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Season Four, Episode Three


"First murder of the city and it happens in broad daylight in a park as bloody beautiful as this." I shook my head and sighed, Kenai's nails clinking on the ground was distracting as she kept pace, I glanced down at her, "I love this city."

"I'm not appreciating the sarcasm Detective Inspector." Danny replies, a hint of sarcasm in his own voice, before throwing a vague smile over his shoulder at me. "What are we looking at here?"

The forensic's team looked up as we approached and the head stood to approach us as he spoke. "John Hudson, thirty-nine, took one to the head, one to the chest."

I bent down to look at the casing on the ground by my shoe, but was distracted by Kenai shoving her face into mine. I nudged her away, glancing at the casing before speaking to Danny. "Looks like a .45." I stood, groaning as my knees crackled and popped as I stood. "Any surveillance cameras?"

"This ain't time square." The man replied, looking annoyed to be in the prescience of a Brit. I ignored it.

"What's with the jacket." Danny asked, motioning to the coat covering the man's body.

"Kid over there covered him, Michael Hudson."

I looked over to at the boy who looked absolutely petrified. I started towards him, giving Kenai a little bit more length on her leash as I approached. The boy smiled at the appearance of a dog and scratched and patted at her head. Looking at ease despite the trauma that he had just seen, I smiled as I approached, in an attempt to make myself seem smaller I ducked my head, kneeling in front of him rather than sitting on the bench beside him.

"Hi, Michael?" I asked, noticing how the boy didn't avoid eye contact. "My name's Detective Inspector Howards. That's my partner over there, Detective Reagan. We're both here to help you."

"You gonna help get my dad back?" Michael's voice cracked as he spoke and I smiled sadly at him, knowing that it was said in a moment of hope despite the fact that the boy knew the obvious.

"Well, if you can help me out, and tell me what you saw. I give you my word I'll do everything we can to find out who did this." I move to the bench, watching as he continues to pet Kenai, finding comfort in the action. "Will you tell me what happened?"

Michael sighs, his hand stilling ever so slightly before picking up at a higher pace. "We were walking home, through the park, and I saw this guy walking towards us, and he had a gun." Michael tried not to cry as he continued, "I guess, uh, my dad saw it too. Because he, uh, he pushed me to the ground, and then I heard bam, bam, bam."

I nodded, proud that he was able to recount as much as he was. "What did he look like? Was he tall, short? Did he have any tattoos?"

Michael nodded, almost aggressively, as he spoke again."Um, Spanish, in his 20s, skinny." Michael hadn't looked at me yet.

The voice that spoke wasn't my own. "Did you recognize him?" Danny had approached us and in my concentration in speaking to Michael I hadn't noticed before. I did not miss the way that he looked up at Danny, the comforting force of a father figure doing wonders for the boys confidence.

Michael shook his head again, blinking away tears as he looked at Danny. "No, but he had like, a big tattoo right here-" Michael motions to the side of his neck, before letting his hands fall back into Kenai's fur, "of a gun."

I glanced at Danny, nodding to show that I had heard him but internally running through everyone I could think of with a gun tattoo. Danny spoke again, his question obviously a hard one on the boy as it took him a long time to think through the answer. "Michael, can you think of anyone who would want to hurt your dad?"

The boy shook his head after a few moments, but something in the way he averted eye contact with Danny hinted that he was lying. But the murder of his father was still fresh in the boys mind, and I could wait to ask my further questions.

I set a hand on the boys shoulder, catching his attention as I softly asked about any other relatives that we could call.

His reply was without hesitation, "My mom." Michael shook his head quickly, looking back over to the body of his dad. "I just want to stay with him. I don't want to go him yet."

I nodded, standing slowly and clicking my tongue to catch Kenai's attention. "That's alright buddy." The nickname rolled off my tongue easily, and the smallest of a smile passed over the boys face. I reached into my inside coat pocket, humming in satisfaction as one of my cards was in the pocket. I pulled it free, scribbling my personal number across the back. "This is my number Michael, and if you remember anything, I want you to call me alright?"

The boy nodded, taking the card and looking at it with sad eyes, some part of me didn't want to leave Michael in this park alone. But a paramedic walked up, smiling as she talked softly to the boy, and I knew he wouldn't be alone.

When I turned, Danny had his phone pressed into his ear, speaking harshly but not unkindly. I approached in a cautious way, patting my leg to keep Kenai's attention.






"I called and put the description out, we'll hopefully get a few hits by the time that we get back to the precinct." I nodded as Danny spoke, opening the back door for Kenai before sitting in the front.

"I hate that for the boy." I muttered, shaking my head as we backed out of the parking space and into the road. "Riker's has their own Gang Intel Database, so I'll check that first."

"Good idea." Danny had a firm grip on the steering wheel, and looked as if he would snap at any moment.

"Alright, out with it. What's happened?" I asked, turning in my seat and looking at him.

"Linda and I got in an argument last night." Danny muttered, "I may have lost it a bit."

I snorted, "May?"

Danny sighs loudly, "She took a shift at a mobile hospital in one of the projects and was mugged."

A flare of anxiety passed over me, "Oh bloody hell is she alright?"

"Yeah she's fine." Danny said it like he was chewing glass, and I shook my head.

"Why did you get mad?" I reached a hand backwards, feeding a treat to Kenai as she sat still for me.

"I didn't meant too, but it's 'cause I didn't want her working in the projects."

"But maybe getting mad about it wasn't a good idea."

"Yeah well maybe don't rub it in." Danny snapped back, laying on the horn as someone cut him off.

"Did you at least tell her that you were glad she was alright?" From the silence that filled the car, I realized that he did not. "God Danny, maybe give her a call and tell her? I mean, guarantee she already feels awful about what happened, and you getting mad at her about working the shift doesn't help anything."

Danny huffed out a sigh, before nodding. "Alright I'll give her a call." He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "My brothers pretty lucky to have someone like you."

"He is." I said it with a smile and a shrug. My phone started to ring, and I spoke as I glanced at it. "Speak of the devil. Hullo love."

"Hey babe." He sounded annoyed but spoke before I could ask him what happened. "I'm at your apartment. I got a rip, and a week of unpaid leave."

"What?" I asked, "What the devil happened?"

"I may have defied a direct order. I'll tell you later when you come home." Jameson said it like it was no big deal, and maybe it was.

"I'll wait till then." I smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too."

He was the one to end the call, and Danny looked over at me. "What was that?"

"That was some apparently bad news?"

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