by Sheri Lyn
Remi cursed, turned and grabbed his phone, gun, and badge out of the drawer and headed out. He hated calls like this, not because it meant someone died suspiciously, that was life. But because he was being put on the case specifically, meant that it was an “undesirable” and therefore only had a slim chance of being solved. Most detectives were overworked, underpaid and burnt out.
Not that Remi wasn’t any of those things, he was. But the job gave him a purpose, helped him hold onto his sanity. He’d come home from his time in the service a shell of the man. Nothing could penetrate the numbness that had devoured him. His only goal was to give peace to those whose life would be upended by the untimely death of a loved one. Even if they were what society deemed less than important, the drug addicts, homeless, prostitutes and anyone else they felt was beneath them. They were people first and foremost, something he’d never allow himself to forget.
Within a few minutes, he saw the multitude of police cars, news vans, and busybody onlookers. The damn beat cops hadn’t even taken the time to push them back from the mouth of the alley. He sighed as he climbed out of his department-issued sedan, scowled at the reporter trying to talk to him and stormed over to the first patrol officer he saw.
“Who’s in charge?”
The cop threw his hands up in a defensive gesture as Remi walked up, “They’re waiting for you, sir. I was the first on the scene, but I didn’t touch anything and was careful. I learned my lesson; I swear.”
Conahan cocked his head and studied the young cop for a second, “Right, I remember you now. Good, you do what I told you last time?”
“Yes, sir. Called it in right away, didn’t touch anything and didn’t let anyone in the alley. The other end curves around as a dead end behind the building.”
Remi cocked an eyebrow and waited.
“I didn’t go back, I swear. I had both businesses on either side of the alley and the ones across the street facing the alley questioned. They didn’t see anything suspicious of course. I’ve got a log of their names, contact information and the other pertinent information I thought you might want.”
Remi clapped the young cop on the shoulder, “You might just make a fine detective one day, kid. Get some of your buddies and push this crowd back and keep the reporters off to the side. Tell them; we’ll talk as soon as I know something. Has anyone given them anything?”
The cop glanced over to the reporters and shook his head, “No, sir. They know it’s a body but nothing else so far. There’s been talk it’s a streetwalker though. But that hasn’t been confirmed or denied. Half the reporters have already left stating it wasn’t worth their time.”
“Good, where’s the body and are you keeping the log?”
“Yes, sir. Everyone’s been documented so far. The medical examiner is on the way also. He had another case, so it’s taking longer than expected.”
“And the body?”
“By the dumpster. EMTs removed the body to verify there was nothing they could do. Forensics is already here processing as well. They’ve taken initial photographs and collected anything in the path. They’re waiting for you to walk them through.”
“I’m Lead on this, refer anyone to me with questions, got it?”
Remi waited for the cop to nod his head in understanding before moving under the crime scene tape and into the mouth of the alley. He gave the kid credit; he’d done a good job. The path was clear and didn’t seem to be jeopardizing anything of importance. Though with it being an alley with dumpsters, who knew what would be useful. There was garbage everywhere.
He nodded to the crime scene tech and began the slow and methodical sweep of the area, marking anything and everything that might be evidence. Without knowing more about what he was facing it was collect everything and sort through it later.
“You’re not touching my body, are you?”
Remi stood from where he was examining some debris and turned back to the entrance of the alley with a smirk. “Not anymore now that you’ve finally arrived, Skaggs.”
The M.E. rolled his eyes and strolled forward with a cocky swagger that never failed to catch the attention of everyone in the vicinity, gay or straight. “Your mouth is writing checks; your ass can’t cash, detective.”
“You sure about that? From what I heard last week, you weren’t complaining about my….”
Skaggs scowled, “Shut it before someone hears you. What’s gotten into you tonight?”
Remi shrugged and turned around to face the body. “I haven’t even been over there yet; I was collecting shit on the way.”
“Come on then, let’s have a look. We both know you’re not going to find much useful in this alley. Any evidence will be on her or in the dumpster.”
Skaggs cocked his head and frowned as he knelt beside the body. “This is quite gruesome, isn’t it?”
“What in the hell happened to her?” Remi squatted next to his friend and studied the woman’s stomach.
“I’m not sure, but I can tell you that determining the time of death is going to be tricky. Her stomach is open to the elements. There isn’t much I’m going to be able to do here. I’d say she hasn’t been dead more than a few hours though. Rough guess, two maybe three hours. Rigor mortis is just setting into her limbs.”
“Shit, okay. Just let me know when you’ll do the autopsy, and I’ll be by.” Remi stood and surveyed the area with a frown.
“What makes you think I’m going to process her?”
“Because I know you, you’re too curious as to what happened to her. You’re not letting this one go.”
Skaggs grunted his agreement and turned his attention back to the body in front of him. “No identification, but there is a piece of paper in her bra.”
Remi pulled a pair of rubber gloves out of his pocket and put them on, before grabbing the paper. He quickly scowled as he opened the folded page and cursed. “Looks like she just got moved up on your rotation, Skaggs.”
The M.E. frowned and stood up to read the note. “Fucking A, let’s hope this doesn’t get out.”
“Something tells me that’s going to be impossible,” Remi said as he put the note in an evidence bag and sealed it shut. “Get her out of here and try to keep this as quiet as you can.”
“You bet. I’ll let you know as soon as I can get her scheduled. Tomorrow afternoon most likely.”
He nodded and watched as they bagged up the body and rolled it away. Shit had just got interesting. “Make sure you get this dumpster processed and if you have to, bring it back to the lab. This just became a high priority; we’ve gotta do this one right.” Remi barked out, making everyone jump.
****
He’d just dropped into his desk chair when he heard his name bellowed from the Captain. It had been a long few hours overseeing the evidence gathering, going over the eyewitness reports, and even doing some second interviews. Of course, no one saw anything, and there weren’t any cameras. Probably why she’d been dumped there in the first place.
“Stop daydreaming and get your ass in here when I call you, Conahan.” Chief Walker hollered across the room.
“I’m coming, hold your horses,” he grumbled as he climbed to his feet and slowly headed toward the other man. He knew it would irritate the hell out of him and it would make Remi a bit happier about having to get up in the first place.
“You’re such an asshole sometimes,” Walker said as he rolled his eyes and moved out of the doorway.
Remi smirked as he moved to sit in the only open chair in front of the desk. He glanced at the man in the other chair out of the corner of his eye but didn’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. The man was a suit, hands down. The only question was which branch and why was he here now?
The Chief closed the door, walked to his seat and eyed the two men with a frown. “Great, this is going to be a fucking clusterfuck, isn’t it? You two won’t even look at each other.”
“What is?” Remi asked with trepidation.
“Detective
Remington Conahan, meet Agent Knox Grayson of the Federal Paranormal Unit or FPU.”
Remi nodded his head in acknowledgment but didn’t dare look at him directly. From the little bit, he’d seen from his peripheral, Knox was sex on a stick. The last thing he needed was to be caught checking him out in front of his Chief.
“Pleasure to meet you, Detective.” Knox’s smooth baritone of a voice was like a fine whiskey; it sent chills down Remi’s spine.
“Sir, what’s going on?” Remi questioned instead of replying to the greeting.
“I called Agent Grayson in.” Walker held up his hand to stop Remi from speaking, “Shut up and listen. Word’s already spread around here about the note, and you may not be aware yet, but she’s a low-level witch.”
Remi scowled, “How the fuck do you know that? We don’t even have her identified yet!”
“Don’t take that tone with me, detective!” Walker scolded, “one of the officers on the scene sensed her magic.”
“What the hell? How come I wasn’t informed of that fact, and how in the hell did he get here so quickly?”
“Maybe it was fate.” Agent Grayson taunted as he crossed his legs and leaned back with a smirk.
“I called in a favor; he happened to be close by returning from another case. We got lucky. Now quit your bitching and shut up, the both of you.”
Remi grunted and chanced a quick glance to the other man, only to be trapped as their eyes met for the first time. Crystal blue eyes met his and held them in a trance. Time stood still as he felt his whole world tilt on its side.
“As I was saying, you two are going to be working side by side on this one. Where one goes, the other goes. I want you two inseparable. In fact, share a hotel or let him use your spare room. But you two are joined at the hip until this is resolved. Do I make myself clear?”
Remi straightened as his brain finally processed what he’d just heard, he turned a wide-eyed stare at the smiling Captain. “You’ve lost your bloody mind.”
“Makes sense to me,” Grayson said at the same time.
“You don’t have a choice, you do it my way, or you’re suspended. I’m not playing games. Word is going to get out quick, and I need you two to solve this and catch this fucker before that body count rises. Consider this, if I know all these details and I haven’t even left my office today, how long before the media picks up on it?”
“Shit,” Remi bit off as he stood and slammed out of the office. The captain was right, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. The last thing he needed was a complication like Knox Grayson and his overwhelming sex appeal to cloud his mind and judgment.
“So, Remington or should I call you Remi?” Grayson asked as he leaned his hip on the edge of Remi’s desk and smirked.
“Just come on, I don’t want to have this talk here,” Remi ground out as he grabbed his keys and phone and stormed away muttering.
As soon as they were outside the precinct doors, Knox grabbed Remi’s arm and pulled him to a stop. “Where are we going? I’m not going to follow you around like some lovesick puppy dying for your attention.”
“You can stay in my spare room. It’ll give us more room to avoid each other than a small ass hotel room.”
“Works for me. Now, what do I call you? Remington or Remi? Remi is my choice; it’s sexy as shit.” Knox bit his lip and grinned.
“Stop,” Remi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m out, always have been, but that doesn’t mean people here are happy about it. Can you just cool it with the flirting?”
“I can do that, but when we’re in private, all bets are off,” Knox winked.
“No, they aren’t. I’m not going there with you. We’ll work this case, catch this psycho and then you’re gone. No sex, no love, no flirting. Understand?”
“You can call me Knox, and I hear you, but I’m calling bullshit. I can smell your desire. I feel your need, and it’s enhancing my own. Before this is done, you will be calling my name as you come.”
Remi groaned as he watched Knox walk away, he couldn’t lie to himself. The man had an ass as fine as any he’d ever seen. If it was on anyone else, he’d not waste a second in getting him in bed and making him scream in pleasure. But, he didn’t fuck coworkers unless he knew it was with no strings. What he had with Skaggs was just that, a place to get off. Knox Grayson was all complication, one that Remi wasn’t sure he’d be able to walk away from if he had a taste. He had a thing for self-assured men it would seem, but never would he have thought he’d add a man in a suit to it. But there was just something in the way Knox’s broad shoulders filled out his black jacket. And fuck, the man was wearing jeans instead of the usual dress pants if that didn’t tick all his boxes to extreme overload.
Three
Professor
He should probably have left town already, but there was something about the detective who arrived and took charge that drew his attention. There wasn’t anything special about him. He wasn’t treated with deference by the cops who arrived first. It actually looked like fear in the patrol man's eyes as he questioned him about the scene, or that’s what he assumed they discussed. That intrigued him. He walked right by them, and they didn’t even pay attention to him. He listened to their conversation and then he watched as the M.E. showed up.
He walked down the street and climbed in his car. He hoped he was far enough away, that he wouldn’t draw suspicion but close enough to watch. In his mind, he could imagine the shock and disgust on their faces as they examined the body. He wished he could see what they see now, would the blood be congealed on the body now that the heart stopped pumping? Did her skin change color based on the environment she was in or would it take longer? Did the bugs descend already?
He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, and let his mind wander. He had so many things he wanted to try, but how did he narrow down the choices? Body type maybe? A bigger girl would allow him to recreate his attempts with the first body. Or a more athletic build could be fun to play with. The muscles could be stronger and harder to work on. Or one with long hair. He always wondered about scalping someone like the natives were said to have done. Or the white settlers he supposed, history was not his specialty.
Movement down the street drew his focus, and he watched as the whore was wheeled out. Was the body bag to collect any fluids or trace evidence that fell off the body as it was moved? Or just standard procedure if the victim was dead? Was the blood still wet? Would it soak into the sheet they laid over her body or did it dry in the short time it took her to be found? Part of him wished to be there for the autopsy; he could really see the body dissected and learn a lot.
Or maybe he would perform one himself…he could imagine making the first cut while the whore writhed on the ground trying to get away. How long would she live after he started removing organs? Could he make her hold her own beating heart, even if for just a moment?
His attention was drawn to the alley again when the detective emerged. Even from this distance, a weariness was clearly seen on his face. The detective enjoyed his handiwork; it seemed.
He started his car and headed toward the local police station, he didn’t want to follow the detective too closely, but he wasn’t ready to leave town.
He parked in a visitor lot and watched the doors; it shouldn’t be long before the detective arrived. In the meantime, he had to find his next game and his next conquest. He logged into his favorite gambling site on the dark web and scanned for dates and times of the next round of games. His funds were getting low, so he needed to find one with a decent pot and not far away. Every few minutes he glanced up at the station to see what was going on, not that he was sure what he was watching for. Something compelled him to be here; maybe it was because it was his first he wanted to see any reaction he could get.
Much like anyone he wanted validation, praise for his work and the detective was the perfect person to give it to him. Speaking of the very devil, he watched as the detective parked and headed inside. He st
alked inside more aptly put, he didn’t look around, didn’t make small talk with those who walked behind or in front of him. Was he a loner or just gruff? So many questions…
He dragged his eyes back down to his phone and smiled when a new game was added to the site. It appeared he was headed to Georgia, which was good; he didn’t want to go too far yet. Though he didn’t want to be too close either. He entered his name and password into the site, reserving himself a spot at the table.
He smiled to himself and put his phone on the seat next to him. He had just enough time to make a pit stop in the Florida Panhandle, fill up on gas and relax before heading to his game tomorrow morning. Getting gas in a location close to his first fill up and cash withdrawal would hopefully make the police think he hadn’t left the area. He would have to hit up an ATM too. Those cameras are a good way to mark a location. See, he was smarter than the average sociopath, he was thinking of how the cops would track him later when he’s caught. Hopefully, this thinking kept him on the run longer and not as easily captured.
He leaned his seat back and relaxed against the headrest; he thought back to his time with the whore. His cock thickened when he thought about the power he held; he literally decided if she lived or died. He chuckled to himself and rubbed his palm firmly over his dick, yeah, power got him off. Hell, women may never do it for him again. He would have to try and see if it worked, he could also imagine a bit of torture if that’s all it took.
A raised voice caught his attention, and he sat up in his seat to see what was happening. His favorite detective had emerged from the building, this time with a suit next to him. Things weren’t kosher it seemed. He really wished he was closer to hear what they were saying. Body language alone gave him some insight though, the suit was smiling and happy while his detective seemed angry. They stood close together... Was there something there?
He watched them walk to their cars, and the detective pulled out with a grimace on his face, the suit followed close behind him with a large smile. Something was definitely up there.
