Lauren (4 page)

Eddie respected that. He understood it completely because he was married once himself.

Eddie shook the thoughts from his head. No bad memories today, he just wasn't in the mood.

He felt guilty for even considering dating again. There was a huge burden on his heart. Even though it had been four years, it still didn't feel right.

He was probably just scared, which Eddie found wasn't as difficult to accept as he first thought.

Ken even told him it was time to move on. He wanted to set Eddie up on a few dates, but Eddie refused. When the time was right, he'd know it.

He then looked at his body in the full-length mirror in his bedroom. He was in great physical condition despite the little extra weight. He turned sideways and flexed his muscles. There wasn't an ounce of fat on the rest of him. His long, muscular legs were trim and solid. His arms looked sculpted, his chest, firm and hard.

No one would ever guess he was forty-years old. Not that forty was old at all, but he remembered being thirty like it was yesterday.

He was glad he was over 6 ft tall, like his father and uncles. The height seemed to help distribute evenly the extra pounds he put on. He had always been so into his body and staying physically fit. He knew the ‘job’ required it and if he needed to defend himself in any given situation, then he had to be on the top of his game. That's why he continued to jog and lift weights so much.

He even watched what he ate, but he knew the culprit behind his extra pounds. He had to cut back on the beers at the family pub and the double cheeseburgers and wings during the games. The bar celebrated every damn sport and game that was on television, especially since Patrick had gotten the satellite TV. Besides all the ‘American’ sports, there was Irish football.

He decided to start his crunches right now, promised himself he would cut back on the beers, too.

Eddie finished his crunches, then got dressed the rest of the way. He already felt better as he gathered his gun and badge along with the other things he needed, then headed out the door.

He glanced over his shoulder once again, absorbing the fact his home was so quiet, so somber, and wondered if he would ever be able to share his heart with another woman again. He damned Ken. It was Ken's fault he thought about dating again.

He headed to work, relieved that his two days off were finished. He needed to focus on the job. Without it, he would go insane.

Detective Lieutenant Eddie Tennellie was the first lead detective on the scene. He received the call at 7:30 a.m. Monday morning, the body of a young female was found in the woods directly off the parkway, a mile in from an adjacent development. It was the sixth murder since the New Year for the town of Ridgeburgh.

He wasn't expecting anything like this when he woke up this morning. The scene hit a nerve. The victim looked young. His anger immediately rose, but he was professional enough to submerge those feelings and investigate the crime. He wasn't taking any chances of contaminating evidence or missing possible clues, and he was glad the forensics team was on route.

"Officer Sinclair, get this area taped off immediately. I want the crime scene secured and the person who found the body kept away from the press, as well."

"Yes, Lieutenant.” Sinclair immediately ran to the patrol car to grab the yellow Crime Scene tape.

Officer Tyler was already talking to a man in a jogging suit by his patrol car.

The lieutenant made his way through the small wooded area that separated the parkway from a nice, middle-class development.

He took out his notebook and began to assign the other responding officers various jobs like keeping a crime scene log of all who showed up at the scene.

"Lieutenant, the medical examiner wants to know—"

"Whoa ... don't step any further. Do you see those boot imprints? You're stomping around in possible evidence. I don't want anyone near here. The fewer people, the better,” he scolded Sinclair.

Sinclair was embarrassed as hell. The lieutenant was a real hard ass, and not easy to get along with. She was sure she would be further reprimanded back at the department.

"Sorry, sir.” She stumbled with her words, as the lieutenant wrote down his observations and noted the position of the body.

She tiptoed slowly, and was extra careful as she backed up the same way she came, being sure not to make the same mistake ever again.

It was that damn dead body. Only the second dead body she had ever seen before. The first time was an old lady who lived all alone, died in her sleep, and wasn't found for three days.

This was completely different.

Sinclair noted the woman was young, had long red hair, and was covered in bruises. There were multiple wounds, and it was nauseating.

"Sinclair, let the forensics technicians start preserving evidence before you destroy something,” the lieutenant told her sarcastically, never looking up. She was at the bottom of the totem pole.

She knew she'd screwed up. She quickly called over the technicians, and kept watch around the yellow tape.

Sue Sinclair stood there watching the lieutenant. She shouldn't take his reprimanding so hard. He was a great cop and an awesome detective. He really knew his stuff, and was just trying to share that knowledge with his fellow officers.

Keep telling yourself that, Sue.

Sinclair eyed the lieutenant one last time.

He really wasn't her type at all, but she heard all the talk and gossip about him.

He was tough, a real ‘kick ass and take names later’ type of guy. He got in a bit of trouble for it. Many a time, she heard the chief chewing the lieutenant out, but she also heard the chief talk so highly about Tennellie that the lieutenant was seen as a god.

He was very good looking as well, could have his pick of the ladies, but he didn't flaunt it. Homicide investigation and police work seemed to be his life.

Her thoughts were interrupted, as Detective Murphy approached the yellow tape. He winked at Sue, and she couldn't help but blush. Murphy was quite the character.

Detective Ken Murphy made his way under the tape and toward the lieutenant.

"What do we got, Eddie?"

"Doesn't look pretty. Looks like multiple stab wounds. There appears to be massive bruising on the inner thighs, wrists, and ankles."

"Sexual assault?” Ken asked.

"Most likely. Damn shame. She looks to be no more than in her early twenties."

"Any weapon left behind or other evidence?"

"We'll let Ronald do his thing. I'm not positive, but I could see something under her nails on the left hand. Maybe he'll find something there. Also, if that jackass Sinclair didn't destroy any of it, we may have a boot print."

"Sounds good. I'll run a missing persons search and see if anything comes up matching her description.” Ken watched as his friend the lieutenant took in his observations at the crime scene. Eddie would supervise the case while Ken acted as lead investigator. Eddie was a good cop and thorough when it came to a homicide investigation. He had his personal problems, but they never interfered with the job. He didn't trust easily and most of the time his attitude caused him to gain enemies. Ken always thought Eddie was too young to be so serious. The guy ate, slept, and drank police work.

Eddie assessed the crime scene, noting the paths of entry and exit.

He walked through the wooded area, and what he felt was the perimeter. Eddie noticed the broken tree branches, and slight imprint of tire marks on the dirt, and grass alongside the parkway. It was adjacent to the woods.

He guessed that was where their suspect entered.

The ground was dry and solid, due to the heat wave and threat of a drought. This made him believe the vehicle used had to be heavy, in order to leave some tire tracks. It also had to be elevated, in order to break the higher branches.

He heard the cars as they zoomed down the parkway. The woods were full and lush, and from the location of the body he couldn't see the cars. He knew the parkway was there, just beyond the dirt path and greenery. The woods and development were easily accessible from the parkway. Perhaps the killer didn't realize the close proximity of the neighborhood, or the fact that many people jogged along this route? He continued to keep an open mind, and let his investigative intuition lead the way.

He jotted down his observations, and the fact he hadn't come across any other shoe prints, except the ones where the body lay.

That didn't necessarily mean they were the boot prints of the killer. There were numerous dirt clearings, or natural pathways, made most likely by the residents who lived nearby and walked the trails through the woods.

Eddie noted the natural pathway through the brush, a mere 20 ft or so from where the body lay. It was created naturally, from the constant foot traffic of those who used the path to cut through the woods. Way down the other side of the trail was a clearing that led to neighboring houses, and eventually to a small convenience store.

He, of course, would record everything anyway.

He and Ken made their way to Eddie's patrol car, as the forensics team continued collecting evidence and the medical examiner's van pulled onto the scene.

"This is a hell of a way to start off the week, huh, Eddie?” Ken asked.

"You're not kidding."

"So how was the date last night?” Eddie asked Ken.

"Ahhh, no big deal. She wasn't my type after all."

"No, really? Didn't you say something about this one is a knock out, the woman of my dreams, a body and mind to die for,” Eddie teased.

"Well ... her body was to die for, but her feet were terrible,” Ken added very seriously.

"Her feet? Man, Ken, you've got some serious issues. This is the fourth woman in the last two months you ditched because of her feet."

"I have this thing about beautiful feet. I like well-maintained, well-manicured feet. Not crooked toes, toe fungus...” Ken shook, like the thought alone could kill him.

"I think you need some professional help."

"Are you telling me you'd make love to a woman with terrible feet?"

"When I'm intimate with a woman, I'm not focusing on her feet."

"You should be. You can tell a lot by a woman's feet."

Eddie put his hand up for Ken to stop talking as he shook his head.

"I don't want to hear anymore."

Just then, one of the technicians came over to speak with Eddie. “Lieutenant, we're all finished up here."

"What do you think about the tire marks?"

"If I had to guess right now, I would say a very heavy vehicle. Van or truck maybe."

"Yeah, I'm thinking possibly a truck, pretty high, too. I noticed some broken tree branches off the side of the parkway where the tire marks were,” Eddie added.

"Yeah, we got pictures of that. I'll let you know what we come up with."

"Thanks,” Eddie stated and he and Ken began to conclude their work at the crime scene.

He was glad the Ridgeburgh Police Department had their own professional forensics team. Things got done a lot more quickly and accurately and someone would deliver that evidence to the State Police Forensics Lab today.

Once the crime scene was cleared out, and everyone left to continue with the next steps, Eddie Tennellie remained behind.

At first, he re-walked the perimeter of the crime scene, noting the access to the wooded location from either the highway or the development. It was obvious the suspect pulled off onto the side of the road. The body was located a good distance inside the woods, almost midway from either the development or the highway.

They would check the imprints from the set of boots that were near the body, but the jogger who found the victim said the woods were frequented by everyone in the neighborhood.

By the looks of the victim, the acts of violence committed against her were severe, and Eddie couldn't help but feel sorry for the victim or her family. They would do their best to identify the woman, then track down the person responsible.

The fact the young woman wore a pair of old-fashioned cheerleading shoes, with anklets, was throwing him off. He wondered if the damn things were back in style again, or if there were a deeper meaning? He made note of the shoes, as he walked the crime scene.

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Lauren finished her cup of coffee after she got ready to leave for upstate. She was brushing her teeth when her cell phone rang. “Oh, shit! Don't even tell me.” She ran for the phone.

She had a feeling something would interfere in her plans today with the family and Memorial Day.

"Detective Phelps."

"Hey, are you on your way upstate yet?” Jack asked.

"Yeah, I'm halfway there. What's going on?” she lied, hoping she could still go see the family today.

"Liar!” he yelled, then she heard the knock on her front door.

She answered it, with the cell phone still in her hand.

When she opened the door, Jack stood there smiling, in his button down dress shirt, no tie, but with gun and badge ready, and holster on his hip.

Lauren rolled her eyes, closed the cell phone, and invited him into her house. She noted her neighbors were already outside, preparing the celebrations for the annual block party.

"Man, I love this street you live on. Wood Lawn Avenue is one of the best."

"You live in a good neighborhood,” Lauren added.

"I live in an apartment complex in Yonkers."

"With a bunch of other cops."

"Yeah, well my wife, Kelly, wants a house. Maybe we can swap places? You're single, like most of the other cops in my complex. You'd fit in there, and you could have a date with a different guy every Friday night."

"No thanks, Jack. So what brings you here on
my
day off?” Lauren took her coffee cup to the kitchen, and offered Jack a cup.

"Have you turned on the television?"

"No. Why?"

"Well, another co-ed has gone missing from St. Mary's College."

Lauren immediately turned around toward Jack, handing him his cup of coffee. “When?"