Case 3: The Grim Butcher
He tossed the sandwich rapper in the trash and walked up the steps into the office, just to be caught by David and dragged back down into the garage.
"I hope you haven't just eaten. We've got a new case, and all I can tell you is that Jennifer Carter did not have a happy ending...In fact, she was found in one of the butcher warehouses, near the docks." Both men looked sick as they continued.
"I had to have bacon for breakfast." The red head shuddered as they climbed in, the brunette driving as usual until they reached the latest taped up site.
Walking into the butchery warehouse JJ could see the dingy room was covered in blood, the girls limp body hanging from chains like the pigs on the hooks, flesh carved away.
Pain shot through his right ribs, the feel of steel wrapped around his wrists, the stretch of blood and the shrieking screams.
"JJ, JJ, it's okay, your here with me, here in Grimsborough, not there. It's okay JJ." The former solider blinked, coming back to the present and staring into concerned pale blue eyes. "You with me?"
"Yeah, yeah I am, thanks." His own hand rose, clasping the one that gripped his shoulder, anchoring him in place.
"What do we need from here?" David kept his voice even and calm and it helped JJ as he looked around.
"We need to look at the foot prints in the blood because that's where the killer stood, and there always something in the trash." That smile wavered as he looked at his partner.
"Okay, go, I'll collect it, go." The look JJ gave him broke his heart, no one should ever have to be that thankful.
When Jones was done he walked out to find his partner leaning against the blood red 1967 Impala he drove.
"Got them, we need to speak with the owner."
"Already did. Mr Colletti is horrified, genuinely, no doubting that, he says the only people who have access to the building are himself, his apprentice Raphael Soza and his daughter Trish Colletti, she discovered the body. Apparently Jennifer often came to the shop and was a sweet girl." JJ smiled sardonically. "Apparently not everyone agreed. Our two other suspects will meet us at the station."
Looking into green eyes he saw lingering traces of something. Fear? Pain maybe? What ever it was it made his stomach twist but for now, it seemed they'd be okay.
"Then let's get back and go through this." JJ climbed into the car and was achingly silent the rest of the way.
When they, JJ, rooted through the trash the murder weapon was found and sent for more test while Alex worked on the foot print.
Jones made them stop in the break room and the hot chocolate forced into his hand helped force away some of the lingering emotions before they headed to interrogation.
Trish Colletti was a heavy set girl who's best feature was the long curls of silken black falling over her shoulders.
"Trish, I'm Detective Inspector Jones this is my partner Detective Sargeant Jensen." The elder took the seat opposite the girl, who didn't seem as shaken as she should be as the younger leant back against the wall, this was their killer he thought.
"I understand you found the body?"
"I still can't shake that image out of my head...she looked like a pig." Nice up until that point, in shock she'd be more hollow, horrified she wouldn't be that collected.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Were you friends with Jennifer?"
The girl snorted with to much disdain, strike two.
"No, she was to posh for me, though she was always flirting with boys, one probably finally got sick of her."
As they let her go they turned to look at each other, knowing they were letting their killer go.
Turning into the next room they talked to the thin and sickly look but handsome boy Raphael Soza.
The only useful thing they learned was that the boy came from Cooperville, the resident shanty town of Grimsborough.
Scenes flashed before his eyes, another shanty town, one filled with bodies and blood.
"JJ?"
"I'm okay, that warehouse just dragged up a lot of memories."
"Jones! Long time no see. Who's the new recruit?" A scruffy man with one tooth came up to them.
"Sam this my partner Sargeant Jensen. JJ this is One-Tooth-Sam the de facto mayor of Cooperville and an old friend."
"Yeah though I'd wish you'd stop by some time other than when things get bad." He then pointed them in the direction of Raphael's spot.
With a gloved hand JJ picked up a lacey pair of pink panties that definitely didn't belong there, well that was something, especially with the little J on them.
It took nothing for them to get DNA sent off to the lab.
As they started on the beginnings of their reports Alex texted letting them know that the killers feet measured size ten before they were called to the morgue.
"Hello, I'll get to business." Nathan looked sick which said it all. "She was hit over the head with something but she was still alive when she was killed." The red-head flinched harshly. "That's not all, her heart's missing and there are burn marks on her breast, I'd say your killer is a smoker with black hair, they left some in the wounds."
The detectives nodded and finished up for the night before leaving.
As JJ was locking up a knock sounded on the door, opening it to find a certain blue eyed brunette wearing a long sleeved green v-neck.
"I thought you might like company."
The red-head didn't say a word, merely gripped the others arm and pulled him over the threshold, once again locking the door.
David followed his partner up the stair and into the dim white room with dark wooden panels and watched as he climbed into bed. The only way he could think to describe the other was broken.
He stripped to his underwear and climbed in, his hand drifting up to brush along the horizontal scars upon the younger's ribs before it came to rest just bellow them.
Looking into green eyes he watched the ghost fade, the tormenting echoes drifting away before those beautiful eyes closed and they both let themselves fall asleep.
JJ snapped to alert in a second, able to recognize the sound of his phone, he easily leaned back and answered.
"Jensen."
"Morning JJ."
"Grace what can I do for you?" He smiled as he looked across at Jones who was sound asleep, his hand still resting on the others side.
"I got DNA results on those panties and it matches Jennifer and Raphael Sosa."
JJ shot up in place, Jones grunting as his hand dropped.
"Grace you're an angel, thank you, I'll get on it and grab Jones. See you later." He hung up while blue eyes blinked at him blearily.
"Ass in gear mate, we've got work to do." The soldier easily changed before David could even bring himself to sit up and was strapping one of numerous weapons to his person when he did.
"Bathrooms across the hall, you've got fifteen minutes, we just got a lead." That kicked him into gear.
JJ walked down the stairs and paced until his partner arrived and they both took their respective cars, heading for Cooperville.
"Sam, can we talk with you?"
"Sure thing Jensen what's up?"
"We have evidence that Raphael Soza was having a relationship with our victim." The two detectives watched as shock covered the old man's face.
"No I don't think so. Now you can't be thinking that Raphael did this he's a sweet kid." Sam shook his head as they passed him to their suspect.
Not as a surprise the boy didn't give them anything but neither thought they were looking at their killer, a liar maybe but not a killer.
Just before they left however JJ spotted something, a bloodied rag and bagged it on a whim for Grace.
"Sargeant Jensen, Officer Ramirez." A portly man with a well groom moustache stood in the standard officer's uniform. "The victim's mother Vanessa Carter is ready to speak and the victim's backpack was discovered not far from the scene, it's in the lab now. Oh and you're needed in court in three hours for Dennis Brown's trial."
"That was fast, thanks Ramirez."
The slunk upstairs and discovered the vics phone among everything and sent it to Alex before setting off to see the Victim's mother.
Vanessa Carter was reasonably distraught.
"I c-can't belie... believe my baby's dead! I told her! I t-told her not to go near that hobo camp! Deviants, murderers, the lot of them! She was seeing a boy in that camp! Oh, she wouldn't admit it, but I knew! I knew! And now she's dead!"
"We're sorry Mrs Carter, truly, but we'll get to the bottom of this." Earnest blue eyes helped relax the distraught woman.
"Ma'am, would it be okay if I took a quick look around?"
"Of course, anything you need just find who did this to my baby." The mother moved away, out the back doors while Jones tried to stop his eyes watering from the cigarette smoke.
A quick look and he found some torn up pages and something odd in a grocery bag, he quickly picked it up and placed it in an evidence cooler and the detectives took there leave.
JJ easily pieced the pages of the diary together.
"Ouch, Raphael was definitely lying and it seems that Jennifer really hated the Collettis, alas, it seems we need to speak with Trish and Raphael again." David snorted as they drove back to the station, handing in the diary for evidence and the cooler went to Grace who went white and green when she saw the heart within.
They were collared by Alex just before they left.
"Well I got pretty much nothing from the phone but...'I'm not scared of you! I'm going to tell. You'll pay for what you did!' Sent to Mr Colletti."
"Well, well, three for three, let's start with Soza."
The boy was a smoker and the right shoe size.
Colletti senior wasn't a smoker and there was nothing to charge him with but then came Trish.
They listened to her scream and shout before 'Wrong Side of Heaven' started blare from the red-head's pocket.
Walking away he answered it.
"Jensen."
"I finished processing." Grace sounded across the line. "The killer cut themselves on that rag, it's the victim's blood plus some who's type O positive, and you were right with the heart as well. It's Jennifer's with yellow cotton fibres attached."
"Thanks Grace, you've just given us our killer."
He turned around, pulling cuffs from his pocket and slapping them on Trish's wrists as he gave reason for arrest and Miranda rights.
All in time to attend the trial.
The detectives sat in a bar, sipping beers and enjoying a little quiet.
"Hey Jones, thanks for last, I, I needed it."
"It's David." He gave the younger man a soft smile. "And what are friends for."
They chinked their bottles together, smiles on their lips.
