The Secret Life of Haans Gerhardt

Untitled Part 3

Chapter 3

In spite of all his worry for Helen and Tommy, Steven beamed with pride for Joshua. He was proud to have a son with such a quick mind, even under the pressure of a bad situation. He knew that Josh would make a fine police officer someday. When Steven and the emergency personnel arrived, a crowd had gathered on the street, though no one dared go into the coffee shoppe. Steven made his way through the sea of people and up to the door of the coffee shoppe. Though many other teams were there, Steven and his team went into the coffee shoppe first.

"Dad!" exclaimed Josh from the corner booth where he and Tommy had been hiding. 

Steven rushed over to his sons, wanting so badly to hold them, but not wanting to contaminate any evidence that might be on their clothing. Instead, he reached a gloved hand out to each boy's shoulder. 

"Thank God you're both alive." he said, relief very obvious in his voice. 

He then turned to his investigative team. "It's all yours, boys. Do what you do best. Catch the bastards responsible for this." he told them. 

With that, the team got to work securing the scene. They taped off the street outside Hillside, from the corner in front of the Douglas' Jeep to the corner of Vine and Oak Streets. There was almost no way the robber would be spotted easily in the area, since he had run away from the scene just minutes before Josh's call, but there was still plenty of evidence to be collected that may help lead to his capture.

First, the forensic photographers took photos of the scene, inside and out, as the CSI team marked evidence that needed to be photographed before they picked it up, such as bullet fragments. Then, the scene was dusted for fingerprints, even though that particular collection would be difficult, since the coffee shoppe was a busy place during the day. After the prints were collected, the trace evidence gathered, and all the photos taken, the forensic team cleared out and allowed the Medical Examiner into the building. Chief M.E. Timothy Mallard crouched to examine Helen's body, only to find that she was still alive.

"We got a live one over here!" he shouted, and stayed by her side until the paramedics came in to take over her care. 

Timothy then moved across the broken glass and tables that had been the interior of one of the finest coffee shoppes in town, to examine his second victim. The man had died from his wounds instantly, and it was obvious what had killed him. Timothy had determined that the man had been killed approximately five minutes before the team arrived, but it would be up to the Major Case Division to figure out who did it and why. Steven would put the best detectives on the case as soon as he made sure his family was alive and recovering.

Josh looked over at his father from the passenger seat of the patrol car Steven had driven to the scene. He couldn't fight back the tears in his eyes. He knew it was an unmanly thing to cry, but he couldn't help it just now. He felt responsible for not having been able to protect his mother and little brother from these terrible men.

 "Dad," said Josh, choking up as he spoke. "I'm so sorry!" he sobbed. "I should have protected them." 

Steven wrapped his boy in a reassuring bear hug. "It's okay, son." he whispered in Josh's ear. "It's okay." he repeated. "You did all you could. It's in God's hands now, son." 

Steven could feel the tears welling up in his own eyes, though he tried to keep it together for Josh. He got into the car, and the two rode silently as they followed the ambulance to Tupelo Regional Hospital.

Upon arrival, Steven and Josh sat for what seemed like hours in the waiting room while Tommy got his leg bandaged properly, and Helen went in for emergency surgery to try to remove the bullet from her shoulder. About fifteen minutes after they arrived, Tommy was wheeled into the waiting room to sit with his father and brother while they waited for word on how Helen was doing. Many thoughts ran through Steven's mind. Was she okay? Would she ever fully recover? Did the bullet cause any neurological damage? All Steven could do was hold his boys close to him as they waited expectantly for the doctors to tell them something. As they waited, two men wearing suits came walking up to them.