Post #3

It was already 9:15; Donna should’ve been at Grumble Bee over an hour ago. Officer Conway had taken his sweet time coming in though, and then she could imagine that Regan was talking his ears off.

She saw her walking out. She had her head down and was taking quick strides, and didn’t even acknowledge her next door neighbor waiting in the hall. “Regan’s definitely ready to get out of here,” Donna thought.

Donna headed over to Conway’s office near the back of the station. She was familiar with the room. When Tommy was on probation, she’d go in and meet with Officer Conway every couple of weeks to make sure there weren’t any snags. Boy, Tommy had some real problems with authority.

Officer Conway’s personality hadn’t really helped either at first. He always had to come off as the biggest man in the room: that’s why he set up his office to intimidate people who’d gotten summons: he was a big man in that big chair in the darkened room, blocking the light from the window.

“Hey Donna,” he said as he moved back to open the blinds up. “You read the summons right?”

They’d come to know each other though, through Tommy’s ordeals, and Donna realized that he was in fact more devoted to his profession, and later on to those he was meant to “Protect and Serve,” than he let off.

“I did. But I don’t think I can be of much help. I hadn’t talked to him in several years — I wouldn’t know about his health situation.”

“Yes, but…” the officer seemed to search for the right thing to say. “We’re trying to find out all we can about the man.”

“I’m guessing it doesn’t have to do with ‘heart failure’ then, does it.”

“Right. So I know that you were close with him for a long time. Y’all grew up together, is that right? And he moved over to this side after Tommy was born. Ms. Reed said she remembers him going in and out of your house often on weekends when she was younger but that she hadn’t seen him on the 600 floor for several years now.”

“Indeed.”

“So… you were good friends with Mr. Evans?”

“Yes, Officer,” Donna said. She moved the chair back and stood up. “Again, i hadn’t had a conversation with the man in years, I don’t see how I could be of use to you.”

“Well, hold on a minute then, Donna. We found this in his wallet in between some cards, and a couple others like it. We couldn’t really make out what it was but I thought you might shed some light on what it was.”

He handed her a small, fading picture. Must’ve been about two and a half by four inches big, and on it was a woman with her arms around two kids on the edge of adolescence. A boy and a girl. A taller man was cut off by the left edge of the picture.

“Yes,” Donna said. “That’s me and… Mr. Evans and my family. I… “ her voice trailed off. She picked up her purse. “Could I take this with me?”

“I... s’pose so,” the Officer replied. “We don’t have much use for it here. There’s something written on the back too but I couldn’t make sense of much of it besides a date. And bein’ that far back, it wouldn’t help us with anything.”

“Thank you then Officer.” Donna turned towards the door, holding the picture at her chest. She turned it over in her hands.

“Birthday 1981. Dee, Ma, and Me,” it read. “At Home.”