Charlie's Requiem Novella Read Free Page A

food joint to get a drink and a salad, so she wouldn’t be leaving her car.
    She wandered over to the employee parking lot across the street from the clinic. She was fumbling with her phone, trying to get it out of her large and disorganized purse, when she noticed a young, thin man walking parallel to her. She stopped, pretending to search her purse for her keys, all the while keeping an eye on her unwanted guest. She noticed that he stopped as well. She continued to blunder about in her purse and assess her stalker, buying herself time to decide what to do.
    He walked with a bit of a limp, his gate uneven. At first, she thought he had injured his leg. Then she realized that as he walked, his right side failed to swing and move normally. It was like his right arm was paralyzed. He began to circle around from where she had just come from, blocking her way back to the clinic. Her heart began to race as she realized the intent of this young and strange looking man. She quickly and smoothly removed a bottle of pepper spray from her purse and clicked it open. She continued toward her car, hastening her footsteps and quickly closing the distance between herself and the safety of her Honda.
    Suddenly, she heard his footsteps racing toward her. She glanced back and saw that the young man had rapidly closed the distance between them. She would never make it to the car in time. She screamed and started running between the cars. His backpack kept catching on the edges of the automobiles as she ran amongst them. She heard his breath as he closed the gap between them. Terror filled her heart while the running took her breath, making it hard to scream. At one point, he grabbed her arm, only to have her break away as she sprinted between the rear bumper of a van and the front of an S.U.V. She heard him curse, and at one point, he mumbled loud enough to be heard.
    “You’ll never hurt me again!” he hissed.
    What was he talking about? She thought. She didn’t recognize him . Maybe he was a disgruntled patient, she found herself thinking as she dodged back toward the clinic.
    As she sprinted back across the street, he grabbed her with his left hand. She spun around and bringing up the pepper spray, she hosed his face with the caustic liquid.
    The young man cried out, letting go of her with his good hand, he covered his face and crashed to the street. Carol ran back into the office, crying out for help. A minute or two passed before she was calm enough to relate her story. When the doctor and a male nurse finally made it outside, the young man was gone.
    They called the police and a couple of patrol cars arrived within minutes. After taking her statement, the two officers called in the description of the suspect. A white male, short cropped brown hair with a noticeable limp or paralysis of the right side. Jeans, polo shirt and a backpack last seen near the intersection of Colonial Drive and Bumby Avenue. The police assured the young woman that it was likely an attempted purse snatcher or carjacker, but with no weapon noted, the report would only suggest assault with possible strong armed theft. Given his rambling murmurs, it was likely that the young man was looking for quick money to feed his drug habit. She was told not to worry anymore about it and that she had done well to protect herself. The clinic let her go home, but she did stop on the way to replace the used can of pepper spray.
    ~ * * * ~
    Orlando police officer John Drosky had been on the force for nearly eight years. In all that time, he had never had to draw down on a suspect. He found that most situations required a calm voice and open heart. The few times he had deployed his weapon were as backup to an already violent situation. In all three of those situations, the suspects had surrendered to one of the other police officers on the scene.
    The call announcing the assault at the Urgent Care clinic came over his radio. The incident had occurred only a half a mile away, and