The Beginning
A lone white door stood out in the pitch blackness of the night. Kara approached it cautiously, reaching for the brass handle with slight trepidation. This was her home, and although something seemed out of place, she was ready to face what came next. As if sensing her fear, the door suddenly flew open to expose a horrifying scene. At first, she thought a burglar had broken in and ransacked the house. The plush white sofa on which she and her sister Alyssa spent many late nights watching horror films had been ripped to shreds. Shards of ceramic lamps, vases, and other unrecognizable debris lay scattered across the burgundy carpet like snow.
As she looked at the horrific scene, the most terrifying sight of all caught her attention. The walls that led upstairs to her adoptive parents’ bedroom were covered in bright red smears. For a moment, she simply stared at the red marks on the wall, too frightened to move an inch. Finally, as if something had been awakened within her, she made the steps one by one. Slowly rising upwards towards the trail of blood, her eyes remained fixed on it like a magnet. Her body felt like it was levitating, and she prayed that it would all turn out to be nothing more than a dream.
This isn’t real, this isn’t real...
The trail led precisely where she feared it would: her parent’s bedroom. The door was ajar, so she grabbed the handle and pushed the door open further to take a peek inside. Her heart sank as she saw them lying sprawled on the floor. They looked lifeless. They were bleached, pale, and cold. A pool of blood formed beneath them as their dark, empty eyes stared back at her with a look of blame. She was more than aware that she’d been the catalyst for this tragedy. If only she’d made it back home just a little sooner - she could have saved them both. Now, it was too late.
Rrrrring....rrrrrring....rrrrrring
The sound of Kara’s phone jolted her out of her nightmare. She looked around, alarmed and disoriented. It had been a while since she’d slept at home; detective hours were never consistent. Sweat soaked Kara’s pillow and her thick blonde hair, making the strands that stuck to her neck uncomfortably warm next to her flushed skin. She let out a sigh as she stared at the ceiling. The dream played out in her mind again; this wasn’t the first time it had happened, and it probably wasn’t going to be the last either.
The blinding sunlight peeked through the window shades, causing her to squint. She felt a migraine coming on. She reached across her nightstand and shifted through some paperwork to find her phone underneath it. Sitting up and answering the phone took more effort than it should have.
When she first told her sister about her trouble sleeping, Alyssa suggested sleeping medication. Kara shrugged it off at the time, but she was starting to reconsider it. So far, her lack of a good night’s sleep hadn’t affected her work, but soon, she feared it would cause a mistake, and mistakes in her line of work meant life or death.
She glanced at her phone and rolled her eyes. Of course, as usual, it was work-related. “What do you want, Grant? You’re interrupting my day off.” She answered the phone in mid-yawn as she clutched her crystal necklace that hung from her neck.
“Well, good morning to you too, beautiful. I just thought you might like to know that your boy just came out of hiding.” His Boston accent was as thick as usual.
“Mancini?” Kara jumped to her feet, no longer feeling weighed down by fatigue.
“The one and only. Looks like they’re getting ready to make a drop-off. We’re down at the warehouse by the pier.”
“I’m on my way.” Kara pressed the end button before hearing Grant’s response. No way she’d let anyone take down Mancini without her.
She fought her way into a pair of faded denim jeans and carelessly threw her hair into a messy ponytail. She donned the black leather jacket hanging on the hook by the door and slung it over the grey tank shirt she slept in. Lastly, she placed her holster and badge. It seemed to be a permanent part of her outfit these days, something that left her with mixed feelings.
..
When she arrived at the warehouse, a team of officers stood around her partner. He and another cop were in the middle of a heated discussion. “Sir, I think it’s time for us to enter,” he said. The tone of his voice was urgent but respectful. The frown on his face made it clear that he struggled to convey his urgency while being respectful to the commanding officer.
“Kara will kill us if we get to him before she does,” replied Grant, never taking his eyes off the warehouse doors.
“Excuse me for saying so, but if we let him get away, we’ll have a lot more to worry about than Kara’s temper.”
“You’ve obviously never seen her angry.” Grant chuckled.
Just as Kara approached the two arguing men to put an end to the fighting, the warehouse doors flew open. A tall man wearing a business suit ran out and headed toward a nearby alley. A more petite man in a brown jacket and jeans emerged after him, but he headed in the opposite direction.
Kara leaped into action. “Grant, get the short guy. I’m going after Mancini.”
Before he had time to respond, Kara was already gone. Grant wasted no time in following her orders.
Kara was much shorter than Mancini, but that didn’t change her speed. Slowly yet swiftly, with every stride she took, she got closer and closer to him. An uncontrollable smile spread across her face. This was the best part of being a detective: catching the bad guy, and she was good at it.
