“Cops.”
Alex took over.
“Hey, calm down. We’re not here to make you leave. We need to talk,” he said.
The one woman paused, and eyed him up suspiciously, just in case.
“Really?” she asked, seeing his gold badge.
Because they needed to be upfront and honest, Alex pulled his badge, and held it up.
“We’re not local cops. We’re the FBI.”
Then, he explained.
“Do you know a Jonathan Miller?” he asked.
The woman nodded.
“Johnny is our friend. What about him? We haven’t seen him since yesterday. Did he get picked up by the cops?” she asked, hopefully.
Looking around, there was an extra tent, and that was likely the deceased man’s home.
They were going to have to check it out.
Alex hated that people were forgotten like this. He was a firm believer that everyone deserved a home, food, and a chance. It broke his heart to see this.
He’d seen too many dead who were forgotten in the many years of being a cop and Fed.
It was heartbreaking.
“I’m sorry to tell you this, but Jonathan Miller was found dead this morning.”
That was all he had to say.
She began crying.
And the whole time, Corbin watched his partner interact with them. It was so goddamn sad, and it never stopped being sad.
“I’m sorry,” Alex admitted.
Truth be told, he felt so bad about it, that he offered her some comfort.
When Alex hugged her, he gently patted her back, not caring that she was touching him.
Sometimes, you needed a hug.
It wasn’t lost on Corbin that kindness was hard to find anymore, but Alex tended to be kind.
That reminded him of Will even more, and despite feeling shitty for being rude, it rattled him further. He knew that feeling brewing in the pit of his belly, since he’d only ever felt it once before in his life.
For Will.
One of the other homeless men shook his head.
“Poor Johnny,” the guy said. “It’s the government,” he admitted, pointing at them. “YOUstole him once, and took his kidney! Now, you took his life,” he said, raging. “Killer!”
Woah.
