The Dark Places by R. Whitfield (novel24 TXT) 📕

Surin rolled her eyes, threw him the keys and got in the passenger seat.

“Right, tell me everything you know so far,” she demanded, biting down on the roll to hold it in place while she used her free hands to get out a notebook and pen.

Parker started up the engine and cruised off down the street.

***

“Her name is Isabelle Lacross,” the uniform stated, looking slightly paler than usual. “Twenty-five. Worked at a law firm in the city. Single. Lived alone with her cat.” He flipped the page in his small notebook, hands shaking slightly. “Reported missing by her mum a week ago, they talk nearly every night on Skype, but Isabelle hadn’t gone online for five days.” The rookie shifted from foot to foot, clearly eager to leave.

“Righto,” Surin replied without looking up, “you’re right to leave the scene, but I need you to hang out front and make sure the media doesn’t get any closer, got it?” she asked, her eyes still focused closely on the ground. The officer looked from her to Parker, who then looked up, sensing his discomfort.

“You okay?” Parker asked.

“Yes, sir,” he stuttered and turned away to leave, stumbling slightly on the uneven ground.

“Miller!” Surin yelled after him.

“Yes, ma’am?” he replied and turned around as she jogged over to catch up.

“Your first dead body?” she asked casually, resting her hand on his arm for a moment.

“Yeah,” he said, casting his eyes to the ground.

“Well, thanks, you looked after her real well. Her folks will appreciate it, and I’ll make sure they know what you did for her, OK?”

The rookie looked up and smiled politely. “What exactly did I do?”

Surin smiled back. “You maintained the integrity of the scene, you called for backup, ensured no other officers trampled through here, and no media hounds got sneaky pictures on their iPhones. Your adherence to procedure may seem trivial, but trust me, not everyone abides by it. Your quick thinking may help us catch who did this. So, as I was saying,” she continued, “good work!”

The young man looked at Surin, processing what he had just heard. “Thanks, Detective.” He smiled.

“It’s Elliott,” Surin replied.

“I know,” he said with a grin.

Surin reached into her pocket and handed the young cop her card. “Give me a call in a few days, and I’ll let you know how we’re going on the case. If you’re like me, my first dead body, I wanted to know that someone was doing all they could to catch the perp. This one will stay with you, even after the next hundred, hers is the face you’ll remember.” She smiled apologetically, then slapped him on the back and walked back to Parker. The young cop stood there, staring at the card long after she had walked away. He tapped it a few times with his index finger and put it in his top pocket. With that, he turned and walked to the edge of the road to control the swelling number of onlookers.

Surin returned, stood back beside Parker and expertly put on the latex gloves he held out to her.

“That was nice,” he said absentmindedly.

“What?” she replied, looking away.

“What you just did for that rookie.” He waited for her response.

“Well, we all had our first, didn’t we? I was lucky; the first detective I met changed my life. I just wanted that kid not to have nightmares tonight,” she replied. Then changing the subject and putting her game face on, she looked up at Parker. “You ready, Rhodes?”

“As I’ll ever be,” he replied, and they walked into the grid together.

***

The first thing Surin noticed was the ground. The grass was still wet with early morning dew, no footprints, no drag marks and no blood.

“Killed elsewhere and dumped,” she said, talking to herself as Parker scribbled in his notepad.

“Parker, that rookie, Miller I think his name was, get his badge number. He has a good eye, and I want him on this case.” Surin walked a little closer and stopped, her hands on her hips.

“A good eye for what?” Parker asked casually, trying not to look into the dead eyes of the victim.

“Are you kidding?” Surin responded, turning to him. “No footprints, no cigarette butts, no nothing. A perfectly preserved area. He knew well enough not to approach the body and maintained the integrity of the crime scene. Usually there would be a hundred rookie shoeprints, vomit, scuff marks, they often make it impossible for us to do our job, but not this kid.” She smiled despite the grim setting. “He has brains, and I don’t want that to go unnoticed.”

Parker smiled and shook his head. She was incredible.

“What?” she asked, noticing his gaze, the level of her voice rising a notch.

“Nothing,” he replied smiling, enjoying her annoyance. “Tell me what you see.”

Surin turned from him. “Not yet, there is one person I need to speak to first.” She rotated a full three-sixty, trying to navigate through the sea of uniforms. “Where the hell is Vector?”

“My favourite and most annoying detective,” Vector called out from afar. He was surrounded by crime scene techs snapping pics of the victim. “Step right this way.” He gestured closer to the body.

Surin and Parker approached cautiously.

“Rhodes, Elliott, how’s things?” he asked casually. Surin shrugged. “Can’t believe you stuck with her this long!” Vector laughed loudly and slapped Parker on the back. “She’s a handful,” he continued, nudging Surin in the ribs. She grimaced and brushed his comments off.

“Vector, can we focus?” she countered, shifting the topic to the present.

“Of course, right, what I can tell you is this girl suffered. A lot.”

He took a slow breath and put his hands on his hips, looking up at them both.

“I can’t tell you