by Sonya Lee
Chapter 8
Vasquez and Timms drove Katrina to her parents’ house. They lived in a brownstone near 35th and King Drive. The area had gone through renovations within the last ten years. What at one time were run down brownstones, were now gleaming tributes to a neighborhood teeming with life. Katrina had fond memories of her old neighborhood. Although she missed summers in Chicago, she wouldn’t take back the summers she spent traveling with her parents. Her parents had been gone for two weeks. Katrina hadn’t checked the house in over a week. She hoped her mother’s plants were still alive. She’d hate to tell her mom her prized chrysanthemums had died due to neglect.
The cruiser pulled up in front of the house. The neighborhood was fairly quiet for a Saturday night. Hardly anyone was out on the street. Officers Vasquez and Timms got out of the car first. They scanned the area in search of signs of danger. They tapped the car, signaling to Katrina the all clear to get out of the car.
The front of the house was dark. The porch’s light must have blown thought Katrina. She had left it on the last time she checked the house. They walked up the stairs to the front door. Officer Timms unlocked the door and entered first. The alarm beeped. Katrina came in behind him and then Officer Vasquez. All the lights in the house were off. Katrina could make out the alarm key pad. She approached it to turn off the alarm. As she was deactivating the alarm the floor boards creaked making her jump. Katrina let out a little shriek. Officers Vasquez and Timms drew their firearms.
“Are you okay, Ms. Castillo?” asked Timms.
“Yeah, I’m okay, just a little on edge. I forgot how much this house creaks,” she said.
Vasquez and Timms placed their firearms back in the holsters. Katrina walked through the house turning on the lights as she went.
“We need you to get your things, we shouldn’t stay here very long. Where is your room?” asked Vasquez.
“Up the stairs to the right,” she replied.
“Timms will go up with you, I’ll remain here,” said Vasquez.
Katrina and Timms walked up the stairs. Katrina turned on the upstairs hallway lights as they climbed the stairs.
“I left these lights on the last time I checked the house,” she said.
“Are you sure,” replied Timms.
“I believe I did,” she said in confusion.
They traveled down the hall to her bedroom. Katrina’s bedroom door was closed. She hesitated before turning the knob. Officer Timms noticed the hesitation.
“What’s the problem, Ms. Castillo?” he asked.
“We don’t close our bedroom doors unless we’re sleep. I left this door open the last time I was here,” she said a little unsure of what she might find when she walked into her bedroom.
Officer Timms stepped in front of Katrina. He stood at the door for a couple of seconds listening for any sound coming from the room. Katrina stood back, holding her breath. She wasn’t so sure she wanted to be in the house at that moment. He turned the knob and opened the door. He threw the light switch and scanned the room looking for hidden danger. His mind registered the devastation in one glance.
Katrina’s clothes were strewn all over the floor. Most had been cut to shreds. The dresser drawers had all been dumped in the middle of the room. The dresser mirror had been smashed to bits. The sleigh bed’s mattress was shredded against the wall. The box spring boards were splintered. The headboard had the word “Bitch” carved into it. The word “bitch” was written across the walls. The smell of urine permeated the room. Timms walked into the room heading for the closet. The door was wide open, he turned the light on. All of Katrina’s clothing was piled in the middle of the floor, shredded as well.
Katrina looked into her childhood bedroom. She couldn’t believe the destruction. All of her clothes were ruined. Her favorite bed was destroyed. Derogatory words were written all over her room. Tears rolled down her face. She walked out of the room shaking her head in disbelief. Timms followed behind her. He called down to Officer Vasquez.
“We need to get a burglary detail here ASAP,” he said.
“What do we have?’ asked Vasquez going on alert.
“I would say vandalism, but it seems to be directed solely at Katrina, so I’m thinking our perp’s been here,” he said. “The only damage upstairs appears to be in her room. The other rooms appear to be untouched.”
Katrina looked at Timms, terror evident in her eyes. She understood now that the anger was strictly directed towards her. Someone disliked her very much and for the life of her she couldn't fathom why.
“But the alarm was still on,” she finally said.
“A good thief can bypass an alarm system with the right knowledge,” said Timms.
Vasquez came up the stairs to inform them that the burglary unit was on the way. She looked in the room and let out a low whistle. She escorted Katrina downstairs. She felt sorry for Katrina and all she's had to endure in the last 24 hours. She didn't want her to look too hard at the room. If she saw all that Vasquez had seen and understood, she knew Katrina would probably hire several body guards to protect herself.
Timms called the captain to give him an update. The captain told Timms to get Ms. Castillo to the safe house ASAP. Johns and Christian were already on their way, they would be able to back them up. When Timms walked back downstairs there was a knock at the door. Timms went to let the burglary unit in.
As soon as the burglary unit entered the house Timms informed them they needed to interview the witness right away because they needed to get her to the safe house. Katrina didn't have very much to report. The house had been vandalized or more specifically her bedroom hand been. There wasn’t anything missing. There were just several personal items of Katrina's that were destroyed. As soon as the interview was over, they headed for the safe house.
When they arrived to the safe house an undercover police cruiser was parked in the driveway. Johns and Christian exited the cruiser.
Katrina looked at the safe house. She hadn’t known what to expect. Her first thought about it was that it didn’t look safe at all. The shutters appeared to be falling off. The windows were covered with years of grime. Several shingles were missing from the roof. She slowly exited the car. Det. Christian told Timms and Vasquez to pull their cruiser around to the back of the house. She followed Johns and Christian into the safe house.
The inside of the house was a complete surprise. The front door had two dead bolt locks. The living room was painted white and included a state of the art surveillance system. She spotted several monitors displaying several angles of the outside of the house. She looked at the windows and noticed the shatter proof glass. The grime on the outside hid this fact. The floors were hardwood. There were two bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room. The house didn’t have an attic or a basement. Katrina felt that she might be safe here after all.
There was a knock on the back door. Katrina sat on the couch and Det. Johns went to let Timms and Vasquez in.
“We’re safe and secure,” said Christian. “We did a perimeter check just before you got here. We’ll take the first watch and you guys can take a break.”
Johns looked at Katrina.
“Let me show you to your room. You need to get some sleep,” said Det. Johns as he showed her to the first bedroom.
“I don’t know if I can,” she said.
“Exhaustion isn’t good for any one, try to at least take a nap,” he replied. He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
Katrina glanced over the room. It was sparsely decorated. There was a bed, a TV and a nightstand. There weren’t any closets in the bedroom. She dropped her bag and climbed into bed fully dressed. She could hear bits and pieces of muffled conversation. She heard a door close quietly. The stillness of the room started
to relax her. Her mind was too muddled from exhaustion to think. She continued to listen to the small noises until she eventually fell into a restless sleep.