"No, it has to be wrong," I say into the phone.
"It's not wrong, Sweetie. It's his fingerprints." Delilah says.
"It can't be. He's dead Delilah, he has been for two years!" I sit down at my desk, reading over the report again.
"Well this murder was recent and it's his prints on her clothes. I ran them multiple times, Lyra, and it keeps coming up with him."
I let out a groan as I set the report down, "I'm going back to the crime scene."
"Bring Dan with you!"
"I will." I hung up the phone and got up, "Dan, come on, we're going back to the crime scene."
"What about me?" Rico asks.
"Find anything of Raymond's and go down to the morgue. Have Delilah run it against the prints. There is no way that it's actually Ray we're dealing with."
Rico nods as he got his stuff together, "Don't forget your gun, Daniel."
Dan rolls his eyes and let out a groan as he grabs his gun, "I hate that you know me that well."
Rico and Dan have been partners for years, even though they seem like they'd be unlikely to be able to work together.
Rico has a wild personality; Always wanting to jump into the action and do all that he can to catch the killer.
Dan has a more calm personality; Always taking things one step at a time and wanting to make sure everything is perfect before jumping into anything.
Just like their personalities, their looks were practically complete opposites; Dan has blonde hair while Rico has dark brown almost black hair, Dan has brown eyes while Rico has baby blue eyes, Dan is 6'3 and Rico is 5'7.
But, despite these differences, they still work really well together.
I joined the force about two years after they did, so by the time I arrived, they were already pretty close friends, but, like the good guys they were, they allowed me into their little group and helped build me up.
Rico softly chuckles at his partner's antics. "I'm not hearing a thank you."
Dan rolls his eyes again and mutters a quick thanks before turning to me, "Ready?"
"Yeah."
We get onto the elevator and leave to head to the crime scene, aka Greenwood lake.
Greenwood lake was a place that I avoided (just like most places in New York City) because of the memories it holds –It was as if the wood of the dock was nailed in using the memories of Ray and me–. It wasn't far from the precinct, so Dan and I arrive quickly, but while it's not far, it's not the easiest place to get to. The entrance was a small path off the side of the road, that if you weren't paying attention, you'd drive right past it, but if you wanted an easier entrance, you'd have to drive about another hour out, so it was easier to keep our eyes peeled for the entrance, plus it was helpful that the path was a clear shot to the dock. Since cars don't fit down the path, we park next to the entrance and start our short journey. The yellow tape stands out drastically from the greens of the path, so it wasn't hard to see this was a police zone. We quickly make it out to the dock, the wood now stained with the blood of the poor girl who was killed, but it's still just as full of memories as before. I took a shaky breath in as I stare out at the water, a memory slowly slipping back into my mind.
Raymond and I had spent many hours at the lake together, talking nonsense and unwinding after a hard workday, but this time had been different. He had told me that he had something special he needed to give me and that he thought the best place would be at our special dock on the lake. He made it very clear that he didn't want me to have my phone or wallet in the car, which confused me but I ignored it because Ray was the most trustworthy person I've known. That's how I ended up in the car at 3 am on Tuesday night, sitting by the entrance to the lake in leggings and a gray American flag t-shirt that he loaned me, waiting for him to tell me I can go in.
5 minutes later, he sent me the text saying I can go in, so I set my stuff down in my center console and got out of the car. The path was safe but covered in leaves and branches, which made it an even more private place for us.
He was sat on the edge of the dock when I arrived, his mind somewhere else.
"Ray?" I stepped out onto the dock and smiled as he looked at me, "I trust that this isn't your ploy to murder me and take over my spot in the precinct."
His eyes lit up just like they always do when he laughed, "Now why would I do that?" He got up, and shoved his hands into his pockets, "It'd be way too suspicious. But I do know what the detectives would look for..." he winked at me, a playful smile on his face.
I couldn't help but laugh, "Don't make me turn around and run."
"Oh no, don't do that." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, "cause I'm totally not taller than you and can easily catch up to you."
I scoffed but couldn't help but laugh, "Alright alright. What's this thing that you have to give me?" I smiled more as I slowly got more excited. Ray has given me things before, but that was for birthdays and Christmas parties at the precinct, it was never out of the blue like this.
"Close your eyes."
"Oh yeah, this is definitely a ploy to murder me." I closed my eyes, a smile plastered on my face. He chuckled, "I'm not going to murder you, Lyra." He took a few steps closer to me, but before I could question anything, his arms wrapped around my waist, and I was lifted off of the ground.
"Ray!" I squeaked out, flailing around as I tried to escape his grasp.
He walked over to the edge of the dock, a smirk on his face.
"Ray, don't you dare!"
"What will you do if I do?"
"I will kill you-"
He laughed more, "no ya won't." and with that, he tossed me into the water. I shrieked as the cold November water cut through my skin.
I wasted no time in swimming back up to the surface, "Raymond. William. Hart."
My anger seemed to just fuel his laughing even more.
I got out of the water and rung my hair out over him; These are the moments I wished I still had my long hair.
He gasped and moved away from me, "Hey!"
"You suck, Ray." I shook out my hair like a dog, "Did you actually have something to give me or was this a trick to get me here?" I wasn't really mad at him; This wasn't the first time I was thrown into the water, nor will it be the last.
His laughing calmed down and the bright smile he had on before shifted to a small sheepish smile, "No, actually." He put his hand back into his pocket and pulled a box out, "I uhm... I thought you'd think it was weird if I just gave it to you, so..." He handed the box to me and turned back to the water. I could have sworn I saw a light dust of pink on his cheeks, and I couldn't help but smile at his embarrassment; I loved that about him. The fact he got embarrassed so easily and how his cheeks would go pink every time he did.
I slowly opened the box, my hand shaking from the chill of the air. Inside the box sat a necklace with a golden key hanging off of it. I gasped and covered my mouth, "Raymond this... this is so pretty." I looked over at him.
"I... I thought you'd like it. I was going to wait till your birthday, but it felt too far away to not give this to you."
"Ray I... I love it. Thank you."
Tears fill my eyes as the memory slowly fades away. That night had been one of the happiest nights, and ever since then, I haven't been able to wear that American flag shirt; Not because it had been ruined for me after his death, but because it holds such a strong memory that I didn't want to replace it with another one or accidentally wash it away in the washing machine.
"Lyra? You there?" Dan asks me.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." I took a step out onto the dock.
He raised an eyebrow but didn't question further, "So what are we looking for?"
"Anything that can tell us that it's really Ray that we're dealing with."
He nods and starts looking around, "How are you handling all of this?"
I just respond in a shrug, looking through bushes, "Right now I'm not thinking about it too much."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm... we're not even sure if it's really him, which it just can't be."
"Are you sure...?"
"Do you really think Raymond would fake his death?!" I snap.
Dan sucks in air as if I just punched him in the chest; we were all close with Ray, so the thought of him faking his death was... a sore subject for all of us, "I don't know, Lyra, all I know is that if this is him, then I'm sure he has a reasonable explanation for all of this."
"Reasonable?! Dan, if this is him, he faked his death and left his friends to wonder if he was dead for 2 years, then showed up because of a murder case!"
"Lyra, I know that it was hard for you, but I know Ray. He wouldn't do anything without a reason."
I scoff because I knew... know ray too, and Dan is right, he has a reason for everything, but I can't think of any reasonable explanation for any of this.
We search for about half an hour with no luck, till Dan suddenly says, "Lyra, you have to come see this."
"What's up?" I walk over to him and gasp as I see what he was looking at; A wallet that was laying on the ground, devoid of money, but a driver's license clearly sitting in the clear pocket
Raymond Willam Hart.
I cover my mouth with my hand as I shakily pick up the wallet, the numbers of the expiration date screaming out at me;
Expires: October 30, 2023
That date... it means he got it renewed last year.
He's alive.
Raymond is Alive.