The Alienist and The Detective

So I just used one of my go to characters for this. The book title used and what this story is based on is The Alienist by Caleb Carr

"Write a story beginning with the title of the last book you've read and ending with the name of one of your characters"

The alienist was called at exactly 2:09 am that morning. There was a murder reported and by the looks of the body, a mad man was clearly at work. The sheriff was called out, along with a mortician to first look at the body. The detective was only called after being visited at her house by the victim's wife. It was a young man who had been murdered, no older than in his twenties. No one, of course, had bothered to include the young detective in this case. At the time, females were still considered vastly 'inferior to the male specimen.' However, Evans' Agency had already proved itself a capable asset. Even if their help was usually unwanted. Ms. Brooke Evans was the head operative of the said agency and by the description of the case, decided it was worth taking on herself. "The body, oh the body. How could someone do such a horrid thing?" The wife had said with great exasperation. However, she would just have to see the body herself.

Brooke Evans showed up at the crime scene at exactly 2:48 that morning. The Alienist had been running late and showed up only two minutes before her. The two briefly met eye contact and followed the sheriff to the victim's body. "My boys haven't touched a thing." He said proudly while taking them up the short staircase.

"That's a first," The young alienist muttered under his breath causing Brooke to let out a small chuckle. The sheriff turned around to question when they had been met by a barrage of reporters. The two took that as their cue to sneak away. The victim was lying awkwardly in the corner in a way that was clearly positioned post mortem. The body itself was a different story. Both eyes were almost expertly gouged, clear of blood around the face. There were slight abrasions above his jawline however that suspected either a struggle or a hard scrub. More than likely, the latter. The next disconcerting detail to the body was that there was no heart. There was a clear carved area of the body like that on one of an animal indicating a clear obstruction of organs. The lung was shoved into the side of the carcass and the ribs shattered. The only thing behind them, however, was a bloody indention of where the heart should have been. The fingers had each been slit on the pads yet the thumb on both hands were missing. The hands were bound by rope and had obvious areas of struggle against it. The ropes had caused the skin to become irritated and a blistered red area stood out against the pale cold body.

"They were certainly right," Brooke muttered letting the arms she was previously examining fall to the ground with a loud thump. "This wasn't the work of any sane person." The alienist looked up from the notes he was scrambling in his own notebook to take another observation of the body.

"I don't know much about crime scenes." The alienist added, "But it doesn't look like he was murdered in this spot." He looked around the surrounding area and then took a quick look around the room. "There's not enough blood." Brooke nodded and looked to the sheriff.

"I am to assume that I will at least be assisting you on this case. And, or taking over?" She said in a more of a demand than a question. The sheriff glanced at his police chiefs who seemed to be stifling their laughter. It didn't bother her any. It was quite a normal reaction to her placement in the line of work.

"Well, we don't really have a need to go chasing someone like this. You see, he was involved in quite a bit of gambling debt. If you ask me, he had what was coming to him." The sheriff said with a hint of amusement. "You and the alienator can figure it out." He added.

"Alienist...." The man mumbled quietly. "Anyways, I suppose that means we'll be working together on this case Ms. Evans. I'm Alexander Hunt. It's a pleasure to be working with you."

"The pleasures all mine." She replied with a smile. "And please, call me Brooke."