Well here is the next chapter. Have a happy 4th of July and happy reading!
Chapter 2
Ben groaned as the bright sunlight came through the window. He glanced around and realized that he'd fallen asleep on the couch the night before instead of seeing his bed. He had only planned on checking the scores of the basketball game, but when he'd run across an old John Wayne movie, he'd gotten sucked in. He saw that his Chocolate Lab, Duke, was laying in the chair opposite him, just staring at him.
"Hey buddy, I bet you want breakfast huh, well Dad is going to have coffee first. Aunt Carly might let you out when she gets up." Ben rubbed the pooch behind his ears.
"No, Aunt Jane already did that, and I made coffee. Carly's in the shower." His younger sister, Jane poked her head out of the kitchen.
"Hi Janie, do you normally just walk into people's houses without knocking?" Ben teased.
"Not when they leave the back door open. You know, considering two NYPD officers live here, the fact that the back door was unlocked is kinda funny." Jane teased back.
"Carly must've left it unlocked when she went for her run this morning. Do you want any coffee?" Ben asked.
"Nope, I'm good. I already had two cups. I have to get to work, I just wanted to drop off some leftovers, I made lasagna last night." Jane said as Ben noticed that she was wearing her scrubs.
"Jane, you do realize that Carly and I are able to cook for ourselves, right? You and Tory don't have to take turns feeding us." Ben said.
"I know, but I like taking care of you and Carly. It gives me someone to take care of, like Mom used to do. I think Tory would tell you the same thing, especially since Dad called her this morning." Jane replied.
"Yeah? And what did the asshole want?" Ben questioned.
"Ben! He's still our dad, he wanted to see how we're all doing since Mom died. She told him that we're fine. Maybe if you just talked to him, it would make things better…" she started.
"Janie, I love you, but he's never going to change. He left Mom for another woman and when that woman left him, he decided that he wanted to come home, but Mom was too sick to tell him to go to Hell, so I had to do that." Ben piped up.
"I know, and I'm glad you did. Mom was too sick to deal with his BS. I just think it might help you to get some things out in the open. You haven't even been on a date in the last couple of years, I know you say it's because of the job, but you can't work 24/7." Jane pressed.
"I know, Janie, but I haven't met anyone worth dating. Most women want a man who at the very least can separate himself from the job. I don't just punch out at the end of the day, just like you don't at the hospital." Ben reasoned.
"True. But I think you could find someone if you really wanted, you can't tell me you haven't met any interesting women." Jane shot back.
"Well I did play good samaritan to a damsel in distress the other night, Caitlin Reagan. Her car broke down, and I was nearby." Ben explained.
"Caity Reagan? She's a great detective, cute too." Carly replied as she came downstairs.
"I really didn't notice, it was dark, and I was tired." Ben explained at his sister's eye roll.
"Well, if she's anything like her brother, she should be pretty cool, Danny is a great detective. I don't know much about the other two except that Erin is an ADA." Carly replied.
"I know Jamie, we work out of the same precinct, but he's the type that likes to be a little too by the book, if you get my drift." Ben said.
"Ahh, so not like you, a cop that goes with his gut." Jane teased.
"Ha ha. Don't you have to get to work?" Ben retorted.
"Shoot, yes, I'm going to be late if I don't leave now. Bye you two, love you, mean it." Jane rushed out.
"Love you too! Thanks for the food." Ben called after her.
"Sorry we're late. Jaime forgot the salad, so we had to stop and pick something up to go with dinner." Eddie explained as the two walked into the kitchen of Frank and Henry's house on Sunday afternoon.
"No worries, I was able to get everything together.. Erin is picking up dessert." Caity replied as she pulled the Mac & Cheese out of the oven.
"So what are we having?" Jaime asked curiously.
"London Broil, Mac & Cheese, Mom's Herb Bread, and Roasted Veggies." Caity answered as she added herbs to the top of the bread before putting it in the oven.
"Where's Danny and Sean?" Jamie asked, looking around for their other brother.
"He's in the den, Grandpa has the game on, the Jets are ahead by one. Erin just texted, so she should be here soon." Caity answered.
"I think I will join them, let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Jamie excused himself.
"What's up with him?" Caity asked.
"I told him about your car trouble the other night and he got quiet when I told him that Detective Wallace was the guy who stopped to help." Eddie explained.
"Let me guess, he doesn't get along with the guy." Caity said.
Eddie raised her eyebrows in question.
"He's my little brother, he has a tendency to not like people who don't play by the rules a hundred precent of the time. I'm guessing, this detective goes with his gut and kinda subscribes to the Danny Reagan playbook. Shoot first, ask questions later." Caity smiled.
"You would be right. Ben's a nice guy, and a good cop. Him and Jamie have a tendency to clash. You'd think that he'd be nice to one of the few people who actually likes us." Eddie sighed, pouring herself a glass of wine.
"Ah, I heard about the saluting rule, he's just testing to see if he can take to being a boss. I love Jamie, but he forgets that not everyone agrees or thinks like he does. Now let's get dinner ready." Caity replied, taking a sip of her wine.
"Dinner looks fantastic, it was nice to not have to do all of the cooking this time." Henry said as the family sat down to dinner.
"You know you can delegate Gramps. It's just that Caity is a better cook." Danny said.
"Hey, I'm not too bad." Erin argued.
"No, you just don't have the time. That's why I asked you to pick up dessert. I knew it would be easier than baking something." Caity smiled at her sister.
"Thanks Cait, I've been in trial all week, so baking would not have been a good idea, especially since I haven't had much luck with baking anything lately that doesn't end up burnt." Erin groaned.
"And no one wants dad to cook anything, he can make two things, cereal and grilled cheese." Sean teased.
"I know, that is why I normally give him something easy, like picking up the meat." Henry chuckled.
"Ha ha, we all know I didn't get the cooking genes in the family." Danny said.
"It's not that, you just lack the patience to cook." Caity replied.
"So what happened to the Mustang, Cait? I didn't see it out there when we pulled up." Jaime asked, changing the subject.
"I told you she had car trouble the other night." Eddie started.
"Yep, I need a new alternator, it conked out on the way home, Friday night. I called Danny, but it went to voicemail, so I called Eddie since I knew that you and Erin would either be working or busy." Caity said.
"You really need a new car, sis." Danny started.
"I know, I had the same talk with Dad yesterday, I'm just not ready to sell it yet. It was Patrick's car." Caity replied.
"I think your sister is capable of making up her mind. Now who's going to say grace?" Frank spoke up.
"Morning Partner, I brought coffee." Detective Charlotte "Charlie" Brown said as she handed Caity her latte Monday morning.
"Thanks Char, how was your weekend?" Caity asked as she sipped her coffee.
"Uneventful, I had to check out a guy for Lisa, Mom wanted to set her up again." the other woman said as she sat down at her desk.
"Ah I thought she said that the last time that your mom set her up was the last time?" Caity asked.
"It was supposed to be, but ma was intent on Lisa meeting this guy. So she did, for no other reason than to get our ma off her back. It was really bad, and Lisa ended up camping on our couch. Nick was doing inventory at the restaurant all weekend. How was your weekend? Did your car get fixed?" Charlie asked.
"Nope, I still have the rental. At this rate, I'm gonna need to just buy a new one and be done with it." Caity groaned.
"I know you don't want to sell the Mustang because it was Patrick's but it wouldn't hurt to consider it." Charlie said.
"I know that Char, I am considering it, just not sure I'm ready for that yet. It just seems a little too final." Caity said as their lieutenant stuck his head out of his office.
"Reagan and Brown, I need you both to get down to the Carlyle, apparently there was a double murder." he said.
"We're on it boss." Caity said as she tossed Charlie the keys to the Cruiser.
"Detectives Reagan and Brown, we were told there was a double homicide?" Caity asked the front desk as the two women walked into the expensive hotel.
"Upstairs in the Honeymoon Suite, some cops are already upstairs." the Concierge said motioning to the elevators.
"Thank you." Caity said as the two detectives went up to the floor where the Honeymoon suite was located.
"Okay, what have we got?" Charlie asked as she flagged down a uniformed officer who held up the crime scene tape.
"Two DB's, Brandon and Lisa Turner, newlyweds, he was stabbed multiple times and she was beaten, raped and stabbed multiple times." the officer explained.
"How long were they married?" Caity wondered aloud.
"Not very long. They were here for their honeymoon, just checked in yesterday afternoon." the officer replied.
"So probably no more than a couple of days," Caity said.
"The M.E. is on his way up, I'm gonna talk to the front desk and see if we can get any of the security footage." the officer said as he turned to leave.
"Which do you want to take partner, him or her?" Charlie asked.
"I'll take her." Caity answered softly before walking into the bedroom.
Caity paused as she walked into the massive bedroom and looked at the body lying on the bed. The young woman had blonde hair, most of which was covered in blood. She shuddered as she took in the scene. The room looked like it had been trashed.
"Maybe the killer was looking for something and the couple interrupted him?" Caity wondered aloud.
"Not very likely considering the mass amount of overkill with her. She was probably the target. It's a shame." Dr. Joshua Landon said from the doorway.
"Yes it is. I was hoping that this wasn't connected to the double that happened at the Hyland a few weeks ago." Caity sighed.
"Well let me have a look at her. I just saw him, he had a couple of stab wounds, but nothing like this," Josh nodded as he took a step towards the body.
"So how are you doing, Caity?" he asked as he examined the victim.
"I'm okay, but you already know that the anniversary is coming up." she answered knowing why he was asking.
"Yep, Mike called this weekend, wants all of us to get together and have a drink in Patrick's memory. He didn't text you because he knew I'd be seeing you at work, so I said I would tell you." Josh replied.
"Sounds good, just let me know when. Do you think he was killed first?" Caity asked as she looked toward the hotel room door where the other body lay.
"It's a possibility, he was stabbed in places where he would've bled out quickly. I'll know more when I get them on the table. See you later, Caity. Bye Charlie." Josh said as he began to leave to follow the bodies.
"Bye Josh. What do you think happened, partner?" Charlie asked.
"I think the killer knocked on the door, husband went to answer it and was stabbed as soon as the perp entered the room, Josh said his wounds were instantly fatal, the perp subdued her and then took his time." Caity sighed,
"Do you think this one is related to the double at the Hyland?" Charlie asked.
"I hope not, if it is, that means we have four victims and a perp who isn't looking to stop anytime soon." Caity replied as the CSI's went over the scene.
"Well, I found out who's working the Hyland case, but you're not going to be happy about it." Charlie said.
"Who?" Caity asked as the two of them walked back to the cruiser.
"Wallace and Meadows." Charlie groaned.
'Oh goody, world war three, here we come.' Caity thought with a roll of her eyes.