Page 37 of Kisses

“No. She’s dead. Let me go. I need my mother.”

The husky voice again, “Miss, please calm down.”

A female voice speaks, “I’m here. Bring her here.”

The female police officer grabs hold of me and hugs me. I lose it more. My mother is gone. This is my worst nightmare.

***

Sitting in an ambulance with a blanket wrapped around me, one of the investigators approaches me. He asks, “Miss, did you see anything?”

Snotty, I state, “Yes.”

“What happened?”

“The asshole shot my mother. That’s what happened.”

“What happened to him?”

“He shot himself.”

He looks at me skeptically. He knew I was lying. I sigh, “My mother shot him while he shot her.”

“Your mom is a hero.”

“I know. Please don’t tell the media that she shot the shooter down.”

“Why?”

“You control this. She doesn’t want her name attached to killing him. Let her be.”

“We will see what we can do. I can’t promise anything.”

I yell, “You will honor my mother’s last wish.”

He looks at me, confused. The anger is brewing in me. The only thing that matters right now is that the shooter is dead and can’t harm anyone anymore. The least they could do is honor a dying woman’s last wish to stay anonymous. I sigh and begin to cry again.