Chapter 2: 2 Nights Earlier
It had all started two nights earlier.
"So, uh, you got any kids, Erikson?" Asked Detective Burrows.
"You've asked me that four times this week, Burrows." Melissa replied, rolling one eye while keeping the other trained on the bustling city through the sedan window. "No, I don't have kids."
Melissa and Burrows' new partnership was proving to be more challenging than she'd anticipated. Burrows' was a chatty bastard and apparently forgetful with it. Melissa preferred silence on the job.
Her mind was always racing, analyzing, strategizing. She didn't need small talk cluttering up her thoughts. But Burrows was relentless.
"What about your old man? What's he do?"
"He's an economist," she replied curtly, hoping that would satisfy him.
"Oh, numbers and stuff?" Burrows persisted.
"Yes, numbers and stuff," Melissa repeated, her patience wearing thin. "How did you become a Detective Burrows?"
"Legacy cop," Burrows replied proudly, pointing at himself with his thumb. "Why do you ask?"
Melissa had just moved to the City Police Department from a smaller town. Teaming up with an old guard like Burrows was part of her initiation, she supposed.
"Why are we even bothering with this neighborhood, Burrows? There's nothing happening out there."
"When you've been on the force as long as I have..."
The radio sqwarked into life, "Unit 12, we've got a 10-54 in Oaken Park, please respond, over."
Melissa and Burrows looked at each other, a silent understanding passing between them. Melissa grabbed the radio, "Dispatch, Unit 12, show us responding, over." She flipped on the sirens, and the sedan lurched forward and began weaving through traffic.
Oaken Park was close by and just a couple of minutes later, they pulled up to the scene. The park was dark and quiet, save for the flickering blue lights of the single cruiser that had gotten there before them and the crunch of the gravel beneath their feet as they got out of the car and approached the crime scene tape.
A uniformed officer greeted them, "Evening Detectives. We've got a body over here. Female, early twenties maybe. No ID on her yet."
Melissa nodded, pulling on a pair of latex gloves. "Thanks, Officer. Let's take a look. Mind if I take the lead on this one Burrows?"
"Sure, kid."
As they ducked under the tape, Melissa felt a prickle at the back of her neck. Excitement. As morbid as it was, she loved the adrenaline rush that came with the unknown, the puzzle pieces waiting to be put together. She knelt beside the body, her eyes scanning every inch of the young woman. She was naked, her skin pale under the harsh glare of the flashlight. Her eyes were closed, almost peaceful but for the ugly gash across her head and her dyed black hair tangled in the bloodied grass. Melissa reached out, gently lifting the girl's chin, examining her face. She was pretty, or had been.
"She's been out here a couple of hours. We'll need to run prints, see if we get a match." Melissa said, standing up and brushing off her knees.
"There'll be no need for that," Burrows remarked from a few steps behind. "I know exactly who this is."