Sinner's Game

26 - Consequences

Officer Jeff

The echo remained inside of Jeff's ears for a few seconds, ringing sharply inside of his head as any other sound was drowned out by the pressure of it. He looked at his own arm, then the pressed down index finger on the trigger. All the tension that had built up over the last few minutes had vanished in an instant.

Eric was lying on the ground, a small puddle of blood shaping underneath him as he held his right knee with both hands. His face was tensed up and swollen in anger. He grunted out, his eyes staring up at Jeff. Jeff guided his weapon back into its holster with slow hands.

He then just turned around while ignoring the screams and shouts behind him. Eric screamed things in uncontrollable anger, but it was as if all of it was filtered out of Jeff's brain immediately. The words went right through him. The only thing he could think about was Eric's familiarity with 'her'.

And as Eric's screams finally ceased, Jeff opened the door once again. He stopped.

"No God crumbles upon the power of a mere bullet."

And he closed the door behind him.

---

Jeff was leaning against a wall in his office, which was dimly lit by a single computer screen and a desk lamp. He was smoking to relieve stress, the night outside of the window dark and icy. The stars outside were clearly visible, but his gaze was focused on the picture which had been standing on his office desk earlier. He had taken it out of the frame, examined it closely. The picture showed a family.

There was him... much younger than he was now and way before he had started smoking. His eyes depicted an amount of joy he didn't manage to recreate for over a decade now. The picture also showed his two daughters, both around 5 years old back at the time.

They would be around 20 now, he thought.

There was one more person in the picture. The face of the person wasn't visible though, a small round hole where the head of the woman had once been. Jeff had burned it away with a lighter years ago, but he very well remembered every little detail of her stupid face.

The way that Sinner talked... It sounded so similar to the way she had talked back then.

He sighed.

"I will never forget you. My two angels..."

He put one finger on the part of the picture his daughters were on.

"The future will be a bright one. A future where people like your mother never get the chance to do such terrible things. Eric Hoffner will be the case that sets everything in motion. And then, someday..."

A single tear hit the picture.

"...a-and then you will finally be able to rest in peace."

Jeff suppressed his emotions, peeked towards his desk. Multiple empty bottles were decorating it, his work related stuff thrown off and spread across the floor like an abstract painting. A single bottle still had something left inside of it. Orange liquid reflected the light of the moon. He should feel fulfilled right now, but it felt like he was now even emptier than before.