The next day, it's a surprise that i'm awakened by a ringing.
I don't recall buying a new alarm clock.
I quickly realize it's my phone's ringtone and fumble on the bed with my hands to get hand on it. I pick it up with a weary voice :
"Who is- ?"
"Are you still sleeping ?"
It's Nick's voice, visibly annoyed, that echoes from the other end of the line.
"What's the problem? It's only 8 am..."
"No, it's 9 am, Judy. I've been calling you for a good 15 minutes."
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean- ?" I asked as i pulled the phone away from my ear to look at the screen. "Oh shit."
"Yeah, hurry up now."
After that, he hung up... I jumped out of my bed and took off my pjs in a hurry before rushing in the bathroom. After the quickest wash I could manage, I threw on my uniform before bolting out of my room.
Fuck habits, I'm setting an alarm on my phone tonight.
"Your hair is a mess." That's the first thing Nick says to me when I open the front door.
I throw him an unimpressed look because that's what happens every mornings so no surprises here.
"Good morning to you too, ain't the weather fantastic ?" I say sweetly but my tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Alright, don't get all grumpy with me now, cupcake. You're the one who slept too much." He laughed as he opened the car door for me.
I sighs before entering inside.
"Does it happen often ?" He asks me without taking his eyes off the road.
"What ? sleeping too much ? Not really, unless I'm really tired like got little sleep." I rush to add when he glances at me : "But that's not what happened this time, my internal clock must be broken."
"You used wake up with an alarm, don't you ?"
"Yeah and yesterday I woke up without it so I thought I could work with it but nevermind."
Nick shakes his head as he laughs, he turn his head in my direction when we stop in the morning traffic jam.
"I think only psychopaths are able to wake up every day at the exact hour only with the power of will. So get that idea out of your head."
I pouts, somehow dejected that I would have to get back to my old ways.
"Alright, I get it."
10 minutes later, we arrive at the station. In the hall, I tell him:
"I could have offered you to come with me but the IT department isn't open to everyone."
"I will wait in your office." He reach out his hand to me. It takes me a good second staring at it to realize he is asking for my keys.
I pulled them out of my pocket gave it to him.
"Do not touch anything, especially my laptop I didn't forget what you did yesterday."
"Aye aye, captain." He laughs before doing a salute with his free hand and walking his way to the elevator.
I was about to follow him when Cassy waves me over. I walk up to her and say :
"Hi, Cassy ! Is there a problem ?"
"Uh... No, I'm okay don't worry. I wanted to know if you knew well the man who was with you ?"
"Nick Wilde? Not really I met him yesterday. He is helping me. What is it about him ?"
"Just yesterday ? he comes in here a lot, it's weird you never noticed him..."
"What ? Really ? Do you know why ?"
She leans over the counter to whisper like it's a secret :
"No one really know but, i think he comes to see the chief. I saw him walk the guy to the entrance once."
Does the "acquaintance " he was talking about yesterday, Mr. Johnson ?
I don't get the time to ponder over it because I'm really late and Jake hate that more as much as i do so I rush to the elevator after thanking Cassy and press the 3rd button.
Should I ask him...? I don't even know why I care actually, after the case is over i won't have to do anything with him anyways.
When the cabin stops, I get out and head to Jake's office.
"Hi, Jake, i'm sorry for being late." I say as i enter his open office.
He narrows his gaze on me behind his glasses. I know he is assessing if he should scold me or letting me get away with it. I really hope it's the latter though.
"Apologies accepted, but... Next time you'll have to buy me coffee." I breathe in relief and reply : "Promise. So I hope you have good news for me."
"Judy, you're going to have to be strong..." He says in that dramatic tone i know too well and never ends good.
"Oh no." I muttered.
He added:
"There are no individuals matching this signature."
"In other words, it's a fake..."
"Right."
I sigh heavily, for now, it was our only lead... If it's really a serial killer like Nick implied, there will surely be another victim. I have no choice but to wait for that to happen to have new possible ones.
"Thanks anyway Jake."
I left the office and headed to mine with shoulders slumped. But in the elevator i get a call from Cassy telling me that the mailman left a envelope for me. So I had to jam the button of the elevator to get me back down the hall. It was a plain envelope but I was more concerned about who was still sending letters in this day and age. I finally got into my office where Nick was sitting, in my place, engrossed in his phone. Too preoccupied to argue with him, I opened the letter and read :
Hello Lieutenant Harper,
I hope you're having a good day.
I heard a lot about you, and i got to admit that I'm a bit disappointed that the rumors about you doesn't seem to be so true. I was expecting a bit of a chase but it's getting so boring to wait for you.
But no worries since I like you, I would like you to come and see my new masterpiece.
The address is below. May you appreciate well my gift.
Unfortunately, I didn't need any details to know that he was Samantha Miller's killer. I gaped at the paper, reading the words again and again like i wanted to engrave them in my brain.
My heart was racing, he know me and where I am. How did he know ? Was he watching me too ? The thought makes a shiver run down my spine.
"Judy ?" Nick should've noticed my shock because he called me with a concerned tone.
"Nick- the- I think the killer took another victim."
"What ?"
He lowered his phone and sat up straight in his chair and I showed him the letter. After reading it, he said :
"We'd better go and see right away."
I agree and we rushed out of the station to get in the car.
The address was a villa in a residential area. It was not so different than with Samantha. The door was open, after we put on our gloves, I searched the ground floor and Nick upstairs. The place was pretty clean, not a single thing abnormally out of place, no sign of fighting either, of course i would call a scientific team for further research. The only sign that something happened here was the missing owner of the house. A few minutes later, Nick's rang out :
"I think I found the body !"
I went upstairs to find him and I found him in the bdroom. The body of a woman with the same characteristics as Samantha━ blonde, slim and objectively attractive. Her head visibly smashed, her skirt pulled up to her pelvis, her panties pulled down and traces of dried semen on her legs. The murder must have been committed 2 or 3 hours before. I had no reaction when I saw this body, I got used to it a long time ago.
At first I did have uncontrollable nausea, my first body is still very clear in m mind.
Nick didn't seem to be phased by this. I don't think he had to investigate murders, since that's what the police's job. How is he used to this ?
I call the forensics team and they arrive 30 minutes later. Nick and I go outside to let them deal with the crime scene. This time I'm sure I have a lead. With the traces of semen he left, it will be easy to identify him. I asked for the substance to be brought to the lab and tested as fast as possible. Stanley, our head scientific technician calls me over as soon as he receive it.
"What do you think ?" I ask him.
"Well, it's a lot better than last time. I don't know why he left such a blatant clue as traces of semen, but with this you're sure to make progress."
"Thanks Stan..."
"The results will be ready before tomorrow, i will call you over."
"Alright, i'm counting on you."
We head back to the station and a few hours later Erina the medical examiner calls me into her lab.
"What do you have to tell me about this body ?" I say as soon as we greet each other, not in the mood for small talk.
"Well, according to the personal belongings found in the house, her name is Jenna Fox. She was 19 years old and a college student."
She adds as she turn her head to show me the bloody spot :
"She was killed just like Samantha Miller, which means blunt force trauma to the head. The splinter marks she has on her wound show that she was hit with a wooden object. Again, the rape is post-mortem."
"I believe we now have the murderer's modus operandi... I guess i'm off to go contact her relatives then. Thanks, Erina." She sends me a sympathetic smile because we both know it was easily one of the hardest task of this job.
"Good luck, Honey."
I walk out of the lab and back into my office. Nick is not in the office. I sit down in my chair and after searching for Jenna Fox's relatives on the database, I begin the difficult process of asking them to come in and identify the body. When I finish with a sigh, still a little moved by their voices distraught with sadness, my cell phone rings in my pocket. It is a masked number. Curious, I answer:
"Hello ?"
"Help me... I beg you..."
It was a girl's voice, trembling and desperate. My heart immediately started to beat wildly as straighten up on my chair.
"Miss ! Are you alright ?!"
"They are holding me... They said you were the only person who could save me... Please, help me." The voice rambled, sobs erupting between words.
"Try to calm down and tell me where you are."
"I- Aaaahh !" She let out a bloodcurdling scream.
I was more panicked than ever. It was obvious that this girl was going through something horrible. I heard a different voice. A cold, unemotional and deep one, surely from a man.
"Good evening, Lieutenant Harper.."
."You- You are- !"
"Yes, I'm Sam and Jenna's killer. How did you find them ? Beautiful, aren't they ?"
"You're just a huge freak- !"
"Watch your mouth." He said in a tone that quickly changed from amusement to anger. Then he added :
"If you want this girl to stay alive, be polite to me."
It disgusts me to obey him but I have no choice. I will myself to stay composed and take a deep breath, knowing his threat wasn't empty at all.
"Very well, I will be polite. What do you want from me ?"
"Like I said earlier, I'm bored. So I want you and me to play a game. If you win, I surrender and the girl stays alive. But if I win... She dies and I kill you too." A shiver runs down my spine at how lightly he was taking his words.
"And if I refuse ?" I ask tentatively.
"She dies when and you get another body under your arms."
I have no choice...If I refuse, this girl will die by my fault I don't want to have that weighing on my conscience...
"I accept. What is this game ?" I tried to sound confident but my right knee was shaking like crazy.
"Oh it's simple, for now let's meet at Greenwood, tomorrow, at 2pm. I'll tell you the rules when the time comes. I won't tolerate a minute's delay."
"Fine, I'll be there." Like that I hang up.
The fact that he chose Greenwood Forest wasn't reassuring to me, at all.
What did he want to do there out of all place, what kind of game was he planning to play ?
While I was ruminating on my conversation with the murderer, Nick entered the office. He seemed to be really busy whatever he was doing with Mr. Johnson because as he was disappearing anytime he had free time. I didn't ask him yet because the case was already concerning enough, and now there was this whole mess that was awaiting for me tomorrow.
He must have seen it on my face because he asked me :
"Judy ? Is everything all right ? You seem a little upset."
"The- The murderer called me. He asked me to meet him at Greenwood Forest." I said, somehow unable to look at him.
"You turned him down, I hope ?"
"I said yes."
"Judy !"
"I had no choice. He's holding a girl hostage and threatening to kill her. If I refuse, he'll do it."
"And so you decided to put your life in danger to save her ?"
"Of course ? If i don't do it who will, i'm a cop, it's my job." I started getting defensive before i even realized."
"I- i'm not saying you shouldn't have done it but it's not a decision you should have took alone. You can't go by yourself in there, you don't know what to expect, it's dangerous, you could get the both of you killed." He explain while pinching the bridge of his nose.
I felt scolded like a child and it did nothing to calm down.
"Now you know damn well i'm the only one he is expecting there if he ever realize i didn't go alone, it's game over as well." I stand up on my chair, palms of my hands flat on the table.
"We will find a way, anything but you can't go alone, Jonhson won't even allow you to do that."
I falter for a second as i heard Mr. Johnson'name.
"How do you know him ?"
"That's not the point, Judy. I suppose i can't convince you otherwise."
"No, i already said yes and i will do it."
"As I thought, so let me go with you."
"Uh... I don't think he's going to go along with- " I start protesting.
"You can't change my mind either, Judy. I can be as stubborn as you." His firm tone told me that it was useless to argue.
"Alrigh, fair enough." I agree with a sigh and he nods.
My phone vibrate just as I sit back down on my chair. I turn it on to see a text from Stan telling me the results are ready.
"I got to pick up the sperm sample's results before heading home."
"I came here to begin with to tell you that i had a job to do so i had to go anyway." Nick shrugged. "You can tell me about them tomorrow."
"Oh okay, bye then."
"Bye." He moved to open the door before stopping on his tracks and turning around. "Judy, don't stay too late, tomorrow's gonna be a rough day."
Like that he gave me a quick smile and closed behind him as he stepped out of the office.
I watched the empty spot he was occuping a instant ago for a moment before realizing he never replied to my question and letting out a chuckle of disbelief. He wasn't keen on to telling me.
I gather everything i need and close the office so i can head out as soon as i finish with Stan. Once in the lab, I find him drinking the awful bitter coffee provided in the breaking room.
"How can you drink this abomination ?" It's how i playfully greets him.
He turn around so fast, the dark brown drink splashes on his hand and his glasses slip to the bridge of his nose. Always so clumsy, he laughs at himself before putting the cup carefully on the table and taking a napkin to wipe his hands.
"Oops, sorry." I apologize for startling him.
"It's fine, I was a little distracted. And to answer your question, i'm about to pull an all-nighter so i need all the caffeine i can find."
"Again ?"
"Yeah, an illegal drug lab has been dismantled so we have tons of substances to analyze."
I zinces, feeling sympathetic for him. He always end up looking like a zombie for the rest of the week after nights like this, he is like me, we may have plenty subordinates we still like to do our job ourselves. I didn't become a cop to sit behind a desk all day.
"So your results." He says as he turns back around to pick a folder from his desk.
I take it, heart beating frantically at the prospect of finally knowing who i'm going to meet tomorrow.
The first thing i see when i open it is a mugshot of a white man seemingly like in his forties. He has brune hair, brown eyes and looked like an average member of the society, What threw me off was the way you couldn't never guess he was the one who did all those horrid crimes. He tall and lanky, and looked almost innocent like he didn't know what he was doing there.
I turned to the next page to read his general informations : His name was Ted McAllister, he was 39 y/o, he was born in Georgia, came in NYC for college to study law but he somehow got into drugs, failed his grades and quitted, started doing multiples jobs that never more than a few months.
His criminal record followed : He got arrested numerous times during his thirties, for drug possession, Assault, sexual harrassment, multiples times for rape but never got sentenced due to lack of proofs.
His medical record : he has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at 10, Depression and Anxiety at 16 and finally bipolar disorder at 18━ an argument his lawyers didn't fail to use during his trials.
My mouth was gaping without me even realizing, the impression his face gave was the completely different of what the rest of the folder said. I know after all that time on this job these kind of things shouldn't surprise me anymore but this was completely out of my exceptations.
I thank Stan and wish him good luck on the tough night that was waiting for me before i quit the police station with the folder i was planning to study before tomorrow. I call a taxi since i left my car at home and order takeout on the ride. I arrive just on time for the delivery man, pays the food before taking a shower. I spend the dinner reading the remaining page of Ted's folder and memorizing anything that could be helpful for tomorrow. I eventually end up falling asleep, head resting on my coffee table.The next day, it's a surprise that i'm awakened by a ringing.
I don't recall buying a new alarm clock.
I quickly realize it's my phone's ringtone and fumble on the bed with my hands to get hand on it. I pick it up with a weary voice :
"Who is- ?"
"Are you still sleeping ?"
It's Nick's voice, visibly annoyed, that echoes from the other end of the line.
"What's the problem? It's only 8 am..."
"No, it's 9 am, Judy. I've been calling you for a good 15 minutes."
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean- ?" I asked as i pulled the phone away from my ear to look at the screen. "Oh shit."
"Yeah, hurry up now."
After that, he hung up... I jumped out of my bed and took off my pjs in a hurry before rushing in the bathroom. After the quickest wash I could manage, I threw on my uniform before bolting out of my room.
Fuck habits, I'm setting an alarm on my phone tonight.
"Your hair is a mess." That's the first thing Nick says to me when I open the front door.
I throw him an unimpressed look because that's what happens every mornings so no surprises here.
"Good morning to you too, ain't the weather fantastic ?" I say sweetly but my tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Alright, don't get all grumpy with me now, cupcake. You're the one who slept too much." He laughed as he opened the car door for me.
I sighs before entering inside.
"Does it happen often ?" He asks me without taking his eyes off the road.
"What ? sleeping too much ? Not really, unless I'm really tired like got little sleep." I rush to add when he glances at me : "But that's not what happened this time, my internal clock must be broken."
"You used wake up with an alarm, don't you ?"
"Yeah and yesterday I woke up without it so I thought I could work with it but nevermind."
Nick shakes his head as he laughs, he turn his head in my direction when we stop in the morning traffic jam.
"I think only psychopaths are able to wake up every day at the exact hour only with the power of will. So get that idea out of your head."
I pouts, somehow dejected that I would have to get back to my old ways.
"Alright, I get it."
10 minutes later, we arrive at the station. In the hall, I tell him:
"I could have offered you to come with me but the IT department isn't open to everyone."
"I will wait in your office." He reach out his hand to me. It takes me a good second staring at it to realize he is asking for my keys.
I pulled them out of my pocket gave it to him.
"Do not touch anything, especially my laptop I didn't forget what you did yesterday."
"Aye aye, captain." He laughs before doing a salute with his free hand and walking his way to the elevator.
I was about to follow him when Cassy waves me over. I walk up to her and say :
"Hi, Cassy ! Is there a problem ?"
"Uh... No, I'm okay don't worry. I wanted to know if you knew well the man who was with you ?"
"Nick Wilde? Not really I met him yesterday. He is helping me. What is it about him ?"
"Just yesterday ? he comes in here a lot, it's weird you never noticed him..."
"What ? Really ? Do you know why ?"
She leans over the counter to whisper like it's a secret :
"No one really know but, i think he comes to see the chief. I saw him walk the guy to the entrance once."
Does the "acquaintance " he was talking about yesterday, Mr. Johnson ?
I don't get the time to ponder over it because I'm really late and Jake hate that more as much as i do so I rush to the elevator after thanking Cassy and press the 3rd button.
Should I ask him...? I don't even know why I care actually, after the case is over i won't have to do anything with him anyways.
When the cabin stops, I get out and head to Jake's office.
"Hi, Jake, i'm sorry for being late." I say as i enter his open office.
He narrows his gaze on me behind his glasses. I know he is assessing if he should scold me or letting me get away with it. I really hope it's the latter though.
"Apologies accepted, but... Next time you'll have to buy me coffee." I breathe in relief and reply : "Promise. So I hope you have good news for me."
"Judy, you're going to have to be strong..." He says in that dramatic tone i know too well and never ends good.
"Oh no." I muttered.
He added:
"There are no individuals matching this signature."
"In other words, it's a fake..."
"Right."
I sigh heavily, for now, it was our only lead... If it's really a serial killer like Nick implied, there will surely be another victim. I have no choice but to wait for that to happen to have new possible ones.
"Thanks anyway Jake."
I left the office and headed to mine with shoulders slumped. But in the elevator i get a call from Cassy telling me that the mailman left a envelope for me. So I had to jam the button of the elevator to get me back down the hall. It was a plain envelope but I was more concerned about who was still sending letters in this day and age. I finally got into my office where Nick was sitting, in my place, engrossed in his phone. Too preoccupied to argue with him, I opened the letter and read :
Hello Lieutenant Harper,
I hope you're having a good day.
I heard a lot about you, and i got to admit that I'm a bit disappointed that the rumors about you doesn't seem to be so true. I was expecting a bit of a chase but it's getting so boring to wait for you.
But no worries since I like you, I would like you to come and see my new masterpiece.
The address is below. May you appreciate well my gift.
Unfortunately, I didn't need any details to know that he was Samantha Miller's killer. I gaped at the paper, reading the words again and again like i wanted to engrave them in my brain.
My heart was racing, he know me and where I am. How did he know ? Was he watching me too ? The thought makes a shiver run down my spine.
"Judy ?" Nick should've noticed my shock because he called me with a concerned tone.
"Nick- the- I think the killer took another victim."
"What ?"
He lowered his phone and sat up straight in his chair and I showed him the letter. After reading it, he said :
"We'd better go and see right away."
I agree and we rushed out of the station to get in the car.
The address was a villa in a residential area. It was not so different than with Samantha. The door was open, after we put on our gloves, I searched the ground floor and Nick upstairs. The place was pretty clean, not a single thing abnormally out of place, no sign of fighting either, of course i would call a scientific team for further research. The only sign that something happened here was the missing owner of the house. A few minutes later, Nick's rang out :
"I think I found the body !"
I went upstairs to find him and I found him in the bdroom. The body of a woman with the same characteristics as Samantha━ blonde, slim and objectively attractive. Her head visibly smashed, her skirt pulled up to her pelvis, her panties pulled down and traces of dried semen on her legs. The murder must have been committed 2 or 3 hours before. I had no reaction when I saw this body, I got used to it a long time ago.
At first I did have uncontrollable nausea, my first body is still very clear in m mind.
Nick didn't seem to be phased by this. I don't think he had to investigate murders, since that's what the police's job. How is he used to this ?
I call the forensics team and they arrive 30 minutes later. Nick and I go outside to let them deal with the crime scene. This time I'm sure I have a lead. With the traces of semen he left, it will be easy to identify him. I asked for the substance to be brought to the lab and tested as fast as possible. Stanley, our head scientific technician calls me over as soon as he receive it.
"What do you think ?" I ask him.
"Well, it's a lot better than last time. I don't know why he left such a blatant clue as traces of semen, but with this you're sure to make progress."
"Thanks Stan..."
"The results will be ready before tomorrow, i will call you over."
"Alright, i'm counting on you."
We head back to the station and a few hours later Erina the medical examiner calls me into her lab.
"What do you have to tell me about this body ?" I say as soon as we greet each other, not in the mood for small talk.
"Well, according to the personal belongings found in the house, her name is Jenna Fox. She was 19 years old and a college student."
She adds as she turn her head to show me the bloody spot :
"She was killed just like Samantha Miller, which means blunt force trauma to the head. The splinter marks she has on her wound show that she was hit with a wooden object. Again, the rape is post-mortem."
"I believe we now have the murderer's modus operandi... I guess i'm off to go contact her relatives then. Thanks, Erina." She sends me a sympathetic smile because we both know it was easily one of the hardest task of this job.
"Good luck, Honey."
I walk out of the lab and back into my office. Nick is not in the office. I sit down in my chair and after searching for Jenna Fox's relatives on the database, I begin the difficult process of asking them to come in and identify the body. When I finish with a sigh, still a little moved by their voices distraught with sadness, my cell phone rings in my pocket. It is a masked number. Curious, I answer:
"Hello ?"
"Help me... I beg you..."
It was a girl's voice, trembling and desperate. My heart immediately started to beat wildly as straighten up on my chair.
"Miss ! Are you alright ?!"
"They are holding me... They said you were the only person who could save me... Please, help me." The voice rambled, sobs erupting between words.
"Try to calm down and tell me where you are."
"I- Aaaahh !" She let out a bloodcurdling scream.
I was more panicked than ever. It was obvious that this girl was going through something horrible. I heard a different voice. A cold, unemotional and deep one, surely from a man.
"Good evening, Lieutenant Harper.."
."You- You are- !"
"Yes, I'm Sam and Jenna's killer. How did you find them ? Beautiful, aren't they ?"
"You're just a huge freak- !"
"Watch your mouth." He said in a tone that quickly changed from amusement to anger. Then he added :
"If you want this girl to stay alive, be polite to me."
It disgusts me to obey him but I have no choice. I will myself to stay composed and take a deep breath, knowing his threat wasn't empty at all.
"Very well, I will be polite. What do you want from me ?"
"Like I said earlier, I'm bored. So I want you and me to play a game. If you win, I surrender and the girl stays alive. But if I win... She dies and I kill you too." A shiver runs down my spine at how lightly he was taking his words.
"And if I refuse ?" I ask tentatively.
"She dies when and you get another body under your arms."
I have no choice...If I refuse, this girl will die by my fault I don't want to have that weighing on my conscience...
"I accept. What is this game ?" I tried to sound confident but my right knee was shaking like crazy.
"Oh it's simple, for now let's meet at Greenwood, tomorrow, at 2pm. I'll tell you the rules when the time comes. I won't tolerate a minute's delay."
"Fine, I'll be there." Like that I hang up.
The fact that he chose Greenwood Forest wasn't reassuring to me, at all.
What did he want to do there out of all place, what kind of game was he planning to play ?
While I was ruminating on my conversation with the murderer, Nick entered the office. He seemed to be really busy whatever he was doing with Mr. Johnson because as he was disappearing anytime he had free time. I didn't ask him yet because the case was already concerning enough, and now there was this whole mess that was awaiting for me tomorrow.
He must have seen it on my face because he asked me :
"Judy ? Is everything all right ? You seem a little upset."
"The- The murderer called me. He asked me to meet him at Greenwood Forest." I said, somehow unable to look at him.
"You turned him down, I hope ?"
"I said yes."
"Judy !"
"I had no choice. He's holding a girl hostage and threatening to kill her. If I refuse, he'll do it."
"And so you decided to put your life in danger to save her ?"
"Of course ? If i don't do it who will, i'm a cop, it's my job." I started getting defensive before i even realized."
"I- i'm not saying you shouldn't have done it but it's not a decision you should have took alone. You can't go by yourself in there, you don't know what to expect, it's dangerous, you could get the both of you killed." He explain while pinching the bridge of his nose.
I felt scolded like a child and it did nothing to calm down.
"Now you know damn well i'm the only one he is expecting there if he ever realize i didn't go alone, it's game over as well." I stand up on my chair, palms of my hands flat on the table.
"We will find a way, anything but you can't go alone, Jonhson won't even allow you to do that."
I falter for a second as i heard Mr. Johnson'name.
"How do you know him ?"
"That's not the point, Judy. I suppose i can't convince you otherwise."
"No, i already said yes and i will do it."
"As I thought, so let me go with you."
"Uh... I don't think he's going to go along with- " I start protesting.
"You can't change my mind either, Judy. I can be as stubborn as you." His firm tone told me that it was useless to argue.
"Alrigh, fair enough." I agree with a sigh and he nods.
My phone vibrate just as I sit back down on my chair. I turn it on to see a text from Stan telling me the results are ready.
"I got to pick up the sperm sample's results before heading home."
"I came here to begin with to tell you that i had a job to do so i had to go anyway." Nick shrugged. "You can tell me about them tomorrow."
"Oh okay, bye then."
"Bye." He moved to open the door before stopping on his tracks and turning around. "Judy, don't stay too late, tomorrow's gonna be a rough day."
Like that he gave me a quick smile and closed behind him as he stepped out of the office.
I watched the empty spot he was occuping a instant ago for a moment before realizing he never replied to my question and letting out a chuckle of disbelief. He wasn't keen on to telling me.
I gather everything i need and close the office so i can head out as soon as i finish with Stan. Once in the lab, I find him drinking the awful bitter coffee provided in the breaking room.
"How can you drink this abomination ?" It's how i playfully greets him.
He turn around so fast, the dark brown drink splashes on his hand and his glasses slip to the bridge of his nose. Always so clumsy, he laughs at himself before putting the cup carefully on the table and taking a napkin to wipe his hands.
"Oops, sorry." I apologize for startling him.
"It's fine, I was a little distracted. And to answer your question, i'm about to pull an all-nighter so i need all the caffeine i can find."
"Again ?"
"Yeah, an illegal drug lab has been dismantled so we have tons of substances to analyze."
I winces, feeling sympathetic for him. He always end up looking like a zombie for the rest of the week after nights like this, he is like me, we may have plenty subordinates we still like to do our job ourselves. I didn't become a cop to sit behind a desk all day.
"So your results." He says as he turns back around to pick a folder from his desk.
I take it, heart beating frantically at the prospect of finally knowing who i'm going to meet tomorrow.
The first thing i see when i open it is a mugshot of a white man seemingly like in his forties. He has brune hair, brown eyes and looked like an average member of the society, What threw me off was the way you couldn't never guess he was the one who did all those horrid crimes. He tall and lanky, and looked almost innocent like he didn't know what he was doing there.
I turned to the next page to read his general informations : His name was Ted McAllister, he was 39 y/o, he was born in Georgia, came in NYC for college to study law but he somehow got into drugs, failed his grades and quitted, started doing multiples jobs that never lasted more than a few months.
His criminal record followed : He got arrested numerous times during his thirties, for drug possession, Assault, sexual harrassment, multiples times for rape but never got sentenced due to lack of proofs.
His medical record : he has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at 10, Depression and Anxiety at 16 and finally bipolar disorder at 18━ an argument his lawyers didn't fail to use during his trials.
My mouth was gaping without me even realizing, the impression his face gave was the completely different of what the rest of the folder said. I know after all that time on this job these kind of things shouldn't surprise me anymore but this was completely out of my exceptations.
I thank Stan and wish him good luck on the tough night that was waiting for him before i quit the police station with the folder i was planning to study before tomorrow. I call a taxi since i left my car at home and order takeout on the ride. I arrive just on time for the delivery man, pays the food before taking a shower. I spend the dinner reading the remaining page of Ted's folder and memorizing anything that could be helpful for tomorrow. I eventually end up falling asleep, head resting on my coffee table.
