"She's in Hyde Park, yeah?"
"Yeah. Let me get Pond on the line, she needs to see this."
Rose nodded, turning away from her new partner Mickey. He was a little squeamish around crime scenes, but he had a good head on his shoulders. Now if he'd only stop hitting on her...
Sighing, Rose dialed her mum Jackie. To Rose's chagrin, she still lived with her mother. It was that or live with the squatters on a cop's salary.
"Rose, where are you? I've already got the kettle on, tell Amy she can come over too!"
"I can't, mum. I'm still at headquarters, and they found one in Hyde Park. I'm gonna be here a while."
"Well, you could have given me some warning. Call me earlier next time. And tell Amy I said hello!"
"Yeah, mum."
"And tell Mickey to quit staring at you!"
Rose laughed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, mum. See you later, ok?"
"Ok. Bye, honey!"
Rose hung up. Her mother was exhausting, but she loved her. She pulled on her jacket, got in her car, and left for Hyde Park.
Across town, Amy Pond was pacing her flat, searching for her shoes as she spoke with Mickey.
"Hyde Park? How recent? Yeah, I can be there. Give me 10 minutes. Tell Rose to quit worrying. And stop flirting with her, you know she plays for the other team."
Amy yelled down at Rory, her neighbor.
"Hey nose boy, where'd I put my flats?"
"They're by the cupboard!"
"Thanks!"
"Got another case?"
"Yep!"
And with that, she dashed out of the flat and caught a taxi to Hyde park.
Rose and Mickey were talking by the crime scene perimeter when Amy arrived.
"You waited for me?"
"This one wouldn't let me start without you." Mickey said, rolling his eyes and raising the police tape for the two women.
"Afternoon, Pond." Rose said, winking at Amy as she ducked under the tape.
"Hey, Rose. How's Jackie?"
"Pissed. She wanted us both over for tea after my shift."
"Sorry I missed it. Though not sorry I missed your mum's questionable taste in telly. Another hour of Holby City and I think I might've died. They're absolutely terrible doctors."
Rose laughed as they approached the scene. She quickly hushed as she turned a corner and saw the victim for the first time.
"Oh my God."
Rose bolted from the scene, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.
Amy rounded the corner just in time to be hit by a hysterical Rose.
"Rose? Rose! What's... Oh."
Amy's face turned whiter than a sheet, shock and anger evident in her eyes.
"Mickey, why the hell didn't you warn her?!"
"Hey, nobody told me either! I didn't know it was..."
He trailed off, seeing the body clearly for the first time. He headed back around the corner, where shortly after retching noises could be heard.
Amy stared down the body, swallowing slowly as she took in the state of the victim. She looked to be in her mid to late twenties, dressed in a reddish leather jacket (Rose would look amazing in that colour, a small removed part of her brain muttered), dark blue boot cut jeans, and a red tank. Her hair was swept into an artfully messy bun at the top of her head, and on her neck, a thin gold necklace flecked with its owner's blood glinted in the sunlight.
The method of death was disturbing- the victim was bound at the knees and waist with duct tape, her back slightly arched. The jacket was unbuttoned and the tank top was split down the middle, torn apart in the victim's last moments. Across the victim's torso, someone had made one large circular incision, with smaller circles and neat, precise lines within it. It looked familiar, almost like an ancient language buried deep within Amy's subconscious. The brilliant crimson of blood was a sharp contrast to the light brown of the victim's skin, smooth muscles torn apart by cruelly precise shapes and lines.
The type of icy calculation that was obviously behind a death like this terrified Amy. But this was nothing compared to the note stabbed through where the woman's heart was. Held in place by a thin surgical knife, it quivered slightly in the wind. This was what had sent Rose running- only one man would leave a note like this, would know how to scare off someone as brave as Rose.
The note read, in deep blue ink,
BAD WOLF.