Turf War
The car was silent as it pulled up to a stop light. Charlie's gaze was focused on the license plate of the car ahead of them; AL4DA$$. Dani sat in the passenger seat, toying with the hem of her sleeve. She and Charlie hadn't talked much since they had collared Hollis. She had a lot of questions for him but he seemed preoccupied and distracted, very unlike Charlie. As the car sat in traffic, the dispatch radio crackled to life.
"All available units please respond to a 187," the dispatcher said. Dani picked up the radio and responded.
"This is Detective Dani Reese. Request location of 187," she said. The dispatcher relayed the address and Dani ended the conversation. The light changed and she expected Charlie to start moving.
"Crews," she said, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes.
"Huh?" he muttered, looking at her.
"Drive. We have a call," she answered, giving him directions.
"What's with you lately? You've been zoning out constantly," she said as they neared the scene.
"I'm fine. Just thinking," Charlie answered. He hadn't told her about Rachel yet.
"Thinking about what?" she probed.
"The license plate in front of us," he replied. He liked the new custom plates. They entertained him sitting in traffic. Dani tried to remember what it had said.
"Was there something special about it?" she sighed.
"All for the money," he said.
"What?" she asked.
"It spelled out 'all for the money'," he explained. Dani just shook her head. Even though she was more used to his bizarre Zen-like ramblings, she still didn't always understand.
"As long as you're not going crazy on me," she muttered as the car pulled up across the street from the ambulance. Its lights flashed brightly in the daylight as the two detectives climbed out of their car and crossed the street.
"What do we have?" Reese asked as they approached the coroner, bent over a sheet-covered body.
"Passerby saw the guy and called it in. He was DOA," the coroner answered. Dani and Charlie bent down to examine the body. His face was bloody and bloated. His eyes where swollen partially shut.
"Any idea what the perp used to bash this guy's face in?" Dani asked.
"My guess, maybe a pipe or some other slender metal object," he answered. Charlie had been examining the rest of the scene.
"How about a tire iron?" he asked, gingerly picking up one lying near the body.
"Or a tire iron," the coroner muttered.
"Is that blood?" Dani asked, pointing to end of the bar that Charlie was holding. Charlie looked at it and nodded.
"Looks like we've got our murder weapon," Dani said.
"Not exactly, Detective," the coroner corrected her.
"What was cause of death?" Charlie asked.
"Multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen," the coroner answered, pulling the sheet further down the body.
"Did you get any ID off of him?" Dani questioned. The coroner shook his head.
"Wallet was still on him but there was no license," he answered. Just as Dani stood up, a squad car pulled up and two other detectives stepped out. Charlie gave them his trademark smile.
"Crews, Reese. What are you doing here?" a female detective asked.
"Investigating a homicide. The better question is what are you doing here, Rhonda," Dani answered. The other detective's partner had walked behind Charlie and was examining the body.
"Well we'll be taking the case off your hands," he said.
"Since when do sex crimes get involved in routine homicides?" Dani asked.
"When the deceased is the prime suspect in a child abduction and kiddy porn ring case," the female detective answered.