"Good Saturday morning, Big Apple! You're listening to WAXQ, 104.3, Your Classic Rock station, and we've made it halfway into the six o'clock hour. You just heard 'Born in the U.S.A.' by the one and only Boss, Bruce Springsteen. If that won't get you out of bed, nothing will…"
Flinging her arm across her clock radio, Olivia fumbled for the button that would save her from the offensive sleep interference. Cursing herself for neglecting to turn off her alarm the night before her day off, she rolled over to her side and tried to return to the land of Nod. It only took moments for her to realize that the effort was pointless, as sounds of traffic and sirens came from below, penetrating her ears. Throwing back the covers, she staggered tiredly into the bathroom. Washing last night's make-up from her face she tried to recall at which point she'd moved from the couch to the bedroom. The only thing she remembered was how chilly her feet were and how good it felt to toast them underneath the down comforter in bed.
Most mornings she didn't have time for a breakfast that was more than half a bagel or yogurt, so a leisurely morning like this called for two boiled eggs with juice. The only roadblock to that fantasy was how pathetically empty her refrigerator was. The only eggs her fridge was sporting these days had an expiration date from nearly a month before and the juice carton was two swallows away from empty.
Olivia sighed. She felt like her home resembled that of a twenty-something bachelor more than that of a thirty-something career woman. Settling for a filling meal of "nothing", she hopped into the shower with plans of hitting the bodega on the corner to restock her kitchen with the essentials.
As usual, her plans for herself didn't last long. Just as she was toweling off she could hear her cell phone ringing from her purse. Crossing her fingers it was a wrong number, she threw on her robe and raced to the kitchen counter.
"Hello?"
"Good morning, Sunshine. I'm relieved that you sound as though you were already up?"
Olivia's brows furrowed. Hearing Munch's voice this early in the morning could only mean one thing.
"You got lucky this time, John," Olivia teased. "So…I take it you're not just giving me a wake-up call?"
"Hmm…very perceptive." Suddenly the niceties were over—Olivia heard a drop in his voice as he became deadly serious. "We've got a vic down here—"
"Wait a sec…I thought you and Fin were catchin' last night. Where's Fin?"
"He's here, but we thought you might be able to help us out. We're just west of Lafayette and Houston."
Olivia paused as the address was absorbed. "Lafayette and Houston? But John, that's—"
"—Just three blocks from you, I know," John read her mind. "Figured since this one's so close to home you'd wanna give us your input. Feel like gracing us with your presence?"
"Let me get ready and I'll be right there."
"Thanks. See you soon."
Leaving her apartment building 15 minutes later, Olivia practically jogged down Houston. In the far west distance she could see the collection of cars parked in front of Schank's Deli Meats—mostly emergency vehicles, but the one that caught her eye first was the coroner's car.
"Shit," thought Olivia. Naturally, she'd been hoping for a live victim. In fact, she thought that was one of the reasons John had called her. Many times female vics will only talk to a female cop. She just assumed someone had requested her presence because the living victim needed to speak with a different detective.
A small alleyway separated Schank's Deli Meats from a twenty-four hour copy store. Judging from the level of activity near the alley entrance, Olivia flashed her badge to the uniform standing guard and stepped under the yellow tape into the crime scene. It was a narrow alley, no more than ten feet wide. Just enough room for some small trashcans and storage for the adjacent businesses. The back of the alley was a dead-end, blocked off by an old wooden fence. On her left she could see a few planks of wood leaned up against the concrete copy store building. On her right, she spotted Munch giving instructions to a couple of uni's searching the area around the backdoor of the brick deli. Fin was at the rear, near the wooden fence, talking to Melinda Warner over a covered body. The body screen was open to expose the victim's left arm. The two saw Olivia approaching and greeted her silently.
Fin gave a small smile and said, "Hey, thanks for coming."
"No problem," Olivia offered. "I heard sirens this morning, but you know this city—you never know where they're headed. Had I known I would have been here earlier." She scanned the body screen and bruised arm. "What have we got?"
Warner pulled the screen away from the victim's face while she spoke. "Fin tells me they're still searching for ID, but as of right now, 'Jane Doe' looks to be in her late teens, maybe early twenties. Raped and murdered. Cause of death still under investigation, but I'd say we're pretty safe in guessing asphyxiation, judging by the marking on her neck." Fin watched Melinda, listening intently. Warner indicated with her fingers a faint mark in the shape of a line mid-neck. Without looking up she continued, "She was most likely strangled by a long, narrow object. We'll know more as the markings darken over the next couple hours. Whatever it was, I'd bet it was made out of wood. Looks like she's got small slivers in her skin near the contusion. Our girl's a fighter, too. Before you arrived I was showing Detective Tutuola that I could see skin under the fingernails."
Turning to continue her assessment to the detectives, Melinda could no longer see Olivia. "Where'd she go?"
"Huh?…What?" Fin finally looked up also, surprised to see Olivia had stepped away with her back turned. She had her hands up to her mouth and was shaking her head, obviously upset.
"Olivia—" Fin jumped up and stepped towards her. Indicating to Warner to give them a moment, he touched Olivia's shoulder with concern to turn her pale face towards him. Fin asked, "Olivia, what's wrong? Are you gonna be sick?"
Keeping her hands on her face, Olivia shook her head an affirmative 'no'. "I—I know her. She lives in my building."
"Ah, man, I'm so sorry. Did you know her well?"
"No. Not very. We spoke at the mailboxes, in the hallway, that sort of thing."
"Olivia, look at me. Do you know her name?"
She nodded her head and tried to open her eyes. "Her name is Andrea. I don't remember her last name, but I'm sure it's on the directory of my building." A sob choked in her throat. "God, I just saw her last night. Just. last. night." Tears rolled down her cheek. She was battling to regain her composure.
Fin grabbed her shoulders and helped her sit down against the brick wall. "Here, hon, it's okay. Let's just take a breather." Knowing Olivia would not want anyone to see her this way, he left to give her some privacy.
Calling Munch and Melinda over, he relayed the information she had given him. A few minutes later, Olivia joined them and the look on her face told them that she had regrouped. She was now focused and more than ready to catch the bastard who'd done this to Andrea.
Munch addressed Melinda, "Any idea how long she's been gone?"
"Judging from the cool temperatures and level of rigor mortis I'd say at least five hours, maybe more. I'll give you a better estimate once I take her back to the lab." With that, the doctor turned back to her team, giving them instructions on preparing the body for transportation.
"Five hours," Munch considered. "That puts us at about two or three o'clock this morning. Wonder what she was doing out at that hour."
The group was silent for not even a moment when Olivia stepped in. "I spoke to Andrea last night on my way home. She was headed out for some party in Soho. Said she'd just bought a karaoke machine and was going to take pictures of her friends making fools of themselves."
"We didn't find a camera on her—perp must have stolen it," Fin offered.
"She was using her cell phone camera. Did you find her phone?"
"Nah, not yet anyways. If the perp stole her wallet, he probably took the phone, too."
Munch's face lit up as he declared, clapping Fin on the back, "Don't sound so glum, partner. True, we'd like to have the phone for the photos, but if our guy does have the phone and is stupid enough to use it…"
Olivia and Fin knew exactly where Munch was going with this and they all headed out to follow their potential lead.
"I'll go back to my building, start interviewing the neighbors," Olivia presented.
"We'll go report to the Captain and touch base later," Fin said over his shoulder to her as he opened the sedan door.