Francis Franklin Monde III lived with his mother in an old two-bedroom house in a small Tennessee mountain town named Hamilton, it was here that detective Anthony Grant and his partner had come to. Detective Grant knew Erica Robert’s son personally as his son was his best friend. He thought of him as a good person although not the most talkative, the detective was dreading about what he had told him. They knocked on the door heavily and it resounded through the home. When the door opened a teenaged boy stood in it, he didn’t appear like he had just woken up but he was surprised to see the gentlemen there.

“Frankie, can we come in?”

“Um yeah Mr. Anthony, just give me a minute to move my homework.”

They entered dull-colored Livingroom with faded flowers painted on the wall. The tv was on but was connected to YouTube playing music softly and Frankie was scrambling to move his notebooks to give his guests a place to seat. He was quick to catch on that there was something wrong and that it was prudent to have everything settled fast.

“Go ahead and have a seat son, we have some bad news” He looked directly into the young man’s eyes who was across from him in a picking up clutter. From his nose up it was the exact copy of Erica Roberts, but the lower half was more oval than his mother’s pinched face. It was as if his parents had decided to split his face in half and lay claim to each side. His large green eyes looked back into the detectives waiting for the news that would shatter his world. He sat down in a weathered armchair next to the detectives and turned towards them. The other detective an older man and Detective Grant’s superior spoke first. “I am sorry to tell you this young man, but your mother Erica Roberts was found dead in her store late this night.” There was a quietness as tears started to well in Frankie’s eyes, he looked up at Anthony as the first started to fall down his cheek and asked, “How?” His voice was thick and unrecognizable as grief was caught in his throat.

In moments like this Detective Grant was always uncertain about how much he should say to people. There is, of course, the correct answer, but also in his experience, not everyone could handle all the information at once. He knew Frankie but not enough to know how much this information would hurt him. It was well known that Erica wasn’t the best mother, but it was still his mother. Fortunately, his partner spoke again before Anthony had to decide. “The official cause has not been determined but the Hamilton police department is of at this point investigating it as a homicide. I am Detective Stan Hoyer and I will be the lead investigator on this case so any questions you need to ask, just contact me. I am leaving my card for you on this table. I am very sorry about your loss.” If his words had registered with Frankie it did not show. He was staring blankly at Anthony.

To ensure that Frankie understood Anthony said “I’m sorry but Erica is gone. Is there anyone you want to call to stay with? Do you know your dad’s number?” It took a second for him to wipe his tears, but his voice was still thick and betrayed his emotions. “No, neither mom nor I had any contact since they split, and he left.” “Well is there a grandparent or someone? We really can’t leave you alone.” “I guess I can call my grandma, I haven’t talked to her in a while either.” Anthony nodded at that and he stood and grabbed his phone and walked to the kitchen in order to make the call. The two detectives turned to each other and began to speak. “If you’d want, I can stay with him by himself until an adult comes. He is friends with my son and so I know him a little bit.” “That’s a good idea, I’m gonna get started, make sure you tell him we need him for questioning when a guardian gets here. I didn’t realize he was a minor. Is he the same age as your boy?” “Yeah, he’s just starting his senior high.” The old man grimaced at the news and said, “This is going to be really rough for him huh?” and he began to stand up. He fumbled with his jacket for a moment until Frankie came back. “Francis I am going to leave you in the hands of Detective Grant until your grandma gets here and remember if you have any questions just call me okay?” “Yes, sir.” His voice finally clear from tears surprised the old man it was surprisingly deep contrary to his appearance. “I’ll be seeing you again, so goodbye for now then.” And he left.

Frankie sat down again fiddling with his thumbnails, his demeanor showed that he was in thought. His brow was furrowed and the edge of his lip folded in. Anthony was unsure what to say at this moment since he could not question him about the case, but he knew that he shouldn’t let Frankie brood. “So, its Gina, right? The who is coming over?” It was a silly question because Frankie only had one grandmother who was alive. His mother’s mother had died several years ago and had left the flower store to Erica. Practically the whole town attended Hana Roberts funeral, she was one who had to be friends with everyone. Hamilton was a small town to begin with, so it wasn’t too hard. Both the Monde and the Roberts family had been in Hamilton for generations and Frankie was the product of a well-established family line.

Anthony sighed a little in disappointment with himself for asking such a question, but Frankie did respond. “Yessir, she is the closest one. My aunt lives in New York now so she wouldn’t be able to be here until tomorrow at the earliest and I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.” “Son, it’d never be an inconvenience, and once we get through all of this craziness if you need a place to stay just let us know. My family can take you in if your grandma can’t. It was a large offer and probably one he shouldn't have made as a detective, but it wasn't in Anthony's nature to let someone go without.

“Thank you, sir.” Frankie could not even think about the offer that was being extended to him right now because of what he was going through. It was unfair that this man who had just delivered the worst news of his life could expect him to respond. There was so much he wanted to know but there was no way for him to get answers because there wasn’t any yet. It was taking so long for his grandmother to get here and he didn’t want to deal with anything else. He just wanted to be alone. “It’s going to become much harder from now on, isn’t it?” Frankie asked aloud. The question wasn’t directed at Anthony and he wasn’t sure what Frankie meant by asking it, but he was sure of the answer. “Yes, yes, it is.”

The two sat in silence for a couple more minutes. It felt like forever and when Gina Monde finally arrived, Anthony felt relieved. He felt terrible for Frankie as his ordeal was far from over and he was about to be able to escape, but he was also unsure as to how to comfort him. Gina’s soft knock at the door was a savior. Frankie stood up and went to open the door for her.

Gina was very short, but she made up for that with her width. She looked very motherly and the cookies she had pinched between her arms and her body somehow suited her image more than her anything she wore. Her face was rounder than her grandsons but there was a resemblance, especially with her hair that had retained its black color into her 70’s, although, it was heavily streaked with grey. She sat down her all her stuff immediately at the door. Her eyes were more filled with tears than she grandsons as she wrapped around him. He looked uncomfortable as he struggled as to where to place his arms and his back was rigid. When she released him finally, she turned to Anthony. Frankie returned to his seat he had not said anything to her.

Anthony cleared his throat and stood up. “Thank you, Mrs. Gina, for coming so fast. I don’t know if you heard what has happened, but Erica has died." He paused for a bit waiting for questions but there weren't any. "I think I should leave for the night and let y’all rest. We do need you and Frankie to come into the police station to do a statement and to figure out what we should do next. Frankie, if you need someone to talk to, I’ll ask Mike to keep his phone. It’s the least he can do as your friend.”

As the detective made his exit, Frankie turned to his grandmother and said, “I am heading to bed, I am tired, and I just want to be alone for tonight.” He stood up and collected all his homework and finished clearing off the couch. His words left no room for his grandmother to say anything to him. She could only stare after him as he left.