Chapter 6
A Heroic Beginning
Chapter 6
“My fellow citizens, this latest criminal act must not stand. For too long, our city has been a haven for criminals. It must stop. It will stop. I fully resolve to expend every effort to see those who committed this horrible crime brought to justice.”
The news report cut back to the field reporter.
“The mayor’s statement comes in the wake of the explosion at the McBride Institute. There has only been one confirmed fatality. Brian Wells was a technician who worked on the Exotic Meson Generator. Sources from the police department tell Channel 6 that department resources are already stretched due to the continuing upward trend in violent crime, especially in the North Side and the Trick-or-Treater robberies.”
There was a knock on the door. Sam gingerly looked over and saw his mother.
“Yes?”
“Hey honey. There are some policemen out here and they were wondering if they could speak with you. Are you up for it?”
Sam was not looking forward to this. When he woke up, Serena mentioned that the police had showed up and filled in his family on some of what happened. Obviously, they would have some questions for Sam. What he feared was that asking questions wasn’t all they were after. He realized that when he didn’t wake up handcuffed to the bed, he wasn’t in any immediate trouble, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t find something to arrest him for. Although the “what for” was still something he had yet to figure out. Despite his trepidation, he was a witness to a murder and he owed it to the victim to help in any way he could.
“Yeah.”
The two policemen entered. One stood at the end of his bed, a man in his mid-40s with reddish brown hair. The other stood near the door, his hair a darker shade of brown. He had a closely cropped beard, unlike his clean-shaven partner. Sam’s mother took a seat at his bedside. The one at the end of his bed spoke.
“Sam, my name is Detective Randall Bruce.”
He pointed toward the man in the doorway.
“This is my partner, Detective Edward Banks. Would you be willing to answer some questions for us?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Can you tell us what happened?”
“I was on a school field trip with my class. Our school won some award for high science test scores the year before so we were awarded an opportunity to tour the Institute. During the tour, the tour guide took us to see some sort of generator.”
“The Exotic Meson Generator,” Banks chimed in.
Sam looked over at Banks and nodded, then turned back to Bruce.
“Yes, that was its name. I was in the Generator Observation Hall with my class. We were all looking at the machine as Dr. McBride was explaining what it was. Speaking of Dr. McBride, did he survive? He was in the room with me when the generator exploded.”
“He’s alive, but he hasn’t woken up yet.”
“I hope he pulls through.”
Bruce continued with his questioning.
“So you were looking at the machine and then what?”
“While I was looking around I saw that something didn’t look right.”
“What didn’t look right?”
“It’s hard to explain, really. I don’t even know if I can. It was just that one of the workers seemed to be carrying himself differently. You guys are policeman, I’m sure you have an idea of what I mean.”
The detectives shot each other quick glances.
“Go on, Sam.”
“Well, apparently I wasn’t the only one who noticed something was off. Another worker confronted the man and the man shot him. I saw the whole thing, but before I could tell anybody, the sirens started. That is when they told us to evacuate.”
“Is that when you entered the Generator Room?”
“No. I left with everybody. On the way out, I tried to tell people that somebody was shot, but nobody paid any attention.”
“Did any of the other technicians notice that their coworker got shot?”
“I would like to think so, but that place was built like a maze. Standing above it I could see stuff, but on the ground floor, I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody else saw anything.”
“So you were leaving with the rest of your class … when did you head back inside?”
“Right after talking to one of the security guards. He brushed me off after I told him what happened so I decided to go back.”
Sam looked over to his mother.
“I know it was a stupid thing to do, but nobody was doing anything. I couldn’t just leave him there.”
His mother didn’t say anything, but she gave him a reassuring nod. Sam looked back at the police officers.
“I made it inside the Generator Room, but the man I’d seen shot was already dead. I saw Dr. McBride trying to prevent the explosion and I tried to convince him to leave with me, but he wouldn’t. Before I could get out, I heard a bang and then I woke up here.”
Banks chimed in.
“Can you tell us what the shooter looked like?”
“I didn’t get a good look at him. All I can tell you for certain is that the shooter was a white male.”
“How tall was he?” Bruce asked.
“What was his body type?” Banks asked.
“About 6 feet tall probably. He didn’t look fat or anything like that. I would say he looked ordinary. As I said before, it was his body language and behavior that gave him away, not his appearance.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us about him?”
“I’m sorry, no. To be honest with you, I probably couldn’t pick him out of a line-up.”
“He’s not going to have to look at a line-up, is he?” Sam’s mother asked.
The tone of her voice made it clear that she was not keen on the idea. Sam felt the same way.
“Mrs. Brody, nobody is talking about line-ups right now,” Bruce said.
“That’s being premature, ma’am,” Banks said.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have used that phrase. All I meant is that I didn’t get a very good look at him.”
Detective Bruce nodded.
“Thank you for your cooperation Sam. I hope you get better soon. We will follow-up if we have any other questions.”
“Thank you. I am sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance.”
Detective Bruce turned to leave but before he did, Sam stopped him with a question.
“The victim, the man I failed to rescue. The news says his name is Brian Wells. Before we started the tour, I saw him with a woman before he went inside. I didn’t know it was him who got shot until I reached the Generator Room. Was the woman his girlfriend?”
Bruce stopped and turned back to look at Sam.
“You saw Brian Wells before he was shot?”
“I saw him with a woman. I didn’t speak to him or anything; it’s just that I remember the bitter irony of the situation, that’s all.”
“You never met him before that day?”
“I never met him. I saw him outside the Institute and I saw him get shot. He was dead by the time I got inside the Generator Room. I was just curious who the woman was.”
“His wife. He left behind a wife and a 2-year-old son,” Banks said.
That knowledge stung Sam. He heard about murders all the time on the news. Each one of those people had families, people who loved and cared for them. Yet, he didn’t give them much mind and he usually changed the channel when he could. This one, however, was different. He saw the worker… Brian Wells, his name was Brian Wells… get shot. He saw Mr. Wells with his wife. He saw how they parted, and the knowledge that the poor woman would now be without her husband saddened Sam. It also made him angry.
“I hope you get the bast…”
Sam remembered his mother was sitting right next to him.
“…the guy who did this.”
“I do too, Sam,” Bruce said.
With that, the detectives left.