The Situated (chapter two)

Chapter two

Sam couldn’t believe this woman in front of him was trying to loop him into some mess. Did she actually think that they were going to bury the dead burglar? He had to say it and see if she would go along with it. It was astonishing that she agreed with the ridiculous idea. This was Kate, his spoiled neighbor.

Did she have no clue that the police would eventually hunt their butts down after finding the body?

He took the phone and dialed the police number. The girl kept ranting on about how he was going to get them in trouble. She was missing the point that he had to take care of himself. Well, his future. This would all work out for them.

Females like these had the world wrapped around their fingers. She was so pretty with that long, raven hair and Barbie face that all she needed were tears and a story, and the police would let them go. They wouldn’t get incriminated because this wasn’t their fault.

His decision was for the best.

He looked around her small apartment painted with yellow color. Speaking of which, he had never really been inside her home. The kitchen with a windowless hole was shaded with cream white, and broken glasses were everywhere on the floor. Sam’s eyes trailed back to the body sprawled in the middle of the living room, a couple of steps from the kitchen, wondering what he had come for in this woman’s house.

If he had come to steal, there was no sign of it. Unless he was a psycho killer, Sam’s face turned angry. As much as he didn’t like his neighbor, he didn’t want her dead. After someone answered the phone, he told them everything that had happened.

The police came clad in their blue uniforms and investigated the scene. Two of the men squatted around the body with latex gloves and took the ski mask off the man and put it in a zip lock bag. Sam leaned his head over to see if he recognized the person. However, his bald Caucasian face was unfamiliar.

Kate was sitting on the couch with a blanket around her with tears in her eyes.

Sam looming in front of her bedroom just rolled his eyes. This woman was a good actor. She had to be because she was whimpering and sniffing as the police man standing next to her questioned her.

Sam coughed under his fist.

The police man had told him to wait to be questioned after the woman. He found himself watching as the two men in blue uniforms put orange poles around the dead body as the other took pictures of it. Then the paramedics brought a white sheet and covered the body.

This was like “Law and Order”, the program on TNT.

Sam shoved his hands into his pockets. The police man with a big belly and who had been questioning the woman came up to him, closing his small notepad and pointing towards the door out of her apartment with his thumb. “Let’s go.”

Sam moved his weight on one leg and blinked. “Excuse me?” He glanced at Kate to see her wiping her eyes. What did she tell them?

“I need to question you outside.” The detective explained to him.

Sam took him a while to understand, and he finally nodded his head. She couldn’t set him up, right? He took a last peek of her before he followed the police officer out of the door and in the hallway. Some neighbors in their pajamas had their doors open watching them. The police everywhere alerted them more.

The law enforcer led him to the exit door with an extinguisher on the side of the wall, which was a way leading to the stairways. “Listen, tell me the truth, and I will do something about your arrest.”

Sam dryly chuckled and kept his gaze locked with the man’s blue intense eyes. “What are you suggesting? That I did the crime?”

“I think you were working with that man trying to scare the lady. The neighbors also said that you were unfriendly towards her.”

The taller man didn’t laugh after hearing that. There was no amusement here anyway. Kate had done him wrong. “That sounds childish thing to do, don’t you think?” Sam could tell the man didn’t believe him with the way he kept nodding his head. “I heard noises like I told her and I went into her apartment and saved her. That is called heroism.” Sam uttered each word slowly.

The police man sighed. “How did you enter her apartment?”

Sam scoffed. This was really absurd. Kate needed to get her behind over here and explain to this man what exactly occurred tonight. He wasn’t going to prison for no one. Especially for her! “Okay, you hear a lady screaming? What did you want me to do? Of course, I broke into her home.”

“You should have called the police.” The police man reasoned with him.

“And by the time it got here, she would have been dead. I can’t believe I have to defend myself when I should have ignored her and minded my business.” Sam put his hands on his hips and glared at the other doors of the neighbors opening and heads of the owners peeking at him and the man.

He glimpsed at the paramedics who carried the dead body on a transfer bench, as well as hearing whispers and gasps coming from the crowd.

“Someone get those people out of here! They are getting in the way!” The police man interrogating him whispery screamed through the speaker phone in his hand. It was now Sam was noticing it. Probably, he was the boss because he was speaking with so much authority. The badges on him were several on his chest compared to other police men too.

Police men came out of Kate’s room and tried to persuade the residents back in their rooms.

“Hello, we live here. We deserve to know what’s going on.” One of the neighbors said. Sam caught the man’s gold eyes, his eyes lowered to his attire, brown trousers and spandex. This was a newcomer, and he was already acting like he owned the place.

Sam had no idea why had moved in this area anyway. Oh yeah, he remembered. It was quiet. He didn’t know he would end up being sacrificed for it as well. The lease was going to expire in three months, then he leaving on spot.

“Chief?” the police men called the man next to him.

He exhaled and crossed his arms, turned to Sam with accusing eyes. “Excuse me for a second. Don’t make this worse for yourself by trying to leave…” he mumbled to him.

Sam watched the man turn his back on him. He would actually have preferred to run for it, but this was America. They would find him no matter where he went.



“Alright, we had a break in and entry. Nothing to be worried about. We have the suspect in custody.”

An old couple pointed at Sam. “Is that him?” It was Sandra and Peter Randolph, the only African American married couple in the whole complex.

The chief must have nodded because everyone’s face wore a dirty look. Great, everyone was now against him. He couldn’t do anything as he blankly stared back at them. There was nothing he could do that would lead him anywhere good anyway.

“I knew he was sneaky moving in here.” The resident shouted from the group. It was Margaret Tree, wearing a long oversized shirt over her round, big stomach with her hand resting there.

He would have loved though to remind that woman who had taken her to the hospital when she had had a false labor.

The chief raised his hands. “Alright. We will handle this. Go back to your homes. This is an order.”

“We have our rights and mind you we live here!” The person speaking paused. “Take him away to rot in prison.” This was Thomas Mane. Sam never liked the guy anyway. Thomas was just weird. He had long braid with the other sides of his head shaved off.

“His kind is not wanted here.”

Sam glared at him more until he dodged into his apartment. Punk. Then, he decided to defend himself. “Look here!” He started but the residents were already going back to their homes. “I didn’t do this!”

“They all say that!” Arthur Smith said before slamming his door. The only house husband with his wife the one working. Sam called him a lazy man for letting a woman run the house. He made a bad name for all men.

The chief turned around with a sneer. “Everyone says you did it? You will just have to prove them wrong.” He sheathed his radio on his belt “You are under arrest.” Then he started reading him his rights.

Sam tightened his fingers and widened his arms. This man wasn’t serious. “Are you really going to blame me for this? Is it because I’m black?”

“Anything you say or do could be used against you in the court of law.” The police man took out his handcuffs.

“Right.” Sam gave an eye roll. . If all guys like him were in the police force, it was a lie that all citizens were protected. Then he turned around as the chief handcuffed him and made it tight that it cut into the skin. When they were walking, he glowered at the apartment of the woman. “Kate! Kate! How could you do this? All I did was to help you.”

He shouted but she didn’t answer. Sam could feel the tears at the back of his eyes but men didn’t cry in front of other men. That would definitely make the Chief’s day if not only the glory he received from the people for finding the culprit.

Sam knew his life was over once he was put into that jail.

Kat was in her room packing light clothes because they told her that they didn’t want her disturbing the scene. She had to leave the apartment and move somewhere else because her place was going to go through more investigation. She was going to go live with her aunt, who lived a couple of blocks from her apartment.

What a day, she thought to herself. Sam had done the right thing, she concluded. She should have listened to him when he had told her to call the police the first time.

She knew that she had to thank him for that.

Kate went to the bathroom and grabbed for her toothbrush from the sink when she heard Sam’s voice.

“Kate! Kate! How could you do this? All I did was to help you.”

She ran dropping her toothbrush on the carpeted floor of her bathroom.

By the time she got outside of her apartment, he was gone. She continued on and ran around the corridor to the elevators, but the elevator doors closed on her that she only had a peek of Sam’s head tilted up. She went down the stairs to stop them from taking him.

She saw them through the transparent double doors pushing Sam into the police car. She was about 200 feet from them and shouted. “No! Leave him! It wasn’t him!”

The chief and the other police man entered the car and drove off while other police cars remained by the entrance of the complex with swirling red lights.

Kate knew she had to do something. She had to call them. Tomorrow! She had to go get some rest and fix everything tomorrow.

Fredrick, MD wasn’t going to be lonely anymore.