Chapter Text
Police tape is stretched. A few neighbors are gathered around, whispering quietly. The ambulance has already left, a pale chalk circle and dried blood stains still on the ground. Carlos was one of the first to arrive at the scene. He had tried hard to keep the victim alive, but he couldn’t. He walked slowly with Campbell.
Campbell spoke softly, “The pictures are awful. There’s footage, too. It’s already spreading on social media.”
Carlos nodded, but didn’t look at the screen. His eyes scanned the pavement, down to the ground. He saw a rainbow bracelet at the edge of the bloodstains. He reached down with his fingertips and picked it up. He muttered to himself, “It’s still warm… was it on her wrist?”
Campbell:
“I think so. It was torn. They might have torn it off to separate it.”
Carlos’s hand shook as he put the bracelet in his pocket. Then he approached the spot where the victim lay. His eyes caught the spray-painted words on the wall: “We’re getting rid of you.”
Something was stuck in Carlos’ throat.
The Crime Scene Officer slowly approached Carlos and Campbell and began to speak:
“His name is Jamal Reynolds. He is twenty-four years old. He works at a local coffee shop. His roommate got worried when he couldn’t reach him in the morning. There are no witnesses. He was alone.”
Carlos sighed deeply.
“Yes. Alone.”
He stood there for a moment. Then his eyes slowly closed and he took a deep breath. He pretended to return to his work. But he had already internalized every detail: the shoe prints, the broken phone screen, the pieces of the bracelet…
Carlos whispered to himself:
“He was just going home…”
A reporter approached and tried to ask a question. Carlos turned his face away and walked away without answering. He went into a back alley. He stopped in a corner where no one was around. He leaned his hand against the wall. His knees buckled slightly. He squeezed his eyes shut. Like a whisper, swallowing:
“It could have been me, it could have been someone I know, someone I love…”
His phone rang then. TK was calling. Carlos looked at it but couldn’t answer. He took the bracelet out of his back pocket and touched it with his thumb. He didn't shed any tears, but the shock inside him was obvious on his face.