_{ENDURINGWILL.}

       _{HE NOTICES IT, the game: she’s stopped playing, or at least paused it for a moment.  sometimes people need a second to drink it in, the shocking truth, that some parents just don’t make for good ones.  murphy needed a second too, a few years back.   ❝ m’kidding, ❞  he shrugs it off.   ❝ she’ll show, detective.  little tipsy, maybe. ❞  his voice pitches, words stretch — he’s squinting his eyes as if he’s putting on a little show, telling her a joke.}

_{she read the files,  the reports,  the testimonies ;  she studied the evidence.  it’s damn near  impossible  to sell anything less when the department is itching for a scapegoat,  for someone to blame  —  she learned that too well on the palmetto case  —  but a couple of fist - fights  &  misdemeanors don’t make this kid a murderer.} 

_{‘    you know,  if she’s indisposed,    ’      the clinical term for  IRRESPONSIBLE,      ‘    we can do this another time.  or i can make a call,  see if your caseworker’ll sit in with us instead.  it’s up to you.    ’}

_{ENDURINGWILL.}

      _{A RISK INDEED ; his sleeves veil the goosebumps scattering across his forearms.   ❝ she’s got better things to do, ❞  and he shrugs, a noncommittal little thing.  ❝ never liked monopoly much, either. ❞  because calling your mother an alcoholic bitch wasn’t as easy as murphy would like it to be, even after years of practice.}

_{‘    better things to do.    ’      something sharp sits on the tip of her tongue,  &  she has to remind herself to maintain professionalism :  it isn’t her place to chastise a shitty parent,  no matter how tempted she might be on kind of a personal level.      ‘    right.  that’s  —  um,  good to know.  i’ll make sure to  bring that up  when she gets here.    ’      if.  if  she gets here.}

_{ENDURINGWILL.}

      _{HE SCOFFS, IF only to mask the origins of genuine mirth spreading over his expression.   ❝ does she, ❞  murphy muses, nodding his head before the motion ceases, and he’s left looking at the sturdy, metallic table.   ❝ wonder if she gets it from her mom — ❞  eyes flick up to detective decker, and with the slight cant of his head, a brow arches towards his temple with curiosity.}

_{a thoughtful hum.      ‘    could be.  you’d have to ask her what  she  thinks.    ’      no comment on that ephemeral lapse of bravado,  but it didn’t slip by unnoticed.  the next words are a calculated risk.      ‘    so what about your mom ?  she usually a  no - show  at times like this ?    ’}

_{ENDURINGWILL.}

       _{SO SHE’S THE GOOD COP.  murphy theorizes they’re always the ones with shorter fuses ; they’re the ones who play pretend, after all.  he scoffs, shoulders rising and falling with the motion.   ❝ i’ll put it in the suggestion box on my way out.  cards, monopoly       no, actually, that’d get too violent.   ❞  and he pushes, simply because he can.}

_{a slight smile flickers comfortably across her face.  no doubt :  it’s a solid routine,  tried  &  true.  he’s probably done it countless times before,  probably  with other cops.  she doesn’t take the bait  —  unlike her ex,  he won’t get a rise out of her with a few well - delivered barbs.      ‘    i’ll bet.  my  daughter  has a real competitive streak,  but you wouldn’t know it to look at her.  monopoly’s kind of a blood sport.    ’}

_{ENDURINGWILL.}

       _{he had no qualms mouthing off the last guy who was here, the one to bring him in ; it’s not his first rodeo with the police.  he shrugs, extending an arm to usher her in.   ❝ here t’ keep me company, or — ? ❞}

_{‘    something like that.    ’      technically,  she isn’t even allowed to ask him about the  WEATHER  without breaching protocol.  a quick,  passing appraisal of the room ;  cramped,  sparsely furnished,  as these places tend to be ;  &  she aims for an empty chair.      ‘    wish i’d brought a deck of cards.    ’}

_{‘    john murphy  —  ?  detective decker,  LAPD.  i talked to your caseworker on the phone,  she said she’s been trying to track down your mom so i can ask you a few questions.  you mind if i sit ?    ’      //  @enduringwill.}