Hayden opened the car door and got out into the pouring rain. One of the other cops, a young man named Bron Breakker, came running to offer his umbrella. She liked the newest hire Bron. He knew how to respect everyone without looking too desperate. This time it didn't matter much. She had already been in the rain before entering her car. Her long, umber brown hair was already sticking to her coat and face. She settled her honey brown eyes on Bron and accepted the umbrella nonetheless.
"Bless your heart, kid," she smiled. "Has AJ arrived yet?"
"He's over by the body," he pointed.
"Thank you. Stand guard. Don't let anyone near, especially not the press if they show up. I can't deal with those vultures right now," she said.
"On it, boss," he said.
She walked over to the small group of coworkers around the body. AJ was standing under his own umbrella with a sad look on his face.
"If this job starts getting to you, you need a desk job instead," she said.
"Funny," AJ said sarcastically. "It's my kid's birthday. I was in the middle of cutting the cake when we got the call."
"Which one?" She asked.
"If I tell you the name, will you even know which one it is?" He asked.
"Only if it's your daughter since you only have one of those as far as I remember. I can never be completely sure with how you like to fuck like rabbits," she said.
She smirked at him and he smirked back. Of course she knew all of his children's names. It was just a way of trying to lighten the mood with a dead body in front of them.
"Do we know who she is?" She asked.
"According to her ID, her name is Nikkita Lyons," he said.
She looked at the blonde, curly woman on the ground. She was wearing green pants and a black bra. She had been stapped in her stomach several times. By first glance, it didn't appear to be a sex crime but they couldn't know for sure yet. Some killers dressed their victims again after killing them.
"Poor girl," she sighed. "She looks to have been stapped 8-10 times. Anything out of the ordinary?"
"Her tongue is missing," he said.
She stared at him. They both shared a moment of realization for a brief second before she pursed her lips together.
"Fuck!" She said sharply.
"We can't know for sure it's him," he said.
"It's the one thing we didn't tell the press to avoid copycats. You know once they examine her body, they're gonna find a letter carved into one of her buttocks. I'll bet you a late night burrito on that," she said.
"You're on," he chuckled. "Take her away, boys. Quickly before the press arrives. The rain must be delaying them so let's move quickly."
Hayden leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She was back at the station, waiting to hear anything about Nikkita. She jumped when something was slammed down on the table in front of her. She opened her eyes and saw AJ standing there with a burrito in one hand and the other one on the table in front of her.
"You win," he said.
"I knew it," she said. "What was the letter?"
"V," he said.
She picked up her burrito, unwrapped the top, and took a bite.
"Carmella had an I," she said.
"Don't talk with food in your mouth," he said.
"I'm not one of your kids. You can't tell me what to do," she said.
He chuckled while unwrapping his own burrito. She chewed and swallowed before continuing.
"So we got an I and a V. Maybe he's spelling his name. What names start with that? Ivar. Ivan," she said.
"Iver, Iverson, Ives," he said. "And there's probably many more from other countries we don't know of."
"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," she said. "For now. We'll get him or her."
"Way more girl names with those two letters," he said.
"Shut up and eat," she said. "We'll get whoever it is. One day they'll mess up. Most of them end up messing up."