thank you all for the kind reviews, they really are fuel for my train of thoughts going on :)
also big thanks to all of you who are still interested in this story, and I really hope you sit comfortable in the train of mine because... big mission is coming!
Chapter 17 – Undercover Operation
The life was great. If it was not for crimes and other types of disturbance, Gail would say the life was perfect. Until Luke Callaghan appeared at the parade, which usually meant murders. And it really did. The blond detective briefly explained the recent cases of six murder victims, so the uniforms should be careful with sharp eyes since two of the victims were Toronto residents.
The two trackers were called to Frank's office and the blonde noticed there was also Percy waiting for them. "This looks serious," she said looking from one man to another.
"Six murders within the last three months. The last victim was found a week ago," explained Percy and looked straight at his friend. "We need you Pris, we need a good tracker with even better mind."
"What can you say about the victims?" asked Gail.
"All females around thirty," responded Luke. "They were found in Oshawa, Belleville, Kingston, Brockville, Smiths Falls and Perth, buried under maple tree with one leaf marking their heads."
Priscilla frowned and looked at her old partner. "Do we have a copycat here?"
He shrugged. "I don't think so. Rockwood was executed six months ago."
"Reincarnation?" suggested Gail. Her trainer shot at her a stern glare . "What? During the last year I have witnessed so many supernatural things, I wouldn't wonder."
"Let's try to be normal here," implied the older woman.
"You are the one to talk."
"Then let me be the only supernatural here."
"You are not," said the Montreal detective. "And you won't like it."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's wait for –"
A woman entered the door. "Hi," she greeted with her charming smile.
"– Holly, yes," Percy finished his sentence.
The pathologist offered her a quick smile and looked at the Staff Sergeant, pointing to the windows she asked, "May I?" The man nodded and she quickly closed the blindfolds.
"It will get worse," commented the tracker watching her best friend.
"Yes. The homicides are connected. They show the same patterns of cuts. I assume the murderer might be a doctor, most likely pathologist, because the cuts are clean with high precision that can be gained by every day's job." She placed some pictures of cut injuries on the chests which looked very similar. "The cause of death was tearing out the still beating heart."
The blond officer felt her hair on the nape stand up. "What connected the victims in life?"
"Blond women, 27-34 years old," Luke pulled out his notepad from a back pocket. "The woman found in Oshawa lived here in Toronto, Belleville victim used to visit her parents in Toronto every other weekend. Kingston girl was happily married spending her whole life there. The victim in Brockville was a business woman from Ottawa. And the victim in Perth we are still investigating, but so far we know she was from Toronto, spending a good time in the countryside with her boyfriend.
"When we investigated their families they did not know each other and there was nothing in common. Except the look, age and so far no children, there is no other connection to them."
"So they are random picks. What about the victim from Smiths Falls?" asked Priscilla frowning.
"She is quite a mystery. We haven't been able to find her family yet."
"You will not like it," said Percy tentatively with a knowing grimace.
The brunette looked from her old partner to the doctor, who shook her head and placed the photos on the desk one by one. The women all had blond hair, blue eyes except the last one whose were poked out.
"What is wrong with this one?" asked Gail. She could hear a light growling by her side which was getting stronger by every second.
"Her eyes were amber," said Holly tentatively. "That's why I assume they were removed."
Priscilla slammed her hands on the table, clenching the edge, her body was all tenses and her hands looked like in cramp. She bent her head snarling.
"Dr Stewart, can you explain the yellow eyes?" asked Luke curiously. "Or were they just lens?"
"The woman was a lycanthrope," said the doctor tenderly not leaving her eyes from her best friend. "I went through her medical file and she had several signs of lycanthropy."
"You mean like a werewolf?" wondered the blond detective confused. "That is a little sci-fi."
"Welcome to my world," Priscilla looked up and him and he jumped back hitting the glass door. His face was full of terror and if he could he would disappear or at least wake up from a nightmare.
"No, lycanthrope, Detective Callaghan. The brain function is a little different in case of these people, with reduced sight but increased smell and hearing, also their physiology is slightly different, nevertheless lycans cannot shape shift into a wolf form."
"Gentlemen," said Percy in the softest voice he could. He looked from Luke to Frank who was frozen on the chair, his eyes wide yet he was not surprised. "I recommend you to calm down before screaming."
"Pris," said Gail gently and bent to her colleague. She noticed the yellow eyes and instinctively made a step back. She was used to the weird eye colour changing but only from blue to grey or green. This amber colour she had seen very rarely and only for a few seconds. "I guess you are totally pissed off," remarked the younger constable.
Holly came close to her best friend and placed her hand on the other woman's back. "Take a deep breath in and hold it." Priscilla did as she was told while the doctor watched her watch. "Hold still." After a whole minute the scientist let her breathe out.
"That was new," said the brunette tracker, shaking her head, her eyes were back to the usual navy blue colour. "Sorry guys, that was unexpected even for me," the oldest woman apologised.
"And I thought after seeing so many gross murders, nothing can surprise me," said Luke visibly relaxed now.
Holly's phone rang, she picked it up and went to the other side of the room.
"Is she from Smiths Falls?" asked Priscilla.
"Yes," said Percy. "Honestly I don't think she was picked up because she was a lycan, yet the forensics had to collect her parts and put them together like a jigsaw."
"So, in this case it was a crime of passion? Or maybe extra chopping from fear?" The two detectives nodded. "Splendid. And you want me to track the killer." The two men agreed again.
"And Peck would be the bait," said Luke. "She is great as undercover person. She can always catch the role she plays."
"No way," protested the training officer.
"Peck?" asked Frank.
Gail stood just like that without moving a muscle. Her last undercover mission ended horribly and she herself still had nightmares from time to time. Alas she was the police officer. "I will do it," she said in shaky voice.
"If you send us both, you will have no tracker here," Priscilla kept protesting.
"Finding this killer is the top priority," said the Staff Sergeant. "Peck is the killer's type of victims and sending two sniffers increases the chance to catch the bastard."
The doctor joined the group with pensive expression.
"Holly?" asked the Montreal detective. "What did you find out?"
"My intern went through the toxicology again and she found high level of MDMA and dopamine."
"So they were sexually assaulted?" asked Priscilla frowned.
"Not necessarily. With the level they had, they might be more than willing."
"So someone drugged them, shagged them and tore out their hearts."
"Pretty much," the scientist nodded. "Except the lycanthrope girl, she was dead within half an hour after she was drugged."
"Bloody hell, that's fast. What kind of cocktail was it?"
"Very strong one and very deadly for someone who is allergic to chemicals. Obviously we are dealing with a very avid sexual deviant with a degree in chemistry. The drug was home-made."
"Oi, if there was sex involved you should be able to pull out DNA," noted Priscilla.
"The victims were… cleaned, disinfected. There was no foreign DNA."
"Just great and you want to send this kid into the mess," said Priscilla with a small growl, tilting her head towards her ward. "What is your brilliant plan then?" She looked at the three men thoroughly.
The Staff Sergeant stood up and pointed to a map. "We are looking for a traveller from Toronto to either Ottawa or Montreal." He started drawing lines and noted to the. "According to what we know, the murderer was on the way to Montreal, and his victims were found in Oshawa," he made circles in the line, "Belleville, Kingston, Brockville. I assume that here might be the time when media announced a serial killer, because he changed the direction up to North and headed to Ottawa. Next victims were here in Smiths Falls and Perth."
"Why not Kempt Ville or Carleton?" asked the blond constable.
"Do I look like a serial killer, Peck?
"No Sir, but this can mean the killer might go back to Toronto."
"It will be Ottawa for some time," said her trainer.
"Why do you think so?"
"Big city, grand city, capital city. More victims to satisfy their needs, which means more dead people."
"So, who are we looking for?" asked the youngest officer.
"Someone with needles in their bag. All victims had a punctured wound between their ribs," said Holly.
"That is good," said Frank optimistically. "We know it's a pathologist with degree in chemistry and drugged needles around."
"Yeah, right," said Priscilla sardonically and folded her arms on her chest. She looked at her best friend. "How do you usually introduce yourself when you are making a move on someone?"
The other brunette chuckled and with her typical lopsided grin, responded, "That I am a scientist or a doctor."
More like 'sexy forensic pathologist with a lunchbox giving medical jurisprudence lesson', thought Gail.
The chocolate skinned man looked confused so Priscilla clarified, "Pathologists won't introduce themselves as pathologists. It is not a very attractive job. Big brains, many ideas, many options, many lies or just general statements."
"But you would know if someone lied," offered the blonde woman.
"That is why I want Priscilla on the job," said the dark haired detective.
"What is the time of death between the victims?" the smaller tracker looked up at her best friend.
"The first one is dead for eight weeks, the second victim was killed three days later. The third victim five weeks ago, the fourth three, the fifth ten days and the last one eight days ago," replied the doctor.
"What does this tell us?" asked Frank.
"We are screwed," said the training officer. "There is no pattern. Murders are random."
"I guess we have about two weeks until the next one," thought Percy aloud.
Another woman entered the office. Once she was noted all police workers stood up saluting. "At ease," she said.
"Mother, what are you doing here?" the blonde constable was the first one to speak up.
The senior officer looked at her but turned her attention to the Montreal guy. "Detective Grant, I spoke to the Chief of Police in Ottawa, they are awaiting your arrival."
"Thank you very much, Superintendent."
"So, how do you solve homicides in Montreal?" asked Luke provocatively.
"We send the sniffers and secure the trees," responded the other detective.
"And I will need a team of young people who trust each other," said Priscilla to the boss.
"Who do you have in mind?" asked Frank.
"Epstein for sure, he is a paranoid chameleon, he will be cautious." She came to the window and spread the blind folder. "Diaz, he is cute and people will trust him easily."
"You know the person hunts women," reminded Luke. "Blond women."
"I will take Peck under my wings –or paws," she added in a whisper, then she looked at the senior officer, "unless you get her out of this."
"No!" protested Gail. "I am the right person to go."
"Gail, if they kidnap you again I swear you will spend the rest of your carrier as an office rat," warned the elder woman.
"They would have to go through me first," said Priscilla before her trainee could spit something juicy back to her mother. "I would like to have McNally, she has good instinct but also has a habit of messing up operations."
"She did well at the last one," replied Frank.
"If she messes this up, she will be suspended for good this time. Who is the official guarantor of this mission?"
"Toronto," responded the dark skinned man. "Detective Grant was sent here because of the similarity of the cases. Anyone else?"
"Nash, she can keep the three in line while we will be sniffing around."
"Nash will stay, she has a little boy to take care of." Obviously parenthood made Frank softer. It was understandable, but every police worker must count with the possibility of spending some time away from their family due to a mission and doing greater good.
"So does Percy."
"But missing a mother is more difficult than missing a father."
The Montreal man shrugged. "I consider myself the femme, yet I believe my husband would take a good care of our son." The elder officers stood a little shocked.
"Priscilla," said the blond woman. "Traci can be the base here, she can put things together fast and she is thorough. Take Collins instead."
"What can he do?" asked Percy.
"He is a military soldier," responded the youngest officer. "Lousy boyfriend but he has sharp eye. Do you have a plan?"
The dark haired detective nodded. "Every one of you will be paired up with Ottawa police and placed in each region. The critical will be Kanata because that is the point of arrival, then Downtown and Gloucester-Orleans."
"If the killer really heads to Montreal then the Gatineau must be secured too. Me and Peck will take Downtown," stated the training officer.
"Naturally," smiled Percy. "And the soldier boy could take north if we need any last minute shooting. The rest I don't know."
"Chris is trustworthy," Gail said, looking at her colleagues through the glass window. "He takes the beginning and asks around. People will tell him everything suspicious. Place Dov in Gloucester and Orleans. He can tell when people seem off, and he won't let anyone leave before doing a check out. McNally talks a lot, she has no problem with making friends. Just don't pair her up with a man. Put her in the west Nepean and may she send reports to you."
"And the east part?" asked Luke.
"East Division and the two of us," replied the other detective. "Let's pray nothing will happen there, because so far Ottawa already thinks it's our fault for having a twisted criminal like that as an example and the second to blame is Toronto, because they sent the killer their way."
"Superintendent," called Priscilla. "Could you take us to the top security toys, please?"
"Come with me," before the Montreal people left, Elaine looked at her daughter with a worried smile.
"Callaghan, call the five," said the Staff Sergeant and said into his chair heavily.
The boss clarified the situation to the rest of the youngest officers and explained their tasks. Everyone understood the gravity of this assignment and eagerly nodded, ready to have their job done the best possible way.
They all had three hours to prepare themselves.
The two women arrived home and the officer sat on the sofa letting out a loud sigh. She leaned her head against the backseat closing her eyes. Meantime by the door Holly settled the pad and toys for the wolf-cub she would be taking care off.
"Gail?" asked the doctor holding two cups of tea.
"Thank you," she said taking the mug. "I will be fine. We will be fine." It appeared that she was trying to convince herself more than her partner. "Priscilla is obsessed with security. She would implant a chip in our heads to monitor us."
"Most likely she would let monitor your phones and place bugs in bras and briefs."
"We have two hours before I will have to go," noted the blonde raising her eyebrows suggestively. "It is not a lot of time."
"I am sorry, Gail," the scientist took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "I am in no condition."
"It is alright," purred the younger woman nuzzling her girlfriend's neck. "You just lay down and I will map every part of you for me. I will print it into my brain."
"Gail, I am sorry but –" her trousers were off and shirt already unbuttoned.
"Look at me," commanded the constable gently. Her girlfriend looked up and she continued, "Two weeks, honey, two weeks the least. So just look at me and make love to me like we will be separated for two years."
"That's one horrible idea," said the other woman but chuckled. Gail ran her hand down under the black underwear which caused a moan.
"At least you are in mood now," she teased. "I promise to take it slow until you start to beg me to make you come."
"We will see." Holly smiled her famous lopsided grin with mischief sparks in her deep brown eyes and flipped them over so she was on the top now.
They kissed, smoothed each other but the arousal never came to either of them. Somehow the thought of sex invoked six dead women and with heavy thoughts it was hard to perform. They lied naked side by side, enjoying the last moments of each other's warmth.
thank you for your time!