Thank you for all the kind reviews to the first chapter. :) I'm so sorry this is so incredibly late, life hasn't been very kind to me lately, but now it's all looking up so I've managed to pop this out! Hope it's okay! Chapter titles are lyrics from Mad World.. I'm not sure for how long I'll be able to keep that up as their aren't many lyrics but we'll see haha! Reviews and everything are much appreciated, thank you :) Enjoy. xx
Gene, Alex, Chris and Ray entered the mortuary. The bodies of the four girls were laid out in front of them, all covered by thin grey covers. The pathologist welcomed them into the room where they surrounded the first body.
"This is Lisa Michael, she was seventeen." The pathologist stated, before taking back the cover to unveil the pale body. Her face and shoulders were covered in deep purple bruises and her cheeks lined with cuts. Alex gasped slightly, and took a deep breath before he continued. "She was clearly beaten or attacked with some form of blunt instrument, then cut with a small knife - perhaps a penknife or similar. We've also reason to believe she was drugged and raped, then -" He pulled the cover down more to reveal a single stab wound to the chest. "She was stabbed, once. This, of course, finally killed her." The team nodded silently, all of them not quite sure what to think. "The other three girls were all killed in a very similar way, it's clearly done by the same person." The pathologist uncovered the next body, "Here we have Amy Wilkinson, she was sixteen." He moved on to the next body, before introducing Rachel Harrison and finally Ella Jones, both eighteen years old. "Also, we've just found a mark on each body.. on the inside of their right hand. We don't know what it means, but it's been inscribed by whoever killed the girls - the wound is the same age as the stab wound to the heart, so possibly done straight after death." The pathologist showed the team the symbol. It was a triangle, with the letter 'M' in the middle, cut rather messily.
An hour later, the team were back at CID. Barely a word had been uttered since the visit to the mortuary.
"I want every scrap of evidence looked at five times over. We will catch this murderin' bastard before he gets to another one, do yer hear?" Gene gruffly addressed his team, before walking into his office, slamming the door behind him. The noise of the slamming door echoed quietly throughout CID and drifted off into an eerie silence before anyone dared move.
"Disgustin', innit." Chris murmured, breaking the silence. Everyone in the room silently nodded. They treated way too many of this type of case nowadays, and each time one came around it would sicken each and every one of them to the core.
"Right, let's get to work." Alex said quietly. She stood up and begun to hand out various files to the team.
The forensics team hadn't managed to acquire much evidence from the crime scenes. It had been clear that the girls had been taken and killed somewhere, then dumped somewhat carelessly around Soho. None of the streets seemed to be linked in any way, neither did they have anything on them of any clear significance.
After around fifteen minutes of aimless searching, Alex stood up.
"All we have to go on is this mark..." Alex pinned up a photo from the file she was holding onto the whiteboard. "Whether it's some sort of cult symbol, or the killer's own brand.. or initial.. or whatever, we don't know. Does anyone know anything about it?" Alex looked around in desperation, hoping someone would pipe up. The team were silent, shaking their heads. Alex sighed and closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Alrigh' Bolly?" Their Guv walked out of his office. Alex looked up at him, looking right into his pale blue eyes. Alex found them somewhat mesmerising, the glistening sparkle of knowing and experience. It was as if he knew how powerful they were, as if he knew what his presence did to her, as if he intended for it. But no, Alex thought, he's the Manc Lion, he doesn't do have feelings like that.. surely not? They held eye contact for longer than anyone in the room would have thought normal, until Alex suddenly jumped out of her reverie, blushing gently as she composed herself. Around the room Chris and Ray nudged eachother, raising their eyebrows at the unyielding sexual tension between their superiors.
"Um, yes, Guv. We were er.. just discussing the symbol.." Alex pointed to the photo on the board with the file she was holding. Gene widened his eyes as if asking her to continue. "And we've got nothing." Alex finished, placing the file down on her desk. Gene nodded.
"Well then, I suggest we all pay their folks' a visit and talk the crap outta them." Gene announced, grabbing his coat. Alex rolled her eyes before also grabbing her own jacket and following him out, closely accompanied by Chris and Ray, who were still giggling like children at the moment between their DCI and DI a minute earlier.