Rage: The Thunder Rolls
By Tanya Reed
Disclaimer: I still don't own Due South.
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As Fraser walked into the 27th Precinct, something was nagging at him. He didn't know what it was, just that something was...not right. His mind was so intent on puzzling out his feeling that he did not see any of the young--and not so young--ladies batting their eyelashes his way.
Diefenbaker, however, took advantage of his distracted state to coax two donuts and a cookie from the station's occupants.
"Hi, Fraser!" Detective Ray Vecchio smiled, lighting up his eyes, as he saw his friend approach.
"Good morning, Ray."
"Something wrong, Benny?" Ray asked as Fraser sat.
"No, nothing." He pushed the sense of wrongness away, focusing on Ray and the wolf sitting on his foot. "What is on the agenda for today?"
Ray frowned. "It's not pretty. Someone murdered a hooker near that run down apartment building you live in."
"Did this prostitute have a name?"
"Aimee something."
Quickly, Fraser ran through the names of the young streetwalkers he knew. Aimee didn't seem to be among them. Still, somebody's daughter had died, someone with a mother, father, sisters, brothers.
"How?"
"Strangulation. She was found in an alley two blocks from your place." Ray took out some pictures and handed them across the desk.
Fraser took them and clinically searched for clues. The girl was about eighteen with long blond hair. From the angle of the bruises on her neck, the assailant had to be at least 6'3, or she had been sitting on a chair when she died. One of her white shoes was missing, the other lacked a heel; her dress was shredded and torn.
Near the body was something in the dirt, but it was only in one photograph, and that was not very clear.
"What is that, Ray?"
"What's what?"
Fraser handed the picture back and pointed to it. "A blip on the camera?"
"I don't think so."
"Well, maybe a good look at the crime scene will clue us in. Ready, Benny?"
Fraser gave a nod and got to his feet. Diefenbaker stood up as well, vacating Fraser's shoe. Together, the three of them left the station, Fraser forgetting that something had been bothering him.
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The area was deserted when they got there. Yellow police tape blocked off the alley and there was a faint disturbance where they found the girl's body. Fraser's eyes roamed the alley carefully, taking it in. The missing heel lay by a trashcan, but other than that --on the surface--it seemed as if nothing had happened there. He walked slowly around the alley, stopping occasionally to look at the dirt and broken pavement. Most of the evidence had been obliterated by the feet of the Chicago PD.
"The body was found here, Ray?"
"Yup."
Fraser knelt and examined the ground. There, buried in the dirt, he found what he had seen in the picture. Triumphantly, he held it up for inspection.
"What's that?"
"It seems to be a piece of pen or automatic pencil." He licked it, ignoring Ray's gag face.
"Traces of ink, not lead. The pieces are sharp so it was broken recently. There are traces of blood here, it was broken on flesh. Also, Ray, note the style. Not everyone would carry a pen like this."
"Fancy."
"Very."
"So, Benny, we find out who sells these things and it gives us a head start."
"If we cannot get any identifiable fingerprints, that would be the next logical step."
As the two of them headed towards the Riv, Ray remembered something he had heard through the grapevine. "Hey, I heard the Dragon Lady had a hot date the other night."
"Ray, I've asked you not to call her that."
"Yeah, well, Inspector Thatcher, then. This big business man that Elaine knows was bragging about it to her. Guess it was the whole nine yards--dinner, dancing, and you know what comes next."
"Next?"
Ray just rolled his eyes. "Wonder what it took to thaw her out."
"Ray, I don't think it is appropriate to discuss..."
"Lighten up, Benny. Don't you even want to know his name?"
"No."
"Yes, you do."
"I most certainly do not."
"Oh, yes, you do. His name's Glen Burrell. He's a rich guy with enough dough to have apartments in three cities. He's also Canadian." Ray nudged Fraser.
"What the Inspector does in her spare time is none of my business. Now shall we find out who the vendor is for this particular pen?"
"Sure, Benny. Whatever you say."
Fraser followed Ray to the Riv feeling slightly annoyed. He wasn't sure if the annoyance came from Ray's teasing or from the fact that Ray had thought he would be interested in the details of Inspector Thatcher's date. He wasn't. Not at all. Well, not really. Um...maybe a little, but that was no reason for Ray to be talking about 'thawing out the Dragon Lady'.
They rode back to the station in silence, though Ray had a wide grin on his face. Fraser had turned his mind from the teasing and was ruminating on the murder. He was going over the few scarce clues. There had been a remaining scent in the alley along with the piece of pen. It was a brand of aftershave--also not cheap. It had a strong, musky odor, one that lingered long after the man wearing it was gone. Obviously, they were looking for a very tall rich man with a distinctive smell.
Elaine smiled at them when they came from the lab, where the print tests had proved inconclusive, her eyes sparkling.
"Hey, guys."
"Hi, Elaine." Ray was all business once more. "Can you get me a list of stores that might sell a pen like...where's the pen, Benny?"
Fraser searched his pockets and came out with the fractured pen. This he gave to Elaine, who grinned at him and said to Ray, "It might take me awhile."
"Thank you kindly, Elaine."
"Anytime, Frase. Ray, you owe me one."
"Yeah, yeah. Add it to my tab. We'll be in the Riv. Call us if you find anything."
"Where are we going, Ray?" Fraser asked as they left the station once more.
"Lunch." Ray grinned. "We can't do anything until Elaine gets that list of stores, and I'm starving. Frannie was on the warpath this morning, so I slipped out without breakfast."
"Understood." Fraser had seen some of Ray and Frannie's fights, and a person would be crazy not to want to avoid one of them. It always amazed him how two people could love each other so much and be so vicious to each other. "Oh, and Ray?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we drop by the Consulate on the way? I forgot something this morning."
"What? Hair gel?" At Fraser's level look, he laughed and answered, "Sure, Benny. Whatever you want."