Mike hadn’t slept that night. The first officers on the scene were a man and a woman. He didn’t know the man but had met the woman, Jones, before. He did his best to explain what he had seen and done. His story sounded crazy even to himself, so he could imagine how bad it sounded to them.
“So you heard one of the victims on your baby monitor. Does this happen often?”
“We had recommended the same monitor to them, so it makes sense. It’s what happened tonight.”
“And you think the man who attacked you was the husband, Ted Zhang?”
“Honestly, I don't know. His face looked like him, yes, but the build was all wrong. Maybe...” he paused, trying to make some sort of sense of the memory, which was more like a nightmare. “Maybe it was his brother, although I didn't see Ted's body in there.” At the time, he had been so sure that it was Ted.
Little Sam stood next to his father, his “Toy Story” pajamas covered with a blanket. There was no way the kid could walk without tripping, but then Sam was so out of it from being woken up in the middle of night that he hardly moved. Mike wasn’t letting him out of his sight now. Not with whatever, or whoever, it was still out there.
“And you shot him?”
“Oh yeah, four times. The last hit him in the head.”
The male officer shook his head. “Right.” The word had a mocking tone to it. “I don't think you walk away from that one. I think you missed and scared him off.”
Mike tried to make what happed seem rational, at least in his own head. “I think the guy was high on something, some messed-up sh…” He glanced down at Sam. “Stuff.”
“Well, judging by that little horror movie across the street, there was something obviously wrong with the guy.” All three officers were silent, replaying the scene upstairs in their heads. Mike felt a bit nauseous.
More officers arrived, along with an ambulance, although it didn’t do any good for the Zhangs. They asked more questions, which Mike tried to answer. He was coming down from his adrenaline rush and it was making him feel sick and sleepy. The cuts on his chest throbbed and he could feel blood seeping through the bandages. Eventually he gave up and asked if he might get some medical attention himself. One of the EMTs looked his chest over.
"Looks pretty deep, I think you’re going to need stitches at least. Why don't you take a ride with us? We'll patch you up good."
Jones, who had been following him and Sam around and generally being as helpful as she could, spoke up. “Why don't you and Sam go? I can handle this here. You just meet up with us at the station in the morning. I'm pretty sure you know where it is and I’ll still be on shift.” She smiled at Mike. It was a friendly smile but there was a bit too much pity in it.
“Sure, thanks. I need to call my in-laws to pick up Sam, but they can meet us at the hospital. Which one are you taking me to?” he asked the EMT.