Chapter 7: Anger or "This Won't Go On."

Disclaimer: I own only what Rowling doesn't. :P
Songs:
Watch Me Shine by Joanna Pacitti-Phoenix

October 5, 2011, Suburbia, New York, America

"What do we have?" Phoenix snapped at the uniformed detective who came to meet her car. Ian sighed as he got out and ran his fingers through his hair. He was relieved he was no longer the target of her temper. She had been in a mood all day, since she had woken up and been immediately sick, the fourth time this week. "A double?"
"No," the officer said shakily. Phoenix softened slightly, realizing she was scaring him. He looked like he was just barely out of the Academy, hell; his badge was still brand-new shiny, he likely still polished it every night. His face was paste white and his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed convulsively. She suspected he had already thrown up behind the trim row of hedges.
"Well?" Phoenix asked, using a firm but gentle tone, turning her head to look at the house blocked off by police tape, pretending to inspect their surroundings, giving him a chance to compose himself. Ian rolled his eyes. Of course, she was nice to the rookie, but she bitched at her lover, who just happened to be her partner. Where was the justice in that?
"It...you need to see for yourself, Detective," he said shakily. "Sergeant Brown said to go right in."
"Alright," Phoenix nodded to the detective and moved away, intent on getting into the house. Her partner turned to get the papers that peeled off the fax in the car as she walked away. When he got inside, the papers clutched in his fist, he found her in a stand-off with a stiff-necked detective.
"I don't care if you were here first, or if it was Zeus who found the bloody vics!" she shouted, her accent coming in stronger than ever. She had been working to get rid of the english accent, but when she got riled, it came back. "Get out of my way!"
"I can't do that," the detective said, his beefy face red with anger. "This is our district, we have our own murder people. Now go back to HQ, lady!"
"Excuse me," Ian slid in smoothly, putting a restraining hand on Phoenix's shoulder, she looked like she wanted to hit the man. "I believe this will clear up this disagreement." He handed the man the papers and watched with satisfaction as the man swore and moved out of the way.
"Alright, fine. Go on. Damn English," he muttered as they moved past him to where several people were gathered and talking together.
"Hello," Ian spoke up before Phoenix could ruffle anymore feathers. Maybe it was just PMS, yeah that would explain her bitchiness. "I'm Sergeant Malfoy and this is my partner, Detective Gallagher. Who is in charge here?"
"I am." A young woman in jeans and a dark shirt stepped over, her sun-yellow hair pulled back from her face. Her blue eyes were serious yet curious at the same time. She flashed him a coy smile. "Sergeant Alison Wiggins. I am lead investigator." Ian noticed she ignored Phoenix as she spoke, focusing on him. He hoped Phoenix didn't notice as well.
"Not anymore," Phoenix snapped, her eyes hard brown stones. So much for her not noticing. Sergeant Wiggins turned to her, a puzzled expression on her face.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. We're taking over this crime scene, sugar," she smiled sweetly at Wiggins. "Is that a problem?"
"Actually..."
"We have reason to believe this case is connected to a string of murders we have been working for the past month and a half," Ian stepped in, glaring at Phoenix. Merlin, what was wrong with her? "We have papers from Commmander Griffin, authorizing our authority. I am very sorry if there is any inconvinance."
"Oh, no, not at all." Wiggins fluttered her eyelashes at him and smiled. Phoenix snorted and turned away, murder still in her eyes, but chosing to do her job rather than take out her anger. Ian stood with the other Sergeant for a moment, getting the details while Phoenix snarled and swore everyone else out of the house. She glared at Wiggins, who stayed even after Ian came to join her.
"Get rid of her," she hissed, examining a the direction of a blood splatter on a wall. Hmmm, who ever's blood this was had taken a severe hit to an artery.
"Why?" Ian asked, following the trail of blood down the hall. He stopped and called Phoenix. "You are going to want to see this."
Phoenix trotted over to him, careful to not step in any blood. "What is...Oh, Merlin!" she cried, gazing at the hacked and slashed body of a six year old girl. Her body lay strewn across the hall way, arms and legs flung out at unnatural angles. She clamped a hand over her mouth and, for the first time in her life, ran from the scene, outside and dumped the contents of her stomach in the garden by the front door. Ian followed her, ignoring Sergeant Wiggins' questions and held back Phoenix's thick braid, not saying anything, just as he had done that morning. When she stepped away and wiped her mouth, he raised an eyebrow.
"Are you going to be able to continue?" he asked. "Wiggins said it was pretty bad."
"If that bitch can look, so can I," she hissed, standing up and moving away from him. "Let's go."
She stomped inside, not pausing to spare Wiggins a glance and marched back to the hallway. Taking deep breathes, she forced herself to study the scene, memorize the details and record them.
"First victim is female, approximately six to seven years old, in a hallway it is assumed by investigator leads to the bedrooms," she said into the recorder, amazing Ian at how steady her voice was. "victim apparently attacked from the front with a curved blade, most likely a kitchen knife. Investigator ventures to guess that the blow to the heart was the first and fatal blow. All other wounds, what appears to be broken bones in all four appendages, broken neck and at least another dozen stab wounds were made postmortum. victim's...the victim's nightdress is pushed up and bruising on wrists and shoulders suggest a struggle. There is also blood between the victim's legs...oh god." She paused and closed her eyes, pressing a hand to her stomach before continuing. "I will repeat, there is blood between the victim's legs, enough to suggest the victim was raped premortum." She clicked the recorder off and spoke over her shoulder to Sergeant Wiggins. "Have someone bag her. I want Francis to see these victims, make sure they are marked for him especually." Without bothering to listen for a response, she looked at Ian, who was taking pictures of the scene. "I"m moving on, when you're done, catch up."
The next body was in the first room to the right. Her breathe caught at the decorations on the walls, baseballs and basketballs, all kinds of sports equiptment and memorabilia. The boy was sprawled on the floor next to the bed. From the blood spatters on the bottom of the sheets and the wood of the bed, she guessed he had been killed on the ground.
"Second victim is male, nine or ten years old, in a bedroom. On the floor, with blood splattered on the bottoms of sheets, the bedframe and floor, so the investigator concures the victim was killed on the floor. From angle of sheets and blankets, it appears the victim was pulled from the bed and shot before hacked to pieces. Wounds to head, shoulders and legs, again a broken neck and appendages, with the palms of the hands slashed and torn. Not defensive wounds, most likely done postmortum. victim's pajama bottoms were removed and the...the reproductive organs have been removed and are no where in sight. Cause of death is, again, a blow to the heart."
She moved on after motioning Ian into the bedroom. She peeked into the little girl's room, all pink and frothy. The bed was still made and everything was in order. She must have been somewhere else and was running towards here when she was killed, she thought.
The next room was the master bedroom. Phoenix steeled herself before opening the door.
There was blood everywhere.
"Two victims in the master bedroom, male and female, approximately thirty years of age for both. The female is still in bed while the male is on the floor approximately five feet away, coming towards the door. Male is about six foot, black hair and green eyed. Bruising and blood on face suggest a struggle and cause of death is assumed to be, again, a blow to the heart. No broken bones appear to be seen on the male, though there is a strange cutting on the forearms of both arms. The female is hacked to pieces, cause of death undeterminable from the many blows, though likely death came after the skull was penatrated. Skull wound looks to be the first wound, others appear to be newer. Inflicted after a fight with the male? Evidence of rape is present, most likely postmortum." She sat back and studied the female. She had black hair and her eyes, forever open in shock, were blue.
Blanche... she thought, averting her eyes from the male corpse, which reminded her much to strongly of Harry. This was the fifth multiple homicide in a month and a half where the adults had both had black hair, the male had green eyes and the female blue. All were killed in the same manner and all the males had the same strange, distorted star with a D to the right and A to the left of the star, carved into their forearms. Logically, she knew it had nothing to do with the Potter's murders, but the thought had troubled her from the first adult male she had seen back in mid-August. She turned to call Ian. He was just coming out of the boy's bedroom, shaking his head.
"This is disgusting," he snarled as he strode past her to photograph the adults. "He has escalated, there was never any evidence of rape on the other girls. And why cut off the boy's dick? It makes no sense." "I don't know," she said, studying the master bedroom as he took pictures. "But I intend to find out."