time I fell in with the Brothers, I literally had no where else to go. I pulled the SUV to a stop and reached over to the passenger seat. Fritz had pulled through once again and found the most beautiful arrangement of flowers. I suspected that they had actually come from around the yard. The doggen where meticulous gardeners. I tucked the bouquet under my arm and stepped out. The sound of crunching gravel seemed like loud blasts in my ears. Of course what did I expect? It was a graveyard after all. I walked the all too familiar path to my sister’s marker. I could walk to it in pitch black and drunk off my ass. Found that out the hard way. Actually had to spend more than one night with my back to the tombstone, sleeping off a full on bender. My feet slowed as I got closer. I blinked and rubbed my fingers over my eyelids. No, I must be seeing things… Someone was playing a sick joke on me for sure. There, propped up in front of the tombstone, was a rainbow decal. I stumbled the last few feet and crouched down next to it. I could clearly see the image of Janie waving at me from the back of a car with this exact decal. Heck it even looked the shit. It was worn with age and almost completely faded away. I sat back on my heels and took a quick look around the cemetery to see if I hadn’t spotted someone who was waiting to jump out and laugh their ass off. Or worse… I didn’t even breath until I was certain that I was in fact alone. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and used it to grab the decal. I wrapped the fabric around it and shoved it back in my pocket. I set the flowers down and said my prayers. My mind was spinning out of control. I couldn’t figure out why someone would do this now, so many years later. But I’d be dipped in shit if I wasn’t going to find out. I stood up and trailed my hand over the stone before turning back to the SUV and heading home.-
-When I got back to the Pit, I snagged up a bottle of Lag and a glass. I set them down on the table in front of the couch. I went back into my room and dug around in my closet until I found the case that I was looking for. I took it back to living area and sat down on the couch. Pouring a drink before popping the case open. Fishing the sticker out of my pocket and laying it on the table. I pulled out what I needed from the kit and took a long drink before unscrewing the cap to powder. I carefully brushed a light dusting over sticker. Right smack dab in the middle was a clear as day thumb print. Almost like a calling card. I went over to V’s computers and put the thumb print in the scanner. I sat back with my drink and set the computer to running its scan. The result came back almost instantly and I spit Lag all over the screen. Jose’s face was staring back at me big as day.- What the hell?! -One thing was clear as shit. I needed to find my old partner to figure this mess out.-
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