Author's Note: Thanks for continuing to read this story. I want to give a special shout out to DenisefromNY, msolsun, and xpetti 4Bemer for reviewing the last chapter. To answer xpetti 4Bemer's question, I don't know right now when this story will be finished. I have written over 20 chapters in my manuscript. But, even in my rough drafts, the story has yet to end. I hope that it can be finished before 2016 ends.
Nevertheless, here's Chapter 10! Enjoy! :D
It didn't take long for the tall, hazel-eyed detective to make her way back to her workplace. Once on the road, Tess recalled about the strange "reunion" at J.T.'s apartment a few hours ago. The woman continued to wonder where Vincent went to. Also, what happened to him during his three months of being kidnapped.
She recalled his partial explanation of those few months:
"I was always living in a cage that was the size of a partial bathroom. I rarely got out but ate at least three square meals everyday. I recall that a different set of scientists came to run various tests on me almost daily," the bass voice spoke.
Tess knew it was really him based on J.T.'s and Cat's explanation of Vincent's dreaded past. Once the former Army soldier mentioned that he was living in a cruel confinement and being tested on, she wondered if it was really Muirfield who was behind this. Sure, J.T. and Cat would immediately jump to the conclusion that it was indeed them. But, would a once highly-classified government project really be that cruel to any living being?
The brunette just shrugged the idea off once she reached the parking lot. Sure, she could spend all day theorizing on what happened. However, she didn't know much of the agency as she didn't really have a chance to come face to face with Muirfield.
"You know what, I just let J.T. handle anything Muirfield. I am going to leave that mess to him," she decided as she put her car in park and turned off the engine. She had too much on her plate right now.
The detective continued to debate on the matter while walking into the building. Her mind floated to random musings on Gabe Lowen. She couldn't decide if whether or not she could trust the suave ADA after all the things he put her ex-lover, herself, and even her best friend though. Sure, this guy looks like a refined man with an extensive knowledge about various topics, chiseled features, and soft, curly locks of hair. However, she couldn't imagine that his inside was completely different from his outside! He displayed an ugly character during the manhunt for the so-called lethal beast. She remember that Joe and Cat would always tell her how deranged and callous was the ADA, using his dirty tactics to get whatever he wanted.
Tess walked into the elevator with her mouth pointed upwards and cheeks puffed out. The doors closed after she indicated what floor she wanted to travel to, leaving herself alone in the car.
Oh, well! I didn't really do much investigating today. I am hoping someone is going to save my ass with their in depth sleuthing, Tess thought. A few moments later, the car's bells pinged powerfully to indict that she arrived on her intended floor. The doors opened and the tall woman started to briefly travel on foot to the supposed meeting place.
She reached the door to Gabe's office after a few minutes. The tall woman opened it gingerly to see that numerous personnel were standing in front of Gabe's desk with the suave district attorney perching on his desk chair. Tess recognized some of the people in the crowd: the new Captain McIntyre, the teammates she was suppose to work with, and a few higher-ups that she bumped into last spring. There were a few people she couldn't recognize. However, it didn't bother her because it wasn't like she was aiming to remember who these people were for future job recommendations. Pfft!
The darkened eyes of Gabe Lowen shot up at the sound of Tess' entrance. "Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in," he smirked with the tone of his voice dripping in sarcasm, "I am disappointed in you, Ms. Vargas, as you are late to a mandatory meeting." Tess shot back a glare as she tried to explain to him the reason of her tardiness, "Welllllll, traffic on the way back was horrid. You know how three o'clock rush hour is in New York City!" The hazel-eyed woman went to the center of the room where Lisa Reyes, Luke Conrad, and Fred Downer were standing. The other members of her team whipped their heads around and looked at her if she was crazy. At least the three of them were able to make it to precinct on time.
The ADA continued, "I don't know the full details because I wasn't there. Starting from tomorrow, anyone involved in this investigation will share one unmarked squad car. Is that understandable?" The four detectives nodded their head in silence to agree to Gabe's new mandate.
"Excuse me, ADA Lowren, but can you fill us in about this investigation you are leading? I haven't gotten much information apart from the handful of emails and a voicemail inviting me to this closed-door briefing," a voice piped up from the back of the room. It was one of the captains representing a different precinct. Gabe genuinely smiled at the question and began explaining, "Thank you Captain Polanski for that wonderful question. If you haven't notice what is being said on the news lately, I have gather you for this briefing due to a jogger being murdered last night between the times of midnight and six o'clock in the morning. This isn't a normal homicide as the victim showed signs that she was attacked by an animal-like creature. I let my detectives further explain about what they found."
As soon as he finished, another person inquired about the case straight away, "Is this related to that man-beast case that happened last spring?" Gabe looked at the crowd in front of him with an intense gaze as he answered, "It is too soon to rule that this is another beast incident. I was briefly at the crime scene this morning and based on what I saw, I would say most likely it could be another beast attack." Several light gasps filled the room as people, except for Gabe and the four detectives involved with the investigation, widen their eyes in shock and slight horror. Feeling the sudden anxiety fill the room, the suave dark-haired man reassured by saying, "Like I said, this is the beginning of the investigation. The crime only happened last night. I will have my team report on the incident daily and wait for further medical reports.
I have chosen all of you from the countless agencies and precincts from the New York City area for meticulous intentions. For some, I picked them because of their superior involvement with the beast that was on the police department's radar since the beginning of this year. Even though we had to forfeit the operation due to a ex-Captain's manic obsession with revenge clouding his better judgement, we still had a excellent team from different skill levels and departments. For others, I selected them because of their incredible work ethics and tactics based on the comments on their profiles. These people were able to solve the toughest crime by using their networks, resources, and, most importantly, their vast knowledge. I couldn't have more confidence in a team than the ones who are in this room." He glanced at Tess with a sincere look while saying the last sentence. This gave the darked-haired woman chills running down her back. Such a creep sometimes, she thought as she gave him a small smile.
"However," he continued, "I have also chosen you all because I know from various sources that you can keep a secret. I am hoping everyone here can do so with this case or any future cases that pertain similar details. I don't want to cause a widespread panic among the public if they get any information. Judging on what I and the other four detectives that were on the scene today witnessed, anyone could easily think this incident is related to the beast. And, we don't want that. If there is a public mayhem with this case, things will get out of hand. I learned my lesson from past mistakes on previous cases. All I want now is to take time in presenting anything to public.
If I find anyone sharing information to anyone, including other, non-involved agencies or co-workers, newspapers or tabloids, or even the mayor's office, you will be off the case immediately. I will have you either working desk duty, deranked, or possibly suspended for an uncertain length of time. I will also further let your future bosses and co-workers know how you failed to keep my promise and broke trust by writing those details on your profile. This case is too important for anyone to leak information. Keep. It. A. Secret. Do you understand?"
This statement made Gabe's blood boil a little because he had trust issues before and didn't want it to happen again. He glared at the audience before him as they nodded an agreement to his rules.
"Thank you for your understanding," he sternly spoke, "Now, let's take the short time we have to hear the reports from those who were on the scene today. Please hold off with any questions or assumptions until after the whole team has reported. Thank you for cooperation.
How about we start with Detective Tess Vargas; what do you have to report?"
The woman in question narrowed her eyes in half-shock and half-anger. He is doing this on purpose, she chided as she began to dig out her notes that were placed neatly in her small vinyl work bag. She turned to the page where she started jotting down notes about the murder. The long-haired woman first read them to herself silently to get a sense of what she wrote down. After a few seconds, she began to report, "Let's see. Since many of you here today are not familiar with the crime scene we dealt with, let me talk about the basic details. The murder occurred, like Gabe said, between midnight to six o'clock this morning based on primary investigations on the characteristics of the blood, which direction the blood flow, and the present of the early stages of regis mortem. There was still some flesh blood around the body by the time we arrived around ten this morning."
Tess quickly looked at her notes and panicked, "What else can I say? Should I just read straight from the book?" After a brief pause, the woman detective resumed, "I presumed that a young woman was jogging in the park during either her morning or evening routines. It looks like whatever attacked her was an animal or a thing. However, it is too soon to jump to conclusions as the body is badly mangled and hard to identify. Won't be surprised if whatever attacked her hit a vital organ, killing her instantly or letting her bleed out." Tess sighed once finishing off reading her notes, she hoped it was enough to please everyone there including the man in charge. The woman hoped that he wasn't expecting a lot from her in terms of investigation quality.
"That is all I have for my side of the investigation. I wonder if anyone else has anything to report," Tess turned her head to look at the other detectives, pleading silently that someone else would take the reins. She guessed someone took the hint as the auburn-haired Hispanic detective with big curls started to ramble off her discoveries, "Thanks Detective Vargas for her report. Like Detective Vargas said, we all got to the park about ten this morning to discover that there was a decreased young woman in her late teens or early 20s. We yet to know her identity as she didn't carry any form of identification on her. The only thing she brought was her music player and a set of keys. Based on the minimal amount of valuables she carried, I am guessing that she was experienced jogger and this was part of her daily routine. Or, another possibility is that she was carrying a lot more, including maybe a wallet, and she was robbed and murdered."
"That's right, Detective Reyes," an older detective named Frank Downer interrupted, hoping to get a piece of the action, "As soon as we were allowed access to the crime scene, we started to take as many pictures as we could. Conrad, Reyes, and I have compiled our collection and were able to make a slideshow in the short time we had. Detective Reyes, could you get the lights? ADA Lowren, could you start the slideshow?" The mega curls woman slithered up to the back of the room and turned off the lights at the white-haired man's command. Once the room became black, ADA Gabe Lowen bent down to his computer and tapped on a single key and checking if the bluetooth connectivity between his computer and the department's fairly new projectors was working. After a short wait, one of the first investigation photos appeared on a big projector screen behind him.
"As you can see that there are multiple marks all over her body. The main areas were her torso, her upper right breast area, her face, and the left upper calf," the older detective started to explain about the photos, "The marks look like they came from claws from some sort of animal. One of the most significant wounds on her body was a set of three good-size puncture holes near the left chamber of her heart. When I say "good-size", each hole was about an inch wide, like someone stabbed her with a very sharp golf tee. We don't know the depth of each incision as we didn't carry any sophisticated tools to measure. We are hoping that the medical examiner can clear some time off his busy schedule to look at the body." Gabe sniggered silently at that last comment, he had the same problem earlier this morning.
The senior detective continued, "Those puncture wounds looks like they possible came from the same animal claws. We suspect that whatever stabbed the suspect was the main culprit for her murder. We are theorizing that she died from a rupture critical vein and she could of bled out, dying slowly. Odd thing is that there were no bite marks anywhere, leaving out the possibility that the so-called "animal" killed her to nourish itself. There were only claw-like marks." Frank Downer flipped through the slides, briefly pausing to let the audience take in the details slowly. Another voice, presuming belonging to scrawny Luke Conrad, spoke up, "As you can see from the pictures, there seems to be a dark crimson-like stain on the sidewalk. It is hard to tell unless you look up close as all the paths in the park are made with asphalt. However, we found an ample amount of dry and semi-wet blood around her body. It is impossible to precisely measure how much blood she lost. It seemed there was a lot. The crime scene investigator team spent about two hours gathering any blood evidence."
The slideshow came to an end a few moments after Conrad's comments. He signaled to the back to turn on the lights as he regained his standing position between Downer and Vargas. Gabe turned off the projector by bending down and pushed a button on the side panel. Once it was fully off, Gabe stood up and spoke, "Thank you for the photos. As much as we find these graphic photos disturbing and disgusting, they are beneficial to this case with the small details they carry. Vargas, Conrad, Downer, and Reyes, I extend my gratitude to you guys for working hard on the first day to gather useful evidence. Is there anything else you like to share about what you found?" The four detectives shook their heads silently to indict a no. "Great," he continued as he peered at the others in the room, "I would like to open the floor for any questions. Yes, Captain Ramirez from Precinct 36."
Tess didn't pay attention to the questions being asked. Instead, she thought back to the pictures shown earlier on the big projector screen and the statements made by Detectives Conrad and Downer. Once they mentioned something about claw marks and puncture wounds, her mind went back to the events of last spring as a lot of murder victims had similar wounds on their bodies. Her mind immediately suspected that it was Vincent's doing. There wasn't anyone else that she knew who had sharp claws. Unless, Gabe knew of other beasts in the city. Impossible! Tess thought that Muirfield had most of their experiments killed off. There couldn't be other beasts roaming around the city, even around the world! It wasn't possible, right?
The mentioning of the puncture holes were an intriguing part of the investigation. Based on J.T.'s past reports on his best friend, Vincent never killed innocent people. And if he killed someone, his methodology didn't include leaving puncture marks on any part of the victim's body. It was more like deep scratch marks on either the chest or the stomach area. She remembered she saw that kind of wounds on Vincent's victims when she had to investigate mysterious murders last year. At that moment, she concluded that it can't be Vincent, it was not his style to kill someone like that.
Before she knew it, her mind snapped back to reality as the long-haired woman saw that people were starting to file out from the good-size office. Was I completely in a daze? Tess pondered as she began to collect her stuff. As she turned to walk out, a voice coming from behind stopped her in her tracks.
"Detective Vargas, would I like a word with you alone?"