A fallen hero.
An example of who we had to stop ourselves from becoming. That we couldn’t allow the injustice of our department to get to us. We were never going to outwit all the criminals in the world, or squash crime for the rest of time. We were there to protect those who needed protecting and do our very best, even if others wanted more from us. Our team would continue to fight against the corruption that had polluted one too many stations over the course of history and remain caring souls in a world that needed more.
Abbey unclenched my fists with her delicate fingers, a silent form of telling me to relax. We watched our team roaming the grass and the building, a newfound place in my hearts for each of them. Tony had rolled up his sleeves and was standing in the rubble. The firefighters were appreciative of the help, whilst Cillian and Rebecca seemed to be deep in conversation.
“They’re good people,” McCall noted and mirrored my own stares.
“Yeah, they are,” I swallowed the cry that rose in my throat.
We all refused to budge as the hours passed, paying our respects to the former DCI as dusk turned efficiently to dawn. It exposed us to a new day where the chill didn’t even bother us. It was the furthest thing from our minds. DCI Reid’s body would be far away from here now and Iona would soon be informed of his death.
“Iona’s going to be heartbroken. That was her husband too,” Abbey choked up. Her nose was a bright red from the weeping she’d done. Iona Reid flashed into my mind. The love DCI Reid had for her was true and more real than most, in a weird way. Who knew what she’d do without him around in that huge house of theirs? Her life had been torn to pieces because DCI Reid wanted to save her, in the long run. It was a tragic tale and was one which I’d survived to tell.
Epilogue
Standing there now and picturing that night vividly, it felt like only yesterday. We’d endured a hardship that most people would struggle to understand, but a struggle that bonded our team together. Because of the loss, we’d learned to understand each other on a personal and deeper level.
We were more than a team. We were friends. It was nice to reminisce and admit that, but it only made me miss the department like hell. An important lesson I learned from DCI Reid, was to love like tomorrow was your final day. Since then, I’d shown consideration and appreciation for the people that had improved the quality of my life.
Muddy boot prints gave away the fact someone had visited Seafield house, but the spitting Scottish rain soon cleared that up. Some things didn’t change, not ever. Seemingly my wife was right, a walk did well to clear the mind and bring a peaceful quality to the day.
An idea was brewing inside as I turned my back on the significant building and started to retrace my footsteps towards our home. It had taken a while to build up the courage to return to Seafield house, but now I had, the worry was irrelevant. For along with the negative memories, came the positives. Like the time McCall had come to stay, and we loved having her around. That McCall and I were able to endure another tricky case in our partnership but still come out of it fighting and stronger than before.
I was convinced that we were indestructible, and she’d have to kill me before I’d stop being her work partner. We were constants that an invisible force had brought together in some twist of fate. I was one of the lucky ones, for few had a friendship so strong.
Then there was my wife. Without the case, I’d never have realised showing a lot of emotion made you human. That loving someone was nothing to be ashamed of. DCI Reid had loved, yes. But he wasn’t great at showing emotion or talking about his issues. That made him an emotionally unavailable man, and husband too. He wasn’t able to express himself to Iona, and that drove him into the arms of the devil on his shoulder. The voice that whispered tragic and unnecessary thoughts and made us doubt our own worth.
Since I’d matured, I understood that DCI Reid felt insignificant to the likes of Iona. She was well-bred and from a prestigious family, whilst he was the son of a factory worker. It was his own self-depreciation that willed him into feeling the need to show his love through money.
Maybe I had read too much into it, since being an overthinker came naturally to me. Or maybe it was from the therapy sessions I’d had after the incident that taught me a way of looking at it from an outsider's perspective.
Being a rich man like DCI Reid had longed to be, meant nothing to me. I was already rich by the company I had surrounded myself with. Money doesn’t make someone rich, it makes them greedy, unsatisfied and unfulfilled.
A layer of sunlight peeked through the pall, illuminating the grandeur of sparkles that reflected against the water. Living from day to day was something I’d struggled to comprehend for the longest while but slowly I realised that planning was irrelevant. Nobody knew what another day would bring, what new person or old would walk back into your life. As an ageing man, I’d had my fair share of surprises along the way. And they didn’t stop there.
Fishermen retreated out adrift again, having sat the spell of bad weather out and cast their long nets into the waves. They dipped and reappeared like dancers on a stage that created magical grooves in time to a synchronisation. Locals slowly resurfaced with new boxes of steaming fish and chips and grinning in satisfaction with greasy fingers. The tourist's children dipped
