Undiscovered protégé

Chapter 5

I woke up at 3:34 because I had fucked up my sleep schedule and that was 8 hours. I tried to go back to sleep because I don't have to get up until 5:30, maybe 5 so I can get in to do paperwork. But to no avail. I decide to just get up and see if I could break Angela's case. I left my laptop in my car so I first go out to get it. It's just a minor inconvenience because it's cold. I put it on the counter and open the Karin Taylor interview transcript. I knew somthing she said seemed off but I couldn't put my finger on it. Between reading the lines I cooked some eggs and toast.

'SPCT: I had no idea where steph would be up to that night. She's not really the spontaneous type'

Cracked the egg.

'DET: So you don't know Stephanie's whereabouts on may 9th. What about her father?

I pushed down the lever on the toaster.

'SPCT: I haven't seen that man in ages. Slept with him once and haven't seen him since.'

I poked at the eggs with the spatula.

'DET: so absent father. Do you know anyone else that may know where she would've been?'
'SPCT: maybe those little friends of hers but I don't know them by name'

I think what I was thinking was odd last night is that Angela said it was a one night stand but the details weren't clear in the interview . That's probably not a lead anywhere. I finished cooking and plated my food. I still stood at the counter as I went back to Nathan Lim's interview transcript. I read it over but nothing stuck out to me. I realized I didn't make coffee so I turn the machine on and immediately go back to the computer. I get a notification that the scene photos from yesterday were shared with me. I'm not going to look at them because I think I'd throw up. I do however, look at the reports. It beings up absolutely no relevant information. I don't know how else I can be productive at home so I grab a jacket and head out. The patrol units were still outside my house and followed me to the station. It felt kind of strange. On in the car I thought about these past few days. I get a text from Angela. I hear the specific ring tone I had made for her texts. I call her.
"Hey, what's up?" I ask
"Lucy it's literally 4 why are you up?"
"I slept 8 hours as I'm sure you requested. I'm going to work, what did you text me?"
"Asking if you were up, because West Hollywood gave us some info. Morgan was kidnapped somewhere after 4 on the 7th. She's also a rookie as we already knew. She lived alone and had just moved out of her co-worker's apartment a little over a month before she died. The co-worker was obviously a rookie, her name was Kathrine Benson."
"Did I hear that right? the 7th?"
"Yes, after 4 PM on June 7th. The date tattooed obviously said the 9th though. Didn't show up on the 8th and her car was left at a gas station a mile from the department the following morning. I still haven't finished looking into the files for Morgan's case, so whenever you get here we can look through them."
"I'm 2 minutes away"
"Alright, that's pretty much all I've read so far. The investigation was pretty big and they had the whole station on it plus a neighboring one, so theirs a lot of files. A lot of it is pointless interview transcripts though so I know I'll have fun sorting through that" she says, clearly sarcastically.
"And they didn't find her."
We stay on a call the rest of the ride but it's completely silent for the next 2 minutes.
"I'm coming in now so I'm going to hang up" I say, as I do just that.
I make sure to grab my bag, I leave my laptop, and grab my phone, before heading to the station and finding Angela.
"I just shared all the files of the transcripts and anything else from Morgan's case to your account" she says as she sees me. I nod and sit at a computer right next to her. I log in. "Hey ange?" I ask turning around in my chair.
"Yeah?"
"Who are the other rookies?"
"Along with Morgan and Kathrine are Ryan Mitchell, and Chase McNally."
"Thanks" I say, as I turn back around to look for their interviews.
Ryan Mitchell. I found it, I read it. Nothing. Nothing on Chase McNally's interview seems odd either. Nothing from either interviews gave me any relevant information. Nyla comes in, it's 4:43.
"You guys found anything?" She asks as she sits down at a computer to Angela's left.
"Nothing important" Angela says. We get back to work. I go through a few more interviews, those of the TO's, and find nothing. I feel like I'm doing this wrong, I've got to be missing something, right?
"ME report's in. Sending it to you both right now." Angela says. I don't want to look at the report that's just going to tell me what I saw on Morgan's body yesterday. I have to maybe it will tell me somthing I have to solve this. This case has to be solved. As soon as it can be. I open the report I've just been sent. I read the first line about the bruises on her wrists. That are so fucking obviously caused by the zip ties. The same exact way that Caleb caused bruises on my wrists. This is not going to solve the case. But what if it does? What if the answer is in here?  A piece of information that the killer accidentally slips out in an interview. If I don't read this the killer could get away. Maybe something that I didn't register on the body on site or a weapon I couldn't have known before an autopsy was performed. I don't think I'm strong enough to read this document. I have to because I'd feel endless guilt if I wasn't next and somone else dies because I couldn't do my job right. I start going down the document as I hold back tears at how similar the torture she went through was. The duct tape that caused the blisters.
Their is a few major differences. Her chest had been cut open. Despite the symbolism of the killer cutting her lungs out and disposing of them separately of the body the blood loss is what killed her.