FUGITIVE

CHAPTER 19

As we break for lunch, Is walks over to me.

"That was just cruel", she tells me as she picks at the thread in her shirt. "I picked the little boy first. It nearly broke my heart. I know it wasn't real, but that was really tough."

I sigh. "I know. I almost forgot I was in a simulation too. The abuse case was so bad, Is. I almost cried in front of the victim."

She squeezes my shoulder as we wait in line for lunch. "Do you know what you're going to pick?"

"I don't know. I'm juggling detective and CSI as my options. I'm not sure what I want to choose just yet."

~

As we head back, my mind is in pieces. As much as I don't want to go back in there again, I want this day to be over with.

Dealing with the little boy is an emotional rollercoaster. He is so small and fragile, I almost want to walk over to him, hug him and never let go. But as police officers, we cannot get emotionally attached to the victim or the case.

His small hands fit in mine like a glove. I can sense the fear, as his eyes keep darting back and forth, like he was almost waiting for the bad man to jump out of a corner. After assuring him, that we were in a safe space and that no one could hurt him here, he begins describing his attacker to the sketch artist. As I exit the room, the officer watching over my performance gives me the slightest nod, but somehow it fails to comfort my aching heart.

The murder witness almost feels like a breeze compared to the last two cases. Although he seems to be in distress, he is slightly more composed than the other two and even though it sounds insensitive it was such a relief to handle a case that was less painful for me.

His hands shake as he describes the murder and I place mine over his. The details are gory, but he seems to be okay with quite vividly dissecting the scene of the crime. My minds spins in thought as my intuition kicks in and as soon as I'm done questioning him, I walk over to Sergeant Walter.

"Sir, I have a question about the murder on 44th street. Who was the killer?"

The Sergeant raises his eyebrows and the corner of his lips curl ever so slightly. "Why do you ask, Officer Schulz?"

"Well", I pause in doubt. There is a chance I may be wrong, but I have a strong feeling that my gut is right. "The witness I interviewed. I imagine going through something as traumatising as watching your friend being killed would shake you up to your very core. But he seemed... almost calm. I just have this gut feeling that he isn't as innocent as he claims."

Sergeant Walter smiles and leads me to Lieutenant Alexander.

"Well, one person figured it out, Alex. You were right. Maybe there is hope after all."

~

"Recruits."

Lieutenant Alexander has a small smile playing on his face. "I'm happy to say that I'm quite pleased with your performance today. Being an advocate for victims is quite possibly the most challenging job here in the force, because it takes a great amount of will, mental strength and compassion to be able to successfully execute your task. Today, I have seen many of you rise up to a level that has rarely been seen in any other batch. For that, I congratulate all of you. However, only one of you was able to decipher an important clue that was placed right in front of you."

The whole hall starts buzzing in confusion and as Is questioningly looks at me, I grin and wink at her.

"Even though you go in as advocates, you are still police officers and you always have to be extremely alert, because sometimes people are not what they seem. The murder on 44th street. Your witness, the one who claimed he was tortured and forced to watch his friend being murdered, was in fact the killer. He fabricated a story and sent the police on a wild goose chase. It was only when his neighbour stumbled upon the murder weapon in his dumpster, that we realised that he made a fool out of the entire police force. He was caught 6 months later, but this case is a black mark on the German Police."

Is swats my thigh. "How did you figure out he was lying?"

I shrug. "He was calm."

"He was calm? You got all that from HE WAS CALM?", she whispers loudly. She groans. "Man, you're good."

~

purses his lips as he stands before us. "Before I dismiss you for the day, I'm going to brief you about our last and final day tomorrow. The past 2 days have been nothing but a practice session for your final test tomorrow."

Is whimpers. "I can't possibly do another day of this."

"Based on your performance so far, we have a rough idea where each one of you belong. But for our final analysis, you will undergo a series of assessments tomorrow. A pentathlon if you will." Lieutenant Alexander smiles wide, probably proud of himself for coming up with the name. "You will start with a 4-mile pursuit drive chasing your perp, followed by the obstacle course, hand-to-hand combat with an arrest and finally firearms shooting. We will time you, and test you on four major criteria: your agility, presence of mind, the ability to follow through protocol and how you handle any obstacles."

"We will begin at 7:30 am tomorrow but I have to warn you, you will be faced with officers who will not go easy on you. The fight is real and so is the injury. It will last only 20 minutes but it will be gruesome and tiring, so I suggest you get a good night's sleep. Good luck, recruits."