Sequel: We'll Be Okay ›
Race Against Time
Not So Beautiful Morning
I showed up to a scene at three am, looking at a body hanging from a tree branch. A note was attached to it. 'Back and forth, the struggle consumes us all. Trying to keep a level head. In the most unsettling of times, today I'll become the bull' it read. I waited for one of the investigators to come. I saw the Avalanche pull up and Mac got out.
"Third victim in three days, this guy's escalating", he said. I pointed to the note.
"This lovely man's name is Blake Richards, 26 years old. A man walking his dog found him", I said. Mac took the note down.
"I have Isabella on her way, she'll get onto the note", he said, examining it.
"Does it mean anything to you? Poem, maybe?" I asked. He shook his head. One of the EMS people took the body down.
"I think it's safe to assume that impalement is our COD", Mac said. A truck pulled up, the engine roaring. Isabella jumped out, her hair pulled carelessly back into a ponytail. She walked up, seemingly annoyed.
"Well, good thing I hadn't fallen asleep yet", she commented. Mac handed her the note. She scanned it, raising her eyebrow.
"This sound familiar at all?" I asked. She nodded.
"It's a song", she replied. Mac gave her a strange look.
"No, I used to date a musician, he used to listen to songs like this all the time, it's 'Becoming the Bull' by Atreyu", she said. She flipped over the note and looked at it.
"This is the first body with a note, are you sure this is our killer?" she asked. Mac nodded.
"Same MO, same time line", he replied.
"I'll run with this, see where it takes us", she said, slipping the note into a bag and putting it into her kit.
"I have Danny and Jo on their way here to process the scene, if you wanted to get a head start on that note", Mac said. She nodded.
"I'll grab some coffee and get started", she replied.
"I'll get started on interviewing the guy who found the body", I said, walking off to the guy.
"I'm Detective Flack, I'm here to ask you a couple of questions", I said, holding up my badge.
"Sure", the man agreed.
"Did you touch the body at all?" I asked. The man shook his head.
"No, I didn't. I mean, he was obviously dead, he looked like he'd been there a while", he replied.
"Did you see anything out of the ordinary on your walk?" I asked. The man scoffed.
"It's New York. I never see anything normal or remotely average", he replied. I handed him my card.
"If you think of anything, gimme a call", I said. I jotted it down into my memo book and tucked it into my pocket.
"Sure thing, cop", the man replied. He turned and jogged off, his Chihuahua padding after him. Damn Chihuahuas.
I walked back to Mac.
"Says he didn't touch the body, he didn't see anything that would help us", I said.
"Alright, go see if we can establish a connection to the party", Mac replied. I nodded and went to the station. I sat down with a cup of coffee and started going through evidence photos. There were no notes with the other two bodies, was our serial killer switching his MO? Isabella ran off the elevator.
"We've got a major issue", she said, holding the note with a gloved hand.
"What's up?" I asked. She set the note down and ran a black-light over it. Words started to form on it.
'Looks like you found my third victim. Of course, the lovely Isabella would decipher my new code. Just know that I won't stop until I've had my fun. This is just the beginning, bitches.
Sincerely, The Dressmaker'
Isabella's eyes were wide with horror. Mac came in and pointed to us.
"You'll want to see these", he said. He set down photos onto my desk. They were pictures of Isabella and me, arms around each other very intimately. She and I were keeping it quiet, but we had gone through HR to follow procedure. Of course, people never stopped badgering us.
'Looks like two of New York's finest don't know a bit about their family history', a caption on the back read.
"That was taken outside of my apartment", Isabella said, her voice cold. Another photo had a picture of us in a kiss.
"Family history?" Mac asked, looking at us. Isabella shrugged.
"I have no idea what this psycho's talking about. As far as I know, our families don't know each other", she swore. I nodded in agreement.
"This guy's trying to stop us. She and I follow procedure to the letter", I said. Mac gave us a slow look.
"I want you two to be careful and cover your tracks. If this guy wants us to stumble, he's not going to stop until you two are backed off the case", he said. Isabella nodded.
"I'll run some tests on these photos, see if I can figure out what kind of camera took these pictures", she replied.
"I'll get some guys and see if we can see where this guy took the picture", I said. This was chilling. I looked at the time on the photos. Nine o'clock. I had only stayed for fifteen minutes. I moved another photo and saw one of her and me before I had left. The caption chilled me to the bone.
'Dirty little secrets are always revealed'
"Third victim in three days, this guy's escalating", he said. I pointed to the note.
"This lovely man's name is Blake Richards, 26 years old. A man walking his dog found him", I said. Mac took the note down.
"I have Isabella on her way, she'll get onto the note", he said, examining it.
"Does it mean anything to you? Poem, maybe?" I asked. He shook his head. One of the EMS people took the body down.
"I think it's safe to assume that impalement is our COD", Mac said. A truck pulled up, the engine roaring. Isabella jumped out, her hair pulled carelessly back into a ponytail. She walked up, seemingly annoyed.
"Well, good thing I hadn't fallen asleep yet", she commented. Mac handed her the note. She scanned it, raising her eyebrow.
"This sound familiar at all?" I asked. She nodded.
"It's a song", she replied. Mac gave her a strange look.
"No, I used to date a musician, he used to listen to songs like this all the time, it's 'Becoming the Bull' by Atreyu", she said. She flipped over the note and looked at it.
"This is the first body with a note, are you sure this is our killer?" she asked. Mac nodded.
"Same MO, same time line", he replied.
"I'll run with this, see where it takes us", she said, slipping the note into a bag and putting it into her kit.
"I have Danny and Jo on their way here to process the scene, if you wanted to get a head start on that note", Mac said. She nodded.
"I'll grab some coffee and get started", she replied.
"I'll get started on interviewing the guy who found the body", I said, walking off to the guy.
"I'm Detective Flack, I'm here to ask you a couple of questions", I said, holding up my badge.
"Sure", the man agreed.
"Did you touch the body at all?" I asked. The man shook his head.
"No, I didn't. I mean, he was obviously dead, he looked like he'd been there a while", he replied.
"Did you see anything out of the ordinary on your walk?" I asked. The man scoffed.
"It's New York. I never see anything normal or remotely average", he replied. I handed him my card.
"If you think of anything, gimme a call", I said. I jotted it down into my memo book and tucked it into my pocket.
"Sure thing, cop", the man replied. He turned and jogged off, his Chihuahua padding after him. Damn Chihuahuas.
I walked back to Mac.
"Says he didn't touch the body, he didn't see anything that would help us", I said.
"Alright, go see if we can establish a connection to the party", Mac replied. I nodded and went to the station. I sat down with a cup of coffee and started going through evidence photos. There were no notes with the other two bodies, was our serial killer switching his MO? Isabella ran off the elevator.
"We've got a major issue", she said, holding the note with a gloved hand.
"What's up?" I asked. She set the note down and ran a black-light over it. Words started to form on it.
'Looks like you found my third victim. Of course, the lovely Isabella would decipher my new code. Just know that I won't stop until I've had my fun. This is just the beginning, bitches.
Sincerely, The Dressmaker'
Isabella's eyes were wide with horror. Mac came in and pointed to us.
"You'll want to see these", he said. He set down photos onto my desk. They were pictures of Isabella and me, arms around each other very intimately. She and I were keeping it quiet, but we had gone through HR to follow procedure. Of course, people never stopped badgering us.
'Looks like two of New York's finest don't know a bit about their family history', a caption on the back read.
"That was taken outside of my apartment", Isabella said, her voice cold. Another photo had a picture of us in a kiss.
"Family history?" Mac asked, looking at us. Isabella shrugged.
"I have no idea what this psycho's talking about. As far as I know, our families don't know each other", she swore. I nodded in agreement.
"This guy's trying to stop us. She and I follow procedure to the letter", I said. Mac gave us a slow look.
"I want you two to be careful and cover your tracks. If this guy wants us to stumble, he's not going to stop until you two are backed off the case", he said. Isabella nodded.
"I'll run some tests on these photos, see if I can figure out what kind of camera took these pictures", she replied.
"I'll get some guys and see if we can see where this guy took the picture", I said. This was chilling. I looked at the time on the photos. Nine o'clock. I had only stayed for fifteen minutes. I moved another photo and saw one of her and me before I had left. The caption chilled me to the bone.
'Dirty little secrets are always revealed'