Memories: A Talk with Liam (Warning VERY Long Read)

A Talk With Liam

Kincaid made her way towards the address she had scribbled down on the small piece of paper just moments before leaving the precinct.  She elected to have radio silence in the car to give her thoughts free reign as she delved into the mental filing cabinet of notes on the case that she was currently working.  She needed all the time she could get -away- from the precinct to focus on it better.  She was under close scrutiny from those above her and it had begun costing her precious time with researching the history of other cases that were similar to this one.

The condescending whispers, the wary looks, and the lack of cooperation with her co-workers was causing her stress on the job.  She didn’t want the enjoyment she had doing it to cause possible burn out.  Nor did she need added paranoia when she arrived at scenes that were tasked to her.  Every step she took was like walking through land mines.  Every beat of her heart and every breath she took, made her feel like she was being controlled by the people over her.  Ones, she hadn’t met and didn’t wish to meet ever.

There was only so much internal politicking that Kincaid could deal with.  She was damn good at a her job and she wasn’t going to let anyone else tell her otherwise.  Especially…  not her supervisors.  They were men that were beholding to powerful people who had already passed the point of wanting to be powerful.  Ones who could make a single phone call requesting certain records to disappear, evidence be misplaced or a shady criminal be released back into society.

She arrived at her destination, angst with the realization she once again, she had digressed to think of the dirty rats she worked with and not the true task at hand.  She parked the car as close as she could to where the most recent crime scene had taken place.   After turning the car’s engine off, she stared out the window wanting desperately to turn off her emotions again so she could steel herself from the chaos around her.  She had done that once upon a time before, but it hadn’t ended well.  In fact it was one of the reasons she had ended up in this god forsaken part of the United States.

She screamed as loud as she could and hit her steering wheel again and again till she could no longer feel any of the pain it was causing her.  She hated the role she had been placed in by her former supervisor, and hate wasn’t the only thing she felt when she thought about him.  She couldn’t let the past ruin her future and she would have to eventually pick up the pieces later.  There would be no getting back into his good graces for a long time.

She breathed out long and slow, and pulled herself back together before opening the car door.  Standing, she planted both feet on the ground as she closed herself off from the rest of the world.  She had work to do.

She called Stryker to her side and watched as he squeezed between the two front seats and slid out of the car taking his own moments to stretch his long body while resting his back paws on the driver’s seat.  “Rar roof,” he chuffed at Kincaid before finishing one of the many yoga poses for dogs that he had begun to demonstrate after watching the all stretching sessions Kincaid had recently started doing each morning after getting off work, and just before heading to bed.

“That’s my handsome man,” she said and reached out brushing her hand on the top of his huge head.  “Come along and be on watch,” she commanded him.  He immediately stepped away from the car and onto the cold pavement and joined her side, giving a quick shake of his head.  He had his own personality, that was for sure.

She shut the door to the badly bruised and beaten, 1965 Mustang she had been given by her father just before he passed away.  She clicked her tongue to Stryker and made her way towards the site of the homicide that was still being combed for evidence by technicians.

Normally crime scenes didn’t take as long as this one was, because it was bag it and tag it and most evidence was quickly found.  This one was taking so long because of the lack of evidence.  

The last words her ‘supervisor’ said before leaving the precinct for the day was, “leave no stone un - turned, no leaf is allowed to blow away and any fallen branches are to be collected even if you don’t see any evidence with your weak little eyes…   now get out of my office Detective Kincaid.”  His words held venom in them and she left the office without saying a word, while everyone else was given a front row seat and saw and heard the once sided conversation which included screaming and the slamming of the door as he closed it behind her.

She sighed irritably shoving both her hands into the pockets of her jacket.  It seems fate has a way of always reminding you of the failure ‘other’ people think you are by flooding your mind with unnecessary and messy thoughts.  She continued to make her way to the site and glanced across the distance to an large, interesting looking and run – down building that had faint Roman designs.  Two large stone columns stood in front of it and a nearby wall was slowly crumbling down leaving part of the edge of the roof missing and appearing to have collapsed inside of itself.  The remnants of intricate frescoes, and a faded dome with chipped mosaic fragments were the only thing left behind of the building that might have been quite beautiful at conception.

“Hmm,” she said and made a mental note to inquire about the building after catching up on any new details for the scene.  As she began to turn away from her in depth studying of it, shadows flickered at the corner of her peripheral and she stopped to concentrate on the area she thought it was at.  The shadows diffused from the darkness of the fog and someones blurred image stepped out revealing itself beneath the light of the crescent moon over head.  She narrowed her eyes in disbelief.  The want to know more about the building and this individual she knew she had just seen, immediately blossomed into the desire to see things closer up…  but that would have to come later…   because work came first.  

She only hoped that seeing things wasn’t resulting from her toxic work environment.  Chiding herself mentally, she turned and finished the walk to the scene and found her favorite technician Liam onsite.  He was the only individual she knew who wasn’t treating her like pariah after she had arrived at the precinct.

“Hey Liam,” she said to get his attention as she stopped outside the yellow caution tape that barred anyone from entering without the right authority.  Her dog stopped and laid down to rest on the grass, behind her and watched the goings on.

“Hi Kincaid.  Didn’t expect to see you out here so late.”  Liam stood up wearing the white crime scene technician suit that he always wore, and brushed his hands off on the sides of his legs.  He walked towards Kincaid and stood with the barrier between them and looked at up at her face searching for any indication of why she might have been there.

“Don’t ask Liam.  I always get sent to do the low man on the totem pole jobs right now.  Don’t get me wrong, your job isn’t shitty and I appreciate everything you do as a crime scene tech.  I am just not a tech.”  There was salt and vinegar laced in the words as she spoke them.

“Oh I know.”  He held up his hands in mock surrender to her and dropped his hands back down at his sides.  “Let me give you a word of advice if you don’t mind a lowly crime scene tech giving it to you raw.”  He gave her know time to answer.

“I respect you a shit ton Kincaid.  The shaft you’re getting right now isn’t called for.  I have read the stories about you, just like everyone else.  Your a role model for others --  hell you are almost like a god to some of us.”  He squeezed Kincaid’s shoulder gently.  “Don’t let anything that’s going on break you down.  Your better than all those guys who set on their ass everyday wanting the truth to just fall in their lap without working for it.”  He dropped his hand.

“Tell that to my bruised ego Liam.”  She shrugged her shoulders and then gave him the best smile she could which was only lifting the corner of her lip.
Liam laughed.  “Come on.  Put your fangs away.  I’m totally on your side of things.”  He turned around and headed back to the spot he had been in and took a knee to continue working.  He had dug himself a little hole and was poking around in it with a metal spoon.

“Anything I should know about Liam?”  She inquired while standing there watching him work.

“No.  Not yet.  Why don’t you take a walk and come back and see me in about an hour.  I’m sure I will have some information for you then.”  He waved her away with a hand.

“Fine.”  She grumbled quietly in response.  “Say, what is that huge building nearby Liam?”

The tech looked up at her and leaned slightly to look past her and pointed with his spoon.  “That?  That building is an old church.  It’s been closed down for a while and for good reason.  

t’s about to be demolished.”  He shook his head with a look of disappointment on his face.  “It’s a shame.  It was once a very beautiful thing to look at.  Time and nature always seem to win.”  He went back to digging in the soft, damp dirt.  “I know you Kincaid… watch your step if you go snooping around in it.  I don’t want to find you buried under a pile of dusty rocks.”

“It’s almost like you care when you say something that nice to me.”  She chuckled softly and considered his words as permission to take a look at whatever it was that was crawling around in the shadows previously.  She wasn’t about to open a can of worms with Liam by mentioning what she couldn’t have seen.  He was being quite kind to her considering all things.

“OK.  I will go take a walk like you suggested.”  She turned and nonchalantly began to head for the church.

“And…  Kincaid.  No matter what you think, I do care.”  Liam said.

“Thanks Liam.”  She whispered and headed off towards the building hoping something of interest would be found to keep her busy while waiting for Liam.



Now he was dead...and for what reason?