Syd Parker - The Killing Ground

“We’ve got another victim.” Rebecca’s voice didn’t waver, but Jordan imagined she detected a hint of anger. And why not? Anyone surrounding this case couldn’t help but be angry.

“Where? I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

Jordan was surprised to hear that the body had been found in the same alley that Julie had been attacked in. She punched in Matty’s number and told him to be ready in five minutes. They had another hit in the case.

Fourteen minutes later, she screeched to a halt behind an already active crime scene. She flashed her badge to the patrolman who was holding the press back from the crime scene. She and Matt stooped under the crime tape, and she spotted Detective Foxx’s red hair. They stepped around officers and the medical examiner’s van.

Rebecca looked up as they approached and smiled warily. “Come on. I’ll show you the body.”

She led them into the alley, and Jordan was surprised to see what she surmised was a homeless man lying face down. A chilling thought hit her square in the stomach. “Tell me this isn’t the guy?”

Rebecca nodded. “We think so.”

Jordan stepped closer and studied the pool of blood around his body. She crinkled her forehead. “Looks dry. This guy has been dead awhile.”

“Witness says maybe since last night.” Rebecca said somberly. She met Jordan’s eyes, and a mutual understanding flashed between them. “Guy’s homeless, most people don’t notice them. Buddy of his says he didn’t show up at the shelter last night and then tonight either. Figured something was wrong, maybe died of hypothermia, so he called 911. Apparently, he likes this alley. Bread store around the corner throws out the day-old bread. So we looked here first.”

Jordan shook her head. “Fuck!” She rubbed the back of her neck in frustration. “You check out the body yet?’

Rebecca shook her head. “We are getting ready to. I wanted to wait until you guys showed up.”

“Thanks.” Jordan nodded her head in appreciation. “You got extra gloves?”

Rebecca handed her a pair of blue latex gloves, and she pulled them over her hands. Strangely, she wasn’t cold anymore. Her heart was racing now, and it chased the cold away. She knelt over the body and began a slow study of the body and the area surrounding it. She knelt over to look at his neck. “Shit.”

Rebecca jumped forward. “What?”

“Can we roll him over?”

Rebecca signaled for the rest of her CDD team and the M.E. “You guys okay if we roll him?”

The general consensus was yes, and Jordan and Rebecca eased him over onto his back. Rebecca jumped backward, her hand over her mouth. Matt, who came closer to help, stepped back quickly and swallowed, forcing the bile back down.

The man’s face was a mess. His eyes had been carved out, and his lips had been sliced off. Jordan had seen a lot of shit in her life, but nothing like this. She looked up and saw Rebecca’s eyes. She was angry and obviously trying to calm down before she looked closer.

“Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Jordan stood up and pulled her gloves off. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this is the same guy. Matty said he would strike again, and he’s definitely pissed.”

“He’s getting messy.” Rebecca suggested. “He’s an emotional killer. It’s only a matter of time before he slips up and when he does, I’ll be there.”

“We’ll be there.” Jordan leveled her gaze on Rebecca. “This guy’s out for revenge. He’s not going to accept that Julie didn’t die, and he won’t give up until he gets her. From here on out, I’m going to be up your ass.”

Rebecca glared at her, anger evident in her features. The M.E. stepped around them, and Jordan was thankful for the space. She wasn’t sure, which was worse, her mother’s angry glare when she was younger or Detective Foxx’s angry gaze. “I don’t mean to step on toes, Detective. I just meant we have resources that, quite frankly, the CDD doesn’t have the budget for. We can help…if you let us.”

Rebecca’s anger dissipated somewhat, and Jordan swallowed nervously. Why on earth, it mattered that she got her approval was beyond Jordan’s imagination. “I think you need to pick your words more carefully. I already told you I would assist in whatever way possible, but you threatening to be up my ass is a surefire way to push me away.”

Jordan smiled ruefully. “Perhaps you’re right, Detective Foxx. I have a way of putting my foot in my mouth.”

“Detective?” The M.E. was leaning over the body, and she waived them over quickly. “You’re gonna want to see this.”

She gripped his chin and pulled his mouth open.

“Holy shit.” Jordan winced, unable to remain calm given the latest cruelty.

His eyes had been cut out and shoved in his mouth, a clear message that his unfortunate sighting and subsequent telling of Julie’s attack had gotten him brutally murdered. He would end up just another person with no name or story that would be forgotten by tomorrow.

Rebecca spun on her heel and marched away quickly. She waited for Jordan to catch up. “Whatever the FBI can do to help, do it.”

Jordan nodded. She knew from the two brief encounters with Detective Foxx that she was a proud woman, fiercely protective of her territory. To ask for help, even that which had been previously offered, required a quiet strength that few possessed. Jordan imagined that doing so had knocked her down a few notches, and her admiration for this woman grew exponentially.

“Come see me tomorrow. Bring the autopsy results. We’ll see what we can put together on this guy.” Jordan offered quietly.

Rebecca smiled and thanked her reluctantly. She didn’t want to need help, especially Jordan’s help. She couldn’t decide which was worse, Jordan’s overt attempt at seduction in an attempt to get her way, or Matt’s subtle way of playing good cop to Jordan’s bad cop. What irritated her more was that she found herself actually tempted to take Jordan up on her offer.

She didn’t have much time outside work for relationships. She wasn’t sure she even wanted one. If she guessed correctly, sex was all Jordan was offering, and that was really all Rebecca had or wanted to give. Truth be told, she missed it. It had been months since she had touched another woman, and she was hungry to taste someone’s arousal, to have a woman’s touch bring her to orgasm.

Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought of her and Jordan as quickly as it had surfaced, trying to ignore the nagging tug in her chest or the pulsating ache in her clit. That was just what she needed, something else to cloud her judgment and keep her from devoting her time to the real problem. This case.

“So, what do you think?” Jordan fiddled with her radio trying to find something that wasn’t Justin Bieber pop.

“Guy’s fucking crazy. He’s definitely got an ax to grind. I’m not sure where the hate is coming from though. It’s probably a good idea to bring Detective Foxx in to speak with our profiler.”

“Already suggested it.” Jordan laughed softly. “She wasn’t happy about it.”

“She can’t argue with that. The FBI has resources they will never have.” Matt’s tone was adamant, but there was a hint of something softer buried between the words.

Jordan studied Matt’s profile in the dim lights of her console. Her 370Z hummed along the quiet night streets, and she preferred to keep the peace between them, but a thought nagged at her until she opened her mouth and it spilled out. “You like the Detective, huh?”

For a moment, she thought he would not answer, and she had almost given up when he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. “Yeah, I do.”