Different Worlds (wlw) Editing

F O R T Y

I was panicking beyond what words could describe. People have now come from all over, standing around me both curious and horrified. I still hadn't caught my breath as I sat on the ground. My hands were trembling out of control, my vision blurred by tears as I looked down at the bruises caused by me practically jumping out of the vehicle and unto the rough street.

"Get back!" I heard a few voices shouting and from my line of perception, I could see people's feet stumbling off as it began to clear around me.

"Ma'am, are you okay?" I heard someone asked and I looked up to see it was a police officer. He was scrunched down beside me, while his partner busily rambled over her radio. From what I'd caught, she was requesting back up and an ambulance, the rest sounded like gibberish to me.

"I-uh, " my throat locked itself off. Each attempt at talking was painful. I broke down, flashes of Giovanni dying right before me danced across my mind and I tore up. The police officer was quite compassionate and didn't even push it any further, he just told me everything was going to be alright and as he spoke the words just kept sounding far off to me until eventually, I heard nothing.

Nothing registered to me even while the paramedics on the ambulance checked in making sure that I wasn't hurt. They asked me my name and where I was from and I could only remember answering them accordingly. Before I knew it was I being taken down to the station in the back of a police car.

* *

"Miss Paulson," I snapped out of my reverie because of a hand being waved in front of me. Locking my eyes with the individual, I noticed a man staring at me. He was balding with a moustache on top of his thin upper lip.

"My name's detective Morson, how are you feeling?"

"Like death," I crowed out and my voice was raspy, nothing of what it usually sounds like.

"After what you'd witness today, I completely understand. I'm sorry but I know being here isn't something you'd have in mind right now, but we need you to tell us what happened."

"He was shot,"

"I'm aware, but did you by any chance get a glimpse at who may have killed Mr Russo?"

"No, I didn't see the person's face, it all happened so fast but I'm certain it was a male."

"Okay. What was your relationship with  Mr Russo?"

"There was no relationship. He offered to take me to work because we're from the same neighbourhood and I accepted. I didn't know something like that would've happened to him," I lied because I knew I needed too. In order to keep both myself and Raye safe, I had to alter the truth.

"It's alright, these things don't say when it's about to occur."

"Yeah."

"Could you describe to us what happened moments before Giovanni was killed?"

"I-I can't recall much. I just remember that we were stuck behind a car that wouldn't move after the light had turned. Giovanni was angry and started swearing and suddenly this guy appeared beside his window and shot him."

"Had you notice anything else, anything that stood out about this man?"

"No, I saw nothing else."

In truth, I actually didn't see who shot Giovanni. I was too caught up in my head at the time to have focused on who and what was happening.

I spent a few more hours talking to the detective and sharing as much as I knew. During my interrogation he brought up the matter that had happened at the club and of course, he was curious about how I'd been in the company of two well-known mob members and again I altered the truth.
I lied saying that I lived in a neighbourhood that housed a few members and that I wasn't too familiar with anything about them.