Through the Eyes of Madness—Finale
By: David K. Montoya
In the dead of the night, the clouds depleted and empty the rain ceased with a unsettling calm that washed over the city. As with the change of the season, the wetness froze into an icy gloss which covered the concrete jungle. With an unwelcome breeze entered the scene, a light, weightless snowflake fell from the Heavens.
Within mere moments, the sidewalks and roads were blanketed with a light fluff of freshly fallen snow. Tidwell looked out his window and the landscape reminded him of a Christmas card his first wife continued to send out year after year. Loneliness hit the old detective in a cascade of emotion, he tried to not think of her—his first love, the one who got away.
Tidwell was still green in the world of law enforcement, a rookie, only a few days out of the academy when he met her, Sarah. She stood by the captain at the time, he saw her and thought to himself, I will marry her one day.
Sarah was a desk clerk; she reminded the rookie of the centerfold he purchased a day prior. Long brown hair that hung to her bottom, almost hugging her slender waist. But it was her blue eyes that infatuated him. Dean had never met an Asian with blue eyes and while she was five years Tidwell's senior, he did not care. Her beauty captured his dreams and imagination.
Tidwell's eyes never left the window, but he was as far from his home as humanly possible while trapped inside the confines of his memory. Misery welcomed him and his thoughts and the, now, old, dying detective sighed softly as all the bad things the two experienced as a couple. Sarah made him want to be a better man, more of what she expected as a man...as a mate...as a partner.
With a heavier sigh, Tidwell lowered his eyes and walked away from the window. When he passed through the living room and stopped at a mantle that help a collection of old photos. One in particular caught his eye, it was one of Sarah, she was at a swimming pool with a rather revealing swimsuit for the time on—it was his favorite.
Tidwell rubbed his stiff and calloused finger over the protective glass on the photograph, specifically the two kids that Sarah held in her arms. One boy and one girl. Their twins, Maxwell and his sister, Emily.
They were only four when their mother left Tidwell. It crushed him. Emotionally, and wholly. He swore to change, and would be the husband that Sarah wanted, but it was too late, her words rang through his head when she walked out the door, "You let the streets, its hate and darkness enter your soul, Dean, and while it makes you an amazing detective...it also makes you an unfit father and husband."
Tidwell only saw his kids a few times after that, but it was at their high school graduation when during Maxwell's Valedictorian speech that he referred to Sarah's second husband and their stepfather as dad. It was then, that he realized that he had lost his children to another man, and all he had left to live for was his work, the job that needed to be done.
Tidwell decided not to wait for Maxwell, to finish his speech, It is a lost cause, she took them from me and now I no longer have children of my own, he thought. He got to his feet and walked away, despite the words of comfort Sarah tried to offer, Dean Tidwell left the graduation to never speak to his former wife or children ever again.
Grayson watched the snow fall from behind a large window, it was a rare occasion for the three of them to go out to a fancy restaurant. But it was a celebration...he was responsible for the capture of the CopyCat Killer. And while time had passed since then, Detective Copeland relived that moment nightly.
But the detective masked his thought and feelings with a smile. He evoked his charm, which was something Lisa welcomed back into her life. For his wife, it was as if she now lived inside her dreams and fantasies.
With Tidwell gone, Grayson was moved to lead detective which was a ten to six job. With Patrick O'Neil Juniors trial was on the horizon, Copeland was more of a media figure than an actual homicide detective. Captain Whick took him off his remaining cases and was ordered to appear on different talk shows and give insight to the CopyCat Killer and how he was taken down.
The Chief of Police and Whick felt that it was a public relations playground which portrayed officers of the law in a positive light, instead of being the bad guys all the time. That was what Grayson became, their puppet for the public.
Everything he wanted to avoid after he came to the city, was now a part of his daily routine. But Grayson received a large raise and an even larger bonus for all of his work with the public. While he was adored by the public, the man who brought the Jack the Ripper copycat to justice, he lost his respect at the precinct as his new nickname was Mister Hollywood.
Grayson and Lisa glanced at each other across the table with smiles.
"Is that a new dress, Love," Grayson asked while he noticed the group of paparazzi gathering across the street.
"Yes, it is a Louis Vuitton," Lisa said with a bright smile.
"Oh, you are beautiful with or without Louie's help," Grayson said with a smile of his own, but his words hollowed. He never wanted to be rich, or famous for that matter. Money was never an issue to him, they owned their cars and their house—what more could he have asked for.
"Thank you, Gray, I got the cheaper one because I know you don't like me spending more than ten 'K' for a dress," Lisa said with a chuckle.
Her husband's eyes widened at the statement, Grayson sipped his water and then calmly asked, "Soo, that dress was only ten thousand dollars?"
Lisa laughed. "No Silly, it was only nine," Lisa corrected.
For Lisa Copeland, she came from a world where she was the least successful of her family. With her husband's fame and flowing cash flow, she felt that finally all her patience with him and their child had paid off.
All the sacrifice she martyred for her family had come full circle, while Grayson wanted to stay grounded, which she felt was his right since he made the money. But it was hers to spend as she wanted. Shortly after her husband became what Lisa teased as the 'Media Monkey' wanted to buy a new house, but that was shot down, because technically it was Gray's credit and he did not approve.
A barrage of flashed erupted from the other side of the window. Grayson grumbled and shook his head, and said, "I just wanted to have a nice dinner before tomorrow."
"The trial starts tomorrow, papers want to know how you spent the evening before the big day," Lisa rebutted with a smile and a wave toward the cameras.
"Lisa don't encourage them," Grayson said as he looked down and covered his face from the bright lights.
"C'mon Media Monkey, smile and wave, it's your job," Lisa laughed.
Curt giggled.
"You a monkey! You a monkey! Dance! Dance!" Curt exclaimed, as a young child would.
Grayson and Lisa smiled at their little boy. He placed his hand under his underarm and the other above his head and begin to move and made sounds that a monkey would. Curt exploded in laughter, and cried out, "Monkey dance! Dance, dance, dance! Mom–mom you dance now! You dance!"
Lisa looked over at Grayson who was still and character, and then over at the paparazzi on the outside.
"Well mom," Grayson asked while he danced around.
"Dance mom–mom," Curt demanded to his mother.
Again, she looked at the people with their cameras and over at her husband who grinned and winked at her.
Lisa shrugged and smiled at her son and begin to mimic the movements of a monkey as well, she looked at Grayson and said, "You know this is going to be all over the internet by the time we get home."
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