With a flash of the badge I stepped past the yellow ticker tape and into the lobby of the grand central hotel where already uniforms and material witnesses had lined against the walls and filled any empty seat not cordoned off by the CSIs, one of which I didn't recognise. Average height, long red hair and dressed in classy business woman attire with the subtle s of a nine millimetre and badge to her hip. I tried to look, but what else was I supposed to admire. The artist splatters of crimson blood and brain matter pasted on the floor?
"Mac," Danny snapped me out of it just before I started to drool as he headed in my direction. I swallowed hard and met him halfway, toeing around the dead air hostess on the floor. "Danny, what have we got?" I asked as I took a clip board from him. Danny excitedly went down the scene. "Our vic is one Madame Bridgette Dupree, age twenty three and once very attractive." As I looked at the unfortunate vic I struggled to see how he managed to work that one out. Half her face was missing, tastefully removed by a close range blast from her assailant. Poor girl never stood a chance. "Witnesses say she was hit at close range by a guy claiming to be an admirer, he carried a bouquet of French lilies, her favourite flowers according to a co-worker, and addressed her by name as she stepped out of the elevator. They aren't sure what they said, but next thing they knew a barrel was poking out of the flowers and Bridgette was all over them, literally." I looked at the blue skirt uniform, the easily recognisable dress code of an air hostess and wondered what a French hostess, only in town for a few days, could have down to warrant such a brutally meditated murder. "Obviously the vic knew the killer since he knew what her name was, what kind flowers she liked and where she was staying. Did anyone get a look at his face?" Danny looked over at the two ladies crying in the corner, also in hostess uniforms. "No," he said grimly. "Guy wore a cap and sunglasses, and couldn't see much through the red mist." Nice and gory, a public execution. Definitely a planned hit and I was sure Danny and the rest of my unit would be scouring the usual lines of investigation such as video cameras and witnesses so I excused Danny with a touch of the shoulder and decided to conduct another investigation of my own.
"Haven't seen you before," I said coolly as I stood over the red head. I always had a thing for red heads, don't bother asking me why. She looked up and smiled before standing up and removing a pair of nitrile gloves on her hands. "Yeah sorry, I'm Dakota Jericho, Detective third grade." She offered her hand and I took it, it was soft and firm, nice. "Mac Taylor, CSI. When did you move here?" She looked at me as if I'd asked a stupid question and I suddenly wanted to kick myself for not paying attention to the morning memos. This was her first day in NY, but obviously not her first around a crime scene. "Sorry, slow day for me." I apologised, she smiled and the awkward moment passed. "What do you think?" She asked as she looked down at Bridgette. I crossed my arms and put my hand to my chin, about to set off in one of my impressive moments of deduction. "Bridgette takes the job as a means to spend a few days in New York then breaks a few hearts on the first big night out and one of said jilted lovers decided to make sure she doesn't get away with it." She looked doubtful, but I wasn't finished.
"At least that is what it would look like at first glance," I continued. "But the killer knew her too well. This isn't a crime of passion this was planned maybe weeks or months ahead and the killer must have known her for a length of time." She looked impressed, but pessimistic.
"Well why did he do it broad daylight? If he had so much time to plan then he could have done a better job, unless he just lacked the IQ for that." She looked down and Bridgette quickly before walking off, I followed and updated my angle behind her.
"Yeah he could have, but that wasn't his goal. I think he wanted this to be public. Maybe it was like airing the dirty laundry in public, this stroke me more like a public execution than simple payback. Aside that, he managed to pick the one time of day that the lobby doesn't have an arm guard standing by, that tells me that he's put more thought into this that we're giving him credit for." She flashed me a fabulous smile and I knew I was making a good impression. "You've got a good head on your shoulders detective Taylor, I like how it thinks." If only she knew. "What, you don't like how it looks either?" Sly maybe, but we were both smiling as we reached outside to face a sea of reported being fended off by a single line of linebacker built uniformed cops. Obviously today wasn't going to be the day to ask for a coffee date.
I will update every two days ^_^ I hope you enjoyed it so far, I know it's not much of a starter but will get better I promise ^_^