Status: Discontinued, sorry lovelies! xo
Beautiful Things
One.
Rory rushed into my office. He had the same look on his face, the one he always had. He always looked serious as ever when it came to work. He took it all too seriously, but when it came to after hours, he was as wild as a lion. That was his downfall. And that's why he's still working below me.
I was the head of this police station, and I had worked extremely hard to get here. And you can best believe I was going to stay here. Even though it was a small town, my position was desired by many. It was a tough one to have, but I gave up a lot for it. And it frustrated many of my inferiors that I was a woman. But that was just something they dealt with.
Rory was the worst, I would say. He was constantly trying to take over. Fortunately I was much stronger than he ever took me for and I could easily tune him out of everyone's ears. Today he threw a tape on my desk. I picked it up gingerly and read the white writing on it.
Christina
The writing was messy and somewhat smudged. Not to mention I didn't know a Christina and had no idea what this had to do with me.
"Rory, stop wasting my damn time," I demanded, turning back to stack of paperwork that sat on the corner of my desk.
"It was sent to the station," he told me, "And I've already watched it. It's definitely worth your time."
I rolled my eyes and scoffed at his attitude. I picked up the tape and shoved it into the VCR that sat under a small TV in my office. I clicked play on the remote and crossed my arms, waiting for something, anything.
The tape showed a woman walking down the street. And then it cut to another clip of the same woman, which looked like it was filmed through a window. My expression changed as the video continued, and I could see Rory noticing. He had a smug grin. The video continued showing different clips of the same woman in different places. It was clearly taken on a hand camera, for the footage was shaky and sometimes skipped. I clicked stop once I had seen enough.
"What is this?" I asked, looking at him uneasily.
"I'm not sure," he replied, removing the tape from the VCR. He turned back to me as he tapped it off his hand. "I think this woman's in danger."
We stood across from each other uncomfortably. This small town never had mysteries or anything of the sort. We had murders, which were done by one-time killers. And they usually knew the victim. Never was anything at random.
Now we had a woman, who couldn't be older than thirty, whose life could be in danger. We had a name, but without a last name it was hardly any help. Our town was small, but not small enough for everyone to know each other. And who even said Christina was from here?
Our police force was in charge of two other towns as well, which bordered us. They were smaller and didn't have much more than a grocery store. This made things crazy difficult. I brainstormed quickly, attempting to ignore Rory's mocking stare. He had an idea.
"Okay," I sighed, "Go ahead."
"Three letters," he said as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, "BAU."
"Behavioral Analysis Unit? Like the FBI?" I chewed on my lip, letting the words sink in. The FBI was a big deal. They didn't just show up for no reason. And we didn't even know what this Christina girl was in danger of, if anything. "What if this is just a practical joke? You know kids these days, it's boring around here. Maybe they're trying to stir up some excitement."
I tried to push it to the back of my mind as I sat back down at my desk. I focused on the paper in front of me, though I could feel Rory's icy gaze. He sighed heavily as he dropped the tape on my desk. He didn't forget to slam the door behind him.
Now I certainly wouldn't be able to get back to my work. I stared at the tape as it sat on my desk. I couldn't keep my eyes off it, so I leaned back in my chair and studied it curiously. Something about it left a bad taste in my mouth, one I couldn't figure out how to get rid of.
My stomach swirled until the nausea became unbearable. I excused myself from the crime scene and entered a coffee shop around the corner. The smell of roasting coffee beans replaced the smell of blood and my stomach settled. I prayed I'd be able to keep my lunch down.
I orded a black coffee and poured enough sugar in it to make a small child diabetic. I sat at a table by myself, looking over the notes I had written down quickly. My handwriting was hard to read even for myself, and so I decoded and rewrote them. Rory joined me in the coffee shop after a few minutes alone.
"Are you coming back?" he asked as he approached me, ignoring my fragile state as he stayed standing.
I was close to breaking down, but I sucked back tears and looked up at him through watery eyes. I couldn't confide in him. I couldn't confide in anyone at all. I couldn't let them know I couldn't handle this crime scene. If I did, my position would be pulled out right from underneath me.
Truthfully, I had never seen a scene this gruesome before. I had seen such in pictures and heard about them in tales from higher ups, but never did I experience one. The smell alone was enough to ruin you. The body must have been sitting there for a day or two. It was found in an alley by two kids who lost their basketball down that way. The poor children were still nervous wrecks.
"Yeah, I just came here to rewrite my notes," I lied smoothly.
Rory and I headed back to the crime scene. I had calmed myself down and was able to look at the body now. The only thing that told me we had a female victim was the dress she was wearing, it was that bad. Her face was unrecognizable. Fortunately, one of my men informed me we had fingerprints and dental records to go by. It was a start.
"You think it's Christina?" Rory whispered in my ear as we watched as the body was carried away.
"Once I get the confirmed identity, you can call the BAU," I told him, "Until then, back off."
I was the head of this police station, and I had worked extremely hard to get here. And you can best believe I was going to stay here. Even though it was a small town, my position was desired by many. It was a tough one to have, but I gave up a lot for it. And it frustrated many of my inferiors that I was a woman. But that was just something they dealt with.
Rory was the worst, I would say. He was constantly trying to take over. Fortunately I was much stronger than he ever took me for and I could easily tune him out of everyone's ears. Today he threw a tape on my desk. I picked it up gingerly and read the white writing on it.
Christina
The writing was messy and somewhat smudged. Not to mention I didn't know a Christina and had no idea what this had to do with me.
"Rory, stop wasting my damn time," I demanded, turning back to stack of paperwork that sat on the corner of my desk.
"It was sent to the station," he told me, "And I've already watched it. It's definitely worth your time."
I rolled my eyes and scoffed at his attitude. I picked up the tape and shoved it into the VCR that sat under a small TV in my office. I clicked play on the remote and crossed my arms, waiting for something, anything.
The tape showed a woman walking down the street. And then it cut to another clip of the same woman, which looked like it was filmed through a window. My expression changed as the video continued, and I could see Rory noticing. He had a smug grin. The video continued showing different clips of the same woman in different places. It was clearly taken on a hand camera, for the footage was shaky and sometimes skipped. I clicked stop once I had seen enough.
"What is this?" I asked, looking at him uneasily.
"I'm not sure," he replied, removing the tape from the VCR. He turned back to me as he tapped it off his hand. "I think this woman's in danger."
We stood across from each other uncomfortably. This small town never had mysteries or anything of the sort. We had murders, which were done by one-time killers. And they usually knew the victim. Never was anything at random.
Now we had a woman, who couldn't be older than thirty, whose life could be in danger. We had a name, but without a last name it was hardly any help. Our town was small, but not small enough for everyone to know each other. And who even said Christina was from here?
Our police force was in charge of two other towns as well, which bordered us. They were smaller and didn't have much more than a grocery store. This made things crazy difficult. I brainstormed quickly, attempting to ignore Rory's mocking stare. He had an idea.
"Okay," I sighed, "Go ahead."
"Three letters," he said as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, "BAU."
"Behavioral Analysis Unit? Like the FBI?" I chewed on my lip, letting the words sink in. The FBI was a big deal. They didn't just show up for no reason. And we didn't even know what this Christina girl was in danger of, if anything. "What if this is just a practical joke? You know kids these days, it's boring around here. Maybe they're trying to stir up some excitement."
I tried to push it to the back of my mind as I sat back down at my desk. I focused on the paper in front of me, though I could feel Rory's icy gaze. He sighed heavily as he dropped the tape on my desk. He didn't forget to slam the door behind him.
Now I certainly wouldn't be able to get back to my work. I stared at the tape as it sat on my desk. I couldn't keep my eyes off it, so I leaned back in my chair and studied it curiously. Something about it left a bad taste in my mouth, one I couldn't figure out how to get rid of.
My stomach swirled until the nausea became unbearable. I excused myself from the crime scene and entered a coffee shop around the corner. The smell of roasting coffee beans replaced the smell of blood and my stomach settled. I prayed I'd be able to keep my lunch down.
I orded a black coffee and poured enough sugar in it to make a small child diabetic. I sat at a table by myself, looking over the notes I had written down quickly. My handwriting was hard to read even for myself, and so I decoded and rewrote them. Rory joined me in the coffee shop after a few minutes alone.
"Are you coming back?" he asked as he approached me, ignoring my fragile state as he stayed standing.
I was close to breaking down, but I sucked back tears and looked up at him through watery eyes. I couldn't confide in him. I couldn't confide in anyone at all. I couldn't let them know I couldn't handle this crime scene. If I did, my position would be pulled out right from underneath me.
Truthfully, I had never seen a scene this gruesome before. I had seen such in pictures and heard about them in tales from higher ups, but never did I experience one. The smell alone was enough to ruin you. The body must have been sitting there for a day or two. It was found in an alley by two kids who lost their basketball down that way. The poor children were still nervous wrecks.
"Yeah, I just came here to rewrite my notes," I lied smoothly.
Rory and I headed back to the crime scene. I had calmed myself down and was able to look at the body now. The only thing that told me we had a female victim was the dress she was wearing, it was that bad. Her face was unrecognizable. Fortunately, one of my men informed me we had fingerprints and dental records to go by. It was a start.
"You think it's Christina?" Rory whispered in my ear as we watched as the body was carried away.
"Once I get the confirmed identity, you can call the BAU," I told him, "Until then, back off."