Wizard Competition discarded by the way, Stevie's death still happened, but in due to time her resurrection will be explained.
(WCSI- wizard crime scene investigator)
Alex pulled herself groggily from a self induced coma.
Her skull throbbed as her eyes peeled open to face the day. Scanning her apartment she lugged her body from the sofa and stood uneasily.
At twenty two she expected herself to be living the artist dream, going to instalments and bantering with people who wore stripes with everything.
Not sleeping on the sofa again from a party and not with someone hammering on the door. The angry thuds echoed and split the smoky air.
Alex stumbled over empty pizza boxes and beers cans until she fell heavily onto the wall next to the door, resting her aching body on it until she summoned the strength to wrench it open.
"You won't believe it!" Harper burst into the apartment in a whirl wind of ribbons and her voice made Alex recoil into the comfort of the wall.
"Oh my God, it's disgusting in here!" Harper turned around shrilly and pointed at Alex. "What have you been doing?"
"Sleeping... until, a minuet ago" Alex responded dryly and Harper crossed her arms tightly across her chest.
"Well good thing you've still got all those cleaning products I sent to last Christmas" Harper beelined for the kitchen.
"I have?" Alex peered around to see Harper rooting through the cupboards and junk to get to them.
"Yes, I made sure you kept them... and, you've not even opened them" Harper put her hands on her hips and held up the gift bag consisting of a mop, sponge, cloths and a assortment of brightly coloured cleaning chemicals.
"It's even got the bow on" Harper prodded it and narrowed her eyes.
Alex yawned and ran a hand through her hair to brush away the strands of hair cascading down her face.
"You need to get a job"
"You need to stop acting like my Mom" Alex snapped and kicked a few cans out of her path as she sat on the sofa again.
"Ever since Mason you've been on a downward spiral" Harper added a matter of factly while unwrapping the cleaning products.
"I don't need him"
"You need someone... and a shower, you smell like a dead goat"
"Gee, you're being so supportive"
"It's my job, you go and have a shower, I'll clean up your hovel" Harper motioned around the mess of the apartment. Alex huffed and limped through her apartment and wrestled with the bathroom door until it opened.
Alex peeled off her clothes, letting last nights garments fall to the tiled floor. She tugged on the chain to turn on the water, groggily stretching and shivering due to the tiles bite of frost on the soles of her feet. Climbing into the bath tub she proceeded to pull the lever that let cold water run down on her. The raven haired woman recoiled and yelped as the icy water rained with heavy pressure down into the tub with a controlled jet, creating a gushing sound.
Alex timidly stood back under the water, prior to a metal curse and pep talk.
Don't be a pussy, get under there.
Alex rinsed her body of the smoke and beer than had possessed her, her hair stuck to her olive skin.
The night was a blur of flashing lights, a hurried encounter in a bathroom stall with a guy called Hank and a alcohol. Alex cringed, the events merged, she could no longer pick out which one came first. She was assured that if Hank had happened first, she'd gone into desperate mode... again.
Alex groaned and pressed her body to the cold, grey tiles of the bathroom wall.
Mason.
Alex closed her eyes and slid down the wall so she could rest her head on her knees and let the water rain on her.
Rain seemed the only weather Alex would enjoy.
Dean's voice cut over the hum of the city.
"Nice neighbourhood" he spoke flatly. The Wizard Homicide Detective was referring back to the fact everyone on the street had shouted abuse at them for being 'cops', mortals never saw anything when it came to a wizard murder, but it was routine to ask then knock them out if they did see anything 'weird'. Stevie grinned at him while tying her shoulder length, unruly waves of hair back into a elastic band. The blond of her bangs had faded years ago, now chocolate brown was the only colour she supported. The humidity of the day had caused her hair to curl.
"That's gonna hurt like a bitch when you pull it out" Dean added, pulling his mobile from his pocket to check for any missed calls.
Stevie twitched uncomfortable with the fact the summer heat was beating down on them.
"I can deal with a little less hair"
Nichols and Dean walked back to the crime scene, none the wiser but hotter and hungrier.
"Nobody witnessed anything they were all to busy raising fifteen kids" Stevie announced ducking under the yellow tape, Dean followed.
"Each?" a WCSI chuckled at her comment, knowing all to well about this side of town.
"Yeah" Dean chuckled stuffed his hands into his pocket.
"I could never have kids" Stevie blew her fringe from her eyes and stood around watching Khoo happily instructing the techs to get a body bag among other equipment.
"Joining me back at the lab Nichols?" Khoo pulled the bloody latex gloves from her hands and dusted the power from her hands that they'd left behind.
"Yeah, it's cold so I'm there" Stevie jerked her chin in a boyish nod.
"I'll have fun with this case" Khoo grinned and packed up her equipment, her day dress riding up to expose more than Stevie would have liked, even though Khoo was a attractive woman, Stevie didn't know how to handle attraction well.
"Murder isn't fun Khoo" Dean scoffed and was busy jotting things down while another officer told him all the details.
"It depends on the person" Khoo stated and Stevie rose her eyebrows.
"I'll see you later Khoo" Stevie wafted her hand as the M.E left.
Alex walked out of the bathroom clad in a towel and smirked as she saw Harper running around with a trash bag and pink washing up gloves on her hands.
"I wonder if you're depressed" Harper stopped and turned to her friend.
"Oh sure" Alex huffed and rolled her eyes. Walking into her room, Alex dawned on underwear then a pair of black jean shorts, a dark grey v-neck t-shirt and a pair of converse.
"Where are you going?" Harper took in Alex's appearance, her hair was still damp.
"Getting food... I doubt I have anything to eat but pop tarts"
"You eat those things?" Harper grimaced.
"Yeah and happily enjoy them, but right now I need an ice coffee, you want anything?"
"For you not to be lazy" Harper grumbled and Alex grabbed twenty dollars from her money jar hidden behind the toaster.
"So that's an ice tea then" Alex stuffed it into her pocket and strode from the apartment. The one thing she had learnt while growing older or growing mouldy as Max frequently quoted, she had to fend for herself, if she was lazy, she'd die. So the trip for food was almost daily, luckily her apartment building was across the street from a air conditioned Mexican store.
Alex jogged down the steps and out into the blinding afternoon sun.
"Christ" she felt the wave of heat hit her once chilled skin. The coffee shop was a ten minuet walk away, so she'd head there first, then get stuff for the week commencing.
The traffic was slow in this part of town, a few dump trucks trundled past as well as other cars, but not much happened on the roads.
Alex crossed the street and felt the heat of the day dry her hair in no time.
The large wooden sign reading Shake- a- shack was just ahead, shimmering in the heat radiating from the sidewal.
Pushing on the door, Alex entered the smell of coffee welcomed her in a friendly embrace. A few customers littered the shop, but they were chatting lowly under the sound of the machines producing the drinks Alex adored.
"Hey Guss" Alex called out and a well built Italian/American man poked his head up from under the counter to greet his number one customer.
"Al, good to see ya" his thick accent charmed the raven haired wizard as she walked over to the large wooden slab that acted as a counter. The lights hung from the ceiling in rusty metal cages and swung with the fans whirring on over time.
The walls were bare brick and many of the tables were made out of old wood from scrap yards. Guss was an ex architect so had some idea of how to kit out a small indie coffee shop.
The hum of blues dusted the background calmly.
"I'm guessing my girl would like a ice coffee?" his jolly smile made Alex want to hug his large bulky body.
"And an ice tea for Harper" she added and ran a hand through her hair.
"You got it" he beamed and set to work, humming as he did so.
"Did eh, did ya here 'bout that body down on 12th?"
"No" Alex puzzled, pulling her brow into a frown.
"Yeah, nasty work, Vinnie told me, came rushin' in all like 'Boss there's a dead guy, can I getta day off? Little bastard, always lookin' for an excuse"
Alex grinned at his ranting but was still taken back by the news.
"How bad was this guy?"
"I dunno Al, Vinnie ain't one for details" Guss turned back around with two take away translucent cups for the icy beverages.
"Here" Alex handed him the $5.50 and Guss screwed his face up.
"Half the price, Al you're like family, $2.75"
Alex shrugged and let Guss sort out the exchange to his liking.
"I need a job" Alex sighed and sipped at the icy coffee, feeling the bitterness snap at her tongue.
"You can have one here Al" Guss grinned, scratching his head.
"Nah, thanks for the offer though Guss... I need something that'd keep me busy"
"You busy?" Guss leant back and let out a rumble of laughter.
"Fine" Alex huffed, excepting his challenge. "I'll get a busy job and be good at it, as well as turn up for it" Alex drank more of her coffee and Guss narrowed his eyes.
"You're on Al"
The cold air of the morgue was bliss to Stevie's over heated skin. The whir of the machinery backed up there conversation.
After hearing Dean wretch up his guts for the third time in the space of half an hour, Stevie decided to kick him out of the lab.
Khoo had been on board for that decision, the guy was great in the field, but one to one with a dead body and he lost all dignity.
"So a werewolf defiantly did this?" Stevie had her arms crossed over her chest.
"Yep, it was frenzied and half of his innards have gone, torn from his body, this guy was someone's late night bite" Khoo had drained away the dried blood and the body was left white and exposed. Stevie shuddered, that's what she hated, people lost all dignity through death, murder was the worst becouse you were examined, besides Khoo hadn't even bothered to cover up the vics privates, no wonder she found this to be a hellish ordeal.
"Any prints from the body?" Stevie tapped her foot.
"Ask the lab for that, but I tell you, this guy must have meant something to the killer, even if he was lunch, no werewolf would have done this much damage, I mean look" Khoo rolled the body over, the sound of the stiff limbs made a thud on the metal gurney.
"This guy will need some work done if it's an open casket funeral" Khoo sucked in air through her teeth and Stevie leant in to examine his bruised back.
"You see these marks?" Stevie motioned to them, resting on his lower back just above his butt.
"Oh yeah, I did a rape kit becouse of the bruising, he was raped pre mortem, used, abused, eaten"
Stevie made a unsettled whine.
"We can use the seamen right?"
"Yep, it's being tested as we speak my dead Nichols"
"I'm gonna get this bastard" she rolled her neck and Khoo nodded along with the Wizard Detective.
"Please do"