She held back the mother that lost two children but still had one in the coral. The father who found two of his three still alive. The grandmother who had only her one small granddaughter left in the whole world. Once the parents with their children alive were hustled out of the area, to a waiting bus for CHoP, Lily and Balin let them find their surviving children.
There was another mother wailing at a gurney, with the world’s smallest body bag.
I waited back with Ellie, who looked haunted. I wouldn’t go near anyone over there unless Lily asked me to help.
A young officer ran out of the building, and found a bush. He heaved his guts out there, and Lily pointed him over to me.
“Officer,” I said quietly, and had him sit on the picnic table next to us. Ellie handed him a bottle of water. “You need to breathe first.”
He uncapped the bottle, took a drink, swished and spit, then ran a hand through his hair. “There’s…I have a toddler at home.”
“What’s their name?”
“Rebecca,” he managed. “She’s three. She’s got this amazing little personality. She’s the same age as…”
“Deep breath,” I said. “How long have you been on the job?”
“Eight months,” he answered.
“First violent crime?”
“I didn’t think so until now.”
Placing a hand on his shoulder, I nodded. “We don’t know what real violence is until the most innocent are murdered without reason.”
“They didn’t need to die.” He nodded.
“No, they didn’t.”
He took another drink of water, and stood. “This is my job though. I’m here because I want to protect the innocent.”
“We can’t be everywhere all the time,” I said. “Remember that. This is your job, but even Superman can’t save everyone.”
“Only Ironman can do that,” he answered, and I saw a smirk on his face.
“You’ll be okay. If you want to talk to someone about this, Detective Haden will set you up with the councilors. Also, there’s no shame in puking.”
The officer nodded. “Better behind the bush away from the crime scene.”
“I appreciate that,” came a voice from behind us.
I looked over my shoulder and found Reid Sadowski walking up from his car, his crime scene bag in hand. I lifted an eyebrow.
“Good evening, Doctor.”
He nodded at me. “Good evening, Doctor. I’ve heard we have a massive crime scene here?”
“You’ll have to talk to Detective Haden,” the officer said. “I have to get back in and see if there’s anything else I can do at this point. Doctor Warner, thank you.”
I watched the young-ish officer head back to his duties. He’d be fine. It was how close something this violent hit to home that got to him. A moment later he disappeared into the building.
“Master Black,” I murmured under my breath.
“Shut the fuck up, Quilikrozh.”
Ellie smirked. “Well, that’s established. And aren’t you not supposed to say things like that to her?”
Reid turned and eyeballed Ellie. At first it was a suspicious, gauging look of assessment. Then, it morphed into a strange recognition—and finally a spark of desire.
“Ellie, could you check if they need help with the last two children? They’re in the back of the car with Officer Goodsloe.”
Hopping off the table, she headed over for the patrol car where the two kids, who were now parentless, were waiting for Paige to arrive.
As soon as Ellie was far enough away, I punched Reid’s arm, hard.
“Ouch!” he gasped and turned and looked at me.
I stepped into him. “Hear this now. That is my daughter, and she is sixteen and confused. She may be a versilange, but that does not give you permission to eye-fuck her like that. Understood?”
He cleared his throat. “I apologize. She’s…gorgeous.”
“I know,” I answered. “And she’s battling a lot of personal demons right now. She doesn’t need to try to battle them in bed. Capice? A finger on her person, and I will have it removed.”
“Yes, my lady,” he whispered quietly. Glancing up at the building, he saw another person run out and puke behind a bush. “Oh, Jesus. All these greenies—oh.”
The person who stood up was Captain Brown, who was in no way a greenie.
Sighing, I shook my head. “Lily said it was terrible, but if Brown just barfed, it’s gotta be even worse than we thought. I’ve been out here with the kids and we had to have the medics come over and wipe the kids down with sanitizer.”
“Why?”
“They were covered with blood and brains.”
“Jesus Christ,” he whispered. “Don’t tell me anything else. I have to go in there untainted and get the facts of the scene.”
I nodded. “Do you need help?”
His head swiveled to look at me. “Can you handle it?”
“If I can’t, I leave.”
Taking a deep breath, he motioned me to follow him. He was the assistant medical examiner, not crime scene, but it was important that he get an unaltered, uninterpreted view of the scene for them, and for the autopsies he would have to do.
There was a box of booties at the door, and we each grabbed a set, slipping them on. I technically didn’t have access to the building, but Lily wouldn’t stop me. Seeing what happened inside would also help me with the children I would have to talk to in the next few days. Knowing exactly what they saw, why they came out covered in the biological matter they had, would color the way I could walk them through this. I would have to refer the parents to Dr. Astor, who was conspicuously absent from the area.
I hated that police worked with him. He was a miserable old bastard of a psychologist who was there for the line on his resume and the consulting fees. Not for the patients.
At least I would have an idea and maybe pass on some notes to the old fuck.
The walls were riddled with bullet holes as we walked in, and I sucked in a breath through my teeth. This was unreal. I saw Lily at the end of the corridor, and she looked green around the gills.
“What the hell, Lil?” I asked.
“AK,” she said. “Hundred round magazine.”
“Holy hell,” Reid said.
“Why?” I asked.
“We found the wife dead at home.” Lily uncapped her water and took a quick sip. “It looked like he killed her with a quick spray of bullets. It was ugly.”
Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell me we have this guy?”
“Dead,” Lily answered, and pointed into the room. “Pulled out a .22 and shot himself in the head.”
“Can’t even make him suffer,” I mumbled.
“Oh, he’ll suffer. Don’t you worry about that.”
Reid and I snapped our gazes to her, and Lily’s eyes burned with an angry heat. The kind of hellfire that only someone from Hell could summon.
“Whoa,” Reid said. “Forgot about that.”
“It would mean more coming from you, Quilikrozh,” Lily whispered.
“Not ready,” I answered.
She nodded, and motioned us forward. “You’re probably not really ready for this. I’m having trouble keeping dinner and lunch down.”