Heartless Love

Chapter One

Dark clouds hang low and heavy over the city of Rochester, New York. The sudden rise in temperatures has caused the ever-present rain to become more like a humid fog. This in turn has caused many people to get sick and become congested. However, for one Rochester resident, flues and colds are the least of her worries.

The bell to the elevator dings as Tamara Lewis steps out of it and onto the thirteenth floor of the NYPD Headquarters. As she heads to her corner office, her understudy, Alyce, comes out from the break room and hands Tamara her morning cup of coffee. "Black with one sugar packet Miss Lewis," she says perkily.

Alyce just took on the position of Tamara's understudy about a month ago. She is majoring in criminal justice and is trying to get practice in the field to make sure it is what she really wants. As valedictorian of her high school, graduating class and Summa Cum Lauda winner for three years in a row, Alyce Harper is basically the image of perfection. However, she lacks in one aspect, communication. That's the main reason why she took the understudy position, that way she can have hands on experience in the field and not just read books about laws and how to apply them to different situations.

"Thank you, Alyce," Tamara says in a serious tone. She enters her office, with Alyce following close behind her. As she sits down in her chair, her office phone begins to rink. "Tamara, my office, now," Detective Hayes says bluntly over the other line. Without a question, Tamara responds, "Yes sir, Alyce and I'll be right there." "Don't bring Alyce with you. I have to talk with you and Bryce about a private matter," Detective Hayes states. "I understand," Tamara replies. With that, she hangs up the phone and stands up from her chair. "I'm going to Detective Hayes' office. Stay here till I get back," she instructs Alyce. Alyce's eyebrows come together in confusion as she asks, "I'm not going with you?" Tamara shakes her head no, before quickly leaving the office and heading to Detective Hayes' office on the seventeenth floor.

Once she gets to his office, she takes a deep breath, before knocking on the door rapidly three times. Instead of there being a response inside, there is just complete silence. Confused Tamara begins to raise her hand in order to knock again. However, before her knuckles can make contact with the hard oak door, it swings open. There stands Detective Hayes. His face is expressing an emotion of slight frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you Tamara?", he asks, as he places two knocks on the door, "Even number of knocks. Two, four, six, any number is fine, as long as it's even." Tamara's lip curls into a slight smile as she replies, "Sorry Detective Hayes. It won't happen again." As he walks towards his desk, he playfully reminds her that that's what she says every time. She only nods her head in understanding, so Detective Hayes asks her to take a seat while they wait for Bryce. Right on cue, two knocks reverberate off the other side of the door. "Come in," Detective Hayes says as he picks up some papers from his desk. The door opens, and Bryce walks in. Detective Hayes looks up from his papers and acknowledges his presence.

Bryce is another junior detective who likes to compete with Tamara in everything he does. This has caused him to act somewhat rash with her when it comes to the two of them working on anything together. Because of this, his eyes widen slightly and his lips part when he sees Tamara standing in Detective Hayes' office.

"Take a seat; both of you," Detective Hayes instructs, as he sits down in his own chair. After sitting down, both Tamara and Bryce, direct their attention to Detective Hayes. "Now that everyone is here, let's get down to business," Detective Hayes states, "I'm sure the two of you have heard of the recent occurrence of homicides happening within the area. Well, the Commissioner and I have decided that the two of you will spearhead the investigations. Afterall, two heads are better than one." Bryce leans over in his seat and asks, "May I ask why the Commissioner is choosing us amongst the rest of the junior detectives?" Detective Hayes laughs under his breath and replies, "It has not officially been announced, but I will be retiring by the end of the year. I need someone I trust to take over my position as Senior Detective. The Commissioner has allowed me to choose who I would like to take over. It was too hard for me to decide between the two of you, so I decided to give the two of you a pressure test of some sort." Bryce looks over at Tamara with a slight grin. His eyes sparkle at prospect of becoming Senior Detective. In contrast, Tamara's eyes are fixed on Detective Hayes as she waits to see what he will say next. "Now," Detective Hayes says loud and clear, which causes Bryce's head to snap back forward, "Even though this is a pressure test, it is an investigation before anything else. I will not be choosing my successor based on how quickly they solve the case, but rather by how they solve it. So, remember that when you leave this office." Tamara and Bryce nod their heads in acknowledgement. Detective Hayes then hands them both identical copies of the papers he was looking at previously. As Tamara and Bryce begin flipping through everything, Detective Hayes says, "In these papers you will find all of the information we know about the victims and when they were last seen. Everything from crime scene photos and personal statements will be in those papers." Tamara's eyebrows furrow as she looks through the photos, "All of the victims have a piece of their neck skin cut out into the same shape," she states. Detective Hayes exhaled deeply as he nods his head. "That's the reason why we believe that these homicides are being performed by the same people," he responds. Tamara catches onto the fact that he said people instead of person and questions him on it. Flipping through his own copy of papers, he answers, "If you look on the tenth page, you will see a layout that shows all the victim photos. In every single one of those photos, not only are the skin patches cut out into the same shape, but they are in the same place. The left side of the neck; right below the ear lobe. I can't be for sure, but I believe that the skin that was carved out had a tattoo on it." "And you believe that the tattoo might have been the symbol of a gang?", Bryce asks. Detective Hayes nods his head and says, "Either way, you two have your instructions. If you need any extra reports or crime scene evidence, you can find it all in storage." Tamara and Bryce stand up from their chairs and collect all the papers. Before they exit the office, Detective Hayes repeats, "Remember, this is an investigation first and foremost." "Yes sir," Tamara and Bryce reply in sync.

As they walk out of the office and towards the elevators, Bryce nudges Tamara and asks rhetorically, "Excited to be working together again?" Tamara purses her lips and ignores his question. He seems to not care and continues, "Well, I bet you that I already know one thing you don't about the case." Tamara lifts an eyebrow. They enter the elevator and Bryce presses the button to the thirteenth floor. Once the doors close, Tamara turns to him and says, "Fine, I'll humor you. What is it that you know that I don't?" A childish smile comes across Bryce's face, and he replies, "I know...that I'm going to find the gang before you." The anticipation that was surrounding Tamara fades away at his words. The elevator comes to a halt and the doors slide open. Turning on her heel, Tamara begins walks out of the elevator. "See you soon partner," he yells out as she continues to make a b-line to her office.