Chain of Darkness
Chapter Five--
**********
The apartment that was quiet just a few hours ago now buzzed with activity. Police officers had taped off the surrounding area as a crime scene, and a small group of curious neighbors stood to the side speculating amongst themselves.
Matt pulled his car up as close as possible, and stepped into the chilly night. Looking around he spotted the supervising officer and ducked under the yellow tape.
"Detective Harrison, homicide, " he said flashing his badge.
The officer nodded "Right this way, Detectives." He led them up the iron staircase to the open door at the top. The room inside was filled with cops and CSI dusting for fingerprints. They worked their way past them into the small kitchen. The coroner was crouching down next to a body lying on the floor.
"What have we got here?" Matt asked him as he pulled out a pen and a small notepad.
"An approximately twenty-five year old male, stiffness in all extremities. Rigor mortis is setting in—I estimate about five hours since death. His lips are blue and discolored, and his throat is swollen. This means that not only was he deprived of oxygen, but also probably ingested some type of poisonous substance. I'm thinking that whatever he consumed caused his throat to swell. From the stains on his shirt he appears to have been sweating heavily, most likely from the convulsions that eventually killed him."
"What type of poison are you talking about?"
"I can't determine that until after an autopsy, but whatever it was it was very strong and worked fast. I was told his shift ended about seven hours ago, but from the stage of Rigor mortis I can tell that he died less than two hours later. There was also a considerable amount of vomit in the bathroom—usually most of the poison is expelled and serious problems or death is postponed a bit. Not in this case," he finished as he stood up.
"How long until the autopsy will be completed?" Sam asked. He watched the coroner shrug his shoulders.
"I can have the poison type in a few hours. The rest of the autopsy will take a while longer. I can start now if I can bag him and get him out of here."
"Of course. We need those results ASAP."
The coroner nodded and motioned some men to bring a large black body bag over. Lying it down on the floor they carefully placed the body inside and zipped it up. A gurney rolled in and the heavy bag was set on top and rolled out. All that was left in the kitchen was the yellow tape marking how the young man had fell.
Matt sighed, "Ok, Sam. Lets get to work."
**********
Bosco woke to the loud beeping of his alarm clock. He hit the snooze button and rolled over in bed with a groan.
Yesterday had sucked.
He had been hung over most of the uneventful day and Faith had spent hours psychoanalyzing him. She wanted him to stop thinking about what happened, learn from the situation, and move on. He couldn't make her understand if he tried. Sure, he'd lost a few perps before but never a murderer.
His headache had refused to go away even after aspirin and coffee, which made him more nauseous. Even when he thought things couldn't get any worse, his long-lost brother Mikey had called and left a mournful message on his answering machine. He needed money he'd said, for his heating bill. But Bosco knew otherwise. His little brother would go buy drugs. And he wasn't about to supply him with drug money. Just the phone call had been enough to drudge up bad memories that he'd tried to forget.
Yep, yesterday had sucked.
He felt much better today though, and decided to take a run to work instead of driving like he usually did. The snow on the roads made a satisfactory crunching sound as he ran and his breath was white in the cold air.
Today he had promised himself that he'd put on a happy face—If only to avoid the comments from his coworkers. He'd do what he always did; bury his problems and act as if nothing bothered him. But he still couldn't get over the fact that he'd screwed up and a murderer was loose on the streets. These streets. He could see small children playing on a school playground, oblivious to the world and its many problems. Because of him, they were in danger.
'Think', he told himself. 'Think, Bosco. What did you do wrong?'
But no answer would come, and his mind concentrated on the sounds of his running body. The pulsation of his heartbeat. The rhythmic pounding of his feet hitting the pavement.
Running was far easier than thinking.
**********
Faith pulled her hair back in a twist and secured it with a clip. Roll call was in five minutes and as usual, Bosco was nowhere to be found.
"Com'on, Bos." She whispered under her breath. The last thing he needed was another disciplinary. She hoped he wouldn't turn up like he had yesterday, she hated when he was in a foul mood.
She tossed her gym bag into her locker and locked it up just as Bosco burst into the room, out of breath. His hair was pasted to his forehead with sweat and his cheeks were rosy with exertion.
He started yanking his clothes off, throwing them to the floor. Faith looked at her watch. Roll call was in three minutes. He pulled on his pants and vest, struggling with the straps. She could hear him cursing softly under his breath. The vest finally cooperated and he jerked his shirt on and buttoned it up hastily. As he finished he turned to face Faith, jumped up, and threw his hands up into a victory clasp above his head.
"Ha! Didn't think I'd make it did ya?" he glanced at the clock on the wall, "You see? One and one-half minutes left! Boscorelli is back!"
His had such a proud look on his face that Faith couldn't help but laugh. He was right; Boscorelli was back. But not the way he meant it. His smile was back and that's all that mattered to her.
"Let's go, Bos," she chuckled, "wouldn't want you to be late for roll call after all that, huh?"
"Screw roll call, I must have beat every record for a full clothes change!" he playfully nudged her with his elbow as they made their way through the hall.
**********
The roll call room was nearly full as Bosco slid into a seat near the back. Faith had found a place a row ahead of him. He fidgeted in his seat as Christopher finished up his daily updates, praying silently that he wouldn't mention anything about him. Christopher seemed to take great pleasure in pointing out flaws in anyone's poor judgment, but he picked on Bosco the most. He heaved a sigh of relief as he left the podium and the Lieutenant stepped up.
"Okay, listen up. Two day ago we all mourned the loss of our fellow comrade to a senseless crime. As many of you know, Officer Barry was murdered the other night while on his shift. Today another tragedy has occurred," he paused, "I'm sad to announce that Officer Michael Jacobsen was found dead in his apartment early this morning."
The quiet room erupted with soft murmurs of astonishment. Faith turned back and looked at Bosco. She was just as surprised as he was. He leaned forward, his eyes wide. "Shit, Faith! That's two in three days!" he said in a harsh whisper.
The Lieutenant leaned on the podium and continued, "We just received the report from the county coroner and it appears that Jacobson was lethally poisoned. Now, we aren't sure if these two murders have anything in common at all, but until we have more information I want all of you all to be on high alert. Keep your eyes and ears open and immediately report anything that looks suspicious. Watch your partner's back." His eyes wandered from face to face as if willing them to be careful. The possibility of a serial cop killer was heavy on his mind. He glanced down at his notes and cleared his throat.
"One more thing, due to lack of evidence, we have yet to put out a detailed APB on Tuesday's escaped murderer."
Bosco swore under his breath—They had to bring that up. He could see Christopher out of the corner of his eye. He was shaking his head and sneering at him. Bosco narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest.
"As soon as we have more information you will be notified. Please be careful out there today and have a safe shift." The Lieutenant gave them a quick nod and stepped down.
Faith watched as Christopher and the Lieutenant left the room. She turned around and saw Bosco had gotten up and was making his way towards the door. She sighed and followed him outside to the car, hoping he would stay in a good mood today.
**********
TBC... Thanx for all of the great reveiws! It really helps motivate me to write more! I have a bit more written, so if you want it.... you know what to do :)
Chapter Five--
**********
The apartment that was quiet just a few hours ago now buzzed with activity. Police officers had taped off the surrounding area as a crime scene, and a small group of curious neighbors stood to the side speculating amongst themselves.
Matt pulled his car up as close as possible, and stepped into the chilly night. Looking around he spotted the supervising officer and ducked under the yellow tape.
"Detective Harrison, homicide, " he said flashing his badge.
The officer nodded "Right this way, Detectives." He led them up the iron staircase to the open door at the top. The room inside was filled with cops and CSI dusting for fingerprints. They worked their way past them into the small kitchen. The coroner was crouching down next to a body lying on the floor.
"What have we got here?" Matt asked him as he pulled out a pen and a small notepad.
"An approximately twenty-five year old male, stiffness in all extremities. Rigor mortis is setting in—I estimate about five hours since death. His lips are blue and discolored, and his throat is swollen. This means that not only was he deprived of oxygen, but also probably ingested some type of poisonous substance. I'm thinking that whatever he consumed caused his throat to swell. From the stains on his shirt he appears to have been sweating heavily, most likely from the convulsions that eventually killed him."
"What type of poison are you talking about?"
"I can't determine that until after an autopsy, but whatever it was it was very strong and worked fast. I was told his shift ended about seven hours ago, but from the stage of Rigor mortis I can tell that he died less than two hours later. There was also a considerable amount of vomit in the bathroom—usually most of the poison is expelled and serious problems or death is postponed a bit. Not in this case," he finished as he stood up.
"How long until the autopsy will be completed?" Sam asked. He watched the coroner shrug his shoulders.
"I can have the poison type in a few hours. The rest of the autopsy will take a while longer. I can start now if I can bag him and get him out of here."
"Of course. We need those results ASAP."
The coroner nodded and motioned some men to bring a large black body bag over. Lying it down on the floor they carefully placed the body inside and zipped it up. A gurney rolled in and the heavy bag was set on top and rolled out. All that was left in the kitchen was the yellow tape marking how the young man had fell.
Matt sighed, "Ok, Sam. Lets get to work."
**********
Bosco woke to the loud beeping of his alarm clock. He hit the snooze button and rolled over in bed with a groan.
Yesterday had sucked.
He had been hung over most of the uneventful day and Faith had spent hours psychoanalyzing him. She wanted him to stop thinking about what happened, learn from the situation, and move on. He couldn't make her understand if he tried. Sure, he'd lost a few perps before but never a murderer.
His headache had refused to go away even after aspirin and coffee, which made him more nauseous. Even when he thought things couldn't get any worse, his long-lost brother Mikey had called and left a mournful message on his answering machine. He needed money he'd said, for his heating bill. But Bosco knew otherwise. His little brother would go buy drugs. And he wasn't about to supply him with drug money. Just the phone call had been enough to drudge up bad memories that he'd tried to forget.
Yep, yesterday had sucked.
He felt much better today though, and decided to take a run to work instead of driving like he usually did. The snow on the roads made a satisfactory crunching sound as he ran and his breath was white in the cold air.
Today he had promised himself that he'd put on a happy face—If only to avoid the comments from his coworkers. He'd do what he always did; bury his problems and act as if nothing bothered him. But he still couldn't get over the fact that he'd screwed up and a murderer was loose on the streets. These streets. He could see small children playing on a school playground, oblivious to the world and its many problems. Because of him, they were in danger.
'Think', he told himself. 'Think, Bosco. What did you do wrong?'
But no answer would come, and his mind concentrated on the sounds of his running body. The pulsation of his heartbeat. The rhythmic pounding of his feet hitting the pavement.
Running was far easier than thinking.
**********
Faith pulled her hair back in a twist and secured it with a clip. Roll call was in five minutes and as usual, Bosco was nowhere to be found.
"Com'on, Bos." She whispered under her breath. The last thing he needed was another disciplinary. She hoped he wouldn't turn up like he had yesterday, she hated when he was in a foul mood.
She tossed her gym bag into her locker and locked it up just as Bosco burst into the room, out of breath. His hair was pasted to his forehead with sweat and his cheeks were rosy with exertion.
He started yanking his clothes off, throwing them to the floor. Faith looked at her watch. Roll call was in three minutes. He pulled on his pants and vest, struggling with the straps. She could hear him cursing softly under his breath. The vest finally cooperated and he jerked his shirt on and buttoned it up hastily. As he finished he turned to face Faith, jumped up, and threw his hands up into a victory clasp above his head.
"Ha! Didn't think I'd make it did ya?" he glanced at the clock on the wall, "You see? One and one-half minutes left! Boscorelli is back!"
His had such a proud look on his face that Faith couldn't help but laugh. He was right; Boscorelli was back. But not the way he meant it. His smile was back and that's all that mattered to her.
"Let's go, Bos," she chuckled, "wouldn't want you to be late for roll call after all that, huh?"
"Screw roll call, I must have beat every record for a full clothes change!" he playfully nudged her with his elbow as they made their way through the hall.
**********
The roll call room was nearly full as Bosco slid into a seat near the back. Faith had found a place a row ahead of him. He fidgeted in his seat as Christopher finished up his daily updates, praying silently that he wouldn't mention anything about him. Christopher seemed to take great pleasure in pointing out flaws in anyone's poor judgment, but he picked on Bosco the most. He heaved a sigh of relief as he left the podium and the Lieutenant stepped up.
"Okay, listen up. Two day ago we all mourned the loss of our fellow comrade to a senseless crime. As many of you know, Officer Barry was murdered the other night while on his shift. Today another tragedy has occurred," he paused, "I'm sad to announce that Officer Michael Jacobsen was found dead in his apartment early this morning."
The quiet room erupted with soft murmurs of astonishment. Faith turned back and looked at Bosco. She was just as surprised as he was. He leaned forward, his eyes wide. "Shit, Faith! That's two in three days!" he said in a harsh whisper.
The Lieutenant leaned on the podium and continued, "We just received the report from the county coroner and it appears that Jacobson was lethally poisoned. Now, we aren't sure if these two murders have anything in common at all, but until we have more information I want all of you all to be on high alert. Keep your eyes and ears open and immediately report anything that looks suspicious. Watch your partner's back." His eyes wandered from face to face as if willing them to be careful. The possibility of a serial cop killer was heavy on his mind. He glanced down at his notes and cleared his throat.
"One more thing, due to lack of evidence, we have yet to put out a detailed APB on Tuesday's escaped murderer."
Bosco swore under his breath—They had to bring that up. He could see Christopher out of the corner of his eye. He was shaking his head and sneering at him. Bosco narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms across his chest.
"As soon as we have more information you will be notified. Please be careful out there today and have a safe shift." The Lieutenant gave them a quick nod and stepped down.
Faith watched as Christopher and the Lieutenant left the room. She turned around and saw Bosco had gotten up and was making his way towards the door. She sighed and followed him outside to the car, hoping he would stay in a good mood today.
**********
TBC... Thanx for all of the great reveiws! It really helps motivate me to write more! I have a bit more written, so if you want it.... you know what to do :)