Trouble came after I climbed out of the shower.

I stayed overnight at Everly's house often enough to keep most of my crap there. When I wasn't on duty, I spent most my days with her. No matter how much the warm water relaxed my muscles, it couldn't ease my worry. Everly would pull through. I had no doubts about that, but what if something like that happened again?

Drive-by shootings weren't unheard of on that side of town, but nobody ever shot up the aquarium. It was almost like someone knew where Everly would be that night. I only told a few people. My good friend Larry, who let me use the place, and some of the guys on the force knew. But that was it. Maybe Everly told some of the gang members too? Word could've traveled like the wind about where she'd be. There was no telling how the fucker found out.

When I stepped out of the bathroom carrying my filthy clothes, I figured the clicking sound I heard had to be my ears screwing with me. Being sleep-deprived didn't help either. A cold draft made me shiver as I crossed the hallway. It wasn't until I reached the kitchen when I realized something suspicious was going on.

A red bicycle laid in the middle of the driveway. It didn't belong to either me or Everly, and I couldn't imagine any of the Voiceless Rebels riding child-sized bikes. I tossed my blood-stained clothes on top of the washer and made my way outside to investigate. Before walking out on the porch, I realized the living room window had been shifted open. Someone had been inside the house while I showered.

I stayed quiet so I wouldn't alert whoever snooped around my girlfriend's house. I wanted to catch whoever it was off guard. Creeping over to the wooden gate, I carefully lifted the latch. Crisp leaves crunched under my boots as I pressed my back against the exterior of her house.

I found the culprit near her festive Halloween display of fake pumpkins and scarecrows. Everly never took down decorations. She had fucking scarecrows in the backyard and frosty the snowman stickers on her front door.

I got closer to get a better look at the kid. He couldn't be any older than thirteen, crouched down in front of the bedroom window with a camera, snapping photos. Little pervert. He should've been in school studying or grounded in his own bedroom.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked, scaring the living hell outta the kid.

He opened his mouth to speak then clamped it shut. Backing away from the window, he held the camera in shaky hands.

"Cat got your tongue? What's the matter? Were you expecting to find someone else in there?"

The boy's eyes widened, but he didn't say a word. He kept stepping back as if that would help him.

I tried again. "Why were you taking pictures of my girlfriend's house? You know this is illegal, right? You could get thrown in jail."

"No, I can't. I'm a minor."

"Well, look at that. You can talk. Now, why don't you tell me what you were up to. I'm a cop. I could have you arrested for trespassing right now."

"You ain't a cop. You don't got a badge."

I groaned. "I'm not on duty today, you little shit. Cops don't wear their uniform every day. Just delete those photos here in front of me and scram. If I catch you around here again, I won't be so lenient."

"I'm not deleting nothing, old man. I'm getting paid for these photos."

I frowned. "I'm not an old man... You know what? Never mind that. Who paid you to take pictures of this house?"

"None of your business."

Before I had time to react, the brat snatched one of Everly's plastic pumpkins up and threw it at my head. He knocked over her ugly scarecrows and plastic lawn chairs as he made a run for the fence.

For a puny brat, he was fast. He pushed the garbage cans over to slow me down. Stepping over plump smelly bags only fueled my anger. When I got my hands on the little shit, I would break his camera.

My partner, Chris Bailey pulled the police cruiser up the driveway just in time. Just when I thought I had my hands on the little brat, I tripped over Everly's stupid flamingo statue and slammed my face down in the muddy grass. The annoying kid's laughter rang in my ears as he hurried to his bike.

"Oh shit. Adam, are you alright?"

I looked up as Chris tried to hide his grin, offering his hand out for me to stand. I didn't accept it and pulled myself up off the ground, wiping the disgusting bits of grass off my mouth. The boy had already climbed back on his bicycle. He turned his head back at us as he peddled down the sidewalk, flipping us the bird.

"Son of a bitch."

"What just happened?" Chris asked.

"That fucking brat was taking photos of Everly's house like a creep," I explained, looking down. "Dammit. I just showered, and now I'm gonna have to do it again."

Mud stuck to the side of my face and covered the knees of my gray sweatpants. It looked like I fell in a pile of shit.

Chris chuckled. "It was probably just a dare his friends made him do. Kids do stupid stuff like that. No need to get so upset."

"You know what? I think I've changed my mind about having kids."

"What? Come on now. It's not that bad. You'll be a great Dad someday." Chris smiled. "I grew up with four little sisters and it was a lot of fun helping my folks take care of them. Don't get me wrong though. They had their bad days."

I folded my arms over my chest as strong gusts of wind blew our way. "You mean that?"

"Of course." Chris followed me up to the porch. "Just try not to be too hard on them."

"Something about that kid who just ran off was weird," I said. "I don't know. I just have a bad feeling about it. I know a lot of kids are like that but he said someone paid him to take those pictures."

Chris frowned. "Really? That is weird. Why would someone do that?"

"Beats me. I thought it was creepy. That's why I chased after him. He can't live very far. I'm sure if we keep a close lookout on the neighborhood while patrolling we could find him again."

"Yeah, definitely." Chris agreed.

A small reptile head popped out from Chris's hoodie pocket. He tried to shove it back down before I saw.

"What the hell did I tell you about bringing that damn lizard everywhere?"

"I'm sorry. Lionel just likes to get out for fresh air." Chris pulled the lizard out of his pocket. "Here, hold him. You'll see he isn't harmful."

I jumped back when he held the scaly beast out to me. "Hell no. Throw that thing back outside where it belongs."

"He's my pet. I'm not throwing him outside." Chris put his lizard back in his pocket.

"Fine. Just keep the damn thing out of sight. I'm gonna go shower. Again."

"All right. I'll just wait here and brew some coffee. You wanna go look for that kid when you're done?" Chris asked.

"I promised Everly I'd be back at the hospital by lunchtime," I replied. "She needed me to bring her some stuff. But before I head back, I want you to come with me to where everything happened last night. I need to see the scene of the crime again, in broad daylight. Maybe... Just maybe there's something everyone overlooked in the dark that could lead us to the person who hurt her."

Chris nodded. "I'll help in any way I can.

"Thanks. This means a lot. I know you're not supposed to be here on your shift, so I appreciate it," I told him. "But I better not catch you with that damn lizard anymore. Today's the last day I better see it. I swear I'll throw it out the window if I find it in the cruiser again."

Chris smiled innocently. "Don't worry, it won't happen again."

I had a bad feeling that I'd be seeing Lionel the lizard again.

💀

Chris drove us down the familiar bumpy road into Viper Valley. It hadn't always been home to the Black Vipers gang. Everyone called the unnamed area that because of the famous LGBTQ nightclub, The Viper Lounge. I remember it riled up a lot of people in New Syracuse when they announced the opening of the joint two years ago.

Nobody wanted that gay stuff in their neighborhood. They kept police officers posted at the place for the first few months to keep protesters from getting too violent. I got put on watch there a couple times. It was a wild place, with drag queen shows and weird underwear contests. Men walked around in the most tightest fitting, colorful undies I'd ever seen and wished I could unsee.

The windshield wipers screeched against the smeary glass as we cruised passed graffiti-covered buildings that went out of business. Some of the designs were kinda cool. Like the Alice in Wonderland one. It looked so realistic. Others needed to be washed off. Like the cop hanging by a noose with his head dangling to the side and blood oozing down his neck.

"Look at that. They couldn't even paint our uniform right." I snickered. "Dumbasses."

"Doesn't it scare you?" Chris asked. "We're supposed to protect our community, not make them hate us."

"Can't please everyone." I shrugged.

"Why do they hate police officers so much? I've lived here my whole life and still don't understand it," Chris said.

"A lot of it has to do with those damn gangs and the sympathizers," I explained. "They get pissed off when we arrest them for possession or whatever other crimes they committed. Once, I had a grown ass drug dealer's Momma spray me with the damn water hose so he could escape. She knew what he'd been doing, but didn't care. I've handled other cases similar to it."

"I want to make our town a better place to live. I'm not an idiot, I know it'll never be perfect, but things need to change. I want to get most of the drugs off the street, lock up the dealers, and disband the gangs. I want to see more street artists show their work, but not like that awful piece back there."

I sighed. "Me too. I want my kids to grow up here. I don't wanna worry about them getting drugs from their friends in school or wonder if they've been jumped by gang members when they don't come home on time."

If we could even have kids. I hated how my mind jumped to the worst case scenario, but I couldn't help it. Everly almost bled to death in that parking lot. I wasn't sure if her body could handle pregnancy again. While she slept, I asked the doctor about it and she seemed hopeful, but there were no guarantees.

I focused on the road ahead of us as Chris drove, blocking out those horrible thoughts. We passed a Subway and medical clinic. A homeless man pushed a shopping cart across the road, holding up a cardboard sign that read: Need food and money. He had a dirty puppy in his cart, likely to garner sympathy from people. Viper Valley had a problem with bums. They were clever too. I had a couple of them fool me. They used the money for their drugs. Not all of them did that, but quite a few did.

Chris made a right at the traffic light. The aquarium came into view, with yellow crime scene tape covering the entrance and exit. They didn't bother keeping an officer posted at the place. That, or they never showed up. Nobody liked keeping watch over crime scenes. Detective Bailey parked across the street near the curb away from traffic and we climbed out.

Cold wind nipped at my face as I pulled my hood over my head, protecting my ears. I folded my arms across my chest as if it would fend off the cold rain.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Chris asked.

"Positive." I stuffed my shaky hands in my pocket.

The crime scene tape violently shook, like it would tear right off. Chris climbed over it first, and I walked right behind him. It was weird not seeing any cars parked in the lot of the aquarium. After what happened to Everly, they decided to close for the next three days.

When I saw the blood stains in the pavement, I got a bit woozy. Memories from that night came rushing back. My girl's desperate cries filled my ears, and I couldn't shake them away. I closed my eyes and took a couple deep breaths before looking down at the congealing blood again.

Chris touched my shoulder. "You good?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I brushed him off.

"So, what are we looking for?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

"That's not very helpful."

"It was nighttime and the fucker had those dark-tinted windows," I told him. "I couldn't even tell you what kind of car it was or give you a partial license plate. I just know it was a black car."

"Doesn't the aquarium have video surveillance?" he asked.

"Yeah, but it doesn't reach out this far. The video only shows the entryway to the aquarium. Last night I got a hold of our sergeant and he updated me on the case," I explained. "Most of their footage is on the inside."

"Well, shit."

Lionel the lizard popped his head out from Chris's pocket. If only the creepy thing would fall out and run away.

"Now that you mention video footage, I think I have an idea," I told him. "Come on."

We got back in the police cruiser, letting the warm heat embrace us. The wind howled outside and the rain fell harder.

"Where are we going now?"

"Turn around and go straight," I said. "That's the direction the car took off last night. I'm hoping the gas station up here caught something. The bastard had to pass it."

Chris pulled up to the Common Cents gas station and parked. I braced myself for the ruthless wind and rain before yanking the door open. It slammed behind me as I hurried up to the entrance. A nice old man held the door open for us. There weren't many people inside. Only two waiting in line at the register and some teen girls giggling by the soda fountain machine.

"I'll let you take the lead since you're in uniform." I patted Chris on the back.

It took a while for the cashier to fetch her manager, who brought us around back to see the footage from last night. Watching security footage had to be one of the most boring things ever, but at least I could narrow down the time the car would've passed. We didn't need to watch it for hours on end.

"There." I reached out to pause the video. "That's the car. Can we make the image any bigger?"

The manager shook her head. "Sorry, sweetie. That's the best we got here."

"There's no way to make out the driver or a license plate," Chris said. "But look at his headlights. One of them is out."

"You're right." I scratched my chin. "It's a two door car too. I didn't pay close enough attention to that last night. But that still doesn't narrow it down much. People's headlights go out all the time too."

"It's better than nothing," Chris replied.

"Point taken."

"Oh, your lizard is so cool!" The manager gushed as Lionel peeked out.

"Thanks." Chris grinned. "His name's Lionel, you wanna hold him?"

"I'll give you twenty bucks to keep it," I told her, pulling out my wallet.

"He doesn't mean that." Chris chuckled.

"Yes, I do."

The manager let the scaly creature crawl all over her arm. I shivered just watching her. I'd never allow that thing anywhere near me. She turned my offer to take the damn lizard down, unfortunately.

As we left the manager's officer, Chris said, "What the heck? You tried to pimp Lionel out!"

"He could've had a good home," I said.

"He has a good home. With me."

I sighed. "Sure, whatever you say."

We climbed back in the police cruiser. The dashboard clock read: 12:05PM.

"Want me to drop you off at the hospital?" Chris asked.

"Nah, just take me home. I still gotta get all Everly' stuff together," I replied.

We didn't learn a lot from our investigating, but we had more to go on. Finding that car would be next to impossible, but I had a hunch it would be back around soon. It wasn't a random drive-by shooting. Someone wanted her dead, and I wouldn't stop until I learned who it was.