The Next Generation: The Legacy (Book 3)

Chapter 6 - Nightshift.

Chante

Hours later, the scene was cleared and all the statements were taken. All that remained of the life that had been lost was a huge bloodstain on the grass. It saddened me to think that was all there was to one life. According to the young woman next door, they were madly in love, and he was going to tell his partner it was over. The young woman and the guy were planning on building a life together.

They even went out a couple of days ago to look for an apartment, and now he was gone, and she was left alone to deal with it. We left the scene behind and drove down the street in silence. I wondered if my dad realized that if anything happened to him while he was working for that woman, we would have been the ones left behind to deal with the mess. I shook my head to try and clear the thoughts out of my mind. I really didn’t want to think about him at the moment.

“Listen, I know that was tough, but you have to shake it off and focus. In the past two days, you have seen the worst. Well, almost.” He sighed. “It is actually worse than that, but anyway. You have to focus because the next call we get might be dangerous, and you don’t want to lose your focus when the bullets are flying.” He frowned, and I wondered how many times he had to fight for his life as part of his job. How many times had he been shot at? How many times had he come across someone who had died? I didn’t ask. I just nodded.

Thankfully, it was as though all the elements were looking after us, and the rest of the shift was quiet. Nobody died that we had to look at and nobody shot at us. When we returned to the station, I handed in our gear and changed before going home. I pondered going to the bar with everyone else, but I wasn’t ready to just fit in yet. I didn’t know if he would be there, and I wasn’t in the mood to defend myself.

I took a long hot bath, and crawled into bed with my favourite book. The television was blaring in the background and I caught a glimpse of the news. They reported on the murder and that police were investigating. I sighed deeply and thought about my future plans. My grandfather always wanted me to become a detective like he was, but I kind of liked the excitement of being in uniform.

I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind since I hadn’t even finished my training, and I was already thinking about promotion. It would be a couple of years before I would even be eligible to apply. There was no use in thinking about it just yet.

I fell asleep with the television still blaring and my book crushing my nose as it rested over my head. I woke up with a start in the morning when my alarm went off and jumped out of bed to get ready. I was on my way to jump into the shower when I remembered I was on the nightshift! We worked two-day shifts, then two nights and then had four days off! Sighing, I pondered skipping the shower until later, but I was already undressed, so I might just as well get on with it.

I felt better after the shower and climbed back into bed with the television still blaring. They were still reporting on the murder as I fell asleep. I woke up when my alarm screamed at me for a second time and noted it was almost dark outside. Rushing to get ready, I grabbed a cup of coffee and rushed out the front door. This was going to be the first time in my life I would be working at night.

It felt so strange! The streets were busy, but the vibe was different. I sat through the briefing and felt a little anxious when we were done. We had some arrest warrants to serve and, apparently, they were easier to serve at night because you found most people at home then. I grabbed our kit and met with Officer Campbell to do the squad car inspection.

“Serving warrants is not easy. You get the guys who just give up, but most of them either try to run and others shoot. I need you to be present.” He raised a brow and I nodded. I was incredibly nervous, but I was excited. The one thing I wasn’t, was scared. I felt ready as we climbed into the squad car and I gave my partner the details for our first arrest.

Freddie

I wasn’t happy when Christa told me we would be taking part in the operations. I felt that a rookie needed at least a couple of months of work under their belt before just jumping in, but she felt differently about it. We pulled out of the parking lot and I told Chante to take me through the procedure over and over until we reached the first address. At least, Christa had given us the easier cases. Most of the people we were looking for weren’t deemed to be dangerous or violent, but you never really know what to expect under such circumstances. It was incredibly stressful for the one who was getting arrested and people never thought straight when that happened. As we were walking up to the front door, a man walked outside and I instantly recognized our suspect.

He bolted the second he saw us and I sent the rookie after him while I took the car. Of course, our first suspect had to run! Why did they always have to run?! We boxed him in two blocks away, and I watched as Chante executed the perfect arrest. I wasn’t surprised. She knew the procedures inside and out. We loaded our first suspect into the car and took him back to the station where the sports started.

He tried to escape as soon as we took him into booking. As if there was anywhere for him to go?! Chante surprised me by pouncing on the suspect and taking him down. She was a tiny bottle of poison, that one, and I could only laugh. With our first arrest of the night done and dusted, we could get out there again, and I was more hopeful.