She was very excited because it was her turn to cook the family dinner and she was making all of her family favorites. As she was preparing the food, she noticed that her parents were running about two hours late.
It was very unusual of them not to call whenever they were running late and as she looked over the living room clock again, she began to slowly but gradually panic.
She dialed both of her parent’s cell phones but neither one answered; instead, she got their voice mails and she was beginning to get the sinking feeling that something was wrong.
She turned off the music, went into her room and prayed to her saints that they would protect and bring her parent’s back home safely. She went back to the kitchen to check the food.
Jessica was a little disappointed that neither of them picked up their phones, she felt like they were either ignoring her or forgot about her and as she sat on the couch thinking about this she dozed off, until the house phone ringer had awakened her.
She almost lost her balance trying to catch the phone because, the answering machine would have picked up if she did not retrieve the handset after the second ring.
“Hello” said Jessica to the caller on the other end of the phone almost out of breath.
The caller on the other end was Det. Clark and he knew that he had to handle this situation very delicately because, he did not know who Jessica was yet.so, he decided that it was best to meet with her face-to-face.
“Hi, Detective Clark here, I am sorry to bother you but, I have something that I need to discuss with you right away. How soon can you get to the precinct 34 at El Centro Commercial?”
“I think I can make it there in about 30 minutes, if I take a cab, is that a good time?”
“Yes it is, please write down the directions that I am going to give you”
Okay, let me get a pen. Please hold a second.
She ran to her room got a pen and told him she was ready. She wrote down the directions and told him she got them and he hung up
Jessica’s heart was racing because; she knew that when a police officer calls you it is normally for something serious.
Det. Clark could hear it in Jessica's voice that she was anxious to know whatever it was that he had to tell her, maybe these were her parents and they were late coming home already.
Right after hanging up with Det. Clark Jessica tried her parent’s cellphones again and neither answered their cell phones, she started thinking the worst-case scenario but her parents always taught her not to panic until she knew the whole facts about any situation.
She got dressed as quickly as possible, called a cab, which came two minutes later. She ran down her steps, got in the cab and gave him the same directions Det. Clark gave her.
On the way to the precinct, she saw what looked like a car accident. It looked like her parents vehicle and she prayed it was not her parents.
Jessica arrived exactly 30 minutes later to the front of the precinct as she looked around her surroundings seemed familiar and she realized that it was located in the worst part of town, where most of the crimes in the city took place and this town was also known as the “Devils Cave”
The cab driver gave Jessica a break and only charged her only half of the cab fare and suggested that he could wait for her until she was done, she happily agreed and gave him an extra five dollars for his consideration.
Jessica parents had always tried to install in her to be nice to others who are nice to her because, she never knew who she was going to need in life.
Jessica came out the cab and walked right into an awful smell; she hoped and prayed that it was not coming from inside the precinct.
The precinct was very small and there were all sorts of smells but not as bad as the outside of the building because, it was more obvious where the smells where coming from, garbage was piled up from all the garbage cans.
The walls looked like a crazy person or a mad grizzly bear that got loose somehow scratched off the paint and everything around the precinct was disorganized or out of place.
Dang, do any woman work here? She thought because if they did they ought to be ashamed of themselves, this precinct really needed some cleaning.
Two women police officers walked by her after she thought of how dirty the place was but, she noticed they did not stop at a desk so, she figured that they did not work there. She went to the front and asked to see Det. Clark and they paged him.
Detective Clark, was nearby and as he approached the front desk, he noticed Jessica looking around he stood staring at Jessica for a second as she looked around and he knew that it was her because of the way she was looking around the precinct like she was disgusted by it. Most people that were not trying to look around especially if they have been arrested, they just wanted to get out of it as soon as they step inside.
Jessica sensed someone was watching her every move. She turned around and noticed an officer watching her. “Oh he is fine”, she said under her breath.
Det. Clark was tall, of an Indian completion and he appeared to be in his early 30's about 180 pounds of muscles. He was something else, he looked like a model straight out of the Essence magazine she say a couple of weeks ago.
She liked the way he looked but she would not ever date a cop or army man because she would be too afraid to get a call that confirmed that her man was injured or killed in the line of duty.
There was also the fact that Det. Clark was wearing a wedding band in his ring finger, which suggested that he was married.
Married or not she could smell his cologne and it made her kitty purr. She could not stop staring at his “big brown eyes” and he had a smile that lit up any room. They smiled at each other and he finally approached her.
Det. Clark asked if her name was Jessica and he gave her a firm handshake and asked her to follow him, to his office.
She was scared to go with him at first because, she did not know him but since he was a police officer and she was at a precinct, she made an exception.
Jessica remained focused on where they were heading just in case, she had to kick Det. Clark in the grind area and run out of his office. In life and as a woman you knew that she always had to be prepared for anything to happen.
On her way to Det. Clark’s office she could see other police officers doing paper work, booking, taking pictures of people coming in and taking them to the holding cells or taking them to a van to transport them to jail, she gather all this knowledge from watching movies.
It was very crowded in the precinct that day but Jessica had never been to a precinct before this day so, she did not really know the process.
Det. Clark interrupted her thoughts and asked Jessica how she got there. Jessica was not looking in front of her and she bumped into him.
“Oops, I am so sorry about that; I took a cab here, it still waiting for me outside.”
“Will you like water, before we begin Ms. Jessica?
“No, thank you sir “
“You are very welcome, ok well here it goes”.
Det. Clark paused for a few minutes as he began to waive his options on how to tell Jessica what her visit was for today was about. He did not know how to tell any child that both of her parents were dead and were a subject of a hit and run.
Jessica twirled innocently back and forth on the chair and she continued looking at Det. Clark and tapping her feet nervously; he broke the ice by asking Jessica a few questions about school and her grade and what were her plans after high school, did she plan to go to college and what career.
“Jessica, I had to bring you here today because, we believe that both of your parents were killed in a car accident today. I am so sorry to have to bring you all this way to tell you this”
“Oh my, how could this be? How am I going to survive without my parents? “Are you sure it is them, how can you be so sure”?
“Jessica we found both or their cell phones that you been calling today and your number it said “Home” and I believe this is their Identification cards”.
He showed Jessica her parent’s identification cards through a plastic evidence bag that held them and Jessica nearly fainted at the site of them.
“I know how hard this must be for you Jessica but, we still need you to identify the bodies.
“Oh I can’t believe this, I can’t do this, help me lord, give me the strength that I need God she cried out”
Det. Clark was very sadden by this tragic that happened to her more because, he was the lead detective on this case and was the bad news delivery man at this moment and also the one that had to see her suffer and see her become pale and weak. He left the room and went to get her some water.
He came back, handed her a bottle of water, and told her that she had to go over to the morgue today to identify the bodies just to be 100 % accurate before making the accident report to the news at 11pm.
“How am I going to eat? How am I going to pay the bills? Screamed Jessica, why, why, why me, lord?”
By the time, she finished screaming the entire precinct police department was running to Det. Clark office to see what the problem was.
Det. Clark gave everyone the rundown to why Jessica screamed and they all try their best to console her. She was happy that strangers who truly cared surrounded her.
Det. Clark tried to Jessica the best possible answer to all her questions but at the end of the day only God knows why things happen the way they happen.
“Unfortunately Jessica there is not much that we can do for you but, tomorrow a social worker that works side by side with teens will come over to you tomorrow and help guide you thought this and she will answer any questions that you may have. For now just try to relax please because I do not want you to get sick.
“Yes sir, thank you so much for everything.
“You are very welcome, Jessica”
He handed her his business card, gave her a hug and told her not to worry about anything that Ms. Charles will help her and to always have faith and never give up hope because he was there for her if she ever needed anything and that her parents would have not had it any other way.
Jessica’s story was a very sad to everyone at the precinct and especially to Det. Clark because in the 20 years that he has been Detective, he never had to tell a child, that both of their parents were dead even though Jessica seemed like a strong girl, he knew that her life would never be the same.
Det. Clark could sympathize even more with Jessica because, he had three children of his own and he could not imagine how devastated his children would be after hearing that both of their parents were dead.
He gave her a few minutes to collect her thoughts before he talked to Det. Morgan who will be the one taking her over to the morgue to identify the bodies.
Jessica stopped crying and Det. Morgan came in the room to ask if she was ready to go. She nodded her head, got up from the seat and her knees buckled and she sat back down for a few more minute.
She got up and they left to the morgue, as Jessica entered the morgue building she felt a chill go through her entire body. She saw two bodies covered with a white sheet on a metal table and as she entered the room, she shivered each step that she took.
She looked on the table and she automatically recognized her mother because of her clothing she was wearing and her father’s because of his birthmark that they both shared.
She screamed so loud that her voice shut off for a few minutes.
The cab driver heard a scream and it sounded like Jessica but he did not know where it was coming from so he circulated the block a few times but found nothing. He got back to the parking spot and prayed that it was not her.
Jessica ran out the building as fast as she could and told the detectives that she will be in touch.
The cab driver knew that something was wrong with Jessica as soon as she got back in the cab because, she did not speak to him and her eyes were bloodshot red, she appeared to had been crying but, he decided not to question her and just take her home and see if she talks on her own.
Jessica did not want to share the news of her parents’ death with him because, she had to be careful whom she trusted with this information and she did not know Greg well enough to trust him.
She cried the whole way home, got out the cab and thanked Greg again for all his help and he drove off.
Jessica kept to herself the entire ride home and thinking about life, she was so close to graduating high school and she was looking forward to starting college and obtaining a student visa so that she could continue her studies in the USA and her parents were so proud of her and always admired how smart she was.
She did not know any other family members or even recalled her parents speaking about anyone no letters, post cards, phone calls or even a visitor, for her birthday and she ever thought of asking why but now she wished she did.
Jessica was her parent’s first and only child and to her parent she was everything they wanted in a child, she kept up with school not about boys and was about something.
As she thought about how her parents isolated her from the world so much, she thought that maybe they just wanted to protect her but it was a bit too much, she was sadden at the thought that they were no longer around to protect her anymore.
She knew that her parents really loved her and that their intentions were good but, were they really protecting her or did they make it harder for her to become independent.
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