LOVE LIKE HIS - Chapter 33 – CONSCIENCE
Finally, Cromwell is feeling “normal” again. Truth be told, he’s got a pretty good buzz on, which has become normal for him.
Though his speech doesn’t slur, his body language does have a certain liquidity to it, almost like a lead actor who’s in a scene where he is acting smooth, really smooth. Soon, he’ll locate Gary again, and this time he won’t be letting go.
As he drives towards Gary’s house, Cromwell’s mind begins to torment him again. The absurdity of his conversation with Mr. Swier is on playback in his head. How dare that murderer call him some sort of sinner. How does he even get off equating lying with murder? And what was with that “only one murder” excuse?
Cromwell is not paying much attention as he drives.
Thankfully, the detective has a lot of experience at distracted driving while under the influence, and a lot of his responses and maneuvers are almost on autopilot… almost.
“That sick freak has no idea what type of evil I see out here every day. How dare he even try to lump me into the same category as them. There are two types of people in the world, good and bad, and there is no way that I’ll ever be considered to be a bad person,” Cromwell thinks to himself.
“Who hasn’t lied or stole something. It doesn’t make any of us guilty, just human, right?” Gary’s conclusion is escaping the detective. As portions of the conversation reply in the detective’s mind, his frustration with the whole thing exponentially increases.
"The soul that sinneth will surely die."
Some of Gary's last words to the detective echo again in his mind. He thought that the alcohol would solve all of his problems. Apparently not.
"Obviously, he's lost his grip on reality," Cromwell scoffs out loud. "What's that even supposed to mean? That I'm going to hell or something? No god would throw a guy like me in hell. I'm on his side down here, if he's fighting against evil!"
The detective is boldly proclaiming his words with his mouth, but inside, he is overcome with an unsettling feeling. After a very long vacation, it seems that his conscience may be back. Unintentionally, the left corner of Cromwell's lip begins to twitch. That feeling is not new to the detective, but it is an ancient one.
Early on in life, whenever a younger version of Timothy Cromwell would get caught in a lie, the corner of his lip would twitch just like this. Never being one to give up, he would still proclaim the deception rather than admitting the truth, even when whoever was interrogating him thought his guilt was obvious, due to the nervous twitch.
"I'm just uncomfortable being accused," had become his trademark excuse . Wow! This hasn't happened in decades.
Every other time it was when Cromwell's sin finally came to light, so why was it happening now?
Suddenly, the detective jerks his steering wheel to the right and takes an unexpected turn. Down the street, he had caught a glimpse of a squad car up ahead. There is no way he's going to let the police find him before he finds Gary.
Little does he know, but the cops aren't even looking for him... yet. The reports of gunfire had been called in, the alley had been searched, the bullet casings had been located and collected, but as of yet no prints had been taken. Perhaps since there was no blood or body found, running his prints were not exactly a priority today. Maybe it's just because it's Sunday... Who knows? Anyway, unbeknownst to the detective, the police are not looking for him at the moment. No one is.
Adjusting back onto his path to Gary's, a tumult is still raging within Cromwell. This whole situation with Gary is getting worse, and every twisted word he spoke is slowly eating away at him. A flood of less than savory memories are being recalled in the detective's mind. He can almost see how wicked and malicious he has become... almost.
If is wasn't himself being shown acting in such ways in his memory, Cromwell would have no problem calling the behavior what is is, evil.
But, it is Cromwell himself, and the memories are accurate. Over the years, he has done a lot of bad things trying to bring murderers, thieves, rapists, and kidnappers to justice. Somehow, he had always justified himself by defaulting to how evil they were. Today, though, it seems that a mirror has finally been held up in front of the detective, and he does not like what he sees.
He pulls his vehicle up to the curb and almost slides the engine into park... but instead inches his car forward before turning off the engine, blocking Gary's vehicle in the driveway.
THE END OF CHAPTER 33
Thank you, and stay tuned for LOVE LIKE HIS : Chapter 34 - Coming soon to a steemit near you!
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Until next time…
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