D&C 2.14: Bridges Burning

Bridges are burning, so mend them not but build another

Its just one of those mornings, when you woke up and your wife started telling you the 'I want this done' today list. You are still in bed, holding your blanket over your partially naked body, with an urge to urinate, but she was still in there. If she was seated on the throne, you do not come into the chamber. Its death by vocal strangulation of putrid words. She was listing down the things to do including the grocery list although she buys it herself regardless whether I do or not. I had no choice, and walked to the evil cactus placed there by her cousin for that 'thorny marital' issues. Well, I thought I drowned it with my bodily content.

"I hope the HIV kills you too." I muttered while I released the long stream into it.

"Jimmy Clement Barnes, what are you doing over my cactus from cousin Nigel?" I was caught in the act.

"I am watering it. Do you that the urine contained an aqueous solution of greater than 95% water, with the remaining constituents of concentrated urea, chloride, sodium, potassium and other dissolved ions, inorganic and organic compounds. Dan told me." I declared my statement before the Miranda Rights. If she did that, I would be in trouble. The test would showed the little wriggly contaminants known as HIV.

"Well, then open the windows. I do not want to smell your urine." I looked back at her. I could had sworn I had flushed the bowl more times than I ever used it. But who was to complaint when she was the Queen.

"I can't opened the windows now. You are not dressed up yet." She was in a dressed in the sexy lingerie, but I was not in the mood to removed it last night.

"Well thank you for noticing it now. If you only had that length of time to noted when you were at it." Jenny sighed. Gee, if only she knew. Nothing deflates you more than a good vocal lashing on your credibility. The portable rang and I ran for it.

"Detective, we have a 187." I loved morning calls.

Later, after a quick cold shower and a hasty blended coffee, I was there at the crime scene. The traffic was horrendous with the morning crowd, but I made it before Dan. I approached the uniformed officer on the scene.

"Morning jogger, young lady, shot in the head from the front." He pointed to the bush next to the jogging path. "No witnesses, and no one heard any shots."

They learned fast in the Uniformed; do not presume and leave us to do our task of detection. I leaned down to looked at the lady; dressed in a simple tunic and shorter shorts with trainers complete with that idiotic music box and ear plugs. She looked in her early twenties and fit with her shape. I saw the small pouch tucked into her waist band and was to reached it when Dan sounded me out.

"Jimmy Barnes, you of all should know, that the only person to moved the victim is the Coroner. See and do not touch." Dan stepped forth and looked at the dead jogger. "Morning jogging is good for the health. Bernice used to do that when she was younger."

Bernice was then a bed ridden patient with an oxygen tent over her bed. Dan take care of her at home with the nurse coming in periodically to checked on her.

"Why are you late?" I asked.

"I was not late. I was busy washing Bernice for her morning ritual, and changing her bed clothes. Its not easy, she does not exactly wear a negligee that could be pulled off with a simple tug." That morning, Dan was grouchy. He then looked at the assistant of his. "Bagged it and lets go home."

I stayed back to look for more clues and found nothing that was out of order. In the park, sometimes you get the trash leftover from last night strollers, or the occasional torn off shoe heels. I looked out to the street and the buildings across it. I was trying to spot any cameras; they do have them installed on the buildings. I noted the ones that had it and drove back to the Precinct. I saw Dan had sent the pouch up and there was a name tag. The note said, it was sewn inside her tunic.

Mark Kelly. But the dead victim was identified as Audrey Lane, from the contents in the pouch. I went over to meet Mark Kelly. He had just woke up from his sleep. And it was past ten on the clock. The only time I have that was when I was down with measles at the aged of ten.

"Oh, no!" Mark Kelly dressed in his bathrobe displayed genuine grief. "She told me she was going for the jog without me. I normally joined her, but this morning, I had a hangover. We partied till three this morning."

On a weekday, gee, I must be out of sync with my sex life. It was always before eleven and done by eleven thirty. I found from Mark that the victim was Sally Frances. They knew each other for over a month, and she slept over last night. I looked around and saw the place had signs of a late night party for two or more. There were glasses and bottles. I liked the guy's place; he had nice decor and family photos around. Even of his girlfriends too. I wonder how they react on seeing him hugging some one earlier. Well I guess, lifestyle had changed. When I hugged my first girl friend, my mum was already preparing for my engagement party. I told her we were friends and I was only sixteen. Her reply was more amusing.

"It takes time to prepare a party, darling." Sure, this one was done in four hours and flat out in one probably. I was not the expert but I had experiences. I told Mark to sober up and I would see him in the Precinct that late afternoon. Later back at the Morgue, I asked Dan on the report.

".38 caliber, point blank and that's all I got." Dan was removing the heart. I asked him if there was any signs of rape.

"You meant did she fucked last night? Yes, and I have sent the samples for DNA test." Dan went back to his task. "Something which I and Bernice used to do. It speed up the needed warm up for the run."

"Gee, if only Jenny knew..." I replied but when Dan looked at me, I just closed my mouth. He knew of my HIV. He was always protective of Jenny. And Bernice. I left him and went back to my Section.

"Detective, we have the cameras checked and found this unusual footage." It showed a person dressed in an jogging suit leaving the park for the car. Then I saw the bag she was carrying. You do not carry a handbag when you go jogging. I thanked the officer who took the trouble to review the tapes. We did a photo-fit and came up with a name.

"Do you know Nicole Kimmel?" I asked Mark when he came to the Precinct. I pushed the photo to him.

"Yeah, I knew her. She was my sister in law." Honestly, I was placing the bet on 50/50 that he would not know her, but as a sister in law, that was out of the odds.

"Any idea why she was going there at that hour? Do she jog too?" I asked. I felt then it was necessary to asked Nicole Kimmel to come in. She arrived an hour later dressed in casual and having the same handbag.

"Mrs. Kelly, may I...." I was cut off.

"David Kelly and myself are separated for over a year now. We are getting our divorce soon." The lady told me. "Call me Nicole please."

"Why did you get separated?" I had to asked.

"He was cheating on me. He had another woman in his life." Nicole blurted it out. "So I went and got myself one too. Handsome and more caring."

Then was when she broke down. I called in a female officer to assist me.

"It was bad experience. I was almost raped by one and there was these who just wanted sex. I wanted to leveled up with the bastard." Nicole spoke out her grievances.

"Was that why you bought a gun? S&W 38." I laid it out for her. "Nicole, can I see your handbag contents?"

Nicole poured her contents out; pepper spray and whistle was in it and there was the gun. It was fired recently.

"I did not mean to shoot her. It was just when I saw her there. She was more beautiful and fitter than me. I did it on impulse. She was sleeping with him." Nicole spell it out. "She was his lover."

"You are referring to Audrey." I asked Nicole. She nodded. "She was Mark's lover."

"Yes, and she was David' too. They all are." I was lost there then. She was accusing the ladies in the two men's life as if she owned them as her's alone. She was in a state of disillusioned.

"Detective, I loved David. He betrayed me. I also loved Mark, and he used me. He almost raped me when I went over to see him on David' adultery. I fought him off and ran. I bought these things to protect myself. I went to the gym to get fit and more beautiful to win back David, but he won't see me. He knew of the rape attempt and blamed me for it." Nicole was all broken down.

"When I saw the lady, she was at Mark's place. I saw her going in. She was wearing the jogging shirt I bought him. I just pulled the gun out and shot her." Nicole stated it on the camera. "It was all..... self defense."

I saw David and Mark at the Precinct when we charged Nicole, but there was nothing I could do. I wanted to do something, but it was Frank who came up with the best reason. He dug up on old traffic summon and passed it to Mark. It wasn't much, but Frank made him pay up in cash. David walked up to me.

"Would Nicole be alright? I meant how many years would she get? I could wait for her." David was waiting for my reply.

"Mr Kelly, Ms Nicole expressed her wishes not see you ever again." I told him while my fists were held taut at my sides. "She will sign the divorce papers before the conviction date."

I walked out of the Precinct towards Di Angelo. I needed to have my last coffee of the day. Dan joined me and apologized for his bad mood that morning. We shook hands and smiled.

"Rebuilding the bridge huh? Ain't you going to hug him? Like old friends." Both of us looked at Di Angelo. Then we walked away. We are building a new one over the barbecue.