Tony Falconetti stepped away from the dumpster which was now a crime scene. Moving quickly down the alley, away from the older officers, he managed to find an out of the way spot to puke.
Straightening up, he expected to hear laughter. His classmates from the academy certainly hadn't spared him during their trip to the morgue, when he'd been first to faint during the autopsy. Even that hadn't prepared him for his first murder victim.
His partner met him halfway back. "Take your time, kid. The higher ups are on the way. This won't be our mess for long."
"Who would do that to a little kid?"
"If I tell you, you'll start heavin' again."
"Tell me anyway."
"First people Homicide's gonna like for this is family."
"What if there's, you know..."
"Especially if there's 'you know'. Come on, kid, you wanted to catch bad guys. You don't get to pick how bad. Rotten luck gettin' a dead kid on your training day. I'd tell you it gets better, but it doesn't."
When the detectives finally let him go, warning him to write his report while the scene was fresh in his mind, Tony walked back up the alley. From beyond the swarm of forensic investigators, he could get a clearer mental picture of the incident.
Tony and his partner hadn't been first on the scene. They had responded to a call for backup from two patrol officers dealing with a crazed woman. Someone had phoned in a disturbance, and they'd found her at the entrance to the alley, screaming gibberish and covered in blood. Tony and his partner arrived only to get the back luck of following the blood trail to the dumpster, and what had once been a small child. The nude body was so viciously mutilated Tony still didn't know if it was a boy or a girl.
"Her name was Kyra. This was my fault."
Tony whipped around, staring into the shadows where he thought he'd heard a voice. Quickly shoving his notebook back in his pocket, he started reaching for his pistol. A shape shifted in the shadows, a forlorn figure hunched in a trench coat, face obscured by a battered fedora.
Tony fumbled with the fastening on his holster. "Show yourself, and keep your hands where I can see them!"
"Don't pull the heat, rookie. And keep your voice down. They'll all think you're losin' your marbles."
The human-shaped creature stepped into a shaft of sunlight and disappeared. Tony very carefully secured his pistol, shoving his shaking hands into his pockets, biting his tongue to keep back a fit of hysterical giggles.
"He'd almost shot a bogey-man. And not just any bogey, but one with a sense of humor. "Very funny. A bogey doing Bogart impressions. I got two questions. How did you know I'd be able to see you? And why did you say this was your fault?"
"You're not one of the mundanes, rookie. You're a sensitive. I'll bet you had your own bogey, when you were Kyra's age. I'll even bet you still see it, sometimes. You strike me as the sorta kid would need checkin' up on. But I blew it with Kyra. I just wanted to see her happy. I made her laugh out loud. That's when the old broad snapped. She could see me too, 'cause when she gets like that, she sees all kinda things that aren't really there."
"Hang on. Why would seeing you in there make her kill her own child?"
"Maybe I could tell you, if you can tell me why a mother would start screaming that her six-year-old is a filthy slut. You saw where she stabbed her."
"Honest, I didn't look that close. But yeah, now that you mention it, I did notice that."
"Don't forget to put that in your report."
"How the hell am I supposed to write you up?"
"You don't, rookie. Not unless you want your first day on the beat to be your last. Just tell 'em you got a hunch. Then figure out why a crazy dame like that is allowed to take care of a kid."
"I guess she never got reported to Child Protective Services."
"You got such a thing? Don't do too good a job, do they."
"Can't be everywhere at once, even if they had enough investigators, which they never do. Must be a pretty depressing job."
"At least it's somethin' to do."
The bogey had slipped back into the shadow, and Tony thought it looked even smaller and more slumped that before. It struck him that, with no child in the home, this bogey was out of a job. And CPS was chronically understaffed...
"How'd you get with a kid like Kyra in the first place? I mean, bogeys are usually trying to scare kids."
"Scare 'em, sure, but not terrorize them. Kid's doin' all right if a bogey's the scariest thing in the house. But after a while, Kyra wasn't afraid of me anymore. It was like she needed me for a friend. I never had that happen before. I didn't figure it out until it was too late."
"Figure what out?"
"That her father had gone away, and Kyra was afraid of her mother."
"Was Kyra ever afraid of her father?"
"She said he promised it would all be better soon... hey, you think the crazy broad killed him, too?"
"I think it's possible. But what about you, Bogey? Where you gonna go from here?"
"I don't know. Find another kid, somewhere."
"Tell you what, Bogey. You find another one like Kyra, you come find me, okay? Before we find her dead in a dumpster?"
"Work with the cops, huh? I dunno. Maybe I'll talk to my pal Pookie, see what he thinks about your idea."
"Just think about it. See you 'round, Bogey."
"Not if I see you first, rookie."
Straightening up, he expected to hear laughter. His classmates from the academy certainly hadn't spared him during their trip to the morgue, when he'd been first to faint during the autopsy. Even that hadn't prepared him for his first murder victim.
His partner met him halfway back. "Take your time, kid. The higher ups are on the way. This won't be our mess for long."
"Who would do that to a little kid?"
"If I tell you, you'll start heavin' again."
"Tell me anyway."
"First people Homicide's gonna like for this is family."
"What if there's, you know..."
"Especially if there's 'you know'. Come on, kid, you wanted to catch bad guys. You don't get to pick how bad. Rotten luck gettin' a dead kid on your training day. I'd tell you it gets better, but it doesn't."
When the detectives finally let him go, warning him to write his report while the scene was fresh in his mind, Tony walked back up the alley. From beyond the swarm of forensic investigators, he could get a clearer mental picture of the incident.
Tony and his partner hadn't been first on the scene. They had responded to a call for backup from two patrol officers dealing with a crazed woman. Someone had phoned in a disturbance, and they'd found her at the entrance to the alley, screaming gibberish and covered in blood. Tony and his partner arrived only to get the back luck of following the blood trail to the dumpster, and what had once been a small child. The nude body was so viciously mutilated Tony still didn't know if it was a boy or a girl.
"Her name was Kyra. This was my fault."
Tony whipped around, staring into the shadows where he thought he'd heard a voice. Quickly shoving his notebook back in his pocket, he started reaching for his pistol. A shape shifted in the shadows, a forlorn figure hunched in a trench coat, face obscured by a battered fedora.
Tony fumbled with the fastening on his holster. "Show yourself, and keep your hands where I can see them!"
"Don't pull the heat, rookie. And keep your voice down. They'll all think you're losin' your marbles."
The human-shaped creature stepped into a shaft of sunlight and disappeared. Tony very carefully secured his pistol, shoving his shaking hands into his pockets, biting his tongue to keep back a fit of hysterical giggles.
"He'd almost shot a bogey-man. And not just any bogey, but one with a sense of humor. "Very funny. A bogey doing Bogart impressions. I got two questions. How did you know I'd be able to see you? And why did you say this was your fault?"
"You're not one of the mundanes, rookie. You're a sensitive. I'll bet you had your own bogey, when you were Kyra's age. I'll even bet you still see it, sometimes. You strike me as the sorta kid would need checkin' up on. But I blew it with Kyra. I just wanted to see her happy. I made her laugh out loud. That's when the old broad snapped. She could see me too, 'cause when she gets like that, she sees all kinda things that aren't really there."
"Hang on. Why would seeing you in there make her kill her own child?"
"Maybe I could tell you, if you can tell me why a mother would start screaming that her six-year-old is a filthy slut. You saw where she stabbed her."
"Honest, I didn't look that close. But yeah, now that you mention it, I did notice that."
"Don't forget to put that in your report."
"How the hell am I supposed to write you up?"
"You don't, rookie. Not unless you want your first day on the beat to be your last. Just tell 'em you got a hunch. Then figure out why a crazy dame like that is allowed to take care of a kid."
"I guess she never got reported to Child Protective Services."
"You got such a thing? Don't do too good a job, do they."
"Can't be everywhere at once, even if they had enough investigators, which they never do. Must be a pretty depressing job."
"At least it's somethin' to do."
The bogey had slipped back into the shadow, and Tony thought it looked even smaller and more slumped that before. It struck him that, with no child in the home, this bogey was out of a job. And CPS was chronically understaffed...
"How'd you get with a kid like Kyra in the first place? I mean, bogeys are usually trying to scare kids."
"Scare 'em, sure, but not terrorize them. Kid's doin' all right if a bogey's the scariest thing in the house. But after a while, Kyra wasn't afraid of me anymore. It was like she needed me for a friend. I never had that happen before. I didn't figure it out until it was too late."
"Figure what out?"
"That her father had gone away, and Kyra was afraid of her mother."
"Was Kyra ever afraid of her father?"
"She said he promised it would all be better soon... hey, you think the crazy broad killed him, too?"
"I think it's possible. But what about you, Bogey? Where you gonna go from here?"
"I don't know. Find another kid, somewhere."
"Tell you what, Bogey. You find another one like Kyra, you come find me, okay? Before we find her dead in a dumpster?"
"Work with the cops, huh? I dunno. Maybe I'll talk to my pal Pookie, see what he thinks about your idea."
"Just think about it. See you 'round, Bogey."
"Not if I see you first, rookie."