❧
Many thoughts tormented her mind. Cordelia wanted to believe this was a coincidence, all of them did, but they knew better. The murder of Haylee Down was like turning on a neon sign in the darkest of nights. A calling card warning them, telling them to prepare for the next assault. The victims? Easy. The ones who have been assigned to stop him.
The man thrived on control. Watching his prey squirm with fear, sadness, and despair before manipulating them like puppets. Cordelia hated to admit it, but they were his puppets. Two years had passed, over fifty murders, and they were no closer to catching him now from those in the beginning.
Upon returning to the precinct, they all divided. Detective Clark needed to keep the savages of the press at bay, and deciding what to distribute to the public had to be discussed. Certain details never needed to be disclosed. Danny was in charge of notifying the family, the one thing she never had the guts to do. It was the absolute worst part of the job and it affected her on a deeper level. The pain and anguish the families went through were disgustingly horrible to watch.
Cordelia was assigned two tasks. First, turn in the evidence and wait for the autopsy report once Lauren was finished. She was quick and efficient with her job, something that was well sought after. Cordelia knew Lauren had been offered several other positions in better areas but she always turned them down. She was curious as to why but knew it was not her place to ask. The woman was intimidating, almost as much as the chief. Almost.
The second task she was assigned was to help the newcomer get familiar with the office. Why he could not just go look around on his own was beyond her. There were other files she had to complete and possible leads she could look into, yet, she was stuck babysitting. Why was he not helping any of the others?
The blonde said very little words as she showed him around, introducing him to the others. The sooner this was over, the better.
“I don’t think you would make a great tour guide, detective.” Cordelia felt a slight pull at the corner of her lips as he spoke. His voice was deep yet gentle enough to send shivers down her spine.
“Darn, that was my backup job if this one didn’t work out.” His laugh radiated from behind her as they entered the kitchen. “With what happened in the last few hours, I am not feeling in a chatty mood.”
“Do these scenes always get to you?”
Her eyebrows knitted together as she glanced up at the man beside her. “Are you saying it doesn’t affect you? Seeing something like that?”
Vincent held her gaze steadily, something mysterious behind his auburn colored eyes. “Not necessarily. My approach is to try and look at gruesome scenes objectively, especially when dealing with someone like this. It can give insight into what they were thinking, what is in between the lines.” Regardless of his reasoning, it takes something extra to detach oneself from this. "What made you join the task force?”
“Are you taking an interest in me, Detective Young?” Despite her earlier reluctance to converse with him, she knew contention between them would only be hindering their performance. "What made someone like you?"
He raised his eyebrows at her words before shaking his head. "Someone like me?"
"Everyone here cheered when they heard you were coming to Coppermine. They see you as some godsend who will finally put this menace behind this town."
"You should know better than to believe in rumors."
Now it was her turn to raise her eyebrows. "So you're not as intelligent, determined, confident, and devilishly handsome as everyone says?" Her words dripped with sarcasm.
Vincent laughed, "I would say those are correct.” He hummed, his gaze focused on the cup in his hand. “First of all, I am not a detective by credentials. I never stepped foot in the academy, but I have had my fair share of helping out my dear friend Agent Eric Lamburn on various cases.”
Cordelia had never met Eric but had heard countless stories from others. Not only was he a decorated veteran, he was one of the few federal agents that cared for the little people. He was straight laced and as square as a box, but everyone loved him. “I don’t understand, why were you introduced as a detective?”
“I have been a consultant on all of Eric’s national cases for five years. I believe people just assumed I was in training. The only reason I was invited here was because Eric and the Chief are cousins. As to why I was introduced as one,” He shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine.”
None of this made any sense, but Chief Adams could be an odd man. She wondered if he had introduced him as a consultant they would have treated him differently. “So you are basically working under Agent Lamburn’s reputation.” He nodded. Cordelia laced her fingers through the loose blond locks of hair that hung to the side of her head. Confusion contorted her face for a fraction of second before returning to normal. This was not her worry nor responsibility. If he made it so no other young woman died, so be it.
He took a sip of water before placing the cup in the sink, “I told you about the reason, now it is your turn to answer.”
Cordelia sighed, it was only fair. She shrugged as her gaze drifted off to the side. "I felt a sense of duty. Even though I was only made a detective a few months ago, I was probably the only crazy one to offer to join the task force. They were hesitant but since there were no other takers," she raised her hands up, “Here I am.” There was so much pressure from everywhere on the department from the government to the public. All of their careers were under fire. The need to help past and current victims resonated strongly with her. They did not deserve what happened to them, but they do deserve justice.
Out of her peripheral vision, she spotted Thomas’ head poke around the corner. “The autopsy is not finished yet but Lauren has found something.” This murder was a gift that kept on giving. Although, she wasn’t sure if she would use the word ‘gift.’
Vincent outstretched his hand towards the doorway. “After you.”
The two of them followed Thomas down to the Morgue, the temperature dropping with each step downwards. Cordelia hated the cold.
Lauren greeted them with a small smile, her dark hair had been restrained, her eyes tired but still sharp as ever. “I am only about half way done, but when I started taking a closer look at her limbs, I found some inscriptions.”
“You mean he wrote something? Like a message?” She asked, her hands curling into the depths of her pockets to stay warm.
“Precisely. I haven’t been able to pinpoint any phrases, just some scattered words that don't make a lot of sense at that point.”
The man next to her piped in, “What have you been able to decipher?”
“Present and box.” Her slender fingers pointed to the deep gashes in the poor girl’s arms. They had become much more visible as the body had sat. The words did not mean much to any of them out of context. If more are found, they may be able to put things together. “Knowing what I know about this killer, it is a taunt of some sort.”
“I think you are right,” Vincent pitched in, his eyes narrowed on the limbs before him. “It could also be a hint to who the next victim might be.”
If Cordelia had to guess, she would say he was right on the money. A rather disturbing thought popped into her head, “Well, when we found Haylee she was wrapped up in a ribbon and almost boxed up inside of herself. Was he representing something? We still have yet to locate her skin anywhere…” Her words trailed off, tingling waves ran down her spine.
Thomas seemed to catch her train of thought, “We are going to get a present out of skin, aren’t we?”
Cordelia did not want to know what craft he had in store for this young girl’s skin. There was no telling what was in store for them.
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