Chapter 1
I rubbed my eyes as I awoke to the obnoxious screaming of my cell phone.
"Hello." I mumbled.
"Lovino, we have a problem." a voice said into the reciever.
I noticed it as one of my co-workers and brother, Feliciano.
"What?" I groaned.
"Remember that rape victim? Yeah, she just got kidnapped from the hospital." he replied.
"The one that was found in an ally way?"
"Yep."
"Damn it! I'll be right over."
I turned to Antonio who was sleeping soundly beside me. He was my partner and my lover.
"Wake up asshole. Our Jane Doe has just been kidnapped." I said.
His eyes flew open.
"What?" he asked.
"You heard me, let's go." I replied.
We threw on some clothes and grabbed our police badges. We hopped into the car and sped off to the local hospital where the victim was staying. We were the last of our group to arrive. Feliciano and Ludwig were there as well as Elizabeta and her partner, Roderich. The boss, Alfred, and his assistant, Arthur, were there too. Police cars surrounded the front of the building. I could see the mess that was made through the glass doors. Papers were everywhere and blood stained the floor.
"Alright Feliciano, what happened." Alfred said.
"Well I was there to talk to her and try to get some information on what happened to her. She didn't remember anything, but she had a stamp on her hand. It was a tiger of some sorts. I left when she told me to get out, and then I noticed that the receptionist was bleeding. She told me a masked man had come in and beat her. I turned to check on the victim, but she was gone." Feliciano said.
"Damn. She was kidnapped right underneath our noses." I said.
"I guess we just have to find her!" Antonio said smiling.
"How can you smile at a time like this?" I asked.
"You think frowning is going to make it any better."
I didn't respond.
"You mentioned a stamp on her hand. Do you think it could be for a club?" Roderich asked.
"Maybe." Feliciano replied.
"Well let's do everything we can to find her. Feliciano and Ludwig interview everyone in the hospital who had contact with the victim. Elizabeta and Roderich search the room the victim was staying in. See if you can find any clues to the perp. Lovino and Antonio head back to the station and look up thee stamps from all the clubs in the city. If you find one that's a tiger, send it to Feliciano so he can confirm that you found the right one." Arthur said.
"Good thinking Arthur. See, this is why we hired you man!" Alfred said as he threw an arm around Arthur's neck.
Arthur pushed Alfred off as Antonio and I headed back to our car. The station wasn't ar from here. It was kinda convenient since we had the hospital right there so we could to talk to any living victims.
The police station is a giant building. It was made of brick and as about ten stories tall. Each department had their own floor. The Special Victims Unit that Antonio and I were in was on the fifth floor. We rode the elevator up. Everyone's desk were situated around one big white board that we use to pin images up on. Behind it was the interrogation rooms. Behind everyone's desk was Alfred's office. We all had the same metal desk with a computer on top and three drawers. Partner's desk were next to each other so it would be easy for them to communicate. I sat down at mine and Antonio sat to the left of me. We turned on our computers and waited for them to load.
The elevator dinged and out walked the most annoying french man you have ever met in your entire life. Francis. He had blonde hair that was about chin length and blue eyes. He was our pathologist and forensic scientist. When he wasn't working with dead bodies or DNA he was always wearing flashy clothing. Today he seemed to be working. He had on pink scrubs and his hair was tied back into a ponytail.
"Didn't expect you two be here. Thought you went home after finishing up that one case." he said.
"We did, but an other case came up." Antonio replied.
"I see. Let me know if you need any help." Francis said.
He walked over and put a hand on my shoulder that slowly began to move down my back.
"Like we would ever need your help asshole." I said, hitting his hand off.
He held his hand in pain and looked at me sadly. I forgot to mention that he happens to be quite the sexual bastard.
"Wait, we can. Francis, you party all the time right?" Antonio asked.
"Oui. Only when I'm not working though." he replied.
"Have you ever been to a club where they stamped your hand with a tiger stamp."
"Come to think of it, yes I have. It's the stamp for Ivan's place."
I looked up the club online and sure enough, people were stamped when they entered. I emailed the photo of the stamp to Feliciano. Soon after that Felicinao replied that it was the right one. Just as I was about to tell Antonio the phone rang. He picked it up. After talking for a while his eyes widened. When he hung up he said "Alfred got a call saying that our Jane Doe may have been found dead in the river."
We grabbed our stuff and headed to the crime scene.
...
The girl that lay before us defiantly was our Jane Doe. Even though her ears and nose were cut off, you could still tell it was her. A blood puddle surrounded her head and you could see that she was scalped from where her ear used to be to the top of her forehead. Francis was examining her body.
"It seems she died from a stab wound to the back but there are other stab wounds as well as a blow to the head. Plus there are her mutilations We can't be certain until I can do a full autopsy. Is there a rape kit for her at the hospital?" Francis asked.
Feliciano shook his head.
"She wasn't there long enough." he said.
"Then I can pull the semen from her at the station and analyze the DNA." Francis replied.
"Antonio and Lovino go to the club she was at and ask all of the employees and the owner about her. Take her photo." Alfred said.
I nodded and Antonio and I drove to Ivan's place. It was an old rundown building. Graffiti decorated the brick walls. The inside was dimly lit and there was a bar that ran down the entire left wall. The rest seemed to be the "dance" floor. There was a single employee left washing the beer glasses.
"Excuse me, but have you seen this girl?" Antonio asked, holding up this victim's photo.
The man nodded. He was middle aged with red hair and green eyes.
"She came here about two nights ago. She was with this loud and obnoxious girl." he said.
"Do you think you could show us a picture of her?" I asked.
The man nodded and pulled out a cell phone.
"She insisted on a picture once she was drunk enough." the man replied.
I looked at the picture. In the center was the man we are talking to now. On the left is a girl with blonde hair, about Francis's length, who was wearing a pink frilly dress. She was hanging on the obviously annoyed bartender. On the right there was the victim.
"Did you get her name?" I asked.
"It was Tory or something. The other one was too drunk to talk."
"When was the last time you saw her?"
"She left to go to the bathroom. She never came back and her friend left without her."
"Thanks. We'll be done in a minuet. We just want to take a look around."
The man nodded and we walked to thee bathrooms and stopped in front of the doors.
"You got the girl's." Antonio said as he ruched into the men's.
Damn that bastard. Why the hell do I always have to do the girls bathrooms?! I took a deep breath and pushed through the doors. I walked down each stall and looked for signs of struggle. None. I went into the men's to see what Antonio had found. He was taking pictures of a bloodstained wall.
"Want me to call Alfred?" I asked.
He nodded and I dialed the phone.