Angel without Wings

[Zochitl]

 

The paramedics hurried up the three flights of stairs carrying the small cot and their bags. As they finally arrived at number 306 they saw a policeman standing in front of the doorway. Looking at the paramedics he just shook his head."You don't have to hurry boys. She's gone anyway." he muttered.

I was right behind them huffing to catch my breath with my photographer.  Entering the room, I could see that the detective was kneeling beside a small woman. She had just been pronounced dead by the coroner. The warm blood was still oozing from her head as the coroner finally stood up.  My photographer was taking pictures right and left until the detective, Sgt. Tim O’Malley told him to stop.

“Hey. You’re not a forensic photographer so give me that camera before I nab it from you. Who told you to take pictures? Don’t you know this is a murder scene? Get ‘atta here.” he shouted angrily at him.

Two burly policemen grabbed our arms and were escorted, more like pushed out the door of the apartment.

“I didn’t tell you to start snapping so fast, Dave.  You should have waited for me to get there. Now you  botched things up but good, and with no story to take back. How many times have I told you to wait for me?” Terry gnarled at him.

Dave just kept looking at Terry with a grimace on his young face.
“I just wanted you to tell me I was doing a good job. That’s all.” He mumbled looking down at his shoes.

“Oh shut-up. This is not a pat-on-the–back contest we’re in. Don’t be stupid and next time wait for my orders before doing things on your own. You’re just a rookie and you have to take orders until you get better. I gave you this opportunity to be with me on assignments not to make things worse for me, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”   Dave replied and kept walking.

“Okay okay. Let’s try and see if we can find out what’s going on with that murder now.”

Terry began to edge closer to the door and looked as the policeman was standing to one side while the coroner was kneeling down turning the body over.

She was a young woman in her forties, with a good looking face and body. One leg was twisted and Terry right away knew it was broken.

“She didn’t die here. I bet that they just put her there after she fell somewhere else. How could she break that leg like that in this apartment? “Terri whispered to David as he tried to look over her and see what was going on.