Dead Flowers

Shit, how am I going to tell Jerry. He's going to be devastated.

I just got off of my shift taking on the case of Iris Nicoletta Daniels. Iris was Gerard's babysitter. He's five now, so he should understand the concept of death... Maybe not suicide... But death.

~flashback, 2.5 hours ago~

"Momma why do you have to go?"

"Officer Heidi Jansen to 17024 Alexandria Boulevard Milwaukee, Wisconsin 16254 immediately," I heard over the radio, "Daniels' household, reported death."

"Because," I told Gerard, "something bad happened and I need to go see what it is."

"Okay. Bye momma!" He said with a smile.

"Gia, watch him. I can't get Iris over for anything."

~at the Daniels' household, precisely 10:16 pm, May 7.~

"Officer Heidi Jansen taking on the case of... 15-year-old... Iris...?" I said, my voice cracking.

'Be strong, Heidi,' I tell myself.

There, hanging from her light fixture, swung my son's babysitter and "flower", Iris Daniels.

"I checked her pulse. Vital signs... Everything's zero. Time of death unknown, pronounced dead at the scene at 10:20 pm, May 7. Cause of death, hanged-" another officer said.

"No," I say, "this is a suicide. Iris was my sitter. I know her-knew her. I tried to help."

~later that night. Shift end.~

"Did you get Flower to come over?" I hear my son's voice echo from the hall. He comes up around the corner and frowns at me, "Flower isn't here...?"

"No honey... and Iris won't be coming back..."

"Doesn't Flower love me?"

"Of course she loved-- loves you."

"Then why isn't she coming back?" His confused and disheartened face stared directly into mine.

As my vision got blurry with tears, I picked up a few dead roses from the bushel I had gotten from a coworker when I lost Lance.

"See these flowers, Gerard?" I heard my voice cracking. Hot tears rolled down my face as the words came out of his mouth.

"But those flowers are..." And as realization hit him like a brick to to head, he started to cry.

"Mommy, I want my Flower back..."