Valen

Chapter 2

Liam

My day had started out as a typical, manic Monday. First, I spilled chocolate milk on my navy-blue suit pants. All my other good suits are at the cleaners, leaving me with no choice but to wear my two-year-old, and almost too small, grey suit. Then my day got even worse when I saw my ex-girlfriend in line at the coffee shop that I happen to stop at every morning. Not only is the café's chai tea delicious, but the café is conveniently located right down the street from the police station. There was no doubt that Kristie knew I would be in here this morning, but she wouldn't admit to it. I watched as she finished up at the counter, and then made her way to the back of the line where I was standing.

She gave me a big Cheshire cat smile. "Hello Liam," she greeted me, cheerfully. Kristie is not a cheerful person. Ever.

"Hello," I said nonchalant. I only gave her a glance before looking straight ahead again. Even though I'm mad as hell at her, I'm still going to speak to her. My old-fashioned parents and grandparents taught me to have respectable manners in any situation. Even the awkward ones.

Kristie sighed heavily. "You're still mad at me," she said, stating the obvious.

"Well, I did catch you in bed with another man recently," I replied, keeping my voice low. It had only been two weeks. I had been working late on my most recent case, a serial killer who was targeting prostitutes. He, or she, has killed three women in the past three months. We call him the Camden Butcher because he stabs his victims multiple times. In fact, he stabbed his latest victim over thirty times. Anyway, I came home late one night to catch Kristie going at it with one of her co-workers in our bed. His name is Ralph, I think.

"So, I made a huge mistake," she said as if infidelity was no big deal. "It only happened because you were working all day and all night. I'm only human, I have needs and besides, they're only prostitutes."

Her last comment really pissed me off. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I hissed, trying to stay as calm as possible. "Those women were someone's sister, daughter, and even a mother." I shook my head in disgust. "You know what – I'm almost glad I caught you in the act, because I was too damn blind to see how heartless you truly are."

She gasped ever so dramatically, and then stormed out of the coffee shop without saying another word.

Shortly after I got to work, I was scanning through my emails when my partner, Ivan, walked up to my desk. "Hey! Commissioner McVey is on squad side with Chief Russell if you want to talk with them about the possible overtime for squad, and also about the briefing with everyone regarding our case," he told me.

"Thanks. I'll go talk to them." I locked my computer and headed for the other side of the station. And that's when I accidentally collided into one of the most beautiful women, I think I'd ever seen during my twenty-six years of life.

"I'm so sorry," she said, empathy evident in her tone. She had a voice like an angel, and she's as angelic as one. Her eyes are what really caught me off guard though. They're as green as emeralds, and they seem to have certain mysteriousness to them.

"Oh no, pardon me. I need to watch where I'm going," I said, sympathetic.

I watched with a smile, as she ogled me up and down. I think I saw her blush when our eyes met again. Without saying another word, she simply smiled before quickly walking away. I don't know why, but I couldn't pull my eyes from her. A piece of me wanted to stop her and talk to her. I wanted to see that gorgeous smile again and again. Instead, I watched as she continued to walk away. I knew I would scold myself later for letting a woman like that get away so easily, but for now, I've got a killer to catch.

I was able to catch Commissioner McVey coming out of the conference room. "Commissioner McVey, may I have a word with you and Chief Russell in private?" I asked.

Commissioner McVey glanced at her watch. "Sure Fitzgerald. I only have about thirty minutes to spare you though, unless you would like to schedule a meeting at a later time," Commissioner McVey answered.

"It won't take long," I promised.

The Commissioner turned to Chief Russell. "May we use the conference room Gary?"

"Yeah, there's nothing scheduled for a while," Chief Russell answered.

Once we were in the conference room, I briefed them on the facts of the case thus far, and I asked for permission to speak with everyone at the station, including the squad officers. I also asked if there was any possible way that they could spare some overtime for the squad officers so they could help on the case. "We could use more patrol on the streets at night," I told them. Lord only knows that Ivan and I can use all the help we can get to catch that Psycho who's killing innocent women.

Commissioner McVey said she would try to get as much overtime approved by the board of commissioners as possible. Chief Russell said he would be okay with the briefing, and okay with getting his squad officers involved. He wanted that monster off the street as much as anyone else. After twenty minutes, they left me alone in the conference room where my thoughts drifted back to the green-eyed angel I had met in the corridor. After a moment, I silently scolded myself. I don't have time to think about my personal life right now, I have a very important case to work on. This case has already ruined one relationship, I can't take that chance again. I quickly left the conference room and headed back to my desk.