First Comes Murder

Chapter Two

MATTHEW HOLDEN'S POV:

I jolted up to the sound of my alarm blaring in my ear. It was already five a.m. My girlfriend woke up too in a sleepier haze.

"Uh, Matt! It's too early!" Laura complained.

"Shit! I should have gone to bed earlier. Today is going to be rough!" I muttered to her, clearly angered at my own stupidity.

She pulled me to her and kissed me "Good luck on your first day as detective. I love you!" Then she laid back down.

Quickly I showered and dressed in a new suit. Today is the first day I work as a homicide detective. I'm only twenty-two and I'm doing damn good for myself.

I grabbed my gun, badge, phone, and wallet and bolted out of the door. The last thing I needed was to be late on my first day as a detective. Chief Collins has so much faith in me. I cannot let him down.

The drive to the station was peaceful and quick. I walked in and headed to my new desk in the homicide department. My superior, and new partner, rushed over to me. Something was wrong. Was I at the wrong desk or something?

"Lieutenant Johnson, what's going on?" I asked worried.

He looked pale. Had we lost an officer? I noticed the rest of the department working in a panicked frenzy. Whatever happened was not going to be easy.

"Detective Holden, I'm so sorry that this is your first case." He began, it felt as if he was on the verge on breaking down. What the hell happened to make one of the toughest men I know act like this?

"What happened?" I asked nervously.

"It's the chief." Were the only words Lt. Johnson could muster as he motioned me to follow him. We approached his vehicle and he drove us to Chief Collins residence. Squad cars, ambulances, news crews, and the coroner were all there along with worried citizens.

Lt. Johnson and I made our way to the front door of the two story, traditional American dream style house. An officer met us at the door.

"Brace yourselves. The chief and his wife are still in there. The CSI's are taking photos and collecting evidence." He informed us "It is tragic."

We nodded and walked in. The crime scene was upstairs. We were led to the master bedroom. It was a sight I will never forget. The chief was dead. Dr. Collins, his wife, was dead. Her body was lying next the bed. Blood was everywhere. Splattered on the wall. The bed linens. The carpeting. Her body. I walked to the side of the bed that the chief was in. His throat was slit. And it appeared he had a few more stab wounds along his chest. He had an arm reached out to the nightstand where his gun was laying. His body was already in rigor. So, he was stuck in this position.

"Who would do this?" I blurted out like an idiot.

"Well, rookie, that's what are job is. We are going to find the monster that did this." Lt. Johnson told me "Now, let's inspect the rest of the house."

I nodded. We exited the bedroom and looked back down the hall. I noticed picture frames knocked around and some lying on the floor.

"It appears there was a struggle. Possibly Dr. Collins. Or..." I said seeing their daughter in the photos "their daughter."

Lt. Johnson's eyes widened "MAGGIE!" He yelled after he realized nothing has been said about her. Other officers and CSI agents looked our way. "Where is Maggie Collins?"

Another detective came our way "Maggie hasn't been found. We are looking for her, sir." She explained "I didn't know you were unaware."

"How long has it been since they were murdered?" Lt. Johnson yelled back to the medical examiner.

He looked up towards us "Rigor and body temp suggests around 10:30-11pm" the ME replied.

Lt. Johnson looked at his watch "It is now 6 a.m. Maggie has been missing for roughly 7 hours. We need to find her."

The same female detective who informed us she was missing said the neighbor across the street wanted to talk to us about that. The detective said that the neighbor already gave officers all she knew about what happened. Lt. Johnson and I made our way outside. The neighbor rushed to us.

"Alex! I already told the other officers everything I knew, but I wanted to tell you in person." The neighbor sobbed

"Linda, spit it out!" He urged her

"A white man about 5'6" or 6 foot in dark clothing dragged Maggie out of the house and threw her in the trunk of a white Nissan." Linda quickly said " I could only catch the first two letters of the license plate they were 'ZA'"

"Is that all you could get?!?" He yelled at her.

She looked shocked "I was lucky enough to be walking my dogs when this happened. I didn't plan on the Collins being murdered and Maggie being taken."

"She could be dead already!" Lt. Johnson bursted at her

Before he could yell at the poor woman who was already traumatized enough, I interrupted "Sir, she did the best she could at 11 o'clock at night, we have some information and we will do our best as detectives to find her, alive."

Lt. Johnson looked at me in shock then he smiled "Chief Collins was right. You're meant to be a detective. Let's find Maggie." And he turned to walk away, but then turned back "Linda, I'm sorry, but Chief Collins was my best friend. Maggie is like a niece to me."

She smiled "I know you will find her. Bring her home."

We walked away. An alert had been sent out to all law enforcement on the getaway vehicle. We have to find her. We have too.