Hear Me

When We Say Goodbye

Clara groans as she parks outside of the caution tape surrounding the crime scene. As cruel as it sounds, why couldn't everyone stop dying for one night? She was supposed to go out with Matt, Foggy, and Karen tonight but she had to cancel it since a homicide came up.

With a reluctant sigh, she got out of her car and approached Brett, "what do we have?"

He hands her a file, "an elderly woman was murdered outside of her apartment building in an apparent mugging."

She flips open the file and reads through it before approaching the crime scene. At this point, the body was taken away by an ambulance when they were trying to resuscitate her. "Did we recover her purse or anything?"

Brett shakes his head, "no."

"Any next of kin?"

He sighs, "no but she did have lawyers who were defending her in a tenancy case."

She doesn't look up from the blood she's looking at, "who is it?"

"Nelson and Murdock." He says.

Clara stands up and looks at him, "really?"

He nods, "we should probably inform them."

"I'll call them," she says.

--

Once back at the station, she grabbed her office telephone and dialed their office phone. "Nelson and Murdock," Karen answers.

"This is Detective Marinetta calling from the 15th precinct."

"Oh Clara, how are you?" She asks.

Clara swallows the lump in her, "Karen, I'm calling on official business. Does Nelson and Murdock have a client named Elena Cardenas?"

"Yeah...?"

"I regret to inform you that Mrs Cardenas was murdered earlier tonight."

"What?" Karen's voice breaks.

Clara straightens up, this was the worst part of her job; not the blood, bodies, or risk. Informing the next of kin was unbearable, "we need someone to come down and make a positive ID, if you can do that, it would be very helpful."

--

Clara watched the three be led in by Brett. Karen and Foggy are crying and Matt was impassive. Brett moved the sheet back, revealing Mrs Cardenas.

"It's her," Foggy says to Matt.

Matt, still seemingly unaffected, "how did it happen?"

Clara steps forward, "neighbor saw some junkie they've seen in the building running from the scene with her purse. Attacked her while she was looking for her keys."

Karen sobs and Matt sighs, "Karen, maybe you should wait outside."

She sniffles and shakes her head, "no, no, I'm...," she wipes her tears, "how did she die?"